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The proposed thesis deals with Beirut's urban development from a maritime town to a provincial capital in the 19. and early 20. centuries. It does so in the context of physical, politico-administrative and socio-cultural inscriptions on the city by a centralizing Ottoman state. The center-periphery relations in the Ottoman Empire are examined in terms of the forces of political integration and social cohesion as well as challenges to them. The empire-city nexus that is maintained throughout this thesis posits Beirut both as the site of Ottoman imperial discourses and practices and as the site of local appropriation of- and resistance to - them. Local power was articulated in arenas of negotiation between Istanbul and Beirut (e.g. municipal councils, bureaucratic and personal networks, production of space, practices of urban management). At the same time, the quality of the city's growth and wealth created discontent and resistance among these sectors of society that were excluded from, or threatened by, Beirut's development as a port city and provincial capital (e.g. strikes, boycotts, demonstrations, riots). The condition of Beirut at the turn of the century was commented and reflected upon in contemporary Arabic journal editorials, newspaper articles, poems and speeches whose transformative power, it will be argued, affected the very physical form of Beirut's urban fabric.

The American intellectual and diplomatic discourse with the late Ottoman Empire is an understudied field of history. Major works to date are primarily focused on the US relations with the Turkish Republic starting in 1924, which at best may highlight the Barbary Wars and the Treaties of 1830 and 1862 as a precursor. Few works offer, if any, a comprehensive insight into the diplomatic relationship that evolved between the US and the Near East from 1830 to 1930. This research is meant to fill the absence by probing into the service of key American diplomats and intellectuals who visited and sojourned in the late Ottoman Empire and their findings. Therefore, The Intellectual and Diplomatic Discourse of American Progressives and the Late Ottomans, 1830–1930, traces the diplomatic endeavors and histories lending to American congressional and executive decisions of reforms and the formation of American foreign policy in the Near East. The research also analyzes how progressives relied on Ottoman reforms to inform their political theories as diplomatic communications piqued political interests. Ideas began to surface in lectures and publications during the mid-nineteenth century, brought forth by forerunners such as Lieber, Woolsey, and Burgess. By the dawn of the Progressive Era, American intellectuals would infer valuable ideas from the Turks to enhance progressivism in the United States politically, economically, and socially. The notions brought forth by American intellectuals displayed considerable diversity as progressivism continued to evolve into the twentieth century.

The debate about whether to label the mass killing of Ottoman-Armenians in the early twentieth century as “genocide” has emerged in geographically distant Australian parliamentary discussions and decisions. The struggle to use and refuse such terms is deeply felt by the Australian-Armenian and Australian-Turkish ethnic-migrant communities, for each of which the reframing is a question of cultural identity and a source of tension. This thesis explores how and why contentious international debates on the histories affecting the Armenians and Turks make their way into Australian State Parliaments, and how the debates and political decisions impact and play out on the lives of the two communities so far removed from the realities of the past. The thesis considers the impacts of these on Australia’s ‘normative’ concepts of multiculturalism. This thesis also provides an overview of the historical background to the mass killing of Ottoman-Armenians in the early twentieth century, and highlights the areas of contention and scholarly disagreement. The purpose of this thesis is not to determine a label for the mass killing of Ottoman-Armenians. The roles of political actors, lobby groups, and the Australian media (both ethnic and mainstream) in framing debates, setting agendas and labels, and promoting activism are considered. Key media and political narratives are examined, to understand the ramifications of the New South Wales and South Australian Parliamentary decisions to recognise the mass killing of Ottoman-Armenians between 1915-1916 as an act of “genocide”. This thesis captures how culture, religious background, education and historical experiences impact unity and distances within and between the two diasporic communities, and presents an understanding of the decreased sense of belonging experienced by members of the Australian-Armenian and Australian-Turkish communities through qualitative and quantitative research findings. This thesis also examines the challenges facing Australia, a geographically distant nation in relation to ongoing struggles between the Armenians and Turks, and argues that the country is no longer “immune” to international warfare affecting ethnic-migrant communities living in Australia. It argues that multiculturalism cannot truly be embraced until the frames and labels, which oversimplify complex discourses and conflicted narratives, are understood.

