Awkward Voices: How Storytelling Challenges Preconceived Notions to Lessen Affective Polarization in American Politics

The United States is no stranger to violence, whether it be in the past or the present, structural or physical. In recent years, however, tensions within the country have increased, particularly between political parties. Operating under the philosophy that a better world cannot be built upon the mistakes of the past, and that peace is a radical act, it is necessary to urgently address this polarization in order to prevent further violence. This article explores the question of whether storytelling between conflicting groups is a method to address these issues. This paper is divided into two central parts. The first section outlines the problem of polarization. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of American Studies, I use theories of peace and conflict studies to outline how polarization is the predecessor to violence and war. I cite research in psychology to examine how dehumanization plays a role in violence and is a product of polarization. Then, I utilize research in political science to establish why political polarization (as opposed to other divisions in society, such as race, gender, or class) is a concern. Additionally, I differentiate between ideological and affective polarization, and examine what their measured levels in the United States illustrate. I look at all of this information through the American Studies lenses of analyzing systems of power, solving systemic issues, and the roles of race, gender, and class. This leads into the second part of the paper, which presents storytelling as a solution. It addresses the potential for storytelling to be both destructive and constructive. Many of what are known as “post-conflict” societies have had extensive, detailed experiences with storytelling on both sides that were meaningful for healing; from these examples I outline how storytelling can be practiced in order for it to be constructive, and the limits of storytelling as a method. I end with storytelling of my own, from examples in my own life and across the United States that showcase the power of storytelling

From Homeland to Here: Diasporic Belonging and Ethiopian Youth Performance in the Twin Cities

In Amharic, Tizita is often referred to as a type of musical scale or ballad, but the word itself means so much more. Tizita is also a way of expressing a feeling of longing and memory for the homeland of Ethiopia. As a practitioner and now researcher of Ethiopian cultural dance, this proposed American Studies Senior Capstone project examines the significance of Ethiopian cultural dance within diasporic identities, how it can unite different people of different ethnic groups within the Ethiopian diaspora through mutual understanding, and how it connects diaspora to roots that we only know through the stories of our parents (missing something we never had). Part of my interests and what I consider to be the urgent stakes of Ethiopian performance arts and building a youth dance community is about resisting assimilation, preserving culture, and creating a peaceful environment with each other while acknowledging history. In this paper, I examine Ethiopian history of politics and culture, and its impact on the diasporic communities in the Twin Cities as various political tensions immigrate to the U.S. with our parents and trickle down to the diaspora. I will analyze how this affects how the diaspora act towards and view each other, looking specifically at the Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups in Ethiopia. Traditional Ethiopian dance is also important in terms of representation to younger generations. This paper is also in part an autoethnographic exploration of my own journey as a choreographer and dancer within two Ethiopian youth cultural organizations for the past 5 years, since 2021. Through this case study I hope to better understand the role dance takes in other dancers\u27 lives and self identity. I aim to show how Ethiopian cultural dance as a practice is an important form of knowledge production because it teaches young people about cultural and political history, values, language, regional dynamics in Ethiopia

We Do Not Care To Be Silent: Resist the Demand to Self-Censor about Tyranny, ICE, and Genocide

Silence breaking, I argue, is a tool that must be employed as frequently as possible by as many people as possible. Using the tools of hope and courage, working through the barriers of fear and shame, we must be outspoken in our care for all people. This expression of care is so crucial because there are tyrannical forces at work across the globe who wish for nothing more than our silence. In that silence, the U.S. government is expanding its practices to unjustly detain and deport immigrants. To enforce this silence, the U.S. government, through ICE, is detaining journalists and activists. The end goal of these attacks on human dignity is complete unchecked power. As a colonial regime continuing to arm and fund genocides across the globe, any attempts by the United States government to further deflect accountability must be viewed with the utmost concern. It is humanity’s obligation to speak out against cruelty and violence wherever we see it. In working against oppressive forces and their violence, we lessen the capacity of those forces to cause harm

The Illusion of Sex-Ed as Panacea: Addressing Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Disparities in Minnesota

