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From Viðkenning To Valarindi: The Enigma Of Goldberry And The River-Woman, Derek Simon

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

THIS IS A TWO-PART ARTICLE. IN ORDER TO READ OR DOWNLOAD THE OTHER PART, FOLLOW THE LINK AT THE END OF THIS ABSTRACT.

Building upon the previous examination of the eddic and skaldic contours of Goldberry’s River kenning names, this reading of Goldberry’s enigma focuses on the mythological referents of her kinship relations and their narrative consistency in the legendarium.  Tending to the intrinsic connection between “[t]he incarnate mind, the tongue, and the tale” (Tolkien, On Fairy Stories, 41), I contend that the poetics of kenning diction sustain if not demand a reading of the River-woman references mythologically through …

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Gethsemane: Christian Art And Tradition In The Passion Of Albus Dumbledore, John Anthony Dunne

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

This essay contends that Professor Dumbledore drinking a potion from a goblet administered by Harry Potter in the cave from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince evokes Jesus’s prayer in Gethsemane from the Gospels and his request that "the cup" be removed from him. Even though the Gospels portray Jesus all alone, and Dumbledore has Harry with him, I argue that Harry Potter evokes the expanded Lukan account of Gethsemane, which contains a textually uncertain passage about an angel ministering to him (Luke 22.43–44). I argue further that this Lukan text informs Harry Potter specifically as mediated through visual representations …

The Romantic Imagination Of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer And J.R.R. Tolkien, Mariana Rios Maldonado, Andoni Cossio

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Studies on the presence of Romantic elements in J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary production have steadily risen to prominence, especially since the publication of Julian Eilmann’s landmark monograph J.R.R. Tolkien: Romanticist and Poet (2017) and, more recently, the edited collection The Romantic Spirit in the Works of J.R.R Tolkien (2024). Our paper seeks to contribute to this scholarly upsurge by presenting a comparative analysis of Tolkien’s works and those penned by one of the most noteworthy authors of Spanish Romanticism, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836–1870). Akin to the Kunstmärchenof German Romanticism and Tolkien’s Fairy-stories, Bécquer’s Leyendas—e. g. “El monte de las …

Recognizing Metaphorical References To Sexual Assault Resistance And Represented Rape Myths In Coraline (2009), Braden Slater

Theses and Dissertations

Is there any value in children’s horror literature and film? Literary theorists have shown that children’s horror is uniquely positioned to be not only captivating and accessible, but also educational and hopeful for some young audience members. Like most fictional monsters, those presented in children’s horror can be read as metaphors for the fears and experiences people face in real life. Scholars have argued that engaging with this type of frightening media may help people confront challenging ideas and feelings from a place of safety. Building on this theoretical foundation, I perform a close reading of the 2009 film Coraline, …

The Boys From Syracuse, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, George Abbott

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University's performance of The Boys from Syracuse with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and the book by George Abbott.

Performed April 23-26, 2026 in the Mitchell Theatre at Taylor University.

The Boys from Syracuse by Rodgers and Hart is based on the play The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare, likely written in the late 16th century. As is common for many Shakespearean plays, he adapted an older story, Plautus' Menaechmi, into his classic farce about two sets of twins, separated by a tragic sea accident, who find each other after many …

The Cuban Spectacular: Do You Know What It Means To Be In New Orleans?, Department Of Music, University Of Richmond

Music Department Concert Programs

No abstract provided.

Liminality And Space In The Iliad And The Heike Monogatari, Jade Simmons

Theses and Dissertations

Both the Iliad and the Heike monogatari have received scholarly attention throughout the years, though rarely in comparison with one another. A few scholars, such as Tyler Creer and Naoko Yamagata, have attempted to examine the two side by side, but very little work has been done beyond their respective analyses. This is unsurprising as a cursory glance at the two texts suggests that they are too separated by time and space to warrant closer examination. I argue, however, that there is great value in analyzing the two side by side. Indeed, a closer look at these texts reveals that …