The integration of Turks into German society is the central theme of this thesis. Chapters one through five serve to familiarize the reader with the multicultural society of Germany, its minorities, the Turkish population, and the divide which segregates Turks from the German population and the attempts which have been made to integrate them into German society. The contemporary German education system is considered the main factor for the limited success at integration. Chapters six through ten inform the reader about the German education system, and present the problem that integration has failed due to the structure of secondary schools in Germany and the placement of students into these institutions. The later chapters also present two solutions to better integrate Turkish youths into German society: a reform to the German education system in particular its secondary schools and the placement process and the implementation of Turkish as a second language in German secondary schools. These changes will permit Turkish youths to attain a more comprehensive education which will enable them to succeed socially and financially in German society.

This thesis explores an important means for the non-noble and non-gentry population of England to read and interpret the figure of the Turk as textually represented: the broadside ballad. Cheap to print and produced on an expansive scale, broadside ballads had access to economic and geographic segments of England beyond the reach of the drama. Aimed at a far more general audience than theater-goers (especially during the Restoration period), broadside ballads provide an alternative literary interpretation of the Turk, one long-neglected in Anglo-Ottoman studies. Current scholarship’s almost-exclusive focus on drama has led to a progress narrative positing an evolution in scholarly literature from “simple and stereotypical” representations of Turks to “complex and flexible” ones. Bringing a genre tailored to an audience made up of different socio-economic groups into the discussion, I forego such evaluative language. Instead, I argue that dissimilar representations not only reveal how English people thought of Turks but also how economics and status functioned in public discourse in England.

Andean Defense of the Eucharist paintings portray an eternal conflict \u2013 that between Spanish monarch and non-believers, but more importantly, that between balanced and complementary opponents. Defense paintings ultimately honor the reciprocity between idolatry and orthodox religion, and they owe their inception to the unique circumstances of viceregal Peru. The invention of the iconography can be attributed to an Andean affinity for understanding triumph as the coming together of festive, complementary opponents. Colonial dictionaries describe tinku [tinkuy] and its many linguistic permutations, as a place of union where two opposing yet complementary forces have come together to form something new and powerful. In the Defense of the Eucharist, this new and powerful force is the monstrance. It serves as the symbolic and compositional crux of the iconography. Andean artists utilized European prints to create the uniquely Peruvian iconography, but they altered these models in significant ways. Firstly, Andean artists substituted dignified Turks in place of Protestants. This is noteworthy, as the conquest discourse oft conceived of Turks as analogous to Amerindians. Secondly, Andean artists organized the figures in the paintings according to indigenous spacial hierarchies, such as Hanan/Hurin bilateral symmetry. The uniquely Andean composition presents the Turks as balanced opponents to Christians; it celebrates the triumph of Catholicism in Peru as the mutual achievement of both Catholics and their dignified heretical foes. Andean monstrances in Defenses flirt with idolatry through their affiliation with the Inca Sun-God Inti, and their presentation on a column, in an outdoor setting. Additionally, the gold leafing applied to the canvas calls attention to the material history of Andean monstrances, their early assemblage from the gold of melted down pre-hispanic idols.' This oscillation between orthodox and heretical presence in the monstrance commemorates the precarious place that the eucharistic sacrament held in colonial society. Defense paintings also pay homage to Moros vs. Cristianos performances: mock-battles that occurred in viceregal Peru between complementary moieties, both Iberian and indigenous, that were enacted in hopes to promote social cohesion and communal well being. The paintings serve as a lasting testament to moieties' desire to achieve tinku thorough enacting choreographed dances that featured the Moor/Turk character. Defense paintings thus participated in the colonial re-imagining of the Turk, shifting the Turk away from his typically pejorative role, and instead presenting the character as a dignified and necessary complement to Catholicism.'

