Recent Faculty Research & Scholarship
Explore the latest research, scholarship, and creative work from Cal Lutheran faculty experts.
Unlearning and Relearning Writing Center Dynamics as a Faculty Director
Scott Chiu, Writing
Published a Peer-Reviewed Paper
Overview
Chiu, S.C. (2026) "Unlearning and Relearning Writing Center Dynamics as a Faculty Director" in R. Azima, K. Levin, M. Steck & J.K.Tang (Eds.), The Reluctant Supervisor: Recognizing and Rethinking Power in Writing Center Supervisory Practices (pp. 161-174). Logan, UT: Utah State University Press.
Humanizing Assignments
Dru Pagliassotti, Communication
Gave a Talk to a Professional Organization
Overview
Dru Pagliassotti participated as an invited panelist on the topic of "Humanizing Assignments" for the Emerging Technology Committee of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA).
Details
This moderated virtual panel brought together university professors who are also published writers to discuss how generative AI is affecting instructors and students in higher education and how instructors are attempting to "re-humanize" assignments.
Reproductive Health and State-Level Mobilization in the Post-Dobbs Era
Dr. Haco Hoang, Political Science
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference
Overview
“Reproductive Health and State-Level Mobilization in the Post-Dobbs Era.” Paper presentation for the International Conference on Health, Wellness, and Society held in Mexico (September 10, 2026).
On Hausdorff spaces with a dense set of isolated points
Nathan Carlson , Mathematics
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference
Overview
Nathan Carlson presented 'On Hausdorff spaces with a dense set of isolated points' at the Pan-Pacific International Conference on Topology and Applications, held in Osaka, Japan.
Details
This presentation involved new results on cardinal functions for the class of topological spaces with a dense set of isolated points. A major result of Arhangel'skii is improved. I also presented a theorem of my son.
Luther and Religion
Kirsi Stjerna, Theology and Religious Studies
Published a Book
Overview
Kirsi Stjerna, PLTS, published a book "Luther and Religion", Cambridge University Press, September 2026.
Details
A description of the book: "A disillusioned Martin Luther was losing his faith until he experienced freedom of conscience with the gospel of grace that he found from his un-authorized re-reading of the Scriptures. This experience stimulated Luther's desire to free the Christian religion from teachings that could burden the human soul. In doing so, he offered a grammar for a Christian theology that is both mystical and liberating. Kirsi Stjerna here offers a contemporary reading of Luther's vision of a religion that is guided by concerns for freedom. Her study first considers Luther's understanding of the profound tension in human experience as simultaneously broken and holy; and second, how he aimed to orient Christians to live with freedom from despair via the security found in being grounded in God. Offering a critical reading of Luther's central insights and teachings, Stjerna invites readers to engage with Luther's story and contemplate the relevance of his theology in contemporary discourse on religion."
We Are All Monsters Here: Teaching Monstrification by Making and Becoming Monsters
Dru Pagliassotti, Communication
Published a Peer-Reviewed Paper
Overview
Dru Pagliassotti published "We Are All Monsters Here: Teaching Monstrification by Making and Becoming Monsters" in the Journal of Folklore and Education.
Details
https://jfepublications.org/article/we-are-all-monsters-here/ This paper examines Dr. Pagliassotti's CLU honors course, which uses monster theory and creative assignments to explore how societies construct and assign monstrous identities and helps undergraduates recognize how rhetorics of “monstrification” shape cultural anxieties about issues such as identity, technology, and power.
Finding Jesus at the Border: Opening Our Hearts to the Stories of Our Immigrant Neighbors
Julia Fogg, Religion, Biblical Studies, Immigration, Theology
Gave a Talk to a Community Organization
Overview
The Rev. Dr. Julia L. Fogg will give a community book talk on "Finding Jesus at the Border: Opening Our Hearts to the Stories of Our Immigrant Neighbors" (Fogg, Baker-Brazos Press, 2020). The book talk is hosted by the United Methodist Church of Westlake Village for their series on immigration, co-sponsored with Ascension Lutheran, Holy Trinity Lutheran, and other faith groups that are part of the Conejo Interfaith Refugee Team. Friends of CLU are welcome to attend on Sunday, Aug 30th at 4pm, at 1049 S. Westlake Blvd. Westlake Village.
Details
This talk will be a conversation with the author, an opportunity for those who have read the book, who are thinking about immigration in the SoCal context, or are working with immigrants and are interested in a theological and biblical understanding to ground and inspire their support.
Ciudad, Patrimonio Alimentario y Mobilidad Humana,
Lorena Muñoz, Urban Studies, Geography
Gave a Talk as an Invited Speaker
Overview
Lorena Munoz, Ciudad, Patrimonio Alimentario y Mobilidad Humana, UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico). Zoom, Mexico City. August 26, 2026.
Details
Invited to give a talk on my research at UNAM.
Workshop for the application of behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and suicide assessment and risk management.
Jamie Bedics, Psychology
Facilitated a Workshop
Overview
Jamie Bedics facilitated a three-day workshop for mental health providers from the San Bernardino Department of Behavioral Health in Rialto, California. The training focused on the application of behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and suicide assessment and risk management.
AI detection
Vlad Vaiman, Management
was Featured in Popular Media
Overview
Vlad Vaiman participated in a podcast on education and AI detection, hosted by InsightJam (a professional community with more than 1 million YouTube subscribers). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnQBdFQeyb8&t=847s
Details
AI is forcing us to reconsider what we mean by talent. Historically, we often inferred individual capability from individual output. Increasingly, output is being created by human-AI systems. So, perhaps the scarce human capability is shifting from simply producing the artifact toward framing the right problem, exercising judgment, evaluating what AI produces, recognizing what is wrong, integrating context, and taking responsibility for the final decision.
They Own Their Homes. Others Own the Ground Beneath Them.
Jamshid Damooei, Economics
Published an Op-Ed
Overview
Jamshid Damooei wrote an op-ed that ran in the Sunday edition of the Ventura County Star on August 23rd. The title is: "They Own Their Homes. Others Own the Ground Beneath Them" It highlights the growing financialization of housing in California and in Ventura County.