Gratitude And The Second Language Writer: The Effects Of Gratitude Journaling In The English Language Writing Classroom, Lauren Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Gratitude journaling interventions have repeatedly been shown to enhance wellbeing when conducted in participants’ first language (Emmons & McCullough, 2003; Sansone & Sansone, 2010), yet no studies to date have examined these practices in second language (L2) contexts. This mixed-methods quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of a six-week gratitude journaling intervention on adult L2 English writers enrolled in an intensive English program. Eleven writing classes (N = 183) were randomly assigned to either a gratitude journaling group or a neutral-events control group, with 123 participants completing all four stages of data collection. Trait gratitude and subjective wellbeing were measured pre-intervention, …

Drowning In The Tube, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Several years ago, I was hosting a group of international exchange students at my university. It was memorable and enjoyable for many reasons, not the least of which was watching them in their first encounters with American consumer culture. I remember the first time I took them to a supermarket to get toothpaste and other personal items. As they went down the aisle surveying several brands and types of toothpaste they came to a stop, seemingly frozen by the task of choosing an item. When I asked them what the problem was, they said that there were way too many …

Exploring Subject-Verb Agreement Challenges Among Third-Grade Portuguese Dual Language Immersion Students: A Mixed-Methods Study, Marisa Tobias

Theses and Dissertations

Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs are commonly recognized for supporting the development of oral proficiency; however, persistent challenges with grammatical accuracy, particularly subject-verb agreement, remain common among elementary-aged learners. This mixed-methods study focuses on third-grade students in a Portuguese DLI program and examines how they use present-tense verb forms in different classroom contexts. Drawing on classroom observations, instructional materials, and students’ oral and written production, the study analyzes the nature of the input learners receive and the types of errors that persist during oral communication. Findings indicate that students demonstrate greater accuracy during structured tasks, while difficulties with subject-verb agreement …

The San José De Laguna Mission: Christian Iconography Through The Lens Of Pueblo Oral Traditions, Natalie Sims Rasmussen

Theses and Dissertations

The San José de Laguna Mission was constructed in 1699 in modern New Mexico. Following on the heels of the second Pueblo revolt, it stands as a testament to the Pueblo adoption of Christian symbols in the portrayal of their own oral traditions. A central theme in the Laguna oral tradition is the complementary nature of masculine and feminine forces that make up the universe. The Christian figures of the altar screen, such as Saint Joseph, Saint John Nepomuck, Saint Barbara, and the Trinity, can be interpreted through the lens of the Pueblo oral tradition regarding a 19th century Laguna …

Toyon 68 - Full Issue

Toyon: Multilingual Literary Magazine

No abstract provided.

Full Issue - Toyon 62

Toyon: Multilingual Literary Magazine

No abstract provided.

Didactic Aspects Of Education Of Primary Teachers With A Focus On Strengthening Their Media Literacy And Fighting Disinformation. Experience From The Czech Republic, Kamil Kopecký, Veronika Krejčí

Journal of Media Literacy Education

The paper describes specific experiences with educational activities aimed at strengthening media literacy in the field of combating disinformation among primary and secondary school teachers, which were implemented in 2022-2023 through the Central European Digital Media Observatory. A total of 3633 primary and secondary school teachers from all over the Czech Republic participated in the education and evaluated the educational events. The article presents examples of specific educational activities oriented to the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes of students through teaching in primary or secondary school.

Leveraging Critical Social Media Literacy To Safeguard Youth Against Violent Radicalization And Extremism, Muhammad Akram, Adeela Arshad-Ayaz, Muhammad Ayaz Naseem

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Social media is inundated with radical and extreme propaganda. Such information is often left unfiltered due to platform algorithms that are economically driven and socially unethical in design. It puts social media users, mostly youth, in danger of becoming radicalized and vulnerable to supporting and engaging with extremist beliefs. When young people lack sufficient critical social media literacy (CSML), radical and extremist information impacts their perspectives, affecting behavior in the real world. A PRISMA-guided systematic review of the Web of Science core collections and the Scopus database was used to find peer-reviewed articles about how CSML skills can be used …

Teacher Reflections On Media And Information Literacy In Vietnamese K-12 Schools: Current Practices, Challenges, And Pathways For Improvement, Tinh T.T Le, Minh Tran, Anh Dương, Huong T. Pham, Vy Tran, Daniel Jackson

