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Reynolds College of Arts and Letters Research Symposium

RCOAL Research Symposium – Spring 2023 Series

January 30, 2023 by Ellora Bultema

The Judith Enyeart Reynolds College of Arts and Letters Research Symposium celebrates faculty research in the Reynolds College. The program aims to establish a forum for interdisciplinary connections among the community.

Throughout the spring semester, the presentations will explore a variety of topics through a blend of lecture, media, and discussion.


Spectral Spain: Haunting Traces of the Fascist Past in Contemporary Spanish Gothic Fiction

Photo of Dr. Heidi Backes
Dr. Heidi Backes

Dr. Heidi Backes

Associate Professor of Spanish, Missouri State University

Friday, February 17, 2023
12:15 – 1:15 p.m.
Siceluff Hall, Room 126

In 1945, as the world celebrated the Allied victory in World War II and the defeat of fascism in northern Europe, Spain entered its sixth year of the Francisco Franco dictatorship. In Spanish Gothic literature, haunting became a symptom of not just the past trauma of the civil war and resulting dictatorship, but also of the disenchantment of a large part of the population who saw that the transition to democracy did not erase the injustices of the past.

Dr. Heidi Backes will give an overview of the main concepts of her book, Spectral Spain. She will focus on the ways in which contemporary Spanish Gothic literature serves as not only popular entertainment, but also as a marker of memory in post-Franco Spain. The talk will cover aspects of Spanish history, politics, and culture through the study of Gothic literature.

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Finding the Right Niche: Overlap, Ambiguity, and Meaning in Olmec Large Stone Sculpture

Photo of Dr. Billie Follensbee
Dr. Billie Follensbee

Dr. Billie Follensbee

Professor of Art History and Museum Studies, Missouri State University

Friday, March 3, 2023
12:15 – 1:15 p.m.
Siceluff Hall, Room 126

The Colossal Head is easily the most famous type of sculpture made by the ancient Gulf Coast Olmec culture of Mesoamerica, but the Olmec actually made several different important, diagnostic types of sculptures. The most abundant type of large stone sculpture made by the Olmec is an enigma: A monument that most often takes a solid, rectangular form with a wide, heavy cornice overhanging the top, and that often has a niche in the front that frames one or more high-relief figures. Further excavations over the past four decades have identified these sculptures as Olmec thrones.

Dr. Billie Follensbee’s research project reconsiders the many different types of Olmec sculptures that have been designated as thrones. The project reevaluates the functions and meanings of these sculptures and explores additional possibilities, providing new insights into our understanding of both Olmec monuments and Olmec culture.

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A Book of Hebrew Songs: Process as Meaning in a Harp Solo by Sergiu Natra

Photo of Dr. Jeremy Chesman
Dr. Jeremy Chesman

Dr. Jeremy Chesman

Professor of Music and University Carillonist, Missouri State University

Friday, March 31, 2023
12:15 – 1:15 p.m.
C Minor Recital Hall in Ellis Hall

How does an artist go about learning a piece of music? In this lecture-recital, harpist Jeremy Chesman explains the technical and artistic decision-making process he used as a way to create meaning in Sergiu Natra’s A Book of Hebrew Songs (1973).

This presentation will explore the value of performance as research and will demonstrate how a musician’s research may look different than what academics are used to. Furthermore, it will combine information from the fields of neuroscience, languages and culture, literature, and, of course, music to demonstrate how information from a variety of disciplines can strengthen one’s work.

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Treat Yo’ Self: Parks and Recreation and Fan Practices in the Social Media Age

Photo of Dr. Holly Holladay
Dr. Holly Holladay

Dr. Holly Holladay

Associate Professor in the Department of Media, Journalism, and Film, Missouri State University

Friday, April 21, 2023
12:15 – 1:15 p.m.
Siceluff Hall, Room 126

When the sitcom Parks and Recreation premiered in 2009, contemporary social media platforms were in their infancy, and the “old” medium of television and “new” social media were relatively distinct. By the time the series concluded in 2015, however, social media had become the “second screen” on which television programmers vied for audience attention. Further, although fan engagement with television texts has long existed in analog form, social media’s ubiquity gave audiences an avenue through which to digitally disseminate the fruits of their fan labor quickly and with an increased promise of interaction with other fans.

This research talk is a segment of a larger project in which Dr. Holly Holladay argues for the inclusion of Parks and Recreation in the pantheon of “television milestones,” or series with a significant lasting impact in television history and broader culture. Accordingly, she will explore the relationship between Parks and Recreation, digital content, and fandom. Among those topics, she dissects how, as participatory fandom experiences shared on social media, Galentine’s Day and Treat Yo’ Self Day, two “holidays” organically born from the series, contribute to the longevity of the television show’s influence.

Download full abstract


The RCOAL Research Symposium invites student, faculty, staff, and community members alike to expand their knowledge in an academic setting. These events are free to the public.

To promote online, share this blog post URL. To promote via print, download the PDF flyer.

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