Nonfiction Commons^™

Why Can't Homeless Addicts Get Help Too, Rachael D. Causland

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Homeless people today struggle more with addiction than people who have stability in their life. Whether it’s due to financial issues, or not having a support system, homeless people struggle to get the help they need for both their addiction and their homelessness. A high number of homeless people report to have started an addiction since being homeless, and they do so to stay alive, in turn people are continuing to stay homeless and many of these people are dying of overdoses or just staying stuck in the situation they are forced to deal with alone. There are some states …

Racism In Education, Kevin M. Donton

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Racism in Education has been a huge problem in the United States today, and it still is. The presence of racism in the education system is quite controversial and many people have strong opinions on it. Its roots date all the way back to slavery in the United States to the Brown vs. the Board of Education case to the Reagan Revolution to present day in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. Throughout this essay, I will discuss the origins, how it is still happening today, the effects it has on students of color, and ways to dismantle …

United States Police & Society Reform, Madisen Sterner

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

For many years, people of color have had an unsteady relationship with police departments and law enforcement due to police misconduct, use of force, and police brutality. We’ve had many of the same conversations over and over again about what we can do to bring upon change within our departments, but no true, consistent action has been taken. In this paper we discuss multiple solutions to help address the issue of police misconduct, the need for police and society reform, and ways we can work towards mending the relationship between citizens and our police departments. In today’s society, change is …

Our Worst Enemy: Unhealthy Food, Gabriella M. Blando

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

No abstract provided.

Healing A Nation Wounded By A Pandemic, Blake Wetzel

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Emerging in late 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the United States. There is still so much about this virus that is unknown. It has had a negative effect on education, the economy, and the lifestyle of Americans. Covid-19 has caused many people to be hospitalized, and has even claimed many lives. There are many things that the American people can do to help America and its people recover. Americans must take social responsibility. They must follow the guidelines, such as mask wearing and social distancing, to stop the virus from spreading. Americans can also help out …

The Waterfall Crisis, Guiliana G. Grisaffi

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

While the Earth’s surface is 71% covered in water, that does not mean that one day all our water could be gone. The current global water crisis is not just a water crisis-it is a waterfall crisis. One wicked, terrible problem that leads to many other wicked problems, a waterfall crisis. Millions of women and young girls are taken out of work and school and instead forced to collect and gather fresh water for their families. Children are suffering from irreversible health consequences from toxic, contaminated water, an example of a health consequence is a lower IQ from lead poisoning. …

Black Lives Matter, Armando Delgado

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

The Black Lives Matter movement first started in 2013 by three strong African Americans women: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi. The movement was created after black lives were being taken by police officers in shootings that could have been deescalated. The research project introduces on how the movement was started and the goal is for the readers to understand why the people are so angry, the reasons they are protesting and to fight for equality around the United States. Since this is still an accruing issue, I tried to get all the info I could get in as …

Wicked Problem In The Middle-Class, Rebecca C. Boyer

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

The middle-class has been decreasing in size for years, no one factor can cause this to happen. The economy won't be able to grow without Americans putting money into business, with high bills and debt Americans struggle financially. There are possible solutions to aid this wicked problem to assist Americans with proper financial funding and government oversight. Too many Americans struggle to make ends meet, this has been a continuing trend in America that has only gotten worse over recent years.

Locked Up And Locked Out: True Stories Of Individuals Who Experienced The Intersection Between Homelessness And The Criminal Justice System, Jean Johnson

Senior Honors Projects

JEAN JOHNSON (Criminology & Criminal Justice)

Locked Up and Locked Out: True Stories of the Interlocking Cycle of

Homelessness and the Criminal Justice System

Sponsor: Jill Doerner (Criminology & Criminal Justice, Sociology & Anthropology), Heather Johnson (Writing & Rhetoric)

Key locks work when a key made with teeth is placed into a cylinder with a series of pins and tumblers. If you don’t insert the right key one or more of the pins will remain in the way, preventing the key from turning and the lock will remain closed. According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, tens of …

Cultivating Convergence Through Creative Nonfiction: Identity, Development, And The Metaphor Of Transfer, Wendy Ryden, Danielle Sposato

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

The authors explore the role of the creative nonfiction course in the development of a writerly self and propose a paradigm of developmental convergence to supplement composition studies’ metaphor of traditional transfer tied to outcomes-based education and assessment culture. The paper further considers the idea of CNF as method rather than genre and its ties to expressivism in composition studies and pedagogy.

