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Abstract ID (Overall): 12 Abstract Number (within Poster Category): Oral Presentations-6 Abstract Title: The Hallowed Heart Collection Student: Jason Bradshaw (JB211@email.uscb.edu) Faculty Mentor: Ellen Malphrus (emalphrus@sc.edu) Author List: Jason Bradshaw, Dr. Ellen Malphrus (Faculty Mentor) Program: English Theater and Interdisciplinary Studies Abstract Category: Oral Presentations Abstract: The Hollowed Heart Collection, using fantastical and foreign worlds, questions aspects of the human condition. From questioning the views of the non-human, to challenging the view of the self, the poems in this collection explore by branching out freely. When basic morality refuses to guide your hand what decisions will a person make? |
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Abstract ID (Overall): 34 Abstract Number (within Poster Category): Oral Presentations-8 Abstract Title: Echoes of Emotion Student: Rebecca Davidson (DAVIDSR@email.uscb.edu) Faculty Mentor: Ellen Malphrus (emalphrus@sc.edu) Author List: Rebecca Davidson Program: English Theater and Interdisciplinary Studies Abstract Category: Oral Presentations Abstract: “Echoes of Emotion” is a collection of poems and prose pulled from my time here at USCB in various Creative Writing courses. This collection explores loneliness, depression, nostalgia, love, melancholy, and grief. I have always found myself drawn to the ways people’s minds react to their deep emotions, as well as the ways in which they work through them. Emotions are such a huge part of being a human, and to take even a little bit of a closer peek into the mind of someone experiencing them is a fascinating exploration. |
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Abstract ID (Overall): 88 Abstract Number (within Poster Category): Oral Presentations-9 Abstract Title: Badlands: A poetry collection Student: Ozzy Deel (ODEEL@email.uscb.edu) Faculty Mentor: Ellen Malphrus (emalphrus@sc.edu) Author List: Ozzy Deel Program: English Theater and Interdisciplinary Studies Abstract Category: Oral Presentations Abstract: “Badlands” is a lemonade stand of American poetry. When thinking of what history means to people nowadays, there isn’t much apart drinking games and racing. In this short, work-in-progress collection, we will explore the synthesized banjo I hear behind the closing door of time. For me, my creative vices likely trickle down my Kentucky-Virginia heritage, and my do-or-die dream raps my window of life with an Alaskan breeze. In plain, there is a shared emotion in the things you read, and hear, and watch, and experience. And I’m willing to make my dollar a cup for it. |
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Abstract ID (Overall): 66 Abstract Number (within Poster Category): Oral Presentations-5 Abstract Title: Heaven's Bane Student: Lilyana Figueroa (LILYANAF@email.sc.edu) Faculty Mentor: Ellen Malphrus (emalphrus@sc.edu) Author List: Lilyana "Lily" Figueroa, Dr. Ellen Malphrus (Faculty Mentor) Program: English Theater and Interdisciplinary Studies Abstract Category: Oral Presentations Abstract: Heaven’s Bane: Exploring discrimination and religious extremism through fantasy Throughout my life, no matter where I have been, I have felt that I never belonged, and ironically, it was within religious institutions that I felt even more out of place. I didn’t fit the mold because of my race or my personal beliefs, and I know that I am not the only one to have been treated poorly for it. Through my fantasy dystopian novel concept Heaven’s Bane, I address and challenge the inherent violence of discrimination and extreme religious practices. It is a reflection of our world, and of the unprecedented hatred bleeding throughout our country. It is a warning, but also provides hope for community, especially for those outcast for being “different.” |
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Abstract ID (Overall): 58 Abstract Number (within Poster Category): Oral Presentations-3 Abstract Title: Carrying More Than A Child Student: Savanna Fumbi (SFUMBI@email.uscb.edu) Faculty Mentor: Libby Ricardo (ricardoe@uscb.edu) Author List: Savanna Fumbi, Libby Ricardo (Faculty Mentor) Program: English Theater and Interdisciplinary Studies Abstract Category: Oral Presentations Abstract: This performance-based presentation explores the experiences Black women face during pregnancy and childbirth through an original dramatic monologue. Based on research in existing disparities in maternal health, this piece examines how implicit bias and systemic inequities within medicine shape the quality of care that patients receive. Research yields that Black women in the United States are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women, and