Digital Commons @ Butler University

Jones, Arun W.

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies 
Volume 34 Article 18 
2021 
Book Review: The Subhedar’s Son: A Narrative of Brahmin-
Christian Conversion from Nineteenth-Century Maharashtra. By 
Deepra Dandekar 
Arun W. Jones 
Emory University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/jhcs 
Recommended Citation 
Jones, Arun W. (2021) "Book Review: The Subhedar’s Son: A Narrative of Brahmin-Christian Conversion 
from Nineteenth-Century Maharashtra. By Deepra Dandekar," Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies: Vol. 34, 
Article 18. 
Available at: https://doi.org/10.7825/2164-6279.1808 
The Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies is a publication of the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies. The digital 
version is made available by Digital Commons @ Butler University. For questions about the Journal or the Society, 
please contact cbauman@butler.edu. For more information about Digital Commons @ Butler University, please 
contact digitalscholarship@butler.edu. 
90 Book Reviews 
statements such as “Oneness is not a theory to 
be tested against reality,” and the author’s own 
admission that “I do not question the truth of 
oneness in this book” (12)—claims that 
uncomfortably pit the ideology of Ethics against 
its method. James and pragmatism make few 
appearances in Ethics, and Engels’s insistence 
that oneness is the true reality severely 
complicates the book’s alleged commitment to 
the pragmatic method of evaluating ethics 
based on their practical consequences and the 
fallibility of their “truth.” The ethics of oneness 
that Engels (finally) provides in the conclusion 
to the book are not treated pragmatically; they 
are pronouncements to cultivate the sense of 
oneness Engels has repeatedly emphasized 
throughout Ethics. Precisely how these ethical 
pronouncements should, could, or even can be 
manifested in everyday concrete experience—
especially in a pluralistic context—is 
unfortunately obscure. 
Despite its methodological looseness and 
philosophical generalizations, the work’s most 
valuable academic contribution is its attempt 
to appreciate Emerson and Whitman beyond 
merely their Transcendentalist context, 
proffering a more global interpretation of these 
two famous American writers. Ethics will appeal 
to interdisciplinary readers interested in 
alternative views of Emerson and Whitman 
that do not rely exclusively on canonical 
readings; Americanists and American Studies 
readers who often wrestle with the definition 
of “American” in a pluralistic, global age; and 
non-specialists interested in the intersection 
between literary study and ethics. Engels is 
very good at stitching the ideological threads 
among the Gita, Hindu philosophy, and their 
reception in Emerson and Whitman, even when 
the often impressionistic and elliptical 
insistence on oneness and the ethics it is 
purported to cultivate begin to overtake the 
discussion. This enthusiasm can often 
overshadow the historical and philosophical 
scholarship while highlighting Engels the 
person. But then a book about ethics is, of 
course, about persons and their multifaceted 
and inevitably complex interactions with one 
another.  
 
Shawn Welch 
PhD, University of Michigan 
 
The Subhedar’s Son: A Narrative of Brahmin-Christian Conversion from 
Nineteenth-Century Maharashtra. By Deepra Dandekar. New York: Oxford 
University Press, 2019. xliv + 222 pages. 
 
THIS absorbing volume consists of two distinct, 
though related parts. The center of the book is 
the annotated translation of a Marathi novel, 
entitled The Subhedar’s Son, written in 1895 by 
the Rev. Dinkar Shankar Sawarkar, the son of a 
Marathi Brahmin convert to Christianity. The 
novel describes in a semi-fictional manner the 
long process by which the author’s father came 
to embrace the Christian faith: why and how he 
became a convert against the wishes of his 
Brahmin family and caste. Preceding and 
following the translation are introductory 
essays and a conclusion to the novel by the 
translator, Deepra Dandekar, who is a direct 
1
Jones: Book Review: The Subhedar’s Son: A Narrative of Brahmin-Christian
Published by Digital Commons @ Butler University, 2021
Book Reviews 91 
 
