Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Art Exhibition Of Metals And Fabric, Heather Nguyen

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Heather Nguyen is an undergraduate senior majoring in 3D media and Material Studies. They will be exhibiting two artworks made of metal and fabric.

Two Wrestlers: An Unrealized Herculean Pendant To Michelangelo’S David, Theodore Mayberry

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Following the completion of Michelangelo’s David 1504, Gonfalonier Piero Soderini presented the emerging Florentine artist with a proposal for a second statue on behalf of Florence’s government: a statue of Hercules to stand alongside the David at the entrance of the Palazzo Vecchio. Michelangelo readily accepted, however the commission never came to be; what remains of Michelangelo’s vision for the Herculean pendant now resides in the Casa Buonarroti Museum of Florence: a rough terracotta model of Hercules and Cacus. Upon review of the scholarship documenting Michelangelo’s unrealized Hercules as well as his David, an intriguing pattern can be observed …

History Of The Interstate System In Indiana, Steven Wuertz

Purdue Road School

A brief history of the Interstate System in Indiana and across the Nation— 1956–2026: 70 years of the Interstate System

Documenting For Success: A Case Study Of A Graduate Writing Retreat, Elliott Rose, Denise Wetzel, Sara C. Kern, Katie O'Hara-Krebs, Laurin Davis, Salah Seoudi, Carmen Cole

Transforming Libraries for Graduate Students

Graduate students often find themselves balancing the demands of research and writing while managing complex academic and personal needs. Writing retreats provide an intentional space for graduate students to focus on their academic goals while supporting community-building, institutional belonging, and a welcoming environment. This proposal outlines a model for academic librarians and staff to plan and implement an effective graduate writing retreat designed to support graduate student academic activities through intentional collaboration and documentation.

Penn State University’s (PSU) Graduate Student Writing Retreat started as an event housed within the University Library’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) department. The retreat …

Écrire Pour Résister : La Littérature Francophone En Algérie Face Aux Enjeux Politiques Contemporains, Chiraz Amani

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

Cette communication propose d’interroger le rôle de la littérature francophone en Algérie dans le contexte politique, social et mémoriel du XXIᵉ siècle, à travers l’analyse d’œuvres contemporaines de Hind Soyer, Kamel Daoud, Kaouther Adimi et Samir Toumi. À rebours des discours annonçant l’obsolescence des études littéraires, ces textes montrent que la littérature demeure un espace privilégié de réflexion critique, de résistance symbolique et de mise en récit des tensions qui traversent la société algérienne contemporaine.

Dans des genres variés — autofiction, roman historique, fiction politique ou récit mémoriel — ces auteurs interrogent les héritages de la colonisation, les impensés de …

Gastrocritical Reading Questions: A Tool For Bridging The Interdisciplinary Gap Between Food Studies And Literary Studies, Anke Klitzing

Women+ in Early Career Research Symposium

Interdisciplinary work is increasingly valued in academia but carries intrinsic challenges, among them cross-disciplinary communication and jargon; disciplinary socialisation regarding the creation and transmission of knowledge; lack of a common foundation of knowledge or canon; lack of epistemological self-awareness; and the question of how to train scholars in the interdisciplinary space. Food Studies is an interdisciplinary field, examining food in society from various angles, including history, sociology, anthropology and folklore studies. Most scholars active in Food Studies have joined the field from their respective disciplines; however, there are also a small number of graduate programmes situated squarely in the interdisciplinary …

Transcending Postcolonial Boundaries In Tierno Monénembo’S Saharienne Indigo, Aviana R. San Souci

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

Tierno Monénembo’s Saharienne Indigo tells the life story of Véronique, a woman from Guinea with a past of violence and loss, told through her interactions with the annoying and persistent Frenchwoman madame Corre. Despite these two women’s opposing affiliations with a colonized country and the one that colonized them, the two develop a close friendship throughout the book. Theirs is a relationship that defies the claims laid out in Aimé Césaire's Discours sur le colonialisme that between the colonizer and the colonized, there is only space for negative sentiments and violent actions- never sympathy. The bond between Véronique and madame …

Beyond The Sayable: Wittgenstein, Theory Of Mind And Affective Simulation Of Llms, Haomiaomiao Wang, Lili Zhang, Tomás E. Ward

Women+ in Early Career Research Symposium

Wittgenstein’s distinction between what can be said and what can only be shown frames a limit of propositional language. Affect and aesthetic are not primarily matters of correct description but of how expressions function within shared forms of life. Large language models (LLMs), however, increasingly produce fluent language that resembles such understanding by reproducing the patterns through which people ordinarily talk about emotion and perspective.