Details
Affordability has eroded for decades: incomes have barely kept pace, while home prices and rents have soared. Building more expensive apartments will not solve the crisis at the bottom of the income ladder. Mobile homes can give lower-income families and seniors on fixed incomes a rare foothold in high-cost communities. But residents often own their homes—not the land beneath them. They pay rent for the land, and when that rent becomes unaffordable, they can lose both their home and their community. The reported 45% rent increases sought in Thousand Oaks and Santa Paula illustrate the danger. The corporate owner that acquired the parks is suing both cities to allow the increases. The courts will decide whether the increases can proceed. California—and Ventura County in particular—must protect mobile homes from becoming another target of housing financialization. People should not lose their homes because they cannot afford to rent the land beneath them. My op-ed came out in four different newspapers and outlets: Here are links to them: 1) MSN: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/they-own-their-homes-others-own-the-ground-beneath-them-your-turn/ar-AA2aInKO 2) Yahoo News: https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/own-homes-others-own-ground-150036151.html?guccounter=1 3) Ventura County Star: https://www.vcstar.com/story/opinion/columnists/2026/08/22/they-own-their-homes-others-own-the-ground-beneath-them-your-turn/91378149007/ 4) Merced Sun-Star: https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/article316975573.html
The Legacy of Korean-born Samurai in Early Edo Society
David Nelson, History
Published a Peer-Reviewed Paper
Overview
David Nelson, “The Legacy of Korean-born Samurai in Early Edo Society,” in Cross Cultural Encounters in Early Modern Japan: Foreigners within the Samurai Class, c. 1550-1900 ed. Samantha Perez and Matthew Paul Smith, 33-49 (New York: Routledge, 2027).
Details
This article is a continuation of my work on Korean-born samurai, Wakita Kyubei, who rose from a Yangban child captive in Kaga Doman, to end his career of service as Kanazawa Castle Town Magistrate in the17th century. Since then, I have been extending my search for other Koreans who achieved similar status. This article explores the descendants of roughly two dozen Koreans (out of 10,000s) who were granted status as samurai, and their role in Japanese culture and history, culminating in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), where one descendant, General Nogi Maresuke, a key role in driving the Russians out of Korea and southern Manchuria, thus securing Japanese control over Korea-- 300 years after his ancestors were forcibly removed to Japan by an invading Japanese army.
Undocumented Immigrants Are an Inseparable Part of Ventura County’s Economic & Social Life
Jamshid Damooei, Economics
Gave a Talk as an Invited Speaker
Overview
Jamshid Damooei gave a presentation titled “Undocumented Immigrants Are an Inseparable Part of Ventura County’s Economic & Social Life.” The Social Concerns Committee of the United Methodist Church of Westlake Village, in conjunction with the Cornejo Interfaith Refugee Team, invited me to present my latest research on the Demographic Profile and Economic Impact of Undocumented Immigrants in Ventura County on Sunday, August 16th.
Details
Unfortunately, a significant proportion of prevailing opinion about immigration, particularly regarding undocumented immigrants, is often based on unsound and unproven perceptions about national security, employment competitiveness, and cultural assimilation, fueled by early 20th-century anti-immigrant sentiment. Discussions about immigration have become increasingly divisive and heated over the past few decades. The Center for Economics of Social Issues at Cal Lutheran has held two conferences in 2023 and 2024 on the social conditions and economic impacts of undocumented immigrants in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties and across California. In 2023, the focus was on these counties; in 2024, it shifted to California. We have maintained this focus over the past several years and updated the information twice as new data became available. The current presentation in Westlake Village and upcoming presentations in other locations will present the latest findings. One of the most important objectives of these efforts is to counter myths with facts and present reality against perceptions. Link to Presentation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ErQUl3PboygMF__9bALHXUBainr8CkpD/view
Too Close for Comfort: How Distance and Density Shape the Liquidity Effects of ADUs
Ran Lu-Andrews, Real Estate
Gave a Talk as an Invited Speaker
Overview
Ran Lu-Andrews was invited to give a research talk "Too Close for Comfort: How Distance and Density Shape the Liquidity Effects of ADUs," to the audience from the Financial Planning Association Ventura County (FPAVC) at California Lutheran University.
Embodiment and Gender: A Contemporary Lutheran Perspectives
Kirsi Stjerna, Theology and Religious Studies
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference
Overview
Kirsi Stjerna gave a keynote presentation "Embodiment and Gender: A Contemporary Lutheran Perspectives", International Congress for Luther Research, Aarhus, Denmark.
Details
Audience: Global network of Luther scholars. Contribution: New research methodology: feminist scholarship and gender studies applies in Luther research. Attending to concrete issues theologically. Breaking ground. Addressing vital issues of embodiment and gender from a particularly Lutheran perspectives and suggesting research trajectories for the future. The main point: Martin Luther's theology can be employed in body-positive theology and Lutheran theology benefits from intersecting with gender and feminist studies.
Resisting Big Tech: Algorithmic Problems and Technological Sovereignty
Jose Marichal, Political Science
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference
Overview
Jose Marichal co-authored a presentation with Sara Schoonmaker (University of Redlands) entitled "Resisting Big Tech: Algorithmic Problems and Technological Sovereignty " at the American Sociological Association Annual Conference in New York, NY.
Details
the paper examined rationales for resisting big tech
Funding and Support
None
Working with Students to Produce News for Campus and Community
Kirstie Hettinga, Communication
Other
Overview
Kirstie Hettinga participated in two panels at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in New Orleans. She participated on the research panel: "Working with Students to Produce News for Campus and Community" and the teaching panel: "Teaching Multimedia Reporting in the Age of AI."
Details
"Working with Students to Produce News for Campus and Community" focused on "different ways that faculty are working with students to produce news" and "on the labor that faculty advisers commit to student news organizations, which is often significant and overlooked." The teaching panel, "Teaching Multimedia Reporting in the Age of AI" addressed "various topics on teaching multimedia news reporting for college students at the time when AI is advancing. Specifically, it will discuss how a reporting class should be structured to fit into different levels of students, what essential skills that should be taught, and how course instructors can enhance the practical learning of students."
Taking CARE of Business: AI Does Headlines Better
Kirstie Hettinga, Dru Pagliassotti, Communication
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference
Overview
Kirstie Hettinga and Dru Pagliassotti presented "Taking CARE of Business: AI Does Headlines Better" at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication's annual conference in New Orleans.