descendant of the author (he is her great-
grandfather) and a multifaceted researcher of 
South Asian society and religion, working in 
Berlin.  This review will deal first with the 
novel itself, and then with Dandekar’s scholarly 
and personal ruminations on it. 
For a conversion story, one of the 
interesting aspects of the Marathi novel is that, 
as Dandekar notes (xxxiv), Christianity does not 
enter the picture until the reader is almost 
halfway through the narrative, which relates a 
family history. Sawarkar employs this long 
view in order to present Christian belief and 
practice not as an abrupt change or major 
deviation (as his kinfolk would claim) in a 
Marathi Brahmin’s life, but as a logical next 
step in its development which had begun 
generations before his birth. The conversion is, 
indeed, a logical one. It is not the result of some 
extraordinary intervention or experience, but 
the intellectual realization, gained through 
conversations with Christians, that the 
Christian understanding of life, which leads to 
particular religious dispositions and practices, 
makes most sense to the convert who is facing 
insuperable crises. Such an apprehension of 
Christianity adopts and adapts the Scottish and 
evangelical Anglican Protestant missionary 
presentations of the faith in India in the 19th 
and 20th centuries. 
The novel opens with a war scene from the 
(third) battle of Panipat in 1761. A Marathi 
Brahmin, the protagonist of this section and a 
spiritual and intellectual ancestor of the 
convert, is ruing the overconfidence and 
revelry of the Marathi army and its sizeable 
retinue as the Marathas prepare to battle the 
“Muslims.” As the readers of the novel are well 
aware, the Marathas were defeated in that 
battle. The protagonist thus is portrayed as 
wise and perspicacious, unlike his fellow 
Marathi warriors, knowing that his side is 
headed for disastrous defeat (64). As Dandekar 
points out, the moral of the story, and 
consequently of the novel, is that the true 
(Marathi) Brahmin is not necessarily the one 
that follows the rest of his kinsmen and 
clansmen. Moreover, the Brahmin who is 
correct in his behavior and understanding of 
life is not necessarily the one who agrees with 
his own people. By implication, the lonely 
Christian convert can be the true Marathi 
Brahmin. Through fascinating sequences of 
alternating narrative and dialogue, the reader 
is led through the biographies of significant 
persons from the convert’s past: persons whose 
lives and decisions would be critical in the 
unfolding of the convert’s own life. Three 
interweaving themes are constantly played out 
in this prehistory of the convert: morality, 
correct understanding, and life’s unpredictable 
circumstances. While the last cannot be 
controlled—one does not know what good or 
bad fortune, such as the birth of children or a 
swimming accident, will come – one can 
control one’s behavior and morality, and one 
can learn from wisdom what are the right and 
wrong ways to view and inhabit the world. In 
fact, the convert is the one who is able, through 
his Christian belief and practice, to face and 
conquer bad fortune through his moral 
behavior and correct understanding. The 
“subhedar’s son” refers to the author’s father, 
Shankar Nana, who became a Christian on April 
1, 1849 after many years of anguish caused in 
large part by his family. Shankar Nana’s father 
was a subhedar or land-owning noble and 
military leader in the service of the Peshwa of 
the Maratha Empire. 
2
Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies, Vol. 34, No. 1 [2021], Art. 18
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DOI: 10.7825/2164-6279.1808
92 Book Reviews 
Deepra Dandekar both introduces and 
reflects deeply on the novel which is a part of 
her family heritage. Instead of trying to 
downplay or avoid her personal, existential 
entanglement with the work, she forthrightly 
invites the reader into her intellectual journeys 
and struggles as she tried to understand the 
novel on its own terms, and in terms of the 
Marathi Brahmin family which produced it. She 
begins the volume with an essay which 
introduces the novel itself, first locating it in 
the world of 19th and early 20th century 
vernacular Christian writings, then explicating 
the novel itself, and finally providing a 
translation of Shankar Nana’s own account of 
his conversion to Christianity. The next essay 
provides the social context of the novel, 
especially illuminating the dynamics between 
various Indian and Western Christians at the 
time. This essay is followed by “Multiple 
Narratives in the Novel,” which teases out some 
of the major themes running through the work. 
The final introductory essay is entitled 
“Shankar Nana, Parubai, and the Author, 
Dinkar Shankar Sawarkar,” and delves into the 
biographies of the three individuals who were 
instrumental in the composition of the novel. 
The essay explores, among other matters, how 
different generations of Christians view the 
first convert’s turn to Christianity. A brief 
“Afterword and Concluding Thoughts” ends the 
whole volume. 
While an adequate summary of Dandekar’s 
many rich inquiries and insights is not possible 
here, a few will simply be noted. First is the 
observation that Dinkar Shankar Sawarkar was 
both a deeply committed Christian in the 
mission churches of his time, and also strongly 
critical of British colonialism. Unlike 
contemporary scholars who wrestle with the 
connections and contradictions between 
imperialism and the western missionary 
movement, Sawarkar used the Christianity 
introduced and even managed by western 
missionaries as an instrument for condemning 
the British conquest and rule of India. Second, 
Dandekar explores the nature of Brahmin 
conversion, noting that it does not fit into 
current paradigms of conversion which focus 
almost exclusively on Dalit conversions. Her 
startling (and persuasive) conclusion is that 
Brahmins converted for the very same reasons 
that Dalits did—for a host of different reasons, 
including the deep conviction that Christianity 
responded meaningfully to their lives’ crises in 
ways that their natal religious tradition did not. 
Third, while the novel itself does not dwell on 
the issue of gender, it is an issue that Dandekar 
raises herself, noting how women are 
portrayed in the novel when they do make brief 
appearances. For Sawarkar, and many other 
Indian Christian authors, Christianity provided 
relief and opportunities to women that were 
not available in the Hindu societies from which 
they came. This was especially true of strict 
Marathi Brahmin clans. Finally, Dandekar 
engages the issue of caste, which looms large in 
many analyses of Hindu society, but is not a 
prominent theme in the novel itself. Helpfully, 
Dandekar does not spend time either attacking 
or defending her Brahmin forebears. Rather, 
she locates them in the larger social context of 
Protestantism in Western India, which held in 
its embrace Indians from the complete 
spectrum of Indian castes and classes, as well as 
western missionaries. While Brahmins were 
undoubtedly leaders in the Indian church, they 
were also discriminated against by European 
missionaries. In sum, The Subhedar’s Son is a 
fascinating portrayal of religious conversion to 
3
Jones: Book Review: The Subhedar’s Son: A Narrative of Brahmin-Christian
Published by Digital Commons @ Butler University, 2021
Book Reviews 93 
 
Christianity by a second-generation Indian 
Christian leader, and Deepra Dandekar’s 
meditations on this historical novel greatly 
increase our knowledge and understanding of 
Indian Protestants during the British imperial 
era. 
Arun W. Jones 
Emory University 
 
Untouchable Bodies, Resistance, and Liberation: A Comparative Theology of 
Divine Possessions. By Joshua Samuel. Leiden: Brill Rodopi, 2020, xiii+262 
pp. 
 
