The Lives Of Others, An Art Installation, Gabriel Sullivan

KU Inspires! Undergraduate Research Day

No abstract provided.

Beyond A Shadow Of A Doubt: Examining The Female Gothic In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein And Bram Stoker's Dracula, Delaney Harrington

Harding Undergraduate Research Conference

My paper explores the ideals of the Female Gothic subgenre present in Frankenstein and Dracula. Both are feminist works, though they go about this in unconventional ways. I analyze the characters as well as the narrative and context of these stories to prove that they espouse feminist ideals. These novels are perhaps two of the most famous in the gothic genre, and they have the potential to be mislabeled. My paper warns about the dangers of mislabeling these stories and argues for their feminist interpretations.

Women In The Workplace: Changing Pressures Of Appearance And Behavior, Riley E. Bubacz

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

Since 1870, when women were first allowed in the London workforce, there has been discrimination between men and women, even with efforts to achieve equality. Today, women are still expected to do a disproportionate amount of the household labor in addition to maintaining a full-time job while dealing with the gender pay gap and the glass ceiling. This study seeks to understand the pressures that women still face in the workforce regarding appearance and behavior, and how this may contribute to experiences of burnout. In previous studies, women have expressed fears of being assertive or not wearing makeup due to …

The Transformation Of Physical Archives In A Digital Age, Gabriel A. Stadler Mr.

Theses

Scholars involved in archival studies have increasingly examined how digitization has transformed the accessibility of archive collections. For example, Clifford Lynch, a leader in digital libraries and a computer scientist, argues that the development of institutional repositories emerged as a new strategy that allows universities to apply what he calls “serious, systematic leverage to accelerate changes taking place in scholarship and scholarly communication” (1). He later clarifies that he defines these institutional repositories as places that hold digital materials and are created by the institution. Similarly, archival theorists such as T.R. Schellenberg emphasize the research value of records and the …

Developing Text-To-Video Ai Workflows Through Creative Practice, Nathan S. Jensen

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

This creative practice project investigates the extent to which Gen-AI text-to-video tools can maintain coherence across a short multi-shot sequence rather than a single generated clip. This includes continuity in recurring characters, visual style, and simple narrative flow. Using a Creative Practice Scholarship framework and practice-based methodology, I developed Bush Friends, a proof-of-concept children’s television intro, as the artefact of experimentation. This  project combined concept development, storyboard planning, iterative prompting, AI video generation, and editorial assembly using ChatGPT (OpenAI, n.d.) for ideation and prompt development, Kling 3.0 Omni (KlingAI, n.d.) for video generation, and DaVinci Resolve 20 (Blackmagic Design, n.d.) …

2025-2026 Faculty Masters Concert Ii, Lisa Leonard, Sheng Yuan Kuan, David Cole, Roberta Rust, Guillermo Figueroa

Faculty Recitals

No abstract provided.

Code-Switching Practices In The Nile Delta: A Comparative Study Of Linguistic Fluidity Among Gen Z And Gen X Efl Learners, Wesam Khairy Morsi

English Language and Literature

This study investigates code-switching as a form of linguistic fluidity among Egyptian EFL learners, focusing on how language practices are shaped by proficiency level, socio-cultural background, and generational positioning. Drawing on a convergent mixed-methods design, the research combines survey data from 154 participants with semi-structured interviews conducted with speakers from Generation Z and Generation X. Rather than treating code-switching as a random or deficient practice, the study situates it within established sociolinguistic theories that view language choice as socially meaningful, ideologically loaded, and deeply connected to identity construction. The findings reveal that advanced learners, particularly younger urban speakers, tend to …

The Grizzly, April 16, 2026, Renee Washart, Adam Denn, Sidney Belleroche, Cassidy Denning, Dylan Mchugh, Erin Ewing, Erik Groff

