Digital Commons Network^™

Growing Up, Gabby Park

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

Sun-Kissed Dining Room, Ceallan Hunter

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

Love For You, Rachel Held

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

More Springs With You, Casey Fuller

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

Body, Playground, Caius Buran

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

Gentle Tasks, Audrey Tumberg

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

In The Depths Of Space, Joseph Zimbleman

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

Cinnamon Buns And Ghosts, Gabby Park

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

Post, Anna Unser

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

Invisible Histories: Dwarf-Women And The Material Landscape Of Tolkien’S Middle-Earth, Catherine Hall

Journal of Tolkien Research

Encounters with ruins are found throughout J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth tales. These ruins—or what Deborah Sabo (2007) terms ‘archaeological sites’—serve as symbols of the passage of time and the loss of past glory. Significantly, these archaeological sites are almost exclusively oriented toward the male heroic world; from ancient battlefields to statues commemorating fallen kings, burial mounds of legendary warriors, and the remnants of once-great halls built and ruled by men. Apart from Tol Morwen, mentioned only briefly in The Silmarillion, few sites across Middle-earth offer readers material clues about women’s history. These archaeological sites thus reproduce a gendered hierarchy of …

The Pope, American Politics, And The Battle For Tolkien’S Soul In The Twenty-First Century, Kelsey A. Fuller-Shafer

Journal of Tolkien Research

This essay considers the contemporary ramifications of the use of Tolkien’s works and personhood in the political and cultural dialogues of the United States. Tolkien’s fiction was recently cited by Pope Leo XIV, the first pope from the United States, in his encyclical letter in May of 2026 reacting to artificial intelligence, in the same era that tech billionaires are selecting names for their AI companies from Tolkien’s legendarium. These actors find themselves not just in a dispute about ethical usage of AI, but also as commentators on and subjects to the growing political divide in the United States, and …

Judaism And Catholicism: Possibilities Of An Inter-Spiritual Dialogue, David Neuhaus

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article examines the possibilities of an inter-spiritual dialogue between Catholics and Jews. Describing the transformation of the Catholic attitude to Jews andJudaism in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, moving from a teaching of contempt to one of respect, it analyses the far-reaching reformulations of Catholic theology that promote an interreligious dialogue. After centuries of traumatic history, Jewish reactions have been hesitant. However, the past decades have led to a burgeoning relationship that can indeed flower into a mutual inter-spiritual dialogue that deepens the faith of both Catholics and Jews.

Islam And Catholicism: Theology And Practice Of Inter-Spiritual Dialogue, Felix Koerner

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article explores foundations, preconditions, aims, persons, groups, practices, methods, texts, and criteria of Muslim–Christian inter-spiritual dialogue. In-ter-spiritual dialogue thrives within the network of other dialogical forms: dialogue of life and collaboration, of theological and practical understanding. This article argues that the spiritual dimension of dialogical encounter may itself constitute a critical site of moral reflection, enabling participants to perceive injustice more clearly and to respond to it more responsibly. Nevertheless, the integrity of in-ter-spiritual dialogue depends upon the cultivation of trust, candor, and a shared orientation toward mutual enrichment and spiritual purification. Where dialogue is subordinated to extrinsic strategic …

The Dialogue Of Spiritual Experience In Buddhist-Christian Encounter, S Mark Heim

Journal of Global Catholicism

Can one learn more about one’s own religion through the practices of another? My positive answer to this question is illustrated in this paper by reflection on aspects of the Buddhist practice of emptiness, in specific connection with Christian under-standing of our lives as creatures. The Buddhist meditative practices I have in mind have several things in common. They are introspective (activated in one person’s inner consciousness) and premised on the Buddhist understanding of emptiness (specifically “no self ” teachings). Buddhist introspective practice takes at least three broad forms. One of these is a meditative analytical awareness of the contents …

Hindu Poetry And The Project Of An Inter-Spiritual Catholic Theology, Francis X. Clooney

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article engages the work of the Indian south Indian Tamil-language Vaiṣṇava poet saints known as the Alvārs. The article specifically focuses the First HundredHoly Linked verses of Poykai Ālvār to argue for inter-spiritual learning between Catholics and Hindus. The article concludes with personal reflections on this encounter within the context of the global Catholic Church

Shadows Of Salem: Recovered Memories In The Sandusky Case, Stewart Justman

Global Humanities and Religions Faculty Publications

In 2012 the former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of the sexual abuse of children.  However, none of his accusers accused him of anything until Victim 1, Aaron Fisher, entered treatment with a psychologist who diagnosed him at first sight as a victim of sexual abuse. The psychologist denied that he engaged in recovered-memory therapy. The record suggests otherwise. If a competent defense had shown at trial that the psychologist practiced on Victim 1 the same mode of therapy he rejected out of hand, the case against Sandusky might have collapsed, much as the …