TWO approaches are typically represented in 
the programs of the Society for Hindu-
Christian Studies: the historical/ethnographic 
and the theological/philosophical. Untouchable 
Bodies, Resistance, and Liberation bridges the two 
sides of the conversation, setting the bar for 
future ethnographic contributions to 
comparative theology. This groundbreaking 
project offers “a comparative theology of 
liberation from a Dalit perspective” (49). Its 
tightly reasoned argument unfolds in nine 
chapters, organized into three parts. 
Other comparative theologians have 
challenged the discipline’s prioritization of 
texts and called for greater attention to lived 
experience and religious practice. Joshua 
Samuel has delivered. Part 1 draws together the 
relevant disciplinary threads. The introduction 
provides a nuanced and up-to-date survey of 
theories of caste, untouchability, and Dalit 
resistance, culminating in the case for 
attending to embodied religious experience at 
the margins of social structures as a source of 
comparative theology. Because written 
theological sources overwhelmingly center 
caste communities, he turns to ethnographic 
and anthropological research in South Indian 
Dalit communities as a means “to supplement 
and critically enhance the information available 
through existing literature” (24). This 
interweaving of sources has the effect of 
drawing upon multiple sites to inform a 
constructive argument.  
The result is a splendid example of a 
comparative theology of liberation, integrating 
elements of both Hindu and Christian Dalit 
liberation theologies. It explicitly counteracts 
the “lingering Euro-Christian centrism, 
indifference to the agency of faith 
communities, and re-inscription of unjust 
hierarchical structures” that often haunt 
comparative theology (34). The project 
represents the best of a new generation of Dalit 
theology. It refuses to reify religious 
boundaries in defense of the liberating power 
of Christianity. It deftly considers the impact of 
colonization and avoids the binarism between 
oppressor and oppressed characteristic of early 
Dalit liberation theologies. Recognizing the 
persistence of pre-Christian Dalit religious 
elements, it also resists fixed or unitary 
approaches to Dalit identity. Its search for 
emancipatory resources stays close to the 
complex, lived realities of the people, 
particularly the Paraiyar community. 
Chapter 2 guides the reader through the 
complicated shift from reading texts to 
“reading bodies.” Echoing Judith Butler, Samuel 
4
Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies, Vol. 34, No. 1 [2021], Art. 18
https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/jhcs/vol34/iss1/18
DOI: 10.7825/2164-6279.1808


English

Book Review: The Subhedar’s Son: A Narrative of Brahmin-Christian Conversion from Nineteenth-Century Maharashtra. By Deepra Dandekar

This paper reports the presence of Dipsacus strigosus Willd. ex Roem. & Schult. in Indiana. The species, native to western Asia, is naturalized in several locations in Europe. This is the first documented occurrence in North America. The new record was collected along a recently constructed bike path in a moist wooded area of the Butler University campus in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Like the two other species of the genus known in the Indiana, D. strigosus is likely to be invasive, so efforts will be made to eradicate this population. The plant should be monitored and looked for in other sites

Dolan, Rebecca W.

