At this year’s Graduate Student Scholars Symposium, Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences graduate students presented their compelling contributions to their fields. Their work challenged societal norms, uncovered the impact of war on cultural traditions, and explored the intersection of poetry and publication history. This work also deepened our understanding of the past and provided valuable frameworks for shaping the future.

Reimagining the Vampire: From Passing to Perception

Lauren Sieberg (‘26 MA English/MFA Creative Writing)

Lauren Sieberg (‘26 MA English/MFA Creative Writing) presented her research, “More Than What [They] Made Us to Be: From Passing to Perception in Victorian and Modern Vampire Media,” which takes an innovative approach to the evolution of vampire narratives. Victorian Gothic horror often depicts vampires as creatures struggling to maintain social acceptance until their hidden monstrosity is inevitably revealed. Sieberg contrasts these depictions with modern vampire characters who reclaim their otherness rather than attempting to assimilate. Figures like Ana Lily Amirpour’s skateboarding, chador-wearing Girl (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night) and Jewelle Gomez’s Gilda (The Gilda Stories) assert their presence rather than masking their identity, pushing audiences to reconsider sociopolitical norms. By applying monster theory and scholarship on performativity, Sieberg repositions vampires as symbolic agents of community empowerment and restorative justice, offering a unique lens through which to analyze broader cultural anxieties.

Holidays and Patriotism in World War I America

Laura Neis (‘25 MA War, Diplomacy and Society) presented her research, “The Value of Holidays in World War I America,” which examines the transformation of holiday celebrations during wartime. Her analysis of newspaper archives reveals how celebrations of the Fourth of July and Christmas became expressions of patriotism and loyalty to the U.S. government, strengthening morale at home and abroad. Her research also highlights how marginalized groups, including Black and Jewish Americans, navigated this patriotic fervor differently, often resisting mainstream narratives that excluded their perspectives. Emancipation Day became an alternative to the Fourth of July for many Black Americans, while Jewish Americans grappled with the Christian dominance of secularized holiday celebrations. Neis’s study demonstrates how holid

Laura Neis (‘25 MA War, Diplomacy and Society)

ays became political tools, shaping collective war sentiment while reinforcing cultural values that did not always include all Americans.

Investigating Poetry Publication and Selection

In a collective research effort, Abbie Berman (‘26 MFA Creative Writing), Sydney Boone (‘26 MFA Creative Writing), Fletcher Brower  (‘26 MFA Creative Writing), Margaret Garcia  (‘26 MFA Creative Writing), and Cheyenne Herbert  (‘26 MFA Creative Writing) investigated contributor demographics and publication history in The Best American Poetry anthology for their project, “Who’s the Best?: Contributor Demographics and Publication History in The Best American Poetry.” Their study focused on the 2024 volume, identifying patterns in poet selection based on gender, age, location, education, and original publication history. As MFA students themselves, the researchers are particularly interested in how degrees impact an individual’s chances of being included in the anthology. Their findings offer insights into the complex relationships between poets, editors, and publishers while establishing a framework for analyzing poetry selection in literary culture. Their work raises important questions about credibility and visibility in the publishing world and provides future researchers with a model for evaluating poetry trends over time.

Expanding the Boundaries of Research

These projects exemplify the power of arts, humanities, and social sciences research in shaping cultural narratives. Whether examining vampires through a sociopolitical lens, uncovering wartime influences on holiday traditions, or scrutinizing poetry publication trends, these graduate students contributed invaluable knowledge to their respective fields. Their work challenges existing norms and invites broader discussions about identity, tradition, and representation—reminding us why research matters.

Wilkinson College graduate students interested in learning more or participating in next year’s symposium can reach out for more information by emailing The Team of the Associate Vice President for Graduate Education at GradEd@chapman.edu or by reaching out to their Graduate Programs Coordinator, David Krausman, at krausman@chapman.edu.

(Posted in header: (left to right) Cheyenne Hebert (’26 MFA Creative Writing), Margaret Elysia Garcia (’26 MFA), Sydney Boone (’26 MFA) presenting their project, “Who’s the Best?: Contributor Demographics and Publication History in The Best American Poetry.”)