College of Liberal Arts
CLA Scholars Day
CLA Scholars Day was held on March 13, 2024 as part of MTSU’s Scholars Week. The 2024 schedule is included below. Make sure to note the session/presentation’s location as the event is happening in Peck Hall 207 and the Honors College’s Simmons Amphitheater (HONR 106).
2024 Schedule
8:00 AM – Welcome, Peck Hall 207
Individual Research Presentations, Peck Hall 207
8:00 | History of Hell: How Hell has Developed Presenter: Jackson Lashbrook (History and Religious Studies) Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jenna Gray-Hildenbrand, Religious Studies Abstract |
| 8:20 | Communciated Commemorabilia: A Creative Project Exploring. Christian Recovery Presenter: Eli Ward (Religious Studies and Nursing) Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rebekka King (Religious Studies) Abstract |
| 8:40 | “Your Loins Girt About with Truth”: Girdles as Divine Wisdom in Second Temple Literature Presenter: Eli Ward (Religious Studies and Nursing) Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rebekka King (Religious Studies) Abstract |
9:10 AM – A Creative Writing Reading & Presentation, Peck Hall 207
| Student Writers Designing and Writing Flash Prose Chapbooks Student Presenters: Ella Grace Lancaster, Coby Taylor, Jacqueline Reilly, Abigail Wells Faculty Mentor: Dr. Fred Arroyo (English) Description |
10:30 AM – Individual Research Presentations, Peck Hall 207
10:30 | Demystifying The Great Debates: What Really Happened in the Kennedy-Nixon Presidential Debates of 1960 Presenter: Sydney Robertson (English) Faculty Mentor: Kent Syler (Political Science) Abstract |
| 10:50 | Neurodiversity in Female Characters in Children’s Literature Presenter: Kera Reynolds (English) Faculty Mentor: Dr. Poushali Bhadury (English) Abstract |
| 11:10 | Suicidal Dasein: Authenticity and Active Being-Toward-Death Presenter: Elle Robinson (Philosophy) Faculty Mentor: Dr. Michael Principe (Philosophy) Abstract |
12:00 PM – Group Research Presentation, Peck Hall 207
| Editing Elizabeth Meeke’s “The Abbey of Clugny” Student Presenters: Brittany Eidemiller, Karsen Gray, Heather Sandefur, and Brynlee Wolfe (English) Faculty Mentor: Dr. Bridget Donnelly (English) Description |
12:30 PM – Panel, Peck Hall 207
| Multicultural Women’s Voices: Speaking on Sexuality, Empire, and Religion Student Presenters: Josalyn Mandujano Cervantes and Cassie Sistoso Erotophobia and Its Significance in Multicultural Women’s Literature Presenter: Josalyn Mandujano Cervantes Abstract The Invisible Woman: Purity Culture and WWII’s Effect on the Modern Oppression of Women in their Roles as Wives, Mothers, and Partners Presenter: Cassie Sistoso Abstract Faculty Mentor: Mary Latham (English and Women’s and Gender Studies) Description |
1:00 PM – Panel, Peck Hall 207
| A Jesus for Times like These: Reimagining Jesuses in Contemporary Popular Culture and Media Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rebekka King, Religious Studies Student Panelists:My Hero, Jesus Christ: The Use of Toys in Christianity Presenter: Dallas Brigman, History Abstract Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter and Savior of the Lesbians Presenter: Whittney Brown, Psychology Abstract Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples: Abed Nadir as Contemporary Jesus Presenter: Jonah Jaisen, Music Industry Abstract Jesus Was a Carpenter: Johnny Cash’s Countercultural Jesus Presenter: Matthew Pierce, Religious Studies & Philosophy Abstract |
2:00 PM – Individual Research Presentations, Peck Hall 207
2:00 | The Practice of Conservative Theology and its Effect on Gender Roles Within the Church Presenter: Delaney Reynolds, Global Studies & Environmental Science Advisor: Dr. Judy Albakry, Honors College Abstract |
| 2:20 | Animals in Academia Presenters: Dr. Angela Mertig and Sophia Roberts, Sociology Abstract |
3:00 PM – Creative Performance/Play, Peck Hall 207
“They’d never do that! … Would they?”: Scenes from Plays about Characters who Change Their Minds, Big Time
Faculty Organizer: Dr. Claudia Barnett, English
In this panel, the students of English 3665: Playwriting will present staged readings of scenes excerpted from their new short plays, all of which involve a little arm twisting.
