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Trans-Pacific Connections: Unveiling Cultural Exchange through Baroque Folding Screens of Japan and Mexico
Full text linkThis study focuses into the often-overlooked world of 16th-17th-century globally-mobile folding screens, revealing them as vastly important cultural objects. While conventional scholarship tends to compartmentalize artistic traditions, focusing on isolated cultures, this research emphasizes the vibrant exchanges that connected Japan and Mexico during the ‘Baroque’ period. By contrasting the Conquest of Mexico screen with the Japanese Namban Folding Screen, the nuances and vastness of cultural interaction through creative objects becomes illuminated and revered as important pieces of global history.
Through applying global art historical theories, especially the concept of the ‘global Baroque,’ I explore how Mexican biombo screens adapted from Japanese byobū, demonstrating a dynamic trans-Pacific flow of styles and ideas. The aim of focusing on trans-Pacific connections is to explore cultural interconnectivity while decentering Europe, thereby prioritizing commonly overlooked contacts. Through analysis of the screens\u27 materials, creative processes, styles, and functions, I argue that they served not just as practical items but as powerful symbols of wealth, identity, and political significance which were shared and re-adapted across numerous cultural groups.
I propose that these folding screens encapsulate the interconnectedness of diverse societies, challenging the notion of cultural isolation and traditional art historical canons of the centralization of favored cultures. Through observing how these artifacts reflect both local stories and global narratives, my research aims to enrich our understanding of ‘Baroque’ art and the multifaceted relationships that defined this era. Ultimately, this paper presents a more nuanced perspective on how art can act as a bridge between cultures, reimagining our view of history through more interconnected and vibrantly informed perspectives
Examining the Success of QAnon
Full text linkIn this paper I use rhetorical criticism to explore the rhetorical techniques that aid in the dissemination and continued belief in QAnon, an expanding political conspiracy theory that originally centered around former President Donald Trump fighting powerful Satanic pedophiles. Several practices have made the spread of its ideas remarkably effective. The anonymity of QAnon’s source prevents questioning, making it harder to disprove their proposed theories, and the support of politicians and influencers increases the perceived truthfulness of QAnon’s ideas. Multimedia coverage, especially on mainstream social media platforms, spreads the beliefs to a wide audience. Vague language leaves the messages open to interpretation and allows supporters to craft narratives around the messages and build a shared community. Additionally, its form and content parallel those found in Christianity, providing familiarity, purpose, and identity to its supporters, and presenting Donald Trump as a Jesus-like figure. Once someone believes in a conspiracy theory such as QAnon, anti-conspiracy theory messaging often does not change their views, and since belief in QAnon and other conspiracy theories has led to criminal activities, understanding how the theory spreads might help counter its effects (Jolley & Douglas, 2017)
Thomas Sutpen, Stephen Dedalus, and the Intersection of Creation and Mortality
Full text linkThis paper examines William Faulkner’s Thomas Sutpen and James Joyce’s Stephen Dedalus as parallel creator figures who attempt to transcend their origins and combat mortality by establishing enduring legacies. After suffering humiliation regarding social hierarchy, Sutpen endeavors to create a material dynasty through land acquisition, property development, and the enslavement of non-white people, obsessively seeking to produce a white male heir in the process. Despite his efforts, Sutpen’s physical creation deteriorates, with his most enduring legacy being a distorted oral history beyond his control. Conversely, Dedalus rejects his Irish Catholic upbringing to escape the “nets” of “nationality, language, [and] religion” (Joyce 220), constructing his legacy through aesthetics and poetry rather than physical structures. Dedalus’s villanelle and diary mark the beginning of his artistic transcendence, and he stands on the threshold of artistic success by the novel’s conclusion. Both characters isolate themselves from their families and existing social structures while pursuing their creative goals, suggesting that transcendent creation may be incompatible with established social norms. By examining these characters’ similarities, this paper illuminates broader truths about the relationship between creation, mortality, and social limitations, as Sutpen and Dedalus both strive to create something that outlives them
Riding the Digital Wave: How Large Enterprises Are Embracing Disability Inclusion in the Digital Era
Full text linkIn today’s world, companies increasingly use disability inclusion within their branding and marketing strategies. This research examines whether these efforts represent authentic commitment or merely use the disability community for performative purposes. Using both a content analysis of social media campaigns and a quantitative survey of individuals with physical or cognitive disabilities, this study investigates perceptions of corporate disability narratives. Findings reveal that while some companies, such as Microsoft and Nike, are seen as making genuine connections with the disabled community, many others fall short, engaging only in surface-level inclusion without systemic change. The study highlights a persistent gap between visibility and authentic inclusion, calling on businesses to embed accessibility and genuine representation into their marketing strategies. These insights contribute to ongoing conversations around disability advocacy, corporate ethics, and the future of inclusive branding in the digital age
Trans-Pacific Connections: Chinese Porcelain and Aztec Motifs in Colonial Mexico
Full text linkThis research explores artworks within the Global Baroque as visual and ideological evidence through which colonial power, trade, and cross-cultural influence shaped the material culture of the early modern world. Centering on blue and white ceramics as a key medium of transcultural and trans-local exchange, the study analyzes how global motifs, particularly those drawn from Aztec and Chinese traditions, were reinterpreted, aestheticized, and circulated in Aztec and Novohispanic artistic practices.
