Digital Commons Network^™

Abstraction, Samuel Fisher

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

Entry for special issue, 'Keywords for Value and Culture'

Abolition, Seb B. Grossmann

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

Entry for special issue, 'Keywords for Value and Culture'

Introduction: Reading Marx, Thomas Waller, Sean O'Brien

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

Introduction for special issue, 'Keywords for Value and Culture'

Performing Nefertiti: Feminist Afterlives Across Museum, Digital, And Cosmetic Cultures, Zaryab Khan

Journal of Feminist Scholarship

This article examines the afterlives of Nefertiti’s bust as performances that stage the intersections of gender, empire, and visual culture. Moving beyond biographical reconstruction, it argues that the bust operates as a repertoire of performances continually re-scripted across cultural sites. Three case studies structure the analysis: the staging of Nefertiti in Berlin’s Neues Museum, which performs colonial possession and the aestheticization of feminine beauty; the digital intervention The Other Nefertiti (2015), which performs resistance through the circulation of unauthorized 3D scans; and the cosmetic “Nefertiti lift,” which performs the queen’s visage through contemporary bodies, inscribing antiquity as a template for …

Fixing Furiosa’S Feminism: Gender And Genre In Feminist Criticism Of Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), Maik Stanitzke

Journal of Feminist Scholarship

This article examines how the figure—or genre—of “woman” is produced and contested within the traditionally masculine action film through the critical reception of Mad Max: Fury Road. While debates over whether the film is feminist appear to center on representation, they reveal a deeper investment in stabilizing “woman” as a coherent political object. Drawing on feminist film theory, I argue that if the film seems nostalgic for a regenerative birth mother at a moment when sexual difference is reconfigured by queer and trans studies, feminist criticism’s investment in what Robyn Wiegman calls “the world-making stakes of identity knowledge” (2012, …

Introduction: Asexuality And Aromanticism In Tolkien's Works, Clare Moore, Rory Queripel

Journal of Tolkien Research

This article introduces this special issue focused on asexuality and aromanticism in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. It seeks to fill a gap in queer Tolkien studies by presenting multiple articles on asexualt/aromantic interpretations of Tolkien's work.

A History Of The Underground Comix Scene: The Seriousness Of An Unserious Genre, Harris Darcie Shugart

Master's Theses

The Underground Comix Scene of the 1960s and 1970s was born out of an age of censorship. The Comics Code Authority, a regulatory body created by the Comics Magazine Association of America in 1954, established guidelines requiring publishing houses to self-regulate following a recommendation from the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency in 1953. Comix with an X, for their X-rated nature, represent an emerging counter-culture in the latter half of the 1960s and the 1970s, with an epicenter of San Francisco. These comix and their artists were not interested in obtaining the looming ‘Seal of Approval’ from the …

A Twilight World Of Unspeakable Horror: Lesbian Camp And The Vampire Lovers (1970), Mirielle Lemay

University Honors Theses

From the late 1960s through the early 1970s, a wave of lesbian vampire themed exploitation films proliferated through UK, US, and Western European cinemas. In critical literature on this subgenre, camp reading is often dismissed, unacknowledged, or understood as circumscribed by authorial intent and/or intended audience. With this alternating lack of attention to and dismissal of camp, the interpretive agency of the queer spectator is constrained, their spectatorship implicitly subordinated to that of the "conventional" horror audience—the voyeuristic-sadistic male spectator. Through a reading of The Vampire Lovers, a 1970 British production from Hammer Studios, I seek to explore how …

Entre La Magia Y La Carga: Género, Trauma Y Otredad En Encanto, Sergio García Cabezas, Ángel Serrano Valverde

GDI. Revista de investigación de Género, Diseño e Innovación

Este artículo analiza la película Encanto (Disney, 2021) desde una perspectiva de género, memoria y representación, con el objetivo de desentrañar cómo los personajes femeninos encarnan presiones sociales y culturales que trascienden la narrativa fantástica. A partir de un enfoque cualitativo basado en el análisis narrativo y semiótico, se examinan cuatro figuras centrales: Luisa, como metáfora de la sobrecarga física y emocional; Isabela, como encarnación de la prisión de la perfección estética; Mirabel, como representación de la invisibilización y la otredad; y Abuela Alma, como símbolo de la transmisión transgeneracional del trauma. Junto a ellas, los principales símbolos de la …

