Digital Commons Network^™

Petals And Pride: A Botanical History Of Queer Expression, Sarah O. Kowal

Graduate Masters Theses

“Petals and Pride” examines the historical use of flowers as enduring symbols of queer expression and persecution across diverse cultures and time periods, paying particular attention to violets, green carnations, roses, lilies, pansies, and lavender. This study begins with the appearance of violets in the works of the Ancient Greek poet Sappho and traces their adoption by the lesbian community of Paris at the turn of the twentieth century. Around this same time, another floral symbol emerged across the English Channel: the green carnation. Popularized by Oscar Wilde, the green carnation functioned in Victorian Britain as an emblem of sexuality …

Talk To Me: Exploring The Sociocultural Ecology Of Home Language And Literacy Practices Of Families In India, Surbhi Puri

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Existing research highlights the role of home language and literacy environments (HLLE) in shaping early language and literacy development, yet few studies have examined the practices of multilingual families in India. While home environments offer rich learning opportunities, broader sociocultural and policy contexts influence how families support literacy and language development. Families’ insights into home language use, literacy routines, and cultural practices remain underexplored in early childhood education research.

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the HLLE of preschool-aged children in India and examine how families support early language and literacy development within multilingual home …

Critical Geopolitics And The Reconstruction Of Meaning: A Discourse Analysis Of The 'Terrorism' Label Applied To Hamas By Western Hegemony, Cahaya Mulyani Sakti, M.Hamdan Basyar

Journal of Terrorism Studies

The emergence of Hamas in 1987 cannot be separated from the configuration of modern colonialism and the continuity of occupation that shaped the political reality. Hamas’s early phase was rooted in socio-religious activities through education and community empowerment programs, before evolving into armed resistance against the occupation. The labeling of Hamas as a “terrorist” organization began in the mid-1990s in U.S. legal documents, which subsequently generated debate and gave rise to counter-narratives. This study employs the frameworks of critical geopolitics (Ó Tuathail & Agnew) and the Discourse-Historical Approach (Wodak) to analyze the labeling of Hamas as “terrorist” by Western hegemony. …

Digital Communication And The Evolution Of Ideological Narratives In Indonesia: Insights From Social Media Platforms, Tia Mariatul Kibtiah, Muhammad Fikri Fawazi

Journal of Terrorism Studies

This study examines how pro-caliphate and anti-democratic narratives are articulated and normalised within YouTube comment spaces in Indonesia. As the world’s largest Muslim-majority country with high levels of digital engagement, Indonesia provides an important context for analysing how political-religious discourses circulate through everyday digital interaction. The research analyses 1,354 YouTube comments related to the caliphate, governance, and democracy. Data were collected using Google Apps Script, manually filtered for relevance, and examined through qualitative content analysis informed by Social Network Theory (SNT) and the Radicalisation Factor Model (RFM). The findings show that 34.49% of comments endorsed ideological pro-caliphate narratives, while 35.97% …

Arts On The Point: Boston's First Public Sculpture Park, Isabella Slonka

Honors College Theses

Led by the conviction that “a public campus needs public art,” Professor Paul Tucker founded UMass Boston’s Arts on the Point (AoP) sculpture park in 1997. Large-scale works by world-class contemporary artists including Sol LeWitt, Dennis Oppenheim, Luis Jiménez, Sheila Pepe, and Mark di Suvero were made accessible to students, served as teaching aids and attracted those outside of UMB to Columbia Point. AoP’s use of long term loans made the landscape itself a rotating gallery.

Consideration of the “personality” of the campus was essential in the selection of works. Site visits with artists were conducted to ensure that their …

Profil Kemampuan Awal Keterampilan Produktif Bahasa Jerman Mahasiswa Pemula Pada Level A1 Cefr, Femmy Angreany, Arlian Fachrul Syaputra

Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts

This study aims to describe the initial profile of German productive skills among first-year students of the German Language Education Study Program, Faculty of Languages and Literature, Universitas Negeri Makassar, based on the A1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The study employed a quantitative approach with a descriptive design to systematically portray students’ abilities without applying any specific treatment. The participants consisted of 40 first-semester students from two classes. Data was collected through documentation of the Final Semester Examination results in speaking (Sprechen) and writing (Schreiben) skills, which were adapted from the Goethe-Zertifikat A1: …