Details
As AI adoption expands across journalism, student newsrooms face growing questions regarding its integration. This study evaluates differences between AI-generated and student-written news headlines by analyzing the feedback on the headlines of 40 college newspaper articles. Faculty evaluators rated AI-generated headlines higher overall, citing stronger attention-grabbing qualities. However, student headlines performed better in conversational tone. Addressing key industry concerns surrounding accuracy and reader engagement, the authors propose a CARE framework—encouraging journalism students to craft headlines that are Creative, Accurate, Relevant, and Engaging. The authors also address the pedagogical, ethical, and legal dimensions of AI in student media.
Funding and Support
This research was supported by the inaugural 2024 Iles Award for Research in Editing from the Bremner Editing Center at the University of Kansas School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
John Garcia
Finance
he attention economy of retail trading: Evidence from Robinhood and social media
John Garcia, Finance
Published a Peer-Reviewed Paper
Overview
John Garcia published "The attention economy of retail trading: Evidence from Robinhood and social media" in the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance.
Details
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbef.2026.101215 Abstract: Is retail participation driven by what investors notice or how they feel? This study develops a hierarchical signal-processing framework and tests it using daily changes in Robinhood holders for 427 U.S. stocks from May 2018 to August 2020. Attention and sentiment are measured using cross-platform principal components from StockTwits, Twitter, and Seeking Alpha. In baseline and stratified regressions, attention is the more consistent conditional predictor: a one-standard-deviation increase corresponds to an expected holdings change equal to 68% of the median absolute daily change, after conditioning on the full control set. This association holds across most firm- and market-state stratifications but weakens under information-competition regimes, notably elevated presidential-tweet volume, consistent with limited-attention crowding out. Sentiment is insignificant on average but informative in validating contexts: positive tone near 52-week highs reinforces momentum narratives, while negative tone matters when valuation or short-interest signals make skepticism salient. Panel vector autoregression (PVAR) evidence qualifies these patterns: in the unconditional system, holdings feed back into attention, and short-horizon directionality is not identified from the data alone; in the state-conditional system, attention’s predictive content becomes significantly negative under high macroeconomic-news competition. Together, the results cast visibility as a consideration-set filter and tone as a context-dependent validation signal.
mmigration Detainers, Local Law Enforcement, and Constraints on Bureaucratic Discretion: Recent Trends Under the Second Trump Administration
Sheridan Wigginton, Spanish and Latin American Studies
Published a Peer-Reviewed Paper
Overview
Sheridan Wigginton published 'Immigration Detainers, Local Law Enforcement, and Constraints on Bureaucratic Discretion: Recent Trends Under the Second Trump Administration' in the Kentucky Law Journal.
Details
Immigration detainers issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to local police departments remain a contentious issue, particularly given their intensified use under the second Trump Administration's mass deportation agenda. While many local governments have resisted cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, others have reversed course. Louisville, Kentucky offers a telling example: in July 2025, Mayor Craig Greenberg reinstated a 24-hour immigration hold policy for inmates in the country without authorization, driven largely by fears of losing federal funding and facing intensified federal enforcement activity. Greenberg himself acknowledged the city risked losing hundreds of millions in federal grants supporting vulnerable residents if it retained its sanctuary status. This Article examines the limits placed on local police discretion by Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), enacted under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, with particular attention to 287(g) immigration detainers. The analysis draws on three sources: co-author Richard Middleton IV's experience as an immigration attorney representing clients facing municipal and state charges; emerging patterns of local police using contact with Hispanic or Latino-appearing individuals as pretext for ICE referrals; and existing scholarship on police discretion and immigration enforcement. Louisville serves as a case study illustrating the political pressures shaping local policy implementation under the current administration. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5650&context=klj
The Inner Pilgrimage of Morten Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna
James Arthur Bond, English and Music
Gave a Talk as an Invited Speaker
Overview
Jim Bond gave an online lecture, "The Inner Pilgrimage of Morten Lauridsen's _Lux Aeterna_" for the Choral Institute at the Green Lake Festival of Music, Ripon, Wisconsin.
Details
In preparation for a performance of composer Morten Lauridsen's _Lux Aeterna for Chorus and Chamber Orchestra_, Dr. John C. Hughes invited me to present an online lecture to his musicians. The chorus had been rehearsing the work that week, and were getting reading for the dress rehearsal and concert on Saturday, August 1. I discussed some crucial biographical details about the composer, explained crucial connections between the musical content and the stunning landscape of the San Juan Islands, gave an overview of the musical elements in the piece, and above all, emphasized the role the work has played in healing the losses listeners have experienced in their lives. At the end, I quoted directly from letters sent to the composer about the healing nature of the work, and discussed the meaning of those responses for interpreting this important work from the choral repertoire.
Building Startup Communities'
Mike Panesis, Entrepreneurship
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference
Overview
Mike Panesis presented 'Building Startup Communities' at the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) Global Summit, hosted by Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing (ESPM) in São Paulo, Brazil.
Details
This was the first ever GCEC meeting anywhere in Latin America. I shared Cal Lutheran's experience building a startup community, emphasizing the work of Brad Feld and Ian Hathaway. The presentation was well received and led to some spirited discussion, especially in two areas: 1) There's a common misconception that access to capital is a hindrance to startup community formation. It is not, at least in the early stages; 2) Despite great progress, diversity, equity and inclusion is still an issue in too many startup communities. Fun fact: My presentation room was inside a specialized mock supermarket classroom. It had absolutely nothing to so with my topic, but it was a very interesting venue!
Why Does Allyship Matter?: Toward a Conceptual Framework of Liberatory Allyship
Dan Tillapaugh, Education
Published a Peer-Reviewed Paper
Overview
Dan Tillapaugh and his colleagues, Chase Catalano (Virginia Tech) and Rachel Wagner (Clemson), published their article, Why Does Allyship Matter?: Toward a Conceptual Framework of Liberatory Allyship, in the Journal of Equity and Social Justice in Education.