This qualitative study is a narrative investigation that analyzes the educational experiences of the segregated Turkish people of Sumter County, South Carolina during the integration movement. Four participants share their stories of how attending an elementary school for Turkish students affected their integration into White high schools. Oral history is the specific research methodology that is used. The theoretical framework that guides this study is critical-narrative theory. Through critical research, the researcher analyzes how “the social institution of school is structured such that the interests of some members and classes of society are preserved and perpetuated at the expense of others” (Merriam, 2001, p. 5). Narrative theory also informs this study. Connelly and Clandinin (1990) explain that the heart of narrative analysis is “the ways humans experience the world” (p. 2). The research questions that guide this study are the following: (1) How do the Turkish people of Sumter County, South Carolina, who attended public school during the early part of the 20th century, describe their educational experiences?, and (2) What are the perceptions of the Turkish people regarding the integration movement, educational power struggles and oppression? Through in-depth interviews, participants discuss (a) thoughts on being Turkish, (b) feelings of isolation, (c) experiences at the Dalzell School, (d) experiences at the high schools (Edmunds and Hillcrest), (e) attitudes toward other ethnic groups, and (f) perceptions of the integration movement. The overwhelming evidence from interviews supports Freire’s (2006) two stages of the pedagogy of the oppressed. Freire states, In the first, the oppressed unveil the world of oppression and through the praxis commit themselves to its transformation. In the second stage, in which the reality of oppression has already been transformed, this pedagogy ceases to belong to the oppressed and becomes a pedagogy of all people in the process of permanent liberation (p. 54). The educational implications of this study offer insight into how today’s educators are called to “renew our minds so that the way we live, teach, and work can reflect our joy in cultural diversity, our passion for justice, and our love of freedom” (bell hooks, 1994, p.34).

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the major cause of morbidity and mortality globally. While primary and secondary prevention programmes indisputably reduce the burden of CHD and increase quality of life, they are often underused, particularly by women and ethnic minorities. Lower referral rate, inaccessibility of services, being female, lack of support, insufficient income, impaired health literacy, inappropriateness of the programmes and the failure of health care organisations and programmes to provide culturally competent care to diverse racial, ethnic and cultural groups are some contributing factors. The use of health care services also appears to be influenced by perceived vulnerability to CHD. An individual’s subjective judgment about the characteristics and severity of a risk, that is the perception of risk, and causal attributions play an important role in responding to risk. Attitudes towards CHD risk and the associated risk factors such as smoking, diet, physical activity and obesity are mainly underpinned within cultural beliefs and practices. The value placed on adopting favourable health seeking behaviours, and a willingness to comply with medical advice are also often related to cultural beliefs, values and experiences. There is, therefore, a need to explore CHD risk perception in culturally diverse populations. Understanding these risks can help health practitioners tailor health messages and services more effectively to facilitate behaviour change in target groups, which is critical in the management of CHD. This thesis aimed to explore the relationship between Middle Eastern women’s perceived and estimated absolute risk of CHD to inform primary and secondary prevention programmes. This thesis comprised two discrete, yet interrelated studies and employed a mixed method to elicit the participants’ perception of general and personal CHD risk. Focus groups were used to capture the collective views of migrant Turkish, Persian and Arab Middle Eastern women about their perceptions of the risk of developing CHD, causal attributions and risk reducing behaviours. The three main themes that emerged from the focus group discussions were: (a) Middle Eastern women underestimated the risk of CHD; (b) stress is a pervasive factor in the lives of Middle Eastern women; and (c) Middle Eastern women face many barriers to reduce their risk of CHD. Participants’ biological, behavioural and socio-economical risk factors showed that the study participants were at increased CHD risk due to high prevalence of some risk factors such as high blood cholesterol level, obesity, inactivity and psychological distress. Yet, the participants underestimated their personal CHD risk and perceived themselves to be at increased risk of psychological disorders such as depression. Further, those who perceived some level of increased CHD risk attributed it more to their psychological status rather than life style factors. Underestimation of the risk, inaccurate causal attributions, low socio-economic status and low health literacy accompanied with lack of culturally and linguistically competent programmes to assist women in protecting their cardiovascular health are some identified barriers to CHD risk reducing behaviours among Middle Eastern women. Findings of this study have significant implications for cardiac rehabilitation services to develop culturally and linguistically competent programmes to communicate Middle Eastern women while taking into account cultural differences in beliefs and traditions, socioeconomic status and health literacy. These differences should be considered in CR design, implementation and evaluation.