Life of the Mind

Life of the Mind logoLife of the Mind is a lecture series showcasing the research, scholarship, and
creative activity of Pamplin College faculty. 

The dates for the 2021-2022 Life of the Mind presentations are:

  • Wednesday, October 6, 2021
  • Tuesday, November 9, 2021
  • Thursday, January 27, 2022
  • Thursday, March 17, 2022

All presentations are from 1-2 p.m.  

Faculty Presentations
  • “Administrative Burden in TANF: An Assessment of Welfare Rules”
    Presented by Dr. Rhucha Samudra, Department of Social Sciences
  • “The Recent Performance of Cuba’s External Sector” 
    Presented by Dr. Paolo Spadoni, Department of Social Sciences
  • “Expertise on the Internet: The Construction of Authority and Difference”
    Presented by Dr. Trent M. Kays, Department of English and World Languages
  • “Unnatural Disasters in the Autobiographical Narratives of Nathalie Sarraute and Marguerite Duras”
    Presented by Dr. E. Nicole Meyer, Department of English and World Languages
  • "Perfect Timing? Exploring how learners of Spanish perceive and benefit from immediate vs. delayed grammar feedback in face-to-face vs. online chat environments"
    Presented by Dr. Carly Carver, Department of English and World Languages
  • "Bringing a Transnational Research Project to Fruition: Politics, Culture, and the Irish-American Press"
    Presented by Dr. Debra van Tuyll, Department of Communication
  • "Understanding Cyberthreats through the lens of Young Adults"
    Presented by Dr. Candace Griffith, Department of Social Sciences
  • "Israel and South Sudan: A Convergence of Interests"
    Presented by Dr. Michael Bishku, Department of History, Anthropology, and Philosophy
  • “Tocqueville’s Theologico-Political Predicament: Leo Strauss, Religion, and Democracy” 
    Presented by Dr. Craig Albert, Department of Social Sciences
  • “Elasticity in the Photograph ‘Scherzo di Follia’”
    Presented by Dr. Melanie O’Meara, Department of Art and Design
  • "Those 'Dam' Indians: Water, Power & Protest in Guatemala, 1920-2020"
    Presented by Dr. Heather Chiero, Department of History, Anthropology, and Philosophy
  • "Blue Lives Matter: Relinquishing and Reclaiming Narrative Control in the 'Post-Ferguson' Era"
    Presented by Dr. Melissa Powell-Williams, Department of Social Sciences
  • "U.S.-Cuba Economic Relations under the Trump Administration"
    Presented by Dr. Paolo Spadoni, Department of Social Sciences
  • "Dostoevsky's 'The Idiot' at 150: Textual Transactions" 
    Presented by Dr. Brian Armstrong, Department of History, Anthropology, and Philosophy
  • "Meet in the Middle: Terrorism and Centrist Party Vote Shares in Legislative Elections"
    Presented by Dr. Lance Hunter, Department of Social Sciences
  • "Women to the Rescue of Mythical Female Figures: Catalina de los Ríos y Lisperguer and Malinalli"
    Presented by Dr. Giada Biasetti, Department of English and Foreign Languages
  • "'Moments of Wholeness': Reading Marie Howe's and Mary Jo Bang's Elegiac Verse"
    Presented by Anna Harris-Parker, Department of English and Foreign Languages
  • "Women Writing Pain: Faïza Guene's 'Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow'"
    Presented by Dr. Liana Babayan, Department of English and Foreign Languages
  • "Lincoln, Douglass, and Freedom"
    Presented by Dr. David Bulla, Department of Communication
  • "A Not So Native Son: Richard Wright, 'Black Power,' and the African Postcolonial State"
    Presented by Dr. Guirdex Massé, Department of English and Foreign Languages
  • "Occupations as Status Hierarchies: Evidence from Workplaces in Sweden"
    Presented by Dr. Dustin Avent-Holt, Department of Social Sciences
  • "From Ox-Pens to Re-education Camps and the Erasure of Uyghur Identity"
    Presented by Dr. Sandrine E. Catris, Department of History, Anthropology, and Philosophy
  • "Eye-Tracking and Pupil Dilation in Second Language Acquisition: A Collaborative Project"
    Presented by Dr. Giada Biasetti, Department of English and Foreign Languages
  • "Personas of the Past: Poetry as Archive"
    Presented by Anna Harris-Parker, Department of English and Foreign Languages
  • "Off the Wall and Onto the Page: A Screenplay Process"
    Presented by Matthew Buzzell, Department of Art and Design
  • "Plastic Fantastic: Citizenship in a Superpower Nation"
    Presented by Kristin Casaletto, Department of Art and Design
  • "Investigating Gender Differences in Environmental Attitudes"
    Presented by Dr. Mary-Kate Lizotte, Department of Social Sciences
  • "Giving Light and Help: Susie Wiseman Yergan and the Unity Home-Makers' Club of South Africa"
    Presented by Dr. Brandy Wells, Department of History, Anthropology, and Philosophy
  • "Sound and Vision: The Inspiration of Rothko"
    Presented by Dr. Robert Foster, Department of Music
  • "The Homicide of Transgender People in the U.S.: A Descriptive (Baseline) Study"
    Presented by Dr. Melissa Bemiller, Department of Social Sciences