Digital Commons Network^™

Consider The Dementor: Discipline, Punishment, And Magical Citizenship In Harry Potter, Tracy Bealer

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

In his 2004 essay “Consider the Lobster”, David Foster Wallace investigated the ethics of boiling alive an aesthetically unappealing, yet sentient and perceiving, creature to augment the pleasure of a human consumer. In the Potterverse, dementors are described by our human heroes as “terrible things” with “rotting” bodies, “unseen” mouths, and characterized as “among the foulest creatures that walk this earth” . Their occupation as guards of Azkaban Prison does little to improve their reputation among wizard-kind. However, how much of the dementors’ evil is ontological? Is it possible that these beings have been actively constructed as villains by wizarding …

Nature Vs. Nurture In Albuquerque: What Breaking Bad And Better Call Saul Teach Us About How We Talk About Criminals, Max Romanowski

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul focus on the criminal transformation of their two main characters, Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk). While quite similar on the surface, Walter and Jimmy’s narratives represent two different criminal transitions, evoking the classic nature vs nurture conversation. Both of these shows bring the conversation to the idea of inevitability. The nature vs. nurture argument is a popular one because it acts as a teaching tool for how we think and talk about criminal behavior. At first, it follows that since criminality was in Walter White’s nature the whole time, his …

Grounded Aesthetics: Pedagogy For A Post-Truth Era, Becca Cragin

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

With the rise of cultural studies, positivism and formalism fell out of favor. But in recent years, altered versions of these methodologies have been suggested as solutions to the deficiencies of the ideological approach dominating the field. Where the ideological approach looks at the content of texts to determine their meaning, the aesthetic approach adopted by media scholars in recent years returns to the close textual readings of formalism (while abandoning its assertion that meaning resides in the text alone). Similarly, where the ideological approach tends to use textual analysis devoid of sociological empiricism, the use of “big data” in …

Four Decades, Three Songs, Too Much Violence: Using Popular Culture Media Analysis To Prepare Preservice Teachers For Dealing With School Violence, Edward Janak, Lisa Pescara-Kovach

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Since teacher education has morphed from normal schools into colleges of education, the goals of preparing teachers have expanded. While it is essential to prepare teachers to utilize scientifically proven methods as well as to read and use research in the field, there are ever-expanding other goals that must be met as well. For one example, with the increase of school violence taking place in the United States, it is imperative to include preparation for preservice teachers on how to prevent bullying and how to handle traumatic events, such as school shootings, with their future students. However, broaching such a …

Applications In The Classroom: Pop Culture And Ed Psychology: What I Learned From Larry David, Rick Grimes, And Hank Hill, Melissa Vosen Callens

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

In teacher education courses, it is common to teach educational psychology concepts using case studies. Many publishers provide these case studies in textbooks and/or in ancillary materials, and there are many advantages to using them. For example, an instructor does not have to spend extra time finding or writing the case studies, both of which can be very time consuming. In addition, if students have the textbook, they have immediate access. One major disadvantage, however, is that students may find themselves uninterested and disengaged with the cases, depending on the students’ interests and the cases. This paper argues that studying …

Lady Gaga Meets Ritzer: Using Music To Teach Sociological Theory, Kenneth Culton, José A. Muñoz

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This paper presents methods for instructors to deal with student anxiety over theory courses. The method is an interactive class exercise that provides instructors with direction as to using popular music. The paper accomplishes this through the use of several cases for including music in order to spark discussion and suggestions for helping students to interpret the theory presented. Additionally, suggestions for incorporating writing assignments with the exercise are provided here. A table linking music to a theorist is also provided.

The Chanticleer, 2024-10-31, Halloween Issue, Coastal Carolina University

The Chanticleer Student Newspaper

The editorially independent student produced weekly newspaper of Coastal Carolina University.

