Digital Commons Network^™

How Much Glass Can I Break Before They Fire Me? Negotiating Ethically-Constructive Education In A Fractured Political Landscape, Mya Scarlato, Katie Kelly

Faculty Works

Amid the myriad of political disagreements that arise among collective identity groups vying for space within the educational curriculum, we offer in this article a theoretical framework through which we argue that schools are uniquely positioned to serve as spaces in which students can negotiate the ethical and moral selves of their choosing. Drawing upon the work from educational philosopher Maxine Greene (1988) and ethics philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah (2005), we suggest that 1) the development or ‘becoming’ of one’s identity is an ethical endeavour, 2) negotiating identity space in both education and society at large is a moral endeavour, …

Is This It: Doubts About Transcendence In The Twenty-First Century Novel, Owen S. Avery

English Honors Papers

This thesis explores how twenty-first-century novels grapple with the possibility of transcendence, communication, meaning, feeling, and emotional authenticity in our increasingly digital world. In my grouping of Dennis Cooper’s The Sluts, Ben Lerner’s Leaving the Atocha Station, Tao Lin’s Taipei, and Megan Boyle’s LIVEBLOG, I identify a shared urge towards accessing feelings and sincerity in an age of irony and skepticism through a variety of different formal strategies. I propose the concept of “internet realism” to describe Lin’s and Boyle’s attempts to capture how digital mediation affects communication, meaning, and sincerity. In these works, I highlight …

Adaptation For Whom? Understanding The Impacts Of Dyke Policies On Small-Scale Farmers In Ca Mau Province Of Vietnam, Nguyen Minh Quang, Nguyen Van Minh, Nguyen Vo Chau Ngan, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Low-lying deltas worldwide are extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise. As the risks of climate-induced flooding become increasingly clear, the thirst for infrastructure-driven adaptation increases. This highlights a patent need to understand the impacts of engineering adaptation solutions, especially those targeting built structures such as dykes and sluices, on farmers from a bottom-up, farmer-centred perspective. The study addresses this call by examining cases where dyke policies, while successful in some dimensions, have undermined small-scale farmer livelihoods in Ca Mau ― Vietnam’s southernmost rural province. It identifies areas in need of attention and adds empirical data related to this group of farmers. …

Identifying Intangible And Biocultural Heritage Elements Toward Environmental Understanding: Engaging Stakeholders Through Art, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Grounded in a case study in Barbuda in the Caribbean, this research examines sustainability from the perspective of what arts and heritage can contribute to community engagement and local and broader understandings about the environment. This article documents a growing body of literature recognizing the role of arts and culture, including local knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), in climate change endeavors. Art and TEK present expansive world views. Contextual information situates research done on the island of Barbuda pre- and post-Hurricane Irma. Visual arts workshops engaged community members in mixed methods research. Results documented cultural elements, particularly intangible and …

Una Voz Que Clama En El Desierto: La Intersección De La Predicación Y El Liderazgo, Danny Román Gloró

Heritage Material

No abstract provided.

Where Transformation Happens : Identifying Formational Qualities Of Spiritual Friendship Groups For Gen Z University Students, Gregory K. Haseloff

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Playing Through Music History: The Contextualizing Function Of Western Historical Music In Fantasy Role-Playing Video Games, Laney Abigail Sheehan

Wayne State University Theses

This thesis focuses on the presence of Western historical music in contemporary video games. Through a combination of music-theoretical analysis, iconography, and Peircean semiotics, the author demonstrates that the nondiegetic soundtracks of fantasy role-playing video games utilize elements of major style periods in music history—including the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical eras—to enhance existing representations of time and place in their visual environments. This phenomenon is particularly apparent in three games, which serve as case studies: Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017), and Elden Ring (2022). Ultimately, the project contributes research to …

Dr. Richard B. Pearce Flora Of The Driftless Area: A Biography, Cory Ritterbusch

Richard B. Pearce Archival Documents

Dr. Richard Bowman Pearce (1950-2018) was a cell biologist, immunologist, writer, and botanist with a particular focus on documenting plants in the southern Driftless Area and pioneering the use of a high-resolution scanner for image production.