Old Crimes, New Eyes: Recent Findings From The Scottish Witch Hunts, Carol Lee Campbell

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

^Abstract

^{Most discussions about the Scottish witch trials have been shrouded in a category of superstition, primarily from historians postulating from the era of the Enlightenment one hundred years afterward. Some have distanced themselves from the witch hunts by universalizing the cases within a monolithic framework. But the data shows that the Scottish witch “panic” was disproportionately more intense than other hunts in Early Modern Europe and England.}

^{In the last generation, however, scholars utilizing interdisciplinary approaches have revisited trial records and their supporting documents- such as confessions and testimonies - which appear to reveal more than just trial outcomes. …}

Tùn-Scene And A-Futurism: Biomythography, Opacity, And Posthuman Imagination, Minglu Du

Masters Theses

Grounded in the author’s position as a Chinese feminist, this thesis examines how East Asian women, as well as East Asian-coded femininity more broadly, are objectified and othered within futurist visual culture in the age of artificial intelligence. Through an engagement with ornamentalism, techno-Orientalism, and posthumanism1 , it argues that the persistent figure of the feminized humanoid cyborg continues to reproduce colonial and patriarchal structures of desire, rendering marginalized bodies as fetishized and violable surfaces. In response, the thesis develops Tùn-Scene, a biomythographic artistic framework and the first experiment in what the author provisionally names A-Futurism. Drawing on Donna Haraway’s …

Menstrual Muses: Art, Storytelling, And The Care-Based Communication Of Menstrual Justice, Burcu Koleli

Masters Theses

Menstrual Muses is an artistic research project comprising a written thesis and a body of work developed across soft sculpture, ceramics, illustration, graphic memoir, digital media, and participatory workshops. The written component operates alongside the studio practice, outlining the project’s theoretical framework, methodology, and context while engaging questions of communication, accessibility, embodiment, and stigma. It situates menstruation within feminist discourse, examining how it has been culturally silenced, regulated, and shaped through systems of power.

The artistic work functions as research materialized through practice, responding to the central question of how my art can facilitate conversations around menstrual justice. It explores …

Reimagining The Shōjo Across Cultures: Gender Performativity, Cosplay, And Self-Presentation Of Indian Women In Digital Space, Ashonshok Kachui, Samyukthah Anandhasayanam

Journal of International Women's Studies

The image of the shōjo (adolescent girl) in Japanese popular culture has long functioned as a dynamic site for negotiating gender identity and the divide between vulnerable innocence and empowerment. Anime and manga have historically provided evolving portrayals of adolescent girl and young woman characters who have embodied subversive potential while also being constrained by idealised notions of girlhood. This paper extends the discourse on the shōjo by situating it within the Indian digital landscape, where anime fandom, cosplay culture, and social media platforms are reshaping self-presentation and gender performance among young girls and women. Grounded in feminist theoretical perspectives, …

What Shapes Maternal Well-Being? A Feminist Conceptualization Using Walker And Avant’S (2019) Concept Analysis Framework, Huyen Thi-Thanh Nguyen, Van H. Le, Keiichi Ogawa, Manh T. Ta

Journal of International Women's Studies

Despite extensive scholarship on maternal well-being, the concept remains theoretically underdeveloped and lacks a coherent interdisciplinary definition. This study uses Walker and Avant’s (2019) concept analysis framework to clarify maternal well-being as a feminist, role-anchored construct. We conducted a systematic review of literature in PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar from 2005 to 2025, focusing on studies of married mothers who had given birth to and were raising at least one child. Through content analysis, we identified three defining attributes: (1) vitality and positive affect; (2) life satisfaction and meaning grounded in autonomy and competence within the maternal role; …

Girls On Screens And Boys In The Streets: Afrobeats Dance, Gender, And Waithood In Lagos, Nigeria, Gali Kinkulkin, Moshe Morad, Lynn Schler

Journal of International Women's Studies

The global success of the musical genre of Afrobeats has generated substantial scholarly interest in the experiences of singers and musicians within the industry. Scholars of this genre have examined an array of topics, including cultural identity, gender disparities, socioeconomic impact, and the global music industry. However, few studies focus on the experiences of Afro dancers despite the critical role of dance in the genre’s international popularity; those that do centralise dance concentrate primarily on how women dancers navigate an industry that both empowers and objectifies women. This study departs from these earlier studies by examining the lived experiences of …