Makna Simbolik Dan Memori Pascakolonial Dalam Cyanotype Fusion Dialogue “Trade Of Faith” Karya Budi Agung Kuswara: Kajian Semiotika Roland Barthes, Wisesa Abrar Mufid Munawwar Wahyuono, A. Syarifuddin Rohman

Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts

The cyanotype artwork Fusion Dialogue: Trade of Faith by Budi Agung Kuswara represents a contemporary art practice that combines cyanotype techniques and mixed media to construct visual narratives of colonialism, trade, spirituality, and cultural identity. This study aims to identify the visual symbols embedded in the artwork and analyze their meanings based on Roland Barthes’ semiotic theory. A descriptive qualitative approach was employed, with the researcher serving as the primary instrument. Data were collected through observation, documentation, interviews with the artist, and a literature review. Analysis involved symbol identification as well as denotative, connotative, mythological, and aesthetic analyses. The findings …

Rebranding Untuk Menanamkan Citra Brand Semanis Koe, Novita Priska Anggraeny Matitaputty, Joni Agung Sudarmanto

Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts

This design project is motivated by the competitive environment among micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the culinary sector, particularly dessert products, which requires each business to present a strong, consistent, and distinctive visual identity. An appropriate visual identity is needed to enhance brand image and strengthen consumer perceptions of product quality. This project uses a descriptive qualitative method, with data collected through interviews, indirect observation, and questionnaires to understand the brand characteristics and consumer perceptions. The design process applies the design thinking model, which consists of five stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and testing. In addition, SWOT analysis …

Making Noise Through Law: Indigenous Legal Mobilisation Against A Power Plant In “French” Guiana, Pierre Auzerau

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

In so-called “French” Guiana, or Guyane, the Kali’na village of Atopo Wipi has fought for years against a hydrogen power plant being built on their land. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2023 and 2024 in Guyane and Western Europe, where I collaborated with various stakeholders to support Atopo Wipi’s resistance to the power plant, my research focuses on the legal dimensions of the Kali’na’s struggle to protect their land. Specifically, this article examines how the Kali’na navigated different normative frameworks, including international human rights standards and French law, to fight the project. Through this analysis, I show how the …

Working Out Your Self-Image: Strength, Self-Esteem, And Human Flourishing, Kingston K. Christie

Honors Projects

This project integrates empirical research in exercise science with theological anthropology to examine the psychological effects of resistance training and the meaning of strength within a Christian framework of human dignity and flourishing. The empirical component investigated the effects of a four-week progressive resistance training intervention on global self-esteem and physical self-concept among undergraduate university students with moderate-to-low baseline self-esteem. Eleven participants (N = 11; 20.15 ± 1.52 yrs) completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and Physical Self-Description Questionnaire Short Form (PSDQ-S) before and after the intervention, with muscular strength assessed via submaximal testing across the squat, bench press, deadlift, …

Benjamin Harrison V: The Hidden Founding Father, Jennifer A. Worman

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

Benjamin Harrison V was an avid patriot, central and influential to revolutionary conflict and resolution, yet his contributions to America’s independence have been historically underrecognized due to overshadowing or misrepresentation. His lack of historical subsistence is a result of deliberate strategy from political opponents, obscurity due to his proximity to modernly more famous founders, or both. Primary sources of private and public correspondence place Harrison right where he was in actuality, but history was written with him as a triviality, his name hardly referenced and often omitted from events proven to be misrepresented once original sources are observed. The dissociation …

The Education Of Methodists: Unexpected Outcomes, Taylor Schmalz

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

From its founding, the heart of the Methodist church was education. John Wesley believed in the education of Christians, and the church sought out to give everyone a religious education. Two educational initiatives from leaders of the Methodist Church had long lasting ripple effects on American society as a whole. These unexpected outcomes had a large hand in helping social movements, the economy, and advancing medical initiatives. Looking at the Methodist Book of Concern and the Free African Society as case studies can show the Methodists as leaders in education and creating change in societal issues during the process. Methodist …

America's Founding Theology, Michael Payne

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

Building off of Mark David Hall's thesis that America had a Christian founding, this paper seeks to explore the theology of this Christian founding. While acknowledging that Enlightenment and English Common Law also influenced American founding thought, the paper seeks to look specifically at America's theological outlook. It concludes that American founding theology was overwhelmingly Reformed but with some key influences from the Baptist, Quaker, and even Catholic traditions. These influences can be found in the writings of the founders as well as in America's founding documents such as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. The point of the …

The Brabant Revolution And The American Revolution: Striking Resemblances, John Norman Patterson