Through a close observational comparison of Aztec and Chinese decorative systems, the study recognizes contrasting systems of cultural documentation embedded within similar visual forms. Aztec motifs, rooted in ritual, calendrical, and pictographic symbolism, were frequently misunderstood or abstracted into surface patterning by Western historical narratives, especially while under colonial rule. In contrast, Chinese blue and white porcelain, especially from the Ming and Qing dynasties, was received with a sense of admiration tied to its perceived technical perfection and classical elegance. Yet both were subsumed into a visual economy of display, where their meanings were reframed through colonial perspectives and Baroque aesthetics that emphasized excess, theatricality, and accumulation.
By examining methods of trade, creation, and acquisition, this thesis argues that the Global Baroque operated as a mediating aesthetic, one that masked and reconfigured the cultural specificity of non-European motifs within systems of power and constructed taste. The continued legacy of these design elements in Mexican art reflects deeper entanglements between collecting, empire, and the production of global art histories.
In reframing these motifs not as isolated curiosities but as part of a shared, if unequal, visual dialogue, the study contributes to broader efforts to more deeply understand the impacts and nuances of transcultural exchange, and reevaluate the dynamics of artistic influence
Trump’s Tariffs 2.0: New Effects and Implications to Taiwan
No full textOn April 2, 2025, United States President Donald Trump announced a policy order under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)‘s authority and introduced a sweeping 10% universal baseline tariff on its imports from all trading partners. The Trump administration also sought reciprocal tariffs, with an additional rate from 1 % to 40 % on nearly 60 trading partners. This move toward a blanket reciprocal tariff has significantly raised concerns about a potential global trade war, leading to a downturn in stock markets worldwide. In response, President Trump made a policy shift on April 9, pausing most countries’ “reciprocal tariffs” for 90 days. Trump’s back and forth policy shifts have also resulted in a drastic swing in the global markets. Despite the pause, the new minimum 10 % tariff, effective April 5, applies to goods imported from all countries, excluding semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and critical minerals
At Univ. of Mary Washington, an AI-Relevant Curriculum Gives Both Students and Faculty an Upper Hand
No full textIn higher education, the playbook for adapting to AI is changing. Instead of chasing technology, the focus is shifting toward developing durable skills like critical thinking, effective communication, and collaboration. Now, in an era where static knowledge is no longer a long-term asset, a solid foundation is what enables the modern workforce to learn, unlearn, and relearn.
One of the leaders shaping this conversation is Anand Rao, Director of the Center for AI and the Liberal Arts at the University of Mary Washington, in Fredericksburg, VA. With over 30 years of experience in higher education, Rao has held roles as both Professor of Communication and Chair of the Department of Communication and Digital Studies. Today, his work focuses on answering a central question: How do we prepare students for an AI world
The Martyrdom of Nadezhda Kurchenko: Soviet Hero Cults and the Spiritual Turn in Late Socialism
No full textThis article argues that the spiritual turn in Soviet atheism under Brezhnev provided a meaningful solution to the problems of producing heroes when self-sacrificing martyrs were losing their appeal. To support this claim, I examine the story of Nadezhda Kurchenko, a nineteen-year-old flight attendant killed by two hijackers on an Aeroflot plane in October 1970. This article traces the heroic and spiritual dynamics of Kurchenko’s martyrdom through her funeral, hagiographies, iconic photograph, and sacred spaces. The spiritual turn enabled the authors of her story to free it from the shadows of wartime youth martyrs and ground it in the conservative values of mature socialism. Her martyrdom was emblematic of Soviet atheism’s renewed project of supplanting religion with a secular spirituality, particularly around the life-cycle rituals of birth, coming-of-age, marriage, and death. Although the aim of destroying religion failed, the spiritual turn created the cultural context in which the authors of Kurchenko’s story developed its meanings and rituals that endured after 1991. This article bridges the historiographies on hero cults and Soviet atheism, and it ends by considering the post-Soviet afterlives of Kurchenko’s martyrdom during the Russo-Ukrainian War
The Cost of Conviction: A Constructivist Analysis of U.S. Interventions in Guatemala, 1954-1999
No full textThe U.S. continuously intervened in Guatemalan domestic politics from 1954 to 1999 without achieving its stated goals of stability, democratization, or development. Although the threat of communism offered an initial justification for U.S. involvement, traditional geopolitical explanations failed to adequately account for the persistence of intervention.
Through the lens of constructivism, this research examines these interventions, with special attention paid to political, economic, and humanitarian factors. It focuses on the American identity as democratic, capitalist, and later, a protector of human rights, and how the need to protect and exhibit that identity motivated the U.S. to intervene. These identities and their impact are analyzed through the 1954 CIA-backed coup of the Arbenz administration, the Alliance for Progress, counterinsurgency partnerships during the 36-year-long civil war, and the Washington Consensus reforms. This study finds that although the U.S. often professed goals of aiding Guatemala, its actions largely perpetuated harm. Ultimately, interventions served more to protect U.S. identity and global self-image than to address Guatemalan conditions or needs
Select Exhibitions: 2015-2025
No full textSidney Mullis is a sculptor based in Virginia and Pittsburgh. She is building a make-believe forest to find where childhood selves retreat in adulthood and if it is possible to bring them back. The forest unfolds across multiple exhibitions, composed of many parts that come together as sculptural installations. The objects within often appear mutable, as if staged for performance, play, or ritual. Mullis uses materials associated with childhood, such as playground sand, kids\u27 construction paper, and secondhand toys, to transform and preserve what is typically expected to disappear. Each installation is a psychological space to acknowledge the loss of childhood and to act as a site for its possible regeneration