This biography of Dr. Richard B. Pearce written by Cory Ritterbusch.

Amendment: Literary And Art Journal (2025)

Amendment, 2004-

Amendment is a VCU student-produced progressive literature and art journal that provides a platform for students to promote equality, tolerance, and social progression through artistic expression.

Pwatem: An Anthology Of Literature And Art (2025)

Pwatem (Poictesme), 2006-

Pwatem is an anthology of literature and art from undergraduate students at Virginia Commonwealth University. Pwatem publishes poetry, prose and art of all kinds from talented undergraduate students of all majors.

Public Projection | Wintersession 2025 Syllabus, Kameron Neal, Movement Lab

Course Materials

In this course, we will create site-specific projections that breathe new life onto the built environment. Working in the lineage of street art and guerrilla performance, we will explore the relationship between art, public space and the communities we inhabit. How is projection a tool of public communication? How can light and movement reshape architecture and human behavior? We will research sites, understand their stories, develop creative interventions, build prototypes and work collaboratively to design ephemeral public installations.

Telegraph Valley Performance, Installation, And Animation, La Samuelson, Movement Lab

Personal Work

"My fellowship project culminated in a 10 month exhibition and a series of 5 performances in Miami, presented by Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator, the National Performance Network, with support from the RISD Movement Lab and Foundation for Contemporary Arts. The work was also included in Miami Art Week - 2025." – LA Samuelson

Rheology, Kameron Neal, Movement Lab

Personal Work

No abstract provided.

The Sword And The Serpent, Gina Dittmeier

Children's Book Writing and Illustrating (MFA) Theses

This project provides insight into the monstrous bridegroom trope in fairytale and its influence in modern fantasy literature. The monstrous bridegroom trope has several different variations, but all of these variations result in a young and innocent woman marrying a monster. Through my critical essay, I look at this trope through a modern feminist lens, exploring the different variations of the trope in fairy tales, modern fairy tale adaptations, and fantasy literature. The essay brings in modern ideas of toxic masculinity and toxic femininity and applies them to the fairy tale inspiration of fantasy literature. The monstrous bridegroom trope and …

The Dirt Underneath My Fingernails: The American Pastoral And 21st-Century Food System Reform, Annabella Isaacson

Scripps Senior Theses

The following is an amalgamation of my experiences personally and vested interests academically, and is meant to be read as just that. As a thesis that combines Environmental Analysis and Writing & Rhetoric degrees, this project challenges traditional academic forms by integrating creative nonfiction and poetry with academic writing and analysis. This thesis attempts to fuse the academic and personal essay into one cohesive piece. The inconclusive nature of the narratives and explorations that follow are intended to represent my process in grappling with the histories and significance of American pastoral literature through the ways in which this genre has …

Lands Lost: Tracing Displacement And Ecological Degradation Amongst The Tataviam, Kawaiisu, Kitanemuk, And Vanyume People Of Antelope Valley, Calif., Daisy Alvarez

Scripps Senior Theses

Exploring the historic and ongoing impact of settler colonialism in the Antelope Valley, this thesis argues the Tataviam, Kawaiisu, Kitanemuk, and Vanyume, the aboriginal tribes of the valley, are effectively erased from the valley’s narrative and imagination. Through a series of genocidal and colonization efforts, first from Mission San Fernando and then from the California State Government and arrival of Anglo American settlers, the valley’s tribes can be subjugated to acculturation, displacement, massacres, and marginalization. Recognizing the valley's moral responsibility to platform their living descendants, the thesis proposes a path forward through decolonization, calling out local governments (Lancaster and Palmdale) …

The Best Children's Books Of The Year [2025 Edition], Bank Street College Of Education. Children's Book Committee.