(not listed in presentation order)
| A Dish Best Served Ice-Cold Presenter: Caleb Peluso-Harper, Business Administration Abstract | |
| A Detective Marries a Criminal Presenter: Alex Queen, Animation Abstract | |
| A Deck of Cards Presenter: Nicholas Perrone, Political Science & Economics Abstract | |
| What’s On Your Mind Presenter: Kharley Layton, Recording Industry Abstract | |
| Sunk In: A Ten-Minute Play Presenter: Kathryn Pendergrass, Political Science Abstract | |
| The God Doctor Presenter: Erin Pitcher, Recording Industry Abstract | |
| Mother’s House Presenter: Jo Bracey, Video and Film Abstract | |
| When It’s Time Presenter: Jessica Pruitt, English/Writing & Philosophy Abstract | |
| Widdershins Presenter: Joseph Hyrka Abstract |
3:00 PM – WGST Graduate Student Research, Simmons Ampitheater, Honors College (HONR 106)
| Faculty Organizer: Dr. Laura White, English Student Panelists:Queering the Literature: Gender Performativity and Heteronormativity in Chinese Danmei Novels Presenter: McKeenze Reece, Sociology Faculty Advisor: Dr. Vicky MacLean, Sociology Abstract Characterization and Gender Norms in Thematic Apperception Test Narratives Presenter: Heather Parker, English Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kate Pantelides, English Abstract Bodily Autonomy and Abortion Access Across the U.S. Presenter: Kelsey Johnson, Sociology Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ashleigh McKinzie, Sociology |
4:30 PM Annual MTSU Speech Contest
Located in Simmons Ampitheater, Honors College (HONR 106)
Presented by the Department of Communication Studies
Faculty Coordinator: Natonya Listach, Communication Studies
6:00 PM – Irish Times National Champions: Campus Debate with MTSU Debate
Located in Simmons Ampitheater, Honors College (HONR 106)
Co-Sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts, University Honors College, Office of International Affairs, Department of Communication Studies, and MTSU Debate
Faculty Coordinator: Dr. Patrick Richey, Communication Studies
Abstracts and Session Desciptions In Order of Schedule
Jackson Lashbrook
History of Hell: How Hell has Developed
Whether it be in shows like Lucifer and Hazbin Hotel or books like Dante’s Inferno and Paradise Lost, there are plenty of examples of popular pieces of media where Hell is shown as a major focus. However, how these pieces evolved reveals an interesting timeline of the discussion of eternal punishment within the Christian tradition. What also proves even more interesting is that the idea of “hellfire and brimstone” being utilized in hell is much more modern than what one might believe. This, alongside future writings, has formulated an idea of eternal punishment which has grown in recent decades, with a modern debate taking place within Christian Theology that questions whether or not hell is utilized as a form of purgatory, with “eternal punishment” not being as eternal. The presentation that I plan to do covers not only this debate but also some of the popular media released recently, which shows a greater societal acceptance of the role of Hell.
Eli Ward (8:20)
Communicated Commemorabilia: A Creative Project Exploring Christian Recovery
When people tell their stories, they often use spoken symbols to aid in memorializing important events, especially experiences of healing. In this way, people commemorate their healing in conversation. This creative project reflects on the experiences of men and women in Christian recovery groups. As these Christians heal from addictions, trauma, and mental health alterations, they tell stories of radical new identities, reimagined families, gradual healing, empowering practices, and novel perceptions of God. I have translated these spoken symbols into visual symbols, a long-established mode of communication in Christian tradition. Through a series of watercolor stained glass windows, the sacred symbols in these stories of healing are illuminated. These windows were presented in an immersive gallery to further invite viewers to experience the symbols within these stories of Christian recoverees. Communicated Commemorabilia, as a creative project, reflects on the intersections of religion and health and the translation of language to art. This individual research talk will present my research process (ethnography), findings (qualitative themes), and creative journey (applied religious studies methodologies, watercolor, gallery management) in completing this project.
