Arts and Humanities Commons^™

"Howard Be Thy Name", Jennifer Trahant

Liberty University Research Week

A Biblical worldview recognizes the beauty in aging, viewing it not as a decline but as a testament to wisdom, resilience, and God’s faithfulness. Scripture affirms this perspective, as seen in Proverbs 16:31, “Gray hair is a crown of glory,” and Job 12:12, “Wisdom is with the aged.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 reminds us that “He has made everything beautiful in its time,” affirming that aging is part of God’s design. While physical beauty fades, the Lord confirms that time can emphasize the inner self's renewal. By honoring the marks of age, we embrace a perspective that values the depth, grace, and …

Listen, Katrina Mcmillen

Liberty University Research Week

There is a disparity of genuine communication between women and healthcare professionals. Although modern society claims equal access and opportunity for all genders, there is a large portion of women who continue to go unheard. Most healthcare professionals are not actively seeking sexist options when treating patients, yet many women are still being treated differently or not at all. Changing the current status quo begins with acknowledging the current situation women all around the world are experiencing. The Communication Objective is to display the struggle within the affected group. There is an outcry from women, observable across countries, to be …

Fields Of Yesterday, Aunna Leach

Liberty University Research Week

This is a rustic style oil painting that depicts a hard working farmers field. View research papers for more info.

Horizon City, Aunna Leach

Liberty University Research Week

Horizon City is a ceramic sculpture that depicts a thriving city atop the back of a ceramic whale. Please see research notes for more information.

Graceful Gold, Aunna Leach

Liberty University Research Week

Graceful Gold is a multi-layer painted glass Immersive & reflective experience. Using multiple layers of glass I have painted a goldfish, bubbles and black background onto four layers of glass creating a 3d view when seen, and a double goldfish reflection. Please see research notes for more information.

Painted Sky Jewelry, Aunna Leach

Liberty University Research Week

I was inspired to create a Native American jewelry set because of my great-grandmother, who was Native American. I created a necklace and ring set with my newfound skills that I developed at Liberty University. Please see Research notes for more information.

"Balthazar, The Good Dragon", Jennifer Trahant

Liberty University Research Week

Dragons have long been portrayed as symbols of greed and destruction in mythology and literature, reinforcing the idea that they represent evil. However, this sculpture challenges that perception by drawing inspiration from children's literature such as Wings of Fire, The Fire Within, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Eragon, How to Train Your Dragon, and Pete’s Dragon. In these stories, dragons are often misunderstood, and feared due to human prejudice rather than their true nature.

Brand Campaign: Motorized Misfits, Rachel Rosenberger, Jenna Modrzejewski

Liberty University Research Week

We were tasked with creating a visual identity, branding and collateral for a fictitious nonprofit organization, called Motorized Misfits that is based in Atlanta, Georgia. This organization helps provide economically disadvantaged individuals gain access to transportation. This study was directed by studying the target audience and researching their preferences, relationships, age habits, geographical location, and socioeconomic background. We studied the media preferences of the age group as well as the financial background, the individual’s education level, and the relational status of the individual or if they have children. Prevalent social movements in the Atlanta region were also researched. This information …

Feathertop Character Design, Ariana Murphy

Liberty University Research Week

Feathertop, a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, suffers from a marked lack of high-quality illustrations to bring the story to life and public awareness. Despite having a strong mood and atmosphere, intriguing characters, and thought-provoking themes, it is a little-known story with much creative potential from a written and visual standpoint. The goal of this research project is to utilize the author’s rich descriptions of the main character, Feathertop, to create a memorable and endearing design which will serve as a launching off point for further illustrative development of the story.

Nathaniel Cooper

African American Funeral Programs

Handwritten Announcement; No Dates; No internet information located.

“Woman At Point Zero” Challenges Faulty Person Schemas, Josephine Ebersole

KU Inspires! Undergraduate Research Day

This paper explores how literature can challenge faulty-person schemas as defined by Mark Bracher through an analysis of Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi. The paper outlines how Saadawi pushes her readers to question faulty-person schemas and biases and also question the impact these schemas have on institutions and structures that are rooted in bias to oppress and control minorities. The main character in the novel, Firdaus, is a woman who fights against oppressive structures for her protection and freedom, and through humanizing such a character, Saadawi demonstrates how faulty-person schemas place inaccurate judgements on people and encourage …

Transforming Futures Through Speculative Ypar: The Garage Story, Allison Joann Lester, Eden Kadosh, Atlas Suarez, Abigail Rubinstein