while statistics like this are shocking, numbers alone cannot capture the lived reality behind those disparities. It is far more vital to hear the voices of these women, to humanize them and tell the stories beyond the figures. This monologue invites audiences to witness the emotional upheaval of prenatal and postpartum care from the perspective of a Black mother. It navigates the lengths she must go through advocating to be heard. In exploring themes of vulnerability, strength, dismissal, and resilience this piece highlights how obstetric bias not only disproportionately harms Black women but also reflects a broader instability within maternal healthcare systems. This piece demonstrates the importance of storytelling in addressing and delivering adequate healthcare. |
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Abstract ID (Overall): 24 Abstract Number (within Poster Category): Oral Presentations-7 Abstract Title: Poetry from Memorial Day Golf Student: Keith LaHue (KLAHUE@email.uscb.edu) Faculty Mentor: Ellen Malphrus (emalphrus@sc.edu) Author List: Keith LaHue, Dr Malphrus Program: English Theater and Interdisciplinary Studies Abstract Category: Oral Presentations Abstract: Poetry from Memorial Day Golf Exploring themes of mental illness, death, and disorder in the house of oneself. This selection of poetry is as seen through the eyes of a retirement age senior who has returned to school at USCB to earn a bachelor’s degree in English. Isolation, fear, and emptiness in the face of the abyss, and the abyss looking back at you. Through it all, light. |
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Abstract ID (Overall): 60 Abstract Number (within Poster Category): Oral Presentations-4 Abstract Title: Histories of Crying Things Running in Place Student: Chad Merritt (CDM23@email.uscb.edu) Faculty Mentor: Ellen Malphrus (emalphrus@sc.edu) Author List: Chad Merritt Program: English Theater and Interdisciplinary Studies Abstract Category: Oral Presentations Abstract: Histories of Crying Things Running in Place is a work-in-progress poetry chapbook curated as part of my senior thesis. In this selection, several impossible attempts are made to uproot memory as portraits of what we'd call "place." Conversations between place and person, often dedicated to the creative spirits come before me, are laid bare to uncover the weight of location, and how it levels and defines our memory, our motivations, and our meditations. Histories of Crying Things Running in Place is as much a personal revelation of familial history as it is a stark dialogue between a pantheon of creative phantoms, all leading to an examination on the roots that define, the restlessness that blesses, and the ruminations that curse our collective condition. |
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Abstract ID (Overall): 30 Abstract Number (within Poster Category): Oral Presentations-2 Abstract Title: Eternal Flame Student: Georgiana Messenger (MESSENGG@email.uscb.edu) Faculty Mentor: Ellen Malphrus (emalphrus@sc.edu) Author List: Georgiana Messenger Dr. Ellen Malphrus (Faculty Mentor) Program: English Theater and Interdisciplinary Studies Abstract Category: Oral Presentations Abstract: Eternal Flame is a fantasy novel series that explores themes of faith, hope, power, duty, sacrifice, love, and redemption. In the kingdom of Ambrosia, the power of the ancient creature, the Phoenix, has been lost for centuries—until our heroine, Elina, discovers she possesses the power after seeing the vision of the Phoenix. She becomes the symbol of hope for the kingdom and has to deal with the burdens of being a saint, including being used by both political and religious figures, reflecting the current political climate of the United States and how status, power, and religion can be used to manipulate and abuse the most vulnerable people. |
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Abstract ID (Overall): 11 Abstract Number (within Poster Category): Oral Presentations-1 Abstract Title: Lines of Return Student: Jonathan Spencer (JTS44@email.uscb.edu) Faculty Mentor: Ellen Malphrus (emalphrus@sc.edu) Author List: Jonathan Spencer Program: English Theater and Interdisciplinary Studies Abstract Category: Oral Presentations Abstract: "Lines of Return" is a curated sequence of poems and reflections that shaped across my return to college as a nontraditional, military affiliated student. Each piece attempts to translate dislocation into depiction and outline the shift from emotional containment into confidence, clarity, and creative agency. What unfolds is a self-dialogue I carried into the classroom and the one writing unveiled, a revelation that illustrates how creative expression steadies students like me who feel peripheral or unseen. |