Although many praise Minnesota for its strong healthcare system, the state still faces significant disparities in access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and comprehensive sexuality education (CSE). These disparities in access are compounded by geographic location, socioeconomic status (SES), and race, with barriers across transportation, cost, and clinic availability further complicating these issues. Based on this understanding, this paper examines adolescent SRH disparities between the Twin Cities metropolitan area and northern rural regions in Minnesota, focusing specifically on unintended adolescent pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Building on this foundation, I apply Dr. Vanessa Voller’s “CSE-as-panacea” framework, which extends Dr. Frances Vavrus’s “education-as-panacea” theory, to highlight how CSE is positioned as the sole solution to complex structural SRH disparities.1, 2 Framing sexual health education as a universal fix neglects the broader social determinants of health (SDOH), depoliticizes systemic disparities, and shifts responsibility from governmental structures onto individual adolescents. By employing narratives of individual youth empowerment, governmental and institutional systems obscure structural inequities while placing the burden of prevention and health improvement entirely on young people without providing any meaningful support. This effectively maintains and perpetuates the same global power structures that not only created these health disparities but continue to entrench and exacerbate them. Based on this, I advocate for an intersectional, multilayered approach in addressing adolescent SRH disparities that pairs affordable, community-based, culturally relevant, and trauma-informed accessible care, with evidence-based, scientifically grounded, developmentally appropriate, and high-quality CSE. A central part of this work is a youth-centered approach, which means listening to and trusting young people as experts on their own health and bodies, while providing them with the knowledge, skills, and safe, judgment-free environments they need to advocate for themselves. 1. Vanessa K. Voller, “Comprehensive for Whom? Examining the Politics, Promises, and Paradox of School-Based Comprehensive Sexuality Education in a Rural Community in Eastern Bolivia” (PhD Dissertation, 2025), 70, https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/comprehensive-whom-examining-politics-promises/docview/3253342843/se-2?accountid=12205. 2. Frances Vavrus, “Constructing Consensus: The Feminist Modern and the Reconstruction of Gender,” Current Issues in Comparative Education 5, no. 1 (January 1, 2002): 53, https://doi.org/10.52214/cice.v5i1.11364

Capturing Non-linearity between Household Debt and GDP: A Deep VAR Approach

Household debt plays a significant role in shaping the macroeconomy. The relationship between growth and household debt is nonlinear; however, most research regarding household debt and GDP utilizes linear techniques. Using a Deep Vector Autoregression (Deep VAR) model, a recursive neural network-based approach that has been shown to outperform linear alternatives, I analyze the relationship between household debt and GDP using quarterly data from an unbalanced panel of 39 countries over the past 40 years. The Deep VAR outperforms linear alternatives, further providing evidence that the relationship between household debt and GDP is non-linear. Using impulse response functions (IRF), I find evidence supporting Minsky’s financial instability hypothesis, highlighting the effects of relaxed borrowing conditions. Moreover, I identify a cyclical pattern in household responses to GDP shocks, where households deleverage during periods of economic growth and increase leverage during contractions

Sunbathers

Sunbathers is a Studio Art Honors project that explores the awkward intimate nature of introspective life through autobiographical, figurative ceramic sculptures. The forms capture the relationship between body and reality. The project consists of seven portraits, varying in size and display, arranged together on pink pedestals. Each figure communicates a part of self, embodying the internal interactions of everyday existence. The sculptures perform as objects yet speak with the specific sense of being seen/presented. Features shift in and out of focus—glossy glazes draw the eye, while matte colors move inward; the exaggerated, slumped forms are adorned with bright, illuminating glazes. Sunbathers depicts the experience of being alive - fully and honestly, with compassion and introspection

Breaking the Barrier: Implications of 2024 Ruling Against NAR on Home Prices and Market Quality

On August 17, 2024, a court ruling changed real estate market practices that prohibit the posting of real estate agent commission rates on multiple listing services and mandate buyer contracts that specify agent commission fees. Real estate agent commissions function as intermediary transaction costs, and this ruling aims to potentially reduce these costs. Using data on single family home transactions in St. Paul, Minnesota from Zillow.com, Realtor.com, and Ram- sey County Property Tax database, I utilize a difference in difference model to examine the short-term impacts of the ruling on market dynamics in resi- dential real estate such as home prices, market liquidity, market frictions, and the efficiency of price discovery. Findings suggest that there are no short term effects of the 2024 NAR ruling on home prices and market quality. Robust- ness checks using non-single-family properties, different control and treatment groups based on price range, and a visualization of neighborhood-level effects on single family properties also support these results

Vesicle Analysis of the 1973 Eldfell (Iceland) Tephra: Comparison of the Opening Fissure and Late-Stage Cone

Long manifested as a fissure swarm, Iceland’s Vestmannaeyjar volcanic system is slowly evolving into a central volcano. This study quantified tephra density, vesicularity, and vesicle volume distribution (via 2D image analysis) from the most recent Vestmannaeyjar eruption (Eldfell, 1973) to assess both pre- and syn-eruptive magma dynamics. Tephra from the late-stage cinder cone is dominated by bubble coalescence textures, consistent with the observed shift to a Strombolian eruptive style later in the Eldfell eruption. Tephra from the opening fissure preserves evidence of bubble ripening, which requires long term magma residence at shallow depths, a characteristic of central volcanoes