2025 Student Writing
Andrea Castro
Lone Star College
While previous studies tend to mention Cynthia Ann Parker merely as a footnote in the biography of her son, Quanah Parker, this research aims to highlight her historical significance by focusing on her second capture, exploring Parker’s often-overlooked experience as opposed to those of her more commonly studied male contemporaries. This research first examines the work of Paul H. Carlson and Tom Crum, and what their historiography has established about the manipulation of Cynthia Ann Parker’s story, arguing it was exploited to propel Captain Sullivan Ross’ political career. Then, a primary source analysis of various reports written by Ross about the “battle” at Pease River, where Parker was captured, indicates major inconsistencies in the incident’s narrative...
Ashleigh Lawrence
University of Houston
Emily Dickinson and Taylor Swift may be sixth cousins (Hatcher, 2024), but they have a lot more in common than distant family ties. Dickinson wrote about the elusive and terrifying nature of fame. Swift writes about the suppression and isolation she feels while existing in the public eye. Taylor Swift lives a life that her distant cousin Emily Dickinson both coveted and rejected, and Swift has her own complex feelings about the fame in which she operates. While more than 100 years separate the two writers, themes present in each of their pieces suggest the women share similar attitudes and narratives about the fleeting, restrictive, and seductive nature of fame – and what it means for their body of work...
Maria Hernandez
Lone Star College - Kingwood
This study investigates the potential of cinema in shaping public perceptions of astronomical phenomena by analyzing The Black Hole (1979) and Interstellar (2014), with an aim to explore the films’ impact on popular scientific understanding and public engagement with black holes. Although black holes began capturing theatergoers’ attention in the 1970s, evoking both fascination and fear, particularly with the release of Disney's The Black Hole (1979), such responses resulted the limited knowledge available...