Butler University 
Digital Commons @ Butler University 
Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS College of Liberal Arts & Sciences 
2021 
First Report of Yellow-Flowered Teasel, Dipsacus Strigosus Willd. 
Ex Roem. & Schult. (Dipsacaceae) In Indiana, A North American 
Record 
Rebecca W. Dolan 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/facsch_papers 
 Part of the Biology Commons, and the Botany Commons 
2021. Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science 130(1):32–34
FIRST REPORT OF YELLOW-FLOWERED TEASEL, DIPSACUS
STRIGOSUS WILLD. EX ROEM. & SCHULT. (DIPSACACEAE) IN
INDIANA, A NORTH AMERICAN RECORD
Rebecca W. Dolan1: Center for Urban Ecology and Sustainability, Butler University,
Indianapolis, IN 46208 USA
ABSTRACT. This paper reports the presence of Dipsacus strigosus Willd. ex Roem. & Schult. in Indiana.
The species, native to western Asia, is naturalized in several locations in Europe. This is the first documented
occurrence in North America. The new record was collected along a recently constructed bike path in a moist
wooded area of the Butler University campus in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Like the two other species of the
genus known in the Indiana, D. strigosus is likely to be invasive, so efforts will be made to eradicate this
population. The plant should be monitored and looked for in other sites.
Keywords: invasive plants, teasel, Midwest, Indiana flora, Dipsacus strigosus
Teasels, members of the genus Dipsacus L.
(Dipsacaceae), are biennial or short-lived peren-
nial plants native to Europe, western Asia, and
northern Africa (Gleason & Cronquist 1991).
Two species,D. fullonum L. (common teasel) and
D. laciniatus L. (cut-leaf teasel) have been known
from Indiana for at least 80 years (Dolan 2016).
They are thought to have been introduced to
North America intentionally for use in wool
combing. Both species are listed as highly invasive
in the state (Indiana Invasive Species Council
2021). A third species, D. sativus (L.) Honck.
(fuller’s teasel) is known from Ohio and several
other states in the eastern United States (USDA
NRCS 2021).
A new teasel species is reported for Indiana,
Dipsacus strigosusWilld. exRoem.&Schult. This
is the first record for the species inNorthAmerica
(GeorgeYatskievych, Pers. Comm., author of the
upcoming treatment of Dipsacaceae for Flora of
NorthAmerica; iDigBio 2021). It maywell be the
first reported spontaneous occurrence outside of
Eurasia (GBIF 2021).Dipsacus strigosus is native
to Ukraine, southern Russia, and western Asia,
where it grows in shady thickets and wet/mesic
woodlands (Wirth & Csiky 2019).
The collection location is along a recently
constructed and paved bike path in a section of
mostly natural moist wooded habitat on the
Butler University campus (GPS coordinates
39.843758 N86.16998 W). Co-occurring species
include Campanulastrum americanum (L.) Small
(American bellflower), Impatiens pallida Nutt.
(yellow jewelweed), Verbena urticifolia L. (white
vervain), andVerbesina alternifolia (L.) Britton ex
Kearney (wingstem) under a canopy of Lonicera
maackii (Rupr.) Maxim. (Amur honeysuckle),
Acer negundo L. (box-elder), and Celtis occiden-
talis L. (hackberry). The population consists of
20–30 individuals in an area ca.10 m in length.
Individuals occur onboth sides of the path. Plants
were first seen in late summer 2020 near the end of
flowering and tentatively identified as Dipsacus
pilosusL. (small teasel).A specimen collected then
was sent to Deam Herbarium (IND), Indiana
University for determination by Paul Rothrock,
associate curator emeritus. Based on size of the
inflorescences and apparent anther color, he
concluded the specimen might be D. strigosus.
Additional specimens were collected in 2021
earlier in the flowering season that confirmed
the plant to be D. strigosus.
Dipsacus strigosus plants are extremely prickly
(Fig. 1). Inflorescences are globular, rather than
conical or oval as in other Indiana teasels (Fig. 2).
Receptacle bracts lack long awns. Cauline leaves
are opposite, short petiolate, not sessile, and
connate. Rosette leaves are very broad. Corollas
are white, turning cream colored with age.
Anthers are whitish. The most closely related
congener isD.pilosus, another teasel notknown in
North America but reported as often confused
with D. strigosus in Europe (Manual of the Alien
Plants of Belgium 2021). Dipsacus strigosus and
D. pilosus can be distinguished by inflorescence
size and anther color (Ahrens 2007). Dipsacus
1 Corresponding author: Rebecca W. Dolan,
rdolan@butler.edu.
32
strigosus has larger diameter flowering heads (ca.
30–40mmvs. 15–25mm inD. pilosus).Anthers of
D. pilosus are dark purple and contrast strongly
with the color of the corollas.
Yellow-flowered teasel is noted in Europe to
have invasive tendencies and to be found in urban
habitats (Verloove 2012; Wirth & Csiky 2019). It
can reachpopulation sizes in the tensof thousands
(Wirth & Csiky 2019). This species is not planted
as an ornamental and other uses are not reported.
Itsmode of introduction intoEurope and Indiana
are not known. Possible seed spread via land-
scaping equipment, flooding, or by external
animal transport have been proposed (Wirth &
Csiky 2019). The persistence of the population on
the Butler campus (rosettes in 2021 indicate
presence for at least 3 years) suggestsD. strigosus
can become naturalized in North America.
Efforts will be made to eradicate it on the Butler
campus.
In recent years Dipsacus has generally been
placed in the family Caprifoliaceae. The upcom-
ing treatment of the genus in the Flora of North
America will separate it into the Dipsacaceae
(Kay Yatskievych, Pers. Comm.), as treated here.
Voucher specimens of Dipsacus strigosus are
deposited at Deam Herbarium (IND) and Fries-
ner Herbarium (BUT).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many thanks to Don Ruch for assistance
with the figures.
LITERATURE CITED
Ahrens, W. 2007. Zur Unterscheidung von Dipsacus
pilosus L. und Dipsacus strigosus Willdenow ex
Roemer et Schultes. Mitteilungen zur floristischen
Kartierung in Sachsen-Anhalt 12:71–75.
Dolan, R.W. 2016. Invasive species in an urban flora:
history and current status in Indianapolis, In-
diana. Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of
Science 125:61–68.
GBIF 2021. GBIF Data Occurrence Download.
Copenhagen, Denmark. At: gbif.org (Accessed 9
September 2021).
Gleason, H.A. & A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of
Vascular Plants of the Northeastern United States
Figures 1–2.—Dipsacus strigosus (yellow-flowered teasel). 1. Prickly stem and opposite, short-petiolate
cauline leaves. Plants can reach 1.5 m in height. 2. Globular inflorescence with white petals and anthers.
DOLAN —DIPSACUS STRIGOSUS IN INDIANA 33
and Adjacent Canada. New York Botanical
Garden, New York, New York. 910 pp.
iDigBio. 2021. Integrated Digitized Biocollections.
Gainesville, Florida. At: idigbio.org (Accessed 9
September 2021).
Indiana Invasive Species Council. 2021. Official
Invasive Plant List. Indianapolis, Indiana. At:
https://www.entm.purdue.edu/iisc (Accessed 9
September 2021).
Manual of the Alien Plants of Belgium. 2021.
Brussels, Belgium. At: http://alienplantsbelgium.
be/content/dipsacus-strigosus (Accessed 7 Sep-
tember 2021).
USDA NRCS. 2021. The PLANTS Database. Baton
Rouge, Louisiana. At: http://plants.usda.gov (Ac-
cessed 9 September 2021).
Verloove, F. 2012. Blog. Brussels, Belgium. At:
http://alienplantsbelgium.be/content/dipsacus-
strigosus-found-belgium-and-possibly-overlooked
(Accessed 7 September 2021).
Wirth, T. & J. Csiky. 2019. Occurrence of Dipsacus
strigosus (Caprifoliaceae) in Hungary. Studia
Botanica Hungarica 50:357–364.
Manuscript received 7 September 2021, revised 9
September 2021.
34 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INDIANA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE


First Report of Yellow-Flowered Teasel, Dipsacus Strigosus Willd. Ex Roem. & Schult. (Dipsacaceae) In Indiana, A North American Record

Weller, Nathan

BU Well 
Volume 6 Health, Wellness, and Life Sciences Masthead 
2021 
Masthead 
Nathan Weller 
Butler University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/buwell 
Recommended Citation 
Weller N. Masthead. BU Well. 2021; 6(1). 
This Masthead is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate Scholarship at Digital Commons @ 
Butler University. It has been accepted for inclusion in BU Well by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Butler 
University. For more information, please contact digitalscholarship@butler.edu. 
Masthead
Volume 6
Executive Editorial Board
Nathan Weller Editor in Chief
Neethu George Infographic Editor
Brian Weber Video and Podcast Editor
Steven Nguyen Composition Editor
Mel Sturgill Composition Editor
Assistant Editors
Michael Commons
Jack DeGroot
Kylie Kelley
Molly Kracht
Angie Neddeau
Tial Par
Meet Patel
Hanna Purdy
Hollyann SanAngelo
Steve Varghese
Hannah Voss
Elise Wang
Hannah Weiler
Faculty Advisors
Annette McFarland, PharmD
Sheel Patel, PharmD


Masthead

Many students do not receive any, much less comprehensive, sex education during their high school years. Universities should prioritize integrating sex education curriculum into their first-year student experience. Promoting sex-positive dialogues will foster a campus community of communication and acceptance