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Graml Announced as President • Ursinus Dance Program Shift • Paige Dickerman '28 Receives St. Andrews Scholarship • Strusowski's Second Year Surge • From Player to Coach: Ursinus Alum Ryan DiVergilis • Opinion: The Missing LINQs • Ursinus Golf Swings for Improvement in 2026 • Ursinus Tennis Teams Tear Through Non-Conference Play

Framing The Heart: A Director Of Photography’S Role In Crafting Cinematic Emotion, Mitchell D. Partlow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will explain the process of being the Director of Photography on the film Echoes from the Dock by Bella-Jace Moreno. I will discuss my process during Pre-Production, Principal Photography (Production,) and Post-Production, and walk you through the process of being the Director of Photography on a feature length production. Echoes from the Dock was one of the hardest tasks I have taken on, but through trials and tribulations, it is not about the journey, but the product. Pushing me to my creative limit, here is my journey through the Director of Photography’s Making of Echoes from the Dock …

Flowers Of Fire Review: A Patriarchal Petri Dish, Alexa Mayerhofer

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

A Black Feminist Perspective On The Role Of Community Engaged Pedagogy In Communication Education, Katrina Marie Overby, Nickesia S. Gordon

Feminist Pedagogy

As two Black feminist communication scholars, we reflect on the importance of intersectional and culturally responsive community engaged pedagogical practices in communication education. In this paper, we articulate the ways in which integrating community engaged pedagogical practices more intentionally in our curriculum, positions communication educators to participate in and contribute to advocacy based teaching that centralizes reflexivity, dialogue, critical literacy, and alliance building. Rooted in bell hooks’ theory of engaged pedagogy, our approach advocates for educators to articulate a pedagogy of Conscientizacao and to create curricula that teach us all to transgress.

Teaching During A Pandemic: Using Digital Visual Storytelling As Chicana/X/ And Latina/X Feminist Pedagogy, Magaly Ordonez

Feminist Pedagogy

This article offers critical pedagogical insights and experiences using StoryMaps as a queer trans* Chicanx educator during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. I offer StoryMaps as an original teaching activity rooted in Chicana/x feminist epistemologies and pedagogies that prioritize the voices of marginalized communities as sources of knowledge. I propose the pedagogical uses of digital storytelling as a Chicana/x feminist tool for creative critical thinking and shift in learning spaces that go beyond traditional essay-style writing assignments. It builds from my experience teaching undergraduate courses at a predominantly white institution in the Midwest.

Do Not Dismiss: How Community Is Built Through Kpop And Their Fandoms, Re Steinberg

Senior Seminars and Capstones

Fans of the music genre Kpop have been dismissed as juvenile or unimportant by some scholars and social commentators. Existing scholarship tends to focus on how the kpop fandom creates a space where the fans form groups amongst themselves, ex: dance cover groups, rather than how the fandoms influence individual motivations and benefits of participation. My aim with this study is to consider the effects that Kpop fandoms have on how fans identify and present themselves, feel a sense of belonging, and partake in the creative process. By using methods of oral history and content analysis of online social spaces, …

From Awe To Anxiety: Investigating Art-Induced Self-Transcendence Using Virtual Reality, Monica V. Weedman, Kutter Callaway, Daniel M. Shafer, Tyler Greenway, Jo- Ann Tsang, Wade C. Rowatt

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Introduction: Art has been shown to evoke a range of emotions, yet the mechanisms underlying these responses remain underexplored. Across three studies using between- and within-subjects designs, we examined how viewing original photographic art in virtual reality (VR) influences self-transcendent emotions and related affective states.

Method: In Study 1, participants viewed photographs in one of three VR contexts (museum, warehouse, church sanctuary). In Study 2, participants viewed the same photographs in a VR museum context where the photo scale varied (small vs. large scale). In Study 3, online participants viewed video recordings of the VR museum with or without computer-generated …

The Right-To-Work Debate In Louisiana: How A Moment Of Violence Changed Law, Emma K. Thigpen

LSU Master's Theses

These two projects focus on the rise of business communities in twentieth century politics of the South and how they shaped national visions of the United States’ economic future. Chapter 1, a primary source project about how labor violence led to a Right-to-Work law, examines the actions of the La. AFL-CIO, led by Victor Bussie, and the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, led by Edward Steimel, as they pursue alternate visions of economic progress and the “American way.” A major theme of this chapter is how violence was manipulated and refashioned to legitimize a lobbying organization and legislation intended …

Phil Sayers Named As Next Lindenwood Women’S Basketball Head Coach, Truman Griessel

Lindenlink (2012- )

No abstract provided.

