Digital Commons Network^™

Betwixt And Between: The Dialectics Of Middle-Ness In The Two Towers By J.R.R. Tolkien, K. T. Tamilmani, Evelyn J. Jaziz

Mythcon

The dialectics of middle-ness is evident in various aspects of the novel The Two Towers by J.R.R Tolkien. It also includes the physical geography of Middle-earth, the character arcs of key protagonists, and the overarching struggle between good and evil. The paper follows textual analysis methodology. Geographically, the story unfolds in the region of Middle-earth known as Rohan, situated between the familiar landscapes of the Shire and Gondor. This middle ground becomes a crucial battleground in the war against Sauron, highlighting the strategic importance of this region in the larger conflict. At its core, middle-ness in The Two Towers reflects …

Summary Report Of Discussions At The Ana Forum 2024, Berkeley, Ca “How Can The North American Nepali Diaspora Contribute To Nepal’S Economic Development?”,, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

The ANA 2024 annual convention, organized on ANA’s 42nd founding anniversary, was held in the San Francisco Bay Area (Berkeley and Oakland) in California, where hundreds of ANA members and friends had gathered. The convention consisted of several forums, sessions, and cultural programs. As always, the convention included a Nepal-related forum “How Can the North American Nepali Diaspora Contribute to Nepal’s Economic Development?” The Forum took place from 1:30-2:30 pm on Saturday July 20, 2024. Four panelists, including the moderator, spoke at the forum. About 45-50 individuals attended the session. Guest panelist, Dr. Minendra Rijal sent a message as he …

An Inkling Of Mystery: Examining C.S. Lewis’S Philosophy Of Myth, Alysa Cripe

Mythcon

In a review of his friend J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, C.S. Lewis characterizes its precursor The Hobbit as “a fragment torn from the author’s huge myth.” Lewis is not speaking simply of Tolkien’s longer work as the larger myth, but the legendarium of Middle-earth. Other literary critics have also praised Tolkien for his creation of a convincing mythology alongside the geography, maps, and history of Middle-earth. The word “myth” continually appears in analyses of Tolkien’s writing, writing that has captivated readers since its conception. It is therefore logical to infer that this mysterious mythic quality holds great …

Before And After: Editing A Collection Through The Pandemic, Cami Agan

Mythcon

At Mythcon in San Diego (2019, the “before time”), the Stewards approved my proposal for the collection of essays entitled Cities and Strongholds of Middle-earth; Essays on the Habitations of Tolkien’s Legendarium from Mythopoeic Press. I will discuss the process of soliciting contributors, compiling, cajoling, editing, developing the introduction, proofing the volume, working with MythPress editors, as well as discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic affected/ affects the process of publication, and offer a general overview of the volume itself, which [Varda willing!] will be available for order at Mythcon53.

Middle West And The Pastoral Ideal In The American Artistic Landscape, Rebecca Umland

Mythcon

The complex and sometimes contradictory origin and use of the term Middle West—an evolving concept especially during the later American Expansionism period (primarily 1880 and after)—impacted the imagination of its writers. Their works view the Middle West as an idyllic place that occupies a central part of their personal and cultural pasts, and as a mediator between East (aged, urban and jaded) and West (wild, youthful, untamed). Middle West rests on yeomanry, an Old-World concept which Jefferson especially admired, embodying the virtues of maturity, wisdom, and kindness: “The pastoral ideal, a haven midway between the corruptions of urban civilization and …

Desert Power: Decolonization Of The Fremen Narrative In Dune: Part Two, Tim Lenz

Mythcon

In Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part 2 (2024), being the middle part of a planned film trilogy, the audience receives extensive exposure to the indigenous people of the planet Arrakis, the desert-dwelling Fremen. Compared to the source material, Frank Herbert’s science fiction masterwork Dune (1965), the portrayal of the Fremen people deviates significantly in the film adaptation. This paper will contrast depictions of Fremen belief, culture, and characters between the original novel and the 2024 film, and will argue that the recent adaptation portrays a partially-decolonized narrative of the Fremen people which affords them additional agency and nuance. The primary focus …

Ursula Le Guin’S Universes, David Emerson, Brian Attebery, Eleanor Arnason, David Bratman

Mythcon

This panel will be discussing the relationships of the panelists to Le Guin’s work and to Le Guin herself. Is there an intersection between their work and hers? Did they meet her? If so, what it was like working with her? What is their best Le Guin story? What do they see as their most “Le Guinian” work and why. What are their favorite Le Guin works? What do they see as her most underrated work we should all go read?

Our Dear Charles Williams: Tolkien’S Feelings About The Oddest Inkling, Sørina Higgins

Mythcon

At the zenith of the Inklings’s social and creative energy, Tolkien wrote a poem about “Our Dear Charles Williams.” It is a long poem—over three pages—full of praise, gentle teasing, and inside jokes. Many references may escape the casual reader or the Tolkien scholar who is less familiar with Williams’s works. Furthermore, the exact nature of the friendship between Tolkien and Williams has been frequently debated. In every friendship, loss is inevitable, whether through time, distance, conflict, or finally death. This is one such story. J.R.R. Tolkien and Charles Williams were friends for about six years–from 1939 until Williams’s sudden …

Scholar Guest Of Honor Address, The Mythopoeic Society

Mythcon

Speech by Scholar Guest of Honor Brian Attebery

Mythcon participants are invited (but not required!) to take part in our opening festivities Saturday morning by wearing costumes or regalia and carrying banners in our procession to the Terrace Rooms in which our Opening Ceremonies and Scholar Guest of Honor Address will be held. Those wishing to take part in the Opening Procession should meet by 8:45 am inside the main hotel lobby.