Seaver, PA-S, MPAS-2, Ansleigh

BU Well 
Volume 6 Health, Wellness, and Life Sciences Articles and Multimedia 
2021 
Sex Ed 101: A Case for Sex Education as Part of the First-Year 
Student Experience 
Ansleigh Seaver, PA-S, MPAS-2 
Butler University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/buwell 
 Part of the Higher Education Commons, and the Medical Education Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Seaver, PA-S, MPAS-2 A. Sex Ed 101: A Case for Sex Education as Part of the First-Year Student 
Experience. BU Well. 2021; 6(1). 
This Articles and Multimedia is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate Scholarship at 
Digital Commons @ Butler University. It has been accepted for inclusion in BU Well by an authorized editor of 
Digital Commons @ Butler University. For more information, please contact digitalscholarship@butler.edu. 
 23 April 2021 
 
 
 
Sex Ed 101: A Case for Sex Education as Part of the First-Year Student 
Experience 
Ansleigh Seaver, PA-S, MPAS-2 
 
Abstract: Many students do not receive any, much less comprehensive, sex education during their high school years. Universities should prioritize 
integrating sex education curriculum into their first-year student experience. Promoting sex-positive dialogues will foster a campus community of 
communication and acceptance.  
 
 
hen students arrive on college campuses at the start of their 
freshman year, they open the door to new friends, new 
experiences, and new choices. Many universities assist 
students in preparing for the transition to college life by advertising the 
school’s academic, extracurricular, and social opportunities. Sex and 
sexuality are also discussed at many new student orientations, but often 
only within the context of Title IX training and sexual assault prevention. 
Many first-year college students may be embarking on their first sexual 
encounters, and these individuals need much more than a simple 
seminar on how to avoid sexual assault, especially those who did not 
receive comprehensive sex education in high school. Incorporating 
comprehensive sex education into the first-year student experience 
would likely decrease rates of sexually transmitted infections (“STIs”), 
increase students’ understanding of safe sex and healthy relationships, 
and decrease stigma surrounding sexual activity. Providing increased 
access to medically accurate, comprehensive sexual health information 
will promote a campus culture of acceptance and open communication.  
 
There is currently no law in Indiana regulating public schools’ sexual 
education curricula – indeed, no law mandates that public schools teach 
sex education at all.1 The only sexual health-related topic in which 
schools must provide instruction is HIV prevention. Furthermore, no law 
requires the information provided be medically accurate. Thus, many 
college freshmen who received an Indiana public-school education likely 
arrive on campus without an understanding of even the most basic 
information, such as how to prevent pregnancy or practice safe sex. 
Two-thirds of first-year college students report “hooking up” at least 
once during their freshman year, and a recent case study found that 
first-year students who were required to live on campus felt even more 
pressured to participate in social situations that frequently led to sexual 
encounters.2 In contrast, students who attend high schools with 
comprehensive sex education programs are more equipped to make 
safe choices. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has 
reported that individuals ages 15-24 are responsible for one half of all 
newly diagnosed STIs.3 It is therefore a matter of public health that all 
first-year college students receive comprehensive sex education.  
 
Comprehensive sex education is the gold standard of sexual health 
education, and its benefits are numerous. First, it provides accurate 
information about anatomy and biological processes, contraceptive and 
STI-prevention tools, as well as the transmission and treatment of STIs. 
Second, it is demonstrably superior in its effectiveness at preventing 
pregnancy and STI transmission, when compared to more limited 
education.4 Third, it has been shown to reduce other risky behaviors, 
such as underage drinking and illegal drug use. Fourth, in a study on the 
influence of comprehensive sex education on college students, students 
who received comprehensive education reported to (1) be “more 
knowledgeable about sex,” (2) have “developed safe sex practices,” (3) 
had “a more positive view toward sex,” and (4) developed “a more 
positive view towards contraception.”4 Fifth, researchers have found 
that students who are more informed about human sexuality report 
decreased feelings of sexual guilt, with the largest impact on female 
students, as well as increased feelings of tolerance and open 
mindedness.5 Increasing positive attitudes about sex will empower 
students, decrease stigma, and create a more just campus environment.  
 
The University of California at Berkeley provides a leading example of 
university level sex education. One of the class offerings is “Topics in 
Sexual Health,” a peer-led seminar to provide information and a safe 
space for discussion. This course is available to all students and discusses 
basic topics like human anatomy, STIs, safer sex, birth control, and other 
sex-related topics.7 While this course is not specifically directed at first-
year students, it provides the benefit of allowing  all students an 
opportunity to participate in a sexual, health-based learning 
environment. By providing a venue for more in-depth exploration of 
sexual health topics, UC Berkeley is creating a campus culture that 
destigmatizes and promotes acceptance of sexuality.  
 
When considering implementing a sex education curriculum for college 
students, it is crucial to consider students’ needs when it comes to on-
campus sexual health resources. Research gathered from multiple two- 
and four-year institutions found that students at four-year institutions 
“expect that they will be able to meet their sexual health needs on 
campus and want to feel emotional support from their college 
community.”6 The authors specifically concluded that “individuals in this 
life stage require support to have positive sexual health outcomes, 
particularly due to the insufficient (sometimes nonexistent) sexual 
health education they receive during adolescence.”6 Many institutions 
provide sexual health resources through an on-campus health center, 
but campus administrators should consider that students may not feel 
comfortable seeking out this information on their own. Incorporating 
sexual health education into the first-year student experience will 
therefore ensure equal access to information for all students. A 
cooperative effort between campus life and student health would 
ensure that students are familiar with basic sexual health facts and be 
aware of resources available on-campus. 
 
Despite its benefits, sexual health education is a sensitive subject that 
many university administrators may deem too controversial to promote 
widely on campus. Many institutions provide information to students 
about campus sexual assault, but by educating students about sex itself, 
they can help address a culture of sexual shame that discourages 
reporting. Evidence shows that offering comprehensive sex education to 
first-year university students provides a net benefit to campus culture. 
Without minimum standards for sex education, there is no way of 
ensuring that students transitioning to college life have the information 
needed to make safe choices. Education, as well as easy access to 
contraceptives, would decrease risky behaviors, destigmatize sexuality, 
and encourage the reporting of sexual misconduct.  
 
