https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/8602 ^ Moving to College of Arts, Law and Social Sciences 2026-07-19T01:38:09Z https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33440 Title: Precedent, principle, and practice: The role of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales in the parliamentary debates on the American Revolution, 1765-1776 Authors: Maib, Nicole Abstract: This thesis analyses the British parliamentary debates in the House of Commons and House of Lords from the years 1765-1776 and the private correspondence of select MPs and Peers to explain and discuss the arguments presented in Parliament during the course of the conflict between Britain and the American colonies which culminated in the Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776. When viewed from the perspective of the parliamentary debates, MPs and Peers consistently based their decisions regarding the conflict on past precedents established within the realm of Great Britain and Ireland, thus the countries of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Parliamentarians used these precedents to argue for the case of principle (whether it was right to act) or practice (whether it was wise to do so) on the proposed measures, whether that be conciliatory or coercive. More significantly, Parliamentarians became increasingly concerned about how their responses and actions towards the American colonies could alter the terms of Parliament’s sovereignty and its relations and authority over nations throughout its realm, most especially with Ireland and Scotland. There was real potential for the British American conflict to inspire and provoke similar rebellious movements for independence in other parts of the British realm, most particularly in Ireland. This thesis concludes that Parliament’s steadfast reliance on and concern to uphold historic policy precedents set with Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, became a key strategy for managing the evolving political crisis with the American colonies during this period. This approach, however, failed to consider the American colonies’ unique status within the realm. In turn, this clouded and impeded Parliament’s decision-making process because, to Parliament, it was not purely a case of maintaining its authority and sovereignty over the American colonies, but also over those nations much closer to home, namely Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/32020 Title: An exploration of shifting constructions of human trafficking: A study of newspaper discourses between 2000 and 2020 Authors: Burroughs, Janine Renee Abstract: Newspaper focus on forced migration has increased over the last two decades, highlighting the significance of human trafficking for policymakers. Prior research on American newspapers and human trafficking concluded data collection in 2006, overlooking power dynamics and promoting a liberal democratic view, obscuring the understanding of how dominant discourses are shaped by power within socioeconomic and presidential agendas. This study expands previous research by examining how five major U.S. newspapers discursively constructed human trafficking across four presidential administrations from 2000 to 2020, exploring the power dynamics behind discourses used in the meaning-making process. Using a political economy approach and a Foucauldian understanding of power, the study bridges the fields of criminology and media theory. The findings are contextualised within a historical discursive archive, tracing the emergence of trafficking discourse from the early 1900s and its resurgence through the 2000 Palermo Protocol. The study begins with a thematic content analysis that maps newspaper engagement patterns and key themes, followed by three chapters of critical discourse analysis that explore the meaning-making surrounding human trafficking. The content analysis revealed that human trafficking remains a relevant topic for newspapers despite fluctuations. Outlets varied in approach but presented consistent views. The thematic analysis noted shifts in presidential agendas shaped by socio-political imperatives, which met with varying support depending on the newspaper's ideologies, suggesting a liberal democratic theory. This thesis argues that this view is reductionist due to minimal divergences from the dominant discourses identified in the CDA chapters, which identified ongoing discourses around the criminalisation of human trafficking, victimhood, and national security, with few counter-discourses on decriminalisation. The study identified an archive of trafficking discourse dating back to the early twentieth century. These discourses gained legitimacy through legal codification and presidential agendas. The thesis examines how the discourses employed in the human trafficking debate evolved to justify geopolitical and socioeconomic agendas. Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/31460 Title: Spices in early modern England – a cross disciplinary study Authors: Dasgupta, Bhaskar Abstract: Reading popular English literature of the last hundred years would lead one to believe that English food always has been bland. This is surprising, considering that England, during the early modern period (1500-1850 AD) established the East India Company, partially for the spice trade and became the largest global spice merchant, centred on London. Hence, it cannot be that the English spice trade did not influence English Culture. What happened during the early modern period that significantly changed the usage of spices in English culture? Using an enhanced food choice model, this dissertation analyses how factors such as imports, exports, storage, consumer income, historical/geographical antecedents, spice production and pricing influenced the spice supply into England, which then impacted spice-buying behaviour and usage. The research has used primary data sources from the British Library’s East India Archive, UK National Archives, Newspaper Archives and English Ports Data, and relied on secondary academic data sources. This data was used for an economic historical analysis of the English spice trade, spices used as financial assets, crimes, spice usage in food and medicine, its representation in art and literature, religion, magic, perfumes, fashion, and clothing. The findings show that spice usage was common until 1800-1850. Thereafter, cultural, political, and scientific factors led to its decline. War necessitated distinguishing bland English food from spiced French food after Waterloo; the repudiation of the medical humoral theory positing that spices heal the sick; and a rise in atheism/non-religiosity and better education combined to substantially reduce spice usage across many aspects of English Culture. Since mid-twentieth century, the Chicken Tikka Masala curry has become the English national dish. This is no novelty. The study shows that English food has been spiced since Roman Times; the century of bland food (1850-1950) was an aberration. Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/31376 Title: An emergent sense of place: Examining the socio-cultural impact and experiential change of the new London museum in Smithfield Authors: Butler, Tom Abstract: In 2026 the London Museum opens in former market buildings in Smithfield, a historic working district on the edge of the City of London. The Museum’s £437m relocation is a major component of a culture-led development scheme, one that is radically transforming the local area. This interdisciplinary research interrogates what constitutes the identity and social experience of an area undergoing accelerated change, a ‘sense of place’ that I conceptualise as simultaneously socio-cultural, political, embodied, and imagined. This frames an analysis of how a museum that is both an instrument and agent of change can establish an equitable relationship with its new locality. Undertaken between 2020-2024 as a Collaborative Doctoral Award with the London Museum, this study follows a grounded theory approach, engaging with the diverse experiences of Smithfield’s social actors as well as the strategies of municipal and institutional agents. I apply a mixed methodology incorporating document analysis, ethnographic observation, walking interviews, and participatory workshops. This thesis argues that local identity and experience is relationally mediated by shared material, sensory, and imagined cues, produced through the rhythmic expression of power over time, and given meaning through real-and-imagined encounters. My research reveals the tangible and intangible effects of culture-led development processes, and their multiple aesthetic and experiential strategies of commodification and control. Ultimately, I argue for the reconceptualisation of a ‘sense of place’ into a dynamic concept that accounts for the inter-dependence of place and processes of urban change, the multiplicity of experience, and the uneven and negotiated effects of globalised capitalism. Drawing together literature from sociology, urban studies, and museum studies, I make key methodological, theoretical, and practical contributions to researching cultureled development. Respectively, these comprise the adaptation of Lefebvre’s (2004) rhythmanalytical method through Massey’s (1991) notion of place as process, a theory of accommodation within senses of place, and the development of a strategic blueprint for equitable museum approaches to new local contexts. The latter is disseminated as a research output through an online resource for museum professionals. Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z