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Media and Information Literacy (MIL) education is widely recognized as essential, yet its adoption in Vietnamese K-12 schools is still at the early stages. This study examines the current state of MIL education in Vietnam from the perspective of teachers. Drawing on insights from a trial online MIL teacher training program, which includes teachers’ learning journals, lesson plans, and an open survey using SWOT forms, we explore the approaches they use, the challenges they face, and the opportunities in promoting MIL education in their school setting. Additionally, the findings highlight specific professional development needs to enhance teachers’ MIL instruction quality. …

Productive Disruptions: An Equityoriented Framework For Civic Media Literacy In The Digital Era, Carlos Jimenez, Lynn Schofield Clark, Johnny Ramirez

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This article introduces Productive Disruptions as a framework for civic media literacy that centers equity and social justice. Past scholarship has emphasized understanding media content and gaining competence in media production. To center equity as a structural concern beyond individual behaviors, we argue for media literacy interventions that support disrupting racism in content, production, and digital media distribution systems themselves. Drawing on an ethnographic case study with young people experiencing marginalization, we examine how youth productively disrupted instances of systemic racism via TikTok and Instagram. We identify three distinct modes of intervention: creating counter-narratives that disrupt racist discourses, subverting adult-led …

Promoting News Literacy With Epistemological Beliefs, Ifla Checklist And Ai: Insights From A Teacher Training Program In Italy, Flavio Manganello

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This study examines the integration of epistemological beliefs, the IFLA checklist for evaluating news credibility, and the News Verifier, an AI tool powered by GPT-4, within a teacher training program aimed at enhancing news literacy. It explores the relationship between educators’ epistemological profiles and their ability to classify news using the IFLA checklist. The study also evaluates alignment between human classifications and those generated by the News Verifier, examining the potential of AI as a complementary resource for supporting practice and reflection in news literacy education. Results indicate that consistent application of the checklist improves alignment with AI outputs, although …

The Transformation Of Autonomous Faculties: From The Enlightenment Era To Present-Day, Amber Ready

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This thesis examines the historical transformation of autonomous faculties from the Enlightenment to the present, arguing that the material and technological conditions necessary for autonomous judgment have been progressively eroded through capitalism. Beginning with Kant’s account of enlightenment as the emergence from a self‑incurred minority, this paper shows that autonomy has always depended on social and economic structures that determine who can exercise independent reasoning. Through Marx and Lukács, the analysis traces how commodity production, alienation, and reification reorganize subjectivity and render social relations increasingly opaque. Adorno’s account of recognition, self‑preservation, and the culture industry further illustrates how individuals are …

These Wretched Waters: A New Perspective On The Myth Texts And Visual Adaptations Of The Danaids, Tessa Haney

Theses and Dissertations

Both Greek and Latin texts regarding the Danaids are rife with gestational imagery and vocabulary. This textual focus on chthonic, symbolic aparturience coheres with both Greek and Roman perceptions of femininity. Women in both cultures were socially mandated to marry, have children, and confine themselves to the domestic sphere. The Danaids’ refusal to participate in this system would have been viewed as a breach of cosmic order, and a punishment that grounded the sisters in their 'traditional’ femaleness would have been viewed as a solution to such a breach. While early modern visual adaptations of the Danaid myth lack gestational …

Stitched Together: Mourning And Memory In Latter-Day Saint Embroidery, Elizabeth Finlayson

Theses and Dissertations

As the Church entered into a period of mourning, confusion, and uncertainty following the 1844 imprisonment of religious leaders Joseph and Hyrum Smith in Carthage Jail in Illinois, artists turned to their canvases to grapple with and depict these events. Ashlee Whitaker calls attention to this shift in Mormon art, noting how Latter-day Saint artists painted portraits, landscapes, and commemorative scenes to promote Church authorities and “covenant kinship” as the organization experienced both a leadership crisis and abrupt relocation. Whitaker’s analysis, however, focuses almost completely on paintings done on canvas by men in America such as Danquart Weggeland, C.C.A. Christensen, …

The Searcy Story, Elise S. Spinder, Sheeva Chourazghi-Azad, Nate Krammerer, Anna Blubaugh, Sarah Brewer