W
Sex Ed 101: A Case for Sex Education as Part of the First-Year Student Experience 
 
2 | h t t p : / / d i g i t a l c o m m o n s . b u t l e r . e d u / b u w e l l /  
 
Transitioning into adulthood is not like being shot out of a cannon; it is 
more akin to learning how to ride a bike without training wheels. 
Students need institutional guidance in making this transition and 
universities should be willing to accept the challenge for the benefit of 
their communities.  
 
 
References 
 
1. State School-Based Health Education Law Summary Reports. 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2017. Updated June 
20, 2018. Accessed October 26, 2020. State School-Based Health 
Education Law Summary Reports | Adolescent and School Health 
| CDC 
2. Wade L, Heldman C. Hooking up and opting out: negotiating sex in 
the first year of college. In: Carpenter L, DeLamater J. eds. Sex for 
Life: From Virginity to Viagra, How Sexuality Changes Throughout 
Our Lives. NYU Press; 2012: 128-145. Accessed October 27, 2020. 
http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qg75b.10   
3. STDs in adolescents and young adults. Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention. 2018. Updated July 30, 2019. Accessed October 
26, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats18/adolescents.htm  
4. Yetsko, M. Sex education and its influences on college sex 
practices. Digital Commons at Providence College; 2011. Accessed 
October 27, 2020. 
https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/socialwrk_students/71/ 
5. Gunderson MP, Mccary JL. Effects of sex education on sex 
information and sexual guilt, attitudes, and behaviors. Family 
Relations. 1980;29(3):375. doi:10.2307/583859 
6. Lechner KE, Garcia CM, Frerich EA, Lust K, Eisenberg ME. College 
students' sexual health: personal responsibility or the 
responsibility of the college? J Am Coll Health. 2013; 61(1): 28-35. 
doi:10.1080/07448481.2012.750608  
7. Sex 101: Topics in Sexual Health. Democratic Education at Cal. 
2019. Accessed January 15, 2021. 
https://decal.berkeley.edu/courses/5214 
 


Sex Ed 101: A Case for Sex Education as Part of the First-Year Student Experience

MacIsaac, Olivia

Palmer, Kristen

Turner, Tatum

Making Cultural Artifacts into 3D Objects Using Photogrammetry

Henn, Joanna

The Mall 
2020-2021 Article 
8-24-2021 
Buttons for Eyes: Emotional Abuse in Coraline 
Joanna Henn 
Butler University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/the-mall 
Recommended Citation 
Henn, Joanna (2021) "Buttons for Eyes: Emotional Abuse in Coraline," The Mall: Vol. 5 , Article 16. 
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/the-mall/vol5/iss1/16 
This Essay is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate Scholarship at Digital Commons @ 
Butler University. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Mall by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ 
Butler University. For more information, please contact digitalscholarship@butler.edu. 
 
  
59 
Buttons for Eyes: Emotional Abuse in Coraline 
Joanna Henn 
 
 “They say even the proudest spirit can be broken, with love,” smiles the 
Other Mother (57:19). In a sense, she is right, but the sinister Beldam / Other 
Mother from the children’s horror movie, Coraline (2009), provides a 
perverted affection that is not love but something much darker. The film’s 
protagonist, Coraline Jones, moves with her loving yet distant parents to the 
Pink Palace Apartments. Crawling through a cupboard-sized door, she 
discovers a Doppelgänger version of her family in a parallel world. Drawn in 
by the apparent love and affection from her Other Mother, Coraline is 
tempted to remain in this vibrant, entertaining world. As the audience follows 
Coraline into this new family, they soon see this bond means the loss of her 
own family. The Other Mother seeks to trick Coraline into remaining with 
her for eternity. Using this twisted warmth, she affects Coraline’s perception 
of reality, yet her kindness is always tinged with hints of malevolence that 
could easily pass unnoticed beneath the surface. To incorporate the visual side 
of this malevolence, director Henry Selick creates a unique physical version of 
this cruelty to emphasize its effect on the main character and the other 
victims of the bloodthirsty Beldam. Throughout the film, Coraline uses the 
symbolism of body parts as a physical representation of emotional 
manipulation, revealing the unseen trauma caused by emotional abuse. 
Hands, the most repeated symbol throughout the film, are used as 
the Other Mother’s physical manipulators. A specific emblem of the Beldam’s 
clutches, a claw like hand can be seen in multiple scenes, for example the 
warning of danger found in Coraline’s tea leaves or the lightning claw that 
appears during the tempting offer of a game in the rain. As the Other Mother 
spins a web to ensnare the girl, the hand shows up to reveal her true 
intentions. However, this symbol serves as more than just a visual alarm; the 
specific actions of the villainess’ own hands bely her methods of 
manipulation. The film opens with her needlelike fingers gutting and 
reassembling the doll she uses to spy on her victims. More than just a scene 
to show the doll becoming a Coraline lookalike, this scene also shows how 
the Beldam ensnares her prey. She takes out the old stuffing, and replaces it 
with her own sawdust stuffing, just as she seeks to fully and completely make 
the children that she tempts her own. This is reflected in her method of 
cooking and feeding Coraline delicious foods to keep her enthralled. By filling 
her victims up both metaphorically and literally, she provides a sense of 
comfort and home which tricks the children into letting down their guards, 
entrusting themselves to the one who seeks to control them. 
In addition to manipulating her victims behind the scenes, the Other 
Mother physically controls her closest target, the Other Father, with her 
hands. When Coraline is first introduced to her Other Father, he plays her a 
 
