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Grieving And Attentiveness: Perception As Flourishing In Ocean Vuong And Mary Oliver, Madison Smith

Papers

The paper argues that poets Ocean Vuong and Mary Oliver treat grief as something formative to one's life and character rather than purely destructive; through their suffering, the subject has the opportunity to cultivate a sense of attentiveness that transforms perceptions of the self, others, history, and the natural world.

This project was an output for The Belmont Formation Scholars Cohort for Character Research and Writing, which received generous support funding from The Kern Family Foundation.

I gratefully acknowledge peer review feedback on this project, and I am accountable for writing of this product without generative AI and in alignment …

Postmodern Fantasy & Its Twin Traditions, Skyler J. Alexander

Honors Thesis

Fantasy literature is diverse and difficult to categorize; nevertheless, throughout the twentieth century two main subgenres emerged: sword-and-sorcery and high fantasy. This thesis examines the differences and similarities between these two traditions, how contemporary examples of the genre fit into or diverge away from the traditions that influenced them, and proves in the negative what and how much of contemporary fantasy fiction is original to itself, with no prominent antecedent. The analysis was performed by comparatively reading two contemporary fantasy novels, The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan and A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, with …

A Poetic Call For And A Reflection And Commentary On Clarity, Understanding, Hope, Courage, And Compassion, Carroy U. Ferguson

Psychology Faculty Publication Series

Finding a published poem I had written as a teenager, titled “The Heavens Weep.” this article uses that poem as the basis for a commentary that reflects on the state of the world today (2026),  As a commentary, the article uses the poetic and metaphoric words in the poem as a relevant "reality check" for what is still going on today.  In essence, the commentary is about a call for Clarity, Understanding, Hope, Courage, and Compassion, or what I call Archetypal Energies, Higher Vibrational Energies that operate deep within our individual and collective psyches to creatively urge us to "see" …

Rhetorics Of The Lost Cause Myth And Its Lingering Hegemony In The South, Frances Chapman

All Dissertations

The Lost Cause of the Confederacy is a myth that is steeped in the consciousness of many white Southerners. For about one hundred years, it was taught in public schools in the South using curricula devised by the United Daughters of the Confederacy with the goal of keeping the Confederate cause alive and visible. The myth dates back to the end of the Civil War in 1865. Basically, it says that the Civil War was not fought about slavery but about states’ rights, and that the South’s cause was just. It believes wholeheartedly in white supremacy.

Generations of people have …

From Margins To Center: Los Deslenguados In The Borderlands, Brissa S. Porras Villalobos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Borderland literature is a subgenre that often includes narratives of migration, tribulations, identity development, and resilience. It foregrounds the collaboration of vulnerability, isolation, connection, and power, showing that hybridity is a source of cultural energy. Acknowledging the borderland and its culture is crucial because it challenges stereotypes, validates marginalized voices, and celebrates heritage in all its complexity. By centering these experiences, borderland literature affirms the potential of living between cultures, prioritizing the recognition of the in-between, valuing and celebrating the space where identities are continually reshaped, histories are reclaimed, and resilience is nurtured rather than neglected. Using Gloria Anzaldúa's theory …

Dragon Heart, Elizabeth Brown

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A young adult fantasy novel centered around dragons and dragon hunters that takes place in a fantasy version of our modern world. The novel follows three narrators on different sides of the conflict as they navigate a world full of prejudice and war.

The Indonesian Conjunction Dan ‘And’ And Its Chinese Correspondences: A Corpus-Based Approach To Syntactic And Register Variation, Hatmi Idris

International Review of Humanities Studies

This study examines how the Indonesian conjunction dan ‘and’ is rendered in Chinese across syntactic units using a corpus-based contrastive approach. Focusing on children’s books, classic novels, and online news, it analyzes coordination at word, phrase, and clause level from a syntactic and register perspective. Findings show that dan ‘and’ does not correspond to a single Chinese form. At the word and phrase level, nominal coordination employs hé (和) ‘and’, yǔ (与) ‘and’, and yǐjí (以及) ‘as well as’ , with formal news discourse favoring yǔ (与) ‘and’ and yǐjí (以及) ‘as well as’. In verbal coordination, bìng (并) ‘furthermore’ …

Persuasive Strategies In Umrah Marketing On Social Media: A Comparative Study Of Arabic And Indonesian, Stevania C. Asahri

International Review of Humanities Studies

This study examines persuasive strategies in Arabic- and Indonesian-language Umrah marketing flyers circulated on social media. As public interest in Umrah continues to grow, travel agencies increasingly rely on digital platforms not only to promote travel packages but also to construct spiritual appeal, religious credibility, and consumer trust. This study therefore aims to analyze how spiritual imagery is constructed, how rhetorical and pragmatic persuasive strategies are used, and how persuasive patterns differ between Arabic- and Indonesian-language Umrah marketing flyers. The study adopts a qualitative-dominant convergent parallel mixed-methods design. The qualitative analysis is based on Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), integrated …

Hairdressing Service Request In Japanese, Kirana Insyafira Rafa, Filia Filia Dr.

