Undergraduate Journal of Humanistic Studies

Winter 2020

We are pleased to present the eighth issue of Carleton’s Undergraduate Journal of Humanistic Studies. In keeping with the mission of the Journal, the scholarship presented in this issue challenges common narratives in the fields of philosophy, education, media studies, political science, and religious studies. We are excited to be able to play a small role in engaging with and helping to highlight excellent work in the humanities and social sciences by undergraduate thinkers.

This Winter 2020 issue also continues the Journal’s efforts to expand our scope and purpose. Over the past three years, we have worked to broaden our reach beyond Carleton and beyond St. Olaf farther afield, opening submissions year-round to liberal arts colleges and research universities across the United States. For this issue, we have selected four exceptional papers for publication from four different institutions.

Autumn DeLong of Macalester College, in “A Shared History: Representations of Mary in the Christian and Muslim Traditions,” explores beliefs about the Virgin Mary held by Muslims and Syriac Christians through close readings of early texts from both faiths. DeLong reveals how their conceptions of Mary may have impacted one another and how a shared geography and cultural background directed the development of their beliefs in the same direction.

In “Friedrich Nietzsche: Friend or Foe to Democratic Liberalism,” Ben Fleenor of Washington and Lee University presents an argument to rehabilitate Nietzsche as an ally to modern liberals like Richard Rorty, many of whom have disavowed him by construing him as apolitical or even anti-liberal.

Angus Lam of Swarthmore College, in “Affirmative Action in Education: Swing Justices and the Meaning of ‘Diversity,’” offers a timely analysis of the development of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence as it relates to affirmative action, focusing on the pivotal role of swing justices and the political and legal forces that have shaped their decisions. Lam discusses implications for the recent Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard case and for the future of affirmative action.

Finally, in “Innocent Victim: Representations of the Child in Humanitarian Ad Campaigns,” Susanna Penfield of Colorado College questions the modes of representation that underlie depictions of children as victims in Western humanitarian aid and demonstrates how these representations have come to deflect attention from the precarity of children in the west in discourses of international conflict and benevolence.

The successful completion of this issue would not have been possible without the technical expertise of Luna Yee and the Digital Humanities program at Carleton College, the determined work of our editorial board, and the support of our faculty advisors. But most importantly, we owe many, many thanks to our peer-reviewers. Despite having their own commitments and responsibilities, many Carleton students facilitated the selection and refinement of the unique work you will find here.