 
60 
lovely song, exclaiming, “This piano plays me” (17:42). The piano moves his 
hands using a pair of gloves which in turn are controlled by the same needles 
as the Other Mother’s hands. His actions are completely dictated by his wife, 
by which, essentially, she becomes a puppet master and he the puppet. By the 
end of the film, the Other Father is being entirely manipulated against his will 
as the needles and gloves force him to attack Coraline, while he cries 
monotonously, “So sorry! Mother making me” (1:14:40). As the Beldam 
assumes control of his body, she takes away his autonomy, preventing him 
from being his own entity. This trauma takes a toll on his body as he 
transforms from the duplicate of Coraline’s real father to a shrunken, 
deformed man, literally withering along with his independence. By 
demonstrating the effect of the abuse externally, the audience can see the 
Beldam’s abuse leaving the Other Father sad and hollow like the pumpkin she 
affectionately nicknames him. 
In addition to the Other Mother’s manipulations of the Other 
Father’s overall bodily movements, she also hones her attention on the faces 
of individuals to manipulate that most direct method of transmitting emotion: 
the mouth. As Coraline realizes she may be stuck in the alternate world, she 
confronts the Other Father asking where the Other Mother is. However, as 
he begins to explain, he is stopped by the gloves of the Other Mother, which 
cover his mouth. Frustrated, Coraline cries that she will get her friend Wybie 
to help her, when the Other Father says, “He pulled a long face. And Mother 
didn’t like it.” (54:40). At this moment, the gloves grab his face, squishing his 
mouth closed to silence him. As Coraline flees, she finds Other Wybie, now 
forcibly muted, with his mouth pulled into a smile with stitches to stop his 
long face. These two characters are prevented from expressing themselves by 
the Other Mother’s manipulation of their mouths. Neither can speak their 
mind nor even use facial expressions to communicate. As they fight to reveal 
their thoughts and emotions, she hurts them, twisting their mouths to reflect 
the perfect world she designs. This emotional exploitation and degradation 
leave the pair melancholy and depressed despite their forced smiles. 
The Other Mother makes her final and most vicious attack on the 
souls of those trapped within her web by controlling their eyes. The eyes are 
considered the windows to the soul, and the Beldam uses this to her 
advantage. For Coraline to remain in the world, she must allow her eyes to be 
stitched over with buttons. Once she refuses, though, the world begins to 
twist and become darker, as Coraline sees it for the trap it is. Had she allowed 
the Beldam to cover her eyes, she would have lost herself to stay within the 
“perfect” world, something the audience can see has happened to the three 
children before Coraline, who are stuck as ghosts without their eyes or souls 
to free them. In an article about the film, “Romping with Freud in the Pink 
Palace,” author Sue Matheson explains the significance of the loss of eyes, 
stating: “Loving the Other Mother means obliterating one’s self” (22). 
 
  
61 
Matheson relates the eyes of the children to their individuality, or I’s. The 
Other Mother’s goal is to consume her victims, and while the film expresses 
that as a physical devouring, it demonstrates that the ultimate, terrible fate 
caused by the malicious machinations of the Other Mother is one where the 
victim’s identity is consumed to conform to her every whim. 
The film’s use of hands, mouths, and eyes demonstrates how, by 
violating her victims’ trust and autonomy, the Other Mother eliminates 
emotional expression and personal identity, the only two things that threaten 
her utter control. As Coraline maintains these parts of herself, she has the 
strength to defeat the Beldam by, ironically, removing her button eyes and 
crushing her manipulative hand. Coraline’s actions declare that she will no 
longer be manipulated, and as a result, she returns strengthened in both her 
emotion and identity. However, the film shows in clear visuals that, had the 
Other Mother succeeded, her emotional manipulation would have had a 
devastating effect on those aspects of Coraline’s psyche. Emotional abuse can 
often be dismissed due to the lack of physical wounds indicative of the 
trauma experienced. While it may be invisible, Selick brings the seriousness of 
this form of abuse into the spotlight by providing the physicality so conducive 
to understanding it. With this blatant affront to the old proverb: “sticks and 
stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me,” Selick promotes 
the importance of understanding the effect of the lesser-known forms of 
abuse, hopefully leading to a future where those who are victims of their own 
Other Mothers will not be ignored in their cries for help. Without this 
understanding, it is hard to tell who secretly has buttons for eyes. 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
WORKS CITED 
 
Coraline. Directed by Henry Selick, performances by Dakota Fanning, Teri 
Hatcher, and John Hodgman, Focus Features, 2009. 
Matheson, Sue. “Romping with Freud in the Pink Palace.” Horror Comes Home, 
edited by Cynthia J. Miller and A. Bowdoin Van Riper, 2019, pp. 14-
25. 
 
 
 


Buttons for Eyes: Emotional Abuse in Coraline

Benjamins, Benjamins E.

The Mall 
2020-2021 Article 
8-24-2021 
Of What Lies Beyond 
Benjamins E. Benjamins 
Butler University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/the-mall 
Recommended Citation 
Benjamins, Benjamins E. (2021) "Of What Lies Beyond," The Mall: Vol. 5 , Article 20. 
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/the-mall/vol5/iss1/20 
This Essay is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate Scholarship at Digital Commons @ 
Butler University. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Mall by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ 
Butler University. For more information, please contact digitalscholarship@butler.edu. 
 
  
73 
Of What Lies Beyond 
Benjamans Abermanis 
 
Big bang cosmology is probably as widely believed as has been any theory of the universe in 
the history of Western civilization. It rests, however, on many untested, and in some cases 
untestable, assumptions. Indeed, big bang cosmology has become a bandwagon of thought 
that reflects faith as much as objective truth. (G. Burbidge, “Why only one big bang?” 
Scientific American 266:2, 1992, p. 96.) 
 