Occasional Paper Series

The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions for young people across the U.S., exacerbating feelings of isolation and disconnection. In response, the [Youth] Think Tank—a paid Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) internship—was launched in [city name]. Teens from diverse backgrounds came together to address the issues they and their peers were facing. This article chronicles the journey of the [Youth] Think Tank through each phase of its YPAR project, following the design process step-by-step as the group developed The [Hub]: a youth-designed space that fosters connection, safety, and belonging within the community. Starting from the program's inception, we trace how the teens …

“I’Ll Walk Out If You Walk Out”: A Comic On How Students Of Color Utilize Racial Micropolitical Literacy In Their Everyday Lives, Josephine Pham, Talitha Angelica Acaylar Trazo

Occasional Paper Series

Advocating for an expansive view of Youth Participatory Action Research that considers everyday practices in mundane life as essential for building just and thriving futures, the authors co-created a comic to illustrate the inventive ways youth of color co-create educational possibilities for racially just futures in everyday classroom life. Framed through a racial micropolitical literacy framework and based on a real-life narrative, their scholarship in comic form invites youth, practitioners, and scholars to re-frame and re-present learning, teaching, studying, and living educational justice in renewed ways. Specifically, the authors highlight the ingenious practices of youth of color who are already …

Social Imagining In “Youth Taking Action:” Documenting Immigrating And Settling Through A Hybrid Youth Participatory Action Research Project, Natacha Monestel Mora, Julia Iriarte, Jennifer A. Vadeboncoeur, Sediqa Temori, Mathias Abraha

Occasional Paper Series

This paper is a memoir of our experiences with Youth Taking Action (YTA), a YPAR program that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. YTA, a collaborative effort organized by a non-profit based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, provided a space for 6 newcomer youths and 4 immigrant adults to engage in active dialogue. Through these conversations, we explored stories of immigration and settlement, identified barriers that limit opportunities for young newcomers and discussed possible actions to address these issues. The youth also learned documentary filmmaking techniques, which helped them collect data and generate more dialogue. This process revealed that linguistic …

Actualizing Black Spatial Histories Through A Speculative Youth Archiving Project, Kaleb Germinaro, Alvin Logan, Jr.

Occasional Paper Series

For today’s youth, learning about one's history and culture is not always a given in the classroom. Many schools are learning spaces void of any cultural or spatial connection, particularly for Black students. This paper details an action-based summer archeology program hosted by the Burke Museum and Seattle Public Schools Liberatory Education Program that explored Black spatial histories through speculative youth archiving. Through key relationships with community organizations, students underwent a three-week program designed to allow students to develop their relationship with Black spatial histories and envision their role in creating and setting history in real-time. Using student interviews, the …

Promising Young Woman And The Structural Failure To Protect Women, Josephine Ebersole

KUCC -- Kutztown University Composition Conference

This paper explores Emerald Fennel's film Promising Young Woman and the relationship between women and male violence and how male violence is protected by misogynistic structures, specifically in the case of sexual assault. The paper argues that institutions and structures that are rooted in patriarchy and misogyny are fundamentally unable to protect women from the actions of violent men, both in the film and in reality.

Program Booklet, Kutztown University Of Pennsylvania

KUCC -- Kutztown University Composition Conference

PDF of Program Booklet

17 - Mpark: A Humanities Makerspace, Margaret Konkol Kilcline, Ola Swatek, Xianzhong Meng, Elena Knudsen, Bridget Dolan

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Our mission is to promote nontraditional understandings of the textual object and to recover and celebrate the historical contributions of women and other marginalized groups to textual cultural heritage. We explore text-making with materials like thread, fiber, leather, wood, and plastic as well as a wide range of digital tools and visual recording equipment. We are devoted to expanding the impact of the humanities by supporting cross-disciplinary collaboration and by reaching beyond the university to engage with innovations and challenges that face our larger geographical and social contexts. Founded in Fall 2023 and occupying 400 square feet on the second …

The Role Of Intuition In Knowledge, Kenzi Mcspadden

Global Tides

In this paper, McSpadden challenges Climenhaga's use of intuitions as evidence by arguing that one does not have to cite memories, sensory experiences, and testimony in order to subconsciously use them to form her beliefs. McSpadden argues that there is a psychological definition of what intuitions could be, that intuitions do not always make philosophers more confident in their beliefs, and that intuitions can instead be explained by a cognitive reaction using past experiences.