This paper argues that apparent Theory of Mind (ToM) in LLMs is understood as competence in the publicly shared patterns of mental-state language, rather than as grounded understanding. Using abstract artworks, we show that LLMs …

The Narrative Voice And The Fragmented Self In Black Skin White Masks, Emmanuella Abaidoo Kwarteng

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

No abstract provided.

Libération Educative À Travers La Poésie Africaine Francophone: Les Contributions Pédagogiques De David Diop Et De Léopold Sédar Senghor, Stanley Ugochukwu Dibiah

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

Cet article met en avant l'impact transformateur de la poésie africaine francophone dans la reconstruction de l'éducation postcoloniale et l'encouragement d'un changement sociétal durable. Suite à la période coloniale, la poésie en Afrique francophone est apparue non seulement comme une expression artistique, mais aussi comme un outil puissant pour redécouvrir l'identité, la langue et l'histoire. Bien que les aspects culturels et politiques de la littérature postcoloniale aient attiré une attention académique significative, son utilisation dans l'éducation reste encore insuffisamment exploitée. Cette recherche examine comment les œuvres poétiques de David Diop et de Léopold Sédar Senghor peuvent être employées comme des …

Simulating Rewriting Style: Algorithmic Reproduction Of Camus’S Literary Voice In Machine-Generated Texts, Peter Akongfeh Agwu Ph.D

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

Virtual Presentation

La Satire, Un Outil Pour La Conscience Sociale : Le Rôle Public De La Littérature Aujourd'hui, Arshdeep Kaur

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

No abstract provided.

The Enduring Need For Literature: Cognitive Benefits And The Prospect Of Its Disappearance, Imane Labiad

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

One would think that defending the usefulness of teaching literature in schools and universities should no longer be a matter of debate. However, with the emergence of new media and technologies such as AI, this discussion resurfaces. This presentation argues that literature will not disappear from educational settings for two main reasons: the scientific evidence demonstrating its impact, and a fictional scenario that warns against its extinction. Numerous empirical studies have shown the wide range of benefits literature has fostered for centuries. One significant finding concerns the persuasive power of fiction reading (Braddock & Dillard, 2016). Research demonstrates that through …

Survive Or Perish: Violence As A Survival Strategy For Abandoned Youth In Mayotte In Natacha Appanah’S Tropique De La Violence., Lydia Gyamfi

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

No abstract provided.

1990s Alt Music Slang And Socioeconomic Precarity In Despentes’ "Vernon Subutex" Series, Daniel J. Lightfoot

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

In a time of widespread cynicism and disillusionment with the political and economic status quo in France, how can literature give a voice to those discontents while inspiring hope? My contribution will explore Virginie Despentes’ use of slang from 1990s French alternative music subcultures in her narrative depictions of contemporary economic precarity and social alienation in the Vernon Subutex series (2015-17). I will discuss how Despentes uses French slang to establish a distance between economically marginalized characters and more affluent Parisians, highlighting how the former draw on vocabulary from Anglophone indie rock and hip-hop subcultures as an expression of a …

Adapting Identities: Multimodal Expressions Of African Women’S Agency In Francophone Film​, Alicia M. Hilaire

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

No abstract provided.