The void is so complex yet simple in its structure. Yet, it almost 
contradicts itself, being everywhere yet not being a concrete object or 
substance that can’t be numerically labeled. How can something be something 
yet lack thereof of that something? This mysterious void makes up everything 
that I know of and is where I live, in a constant state of continuity.  
Silence is the only presence among the vast and open landscape that I 
call the void. Silence engulfs everything and fills my ears with itself as it is the 
only thing that is there. That is because there is nothing to break this silence, 
so this silence lingers on untrained by any sounds.  
Intense black and darkness expands across the landscape and details 
every part of the void down to the smallest and most minute details you could 
comprehend. Is it really black though? Wouldn’t that imply that there is 
something there? A better way to describe this masterpiece is to imagine not 
having sight at all, as there is nothing to view except the construct of the 
color black that our brains produce, creating an illusion that we see things 
when there is really nothing there.  
The feeling of being the only real and physical thing in existence is 
dumbfounding. The special privilege of being the only thing, both sentient or 
not, is an enjoyable thought because I am both relaxed and content with my 
life and I don’t think anyone else can understand how to enjoy such 
emptiness. To be suspended in this void is both concerning in a way of not 
knowing how and comforting that I find very wholesome. It’s almost like 
snuggling up to a fire during a long and cold winters night. At this point, am 
filled with content and comfort as life as it is now in this comfortable state of 
continuity and a constant state of being, without change.  
On a particular moment in time and space, I continued to lay 
suspended in my home when an ominous and immaculate white ball 
appeared, suspended nearby. This anomaly made me frustrated as my void is 
no longer perfect and is now tainted, yet it aroused my curiosity. How can 
this ball of a color than never existed before suddenly exist? Why is it here? 
Why now?  
While drifting over to the anomaly, I began to realize the relative size 
and shape of it which formed a sphere that could easily fit in the palm of my 
  
 
 
74 
hand. This sphere glowed a brilliant white light, strong, yet not strong enough 
where I couldn’t stand gazing at it any longer. I realized that the object is 
simple and small, yet it still irritated me at the presence of it even existing. 
This innocent ball of white is an intruder in my paradise that I love so much 
for exactly what it is, so I reached out to grasp it. When I palmed it, I saw the 
light shine through my fingers seemingly to get brighter just slightly but barely 
noticeable. I slowly pulled it towards myself to inspect it closer, and to no 
surprise was exactly the same close up as it was from afar. Annoyed that this 
sphere still existed, I cocked back my arm with the sphere still in my hand and 
moved my entire body forward launching it for some distance.  
When the ball landed, it is no more than a spec in my vision, but it is 
better than it was before, so I become content once again and laid back to 
become suspended like I always have. Closing my eyes, I became more 
content and comfortable than ever before due to myself subconsciously 
taking for granted how well my paradise has treated me. But once again, my 
relaxation was interrupted by some source of light that was even brighter than 
the last. Now livid, I sprung up from my suspended position to be slammed 
to what can only be comprehended as thousands of atomic bombs hitting me 
all at once. The feeling of getting hit by this much force and heat is not 
pleasant to say the least. This sent me into an unconscious state of which I 
have no idea what happened to my body when the blast passed through me. 
Awakening from my involuntary state of sleep, I look in awe to a 
expanding sphere full of darkness that is somehow different to the black that 
I’m accustomed to. But this sphere is accompanied by nebulas full of light in 
mosaic patterns that panted across the sphere that I am now a part of. Filling 
these nebulas were basic elements that reacted with one another at micro 
levels. 
I am no longer alone! 
            This realization startled me to the core, sending me shivers down my 
spine and showing myself emotions that I never knew existed before. The 
vastness of this sphere will never be as large of the void that I call my home 
is, yet somehow rivals the beauty of the void. How can anything be more 
beautiful that what was before? How can such an event of biblical 
proportions come from such a small sphere? The rush of thoughts fill my 
mind leaving me dumbfounded and gazing at the physical things all around 
me. I could feel the pull that everything had on myself from all over, like 
being placed into a funnel that I couldn’t escape. The discomforts of no 
longer being alone and in a place where things other than myself existed 
somehow converted into excitement and joy that I hadn’t before felt. 
            I looked at my body to see if I really was in what I was seeing, due to 
my disbelief, when I noticed that I was actually growing. I was getting taller, I 
started growing hair across my body, and I began to get wrinkle marks. My 
body was changing rapidly. A consequence of this newfound beauty was that 
 
  
75 
a hidden construct was in the core of this gilded gift. Time had caught up to 
me, as it never done before. My body became to wrinkle more and more, and 
I began to become weak and slender as my skin becomes more pale. I soon 
become very tired, a feeling a once again never felt. And as I close my eyes, I 
began to slip back into the darkness of which I knew and loved once before. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  


Of What Lies Beyond

Crane, Grace

Final Celebration

Heile, Elie

19
Wish
Elie Heile
What happened to wishes?
the real ones.
The ones you had as a child,
where you stretched your hands up towards the 
stars,
your small, chubby fingers
trying to grasp
onto those little diamonds of hope.
What happened to wishes?
The ones where you planted your callused feet
in the damp, dewy dirt while you
squeezed your eyes shut tight.
The ones where you craned back your neck
as far as it would go,
until you fell backward into the grass,
imagining the stars floating down
And caressing your head
With their warm touch.
The ones that you had no doubt would come 
true,
so you stood there,
20
The ones that you had no doubt would come 
true,
so you stood there,
under the dogwood tree each night
watching their luminescent white petals
shift their gaze towards the stars
to pray.
Because it seemed to you
that they wanted your wish to come true
as much as you did.


Wish

Clow, Brian

33
Food Vendor in a 
Strip Mall
Brian Clow
Yellow light dilutes into the fog in the 
parking lot
while security carts that putt by
carry pressed shirts stretched over wrinkled 
men
who don’t look both ways.
Everything sits in an owned space,
like this chicken shop and its captives.
Inside, the registers are broken,
one of them is resetting.
The cashier tends to a creeping line of 
inconsiderate complainants;
the clothes draped under her work apron say 
that her wallet is shallow, 
and she says her car tire blew.
Still, when I reach her, she’s, ‘sorry’—
smiles and looks down
while her boss yells at a cook about the cash 
box.
Poetry 
Contest 
Winner
34
People could outlast the chairs in this 
place,
but I leave as soon as I’m able.
She says ‘sorry again about the registers.’
I wish her well with her car and her boss, 
and for a time
both of our eyes brighten. Outside the fog 
has relented, 
yellow light paints circles on asphalt,
and people bathe, alone, within them, not 
seeing beyond their circle.
But I look around and hear, from some far-off 
speaker that I can’t see, 
the trilling brilliance of worn horns and 
trumpets 
that play for the ones who listen—for her and 
for me.


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