Reading List: Introduction To Mystery And Detective Literature, Jesse Cordes Selbin

Open Syllabus Collection

The bloody knife. The telltale footprint. The courtroom confession. We all know the cliches of the detective and mystery genres, so why do they remain novel even when you know “whodunit”? This class will investigate the literary and cultural factors that make detective fiction perennially popular, from Sherlock Holmes to your favorite true crime podcast. In order to explore central questions raised by mystery novels, short stories, poems, and plays about the craft of storytelling itself, we will read bestselling authors like Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Charles Dickens, as well as lesser-known writers like …

Chi Meta-Project Ecosystem Overview - Spring 2026, David B. Smith

Publications and Research

This paper offers a high-level account of the Center for Holistic Integration’s (CHI) meta-project ecosystem as visualized in the included system map. CHI provides an organizational structure framed around persistent meta-projects that support and extend individual initiatives across curriculum, scholarly and applied research, infrastructure, artistic production, AI development, cultural inquiry, and external partnerships. Rather than presenting the map as a static inventory of projects, the paper examines how its core domains function as living systems through which knowledge, tools, documentation, participants, and collaborations can accumulate over time. It also considers how CHI-mediated connectivity, institutional integration, and external funding allow the …

A Survey Of Open Educational Resources Appropriate For Constructing And Teaching An Upper-Level, Undergraduate Course In The History Of Music Prior To 1800 For Music Majors, Jamie Weaver

Faculty Publications

Many open education resources are available for the study of music history. Yet, the majority ofsources I discovered are intended for students who are not music majors or who are at thebeginning of their historical study. The purpose of my study of open educational resources is tolocate and evaluate resources that would facilitate the creation and instruction of the first-semester survey course of an undergraduate survey in music history for music majors, the focusof which is the study of music before 1800. What follows is a broad, preliminary survey ofsources that could be used, mixed, reworked, or adapted to fulfill …

78 | Paneas V: Paneion Excavations 1988–1993; Part I, Zvi Uri Ma‘Oz

IAA Reports—Monograph Series of the Israel Antiquities Authority

This volume is the first of two presenting the results of the excavations conducted at Paneas by Z.U. Ma'oz in the area that housed the sanctuary of Pan (Paneion) established in the Roman period. It presents the archaeological remains uncovered at the site, shedding light on activity prior to the establishment of Paneion, the construction and use of the sanctuary, and the continued human presence after the Roman period, when the site ceased to function as a cultic compound. The chapters include an introduction to the excavations, a discussion of the site's name and identification, geological aspects, the stratigraphy of …

Learning About Gujarati: Cultural Identity And Family Language, Vritti Sodha

Florida Atlantic Undergraduate Research Journal

Language loss is a prevalent problem that is occurring in immigrant families in the United States. Since regional languages such as Gujarati are not used outside of households and community gatherings, it is not given much importance to learn. In order to combat this problem, community centers hold Gujarati classes for students of all ages to help preserve the language, but the lack of motivation to learn the language still remains. This is because a student needs to have a connection to the language to be motivated to learn it, which can be made through active learning. This study examines …

Unwilling Consent Or Ravishment? Sexual Violence In Late Seventeenth-Century London, Susan Hernandez

Florida Atlantic Undergraduate Research Journal

No abstract provided.

If You Want To Fly, Nandi Gayles '29

Black Studies Student Scholarship

My research explores the intersections of Sociology and Literature rooted in the unique gendered perspective of Blackness in the novels The Bluest Eye and Beloved by Toni Morrison. Morrison’s works are rooted in the authenticity of Blackness and being. She inherently studies human behavior and social interaction to communicate narratives that have often gone untold––those that center the Black experience. Morrison’s work is revolutionary as she intentionally wrote to disregard the white gaze. Her work is literature rooted in a sociological landscape that contributes to personal and social liberation of Black people. Using auto-theory as my methodology, this project places …

If You Want To Fly, Nandi Gayles '29

Sociology & Anthropology Student Scholarship

My research explores the intersections of Sociology and Literature rooted in the unique gendered perspective of Blackness in the novels The Bluest Eye and Beloved by Toni Morrison. Morrison’s works are rooted in the authenticity of Blackness and being. She inherently studies human behavior and social interaction to communicate narratives that have often gone untold––those that center the Black experience. Morrison’s work is revolutionary as she intentionally wrote to disregard the white gaze. Her work is literature rooted in a sociological landscape that contributes to personal and social liberation of Black people. Using auto-theory as my methodology, this project places …

