Volume 6, Issue 1
Letter From the Editors
“Perseverance” comes from a thirteenth-century Old French word, persévérance, which means “the steadfast pursuit of an aim.” Over the past year, this word has often been used to describe people’s responses to the hardships they were facing in the COVID-19 shutdown. We, too, find this word particularly apropos when reflecting on the research that is featured in this journal as many of these research projects were finished during the Spring 2020 semester in the early months of the pandemic.
Despite the sweeping changes that transformed collegiate life almost overnight, students persevered in their studies. Those undertaking independent research lost access to libraries and archives, the opportunity for informal discussions with classmates, and in-person interactions with professors and mentors. At the broadest level, students lost the normal caliber of support that comes from a vibrant research university community. But even with this myriad of setbacks, undergraduate students not only completed but also excelled in their research. This issue of Inventio proudly showcases the fruit of their studies and, ultimately, of their perseverance.
While the past year has provided many opportunities for us to reflect on the importance of perseverance in difficult circumstances, we have also come to recognize that this virtue has always played a critical role in undergraduate studies, especially in research. Research is a protracted process, with students dedicating months and sometimes years to develop and complete their projects. Further, the experience of research often involves finding new or contradictory ideas that force the researcher to reexamine the claims they are making and explore new avenues of thought. Throughout this process, students must persevere, remaining steadfast in pursuit of their aim, which is ultimately truth.
Publishing in Inventio is a fitting conclusion to this process; during the publication process, students commit to working alongside the Student Editorial Board as they make the final revisions to their projects. When these projects are completed, students are recognized for their labor as they are able to share their research with the university community and beyond.
Ultimately, the perseverance of students in research—and particularly of students in the current circumstances—prompts the question: Why do we persevere? One motive might be a deep commitment to the goodness of the final goal. This commitment impels us to continue our work despite the difficulties we encounter in the process, and it is strengthened when shared with others who possess this same vision of the goal and desire to pursue it alongside us.
For Inventio, both the authors and the members of the Student Editorial Board commit to persevering in seeking the truth through their research and, further, in sharing it with others through publication. Volume 6, Issue 1 is evidence of this. We would like to thank those who make it possible for us to remain steadfast in this undertaking, especially the Office of Undergraduate Studies. We hope you enjoy Volume 6, Issue 1 of Inventio.
Elizabeth Hughes, Editor in Chief
Rachel Dugan Wood, Associate Editor
Essays
by Victoria Smith
This paper compares Walt Disney’s original Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT) with Epcot, the theme park inspired by the concept, and analyzes each as a potential utopia. It also examines why Walt Disney’s EPCOT was replaced with the Walt Disney World entertainment complex after his death and how aspects of his original design influenced the complex. Disney intended to open EPCOT as a utopian complex based on techno- logical progress and human achievement. However, after Disney’s death, his plan was not executed as he had intended. The original design included one theme park, Magic Kingdom, as a source of revenue and employment for his utopian community. Instead, four Disney World theme parks were opened in the space purchased for Disney’s plan. One of them, Epcot, was designed to reflect the philosophy of technological progress and human achievement. An analysis of Disney’s original design for EPCOT compared with the original design of Epcot reveals that neither can be considered a true utopia, though they both contain utopian elements.
by Joslyn Felicijan
The Polish community in Britain remains one of the United Kingdom’s largest foreign populations since the Second World War. However, many debates concerning Polish-Jewish historical memory arise within the Anglo-Polish community, most notably concerning their response towards international Holocaust cinema. Two main questions arise: First, why do some Anglo-Poles mirror ongoing Polish debates surrounding wartime cinematic portrayals?; second, do they react strongly against critical depictions because of historically inaccurate films, or because they retain connections with Poland, thus feeling personally attacked? Serving as a case study, the German television series Generation War was investigated due to the negative backlash it received from some Anglo-Poles because of its portrayal of anti-Semitism within the Polish Underground. Yet the accuracy of the series’s portrayals of anti-Semitic acts is validated through anti-Semitic Polish Underground pamphlets and eyewitness testimonies. Therefore, the issue of some Anglo-Polish communities rejecting negative cinematic portrayals of Polish-Jewish relations appears to not be a conflict over historical accuracy but instead another facet of current Polish historical memory debates. This suggests that some Anglo-Poles maintained aspects of their Polish identity throughout Polish emigration to Britain during World War II, the Cold War, and the fall of communism in 1989.
By Nissa Flanders
In the Stromata, an apparently simple musical metaphor which Clement employs in discussing “gnosis” has in fact a profound underlying significance. Comparison with the musical opinions of Plato and Aristotle reveals that Clement’s choice of lyre and flute in his metaphor is not an idle one but rather deeply significant, revealing a more complex and sophisticated meaning than at first appears.
By Josephine Miller
A phenomenon experienced for millennia, psychological trauma forces victims to relive a traumatic event and suffer overwhelming symptoms for most of their lives. Trauma affects millions of Americans, and—if left unaddressed—its symptoms will impact victims well into adulthood. As the institution founded by Christ and endowed with the fullness of truth, the Catholic Church has a responsibility to convey accurate information on that which affects its congregation’s lives. Does the face of the Catholic Church in America, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, accurately portray various forms of trauma in its teachings and thus fulfill its objective to uphold the truth? This essay examines the USCCB’s teachings regarding rape, war, domestic violence, and childhood sexual abuse in order to determine the accuracy of the information that the conference promulgates and how it may improve its ministry to assist the victims of trauma.
by Audrey Adams-Meija
Pseudo-Dionysius’s The Celestial Hierarchy is at its core a philosophy of light, seeking to illuminate centuries of Neoplatonic teaching through Christianity. In unifying the two, Pseudo-Dionysius outlines a balance between the sensible and the spiritual orders of reality and establishes a path leading from the former to the latter. His writing emphasizes the essential role of visible objects—particularly artistic representations—in guiding the mortal soul towards its ultimate, invisible end. One example of such salvific artwork resides in the pyramids of I.M. Pei, which were designed in 1989 for the Louvre Museum in Paris and fulfill this philosophy of light both artistically and allegorically. Not only do the pyramids reflect the transcendent beauty of which Pseudo-Dionysius writes by their artistic merits, but they also embody within themselves the symbolic image of his entire philosophical progression. In this parallel achievement, the Louvre pyramids may truly be said to achieve their purpose in directing the human soul towards the transcendent reality their material design reflects.
by Maria Erquiaga
Prompt: For your final essay, you will apply the writing skills that you have been honing this semester in order to present a persuasive argument based on original research. Ultimately, your essay should identify a specific issue and question related to our class research theme that is significant, analyze how other researchers and writers have engaged with this issue, and present an argument that makes an original contribution to the critical conversation. To do so, you will need to engage in analysis of primary and secondary texts as you create an argument to advance your own original claim and support it in a way that will be persuasive to your specific audience. Ultimately, you want to formulate a thesis and argument that can be presented and supported within the limits of the assignment (roughly 5-7 pages). Keep in mind that you are not being asked to formulate a comprehensive argument—it does not need to review all the major scholarship that addresses this issue nor does it need to consider it from every angle. What you are aiming for is an intelligent, focused, and clear argument that demonstrates an informed understanding of how the issue is being currently discussed and offers your own contribution to that discussion.