Children's Book Committee

Includes more than 600 titles chosen by the Children’s Book Committee as the best of the best published in 2024. In choosing books for the annual list, committee members consider literary quality and excellence of presentation as well as the potential emotional impact of the books on young readers. Other criteria include credibility of characterization and plot, authenticity of time and place, age suitability, positive treatment of ethnic and religious differences, and the absence of stereotypes.

Equity And Representation In Video Games: An Analysis Of Attitudes Toward Queer In-Game Romance And Sexuality Across Diverse Populations, Jai Yerbich

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Despite studies showing that women play video games at close to, if not the same rates as men, there still lies a sexist belief that games are only for men, and no one else. In 2004, the Developers Software Association reported that games catered primarily to men’s sexuality, using advertising attempts to lure in players by catering to that sexuality and portraying women in their games to appeal to them. In recent years, with the release of massively popular role-playing games (RPGs) such as Baldur’s Gate 3 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, gamers have complained that games are now “too …

Openings, 2025, Trinity Christian College

Openings

Literary Arts: Where I'm From by Kaylee Santiago - 2 / Desk by Luke Rotman - 3 / A Final Word by Njoki Mukuria - 8 / there's no going back by Sam Nonhof - 9 / Oranges by ren amador - 11 / DESTINY vs. AGENCY by Chase Hadley - 13 / Freely Give, Freely Receive by Mia Musick - 17 / Like a Child by Kaylee M. Santiago - 20 / The Poetry of the Body by John Terpstra - 21 / Carl's Secret by Kaylee M. Santiago - 23 / My Father's Hair by John Terpstra - …

The Bridge, Volume 22, 2025, Bridgewater State University

the bridge

Editor-in-Chief

Katie Johanson

Managing Editor

Andrew Chermesino

Editors:

Tom Beaudry

Anna Connor

Jayce Elliott

Daniel Manning

Allison Marchand

Kristiana Nogueira

Giana Wigmore

Kaia Young

Faculty Advisor:

Professor Jessica Melendy

Design Advisor:

Professor Alain Blunt

Lead Designer

Vanessa Greaves

Designers

Nia Alvarado-Rodriguez

Robert Barove

Matt Curley

Matthew Fountain

Michelle Green

Grant Hall

The Paradox Of Survival: Gendered Food Insecurity, Labor Inequalities, And Coping Strategies During The 2023/4 Drought In Eastern Ethiopia, Meron E. Lemma

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

In drought-prone regions of Eastern Ethiopia, recurring droughts profoundly reshape everyday life in ways that deepen existing gendered inequalities. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Fedis district, including semi-structured interviews with women, project implementers, and government officials, as well as group discussions with community members, this study explores how women experience, navigate, and resist the gendered impacts of drought. By attending to the sociopolitical dynamics of drought and the development interventions that accompany it, I analyze how these forces restructure labor, land, food systems, and authority in ways that reproduce and exacerbate existing inequalities. Women’s coping strategies, ranging from begging and …

The Application Of 4e Cognition To Counseling And The Intersectional Experiences Of Black Individuals With Disabilities, A. Albright, Clarence K. Bumpas, Jeff Moe

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Black Americans with disabilities experience a range of inequities including barriers to access, social stigmatization, and health outcomes that are greater than both their White and their nondisabled peers. This conceptual article explains in detail these inequities. The authors provide an overview of the existing models of disability used in counseling, healthcare, research, and educational settings, as well as a rationale for why they are limited. The authors then suggest a 4E cognitive framework rooted in cognitive sciences, philosophy of mind, and neuroscience. The authors explain why a 4E cognitive framework may be better suited than existing models to conceptualize …

At The Farm In Battery Park Assignment, Karen Williams

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

The History Of Urban Life Textbook, Samuel Finesurrey

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Tawny, Tyrannous Dr. Francia And Carlyle’S Confused South America, Marisa Palacios Knox

