Aisthesis: The Interdisciplinary Honors Journal

Forced Sterilization and the Ethics of Reproductive Health on the Navajo Nation

Abigail Hammonds — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Across the twentieth century, Indigenous women were subjected to sterilization within medical systems that claimed to provide care. These interventions were shaped by colonial power and racial hierarchies, enabling the state to assert authority over reproduction while frequently denying women meaningful consent (Theobald, 2019). Historical records and survivor testimony show that the loss of reproductive capacity reshaped families and communities in lasting ways (Chaparro-Buitrago, 2022). On the Navajo Nation, where reproduction is embedded in ceremonial life, kinship systems, and intergenerational survival, this history carries distinct ethical significance (Wright, 1982). Placing this history alongside contemporary reproductive health systems reveals that ethical care on the Navajo Nation must address not only past abuses but also present institutional structures that continue to shape reproductive choice, access, and authority.

Investigating the Relationship Between Hippocampal Volume and Spatial Memory in Early Childhood

Andrew Bunnell — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

The hippocampus is known to have a key role in memory, spatial navigation, and emotional behavior. The brain structure continues to develop postnatally during neurogenesis as the hippocampus integrates new neurons into existing neural circuits. The overall size of the hippocampus can be assessed through structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Despite the knowledge of hippocampus function in adults and older children, it is unknown if the hippocampus supports spatial memory in young children. The current study leverages structural MRI and cognitive assessments from the Baby Connectome Project, specifically the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) Zoo Locations task, to investigate the relationship between hippocampal development and spatial memory in young children. MRI images were obtained when children were 1 to 2 years old. Automated algorithms were used to segment the brain into its distinct parts. The hippocampus was further manually segmented to compute the volume of the hippocampal subregions (bilateral head/body/tail). A linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between hippocampal volume and spatial memory performance, controlling for sex assigned at birth and age at MRI scan. The results of the regression indicated that total hippocampal volume was negatively associated with Zoo Location Score (F(4, 31) = 3.65, p = 0.0058) with a regression coefficient of (B = -0.002, p = 0.0058). Follow up analyses of the hippocampus bilateral head, body, and tail indicated that only the right head volume was negatively associated with zoo location score (B = -0.006, p = 0.0017). No other statistical tests were significant. Understanding this relationship could provide valuable insights into hippocampal development and its association with spatial memory in young children.

Merce Cunningham's Legacy: Influences on Contemporary Dance Practices

Ana Arledge — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Once considered radical, American choreographer Merce Cunningham redefined modern dance by prioritizing abstraction, separating music from movement, and embracing chance-based compositional structures. His emphasis on clarity, strength, and flexibility in the body, combined with directional shifts, rhythmic complexity, and spatial independence, sparked postmodern trends that challenged traditional dance conventions. Since Cunningham's death in 2009 and the disbandment of his company in 2011, his legacy has been preserved through the Merce Cunningham Trust, which licenses instructors and curates the Dance Capsules, a digital archive encompassing 86 works from 1942 to 2009. However, without direct access to Cunningham himself, transmission of the technique now relies on interpretation by second- and third-generation artists.

This thesis investigates how Cunningham’s pedagogical and choreographic methods endure and transform when interpreted by contemporary choreographers. Through embodied research, archival study, and choreographic experimentation, I examine how Kyle Abraham, Liz Gerring, and John Scott engage with Cunningham’s legacy in their own creative processes. These artists—recognized for their distinct voices and access to the Trust—represent a privileged intersection between preservation and reinterpretation, raising critical questions about authorship, influence, and innovation in dance lineage.

Personal engagement included sustained training in the Cunningham Technique, access to archival materials provided by the Trust, and firsthand experience performing two restaged works, Scramble (1967) and Signals (1970), staged by former Cunningham Company member Silas Riener. In response, I choreographed an original work, Pentaxis, performed by five students from the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design. These performances demonstrate how Cunningham’s principles continue to inform contemporary choreographic practice while also allowing for personal and aesthetic reinterpretation. This project offers a critical contribution to the ongoing dialogue about how legacy in contemporary practice is maintained, not through replication alone, but through generative artistic inquiry and innovation.

Experiences and Perceptions of Telehealth Among Rural-Dwelling Senior Citizens

Josh Curry, Olihe Okoro — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Rural areas in the United States face increasing challenges in accessing healthcare due to an aging population and a declining rural healthcare workforce. Telehealth has been widely adopted as a strategy to reduce geographic barriers to accessing healthcare; however, limited research has examined how rural older adults personally experience and perceive telehealth and its services. This qualitative study explored the experiences, perceptions, barriers, and facilitators that participants shared while residing in a rural county in West-Central Minnesota.

The participants were interviewed in person via a semi-structured interview process. Using audio recordings and a verbatim transcript, thematic analysis enabled further examination of the themes and trends experienced by participants.