Death And The Uncanny: Freud, Grief, And The Horror Of Inevitability In Ari Aster’S Hereditary And Midsommar, Courtney Michelle Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This thesis explores how Ari Aster’s Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019) create ongoing discomfort among viewers through their shared focus on death and the tensions between fate and freewill.

Using Freud’s concept of the uncanny as a lens, this thesis argues that these films are disturbing because they introduce familiar horrors in a newly unsetting way, forcing audience members to confront deep rooted fears of grief, loss, and the lack of control.

By repeatedly forcing his audience and characters to confront death and the illusion of agency, Aster successfully creates the prolonged anxiety and dread felt by many viewers of …

Peeling Back, Katelynn M. Humbles

KUCC -- Kutztown University Composition Conference

KUCC

Kutztown University Composition Conference

Kutztown University Composition Conference (KUCC)

Theme: “Writing Your Way Home”

Monday, April 14, 2025

Call For Presentations

For many, the most significant place in life is their home. It is where we withdraw and rest. It is where we feel safe and loved. But home is more than just a physical space—it's an idea, a feeling, a crucial part of one’s identity. Writers have spent their careers envisioning different ideas of home, just as we do. We also have the power to shape the kind of home we create for ourselves and others.

This year, …

St. Louis Digital Humanities Event Program (April 14, 2026), Stl. Digital Humanities

2026 Showcase

No abstract provided.

Portrait Of A Lady On Fire: Female Directors Subverting The Male Gaze, Josephine Ebersole

KUCC -- Kutztown University Composition Conference

No abstract provided.

A Unique 21st Century Relevant Analysis Of Carter G. Woodson’S The Mis-Education Of The Negro And Teacher Occupational Resilience, Nadrian D. Antoine

Virginia English Journal

This article offers a contemporary analysis of Carter G. Woodson’s The Mis-Education of the Negro (1933), emphasizing its enduring relevance to 21st-century educational challenges and the emerging framework of Teacher Occupational Resilience (TOR). Woodson’s central argument that American schooling functions as a system of psychological conditioning that marginalizes Black identity, history, and agency remains strikingly applicable in modern debates on culturally relevant pedagogy, systemic inequity, and digital‑age misinformation. The article explores Woodson’s critique of leadership, the omission of curriculum, and the reproduction of miseducation by credentialed yet culturally detached Black professionals. It then connects these insights to TOR theory, which …

Beyond Trends: The Potential Influence Of The Ela Teachers Of Tiktok, Heather Lynn Wright, Lauren May

Virginia English Journal

This paper describes a study on content from secondary English Language Arts (ELA) teachers of TikTok and their potential influence on future teachers. There were two research questions: (1) What information is being dispersed through TikTok specifically for secondary ELA teachers?; (2) What connotations about secondary ELA teaching are implied implicitly or explicitly through the tone of the TikTok creator? TikToks were examined through a three-part framework, considering the constructs of performances (Goffman, 1956), stickiness (Zott et al., 2000), and affinity spaces (Gee, 2004). Using a systematic approach, 50 secondary ELA TikTok accounts were identified and the top 20 …

Apprenticing Towards Deeper Learning In The Ela Classroom: Using Young Adult Literature To Support Students’ Mastery, Identity, And Creativity, Julianna Kershen, Kacy M. Price, Nynke Wimp, Evie Jackson, Kaitlin Rogers

Virginia English Journal

This practitioner focused article highlights the perspectives of pre-service teachers and undergraduate researchers investigating the kinds of learning interactions and instructional decisions that result in deeper learning outcomes for high school students. Deeper learning outcomes are often described as 21^st century skills, including mastery learning, support of holistic and scholarly student identities, and the ability to engage collaboratively with critical and creative problem-solving skills. The authors suggest a series of young adult literature texts that can serve as springboards into project-based learning opportunities that provide authentic and real world-connected activities, iterative cycles of learning, peer-peer collaboration, and in-depth disciplinary …

Letter From The Editor's Desk, Cinde Wollenberg

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.