Sealed In The Sacred Realm: Coming Of Age In The Liminal Spaces Of Hyrule, Alicia Fox-Lenz

Mythcon

The Legend of Zelda franchise commonly uses alternate dimensions or worlds in its storytelling. These dimensions are often tied to darkness — being a place where evil waits, gathering strength, or a sister-world that has fallen to evil and needs liberation — providing the hero, Link, with the primary conflict driving his adventure. Alongside these larger worlds that provide conflict, there exist smaller dimensions, liminal spaces where Link and a small cast of other heroic characters are brought for physical and spiritual maturation. We will discuss how these liminal spaces function as doors through which the player as Link crosses …

Middles And Centers In Chinese Translations Of Tolkien, Eric Reinders

Mythcon

How do Chinese translators of Tolkien translate the name “Middle-earth” without confusing it with China itself (Zhongguo, or “central kingdom”)? China is a nation which named itself the center of the world, and centrality is never a neutral or apolitical claim. “Middle/central kingdom” signifies a traditional conception of geopolitical power in concentric rings: from emperor, to capital city, to zones nearer to or further from the capital. This paper borrows from the tradition within Religious Studies of theorizing claims to centrality (Eliade, J. Z. Smith) and centrality in Chinese political symbolism (Meyer, Wheatley, Wu Hung, Walsh). Here I primarily consider …

The Isom Report - 2024-2025, Jaime Harker, Theresa Starkey, Elizabeth Venell, Julie Enszer, Jennifer Venable, Leslie Delassus

Isom Report

Official news-zine of the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies

A Flood Of Consequences In Louisville, Kentucky: Using Hgis To Track Refugees Impacted By The 1937 Ohio River Flood, Trevor Harry

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Ohio River flood of 1937 was the most devastating flood in the recorded history of the Ohio River Valley and is commonly referred to as the “Great Flood of 1937”. In January 1937, after nearly two months of continuous precipitation, over 60% of the city of Louisville, Kentucky, was flooded and at least 23,000 residents were displaced. The purpose of this research was to document, map, and compare the pre-flood residential locations, evacuation destinations, and post-flood residential locations of African American and White Louisville refugees from the 1937 Ohio River flood. Socioeconomic information from the manuscript versions of the …

Razorblade Swing: Sympathy For The Dead, Game Design Document, Matthew Sparksman

Postgraduate

Sydney of the late 20s was a world of dark, crisp shadows and flashing blades. The war has recently ended, and there is a hunger, a mania, to forget and bury the ghosts and spirits. But the dead, and things inhuman, do not like to be forgotten.

Razorblade Swing is a tabletop roleplaying game that seeks to explore this world through the eyes of street-level, everyday, vulnerable people, particularly women. The main conceit is that the Razor Wars were the product of the ghosts and spirits of war. Those who come back often deal with this through addiction, vice and …

Introduction To The Special Issue

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Volume 26, Issue 2 (Special Issue) -- Full Contents

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

A Southern War On Predators: How Bounty Laws, Environment, European Thought, And Wolves And Other Predators Influenced Colonial South Carolina, Andrew J. Hubbard

All Theses

During the colonization of South Carolina, the natural landscape was altered significantly by European colonists. Bounty laws targeting the native predatory species were one-way humans facilitated this change. These bounty laws were created and enforced throughout much of the colonial period in South Carolina and permanently removed most of the region’s natural large predators. This thesis contends that South Carolina’s laws tell a story unique among colonial bounty laws provide a unique perspective on Euro-American attitudes toward predators, creating precedents later used in the United States’ westward expansion and war on predators. European bias and stereotypes permeate South Carolina’s culture …

Assessing, Restoring, And Centering Social–Ecological Relationships For Advancing Social–Ecological Resilience In The Northern Great Plains Grasslands, Katia Pilar Carranza Bernal

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Northern Great Plains grasslands are social-ecological systems that were shaped by evolutionary and Indigenous social-ecological relationships. European colonization disrupted many of these interactions, including the coupling of fire and grazing, and degraded social-ecological resilience, shifting these grasslands to a new state. For those reasons, my research focused on assessing, restoring, and centering evolutionary and Indigenous social-ecological relationships for advancing social-ecological resilience in the Northern Great Plains grasslands. I first performed a study in the Nebraska Sandhillls assessing the potential of patch-burn grazing to support grassland resilience by comparing its effects to those of rotational grazing. Through vegetation and bird …

Statement From The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences And Board Of Directors

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Guest Editor's Note, Rajiv Thakur