International Review of Humanities Studies

This study aims to explain the request for hairdressing services in Japanese beauty salon, focusing on the use of verbal and nonverbal markers. This study use descriptive qualitative design. The data source consists of video conversations between clients and hairstylist on the NARIKYO channel on YouTube. The results of analysis revealed 128 request data through two strategies, such as 77 verbal and 51 nonverbal. Verbally, desiderative forms (such as -tai and -hoshii) with 33 data, followed by declarative forms (such as -ga ii, omakase de, unfinished tense) with 17 data and embedded forms (such as -you na, -mitai na, -hou …

Onomatopoeia In The Digital Comic The Wormworld Saga (2010), Nur Kholidah, Julia Wulandari

International Review of Humanities Studies

This study examines the forms and meanings of onomatopoeia derived from concrete sounds in the digital comic The Wormworld Saga. The study aims to explore the use of onomatopoeia in The Wormworld Saga and to describe its forms and meanings using a descriptive qualitative method. This study analyzes the forms of onomatopoeia based on the categories proposed by Gross (1988) and analyzes their meanings based on the classification proposed by Körtvélyessy and Štekauer (2024). The results show that there are 54 onomatopoeia classified as concrete sounds. In terms of form, the most common onomatopoeia are non-word forms, accounting for 41 …

Constructing Geisha Representation: Textual Analysis Of Memoirs Of A Geisha On Social Media X, Khadijah Hamumpuni Setyawan, Rouli Esther Pasaribu

International Review of Humanities Studies

Geisha are professional entertainers who have mastered Japanese traditional arts and often appear in various media covering Japanese culture. However, there are frequent misunderstandings about geisha outside Japan. The release of the Japanese-produced film Shogun has sparked discussions about older films from the west that are set in Japan, such as Memoirs of a Geisha. This study aims to analyze the representation of geisha in Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) and how that representation is constructed and reinterpreted by Japanese and Western audiences through the social media platform X. Using textual analysis, this study examines the movie as a cultural …

Women’S Experience In Digital Literature As A Form Of Resistance Against Patriarchy, Tazkia Maula Azzari, Mina Elfira

International Review of Humanities Studies

This paper aims to shed light on an emerging type of digital literature on X that acts as a medium for women to express their struggle and feelings in a patriarchal society. This new form of digital literature is novel for it has been popularized on X in the past few years, therefore there is much to explore regarding this field. In particular, this paper will look into how this new form of literature is being used by women to express their resistance against patriarchy on the digital sphere. The qualitative method with a feminist approach was used in this …

Creating Dynamic Protagonists: An Examination Of Character Development Within Book To Film Adaptations, Matthew Chisholm

Masters Theses

The following thesis proposal seeks to provide the process, reasoning, and vision for my thesis project, “Between the Tracks”. This project both begins and ends with character. What began as an experiment into character creation, has become both a critical analysis of character development techniques, and a creative work where I use the findings from this analysis to create a character-driven screenplay.

First, my artist’s statement will begin by describing my vision and inspiration for this project. I will then delve into my writing process in regards to both the critical paper and the creative piece of the project. I …

The Book Of Old, Sarah Booth

Masters Theses

This thesis explores how fantasy and fantasy-related screenplays externalize the conflict between characters' desires (external goals) and their needs (internal transformation) through surreal imagery, symbolic worlds, and narrative design. While traditional screenwriting mainly emphasizes the difference between what a character wants and what they need, fantasy uniquely makes this tension visible by turning psychological struggles into physical settings, creatures, and story challenges. Through close analysis of Spirited Away (2001), Pan's Labyrinth (2010, and Black Swan (2006), this thesis argues that fantasy cinema not only portrays character transformation but also renders it materially and visually, translating the abstract tension between desire …

The Truths Beneath The Story: Internal Conflict, Catharsis, And Psychological Allegory As The Catalyst For Transformation In Screenwriting, Heather Bixler