Many advantages have been acknowledged, including the ability to consult specialists who may not be locally available, reduced travel for appointments, and shorter wait times for urgent consultations. Telehealth was considered particularly beneficial when discussing hospital and clinic closures in rural communities. Despite these advantages, most participants expressed a strong preference for in-person care, emphasizing the importance of face-to-face interaction and relationship- building. In addition to technology-related challenges, many participants reported that navigating digital platforms and unreliable internet access posed barriers, and that they relied on family and friends to overcome these barriers.

Overall, rural senior citizens viewed telehealth as a helpful supplement rather than a replacement for traditional in-person care. These findings highlight the importance of implementing patient-centered telehealth, which prioritizes support, usability, and human connection.

A Crisis of Authority: President Eisenhower and Dien Bien Phu

Camille Van Bruaene — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

The Vietnam War profoundly reshaped the American public’s trust, military strategy, and the domestic political landscape. This research examines a pivotal moment in American foreign policy: President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s inability to secure congressional authorization for intervention at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Drawing on a comparative historical analysis of congressional records, declassified executive documents, and secondary policy literature, I argue that this non-intervention resulted from a combination of congressional anti-unilateralism following the Korean War and Eisenhower’s “hidden-hand” leadership. Still scarred by the high casualties and unilateral burdens of the Korean conflict, Congress successfully asserted its constitutional role by demanding a multilateral coalition as a prerequisite for intervention. Simultaneously, Eisenhower operated as a sophisticated strategist rather than a passive leader, utilizing these legislative hurdles as a strategic shield. By publicly deferring to congressional conditions he knew were unattainable, Eisenhower effectively validated his private opposition to an Asian land war while protecting his political image. This case demonstrates that legislative constraints function most effectively when they align with an executive who perceives the political advantages of operating within institutional bounds.

Where Pyrrhonian Skepticism Draws the Line: Suspension of Judgment and Practical Life in Sextus Empiricus

Lakshmi Dev — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Quantifying Volumetric Differences in Infants with Hydrocephalus

Alexis Bunnell — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Hydrocephalus is the abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid which results in the dilation of the cerebral ventricles and is often associated with intraventricular pressure. Hydrocephalus occurs in ~1 in 1136 live births. Infants often present with symptoms such as irritability, lethargy, vomiting, a bulging of fontanelle, and above percentile head circumference. If left untreated, hydrocephalus can potentially lead to death. Currently, pediatric hydrocephalus diagnosis is more dependent on interpretation of anatomical changes rather than clinical exams. Three pediatric patients with enlarged ventricles were recruited from M Health and underwent structural MRIs. An additional participant with an enlarged ventricle was identified from an incidental finding in the Baby Connectome Project (BCP). For these four cases, MRI scans from age-matched healthy controls were also pulled from the BCP. An open-source deep-learning model (BIBSNet) was utilized to create full brain segmentations. These segmentations were manually corrected with ITK-SNAP for the participants with enlarged ventricles, as current segmentation models do not perform well on patients with enlarged ventricles. Then, volumetric data for cortical and select subcortical structures and regions (lateral ventricle, inferior lateral ventricle, cerebral white matter, cerebral cortex, thalamus, caudate nucleus, hippocampus, amygdala) were pulled and compared between clinical patients and age-matched healthy controls. Comparisons found that there are differences in cortical and subcortical volume metrics between typically developing infants and the clinical participants based on severity of diagnosis with incidental unilateral ventriculomegaly, ventriculomegaly, moderate hydrocephalus, or severe hydrocephalus above and beyond the expected differences in ventricle volume. By further quantifying and understanding differences between these clinical infants and the healthy control infants, we can work to better understand the full effects of hydrocephalus on brain development, which can be influential in research and eventually clinical settings.

Questions of Violent Care and Radical Imagination: Enslaved Women and Reproductive Resistance in Eighteenth Century St. Domingue

Madelyn Kiernan — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

In this paper, I look at how enslaved mothers took back power from planters in St. Domingue through measures of reproductive resistance, including abortion, infanticide, and marronage during pregnancy. Furthermore, I examine how the medical and spiritual practices of enslaved midwives were passed down through generations, focusing on the use of abortifacients. With regards to infanticide, I discuss the various methods, examples, and the resulting limitations placed upon enslaved midwives in practice, leading to a rise in white male physicians being viewed as the experts in obstetric care. I also examined the complexity of infanticide and how harmful colonial stereotypes of enslaved mothers as lazy and negligent blurred cultural perceptions of this phenomenon. Additionally, I investigated the unique position that enslaved midwives were in as respected members of the community to be able to complete these acts. With marronage, I focused on the experiences of enslaved mothers who specifically escaped plantations with the intentions of keeping their children out of bondage, and how these radical imaginings of liberation contributed to fervor for the ensuing Haitian Revolution. These forms of reproductive resistance allowed enslaved women in St. Domingue to regain agency by choosing to have children on their own terms, thus disrupting the continuation of forced reproduction by planters within chattel slavery.