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

The American Revolution was the second major Western democratic republican revolution to precede the French Revolution. It was followed by the Brabant Revolution a decade later. The resemblances between the American Revolution of 1765-1783 and the Brabant Revolution of 1789-1790 in the southern Netherlands are evident. Even though the Brabant Revolution was short-lived in comparison to the American Revolution, both populaces sought to establish national independence from a European power. In the case of the American Revolution, the thirteen colonies sought to free themselves from the tyranny of Great Britain. During the Brabant Revolution, nine provinces in the Austrian Netherlands …

The Wall Of Separation Between Church God And State, James B. Morgan

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

The metaphorical wall of separation between church and state is a staple in American discourse. It is often used not only to separate church involvement in government affairs, but also to separate the government from all standards of biblical morality and any attempts to impose such standards in the public sphere. As the phrase originated more than 200 years ago, many Americans may not understand the historiography of the phrase and how common interpretations have evolved over the course of American history. Where and how did the phrase originate and what is its true meaning? In what ways have interpretations …

The Us Marine Corps And The Battle Of Belleau Wood, William Maass

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

The central question of this research is how the United States Marine Corps shifted from an auxiliary naval force to an elite, mobile fighting force, and the role that the Battle of Belleau Wood played in that transformation. The Battle of Belleau Wood, fought from June 1-26, 1918, in France during the First World War, was a pivotal engagement where untested American forces were able to stop and drive back the German advance in the Chateau-Thierry sector. While there were both Marines and Army soldiers present at the battle, newspapers disproportionally showed the Marines’ actions, which created a public image …

Take Me To The Museum: Exploring The Use Of Art Kits For Families In The Art Museum, Amanda Marriott Elton

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the use of participatory art kits as a strategy for transforming family engagement within the art museum setting. Drawing on theories of experiential learning from John Dewey and participatory art practices rooted in the Fluxus art movement, my research positions art kits as tools that invite active, social, and embodied learning. Using a design-based research methodology, this study investigates how families interact with art kits within gallery spaces and how these tools influence and encourage conversation, artistic behaviors and relational dynamics. Data were collected through observation, family feedback and iterative kit redesign. Findings suggest that art kits …

The Disconnect In Female Labour Force Participation Policy In Egypt: Design And Implementation Gaps, Miral Mohamed Omran

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the disconnect between Egypt's ambitious female labor force participation (FLFP) policy goals in the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030 and the declining indicators since its launch. Applying Van Meter and Van Horn's implementation framework, it analyzes the full policy process using qualitative interviews across government, civil society, and private sector actors involved in the national policy’s design and execution. Findings reveal structural failures, resource shortages, coordination gaps, leadership turnover, and donor-driven fragmentation, intensified by cultural norms and frontline resistance. Recommendations prioritize short-term administrative tweaks leveraging public sector downsizing for harmonization and rethinking the …

The Voice As The Ultimate Microtonal Instrument, Catherine Terrell

University Honors Theses

I wrote several songs in a non-standard tuning system, 19-equal temperament. I define and distinguish 19-equal temperament and 12-equal temperament, then explore why I decided to write in this tuning system. I argue that intonation is a tool composers can implement along with more common musical devices. After describing the methods I used to create this music, I detail how I taught performers to sing it. I then describe and analyze the several works of music I created. Through the compositional process, I found tuning to be a very effective means in expressing musical and poetic ideas.

Volume Cxlv, Number 24, May 29, 2026, Lawrence University

The Lawrentian

No abstract provided.

Feminist Consciousness-Raising Groups In The Classroom, Andrea Quaid

Feminist Pedagogy

Feminist consciousness-raising (FCR) groups in the classroom are a way to facilitate conversation, enliven course content and activate a feminist practice to support student learning. Different from small group activities structured by an instructor’s prompt, FCR groups are a practice and pedagogy that help students identify “what really matters” (hooks, Teaching Critical Thinking). For example, rather than a teacher’s instruction (“please find three main points in the text to share with the full class”), students create their own prompts and facilitate their own conversations. Student agency is activated as they build conversations with one another and develop meaningful interpersonal skills …

“I Don’T Think We Do A Good Enough Job Acknowledging How Much This Space Is Needed By The Adults”: Making Intergenerational Futures At Camp Fyrefly, Ontario Ontario, Mayera Chazan, Megan Hill, Rachael Nicholls, Ziysah Von Bieberstein

