COVID-19 raged through the country, causing immense disruptions within communities as they struggled to support each other, whether for food, safety supplies, health information, or social support. In response to the decrease of in-person social interaction, this study explores the role that public space plays--such as sidewalks, parks, or parking lots--as essential communicative spaces for providing social support during a pandemic. This research focuses on the last ten months of 2020 and how public space can play a crucial role for local communities and neighborhoods to find ways to safely and socially connect and uplift each other. This study asks: What acts/activities did individuals facilitate or engage in to support their local community or neighborhood's social well-being during the year 2020? How was public space utilized or adapted for social support? And lastly, what can be learned from the design of public spaces to better support communities during challenging times? This exploratory study collected hundreds of pandemic-related reports drawing from various local sources, from media to personal accounts. These were intentionally uplifting, socially supportive activities that ranged from signage to performances to art displays to group interactions occurring in public spaces or visible from public spaces in neighborhoods throughout the Puget Sound region. Reports were analyzed using open coding for patterns related to the type of activity, role and number of people involved, messaging themes, and use or adaptation of public space. Some initial findings reveal creative adaptations of public space, such as art performances and motivational messages. Ultimately, such findings from this study will become a resource for cities to better support communities during times of crisis by providing an understanding of how neighborhoods have adapted and used public spaces.

During the Victorian period, a growing middle class and widespread industrial advancements led to the development of serialized fiction and the modern novel. Well-educated writers who had previously referenced classical antiquity in poetry now introduced a new generation of readers to Ancient Greek and Roman authors via the realistic novel. Charlotte Yonge’s best-known novel, The Heir of Redclyffe (1853), has often been interpreted as a promotion of her own religious beliefs in the context of the Oxford Movement and Tractarianism. In addition to Christian themes, Yonge also makes several classical allusions throughout the novel, including a double reference to Vergil’s Aeneid, where she likens the characters Philip Morville and James Thorndale to Aeneas and Achates respectively. The comparison of Philip to Aeneas, one of the most highly esteemed and recognized classical heroes in the Victorian era, centers Philip as the primary protagonist and titular heir of the novel. I also propose an additional parallel between Philip’s cousin Guy Morville and Aeneid’s Pallas to both reinforce Philip as the focus of the novel and to demonstrate Guy’s role as an archetypal hero’s companion. For this project, I compare Philip and Aeneas’ journeys to Redclyffe and Latium, respectively. I also analyze the differences in companionship between James/Achates and Guy/Pallas. The dynamics between each trio lead to a reading of The Heir of Redclyffe as an epic journey and more broadly demonstrate how classical influences shaped story and character in a traditionally Christian morality tale.

The historically racist relationship between Global South countries and the U.S. has led to misconstrued media representations of the Global South. This breeds ignorance about those countries when privileged U.S. travelers go to them, and a lack of critical consideration leading to limited perspectives of global citizenship and globalization. By intentionally exposing ourselves to proper representation of the Global South, U.S. travelers can begin to decolonize previous understandings of other countries and people. In my research, I analyze portrayals of globalization and global citizenship in the films Sleep Dealer (2008) by Alex Rivera and Ya No Estoy Aqui (2019) by Fernando Frias. I chose these films because they were created approximately a decade apart, which might indicate changes to portrayals of globalization and global citizenship. More importantly, they were created by Latino filmmakers who share the identities of the characters they portray. I explore how these films, when created by filmmakers from the Global South, can aid in efforts to decolonize globalization and global citizenship, and the discourses surrounding them. Such filmmakers push against boundaries set by Western media that offer simplistic, often voyeuristic representations of the Global South, by presenting complex, realistic portrayals that offer more nuance to Western audiences. The films also grapple with issues of immigration; by centering their narratives on undocumented people and their experiences with citizenship, these films challenge the legitimacy of dominant definitions of global citizenship. I found that films like the two I researched here can challenge commonly accepted definitions of globalization and global citizenship and may be successful in changing attitudes of travelers from the U.S. Moreover, these challenges to dominant discourses can breed inclusion for travelers of color who would typically be left out of travel or global citizenship.

Good mental health and well-being are essential to fulfillment in all aspects of life, including the workplace. Although there are many factors that influence mental health and well-being, a new, universal stressor has emerged in the past year: the COVID-19 pandemic. While many are socially distancing and working remotely, those employed in the restaurant industry continue to work in a high-risk environment. Restaurant workers were already mentally and financially vulnerable pre-pandemic, earning low wages and experiencing high rates of substance abuse-- and they now face the additional stressor of potential exposure to COVID-19. Ongoing research suggests that restaurant employees are facing unprecedented pandemic-related challenges to their mental health and well-being. This study explores the experience of restaurant employees in Western Washington who interact with the public regarding their communication about mental health and well-being. The main research questions are: a) Are restaurant employees having conversations about mental health and well-being with their coworkers and with their managers? If not, why not?; b) How do restaurant employees describe communicating about mental health and well-being with their coworkers and with their managers?; c) How do the descriptions about communication with coworkers compare to that with managers? To answer these questions, an exploratory cross-sectional survey was conducted to gather self-report data from a nonrandom sample of restaurant employees in Western Washington. At the time of writing this abstract, all data has been collected and the data analysis phase is beginning. By the time of the symposium, I will be able to report key findings on measures including the prevalence of restaurant workers’ conversations about mental health and well-being, with whom they occur, why they may not occur, the specific topics discussed, when and how these conversations take place, and motives prompting these conversations.

Chinese adoptees have played a significant role in the makeup of transnational adoption in the United States. Due to the intense measures of China's One Child Policy from the 1980's to early 2000's, a large influx of Chinese adoptees were brought to the US and became part of many multiracial families. From this, a unique population of Americans today engage in difficult conversations to clarify and defend their own identity in a multiracial family. These conversations can lead to negative psychological and behavioral outcomes that qualitative investigation can aid in addressing. This study aims to investigate how Chinese American adoptees respond and process these comments and conversations that question their legitimacy as a member of their family.  Methods used for research include qualitative interviews and thematic analysis. Analysis will focus on common patterns in adoptees' responses and types of interactions described during the interviews, grounded in the Communication Theory of Resilience. Communication Theory of Reslieience is the interpretive method that highlights the communicative processes by which people reconstruct a new normal after facing adversity. Results will inform us how Chinese American adoptees choose to respond to these comments, and/or how they would like to respond and construct these conversations in a form of resilience to disruptive narratives around adoption. By understanding how adoptees respond to and handle these conversations, we hope to provide insight for other Chinese American adoptees and their social networks in how to navigate these situations and best support adoptees in communicating their story.