October 2021 – Confluence

The House That Cotton Built

by Aliya JonesPosted on October 29, 2021

There’s stillness: the whispers of trees and soft winds that make them heard. They’re talking to us; we’ve come to listen. Plantations are vast, empty, filled with invisible souls and their all-too-audible cries; these acres are not that.

Advanced Writing CourseCreative Nonfictionfamily inheritance land place plantation slavery trauma united states history

“Triggering” Manhattan: The Ethics of Self-Insertion

by Olivia HuntPosted on October 28, 2021March 30, 2023

What are the ethical implications of an artist’s choice to portray their own protagonist in film and television? A comparative analysis of Woody Allen’s portrayal of Isaac Davis in "Manhattan" and Lena Dunham’s portrayal of Hannah Horvath in "Girls."

CriticismInterdisciplinary Seminarethics film pop culture representation television

The Representation of Women in Art and Literature

by Frances F. Denny and Jonathan SonnenbergPosted on October 27, 2021January 12, 2022

We’re all taught so well: How can you be your most beautiful? . . . To quiet that voice is not easy.

AudioStudent Publicationsfeminism gender nucleus photography representation

Kepler’s Cosmos

by Emma ZhangPosted on October 26, 2021October 25, 2021

A musical composition based on Kepler’s scores intended to interpret the motion of the planets in the solar system.

AudioInterdisciplinary SeminarResearchcosmos history of science music

Ambassador

by David RosalesPosted on October 25, 2021

Nobody has “wise-old-man energy” like my grandfather, Mauricio Rosales-Rivera.

Advanced Writing CourseCreative Nonfictioncoming of age family identity language latin america new england politics

Is That Really Necessary?

by Katherine SunPosted on October 22, 2021

To the plethora of objections "Salò" and "Lolita" multifaceted works of art have encountered, I add one more challenge: Is this artwork really that necessary?

CriticismFirst-Year Research Seminaraesthetics ethics film gender literature

Stranger At Home

by Jason TurnerPosted on October 21, 2021

I’m from white picket fences and white faces. / I’m from the stares of my neighbors. Some loving, some fake, some hostile, some come in terror.

First-Year Research SeminarPoetryChildhood family home identity memory place race

Atemübung – Breathing Exercise

by Olivia Kassaei and Vera KurnevPosted on October 20, 2021October 19, 2021

Maybe it needed to be a song. On the other hand, they had already done that. A poem crossed their mind, and they had to laugh (they often had to laugh). It could have been a lot of things. But then, it could only have been one way.

Creative NonfictionIndependent Projectsong

On Seeing Sound

by Patrick ColabellaPosted on October 19, 2021October 19, 2021

Robert Hayden carefully intertwines the visual and sonic senses in his poetry, setting striking images to meticulously crafted poetic music.

CriticismInterdisciplinary Seminar20th century ekphrasis literature music poetry sound

Letters to You and Me

by Nathalia Velasco HerreraPosted on October 18, 2021October 19, 2021

I can’t stand the way she sees the world./" Nunca hay que llorar"/ "La vida siempre es buena"

Creative NonfictionIndependent ProjectPoetrycollage Friendship loss

Caesar and Heathers: Violence and Humanity

by Alexandra O'SullivanPosted on October 18, 2021October 18, 2021

Why are people so attracted to tragedy?

CriticismFirst-Year Research Seminarentertainment film literature theater violence

Dogs, Death, and Religion

by Maxton PreuningerPosted on October 16, 2021October 18, 2021

Let's talk about death.

Creative NonfictionIndependent Projectdeath family medicine narrative religion

Unpacking the Cultural Readymade

by Kaarina Sorensen-JarrettPosted on October 15, 2021October 15, 2021

In a renewal of intention behind existing objects of the past, who is the iconoclast? The one that does not ascribe new meaning because time has passed or the one that does?

CriticismIndependent Projectart history philosophy pop culture