Special Issue Editors’ Introduction: 11th World Conference On Women’S Studies, Jyoti Rupa Deka, Jaypee S. Yongco, Noma Mguni

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

From Beirut To Montreal, En-Camp-Ment-S On The Fringes Of Society, But What Society, Soñar Soñar

Gatherings

This text is a prose that retraces my experience as a researcher and activist in three camps, between April 2024 and July 2024 : the Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, Bourj El Barajne, and the pro-Palestine encampments in Montreal, Al-Aqsa and Al-Soumoud. The text is a continuation of writings of different genres, particularly creative, which relate facts and lived experiences around liberation struggles. This writing constitutes “a method of inquiry”, “a way of “knowing” – a method of discovery and analysis. By writing in different ways, we discover new aspects of our topic and our relationship to it” (Richardson 516).

Against Genocide: Feminist Dissent, Palestine Solidarity, And The Neoliberal University, Azza Basarudin, Sabrina Alimahomed-Wilson, Araceli Esparza

Gatherings

In the context of the increasing nationwide repression of free speech and academic freedom, this article emerges from the collective scholarly and activist commitments of three women of color feminist faculty teaching at a large public university. Amidst our participation in anti-genocide organizing, we have been targeted by our university’s administration for our critiques of settler-colonial and genocidal violence in Palestine. Our intervention foregrounds an anti-war feminist ethic that insists on integrity and justice in confronting the university administration’s power to discipline faculty dissent, as well as our support for students’ political activism. Within this repressive context, we articulate a …

Nonbinary And Transgender Representation In Media: How Scripted Media Impacts And Shapes The Identities Of Communities Outside The Gender Binary, Makenna Dykstra

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The lack of, and otherwise poor, representation of nonbinary and trans communities contributes to the societal othering of these communities. However, nonbinary and trans representation holds importance to these communities. Trans and nonbinary communities, like other communities, use media to help them negotiate their identities (Hall, 2005). However, current representation in scripted television is small and contentious, with the ability to have just as much of a negative impact as a positive one. LGBTQ+ television has a history of favoring moderate depictions of queerness, like that in nonbinary and trans characters, as a means of defining these identities to cisgender …

Féminicide: Institutional Silence On The Screams Of Murdered Women In France, M. Afif Alfadin Syarif, Airin Miranda

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Rising awareness of women's homicide in France has challenged the government to provide an adequate legal response, as feminist groups began advocating and expressing the discourse on women's homicide since 2014 through the term féminicide. The nature of this crime remains contentious in legal discourse, particularly given the significant rise in féminicide cases in 2019. This study, therefore, aims to examine the phenomenon of féminicide in France, exploring both the discourse surrounding it and the legal responses from the government. Drawing on 46 cases recorded in 2023 by the feminist collective #NousToutes, and with particular attention to relevant legal …

Review: Misrecognitions: Plotting Capital In The Victorian Novel By Ben Parker, Suvij Sudershan

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

Review: The Poetics Of Science: Marx’S Literary Style By Ludovico Silva, Thomas A. Laughlin

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

Review: The Persistence Of Realism In Modernist Fiction By Paul Stasi, Chris Gortmaker

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

Cultural Negotiations In Revisionist Mythmaking: Comparative Reading Of Bahram Beyzaei And Mary Zimmerman, Sepehr Karimi Mr., Bahee Hadaegh

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

 Although more than fifty years have passed since feminist scholars pioneered revisionist mythmaking, drama remains underexplored in this field despite its unique potential for cultural and social reinterpretation. This study offers a comparative analysis of revisionist mythmaking in Iranian and American drama, specifically examining Bahram Beyzaei’s play, One Thousand and First Night alongside Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses as examples. This research aims to establish general principles for revisionist mythmaking within drama, spotlighting the complexities that emerge in transnational contexts. It explores how Beyzaei and Zimmerman negotiate cultural narratives and try to reshape traditional stories and reflect contemporary issues, emphasizing gender dynamics …

Between Revolutions: The Leftist Reception Of American Literature In Iran (1905-1979), Behnam Mirzababazadeh Fomeshi

