This thesis examines representations of “strangeness” in The Tempest and their historical roots in medieval travel writing and early colonial exploration. By analyzing how Shakespeare constructs fear and fascination toward unfamiliar places and peoples, the research argues that strangeness is not inherent, but psychologically and culturally produced.

This research examines name-based discrimination in hiring by analyzing resume studies comparing majority and minoritized names. The findings show that perceived warmth and competence strongly influence callback rates, revealing how stereotypes shape employment opportunities. The work highlights the psychological burden of identity concealment and proposes fairer, more transparent hiring practices.

This research analyzes medieval letters between Heinrich Seuse and Margaret Ebner to explore alternative models of personhood. Through communal reading practices, Margaret is celebrated as complex and indeterminate. The study challenges rigid Western identity norms, highlighting a theological tradition that embraces ambiguity and values personhood beyond fixed categories and binaries.

This study examines prejudice toward asexual individuals by analyzing links with social dominance orientation, traditional gender roles, and moral disengagement. Surveying 300 participants, it finds all three traits predict higher prejudice. The research advances understanding of bias mechanisms and informs future interventions to reduce discrimination against asexual individuals.

A rediscovered childhood drawing sparked an exploration of a deceased uncle’s life through his writings and letters. The research reveals themes of secrecy, sexuality, and isolation, raising intergenerational questions about identity, family, and belonging. This personal and archival investigation forms the basis of a solo play examining memory, legacy, and self-understanding.

Career paths and life patterns are often transmitted across generations not through explicit instruction but through embodied habits and daily behaviors. Analyzing a play about intergenerational military service, this research shows how subconscious routines shape identity, highlighting how recognizing these patterns allows individuals to consciously break cycles or build new legacies.

This research explores the nature of human identity through philosophical traditions from Socrates to Kant and Adorno. It proposes “dialectical humanism,” arguing that humans are defined by unresolved tensions between instinct and reason. Rather than resolving contradictions, the work suggests that embracing these dualities is essential to understanding what it means to be human.

This research explores “emotional infrastructure” in cities—small, often overlooked traces like graffiti and stickers that foster connection and belonging. It argues that urban experience is shaped not just by physical structures but by shared emotional signals, urging people to break out of digital isolation and engage with the lived environment around them.

This talk explores emotional resistance to AI through a personal storytelling project. It argues that AI adoption is an adaptive challenge tied to identity, not just technology. Using Robert Kegan’s framework, it demonstrates how testing limiting beliefs can reduce resistance, emphasizing that successful AI integration depends on addressing human concerns about autonomy, competence, and connection.

This research challenges the narrative that Buddhism in US prisons primarily serves rehabilitation. It highlights the active role of incarcerated individuals in shaping religious practice and critiques simplistic contrasts between “prisoner” and “Buddhist.” By emphasizing diversity, community, and structural conditions, it calls for a more nuanced understanding of religion within carceral systems.