Eli Ward (8:40)
“Your Loins Girt About with Truth”: Girdles as Divine Wisdom in Second Temple Literature
When Paul authored his New Testament letter to the Ephesian church, he did not write absent of his cultural milieu. In penning the infamous “”armor of God,”” Paul commands his audience to have their “”loins girt about with truth.”” In this individual research talk, I present evidence that Second Temple literature regularly included symbolic girdles, and these girdles were often symbols of divine wisdom. Girdles had long been used as symbolic items of clothing, demonstrated in the writings of ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, and the Hebrew Bible. In the Second Temple period, however, girdles take on new meaning, and sagacious girdles appear in the Biblical Antiquities of Pseudo-Philo, Life of Adam and Eve, Testament of Job, and other pseudepigraphal texts, including the later Mandean Book of John. Paul’s reference to a girdle of truth is but one unexplored instance of cultural influence in the New Testament. In this talk I will explore the texts that feature symbolic girdles and place the New Testament in conversation with pseudepigraphal and apocryphal texts from the Second Temple period and beyond.
Student Writers Designing and Writing Flash Prose Chapbooks
Creative writers across flash prose genres—flash fictions, lyric essays, prose poems, ekphrastic writings—will present and discuss the chapbooks they designed and composed for ENGL 3685: Beyond Flash Fiction. They will read from their chapbooks to illustrate the artistry they’ve accomplished through their readings and study of flash prose genres, brief writings around 500-1,250 words. Each writer will highlight their unique writing, the initiative to imagine a chapbook of interconnected writings, as well as their creativity in designing a chapbook with images and words.
Sydney Robertson
Demystifying the Great Debates: What Really Happened in the Kennedy-Nixon Presidential Debates of 1960
The first televised presidential debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon took place between September 26th and October 21st, 1960. The mythos surrounding the debates have become clouded over time through embellishment and selective memory. The first debate has gone down in history as a significant political blunder and the remaining three debates are often ignored. The research consults debate preparation papers from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum archives, the John F Kennedy Library and Museum archives, and the Albert Gore Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University. The preparation papers will be compared to the actual text of the debates in order to explore what was really said and what mistakes were truly made.
Kera Reynolds
Neurodiversity in Female Characters in Children’s Literature
My presentation will be discussing neurodiversity and neurodiversity in female characters specifically focusing on Harriet from Harriet the Spy, Alice from Alice in Wonderland, and female characters in modern day children’s books that specifically talk about autism and ADHD. Alice and Harriet have clear neurodivergent traits according to symptoms and traits listed on the CDC website. Critiques have found both Harriet and Alice to be “brats” or “spoiled,” but there is some research discussing the characters with neurodiversity. And by analyzing the characters, they have clear traits. Both books were written in the early to mid1900s, which is a time where very rarely female characters were getting diagnosed with neurodivergent disorders. My presentation will also be discussing the timeline of neurodiversity found in literature and the reason for lack of female neurodivergent characters in even modern-day books because of how neurodiversity is hard to diagnose in females. Examples of neurodiversity include autism, ADHD, OCD, Down syndrome, and several other disorders.
Elle Robinson
Suicidal Dasein: Authenticity and Active Being-Toward-Death
In “Being and Time”, Martin Heidegger begins a phenomenological investigation of what he calls “the question of Being” through the only lens available to him, that of human Being or Dasein. Central to the nature of Dasein is its essential fallenness, or forgetfulness of its own Being. Heidegger argues that it is only through an active awareness of and orientation in relation to one’s own death that one can transcend this fallenness and approach authenticity. The present paper examines the phenomenon of suicide through this lens and asks the question: Is it necessary to be suicidal to be authentic?