What Can Future Social Worker Do Differently Than Recent Social Workers, Hannah Stavros-Mccauley

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

When college students first go into the social work field, they must take Intro to Social Work which introduces the NASW Code of Ethics. The NASW Code of Ethics introduces six core values and these purposes explain what social workers are shooting for when working with clients. The six core values are services, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. When it comes to service the social workers, the main goal is to help their clients in need. The main goal that social workers focus on social justice is poverty, unemployment, discrimination, …

Online Learning's Impact On Mental Health, Alexandria Palmieri

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Due to the global pandemic education has evolved and started online learning. While online learning is helping it brings its own set of problems and impacts. This paper will talk about 3 aspects of online learning, social interaction, motivation, and participation and how students’ mental health is being impacted. The paper includes a research study done by giving a number of college aged students a survey. The survey asked questions about the 3 aspects of online learning and how each of them impact students’ mental health as well as ways to relieve the stress and lessen the impact of online …

The Wickedness Of Obesity, Justin C. Epps

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

“The Wickedness of Obesity” is written by myself, Justin Epps. This study evaluates the problems and causes of obesity. It has taken the lives of all different types of people. Being overweight can also affect what a person can do on a daily basis, as their weight can prevent them from participating in activities. Lab results show typical percentages of obesity among men and women along with other factors. This analysis shows that obesity is a major concern throughout the population within different groups. I conclude that obesity is a large issue in the world today.

Ray Family Photo Album, Department Of Library Special Collections

Ray Family Papers

No abstract provided.

The Ray Family Backstory, Department Of Library Special Collections

Ray Family Papers

No abstract provided.

Hear Me Roar, Abigail R. Seethoff

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Hear Me Roar, a compilation of personal essays interspersed with short forms, grapples with the nuances of compliance versus autonomy in the context of the male gaze, beauty standards, and pop culture. The collection also explores what it means to treasure something—another person, an object—and how to express and deepen that affection.

The Mysterious Incident Of The Missing Title: Why Did Titular Concern Vanish From Composition Studies?, John Lamothe

Publications

How much time, if any, do first-year writing instructors spend in class discussing the importance of titles on their students’ papers? Without looking at a mountain of lesson plans or interviewing a plethora of instructors from across the country, it is impossible to know what is and what isn’t commonly taught in first-year composition courses. Admittedly, introductory writing and research classes can vary greatly from institution to institution and even from instructor to instructor within the same department. However, judging by an examination of current First-Year Composition textbooks, Rhet/Comp scholars place little importance on discussing the effect of titles on …

“We Were Just Trying To, You Know, Survive”: Coming Of Age As A Displaced Person And Narrative, Eli Megibben

Undergraduate Theses

“Home” is a personal construct that shapes who we are. It is not a physical place, but rather an experience tied to a place. How are people to respond, then, when the socio-political institutions that rule the land that they call home say “you’re not allowed to exist because of who you are and where you come from”? In this project, I investigate the effects that physical displacement (by way of war and violent conflict) have on an individual’s identity through the analysis of narratives composed by individuals who were displaced by the Holocaust, the Bosnian war, and the current …

Toro Times: Raising Our Voices!, Griffee Albaugh, Tiana Andrade, Mitchell Chen, Eric Cho, Kimberly Contreras, Minerva Ipatzi, Natalie Oporta, Jorge Cortes, Wendy Flores, Victoria Sato, David Hernandez, Kendall Hill, Ryan Guzman, Jose Lopez Huerta, Gerard Villaseñor, Isa Basche, Anthony Castro, Adolfo Bello, Raymond Ferman, Paul Callahan, Olivia Coston, Julie Ornelas, Jane Gore, Jiva Jimmons, Sakura Kato, Jessie Latin, Erin Leung, Diana Miranda, Sydnie Partida, Reuben Regalado, Kimberly Velazquez, Isabelle Arriaga, Ezekiel Banda, Angelynn Benitez De La Cruz, Airiale Hernandez, Alana Caires, Katelyn Carbajal, Karly Eastley, Kiaya Estes, Layla Fulton, Leslie Rosales, Bella Ryan, Marisol Gallardo, Krystal Gonzalez, Ciera Ortiz, Brody Shellenbarger, Jackie Solano, Kyra Gallego, Vanessa Garcia, Nhi Vo, Emily Gutierrez, Sarah Hernandez, Keila Pineda, Valerie Quinones, Luke Kudlinski, Samantha Mbodwam, Alexa Muro, Jasmine Nava, Dayana St. Clair, Lizbeth Teran, Heaven Wong