Reflecting On Freedom: 250 Years Through The Eyes Of Wvu Alumni Artists Exhibition, Sally Brown, Livia Balan, Ken Hillberry, Yvette Mazza, Precious Burger, Margaret Rose Caro, Ron Hollingshead, Betsy Jaeger, Ruth Yang, Tom Ott, Nancy Swisher, Griffin Nordstrom, Ben Nelsen, Morin Nessim, Desiree Vu, Ali Printz, Tiera Joy Tanner, Eliza Siefert, Stephanie Alaniz, Raymond Thompson, Sue Byrd, Michael Vercelli, Lesley Cottrell, Penny Lipscomb, Joshua Lohnes, Kelly Watson, Hal Gorby, Judith Stitzel, Bonnie Brown, Bob Britten, Renee K. Nicholson, Ellen Rodrigues, Erik Herron, Mark Brazaitis, Alfgeir Kristjansson, Linda Rosefsky, Joseph Lupo, Beth Royall, Evy Wright

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the 2026–27 WVU Alumni Art Show invites viewers to explore freedom and independence through the eyes of West Virginia University alumni artists. This exhibition gathers a rich spectrum of perspectives—personal, historical, political, and cultural—demonstrating that the meaning of liberty is neither fixed nor singular. The exhibit also includes community responses to the work.

Portraits, abstractions, text-based paintings, mixed media, ceramics, and quilts collectively reveal the diverse ways artists grapple with liberty: as memory and inheritance, as resistance and care, and as lived, ongoing practice. By presenting these perspectives side by side, the …

A Word From The Writing Team (July 2026), Pam Walter, Mfa, Laura Deloretta, Phd

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Desert Desires And The War On Terror: Pre- And Post-9/11 Sheikh Romances, Leena Altamimi

Book Publishing Final Research Papers

The existence of sheikh romances as a subgenre has prevailed for well over a century in Western literature. Therefore, would one be able to discern whether the book cover imagery as well as the textual content showcases any tangible differences pre and post 9/11, and America’s “war on terror” campaign? A total of five books are observed: The Sheik by E.M. Hull published in 1919, Sarah Holland’s Desert Destiny published in 1991, Loreth Anne White’s The Sheik Who Loved Me and Penny Jordan’s Possessed by the Sheikh (both published in 2005), and lastly Crowned for the Sheikh’s Baby by Sharon …

Quiet Relief: Voice In Migraine Packaging, Nicole Allgeyer

Theses

This paper explores typography as a form of nonverbal communication in pharmaceutical branding for a fictional medication called Neura by investigating how font choice, visual hierarchy, spacing, and color function as communicative tools to its viewers. This paper combines the studies of semiotics and branding to create a brand that evokes trust, calm, and clarity through a visual branding system. This study investigates visual signifiers (semiotics) such as color and type through visual analysis and implements the findings into the brand. By researching branding, I was able to create a brand that has a focused demographic and image. In creating …

Seeing Power: Authority, Gender, And Spectatorship In Charles I And Henrietta Marie With Their Two Eldest Children, Prince Charles And Princess Mary (1632), Danielle Scaramuzzi

Theses

The visual construction, enactment, and legitimization of political authority is the subject of this thesis concerning Charles I and Henrietta Maria with their two eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Mary (1632), painted by Anthony Van Dyck. Through examination of sovereign representation, gendered body, dynastic continuity, and spectators, this research argues that authority within Northern Baroque portraiture is not established as a single or unchanging entity. However, instead of a monolithic representation of authority, it arises from relational elements, including body language, gesture, space, family relations, and viewer engagement. Although Van Dyck's portrait is generally considered a dynastic image in …

“Retalhos De Mim Costurados Por Nós” (A Patchwork Of Me, Stitched Together By Us), Marjorye Graves

MFA in Dance Theses

This document represents the culmination of my thesis project "Retalhos de Mim Costurados por Nós" (A Patchwork of Me, Stitched Together by Us), a choreographic project integrating scholarly perspectives from Dance and Social Justice, Phenomenology, and Somatics courses. Employing both dance film and solo live performance, the research interrogates the complexities of identity within the overlapping contexts of immigration, domestic violence, and motherhood. Through an embodied praxis, the project addresses the intersection of adversity and resilience, highlighting the transformative potential of community, cultural inheritance, and spirituality in my healing process.