Revisiting Marcuse On Repressive Tolerance: A Twenty-First Century Retrospective, David Ingram

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Herbert Marcuse’s essay Repressive Tolerance (RP) has been praised by the Left and vilified by the Right for its alleged promotion of censorship targeting reactionary opinions and actions. I argue that this interpretation of the text is mistaken. According to my alternative reading of the text, RP should be understood as an exercise in provocation and irony aimed at defending civil disobedience and dissent. Marcuse’s defense of dissent, however, appeals to a critique of pure tolerance that exposes the unavoidably partisan practice of tolerance, which invariably favors the reigning undemocratic status quo. The choice whether to tolerate in a manner …

Lanthorn, Vol. 59, No. 06, October 28, 2024, Grand Valley State University

Volume 59, August 5, 2024 – April 14, 2025

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

The Rise And Fall Of Caribbean Piracy: A Socio-Technical Analysis Of The War Of Spanish Succession, Maritime Innovation, And Edward Randolf’S Policy, Dominique M. Salinski

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

This paper argues that the mode and historical context in which piracy ascended in the Caribbean after the War of the Spanish Succession, as well as the historical interrelation between maritime technology and pirate tactics, coalesced into a diachronic Damocles Sword that resulted in the downfall of piracy in the Golden Age. Sanctioning piratical enterprises as a subconventional maritime strategy displayed a geopolitical reliance on piracy by great powers. However, the depraved treatment conventional sailors received across all major European navies generated a social stratum that eventually bore the Golden Age of Piracy, while simultaneously contributing significantly to British naval …

Review Of "Hanged In Medicine Hat: Murders In A Nazi Prisoner-Of-War Camp, And The Disturbing True Story Of Canada’S Last Mass Execution" By Nathan M. Greenfield, Andrew Theobald

Canadian Military History

Review of Hanged in Medicine Hat: Murders in a Nazi Prisoner-of-War Camp, and the Disturbing True Story of Canada’s Last Mass Execution by Nathan M. Greenfield

The Need For U.S. Stability Policing, John F. Hussey

Joint Force Quarterly

This article argues that the U.S. military needs a dedicated stability policing capability to establish public order, protect civilians, uphold the rule of law, and consolidate gains during the transition from combat operations to postconflict stability. Drawing on U.S. experiences in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, the author contends that military forces have often been ill prepared to perform civilian policing or train indigenous police forces, leading to overly militarized approaches that can undermine legitimacy and public trust. The article emphasizes that stability policing requires personnel with civilian law enforcement expertise, particularly during the critical period immediately following major combat operations. …

Moral Injury In Military Corrections, Jeremy Ryder Meyers

Masters Theses

Over the past thirty years moral injury has been a topic of concern regarding the behavioral and spiritual health of military members. Part of that work has given a voice to Vietnam veterans and the events they faced while in combat. Some of these events were acts of betrayal at the hands of another military member or their own. This act led to an injury to their moral code. Military chaplains may have morally injured soldiers in need of pastoral care as they serve. This includes soldiers working the military prisons like the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth. …

Water Stories: A River Harvest, Christine Hoang-Dung Vu

PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas

Artist Statement Water Stories, a digital art piece, was one of the artworks shown in the 2024 River Reflection exhibition. This was created by gathering inspiration from the producers, cast, and the vision of preserving places and people through stories that are connected to nature and how it impacts its community. This is also part of the multidimensional performance project with the help of producers, Dr. Tru Leverette Hall and Dr. Maureen McCluskey. By being exposed in the River Reflection exhibition, people will be able to understand the artwork and spread the news of not only preserving the environment, but …

Lanthorn, Vol. 59, No. 05, October 7, 2024, Grand Valley State University

Volume 59, August 5, 2024 – April 14, 2025

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

A Feedback Loop Of Exclusion: The Treatment Of Bilingualism In The Courtroom, Simone Stover