Why The Film Was Banned And Its Significance During The Colonial Era And Aftermath, Sawel Awuni

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

This paper examines the usefulness of film according to the figure widely known as the father of African cinema, Ousmane Sembène. In 2008, Annett Busch and Max Annas published an edited volume of Sembène’s interviews titled Ousmane Sembène: Interviews, which compiles a wide range of conversations conducted with him during his lifetime. This compilation offers insights into his films and the stories surrounding each production. Drawing on this collection, this presentation aims to highlight the significance of film during the twentieth century, the reasons why certain films were banned, and what Sembène believed should be the purpose of filmmaking.

This …

On Literature And Inclination, Maria Laura Cucciniello

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

I would like to discuss how literature can serve as an antidote to self-isolation and how it functions as a means to create relationships between humans, thereby providing meaning for life itself. To address this topic, one could recall Judith Butler’s reinterpretation of Adriana Cavarero’s theory of inclination (2021: 46-62). In the philosophical field of ontology, inclination works as an illustration of two different ways of existing: inclined and vertical. Both positionalities correspond to two different ontologies, namely one of caring and one of self-sufficiency. As interesting as the philosophical instances brought by Cavarero and Butler are per se …

“The Written Word, What For? Exploring Genre As Written Memory And Connection Over Time”, Hallie-Blair Quatro

Department of French Studies Graduate Student Association Conference

Why is it so important to continue reading modern and contemporary French and Francophone literature? And what does this mean for a real relationship between author and reader that can grow and change over time? Through the literary analysis of two contemporary French novels-- Maryse Condé’s Tales from the Heart: True Stories from My Childhood (1999) and Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter (1979)—I demonstrate how it is each author’s use of mixed genre that allows for a connection of author to reader, but also reader to self. In each work, this mixed genre can become a generative, reconciliatory space …

Locke-Ing And Un-Locke-Ing The Declaration Of Independence: An Introduction To Jefferson’S Philosophy Of Revolution, Lynn Uzzell, T.C. Le, Julia Van Geest

Day of Scholarship

Locke-ing and Un-Locke-ing the Declaration of Independence is a book project completed by Politics Professor Lynn Uzzell and two of her former students; it was generously funded by Bethel University’s Edgren Grant for faculty-student collaboration. The book provides an introduction to Jefferson’s philosophy of revolution, with a special focus on its connections to Locke’s writing in his Second Treatise. Each chapter tackles just one line from the second paragraph of the Declaration. The book’s examination of 14 discrete claims within the Declaration, along with a deleted 15th section, demonstrates that the Declaration is heavily indebted to the Second Treatise but …

Prediction Of Methane Gas By Using Hyperspectral Imageries And Remote Sensing Techniques, Aysha Ali Alharmasi Alhajeri

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Greenhouse gases is important for sustaining life on earth as well as in mitigating climate change. Methane (CH4) is considered as one of the most important critical gases for the global climate change and have significant influences on our life. Accordingly, the prediction of this greenhouse gas emissions is very important for avoiding the climate change effects and to maintain environmental sustainability. The objective of this study is to explore the potential applications for remote sensing to predict methane levels in the Earth’s atmosphere with a combination of local ground data and data from hyperspectral satellite imagery. By using hyperspectral …

Finding Research Datasets And Evaluating Data Quality, Ibis Anette Moreno-Lozano Phd.

Day Family Research Lab Workshop Series

No abstract provided.

Data Management Plans For Grant Proposals, Rubab Shahzad

Day Family Research Lab Workshop Series

Fundamentals of research data management and how to create effective Data Management Plans (DMPs) and Data Management Sharing Plans (DMSP)

Week 6: “I Believe In The Holy Spirit...”, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 2: “…In God, The Father Almighty, Creator Of Heaven And Earth.”, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 4: “He Suffered Under Pontius Pilate, Was Crucified, Died, And Was Buried; He Descended To Hell.”, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 5: “The Third Day He Rose Again From The Dead. He Ascended To Heaven And Is Seated At The Right Hand Of God The Father Almighty. From There He Will Come To Judge The Living And The Dead”, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 3: “...In Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord, Who Was Conceived By The Holy Spirit And Born Of The Virgin Mary”, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 7: “I Believe In...The Holy Catholic Church, The Communion Of Saints...”, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.

Week 1: “I Believe...”, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

No abstract provided.