Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Sex, The Body, And Learning Gender: Demons In The World Of The Five Gods, Erin E. Mcbrien

Mythopoeic Society Seminar Proceedings

“Sex, the Body, and Learning Gender” analyzes the relationship between the physical body, sexual orientation, and gender as characterized within Lois McMaster Bujold’s World of the Five Gods series, with a particular emphasis on her Penric and Desdemona novellas. Using the framework of Bussey and Bandura’s social learning theory, and a close reading of Bujold’s text, this paper explores how the demonic characters within this series are an example of gender as a learned concept rather than a biological imperative. This is further developed by examining how the demonic characters both imprint on and contrast against the more societally-bound sorcerers …

Belief After The Death Of King Arthur: Lev Grossman’S Postsecular Portrayal Of Nimue In The Bright Sword, Liz Busby

Mythopoeic Society Seminar Proceedings

This paper explores Lev Grossman’s 2024 novel The Bright Sword as a postsecular retelling of the Arthurian legend, focusing on the character of Nimue. Unlike previous modern portrayals that align Nimue with pagan traditions in opposition to Christianity, Grossman presents her as both a practitioner of magic and a sincere Christian believer. Through this duality, Nimue embodies the tensions and contradictions of faith in a postmodern age, where belief persists amid doubt, historical trauma, and religious pluralism. Drawing on postsecular theory, the paper situates Grossman’s work within a broader literary tradition that includes Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon …

Still Perilous, Still Fair: Perspectives On The Legacy, Or How (Not)Eowyn And (Not)Galadriel Made The Magic Work, Janet Croft, Leslie Donovan

Mythopoeic Society Seminar Proceedings

An informal and wide-ranging conversation between the co-editors of Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of J.R.R. Tolkien will cover the genesis and development of the project and the pitfalls and traps for the unwary we encountered along the way. We'll talk about the technicalities of our process as editors -- from developing the call for papers through choosing the cover art. And we'll assess the influence the collection has had on subsequent scholarship, and the continuing significance of some of the work included.

More Perilous And Fair, Cami Agan, Clare Moore, Robin A. Reid Dr.

Mythopoeic Society Seminar Proceedings

An overview of the conference's theme and speakers.

Lanthorn, Vol. 60, No. 08, December 1, 2025, Grand Valley State University

Volume 60, August 4, 2025 – current

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

Subculture And Identity As An Escape From The Societal Norms Of Power Imbalance And Authoritative Abuse, Sarah Goldberg

Bachelor of Fine Arts Theses

No abstract provided.

Bloody Sunday: The March For Voters' Freedom, Gioia Casella

Student Zines

This zine was created for the the class ENG 120, taught by Prof. Steven Bookman. It discusses the events of "Bloody Sunday," March 7, 1965, when civil rights protesters were attacked by state troopers on the Edmund Pettus bridge.

Second Sunday In Ordinary Time - 19 January 2025, Pina Ford

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

Overflowing: A Visual Memoir, Margaret Gonzalez

Honors Projects

My collection, Overflowing: A Visual Memoir, is a series of mixed-media collages bound into a book, depicting formative experiences that have shaped who I am during my time at Grand Valley State University. They are an autobiographical exploration of self-discovery, expression, gratitude, and turbulence. I fell in love with the art of collage after creating a piece inspired by Hanna Höch for my History of Photography class. Since then, I have continued making collages. I haven’t gotten to take many art classes at Grand Valley, but creating has always been a constant in my life. So, I wanted to culminate …

Authoring Culture: The Foundations Of Twenty-First Century Writing Suggested Assignment, Columbia College Chicago

Authoring Culture: Foundations of Twenty-First Century Writing

A suggested classroom assignment to accompany the Genre and Ethos chapters in Authoring Culture: Foundations of Twenty-First Century Writing .

Recall, Sadie Almand, Special Collections, Fleet Library

12th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest 2026

LAURIE WHITEHILL PURCHASE PRIZE | $375 Entry for the 12th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest. Opening reception and award ceremony Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 6:30pm, Fleet Library, 1st Floor Main Reading Room. Juror: Gabrielle Reed.

