You Know?: Decoding ‘Knowing’ in the English Professor/Student Relationship

This project uses a grounded theory methodology to study what university professors mean when they talk about “getting to know students.” Eight tenure-track and tenured English professors participated in the study. To represent the various fields within this English department, the sample of eight professors includes creative writing, literature, and writing studies faculty. Data for this study consisted of individual interviews and class observations. After coding the data, four categories emerged: Determining the Degrees of Knowing, Building Class Rapport, Maintaining Class Rapport, and Leveling the Playing Field. I argue that “knowing students” is a multi-dimensional relationship I describe with “the distance-degree continuum.” In this continuum, distance, degree, roles, and rapport act on one another to offer a more complete picture of “knowing” than relying on any one element in isolation. In my discussion of how the distance-degree continuum operates, I point to the distinction between professors who “rule break” and those who “role break.” Rule breaking includes engaging in explicitly prohibited relationships with students, while role breaking is less black and white. Professors can role break either intentionally or accidentally by stepping out of the roles that are typically appropriate and productive in their relationships with students. I conclude that for “knowing” to be productive between professors and their students, it must serve a pedagogical purpose, and remain bounded by the intent of the relationship: to teach and to learn

Asexual, Transvestive Role-Projection: You Go Girl! Guys and Game of Thrones

This paper is an exploration of what I call asexual, transvestive role-projection, which is the act of watching a film or television show, and imagining oneself as a character of the opposite gender. I argue that this can occur when the character in question is not sexualized or sexually attractive to the viewer, and that this type of role-projection has become a more common phenomena especially for viewer’s who identify as male due to the rise of the “girl hero” in film, like Eleven in “Stranger Things,” Hit Girl in “Kick Ass,” and “Game of Thrones”’ Arya Stark, who along with her sister Sansa are the main subjects of my analysis. My ideas build off of and counter Laura Mulvey’s quintessential film theory article “Visual Pleasure in Narrative Cinema,” in which Mulvey argues that male viewers get pleasure from film in two ways: by picturing themselves as the hero, and by imagining themselves possessing the heroine. Considering the characters of Thrones, Arya and Sansa Stark in particular, it is clear to me that the portrayal of men and women, at least of the heroes and heroines, is different in Thrones than the description Mulvey offers. Thrones’ heroines do not exist only “to connote to-be-looked-at-ness” as Mulvey says women in film do, or at least did in 1975 when Mulvey published “Visual Pleasure.” Not only has the portrayal of men and women in film become more progressive, but so too has the viewer’s gaze. Considering more contemporary film theory than Mulvey’s work, I find it crucial to consider that the male viewer has moved beyond the pleasure of imagining possessing the heroine, to pleasure in imagining himself as the heroine, as long as she is not sexualized. Because Thrones has been scrutinized and criticized by feminists and misogynists, it serves as an especially important text to examine the breakdown of gender binaries in film. From conversations I have had with other fans of the show, most viewers seem to admire and respect Arya, but loathe and scorn Sansa. Further research into fan forums, magazine articles featuring interviews with Thrones actors, and even one book about the show, confirmed what I had heard fans of the show articulate: Arya is a badass, Sansa is a bitch. If Mulvey is correct in her assertion that women in film represent to men the fear of castration and an alien otherness, then it stands to reason that male viewers in particular would be able to identify with and admire Arya, who accomplishes her goals through “male” means of physical violence; however, if a male viewer identifies with and admires Sansa, who asserts her agenda through “feminine” strategies of manipulation and cunning, the male viewer risks “castration” by seeing himself in the feminine Sansa. I further this argument through special attention to the Stark sisters’ relationships with their male mentors, and through close reading of scenes throughout the series in which Sansa is sexualized, but Arya is not. Keywords: Scopophilia, voyeurism, role-projection, gender binar

Kit-of-parts architecture : an exploration into the standardization and simplification of an urban residential building unit

This thesis focuses on the design of a construction method that utilizes a single adaptable kit-of-parts system. The new system is designed to be flexible while also enhancing construction speeds without severely limiting the building\u27s ability to merge into an urban fabric. This thesis proposes a residential structure to be built from a handful of simple structural units. This is accomplished through the design of a residential building situated in an area of Miami currently under reconstruction