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

The Decline Of Republican Democracy And Rise Of The Techno-Authoritarian State: Reading Dystopian Novels In Hindi Literature, Manindra Nath Thakur

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

In the past few decades, the nature of capitalism has changed fast as it has lost its philosophical justification based on the principle of the common good. There have been many avatars of the idea of the “common good”: “white man’s burden to civilize the world,” “welfarism,” and “neoliberal concept of freedom of choice.” Capitalism now seems to have moved in a new direction, however, and it has failed to produce any further philosophical justification for its existence as a mode of production despite generating unprecedented economic inequality. Consequently, there is a rising tension between capitalism and democracy in societies …

Displacement, Social Justice, And The Right To The City: A Review And Critical Reflections In The 21st Century, Tara Fitzgerald, Brij Maharaj

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

This paper aims to review the literature and themes relating to displacement, social justice, and the right to the city in the 21st century. Displacement, in its various forms, is central to understanding the human rights abuses and livelihood implications when urban rights are revoked, forcing inhabitants to the periphery, and is the focus of this paper. Whereas the city’s services, resources, and opportunities should be a collective right advanced by local authorities for all who occupy urban space, displacements lead to resettlement and impoverishment, especially as livelihoods are disrupted. Urban renewal, through mega-projects, clean-up campaigns, and speculative gentrification processes, …

The Adaptation Wedge: Capacity-Building Scenarios For India’S Cities, Jagan Shah

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

The increasing frequency and severity of floods, heat waves, and storm surges impacting global cities, combined with the growing morbidity in public health, necessitates prompt and effective climate action. Adaptation and mitigation require adequate and appropriate institutional, technical, and societal capacities—all of which are in short supply in most low- and middle-income country cities that are experiencing growth while suffering vulnerabilities. Although national governments are alerted to climate risk and the imperatives of planning, financing, and managing climate transitions, their responses to capacity constraints and approaches to capacity building display neither urgency nor scale. We use a scenario-building methodology to …

Spaces Of Progress And The Challenge Of “Mindfulness” In A Postcolonial World, M. Satish Kumar

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Progress implied both change and improvement in the colonial and postcolonial world. Such a concept of progress came to be enshrined in specific geographical places. The notions of development and underdevelopment in the postcolonial context thereafter supplanted this idea. Over time, while the structures of colonial domination dissolved, those of embedded regional inequalities came to be deeply entrenched, thereby urging for Thich Nhat Hanh’s approach to “mindfulness” in a “postcapitalist,” postcolonial world. The key question is whether postcolonialism has reached an impasse in its delivery and deployment of ideas across the widening gulf between the spaces of progress and stagnancy. …

Author Biographical Notes

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Economic Development In Legacy Cities: Current And Emerging Challenges And Opportunities, Neil Reid, Sujata Shetty, Jane Adade

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

As manufacturing employment has declined in the traditional manufacturing regions over the past decades, many communities have experienced population loss and overall economic decline. Local economic development professionals have had to grapple with long-term structural changes in the economy as well as short-term jolts. To gain insights into the changing landscape of economic development, we interviewed economic development practitioners in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The interviews focused on their perception of current and emerging challenges and opportunities with respect to economic development in their respective communities. Having identified the major challenges and opportunities, we asked them to articulate the …

Notes On The Future Possibilities Of Engaged Anthropological Research: Why Decolonizing Anthropology Needs Black Diasporic Feminist Theory And Methodologies, Meryleen Mena

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

While in the past decade there have been more ethnographic accounts that shed light on minoritized stories and demystify the specific challenges that women and femmes experience during their research, much is desired to prepare students and junior scholars from marginalized identities for fieldwork research. Reflecting on a moment of precarity in the context of pre-impeachment São Paulo, I explain why the integration of Black diasporic feminist thought, method, and praxis is critical to further decolonizing efforts in anthropology. Beyond reflection, this narrative calls for sustained politically active engagement to establish an anthropology of liberation.

Mission And Editorial Policy

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

We're Swarming Again! Swarming, Collectivity, And Trope: The Case Of Extinction Rebellion, Tyler J. Behymer

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis explores the rhetoric of the eco-movement Extinction Rebellion, focusing on the use of swarming and nature tropes to mobilize collective action and revivify contemporary notions of collectivity. Drawing on rhetoric of social movement scholarship, cultural studies, and psychoanalysis, this essay theorizes swarming as a tropological economy that expands the conditions of propriety in the context of collectivity. Through an analysis of Extinction Rebellion’s discourse, this study demonstrates how the naturalization of swarming tropes works in various ways to rewild conventional political discourse, galvanize disruptive collective assembly, and challenge green neoliberalism.

Advisor: Casey Ryan Kelly

Leavers And Movers: Turnover Of Music Teachers In Nebraska, Christian G. Schuerman

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performances

The purpose of this study was to determine if the rates of music teachers leaving the teaching profession and changing schools were significantly different than those of teachers of other content areas in the state of Nebraska. This study used data from the previous nine years of the Nebraska Department of Education’s Education Directory in order to find results for the entire population. Results indicated that music teachers leave the profession at similar rates as teachers of other content areas, but move schools at significantly higher rates.

Advisor: Robert H. Woody