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

This paper examines the reception of American literature in Iran during the period between the Persian Constitutional Revolution (1905–1911) and the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Divided into four distinct phases (1905–1922, 1922–1941, 1941–1953, and 1953–1979), this study explores how political and ideological dynamics shaped the interpretation and translation of American literary works. Central to this reception was its inherently political nature, driven by the dominance of leftist ideologies within Iran’s intellectual landscape. The influence of the Tūdih Party and other leftist movements profoundly impacted the ways American literature, particularly the works of Walt Whitman, was translated, interpreted, and disseminated. By …

Christian Motifs In Forough Farrokhzad’S Works: A Comparison With T.S. Eliot’S Poetry, Mona Monsefi

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

Forough Farrokhzad’s (1934–1967) film The House is Black (1962) is a visual poem set in a leprosarium in Iran. Farrokhzad was a prominent modernist poet who merged poetry with contemporary art forms, primarily cinema. In this film, she employed a camera to express her poetic vision, highlighting her signature style that prioritizes unique imagery. This emphasis on visual and literary images is often intertwined with themes such as religion. Notably, Farrokhzad recomposed verses from the Old Testament, infusing them with her poetic language to enrich the film’s narrative. This article explores her unique, Western-influenced interpretation of Christian motifs in …

Vision And “Sur-Vision”: Intermediality And Alterity In The Frames Of Abbas Kiarostami, Marjan Mohammadi

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

Abbas Kiarostami’s cinema, often compared to Italian neorealism, oscillates between documentation and fiction. Kiarostami’s worlds, replete with a complex network of incomplete and self-reflexive frames, create a new site for perception, reflection, and intervention. This paper studies the intermedial aspect of Kiarostami’s cinema in “The Koker Trilogy” (1987; 1992; 1994), Close-Up (1990), and “Taste of Cherry” (1997). It explores how these moving images are shaped by the specific context of Iranian cinema and how they turn to reshape it. First, it examines Kiarostami’s framing techniques, which expand Iranian cinema and its engagement with Western visual conventions. …

Memory And Identity: A Comparative Analysis Of “Iranian Cultural Identity” In Asghar Farhadi’S Adaptation Of Arthur Miller’S Death Of A Salesman, Raed Faridzadeh

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

Recent cultural studies examine the intersection of cultural identity and memory, often viewing culture as a symbolic sign system or "culture as text." Jan Assmann defines "cultural memory" as essential to shaping societal identity. Literature and film contribute to this process by transmitting and evolving cultural meanings, not only reflecting but also constructing knowledge and reality. Iranian cinema has become a powerful medium of cultural expression, particularly post-revolution. Filmmakers like Abbas Kiarostami, Sohrab Shahid Sales, Dariush Mehrjui, and Asghar Farhadi explore the dynamic relationship between literature and film in shaping cultural memory. This article analyzes Asghar Farhadi’s adaptation of Death …

Willy Loman’S Desperate Affair Challenges The Iranian Censorship: Asghar Farhadi’S The Salesman, Adineh Khojastehpour

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

This study examines resistance in cross-cultural adaptations, focusing on Asghar Farhadi's The Salesman (2016), an adaptation of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949). This research investigates how Farhadi's rewriting of Miller's play within post-revolutionary Iran engages in a dialogue with the Islamic Republic and its dominant discourses. It explores how this adaptation addresses Iran's social, cultural, and ideological complexities by reframing Miller's narrative of 1950s societal change and the failure of the American Dream within the context of post-revolutionary Iran. This analysis uses Bakhtin's concept of the chronotope to reveal how The Salesman uses Miller's unique concept of a …

Cineture: The Trans(Inter)Mediality And Socio-Cultural Mobility Between Iran And The Us, Naghmeh Esmaeilpour

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

Literature and film have proven to be influential socio-cultural mediums, facilitating interactions and counteractions between nations where politics often fail to do so. Introducing cineture as a transmedial genre, this article is situated at the intersections of glocalized culture, and Iranian-American studies by considering literature and film as the contact zone between Iranians and Americans. Cineture, the combination of cinema and literature, refers to the circulation of cultures through its specification of film-text transmediation. The application of cineture demonstrates the combination and blending of literary and cinematic works leading to cross the “center and periphery dichotomy.” To study cineture …