“From promiscuity to homosexuality:” Fears of “Disorder” in Response to Fashion Trends of the 1960s

Annabelle Mason — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Shifting from Zero-Tolerance Policies to Address Substance Use among Black High School Students: Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline Using a Whole-Child Approach

Varsha Penumalee — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Because Black high school students are significantly more likely to be incarcerated as adults than their White counterparts, it’s important to investigate how current policies in public schools may increase the racial disparities of the school-to-prison pipeline. To understand how to mitigate future incarceration of Black high school students, this comprehensive literature review investigates how zero-tolerance policies and whole-child policies may impact substance use and racially disproportionate suspension rates in high schools in the United States. Unlike whole-child policies, zero-tolerance policies fail to address reasons for maladaptive behavior, often weaken student-teacher relationships, and neglect academic success. Zero-tolerance policies often inadvertently increase substance use and academic disengagement rather than ameliorate these issues. Zero-tolerance approaches increase suspension rates while whole-child approaches decrease the incidence of suspension, indicating that the inclusion of whole-child policies and decreased use of zero-tolerance policies may reduce youth incarceration rates. Black students who use substances are also more likely to be suspended than their non-Black counterparts and those who have been suspended have a higher likelihood of being incarcerated, signifying that a reduction in suspension rates in high schools may decrease racial disparities among incarcerated young adults. Thus, the use of whole-child policies may mitigate the incidence of substance use and racially disproportionate suspension practices among Black students, reducing incarceration through the school-to-prison pipeline.

Keywords: zero-tolerance, whole-child, substance use, incarceration, race, high school

Fisher of Men

Margot Elena Pullen — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Fisher of Men (2025) is a 15"×20" collage on paper. It is primarily put together from a 1988 National Geographic magazine, a Democratic Socialists of America brochure, and alt-weekly newspapers.

In 1980, striking workers on Poland’s Baltic coast won the right to form an independent trade union, Solidarność. With Lech Wałęsa, a shipyard electrician, at its helm, Solidarność developed an innovative plan for worker control of production before the communist government imposed martial law in 1981. While the union played a key role in the country’s transition to democracy, it mostly abandoned its early ideas of democratic, self-managing workplaces. As president from 1990-1995, Wałęsa oversaw Poland’s transition to a market-based economy and the privatization of its state-run enterprises.

Fisher of Men explores the absence of Solidarność as a significant electoral force in the 1990s, even as its most famous face was leading the country. I took inspiration from Lawrence Goodwyn's history of Solidarność Breaking the Barrier and the “don't panic, organize!” school of fish graphic, where many small fish are able to collectively threaten a much larger fish. The piece features the skylines of Gdańsk and Warsaw, and the slogan from Wałęsa's unsuccessful 1995 presidential campaign: “Kandydatów jest wielu, Lech Wałęsa tylko jeden” (There are many candidates, but only one Lech Wałęsa). Wałęsa himself appears with his fishing gear after an unsuccessful fishing outing. The fish motif and union-organizer-as-fisherman echo Jesus's call to his disciples to become “fishers of men” and reflect the importance of religious imagery to Solidarność. Here, “tylko jeden” (only one) represents Wałęsa's isolation in a changing political environment and his use of a union-cultivated public persona in electoral politics. It asks, who gets to individually represent an organization that is definitionally collective? What happens when a democratic, worker-led movement wields power?

Gaza

Caiden Potruch — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Completed in 2025 using PhotoShop and Blender3D, this piece captures the view of the Gaza Strip from the perspective of an observer in Israel. From this position, the viewer finds it difficult to rest their eyes on any one spot for an extended period of time. Rather they are forced to see the scale and completeness of the destruction over the individual people, families, and communities lost in this genocide. The children, buried only half visible beneath a distorted explosion, lose their humanity. The buildings, reduced to cement and rubble, lose their character. If you squint, you can almost pretend there is nothing there. Viewing of this piece is similar to a quick, dismissive glance. Individuals are erased, buildings are blurred, and bombs become blossoms of color across the butchered cityscape.

Seats 12A, B, and C

Isabel Lindsay — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Creative piece centered on the relationship between a divorced mother and her two daughters as they fly back home after a trip to Mexico.

Ladies to Love

Miya Shimada — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

This project is an imaginative description of the relationships between philosophy, fortune, wisdom, and folly. These dynamics are described through a prosimetric conversation between the unnamed Dante-like character and the Beatrice-like portrayal of Lady Philosophy from Boethius’ The Consolation of Philosophy. Lady Philosophy explains her role as the love of Lady Wisdom from Proverbs and warns of the deceitful nature of Lady Fortune and Lady Folly. Ultimately, she directs the pilgrim to their true and proper Beloved. My hope is that the female figures referenced in this piece teach readers to look towards and desire higher things in a world of empty promises vying for our love.

In Any State and Homemade Pesto

Raine Baker — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

2026 Author and Artist Biographies

2026 Author and Artist Biographies — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Author and Artist Biographies