I Can Read All by Myself, I Can Read Without your Help: Analysis of Contemporary Early Reader Books
Savannah Duursema
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Allison Speicher
Eastern Connecticut State University
Abstract
Learning to read is a crucial time in childhood because literacy is the basis for all future learning. Early reader books are the first stories a child reads independently, which piqued my interest because they provide children's first opportunity to take in the story, without an adult co-reader skewing meaning. Literature scholars have yet to focus on the content of early readers, though, instead labeling them as simply teaching tools and stepping stones to more sophisticated literature. This research aims to change this perception using a well-vetted sample of recently published early readers recommended by prestigious children’s literature periodicals and the Geisel Award committee. The analysis demonstrates exactly what implicit concepts young readers are exposed to in these stories, specifically societal biases towards young people. Findings include four major assumptions targeted at our youngliterates: 1) friendship and social skills must be taught, 2) children relate to, and therefore prefer animal characters to human versions, 3) children don’t want to (learnto) read, and 4) there’s a lack of realism and time awareness in childhood. For the purposes of this paper, I limit discussion on the final assumption. Early reader books may seem simple, but they hold immense power over the young minds that internalize their messages, so they cannot be ignored by scholars anymore.
❐ PDFKeywords: Early Reader, Children’s Literature, Anthropomorphism, Friendship, Implicit Assumptions
“The Bitterest of All Evils”:Bondage, Bleeding Kansas,and the Battle for America’sHeartland, 1854-1861
Zachary R. Goldsmith
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Andrew Gulliford
Fort Lewis College
Abstract
“Bleeding Kansas” (1854-1861)marked a historical moment in which political compromise over slavery began tocollapse. Decades of legislation that culminated in the Kansas-Nebraska Act relied on the use of compromise to stave off growing hostilities between pro- and antislavers. But when the residents of theKansas Territory got to determine for themselves whether the future state wouldbe free or slave, it was revealed that policies of compromise did not solvedivisions, but deepened them, and inadvertently strengthened factionalism. Withthe volatile elements of voter fraud, intimidation, and murder, the resultingreaction was explosive. Bleeding Kansas proved to be the turbulent powder kegthat primed America’s Heartland and readied the ignition of the Civil War.
❐ PDFKeywords: American History, Civil War, Slavery, Popular Sovereignty, Abolition
Trauma-informed parenting practices: Exploring opportunities and barriers to continuing education for caregivers of young children
Morgan Poettgen
Faculty Mentor: Kelsey Benson
Universityof Wisconsin-Superior
Abstract
This study explores the opportunities and barriers that caregivers of young children face in accessing continuing education on trauma-informed parenting practices. While research has examined trauma-informed approaches within specific populations, little is known about family awareness of and engagement in such practices, particularly among parents of children under age five. Using a two-pronged, mixed-methods design, data was collected through surveys and semi-structured interviews with eight participants in the Twin Ports area. Thematic analysis revealed three central challenges: (1) isolation, with caregivers often relying on limited support networks such as family or church communities; (2) lack of awareness, as many participants were unfamiliar with available trauma-informed resources outside of professional training contexts; and (3) barriers to access, including cost, childcare, time, and scheduling constraints. Despite the study’s limitations—particularly a small, highly educated, and relatively privileged sample—the findings underscore that even advantaged families struggle to invest in supportive programming due to competing demands. These results highlight the need for intentional outreach, structural supports (e.g., childcare, flexible scheduling), and broader consideration of social class, education, and employment status in program design. Future initiatives should address both tangible and opportunity costs to ensure equitable access to trauma-informed parenting education and meaningful caregiver engagement.
❐ PDFKeywords: trauma-informed parenting, caregiver, early childhood, community-based support, resource awareness
Re-Inventing Turks: How the United States Constructed Racial Categories for People in the Ottoman Empire (1909-1921)
Dean Royse
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Paul Kuenker
Fort Lewis College
Abstract
Between 1909 and 1921, American lawmakers and academics began to seriously question the racial categorization of people from the Ottoman Empire. It is during this period that Turkish became a distinct racial category. While the concept of Turkish people is older than the 20th Century, its incorporation into racial ideology was prompted by the specific political needs of the time. Initially, racial categorizations of Ottoman people related almost exclusively to immigration. As the First World War began, these racial categories developed distinct meanings and stereotypes unique to the conflict. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocide against the empire’s Armenian population. American news outlets portrayed Turks as inherent conquerors and enthusiastically covered (what appeared to them as) a race war between Turks and Armenians. After the war, the new states of Turkey and Armenia were no longer relevant to the United States, and so the war-time understandings of Turkishness were widely forgotten.
❐ PDFKeywords: Immigration, American History, World War I, Ottoman Empire, Race
Broken Mirrors: Defining the Three Types of Memories in Dystopian Literature
Julia Trainor
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Allison Speicher
Eastern Connecticut State University
Abstract
This study focuses on the three types of memory found across dystopian literature from the twentieth century forward: Historical memory is formed around collective cultural experiences and past events. Virtual memory focuses on the use of technology to archive lived experience. Personal memory stems from the individuals’ experience. Drawing on texts ranging from Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Herland (1915) to recent novels such as The Circle (2013) by Dave Eggers, I argue that in dystopian texts the role of memory has shifted over time: in older works the dystopian regimes attempt to erase memory; in newer works, to replace it. Although there has been plenty of research regarding dystopian literature throughout the years, scholarship has centered on limning the characteristics of the genre and applying feminist theory. Directing attention to memory within these texts allows us to appreciate the intertextual relationship between novels past, present, and future. Reading these texts in tandem can inspire us to consider how these fictional societies mirror our own.
❐ PDFKeywords: Dystopia, Historical Memory, Personal Memory, Virtual Memory, Fictional Literature
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