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This paper examines the liberatory potential of intergenerationality at Camp fYrefly, Ontario—an overnight summer camp for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth that is unique within its rural region. In 2023, we conducted research in partnership with Camp fYrefly, including one arts-based workshop, two focus groups, and five key informant interviews. The analysis explores one core finding: participants experience this youth-focused program as an intergenerational future-building project. Extending scholarship on queering mentorship, generativity, and futurity, the article concludes that Camp fYrefly’s intergenerationality binds past, present, and future in the collective project of queering education and making better futures possible. Intergenerationality is also what sustains …

King Of The Jungle: Comparative Analysis Of The Geopolitical Narratives Surrounding Fordlandia And A Proposed Resort Park In El Mirador, Rachel Jaeger

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Environmental geopolitics is a field of study in which narratives about the environment are analyzed to reveal the underlying motivations and objectives they support. Using Shannon O’Lear’s (2020) framework of environmental geopolitics, I conduct a comparative analysis of the narratives surrounding two distinct development projects: Henry Ford’s historical company town in the Brazilian Amazon, Fordlandia, and a proposed ecotourism resort park in El Mirador, Guatemala. Analysis of Fordlandia reveals a narrative of American frontierism and a man-versus-nature perspective that served to paint the environment as belligerent and thereby justify corporate control and Indigenous assimilation. Narratives surrounding El Mirador differ, representing …

Du Undergraduate Showcase Abstracts: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, Sophia Wismar, Henry Staats, Allison Metzler, Chloe Puckett, Rachel Levine, Christa Kilpatrick, Scott Wolf, Joe Walsh, Grace Doolittle, John Engebreston, Zoe Lopez, Christopher Aaby, Audrey Duff, Timothy Sisk, Katelyn Lamberton, Angela Narayan, Gilkah Argueta, Habiba Samir, Girena Tesfazghi, Genet Kenore, Sinit Tesfamariam, Effley Brooks, Abi Newell, Megan Doherty, Natalie Baer, Lexi Blood, Talya Riciputi, Jessica Jimenez, Devin Hernandez, Lynn Clark, Taj Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Allen Rutman, Mira Pronobis, Tess Carson, Anna Sher, Frankie Stroud, Tamra Pearson D'Estree, Alyssa Wilson, Emily Melnick, Jenalee Doom, Yihang Gao, Gwendolyn Geiger, Noah Gettle, Scott Nichols, Clare Ayoub, Cara Dienno, Sunny Walker, Zoe Hansen, Maya Wheeler, Addison Rice, Patrick Martin, Sanjana Acharya, Daniel Mcintosh, Amanda Mckellips, Calli Cain, Justin Blake, Peter Sokol-Hessner, Natalie Miller, Max Weisbuch, Sophia Dellota, John Macikas, Charlotte Snow, Mark Siemens, Zoe Lynch, Alex Huffman, Prachi Shah, Jason Roney, Halcyon Levi, Nicole Herzog, Andrea Koly, Daniel Linseman, Annie London, Xi Yang, Avery Zwisler, Jane Smith, Chaz Contag, Michael Kerwin, Lucy Rand, Grace Schroeder, Michelle Rozenman, Nissa Tapper, Guiming Zhang, Mateo Mazariego-Halpern, Keith Meyer, Julie Do, Dakota Park-Ozee, Travis Herink, Kara Neu, Jonathan Plomin, Eve-Odine Duchaufour, Debbie Gale Mitchell, Tennyson Anderson-Stricklin, Lily Treitz, Samantha Rosenberger, Sierra Griffith, Finley Joseph, Daniel Sampson, Emmy Davis, Skyler Kasnoff, Evon Lopez, Vivian Nguyen, Cassy Young, Franklin Sellner, Martin Tobon, Ila Graham, Zach Billings, Holden Hedit, Decatur Boland, Paul Kosempel, Cory Chandler, Jay Mahoney, Sam Dragan, Susan Dagget, Yarrow Ator, Heidi Vuletich, Owen Weber, Andrew Kloeppel, Petersen Gray, Mandi Schaeffer-Fry, Razleen Bassra, Bryanna Rodriguez, Christina Blue, Taubie Sanders, Rachel Epstein, Luke Milburn, Camryn Evans, Ezra Martinez, Mary Westwood, Gabri Notov, Robin Tinghitella, Lilou Cabrol, Eli Barbour, Juliet Mendik, Selma Myers, Zac Wise, Noah Fahlin, Michelle Knowles, Abigail Hopper, Michael Greenberger, Romi Laclair, Sarah Watamura, Sabrina Efroymson, Casey Barker, Sydney Seltzer, Bryn Yehle, Jennifer Hoffman, Sara Garcia, Ryuka Nagamine, Trevor Briggs, Remy Le Boeuf, Elena Krone, Eileen Farrell, Regan O'Rourke, Elena Roel, Greg Mortimer, Ali Ayoub, Stefani Langehennig, Caitlin Turk, Logan Scmid, Stefan Chavez-Norgaard, Karen Kim, Tatiana Peccedi, Courtney Cassidy, John Sebesta, Rhianna Lewis, Janice Bening-Lacek, Vivian Lawless, Mckenna Hanson, Jeffrey Amidon, Riya Joshi, Ram Ambre, Brady Worrell, Perrin Schneider, Ali Azadani, Brooke Agulnek, Lyndsie Salvagio, Elise Siemanowki, Yan Qin, Andre Allen, Melodie Nguyen, Megan Livengood, Abby Reams, Saffron Hartreeve, Bri Wylie, Sarah Brookman, Mariah Loiacono, Green Russo, Abhia Lodhi, Gabrielle Welsh, Nika Spehar, Shahked Levin, Evrim Baykal, Kimberly Chiew, Jocelyn Torres, Kailey Hicks, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Audrey Bellows, Akam Chahal, Madeline Tepper, Shannon Murphy, Alexa Fonseca, Deborah Han, Cassandra Perez, Oluwatoyin Alaba, Julia Roncoroni, Vy Nguyen, Nana Burn, Sarah Sasse, Rubin Tuder, Anthony Gerber, Nancy Lorenzon, Christine Vohwinkel, Camryn Gunter, Tristan Weber, Sam Rommel, Brian Michel, Muskan Fatima, Alannah Oleson, Kira Frey, Edward Garrido, Beckett Morris, Kerstin Haring, Drew Middleton, Abigail Walpert, Liam Dee, Gabby Ishaw, Cole Carnes, Maddie Weiser, Claire Fox, Valeriia Vlasenko, Kateri Mcrae, Riley Smith, Abigail Templin, Kushani Rajapaksha