Brittany Eidemiller, Karsen Gray, Heather Sandefur, and Brynlee Wolfe
Editing Elizabeth Meeke’s “The Abbey of Clugny”
In our presentation, we will discuss the experience of collaboratively editing an eighteenth-century Gothic novel, Elizabeth Meeke’s The Abbey of Clugny. We will provide some background on the publication history of the eighteenth-century Gothic novel through William Lane’s Minerva Press, Elizabeth Meeke and her writings, and reflections on why we think it is important to edit her work for a twenty-first century audience. This editing process began in my Fall 2023 ENGL 4230: Gothic and Horror course. We are continuing the work this spring through a URECA grant, and our proposal to publish an edition of Meeke’s novel was recently recommended for a book contract through Taylor & Francis.
Multicultural Women’s Voices: Speaking on Sexuality, Empire, and Religion
Multicultural Women’s Voices: Speaking on Sexuality, Empire, and Religion explores two facets of the complicated interaction between sexuality, empire, and religion, drawing on a blend of scholarship, fiction, and personal narrative. Developed in the MTSU WGST 3400 course, “Multicultural Women’s Voices,” these presentations examine sexuality, empire, and religion in historic, cultural moments: during the initial colonization of the Americas and then in mainstream, post-WWII United States purity culture. As they explore the larger implications of their findings, both presentations make references to texts discusses in the Multicultural Women’s Voices course, such as Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, Black is King and Lemonade by Beyoncé Knowles, selected readings from the anthology Colonize This!, and presentations hosted by the WGST Research Series in Fall of 2023. The commonalities found in the dynamics of sexuality, empire, and religion are revealing of the intersectional nature of various systems of oppression as well as the power of personal expression and narrative in the ongoing work of resistance and liberation.
Josalyn Mandujano Cervantes
Erotophobia and Its Significance in Multicultural Women’s Literature
Early European colonizers of the Americas used erotophobia (as defined by Greta Gaard) to justify exploitation and oppression of indigenous people. Colonizers displayed erotophobia when interacting with the new cultures they found in various regions and even in the context of heterosexual sex. This erotophobia has ongoing implication today which are revealed through discussion of select passages taken from Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi and Colonize This!, edited by Diasy Hernande4x and Bushra Rehman.
Cassie Sistoso
The Invisible Woman: Purity Culture and WWII’s Effect on the Modern Oppression of Women in their Roles as Wives, Mothers, and Partners
This presentation focuses on the ways in which the roles of women inside the home evolved after WWII and the ways they remain a staple in societal expectations for women today. With influences such as purity culture, colonialism, and the ongoing growth of the patriarchy, women became and still become experts in the act of being invisible.
Dallas Brigman
My Hero, Jesus Christ: The Use of Toys in Christianity
Explores the role of toys in shaping children’s perceptions of Jesus and how these representations contribute to religious education and identity formation. The paper uncovers how particular versions of Jesus operate in their social worlds to reify certain gender roles among conservative evangelicals and promote links between religious commitment and consumer practices.
Whittney Brown
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter and Savior of the Lesbians
Analyzes the cult film’s provocative portrayal of Jesus as a vampire hunter with an outstanding sense of humor and impressive karate skills against the backdrop of the early twenty-first-century gay rights movement. Through a close reading of its plotline and cinematography, the paper argues that the film operates to generate a sense of kinship for 2SLGBTQ+ Christians and other traditionally marginalized groups.
Jonah Jaisen
Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples: Abed Nadir as Contemporary Jesus
Examines the television character Abed Nadir from Community as a modern-day representation of Jesus. It explores how the show’s creator, Dan Harmon, uses meta-humor to engage with religious themes. In its assessment of Harmon’s use of gospel parallels and biblical language, the paper shows how Harmon can both critique Christian dogmatism and withstand accusations of blasphemy to advocate for an ever-expanding Jesus figure for use in film, television, and beyond.