Yorba-Chapman Writing Partnership Anthology of Journalistic Writing

During the Spring 2019 semester, Dr. Noah Asher Golden's Teaching of Writing K-12 students partnered with the Journalism class at Yorba Academy for the Arts. Through collaboration over a four-month period, Chapman's future teachers and Yorba's junior high journalists engaged a deep writing process to write a series of features, editorials, and news articles related to a number of global issues. Thank you to Principal Preciado-Martin, former principal Tracy Knibb, Mrs. Andrea Lopez, Mrs. Kori Shelton, and the Lloyd E. and Elisabeth H. Klein Family Foundation for supporting this project.

How To Win Papers And Influence Professors: Creating Positive First Impressions Through Effective Titles, John Lamothe

Publications

By the time you finish reading this first sentence, you’ve already started forming a first impression about this article. In fact, you really started forming it after reading the title. With the words, “How to Win Papers and Influence Professors,” a spoof on the popular Dale Carnegie book, “How to Win Friends & Influence People,” I already began establishing a tone and setting up expectations for you, the reader. Whether you realized it or not, you had a reaction to that title. This shouldn’t come as a great shock. It’s human nature to form quick first impressions; we’ve all been …

Somebody Has To Pay Rent: The Critical Autoethnography Of A Low Income Student, Shelbi M. Schadendorf

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Conducted through the qualitative research method of autoethnography, and presented through the lens of critical analysis, this study explores the oppressive experience as a low income student in an institute of higher education. Written as an attempt to make the struggle as a low income students more visible, the focus of this study is both an exploration into the commodification of higher education and the culture surrounding how we treat, or don’t acknowledge, low income students.

Through the presentation of the author’s experience as an autoethnography, the insight gained from first hand experience can be shared through an accessible, but …

Strange Woods, Song Park

Graduate School of Art Theses

I am interested in searching for images of women that have not been adequately represented in visual art. As a visual artist, I am directed by my sense of sight to investigate and know something. I like to challenge myself to visualize things that do not already have a visual representation. It has been frustrating for me to create images of women, and I have experienced a deep ambivalence in response to the different images of women I have encountered. The socially and culturally constructed images of women that I have internalized and those that have developed from my own …

Yorba Times: Standing Up, Speaking Out, Noah Asher Golden, Caroline Jenner, Lisbet Wences, Leslie Tehuastle-Zamora, Veronica Aguilar, Ryan Guzman, Aida Calderon, Cassandra Gomez, Aileen Arriaga, Toni Guesnon, Dana Canning, Zoe Bonfield, Emmery Llewellyn, Sylvia Tavetian, Emily Hernandez, Areli Vazquez, Leslie Arriaga, Kaitlyn Zeigler, Karly Bokosky, Kristi Kayoda, Abby Galletti, Arianna Gama, Ashley Diaz, Alyssa Kaplan, Jodi Payne, Sammy Hurst, Montana Mcintyre, Ansley Wong, Kiaya Estes, Chloe Kardasopoulos

Yorba-Chapman Writing Partnership Anthology of Journalistic Writing

During the Spring 2018 semester, Dr. Noah Asher Golden's Teaching of Writing K-12 students partnered with the Journalism class at Yorba Academy for the Arts. Through collaboration over a four-month period, Chapman's future teachers and Yorba's junior high journalists engaged a deep writing process to write a series of features, editorials, and news articles related to a number of global issues. Thank you to Ms. Andrea Lopez, Ms. Kori Shelton, Mr. Nick Sepulveda, Ms. Tracy Knibb, and the Lloyd E. and Elisabeth H. Klein Family Foundation for supporting this project.

