Excerpt: Muslim figures associated with the Mughals (particularly Emperor Aurangzeb) were often charged with using idolatrous imagery such as “ghaza”, “jihad”, “kufr” and “ghazi”. But if we analyze the texts compiled by Hindu scribes (munshi) in the 17th and 18th centuries we come across the same Islamic symbolisms.

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Excerpt: Speght and Cavendish use what I term the “oneiric mode” – a mode of writing defined by its reliance on and incorporation of the ontological properties of dreams – to envision women’s knowledge creation.

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Excerpt: Courses of Early Modern Spanish literature are challenging for both L2 learners and heritage speakers due to the linguistic complexity of the materials, as well as their perceived historical distance. As a result, reduced motivation and linguistic anxiety (Lewellen, 20191; Orta Bruque, 20132) are common in these classes, and enrolment numbers tend to be low. This study will discuss the potential of interdisciplinary strategies that integrate Spanish literature and Spanish linguistics in tackling these challenges. Specifically, it discusses two approaches: language-focused (Polio & Zyzik, 20093) strategies and experiential learning. While a linguistic approach to the literary text (1) facilitates accessibility to early modern Spanish and (2) eases the transition from lower to upper-division courses, experiential learning in the form of creative projects encourages students’ motivation. This research argues for the potential and mutual benefits of interdisciplinary cooperation in Spanish upper-division curriculum design.

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Excerpt: This research looks at various doctors and medicine in the Abbasid Era (750CE-1258CE) to highlight how Arabic was a global and scientific language. Presented here is poetry about the life of the Nestorian Christian doctor Jibril ibn Bukhtishu’, who worked in the Abbasid Empire, interacting with the Muslim elite. His life shows us how medicine and science of this period was not just limited to the dominant religious group of the Abbasid Empire. There are also herbs which can be linguistically traced as coming from as faraway as China and Chinese medicines which can be traced back to having Abbasid Empire origins. The inclusion of foreign herbs suggest that Jibril ibn Bukhtishu’ was not an isolated case. My research aims to showcase how Arabic was a global and scientific language in the medieval era, collecting medical knowledge and talents from everyone, regardless of ethnic and religious origin.

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Excerpt: In 1579, English sailor and privateer, Sir Francis Drake, landed on the Pacific Coast of North America. The story goes that he named this land "Nova Albion," meaning New England, and nailed a plate of brass to a post that claimed the lands and its people for his queen. Coordinates supplied by Anglican Priest, Francis Fletcher, place Drake and his crew in modern day Point Reyes, California; however, scholars and hobbiests alike have continued to speculate on the validity of those coordinates. The centuries since have seen countless people attempt to validate, discredit, revise, or utilize Drake's claim regardless of its truth. This project does not continue that legacy, and instead, outlines those attempts to show how the continued fascination with this "mystery" actualizes Drake's colonialist ambitions.

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