Details
This scholarly work offers a conceptual framework of liberatory allyship. Extant descriptions of allyship exposed vagueness about action and accountability and typically frame allyship as either an identity or a process. Using Jackson and Mazzei’s (2012, 2023) thinking with theory, we intersect Love’s (2018) liberatory consciousness framework with Komives et al.’s (2006, 2009) leadership identity development (LID) model to conceptualize what it means to imagine a praxis-based liberatory allyship framework. In this framework, we offer four stages of liberatory allyship: (1) Ally Awareness, (2) Ally Identified, (3) Allyship Differentiated, and (4) Allyship as Accomplice. We offer implications on how individuals working in higher education might use the liberatory allyship framework to affect positive social change within their communities. https://doi.org/10.62889/2026/tcwa.0701
Music of Liberation: How the Church Remembers Holy Witnesses
Adan Fernandez, Musicology, Theology, History
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference
Overview
Adan Fernandez presented "Music of Liberation: How the Church Remembers Holy Witnesses" at the Hymn Society Annual Conference, held at Princeton, New Jersey.
Details
To explore how Latin American Nueva Canción became a devotional language of witness, particularly in communities affected by poverty, violence, and oppression. Using St. Óscar Romero as a central example, the presentation examined how song preserves the memory of martyrs and connects sacrifice, liberation, and solidarity with the Church’s devotional and liturgical life. The presentation was given for The Hymn Society to hymnologists, church musicians, clergy, composers, and scholars. It highlighted Latin American traditions often underrepresented in North American hymnody and demonstrated how sacred and popular song can express faith, justice, suffering, and communal memory. The presentation combined musicology, theology, history, and liturgical studies, focusing on Nueva Canción, liberation theology, martyrdom, popular piety, inculturation, and communal memory. It traced a movement from witness → communal memory → devotional song → liturgical imagination. Devotional music need not become liturgical music to influence liturgical experience. Nueva Canción gave communities a vocabulary for sacrifice, hope, and liberation that they carried into worship, demonstrating the reciprocal relationship between popular devotion and liturgy. The work expands sacred-music scholarship beyond the traditional European canon and treats devotional song as an important archive of marginalized communities. It contributes to a more culturally expansive understanding of sacred music, liturgy, and Christian witness. The project asks whose stories are remembered through worship and song. It encourages musicians and scholars to engage culturally rooted repertoire and recognize music’s ability to preserve marginalized voices, confront injustice, sustain memory, and transform remembrance into solidarity.
Capital gains vs. working pains — making the case for a billionaire tax
Jamshid Damooei, Economics
Published an Op-Ed
Overview
Jamshid Damooei wrote an op-ed on a timely topic that appeared in both the online and print editions of the Ventura County Star on Sunday, July 19th. Its title is: Capital gains vs. working pains — making the case for a billionaire tax
Details
California's Proposition 40 poses a simple yet important question: Should billionaires pay a one-time 5% wealth tax to help address budget pressures intensified by the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act and to protect funding for healthcare, education, and food assistance? For decades, much of the public debate over taxes has centered on the fear that any increase would harm everyone. Yet the greatest beneficiaries of many tax preferences have been the ultra-rich and large corporations, while working families continue to shoulder a disproportionate share of the burden. My latest op-ed examines why it's time to rethink the balance between wealth and work in our tax system. The article explains that lower capital gains tax rates are only part of the story. Much of the ultra-rich's wealth takes the form of unrealized capital gains, including stocks, real estate, and business holdings that continue to appreciate without being sold. By borrowing against those assets rather than selling them, billionaires can often finance their lifestyles without triggering capital gains taxes. The overwhelming majority of Americans pay taxes every payday. At the same time, some of the wealthiest people can legally avoid paying taxes on much of their growing wealth for years, or even generations. Link to Online Version: https://www.vcstar.com/story/opinion/columnists/2026/07/17/capital-gains-vs-working-pains-the-case-for-a-billionaire-tax/90919312007/ Link to Sunday Paper Edition: https://venturacountystar-ca.newsmemory.com/?publink=14d8aad06_1352193
Political Engagement and Mobilization After Roe: The Impact of the Dobbs v. Jackson Abortion Ruling on Young Women and Minorities.
Haco Hoang, Political Science
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference
Overview
“Political Engagement and Mobilization After Roe: The Impact of the Dobbs v. Jackson Abortion Ruling on Young Women and Minorities.” Paper presented at the International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences in Ireland (July 2026).
Empowering Student Agency: Sustainable Assessment Practices for Lifelong Learning
Dr. Brandy Yee, Education
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference
Overview
Dr. Brandy Yee presented "Empowering Student Agency: Sustainable Assessment Practices for Lifelong Learning" at The European Conference on Education (ECE2026) University College London & SOAS, University of London.
Details
This research presentation explored how sustainable assessment practices can shift students from passive recipients of evaluation to active agents in their own learning, building the self-assessment and evaluative judgment capacities they need long after a course ends. The intended audience was higher education faculty, assessment professionals, and instructional designers convening at The European Conference on Education, hosted by University College London and SOAS, University of London--practitioners who face growing pressure to demonstrate learning outcomes while also preparing graduates for a workforce that demands continuous self-directed learning. Key themes included the distinction between assessment of learning and assessment for and as learning, the design of feedback loops that build student capacity rather than simply certify performance, the role of authentic and competency-based tasks in fostering transferable judgment, and practical strategies for embedding student voice through self-assessment, peer review, and negotiated criteria. The central takeaway was that assessment is not merely a measurement function but a pedagogical intervention: when designed intentionally, it becomes one of the most powerful levers institutions have for cultivating learner autonomy, metacognition, and the disposition toward lifelong learning. This work is significant because assessment reform is often treated as a compliance exercise driven by accreditation demands rather than as an opportunity to redesign the learning experience itself; reframing it around sustainability and student agency offers institutions a path that serves both accountability and genuine educational purpose. Delivered virtually to an international audience, the presentation was intended to give faculty and academic leaders concrete, adaptable practices they can implement at the course level while making the broader institutional case that how we assess shapes what and how students learn for the rest of their lives.
Wildlings
Mark Spraggins, Music
Exhibited Creative Works Off-Campus
Overview
Mark Spraggins attended the world premiere of his composition "Wildlings" by the Bluestone Contemporary Ensemble in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Details
"Wildlings" is a contemporary music composition for mixed ensemble (Piano, violin, cello, clarinet, horn, trumpet). It was premiered by the Bluestone Contemporary Ensemble, a resident music ensemble from James Madison University, VA. The title Wildlings is inspired by the feral group of people who live outside of the Northern wall in the television show Game of Thrones. Known as "free-folk", their highly independent society refuses to bow to any king or authoritarian figure. Musically, the piece looks back a century ago to the language of Igor Stravinsky and Bela Bartok (among others), using mostly octotonic, acoustic and modal scales. These materials - trapped between the tonal and atonal worlds, allow for perpetual motion within a mostly tonal harmonic framework.