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Abstracts from the DU Undergraduate Research Showcase.

From Double Absence To Double Presence: Video-Selfie As Empowerment In A Multicultural Italian Classroom, Maria Ranieri, Ilaria Bucciarelli, Giulia Cuozzo

Journal of Media Literacy Education Pre-Prints

This paper examines the video-selfie as a tool for empowerment in multicultural secondary school classrooms. We draw on data from the European ICME project, focusing on a vocational secondary school in Italy, where 17 of 18 first-year students – approximately half of whom had migration backgrounds – produced short videos presenting themselves through personally meaningful objects. Students then participated in a structured reflection activity after watching each other's videos in class. We combine three theoretical frameworks: critical media literacy, identity and self-representation studies, and Mezirow's transformative learning theory. Our argument is that the video selfie empowers in multiple ways: it …

Cadencias, No. 9 (2022)

Cadencias

The full issue of Cadencias from the 2021-2022 academic year, including poetry, essays, and art.

Cadencias, No. 7 (2020)

Cadencias

The full issue of Cadencias from the 2019-2020 academic year, including poetry, essays, and art.

Cadencias, No. 5 (2017)

Cadencias

The full issue of Cadencias from the 2016-2017 academic year, including the sections:

• Relatos Breves
• Expresiones Poéticas

Cadencias, No. 3 (2014-2015)

Cadencias

The full issue of Cadencias from the 2014-2015 academic year, including the sections:

• Hojas breves: Recuerdos, anécdotas y visiones nuevas
• Expresiones poéticas—Poetic expressions

Food, Crisis And Hope: Three Conflicts, Three Approaches, Johanna Mendelson Forman, Michael Shaikh, Joan Nathan, Yeheniia Yemshenetska, Andrea Borghini

Dublin Gastronomy Symposium

Plenary Session: Food, Crisis and Hope: Three Conflicts, Three Approaches

Panel hosted by Johanna Mendelson Forman

Michael Shaikh - "Saving Cuisine Is the Same As Saving a People"

Joan Nathan - "The Edible DNA: Jewish Food as a Bond through Crisis and War"

Johanna Mendelson Forman and Yevheniia Yemshenetska - "Hope and Crisis in War: Ukraine’s Deployment of Food as Soft Power during Conflict"

Andrea Borghini - "Food in Times of Crisis: A Leadership Perspective"