Literatures and Cultural Studies Faculty Publications

Scholars have highlighted Thomas Carlyle’s “Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question” (1849) as a point of no return for Carlyle’s descent into a full-throated advocacy of racism, imperialism, and proto-fascism. His 1843 article “Dr. Francia” on the late Paraguayan dictator has garnered much less critical attention than the provocative “Occasional Discourse,” but it simultaneously anticipates the latter essay and offers an alternative representation of Carlyle’s ideas—and Victorian ideas more generally— about shifting categories of race and imperialism before they congealed. Instead of positioning himself as the authoritative interpreter of Francia, Carlyle highlights his own uncertainty, taking as a central premise …

Unveiling The Wilis: Exploring Giselle's Slavic Folkloric Origins And The Ramifications Of Essentialized Femininity, Antonia R. Dougherty

Dance (MFA) Theses

Jules Perrot and Jean Coralli’s choreography of Giselle’s wilis continues to influence the essentialized femininity in Ballet Blanc. The folkloric víla origins of the wilis create a direct contradiction to the archetypal ballet woman. The celebrated story of Ballet Blanc’s Giselle conflates the Slavic origins and wili characteristics, while simultaneously abandoning key characteristics of the Slavic víla. Antonia Dougherty’s thesis endeavors to unify these distinct components of the víla and their symbology so that a gender critical analysis of the essentialized femininity of Ballet Blanc’s Giselle may be explored. Perrot and Coralli used the Slavic folkloric víla origins …

Mapping Entanglements: Un-Nesting The Myths Of My White Identity, Kayla C. Brown

Dance (MFA) Theses

This braided research-performance thesis uses personal narrative, critical theory, and live performance to investigate how whiteness is sustained and embodied. Grounded in the work of bell hooks, Ibram X. Kendi, Tema Okun, Diana Taylor, Catrice M. Jackson, Miguel Gutierrez, and Narcissister, I interrogate whiteness not as a static identity, but as a system of power that shapes perception, behavior, and social value. As a cisgender white woman, I move through the world with unearned ease—my presence normalized, my advantages often unquestioned.

Identity is performance—layered, like the Russian nesting dolls I once played with at my grandmother’s house. Peeling back these …

Waking The Witch: Exploring Gender, Magic, And Power Dynamics In Ancient Rome, Diana Gibson

Honors Theses and Capstones

This thesis explores the presence of witches and magic in the literature of the Roman Empire. The study ranges from the 1st century BCE to the 6th century CE, and relates the prevalence of female witches in the Roman literature to particularly turbulent social contexts, such as the fall of the Republic and the rise of Christianity. The piece considers the rhetorical nature of accusations of witchcraft, and how the concepts of magic and witchcraft themselves were defined and shaped by those in power to uphold imperial hegemony and structures of patriarchy. The project seeks to highlight a distinction between …

Clouds Running Out Of Juice: A Special Podcast Episode Featuring Tim Winton’S Climate Fiction, Rumen Rachev, Jo Pollitt, Emma Nicoletti

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This paper presents a pedagogical experiment in the form of a fictional podcast episode that “aired” in January 2025, featuring Tim Winton’s climate fiction novel Juice (2024). Emerging from a dialogical reading collaboration between three interdisciplinary “scholars, resisters and ordinary grafters” (Winton, 2024, p.116) — Rumen Rachev, Jo Pollitt, and Emma Nicoletti — the paper and podcast operate together through a method we term papercast, centring on three key themes: clouds, atmospheric frictions, and the significance of critically engaging with climate fiction, specifically Juice, amid ongoing climate instability. Simultaneously paper and podcast (papercast), we invite the reader to “listen” visually …

Ebony Patterson’S …Things Come To Thrive…In The Shedding…In The Molting… (2023) As Intervention, Renee Mcgarry

Publications and Research

This paper examines the use of horticulture and botany in Ebony Patterson's 2023 exhibition at the New York Botanical Garden, …things come to thrive…in the shedding…in the molting… as it relates to the history of NYBG, the Bronx, and the populations that historically and currently reside in the borough. Using plants, blown glass, and glittering styrofoam forms, Patterson productively intervenes in the relationship between an historic, prestigious institution and a changed borough that, since the 1990s, has been walled off from the Garden. The exhibition highlights the tension between community and institution and offers up a new way of understanding …