Funding and Support
Provost's conference fund, Hewlett Grant
On Hausdorff spaces with a dense set of isolated points
Nathan Carlson, Mathematics
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference
Overview
Nathan Carlson presented 'On Hausdorff spaces with a dense set of isolated points' at the Galway Topology Colloquium, held in Aberystwyth, Wales.
Details
New results on Hausdorff spaces with a dense set of isolated points, with a view towards power homogeneous spaces.
Skills Shift: What People Need to Learn Now That AI Is Here
Vlad Vaiman, Management
Published an Editorial
Overview
Vlad Vaiman published an editorial entitled "Skills Shift: What People Need to Learn Now That AI Is Here" in both Solutions Review and Insight Jam, an enterprise IT community that enables human conversation on AI (with more than 1 million subscribers). https://solutionsreview.com/edtech/2026/07/09/skills-shift-what-people-need-to-learn-now-that-ai-is-here/
Details
AI is changing the conversation from job replacement to skill transformation. The real question is no longer 'Which jobs will disappear?', it's 'Which capabilities will matter most?'. For business leaders and higher education, the challenge is the same: preparing people for an AI-enabled workplace where human judgment, adaptability, collaboration, and AI literacy become the true competitive advantage. In this article, "Skills Shift: What People Need to Learn Now That AI Is Here", Dr. Vaiman discusses why organizations and universities need to rethink how they develop talent for the future of work.
Engaging Cisgender Men
Dan Tillapaugh, Education
Published a Book Chapter
Overview
Dan Tillapaugh published his book chapter, Engaging Cisgender Men, in Student Engagement in Higher Education: Theoretical Perspectives and Practical Approaches for Diverse Populations (4th ed., Routledge).
Details
Over the past two decades, scholars have paid closer attention to the needs of cisgender college men and their development. Increasingly, college student educators have been concerned about cisgender men’s enrollment, persistence, and engagement in higher education, particularly Men of Color. As a result, educators have introduced a proliferation of programmatic interventions, such as peer mentorship programs and targeted programs focused on masculinity and other intersectional identities, to support cisgender men’s involvement and retention in higher education. In this chapter, I discuss three specific frameworks – intersectionality, the socialization of hegemonic masculinity, and Community Cultural Wealth – that may serve as useful lenses for college student educators’ work with cisgender men on campus. Additionally, I offer five policy and practice recommendations: (1) expand and replicate peer mentorship programs for cisgender men; (2) emphasize the transferable skills developed between student involvement and career readiness for men; (3) reimagine what student involvement means and go to where cisgender men are to engage them; (4) invite cisgender men into programs and services through intentional relationship-building; and (5) devote institutional operational funds towards programs geared to support cisgender men’s success and retention.
The Frog Brigade
Michael Pearce, Visual Arts
Exhibited Creative Works Off-Campus
Overview
Dr. Michael Pearce and Zoltron collaborated to create a poster for Les Claypool's concert with Primus, The Frog Brigade, and The Claypool Lennon Experience in San DIego.
Details
Thousands of Primus fans collect Zoltron concert posters. Pearce painted his 'Priestess' in oils, then Zoltron turned it into a silkscreen print. (The poster was instantly pirated onto bootleg t-shirts.)
Views from the Bandwagon: The Effect of Comments on Audience Response to an Organizational Leader’s YouTube Apology
Jean Sandlin (Communication) and Monica Gracyalny (Research Protections Office), Communication
Published a Peer-Reviewed Paper
Overview
Jean Sandlin (Communication Dept) and Monica Gracyalny (Research Protections Office) published "Views from the Bandwagon: The Effect of Comments on Audience Response to an Organizational Leader’s YouTube Apology" in Public Relations Journal.
Details
Video apologies are often reposted on YouTube, providing viewers with the ability to interact via comments. Sincere apologies have been shown to positively impact organizational outcomes. However, viewers’ pre-existing attitudes of high-profile public figures can bias their perceptions of YouTube apologies. For professional communicators representing low-profile clients with minimal or no recognition until a crisis arises, can the theoretical framework of the bandwagon effect offer insight as to how viewers will respond? This experimental study tested the effects of comment sentiment on viewers’ perceptions of apology sincerity and forgiveness by measuring their attitudes after watching a fictional organizational leader’s YouTube apology. Participants (N=601) were randomly assigned to one of three comment sentiment conditions (positive, negative, or mixed) while viewing the same apology. Results indicate that YouTube apologies are vulnerable to a significant bandwagon effect based on comment sentiment. Participants who viewed the apology with positive comments perceived the apology as most sincere, whereas those who viewed negative comments perceived it as least sincere. Participants who viewed the apology with positive comments were also more likely to forgive the organizational leader, rate him as more attractive, and see more sadness and remorse in his emotional state than those who viewed negative or mixed comments. You can read the study in full here: https://instituteforpr.org/prj-vol-19-issue-1-article-1/
Conor Walton, Paintings and Essays
Michael Pearce, Visual Arts
Published a Book Chapter
Overview
Michael Pearce wrote the lead essay for 'Conor Walton, Paintings and Essays,' published by Irish Art Press.
Reframing HRM for a Multipolar World: Insights from the Asia-Pacific Region
Vlad Vaiman, Management
Published a Peer-Reviewed Paper
Overview
Vlad Vaiman's paper "Reframing HRM for a Multipolar World: Insights from the Asia-Pacific Region" has been accepted for publication in Personnel Review.
Effect of unloading time, leg, and sex on distal femoral cartilage thickness
Michele LeBlanc, Mari Carmen Bufkin, Sophia Muller, Exercise Science
Published a Peer-Reviewed Paper
Overview
Michele LeBlanc, along with undergraduate students Carmen Bufkin and Sophia Muller, published the paper "Effect of unloading time, leg, and sex on distal femoral cartilage thickness" in the journal Orthopedics and Tissue Engineering.