Language Choices On Tanzanian Instagram, Carolyne Ulomy

Vernacular: New Connections in Language, Literature, & Culture

This study examines multilingual practices on Instagram within Tanzania’s rapidly growing computer-mediated communication (CMC) landscape. Using a qualitative corpus-based approach, I analyzed 400 Instagram posts from 40 users and conducted five techno-biographical interviews to explore what shapes language choice and how it relates to content. Findings show that Tanzanian Instagram users draw on Swahili, English, Swanglish/Kiswanglish, Community Languages (CLs) and Foreign Languages (FLs) to communicate and construct online identities. Interview data indicate that language choice is influenced by the intended audience, post content, brand image, language accessibility, the original language of the material and relationships between interlocutors. Corpus patterns further …

“Das Muttermal” - “The Birthmark” - “דער מוטער־צײכן”, Kristin K. Mlay-Kuhns

Vernacular: New Connections in Language, Literature, & Culture

“Das Muttermal / The Birthmark / דער מוטער־צײכן” is a trilingual work of transcreative poetry that stages translation as a method of mourning, cultural memory, and feminist inheritance. Composed first in German and then translated into English and Yiddish, the poem explores the catastrophic rupture of maternal loss and the slow transformation of trauma into understanding. The central metaphor of the birthmark—Muttermal, the “mother-mark”—figures the maternal body as both wound and connective tissue, binding ancestors and descendants through a physical trace that persists across generations, geographies, and languages. Formally, the project demonstrates how translation unveils the layered meanings embedded in …

When The Metamorphosis Turns White: Kafka Reimagined In Igoni Barrett’S Blackass, Bisola J. Ajibade

Vernacular: New Connections in Language, Literature, & Culture

Igoni Barrett’s Blackass (2015) has frequently been described as a “race-rewrite” of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis (1915). This framing has shaped much of the critical conversation surrounding the two texts. While these approaches productively illuminate questions of identity and biopolitics, less attention has been paid to situating both texts across the intersecting contexts of German modernism and Nigerian postcolonial literature. This article provides a close comparative reading of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and Igoni Barrett’s Blackass in order to examine how Kafkaesque elements are reconfigured within a contemporary postcolonial Nigerian context. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari’s theory of minor literature, alongside …

Exploring Innovative Display Of Painting Through Creating A Dual-Sided Suspended Piece, Erin K. Tichota

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

For this project, I aimed to expand upon my existent painting skills and learn new methods through unconventional techniques for display. My concept of this piece was to convey the sinking and stagnant feeling of being in a rut of depression. The ropes are meant to convey a web of thoughts that the subject is trapped in, while they are sinking deeper in their bed. The dual sided aspect of this project is meant to further emphasize the concept through creating a sense of  duality and permanence.

Developing Strategies For Pce Outreach, Mariah Blankenbaker, Gordon Carlson, Daniel Adesoji, Levi Eck

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

In collaboration with Professional and Continuing Education (PCE), we produced projects to automate their internal tasks, as well as to promote their services. By taking advantage of software techniques, we bridged live-action footage with 2D and 3D computer visuals for promotional material. In addition, we researched the capabilities of creating a custom Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) and trained it to analyze and interact with thousands of industry datapoints.

2026 Kutztown University Composition Conference Program, Engtlish Department,Kutztown University Of Pennsylvania

KUCC -- Kutztown University Composition Conference

The annual KU Composition Conference is sponsored by the Department of English, and includes student presentations from across campus.