Out Of Many: Multiplicity And Divisions In America Today, Camille Goodison, Racquel Goodison

Publications and Research

An anthology of new U.S. fiction and nonfiction, as well as transnational writing. A wide variety of fiction writers and essayists describe what it means to be American in a world of changing borders. A bright showcase of progressive literary style, personality and content. Contributors include Tope Folarin, Alia Yunis, Maurice Emerson Decaul, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich, Patricia Park, Sonny Singh, Aisha Sabatani Sloan, Zeeva Bukai, Courtney Zoffness, and others.

Full Issue, The Anthology

The Anthology

This is the entirety of the 2017 Winthrop Anthology issue.

Girls Are Us: A Collection Of Oral Histories From The Jmu Community, Anne M. Sherman

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

On a campus where women make up a majority of the student population, it is especially important that female voices are heard and given a platform on which they can control their own narrative. I wanted to give those female-identifying voices that platform. I conducted a series of interviews to examine how college-aged female-identifying students feel about their identity and how they construct that identity within the climate of the JMU community. I was particularly interested in the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual preference, and ability. I asked each person to share their stories of times when they …

Constructing A Sociological Biography: A Surprisingly Complex Autobiographical Practice, Sara Louise Wheeler

The Qualitative Report

Biographical statements are an important part of impressions management in the academic milieu. These statements provide an online presence, accompany our academic products, and represent us in the academy. This becomes a high stakes activity, which can be quite anxiety provoking. As a qualitative sociologist with a particular interest in auto/ biography, producing such a statement really ought to be easy - putting into words: who I am, what I do, and where I am currently located. However, writing sociological biographies requires a fine balance, particularly during the early career phase, when we may be juggling projects, research directions and …

Thematic Bibliography To New Work On Immigration And Identity In Contemporary France, Québec, And Ireland, Dervila Cooke

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

What Do You Mean, "Practice"? Theorizing The Writing-Music Connection, Callie Elise Compton

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Researchers in the field of composition studies have frequently made allusions to musicians when they’ve discussed the role of practice in gaining skill. In doing so, however, they’ve risked making speculative rather than testable claims and separating composition studies from recent insights on practice from other disciplines such as education and music psychology. These fields, I argue, offer testable frameworks with which composition instructors and scholars can teach and study writing practice. Such frameworks are necessary because composition researchers need to supplement qualitative studies of writers and writing with quantitative data to generate replicable tests of teaching methods that may …

Yorba Times: Special Edition On Safety, Noah Asher Golden, Facundo Acevedo, Jesse Alonzo, Henessy Arana, Leslie Arriaga, Michelle Brait, Amy Chau, Ashley Diaz, Jeremiah Dille, Sierra Durand, Beberly Espinoza, Elora Estes, Lesley Fernandez, Darshan Gamma, Cassandra Garcia, Karla Garcia, Yasmin Garcia, Neko Gianquinto, Gisselle Gonzalez, Jacob Gonzales, Sakina Jaffery, Adrianna Herrera, Allie Hoch, Victoria Hulett, Anthony Jaimes, Leilani Lagunes, Sandra Loredo, Kate Markey, Joshua Marmolejo, Faith Martin, Melissa Medina, Layla Melendez, Dylan Moses, Michaela Moses, Brooklynn Payne, Michelle Perez, Brianna Quirarte, Ieleen Ramirez, Edwin Reyes, Jehu Sandoval, Jaqueline Ramirez, Jonathan Sanchez, Nathalie Sanchez, Christopher Santibanez, Kaylin Seeley, Genevieve Stothers, Miranda Valdez, Christopher Velasquez

Yorba-Chapman Writing Partnership Anthology of Journalistic Writing

During the Spring 2016 semester, Dr. Noah Asher Golden's Teaching of Writing K-12 students partnered with the Journalism class at Yorba Academy for the Arts. Through collaboration over a four-month period, Chapman's future teachers and Yorba's junior high journalists engaged a deep writing process to write a series of features, editorials, and news articles, all connected in some way to the overarching theme of safety. Thank you to Ms. Andrea Lopez, Ms. Tracy Knibb, and the Lloyd E. and Elisabeth H. Klein Family Foundation for supporting this project.