Northwestern University Law Review

In the 1991 case Hernandez v. New York, the United States Supreme Court characterized bilingualism as a race-neutral trait that can be used to exclude individuals from jury service. This Note proceeds by demonstrating how the current state of the law undermines the interests of bilingual individuals and then proposes a solution. Focusing specifically on Hispanic bilingual Spanish speakers, this Note first employs Professor Jennifer Lackey’s multi-directional credibility model to show that bilingual Spanish speakers suffer injustice in the courtroom due to both credibility deficits and excesses. Following this analysis, it proposes a possible solution to this issue: an …

The Use Of Geospatial Imagery In Myanmar For Mass Atrocity Prevention, Elisenda Calvet-Martínez

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This paper aims to explore to what extent the usage of geospatial imagery can serve as a tool for atrocity prevention in a context of armed conflict and post-conflict. While most attention has been paid to the use of geospatial imagery to document mass atrocities for advocacy and accountability purposes, less attention has attracted the potential of this technology as a preventive tool. In the case of Myanmar, a special interest is on how to advance in the use of geospatial imagery to guarantee the safe return of the Rohingya refugees and how to prevent acts of genocide after the …

Conceptualizing Great Power Perpetrators, Federica D'Alessandra

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

For over a decade, shifting geopolitics, a changed global security environment, and countless failures of diplomacy have raised important questions on how to collectively grapple with a widely-perceived “crisis of multilateralism,” and reignited debate on the fitness of the UN Security Council to deliver on its mandate under these circumstances. Among other issues, ongoing polarization when not outright “gridlock” among the Permanent Members (P5) has fueled the Council’s apparent inability to respond to threats to civilian life and to countless mass atrocities around the world. Even worse, as this article argues, some P5 today possess both the willingness and unprecedented …

Contextualized Transitional Justice Policy Development In Uganda: Differentiating Between Normativity Types In Evidence-Based Problem Analysis, Saghar Shahidi Birjandian

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article discusses the fundamental impact of normativity on producing evidence-based guidance for context-sensitive transitional justice policy. It draws on lessons learned from Uganda’s complex transitional justice context and extensive fieldwork to demonstrate the necessity and the means to differentiate between belief-based normativity and evidence-based normativity in conducting problem analysis as a crucial site that determines the integrity of evidence-based guidance. It also establishes that evidence-based normativity guiding problem analysis must include empirical evidence of societal dynamics and views of affected communities or there is a significantly higher risk of belief-based normativity decontextualizing strategy development. Findings establish significant substantive differences …

2024 Celebration Of Scholarship, Creativity, And Engagement, Todd Bruns, Anna Nelson

Programs

Annually, Eastern Illinois University honors faculty achievements in the areas of research, creativity, and engagement. The list of faculty accomplishments is truly impressive, reflective of an engaged faculty committed to excellence and the ongoing pursuit and creation of knowledge. Many of these accomplishments occurred in collaboration with our students, who serve as co-authors, research assistants and partners in bringing these activities to fruition. In some cases, these professional ambitions transpired over many years and are a testament to persistence and tenacity. We extend a sincere message of congratulations for this diverse range of achievements, which bring distinction to our departments, …

Patriarchy, Divided Societies, And Female Proponents Of Peace: A Comparative Case Study Of The Federation Of South African Women And The Northern Ireland Women’S Coalition, Briana Ibrahim

Global Studies Senior Capstone

FEDSAW and NIWC, two multi-community women's organizations promoting peace within conflict stricken societies, will be compared. An analysis of each organizations work, the commonalities they shared, and their core differences, will offer implications for the broader conversation on women's involvement in peace building.