21st Cent., Archival, (East) Asian, Authentic-(Chinese)-American, Calligraphic Scroll, 074326827-Chdkjl, Karen Hu, Special Collections, Fleet Library

12th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest 2026

Entry for the 12th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest. Opening reception and award ceremony Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 6:30pm, Fleet Library, 1st Floor Main Reading Room. Juror: Gabrielle Reed.

Portunus Pelagicus, Jason Louie, Special Collections, Fleet Library

12th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest 2026

Entry for the 12th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest. Opening reception and award ceremony Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 6:30pm, Fleet Library, 1st Floor Main Reading Room. Juror: Gabrielle Reed.

I, Object, Mahrukh Khizar, Special Collections, Fleet Library

12th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest 2026

Entry for the 12th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest. Opening reception and award ceremony Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 6:30pm, Fleet Library, 1st Floor Main Reading Room. Juror: Gabrielle Reed.

The Big Book Of Little Joys, Nina Uy, Special Collections, Fleet Library

12th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest 2026

Entry for the 12th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest. Opening reception and award ceremony Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 6:30pm, Fleet Library, 1st Floor Main Reading Room. Juror: Gabrielle Reed.

Our Future Is Bright, Ellie Wolgemuth, Special Collections, Fleet Library

12th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest 2026

Entry for the 12th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest. Opening reception and award ceremony Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 6:30pm, Fleet Library, 1st Floor Main Reading Room. Juror: Gabrielle Reed.

Whale Falls, Cora Zeng, Special Collections, Fleet Library

12th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest 2026

Entry for the 12th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest. Opening reception and award ceremony Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 6:30pm, Fleet Library, 1st Floor Main Reading Room. Juror: Gabrielle Reed.

Esteban Salinas: Reworking Mono-Epistemological Thought In The Borderlands Through Local Leadership And Legacy, Jose M. Escobedo, Juan Salinas Jr., Griselda Salinas

Organization and School Leadership Faculty Publications

This article examines an ethnographic case study of Esteban Salinas, a local teacher beloved by communities across the mid-Rio Grande Valley. By reconstructing his story and critically examining his legacy, we can achieve a better understanding of the monocultural narratives imposed on the borderlands in his time and seek to challenge them through the examples and legacies of individuals like Esteban Salinas. We also seek to further add contextualization over the Western colonial institutions implemented in the 20th century in the borderlands through which we are still confined, and which require reevaluation and rework and how aspects of his legacy …

Enhancing Facial Expressiveness For Games Through Procedural Animation, Abhijit Varanasi

All Theses

Facial animation is one of the most important parts of bringing characters to life in video games and virtual experiences. This thesis explores a new approach to creating more expressive facial animations using procedural techniques and blended facial performance for more flexibility. The project uses FACS (Facial Action Coding System), which breaks down facial expressions into small, measurable muscle movements. By building a facial rig based on these muscle units, the character’s face can be animated in a way that reflects real human emotion. The animation in this work is not just pre-recorded, though it can respond in real-time to …

Bridging Disability Studies And Nursing Education: A Curricular Intervention, Serena Karim

2025 Fall Honors Capstones Projects - Archive

Although one in four Americans experience disability in their lifetimes, the majority of nurses and other healthcare professionals feel ill-prepared to care for patients with disabilities (PWD). Factors such as inaccessible healthcare facilities, insufficient clinical knowledge, and biases about the quality of life of PWD contribute to mounting health inequities between PWD and non-disabled people. To further understand how education can impact nursing students’ comfortability and confidence toward caring for PWD, a 30-minute disability studies lesson was implemented for junior-level nursing students. 51 students who attended the lecture provided anonymous pre- and post-lecture surveys, which contained Likert scale and free …

Prostitution In Video Games: Stigma, Violence And Male Pleasure, Laura Aguilera-Ávila, Lara Escobar Hernández

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Prostitution has traditionally been framed in society as a space significantly determined by patriarchal hierarchies, in addition to being affected on many occasions by stigmatisation and violence. The representation of prostitution and of those who practice it in the media is a topic of special interest, since the discourses and messages disseminated by the media play a fundamental role in socialisation. Video games are not exempt from this debate: with millions of players worldwide and a special reach among young people, they are among the most influential media outlets today. This qualitative research analyses a series of titles, both AAA …

John Henryism And The African American Experience: An Exploration Of Risk And Protective Factors And Health Outcomes, Joseph L. Twitdy