SPARK Symposium Presentations

This presentation explores the planning and execution of our Honors project: a documentary highlighting local Nashville activists Joyce and Walter Searcy. It outlines our research process, the development of timelines documenting their lives, our collaboration with Fisk University, and the production of the documentary. Housed within the Belmont-Fisk Social Justice Collaborative, our work examines strategies that contributed to the systemic change during the Civil Rights Movement. This inquiry sparked deeper engagement with the Nashville community and illuminated the Searcys’ vital role in fostering community organizing and leading meaningful change. This documentary reflects on what it means to be a selfless …

Through The Lens Of Fire: Photography And Resitance, Nehru Madan

Intertext

No abstract provided.

What Is This Thing Called Film?, Strutts Psyridis

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

This article looks back at my experience of the transition from traditional motion picture film to modern digital filmmaking. It explains the physical and chemical processes behind film, and how we worked with as creatives, and contrasts them with digital recording methods, I reflect on how technological changes transformed production practices, costs, and industry infrastructure. I also highlight the discipline and technical skills required when shooting on film, arguing that the limitations of older methods encouraged careful planning, collaboration, and strong visual storytelling techniques.

Robust And Interpretable Cross-Domain Arabic Readability Prediction Using Hybrid Modeling: Evidence On The Limitations Of Transformer-Based Classifiers, Sarah Alzu'bi

Theses and Dissertations

Automatic readability assessment aims to predict how difficult a text is for readers to understand. The concept of readability has been widely studied across languages due to its significant impact on reading comprehension, leading to the development of various methods and approaches. In this study, I addressed two key challenges in readability assessment. First, I examine the performance of statistical classifiers and transformer-based models, including CAMeLBERT(Inoue et al, 2021.) with a focus on their ability to generalize under domain, genre, and stylistic shifts. Second, I investigate the interpretability of transformer performance in readability task, which are often criticized for their …

The Alembic - International Literary Journal, Sara Mackinnon, Finn Heller, Sarah Debian, Kate Blackwell

English Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Carrying Home With Me - A Cambodian American Story, Thatiana So

English Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Music Tempo And Genre On Attention Mediated By Arousal, Ethan Moore, Kenneth Diaz, Emily Faenza, Jenna Gomez-Nieto, Crismar Ramos Marti

Neuroscience Program Student Scholarship

This study investigates how music genre and tempo influence attention mediated by arousal. The Yerkes-Dodson law tells us that high arousal increases performance levels on simple tasks. We hypothesized that higher arousal levels will enhance performance on an hour-long Lexical Decision Task. Thirty-six participants were categorized into six groups: Country, Jazz, or Metronome at high and low tempos. Attention was measured using accuracy, response times, and event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded via EEG. By controlling for verbal proficiency through TOWRE assessments, we aim to uncover the neural mechanisms linking musical components to cognitive processing.

The Misrepresentation Of American Sign Language And Deaf Culture In Mainstream Film Media A Call For Inclusive Representation, Katherine M. Hamilton, Dr. Lisalee Egbert

Global Insight

Mass film media has the power to shape popular culture and influence public opinions and perceptions; thus, properly portraying Deaf characters, the correct linguistic model of American Sign Language (ASL), and Deaf Culture in this powerful medium is crucial. This research examines the misrepresentation of Deaf Culture and ASL in film and its impact on realworld interactions between Deaf and hearing c/Communties. By analyzing historical film trends, bringing modern trends to light, and creating educational tools, this study aims to create measurable change in media practice. The study uses online questionnaires and interviews with ASL-fluent participants from the Deaf Community …

Russian Political Warfare: What It Is, What It's Not, And Why It Isn't Working, Lance Bokinskie

Global Insight

This article defines Russia’s multifaceted approach to political warfare and analyzes its effectiveness in achieving foreign policy objectives. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine is an exemplary case study to define the aspects of 21st-century Russian political warfare and analyze its efficacy as an approach to foreign policy. This case study will lend meaningful support to the claim that the utility of Russian political warfare is severely limited by the adhocratic foreign policy encouraged by the Kremlin—specifically, the lack of an overarching proscriptive foreign policy strategy and a functioning bureaucracy to enforce the pursuit of outlined objectives, definitive organizational purviews, and …