Details
The article can be viewed at https://article.accscience.com/journal/OTE/online_first/ote026100007/article_ote0261000071_cd4788.pdf and the DOI is doi: 10.36922/OTE026100007 The article focused on determining the appropriate time required for cartilage to de-compress for active young females and males, comparing the response between sexes and legs. The main finding was that the time required differs depending on the region (medial condyle, intercondylar groove, lateral condyle). Also, as expected males have thicker cartilage in all regions than females. A new finding was that the cartilage for a person's preferred leg is thicker in the medial condyle region. The results of this study help inform what researchers and clinicians need to do prior to a loading protocol to have equivalent conditions for their participants or patients.
Funding and Support
The study was motivated by work done by the research team the prior summer with support from the Swenson Summer Science Research Fellowship Program.
On centered local pi-bases' in Topology and its Applications.
Nathan Carlson , Mathematics
Published a Peer-Reviewed Paper
Overview
Nathan Carlson published 'On centered local pi-bases' in Topology and its Applications.
Details
Further research on cardinal inequalities. Paper access online: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166864126001859
Utilizing Foraminifera to Reconstruct Paleo-methane Seeps and Paleoceanographic Changes in the Norwegian Sea Since the Last Deglaciation
Megan Fung and Emma Caputo, Geology
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference with Student Co-Authors
Overview
Megan Fung (Earth and Environmental Sciences) presented "Utilizing Foraminifera to Reconstruct Paleo-methane Seeps and Paleoceanographic Changes in the Norwegian Sea Since the Last Deglaciation" at the 2026 FORAMS Conference, held a the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Funding and Support
The study was motivated by work done by Emma Caputo ('26) during a prior summer with support from the John Stauffer Research Fellows Program.
Market Resilience in Crisis: Post-Pandemic Enrollment Shifts and Sector-Based Performance in U.S. Higher Education, 2019–2024
Ali Akbari, Economics
Published a Peer-Reviewed Paper
Overview
Ali Akbari presented and published a peer-reviewed paper titled "Market Resilience in Crisis: Post-Pandemic Enrollment Shifts and Sector-Based Performance in U.S. Higher Education, 2019–2024" at the 16th International Conference on The Future of Education in Florence, Italy (June 17–20, 2026).
Details
Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the traditional stability of the U.S. higher education market, exposing distinct vulnerabilities across different institutional types. Rather than a uniform decline, enrollment data from 2019–2024 reveal a fragmented landscape where student choice shifted significantly based on sector responsiveness. Using national enrollment percentage-change data drawn from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the analysis evaluates sector-specific differences and assesses whether institutional sector is significantly associated with changes in enrollment. Statistical methods, including ANOVA and non-parametric alternatives, are used to test the significance of observed differences. Both the categorical analysis (Chi-Square) and the continuous analysis (ANOVA) converge on the same finding: Institution Sector is a critical determinant of enrollment trends. The Chi-Square test reveals a strong dependency where PAB and Public 2-year sectors are disproportionately represented in the "Extreme Decrease" category, while private sectors dominate the "High Increase" category. Results indicate substantial variation across sectors, with for-profit institutions showing growth while public two-year and Public Associate-Dominant (PAB) institutions experienced the steepest declines. The study argues that for public institutions to recover, they must move beyond traditional enrollment management and integrate the more aggressive, consumer-oriented recruitment tactics utilized by their private competitors. DOI link: https://urlsand.esvalabs.com/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.82075%2FFOE_2026_16_PAG.506&e=44afb75b&h=20a70793&f=y&p=y&m=4h4CbV4Zw3zJmjB
Algorithmic Anchoring: How Prompt-Embedded Reference Points Bias LLM Financial Estimates
John Garcia, Finance
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference
Overview
Presented "Algorithmic Anchoring: How Prompt-Embedded Reference Points Bias LLM Financial Estimates" at the Research Symposium on Finance and Economics, held in Sri City, India (virtual).
Details
Link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6366838 Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used in financial analysis; however, it remains unclear whether numerical cues embedded in prompts systematically bias their outputs. This study conducts a controlled equity-valuation experiment using fictional companies that minimize firm-specific training-data priors and hold fundamentals constant. Across 51,000 API invocations of three commercial models (Claude Haiku 4.5, GPT-5-mini, and Gemini 2.5 Flash), I randomize prompt-embedded anchors and estimate how valuations and downstream outputs respond. Three findings emerge. First, source framing amplifies anchoring: labeling the same number as a prior AI estimate increases valuation sensitivity to the anchor by 52% (from slope 0.272 to 0.413), consistent with greater weight placed on a source-labeled prior rather than on greater numeric exposure. Second, anchoring propagates selectively: implied P/E ratios shift toward the anchor, buy/sell recommendations exhibit a sign reversal attributable to dual-channel contamination, and implied growth forecasts remain largely insulated. Third, model susceptibility differs materially: GPT-5-mini exhibits substantially weaker anchoring than Claude Haiku and Gemini across all tested conditions. These results imply that model choice and prompt framing are first-order determinants of anchoring risk in LLM-assisted finance tasks and should be empirically validated in practice.
Bridging Borders: Implementing Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy in Ethnic Studies for High School Learners
Dr. Brandy Yee; Israel Lozano, Education
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference with Student Co-Authors
Overview
Dr. Brandy Yee and McNair student Israel Lozano presented a poster entitled "Bridging Borders: Implementing Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy in Ethnic Studies for High School Learners" at the The Paris Conference on Education (PCE2026) at Sorbonne University International Conference Center (CICSU).
Details
This poster presentation, developed with McNair Scholar Israel Lozano, examined how culturally sustaining pedagogy can be meaningfully implemented in high school Ethnic Studies classrooms — a timely question as Ethnic Studies moves from elective offering to graduation requirement in California and beyond. The intended audience was international educators, teacher educators, and education researchers gathered at The Paris Conference on Education at Sorbonne University's International Conference Center, for whom the work offered a transferable framework for sustaining students' linguistic, cultural, and community knowledge rather than treating those assets as obstacles to be overcome. Key focus areas included curriculum design grounded in students' lived experience, teacher preparation and professional learning needs, and the tension between standardized accountability structures and community-responsive instruction; the project synthesized existing scholarship on culturally sustaining pedagogy with practical classroom implementation considerations. Central takeaways were that successful implementation depends less on curricular content alone than on sustained teacher capacity-building, authentic community partnership, and institutional commitment that extends past a single course requirement. The work is significant because it bridges the gap between theory and classroom practice at a moment when many districts are adopting Ethnic Studies mandates without corresponding investment in pedagogy or teacher support, and it does so through an undergraduate research partnership that models the McNair Program's mission of preparing first-generation and historically underrepresented scholars for doctoral study. By presenting this framework in an international forum, the project invites educators across national contexts to consider how schools can affirm rather than erase students' identities — advancing both the scholarly conversation and the practical work of building classrooms where all learners see themselves reflected.