From Theory To Screen: Strain In The Gallagher Experience, Caroline H. Peabody

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper applies Agnew’s General Strain Theory to the hit television series Shameless (US), primarily focusing on three of the show’s central characters. The paper argues that the characters’ criminal and deviant actions can be attributed to strain, as defined by Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory (GST). The paper provides a basic overview of GST as well as a synopsis of the show before implementing the theory into an analysis of the show. In addition, this paper explores how criminality highlights the themes of Shameless and acts as an implicit call to action to address strain variables in underprivileged communities. …

Professional Mourning: Billie Holiday’S “Strange Fruit” And The Remaking Of Black Consciousness, Samuel Galen Ng

Africana Studies: Faculty Publications

This article examines the impact that Billie Holiday’s singing of “Strange Fruit” had on African American audiences from 1939 until Holiday’s death in 1959. It argues that Holiday’s performances embodied and induced a state of collective mourning by way of their politically strategic efforts to frame Black existence as a site of ongoing endangerment and corresponding fear. With carefully crafted, professional expertise, Holiday’s singing generated a feeling of shared vulnerability among her Black audiences and, furthermore, presented that feeling as the very foundation of Black being. Effecting its intended political work, her singing thus prompted some of these listeners to …

Grand Valley Magazine, Vol. 24, No 1, Fall 2024, Grand Valley State University

Grand Valley Magazine

Grand Valley Magazine is a quarterly publication about Grand Valley State University produced by University Communications since 2001.

Honoring The Other: The Imago Dei As A Foundational Doctrine For How The Church Treats The Marginalized, Brett A. Desper

Doctor of Ministry

The church struggles to minister to those on the margins of society, frequently dehumanizing those it ministers to. This dissertation argues that a starting point for addressing this issue is a renewal of the imago Dei doctrine as the foundation of what it means to be human. Chapter One defines the problem by referring to two primary problem areas: poverty and displaced people. A definition of poverty is offered, and four primary approaches to alleviate poverty are examined. Causes and definitions of displacement of people from their homes are offered, and some current relief methods are evaluated. Finally, a fundamental …

Digital Representations Of Slavery In Australia: Navigating Heritage, Identity And Power, Paul Longley Arthur, Isabel Smith

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The digitisation of exhibitions and collections has dramatically expanded access to and forms of cultural heritage, while also raising many questions around the power relations that underlie the production of this heritage. Whose heritage is being digitised, by whom, and for whom is it being recorded and represented? Such questions are especially pronounced in digital museum spaces facing issues of race and empire. Exhibitions on slavery in particular, which have proliferated across the globe since a 'slavery memory' boom in the late twentieth century and intersected with the digitisation of museums, underscore the tensions between contemporary politics, new forms of …

Chacahoula 2024, Vol 91, Alayna Pellegrin

Chacahoula

MERGING REALITIES:

The 2023 issue of Chacahoula includes December 2023 and May 2024 graduating classes, as well as stunning photography of Week of Welcome, Homecoming, Mardi Gras, and Spring Fever. With features covering notable students, faculty, and staff, this year's time capsule beautifully preserves an academic year in the life of the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

The Brand Identity Paradox: Connecting With New Gen Audiences At Greater Scale, Osinor Xavier Kakhu

Masters Theses

This research explores the importance of authenticity in modern marketing, particularly when targeting underrepresented audiences. By examining the challenges and opportunities presented by social media, emerging technologies, and audience preference studies, this paper argues that brands must go beyond surface-level diversity efforts and genuinely engage with diverse communities. Through case studies and theoretical frameworks, the research highlights the potential benefits of authentic marketing, including increased brand loyalty, market expansion, and positive societal impact.

Animation As Therapy For Mental Health Treatment Across Diverse Populations And Contexts, A Literature Review, Daneile Tabana

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Scientific research has explored and identified the beneficial relationship between health and creative expression, recognizing art therapy as a source of healing. Animation has been newly recognized as an art therapy medium with potential for therapeutic healing and increased psychological well-being. This review of the literature on animation therapy explores the history of the modality’s interaction with the population observed and the effects of animation on the cognitive processes, discusses current theoretical orientations and treatment options for treating a range of conditions that affect mood, thinking, and behavior with animation therapy, and considers culturally informed and client-centered practices alongside traditional …

Review Of Sermons On The Parables, Wendy L. Pohlhaus

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.