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Racial discrimination has been tied to adverse mental and physical health outcomes among African Americans. In the face of this adversity, African Americans have developed strategies for coping with everyday experiences of discrimination. One such coping method is based on the concept of John Henryism. The folktale of John Henry tells the story of an African American steel-driver racing against a steam-powered drill to clear a path for trains through a mountain. Although John Henry wins the race, he later dies due to exhaustion, ultimately passing with his hammer in his hand. The psychological concept of John Henryism (JH) refers …

Anatomy Of Authority: Dissecting The Rare Species Of Women Deans, Marlana K. Beck

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the lived experiences of women physician medical school deans, aiming to understand the factors that influence their career pathways and the challenges they face in achieving and maintaining leadership roles in academic medicine. Despite the increasing number of women entering the medical profession, there remains a significant gender disparity in leadership positions, particularly in the role of medical school dean. This study addresses the gap between the growing number of women physicians and the disproportionately low number of women in senior academic leadership roles. The research is grounded in feminist and role congruity theories, which provide a …

“I Found My Place:” Exploring The Counterspace Experiences Of Black Alumni On Historically White College Campuses, Jacquelyn Burns Rucker

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the life experiences of Black alumni and their participation in intentional, multicultural programming of cultural facilities to create a sense of counterspace for Black students on historically White college campuses. The study captured the stories of 12 Black alumni who graduated from seven historically White institutions (HWIs), between the years of 2010 and 2016, across four different states. The 12 study participants completed undergraduate and terminal degrees during the years 2009 - 2016 and identified as Black, African, or bi-racial. The interviews, conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic, were conducted on zoom. The theoretical framework of the …

All Things Equal: Uncovering The Extent Sexism Influences Higher Education Through Faculty Perceptions Of The Inner Workings Of The Academy, Jonathan Yorkowitz

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The history of critical systemic issues in higher education has been well documented in recent literature (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017, Freire, 2018, and Wilder, 2013). Among the critical issues noted, sexism has remained a significant influence suppressing opportunities for women within higher education in the United States. bell hooks (1981, 2003, 2014) shared research about the specific systemic challenges encountered by Black women in the academy, providing a key connection between sexism and racism. The lack of significant proposed solutions to address sexism in higher education scholarship, along with the need for an updated and more comprehensive understanding of faculty …

Paradise Here?, Mary Dengler

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Sackcloth And Ashes, Liturgical Design: Lenten Season Banners For Lagrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church. 2024., David Versluis

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Keeping The Beat: A Case On The Effects Of Communication In Musical Teams During Performances, Shane Christie

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This case study examined whether the effects of positive team affect and team communication quality on the performance quality, or taskwork quality, of teams comprised of musicians, and if team communication quality could further improve the taskwork quality of a group of musicians. It was believed that participants with higher positive team affect scores would perform at a higher taskwork quality than those with lower positive team affect scores. In addition, it was believed that participants that engaged in higher-quality team communication during performances would strengthen this relationship, further increasing taskwork quality. The participants were divided into teams, and the …

Maria Gaetana Agnesi And The Proto-Feminist Movement, Katherine D. Wahnsiedler

Honors College Theses

Maria Gaetana Agnesi, a mathematician and scholar from the 18 th century, is an important historical figure who received a position at the University of Bologna. She is the second woman ever to be appointed to a University professorship, laying the foundation for other women in academia later to come. Many historians interpret Agnesi’s life to be representative of early feminist ideas and would therefore be an example of a proto-feminist. However, this is not accurate, nor is it an ideology Agnesi likely would have subscribed to. Analyzing primary sources written by Agnesi and her contemporaries helps provide insight into …

Lend Me A Soprano, Lynn University

Drama Programs

Sponsored by: Al Zucaro

It's 1934, and the clever and combustible Lucille Wiley, manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, is ready to welcome world-class soprano Elena Firenzi for her one-night-only starring role in Carmen. Alas, Elena arrives late, her impassioned husband Pasquale has a fit of jealousy, and it remains to be seen whether Mrs. Wiley's mousy but determined assistant Jo can save the day. Based on Ken Ludwig's Tony Award-winning Lend Me A Tenor, this madcap screwball comedy features ladies in the leading roles and is guaranteed to leave audiences teary-eyed with laughter.

By: Ken Ludwig …