Matthew Pierce
Jesus Was a Carpenter: Johnny Cash’s Countercultural Jesus
Discusses how the Jesus in Johnny Cash’s music reflects Cash’s own life story, particularly his humble rural beginnings and battles with substance abuse. It also touches on Cash’s unexpected alignment with Billy Graham for a series of revivals as part of the Jesus People Movement. The paper shows how the broader socio-historical tumult of 1960s America gave Cash the fodder to reinterpret Jesus as a figure of resistance and solidarity with the marginalized.
Delaney Reynolds
The Practice of Conservative Theology and its Effect on Gender Roles Within the Church
The existence of conservative theology lends itself to the perpetuation of biblical gender roles through a traditional interpretation of scripture. The exercise of such theology acts as a catalyst in defining gender roles and has led to the formation of a variety of social movements such as: The Moral Majority, The Christian Right, and The Overturning of Roe v. Wade. The reception of such theology remains varied and should be viewed as an integral part of the church’s view on women and their female members’ personal beliefs.
Dr. Angela Mertig and Sophia Roberts
Animals in Academia
Within the past few decades, there has been an “animal turn” within the humanities and social sciences, drawing heavily from changes in the understanding of nonhuman animals within the natural sciences. We present a review of what has been happening with regard to the topic of animals in various academic disciplines, including key fields within the social sciences, humanities, and natural/physical sciences.
Caleb Peluso-Harper
A Dish Best Served Cold
Part-time restaurant coworkers, full-time friends Katie and Lillian find a despicable way to get back at the high school mean girl during her lunch out.
Alex Queen
A Detective Marries a Criminal
Detective Jax wakes up in an abandoned warehouse being held captive by well-known criminal, Bella Hawthorne. She’s willing to let him go but on one little condition.
Nicholas Perrone
A Deck of Cards
A deck of cards connects these two characters, but how? And why? Watch this play to find out.
Kharley Layton
What’s on your Mind
Lea and Aros are in a car after escaping a human testing facility for people with superpowers. Lea keeps to herself and Aros tries to get her to open up.
Kathryn Pendergrass
Sunk In: A Ten-Minute Play
It is certain that two people went into that submarine. When it comes to being at the bottom of the ocean, it is not so certain that two people will come out.
Erin Pitcher
The God Doctor
A cancer patient asks his longtime friend–and doctor–to choose between his moral code and the wishes of a dying man.
Jo Bracey
Mother’s House
2 Sisters argue over a life changing decision.
Jessica Pruitt
When it’s Time
A play about a young woman who, in her dying moments, struggles with an unexpected someone.
Joseph Hyrka
Widdershins
An aging cranksman faces his greatest foe yet: an indifference to cranking! Will Frank be able to crank his way out of obsolescence, or will he crank himself to the bitter end?
McKeenze Reece
Queering the Literature: Gender Performativity and Heteronormativity in Chinese Danmei Novels
Danmei is a Chinese fiction genre depicting male-male romance and erotica that is widely accessible across the internet and has grown in popularity in the West. Researchers are divided on whether the Danmei genre is a form of women’s empowerment, queer literature, or a combination of both. This research explored and analyzed aspects of heteronormative standards as well as deviations from traditional Chinese gender norms within the male-male romance depicted within these novels. Based on the discovered results, widespread heteronormative standards are placed onto non-hetero relationships within most Danmei novels with little deviation from standard Chinese gender norms thus inviting further discussion on the social implications for the genre, its authors, and the queer communities in both Mainland China and the West.
Heather Parker
Characterization and Gender Norms in Thematic Apperception Test Narratives
The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is a psychoanalytical personality test used widely by psychoanalysts between the 1940s and 1970s. Test respondents were shown ambiguous social scenes and asked to tell a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end, attending to their character’s feelings and emotions. Due to the convoluted scoring system, the TAT fell out of favor with psychoanalysts, but many of the narratives remain. After compiling a collection of published and archival TAT narratives, I use critical discourse analysis to see how respondents depict gendered characters in the stories told.