From Explanationism To Pragmatic Explanationism: A New Framework For Knowledge And Stakes, Jacob Guise

Global Tides

In "From Explanationism to Pragmatic Explanationism: A New Framework for Knowledge and Stakes", Guise defends the thesis that Pragmatic Explanationism helps overcome Explanationism's limitations in addressing pragmatic encroachment, specifically in high stakes scenarios and situations involving hidden practical factors. Guise argues that Pragmatic Explanationism should be adopted over Explanationism.

Tolkien, Tabletop, And Orcs: The Impact Of Participatory Neomedievalisms On Authority, Tyler Bell

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

Different medieval and fantasy works have utilized race in different ways. Medieval Europe used race as a structural relationship to morally and religiously other certain people groups. J.R.R. Tolkien used race in a similar way, othering the fantasy races like orcs as a way to give the audiences clear antagonists. Direct film and video game adaptations of Tolkien uphold him as the authority on fantasy race, using orcs as antagonists and glorifying violence against them. The table-top role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons initially held up the antagonistic portrayal of orcs, but through different editions, the restrictions placed on orcs have …

"Because He Was A Cripple": Collective Care And The Theory Of Complex Embodiment In Dickens's A Christmas Carol, Briley Wyckoff

Theses and Dissertations

Published in 1843, Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol planted itself squarely into a society that depended upon physical labor and valued able-bodiedness. The crutch-bearing Tiny Tim is iconized for his angelic nature and positive outlook on his impairment, prompting critical conversation about narrative prosthesis and poster children, yet the other illustrations of disability in the novella are rarely explored. Contrary to the tendency of disability scholars to conclude that A Christmas Carol leans too heavily into the trope of inspirational disability or diminishes disabled agency, Dickens's incorporation of disability actually extends far beyond Tim as each member of the Cratchit …

Direct And Mediating Relationships Between Divine Grace, Legalism, And Mental Health, Branwyn H. Mccormick

Senior Honors Theses

Positive psychology has popularized the integration of religious ideas into psychological treatment. According to the literature, the experience of divine grace is correlated with favorable mental health outcomes, whereas legalistic attitudes are correlated with adverse mental health outcomes. It has also been found that the experience of divine grace is a mediator between legalism and mental health. However, the constructs of divine grace and legalism have both been relatively unexplored aside from a few studies using Latter-day Saints (LDS) populations. The current study seeks to analyze relationships between divine grace, legalism, and mental health using a conservative evangelical Christian population. …

Kathi Angeroth, Viola, April 14, 2025 [Program], University Of Northern Iowa. School Of Music.

Music Recital Programs

Program of a music recitals given by faculty, students, or guest artists from the School of Music at the University of Northern Iowa.

Ilc Psalm Projects, Carolyn M. Totaro

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Each group will present an exegesis of their chosen psalm, a historical background of the musical setting of the psalm, a biography of the composer, a discussion of the musical elements in the setting, and a performance of their own arrangement.

Student Senate Meeting Minutes April 14, 2025, Student Senate-Winona State University

Student Senate Meeting Minutes

This document is the official Winona State University Student Senate Minutes for April 14, 2025.

The Social Life Of Plants: Botanical Representations In Moche Art, Breanna Fae Reiss

Art & Art History ETDs

The Moche were semi-autonomous communities who thrived in the ten fertile riverine valleys of Peru’s northern coast between the late fourth and ninth centuries CE. Phase IV (c. 590–700 CE) Southern Moche ceramics feature intricate fine line visual narrative scenes with many multivalent symbols and motifs. This dissertation intends to understand why plants begin to play a more significant role in the Moche iconographic corpus in this period. I explore the interests of elites, the ecological web interweaving image and environment, and species identification. The local flora was affected on one hand by naturally occurring changes in weather and environment …

Iconicity As An Organizing Principle Of The Lexicon, Erin E. Campbell, Zed Sevcikova Sehyr, Elana Pontecorvo, Ariel Cohen-Goldberg, Karen Emmorey, Naomi Caselli

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

The view that words are arbitrary is a foundational assumption about language, used to set human languages apart from nonhuman communication. We present here a study of the alignment between the semantic and phonological structure (systematicity) of American Sign Language (ASL), and for comparison, two spoken languages—English and Spanish. Across all three languages, words that are semantically related are more likely to be phonologically related, highlighting systematic alignment between word form and word meaning. Critically, there is a significant effect of iconicity (a perceived physical resemblance between word form and word meaning) on this alignment: words are most likely to …

04.14.2025 Ored Connect, Liz Williamson

ORED Newsletter

Updated CITI Training Courses

Science Celebration

IHL Prepayment Approval

University Of Richmond Wind Ensemble, Department Of Music, University Of Richmond

Music Department Concert Programs

No abstract provided.