Masters Theses

The Tour is a psychological coming-of-age screenplay that constructs meaning through the interaction of the main character's internal contradictions, resulting in an emotionally and structurally driven transformation. The screenplay is an original feature-length screenplay that follows Claudia, a 17-year-old girl who finds herself in the Unknown World. There she meets The Heartmaker and discovers her heart is missing. She journeys to Pineville, a town that mirrors her life back home, where her late father is still alive, and the townspeople reflect hidden truths of those she loves. The Tour is a coming-of-age psychological drama with allegorical dimensions. The script explores …

Shattered Glass: Finding Anna In The Brokenness, Tracy A. Scoville

Masters Theses

This thesis began years ago when I started a novel about a woman that suffered with a mental illness. The story grew into part of a novel. Within the artist’s statement, I present a view of mental illness that I filter through my own experiences. I examine Anna’s struggles with how she thinks, acts and processes stress through a lens of bipolar II disorder. The critical paper examines the importance of dialogue and the need for it to fit the individual characters. The story of Anna, with the use of good dialogue, comes to life in the creative manuscript Shattered …

Constructing Authority: Narrative Craft And The Making Of Meaning In Creative Nonfiction, Lindsay Erin Hickman

Masters Theses

What is this world without stories? Without truth and the sharing of knowledge for those that come after us? As a Christian, I see the Bible as the most influential narrative in my life and imagination. The Bible is filled with facts, lists and information we can verify, but that does not make it any less creative. How can one read the Bible and not see God’s creativity not only in creation, but in every word? Psalms 139: 13-15 states, “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I …

Vibe Coding: Ai, Digital Text Recycling, And The Remediation Of Digital Poetry, Yohanna Joseph Waliya

ELO (un)supervised 2026

This paper theorises Vibe Coding as a novel method of AI-assisted creative practice within electronic literature. Vibe Coding describes an affective mode of communication with AI that enables coding via natural-language prompts, in which the author collaborates with generative AI systems to recycle, remediate, and reconfigure existing digital texts into new poetic forms, including interactive animations. Rather than treating code as a fixed procedural logic, Vibe Coding focuses on rhythm, intuition, and affect as central compositional forces shaping both textual production and computational interaction. Relying on theories of remediation, digital recycling, and posthuman authorship, the paper examines how AI functions …

Compressed Cinema As A Study In Llm Latent Spaces, Mallen Clifton

ELO (un)supervised 2026

In his article “Spec Acts” (2021), Matthew Kirschenbaum analyzes the AI-generated novel 1 the Road to develop his titular concept of the spec act, “the future in its multitudes collapsing into an actionable present.” With the proliferation of texts produced by generative AI and subsequent critical analyses of them, one element in particular calls for further theorization: “the future in its multitudes,” or more directly, the latent space. This echoes arguments by critics such as Antonio Somaini, who offered his own “Theory of Latent Spaces” last year. However, where Somaini’s attention is towards visual culture, I turn mine to the …

(Un)Easily Writing The Future, Stuart Moulthrop, Judith Pintar, John G. Mcdaid

ELO (un)supervised 2026

General Abstract: This panel brings together three experienced digital writers who have recently begun to explore Language Models and transformers in creative and academic practice.  Each of us will comment on recent experience and projects, reflecting on how these technologies alter the way we think of ourselves as writers and teachers.

[1] Judith Pintar, "The Non-applicability of Wishing due to Lack of Capacity".

Pintar will discuss her experience of facilitating Gemini AI in a Rogerian therapy session with an Eliza bot written in the Inform programming language. The session is occasionally interrupted with a meta-conversation with Gemini regarding its responses. …

Singulars: Performing The Reverse Turing Test, Halim Madi

ELO (un)supervised 2026

Singulars is an ongoing series of performance systems in which I co-create poetry with a language model trained on an anthology of English poetry alongside my own writing. Across three works—carnation.exe, versus.exe, and reinforcement.exe—I stage live reinforcement loops in which my poems and the model’s responses compete for audience votes. The audience functions as an embodied feedback mechanism, shaping the evolution of both the machine and the human poet in real time.

This paper examines what happens when a poet becomes both author and training data. Drawing from creativity research, metacognition, and social cognition, I reflect …

Acknowledgements

Calliope

No abstract provided.

Poe (The Crow), Josephina Wieczoreck-Bettendorf

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

Scary Stories, Liv Schlosser

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

Envy Of Butterflies, Rachel Held

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

In Light Of One-Act, Anna Unser

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

Wasabi, Caius Buran

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

Revelations On The Living Room Couch, Josephina Wieczorek-Bettendorf

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

Remembering Klaipeda, Anna Unser

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.

Some Truth, Audrey Tumberg

Floodwall Magazine

No abstract provided.