L'évêché de Sées sous la domination anglaise au quinzième siècle

Le siège épiscopal de Sées fut, au XVe siècle, prétexte à de nombreuses querelles et rivalités entre les partisans des Anglais et les partisans des Français, d'une part ; entre le pape et le concile de Bâle, d'autre part. La ville de Sées était située dans une zone frontière entre les régions dominées par les Anglais et celles restées fidèles au dauphin puis au roi, l'influence de l'un ou l'autre camp sur la désignation d'un évèque jouait alternativement, au gré des combats. Le pape et le concile de Bâle sont amenés, à plusieurs reprises, à examiner les différends qui surgissent, à propos de l'évêché de Sées, entre les Anglais et les Français et à choisir entre les candidats proposés par l'un et l'autre partis.Allmand Christopher Thomas. L'évêché de Sées sous la domination anglaise au quinzième siècle. In: Annales de Normandie, 11ᵉ année, n°4, 1961. pp. 301-307

International Aid, Domestic Conflict, and Sudan\u27s Crisis: A Qualitative Study of Sudan\u27s Conflict

Recently, the international community has turned its eyes to Africa and the tumultuous situation present there. Sudan presents a case study that exemplifies grievous consequences of international neglect and of domestic regime abuse. As a geographically large country rich in natural resources and with prime location, Sudan has drawn international attention with its civil war raging between mainly the North and South. The conflict has numerous roots ranging from political to economic to ethnic. The Darfur genocide showed the culminating consequences of the conflict. Hence, Sudan has bcome a prime candidate for international aid from outside nation-states such as the United States, from private humanitarian organizations, and from international organizations such as the United Nations. However, outside aid has created mixed results in terms of improving Sudan\u27s situation. This study examines the effects of humanitarian aid on the ensuing conflict in Sudan alongside the factors of famine, slavery, and economic variables. While numerous attempts from aid organizations have endeavored to foster peace and improve the overall quality of life for the Sudanese, most have fallen short of their goals due to domestic issues. Peace talks during the conflict continue to falter, and even resolutions demanding peace in the Sudan region have come to a deadlock in the United Nations. Meanwhile, the Sudan people continue to suffer inhumane conditions. This research studies the effectiveness of international influences. It also scrutinizes whether or not aid in Sudan will be able to produce a long-lasting, positive impact on the region with the current regime in power

La Normandie devant l'opinion anglaise à la fin de la guerre de Cent Ans.

Christopher Allmand, La Normandie devant l'opinion anglaise à la fin de la guerre de Cent ans. — Bibliothèque de l'École des chartes, t. CXXVIII (1970), p. 345-368. Au cours de la décennie qui précède la bataille de Formigny (1440- 1450), l'attitude du gouvernement de Henri VI d'Angleterre à l'égard de la Normandie suscite des réactions diverses dans l'opinion anglaise. Certains se montrent favorables à la cessation des hostilités ; mais d'autres manifestent une opposition croissante à toute négociation avec la France et critiquent les atermoiements de l'entourage royal. Les habitants du sud de l'Angleterre, sensibles à des considérations stratégiques, appréhendent les conséquences désastreuses que pourrait avoir l'abandon de la Normandie pour leur sécurité. Mais les réactions les plus vives sont celles des « colons », dont la majorité appartient à la petite noblesse : installés en Normandie depuis le règne de Henri V, ils avaient trouvé dans l'occupation du pays un moyen d'enrichissement et de promotion sociale. Menacés de perdre leurs biens sans indemnisation, ils sont hostiles à la politique de repli du duc de Suffolk, chef du Conseil royal, qu'ils accusent de défaitisme et de trahison. Les problèmes politiques et sociaux soulevés ainsi par les tentatives de paix expliquent en partie la chute de la maison de Lancastre, qui survient peu après la perte par les Anglais de leurs possessions en France.Allmand Christopher. La Normandie devant l'opinion anglaise à la fin de la guerre de Cent Ans.. In: Bibliothèque de l'école des chartes. 1970, tome 128, livraison 2. pp. 345-368

The Vienna Declaration and Plan of Action : After Five Years

Allmand Warren. The Vienna Declaration and Plan of Action : After Five Years. In: Revue Québécoise de droit international, volume 11-2, 1998. Congrès mondial sur la Déclaration universelle des droits de l'homme. Actes, sous la direction de William Schabas et Geneviève Dufour. pp. 119-123

Attreed (Lorraine). The King's Towns. Identity and Survival in Late Medieval English Boroughs.

Allmand Christopher. Attreed (Lorraine). The King's Towns. Identity and Survival in Late Medieval English Boroughs.. In: Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 81, fasc. 2, 2003. Histoire medievale, moderne et contemporaine - Middeleeuwse. moderne en hedendaagse geschiedenis. pp. 563-564