LOUISE FARNAM 25 a Woman for Good Hedy Gutfreund
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"1964 New York World's Fair Site in Queens, New York." 1980– 2006. Digital image. Prints and Photographs Divsion, Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Li- brary of Congress, Washington, D.C. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2011631096/. EDITOR IN CHIEF COPY EDITOR EDITORIAL Ishaan Srivastava, MY ’19 Matthew Sáenz, DC ’21 BOARD MANAGING EDITOR PRODUCTION AND Keera Annamaneni, TD ’20 DESIGN EDITORS Vanessa Chung, SM ’20 DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Avital Smotrich-Barr, TD ’19 Mark Gustaferro, SM ’20 ONLINE EDITORS SENIOR EDITORS Isabel Guarco, BK ’20 Heidi Katter, SM ’20 Henry Jacob, SY ’21 Adrian Rivera, JE ’20 TREASURER ASSOCIATE EDITORS Alan Liu, TC ’21 Henry Jacob, SY ’21 Sally Ma, MY ’21 David Stevens, BK ’19 ADVISORY BOARD DAVID BLIGHT Class of 1954 Professor of American History; Director of the Gilder Leh- rman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition BRUCE GORDON Titus Street Professor of Ecclesiastical History JOHN GADDIS Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military and Naval History BEVERLY GAGE Professor of History GLENDA GILMORE Peter V. & C. Vann Woodward Professor of History JAY GITLIN Lecturer of History; Associate Director of the Howard R. Lamar Center for the Sutudy of Frontiers and Borders NORMA THOMPSON Director of Undergraduate Studies for Humanities CONTENTS THREE CONTRADICTIONS IN RWANDAN WOMEN'S RIGHTS 4 Redefining Identity, Power, and Elitism Kendra Mills LOUISE FARNAM 25 A Woman for Good Hedy Gutfreund MAO'S MALARIAL LEGACY 57 How The Cultural Revolution Strengthened China’s Malaria Campaign Chelsea Guo REBELLIOUS TEENAGERS 84 Youth Resistance under Stalinist Control Elsa Welshofer A RACIALIZED ‘RESORT’ 107 Immigrant Uplift, Black Degradation, and the White Republic of Central Park, 1851-1860 Gabe Malek AN INTERVIEW WITH SAM MOYN 124 Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence and Professor of History Conducted by Henry Jacob A MAN OF PRINCIPLE THREE CONTRADICTIONS IN RWANDAN WOMEN'S RIGHTS REDEFINING IDENTITY, POWER, AND ELITISM In this essay, Kendra Mills, American University of Paris ’17, argues that post-conflict Rwandan society contains three contradictions within the field of women’s’ rights. The first contradiction occurs when women are portrayed as the uncomplicated victims of the genocide and patriarchal oppression, yet simultaneously are separately portrayed as liberated actors, their presumed agency celebrated internationally. The second contra- diction concerns the achievement of women as members of the state. The percentage of women in parliament is lionized by the Rwandan government, but women who par- ticipate in politics must conform to the regime’s vision, therefore maintaining agency and suffering political oppression concurrently. The third contradiction in Rwandan society is elitism; within the conversation of women’s liberation, only a small number of privileged, educated women enjoy the opportunities afforded to them by their urban lifestyles and political pursuits. This piece is an edited excerpt of Mills’ senior essay. By Kendra Mills, American University of Paris ’17 Professor Stephen Sawyer Faculty Advisor: David Simon Edited by Henry Jacob, SY ’21 4 KENDRA MILLS In the international community, monumental violence and international failure re- main connected to perceptions of modern Rwanda. In recent years, the country’s commit- ment to women’s rights and economic growth have drawn attention to Rwanda’s successes. However, these positive developments come with complications and nuance. Within the field of women’s rights, post-conflict Rwandan society contains three contradictions. The first contradiction occurs when women are portrayed as the uncomplicated victims of the genocide and patriarchal oppression, yet simultaneously are separately portrayed as liber- ated actors, their presumed agency celebrated internationally. The second contradiction concerns the achievement of women as members of the state. The percentage of women in parliament is lionized by the Rwandan government and international community because women hold a significant number of government posts and advocate for women’s rights in legislature—for example, women’s health care. Paradoxically, the Rwandan state is unre- mittingly authoritarian. Women who participate in politics must conform to the regime’s vision, and therefore they maintain agency and suffer political oppression concurrently. The third contradiction in Rwandan society is elitism; within the conversation of women’s liberation, only a small number of privileged, educated women enjoy the opportunities afforded to them by their urban lifestyles and political pursuits. These women receive in- ternational attention and are erroneously depicted as the sole representatives of Rwandan womanhood. HISTORY AND CONSTRUCTION OF MODERN RWANDAN SOCIETY Rwanda’s perceptions of ethnicity and power structures have informed the prob- lematic, modern notions of women’s rights; an analysis of Rwanda’s history provides the necessary context to understand these inconsistencies. During the colonial period, the Tutsi enjoyed elevated status in Rwanda, despite being a minority.1 The first documented in- stance of violence between Hutus and Tutsis occurred in 1959, when Tutsis beat a Hutu activist; this ignited a wave of Hutu violence, wherein groups of Hutus raided and burned Tutsi homes, often massacring the inhabitants.2 During the revolution of 1959, Hutus consolidated power and thousands of Tutsi fled to neighboring countries. In the early 1960s, guerrilla groups of Tutsi refugees staged invasions of Rwanda. In response to these attacks, Hutus responded by murdering and persecuting Tutsis indiscriminately.3 1 There is little documentation of the relationship between the Hutu and Tutsi prior to the colo- nial encounter. 2 Carney, J.J. Rwanda Before the Genocide: Catholic Politics and Ethnic Discourse in the Late Colonial Era. Oxford : Oxford University Press. 2013. 3 "HRW Report - Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda." Human Rights Watch, Mar. 1999. 5 THREE CONTRADICTIONS IN RWANDAN WOMEN'S RIGHTS Juvénal Habyarimana assumed power through a coup in 1973; during his regime, refugees were denied the right of return and Tutsi faced frequent persecution and preju- dice. In 1986, the prices of coffee and tea crashed, crippling the Rwandan economy and impoverishing the entire population.4 In 1990, a rebel army of refugees invaded Rwanda and waged war against the Rwandan Armed Forces. This war ended when Arusha Accords were signed in August 1993. The UN deployed an assistance mission to supervise the tran- sition process, but it was hopelessly handicapped and its mandate was limited to observa- tion and reporting. On the 6th of April 1994, Habyarimana’s plane was shot down while descending over his palace. His death detonated the violence, newly inflamed by propaganda, that had been fomenting in the country for decades. Trained militias gathered firearms and ma- chetes, while others marked the doors of Tutsi homes. Hutu perpetrators emerged from all classes and professions. Each citizen still carried an ethnic identity card and the interaha- mwe created roadblocks where they would stop Tutsi and slaughter them beside the road. Tutsis sought refuge in churches and hospitals where the local authorities often presided over their deaths. The RPF sprang into action against the interahamwe and eventually suc- ceeded in securing the country, resettling both Hutu and Tutsi refugees. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda was authorized in November of 1994, but tried relatively few cases, given the magnitude of the violence. The ICTR set precedents within the international community for