Funding and Support
McNair Scholars Program
Setting the Stage: Lessons from an Interdisciplinary Opening Exercise
Geoffrey Plourde, Accounting
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference
Overview
Geoffrey Plourde (SOM) presented "Setting the Stage: Lessons from an Interdisciplinary Opening Exercise" at the 2026 MOBTS Conference held at the University of Michigan.
Details
This activity introduces an interdisciplinary opening exercise designed to surface judgment, sensemaking, and timing challenges before formal technical instruction begins. Using a realistic internal email packet, students work in pairs and then in groups to assess resource availability and brainstorm potential responses in the early stages of a developing managerial problem. By focusing on interpretation rather than resolution, the exercise illustrates how organizational risks often emerge from misreading timing and constraints rather than from sudden shocks. Designed for a 50-minute class block, the activity is adaptable across accounting, management, entrepreneurship, and strategy courses.
Funding and Support
Hewlett Grant
Cardinal inequalities using o-free sequences
Nathan Carlson , Mathematics
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference
Overview
Nathan Carlson (virtually) gave the invited presentation, 'Cardinal inequalities using o-free sequences' at the XXI Simposio Latinoamericano de Lógica Matemática, held in Bogotá, Colombia.
Details
I gave an invited semi-plenary presentation on my recent work on o-free sequences to an audience of set-theorists. This audience is not my typical audience, which is usually topologists.
Framing the First Day: Structuring Opening Exercises to Set Financial Accounting Courses Up for Success."
Geoffrey Plourde, Accounting
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference
Overview
Geoffrey Plourde presented a teaching skills session at the American Accounting Association's 2026 SPARK conference on "Framing the First Day: Structuring Opening Exercises to Set Financial Accounting Courses Up for Success."
Details
This session introduced a structured, ready-to-implement opening exercise that can elevate participation, clarify standards, and set a professional tone in financial accounting courses from day one. The exercise has been intentionally designed and revised after classroom use to require students to meaningfully engage with a realistic business crisis that is the direct result of a failure to properly supervise a company's internal accounting function. The session demonstrated how a 30–45 minute interactive activity can signal rigor, foster meaningful discussion, and reduce later resistance to challenging material. Attendees will see the exercise structure, facilitation approach, and adaptable discussion prompts. The framework has been successfully implemented in introductory and graduate level financial accounting courses and requires no special materials.
From Barriers to Belonging: How Students Interpret CPA Licensure Requirements and Develop Professional Identity Commitment
Geoffrey Plourde, Accounting
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference
Overview
Geoffrey Plourde presented "From Barriers to Belonging: How Students Interpret CPA Licensure Requirements and Develop Professional Identity Commitment" at the American Accounting Association's 2026 SPARK Conference.
Details
Research on the accounting pipeline frequently treats CPA licensure requirements as structural barriers that increase or decrease student interest. While prior work examines perceptions of the 150-hour requirement and licensure reform, it largely frames requirements as economic costs. This paper advances a behavioral alternative: licensure requirements may function as professional identity signals. Students may interpret licensure standards as communicating what kind of professionals the field values. I propose that interpretation of licensure standards influences professional identity commitment, which in turn predicts CPA pursuit intention. This working paper outlines a conceptual model and proposed empirical design and seeks feedback prior to data collection.
Hmong but not Asian, Sāmoan but not Pacific Islander: Tracing the ECLS-K Racial Data (Mis)Classification Journey
Kristine Jan Cruz Espinoza, Ph.D., Education
Other
Overview
Kristine Jan Cruz Espinoza, Ph.D. (Graduate School of Education), published a co-authored work-in-progress paper entitled, "Hmong but not Asian, Sāmoan but not Pacific Islander: Tracing the ECLS-K Racial Data (Mis)Classification Journey" with the Annenberg Institute at Brown University alongside Wendy Castillo, Ph.D. (Montclair State University), and Daranee Taychachaiwongse Teng (University of Colorado, Denver).
Details
Kristine Jan Cruz Espinoza, Ph.D. (Graduate School of Education), published a co-authored work-in-progress paper entitled, "Hmong but not Asian, Sāmoan but not Pacific Islander: Tracing the ECLS-K Racial Data (Mis)Classification Journey" with the Annenberg Institute at Brown University alongside Wendy Castillo, Ph.D. (Montclair State University), and Daranee Taychachaiwongse Teng (University of Colorado, Denver). In this work-in-progress paper, we examine racial data (mis)classification in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies (ECLS-K) dataset. Centering the racial data journey of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA&NHPI) students, we find two types of racial data (mis)classification: (1) racial reformation related to the reconfiguration of parent/caregiver-reported racial data and (2) categorical friction when ethnicity was parent/caregiver-reported and race was not. Educational data practices and datasets like ECLS-K play a role in obscuring differentiated educational outcomes by operationalizing the myth that AA&NHPIs are a monolith. We offer recommendations for addressing racial data (mis)classification and engaging a critical race research praxis. Citation: Castillo, W., Teng, D. T., & Espinoza, K. J. C. (2026). Hmong but not Asian, Sāmoan but not Pacific Islander: Tracing the ECLS-K racial data (mis)classification journey. (EdWorkingPaper: 26-1486). Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/wk9y-sm74
ndocumented but Financially Visible: The Debate Over Credit Cards, ITINs, and Economic Participation
Jamshid Damooei, Economics
Other
Overview
Jamshid Damooei wrote an expert commentary in response to a request from WalletHub titled “Undocumented but Financially Visible: The Debate Over Credit Cards, ITINs, and Economic Participation.”
Details
Undocumented but Financially Visible: The Debate Over Credit Cards, ITINs, and Economic Participation: Millions of families in the United States remain unbanked or underbanked, limiting their access to affordable credit and financial security. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 4.2% of U.S. households, about 5.6 million, have no checking or savings account, while 14.2% rely on costly alternatives such as payday loans and money orders. Access to banking also reflects deep racial inequality: 10.6% of Black households and 9.5% of Hispanic households are unbanked, compared with just 1.9% of White households. Credit is essential in American economic life. It shapes access to housing, transportation, education, business opportunities, and the ability to survive financial emergencies. Yet the cost of credit is often highest for those with the fewest resources. California alone is home to about 2.9 million undocumented immigrants, according to the Migration Policy Institute, and more than half have lived in the United States for over two decades. About 1.6 million children of undocumented immigrants in California were born in the United States, highlighting how deeply these families are woven into the social and economic fabric of the state. At the same time, Americans’ credit card debt reached $1.252 trillion in early 2026. Average credit card interest rates now exceed 21%, while low-income and subprime borrowers often face rates of 25% to 30% or more. High-cost credit traps economically vulnerable families in cycles of debt rather than helping them achieve stability. The United States needs a more inclusive and equitable credit system—one that expands access to affordable credit for all residents, regardless of immigration status, and lowers borrowing costs for low-income households already under financial strain. Link to WalletHub: https://wallethub.com/best-credit-card-without-ssn#expert=Jamshid_Damooei Link to Online Version Accessible to All Inside and Outside the US: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jEfL6BURZlyVRXLwBFEFIpsliIyRPaui/view?usp=sharing
In Support of AB 2374 to Establish California’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander-Serving Institution Designation
Kristine Jan Cruz Espinoza, Education
Other
Overview
Kristine Jan Cruz Espinoza, Ph.D., (Graduate School of Education) published a basic facts policy brief in support of the California Assembly Bill 2374 to establish California’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANHPISI) designation, with Scholars Strategy Network.
Details
Kristine Jan Cruz Espinoza, Ph.D., (Department of Counselor Education, Graduate School of Education) published a basic facts policy brief published with Scholars Strategy Network (SSN) in support of California Assembly Bill (AB) 2374 to establish California’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANHPI-Serving Institution or AANHPISI) Designation. As we near 20 years since the establishment of the federal Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) designation and program, there is an opportunity to recommit to AANAPISIs with a state-level designation under AB 2374. Moreover, the state-level AANHPISI designation comes at a critical time, as federal Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) across the United States have come under attack, including AANAPISIs in California. This basic facts policy brief details more about the federal AANAPISI designation and program, the context in California, and the opportunity at hand with the state-level AANHPISI designation. In short, this brief argues that the AANHPISI designation would be an important step toward institutional accountability at the state level. Namely, the AANHPISI designation anchors institutions' commitment to truly serving AA&NHPI students and communities more broadly. In the spirit of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this May, we must be reminded of our collective responsibility to serve AA&NHPI communities who have been part of the fabric of this nation, and the establishment of the California AANHPISI designation offers one meaningful way forward to recommit to current and future generations of AA&NHPIs. Read the basic facts policy brief on the SSN website here: https://scholars.org/contribution/support-ab-2374-establish-californias-asian
After the Feed: Trust, Connection and the Next Era of Social Technology
Jose Marichal, Political Science
Other
Overview
Jose Marichal (Political Science) was a co-investigator for a project entitled "After the Feed: Trust, Connection and the Next Era of Social Technology" organized by New_Public. The project included a group of faculty, industry and non-profit leaders to explore how to make "pro-democratic" AI. https://newpublic.org/afterthefeed
Details
The report convened a group to discuss how to navigate the coming era of agentic interfaces and to address the question: "What trends will most significantly shape how humans connect to one another, build relationships, and have shared experiences in online spaces in the next 2 years? And how might these trends support human thriving and connection?"
Funding and Support
I recieved compensation from New_Public for my particiation
Understanding the Role of Screenings and Consultations in Sexual Health Communication Ability
Nicole Talarico and Ella Thompson (undergraduate researcher), Psychology
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference with Student Co-Authors
Overview
Nicole Talarico and E. Thompson presented "Understanding the Role of Screenings and Consultations in Sexual Health Communication Ability" (Conference talk) at the Annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association (WPA), Tacoma, WA.
The Evolution of Multiethnic Working-Class Aesthetics: Dispossession, Exhaustion, and Racial Capitalism in 1960s and 1970s US Movement Literature
Robert Mendoza, English, Literary Criticism, Post-1945 Literary Studies.
Presented Research/Scholarship at an Academic Conference
Overview
Dr. Robert Mendoza presented “The Evolution of Multiethnic Working-Class Aesthetics: Dispossession, Exhaustion, and Racial Capitalism in 1960s and 1970s US Movement Literature” at the 2026 MELUS Conference, held in Austin, Texas.
Details
This presentation explored how late-1960s and early-1970s US Movement Literature—literary texts written in the context of the Black Arts Movement, the Chicano Renaissance, the Nuyorican Movement, and many other movements—offered incisive and urgent critiques of the shape of US racial capitalism of the postwar period. Instead of representing scenes of alienation or exploitation in industrial workplaces (representations that dominated early and mid-twentieth-century proletarian fiction), many multiethnic writers of the late 1960s amplified the labor, dispossession, and exhaustion of racialized populations at the margins of the marketplace. Writers like Oscar Zera Acosta, Pedro Pietri, Amiri Baraka, Gwendolyn Brooks, and others explored the struggles of underpaid and unwaged workers beyond the factory or industrial production, more broadly. Movement writers and revolutionary nationalists circulated new narratives and images of racialized communities navigating severely limited formal and informal economic opportunities, thereby challenging and expanding earlier representations of proletarian experience. A primary case study for this presentation is Gwendolyn Brooks’s 1968 poem “In the Mecca,” a landmark text of the Black Arts Movement. The poem powerfully exposes the exhausting, life-draining effects of racialized service and reproductive labor performed by Black women in Chicago’s decaying tenements and domestic workplaces. Brooks, I show, decisively breaks away from mid-twentieth-century literary tendencies that sometimes celebrated waged Black domestic labor as dignified or redemptive, instead revealing its continuity with broader circuits of racial capitalist extraction.