Publication Type: Invited Paper
Abstract: An analysis of the treatment of race and racial identity in the Blade Trilogy

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper uses the figure of Cassandra, a character from ancient Greek myth and tragedy, to frame an investigation into a range of interlocking issues of importance to political thought. It draws on the representation of Cassandra utilized by Aeschylus in his Oresteia trilogy, a work which presents a mythologized account of the establishment of democracy in the Athenian polis. Different readings of the Oresteia have been used by liberal, Marxist, feminist and post-modern theoretical positions in order to support particular claims about the theory and practice of politics. By revealing Cassandra as a figure who simultaneously defines and transgresses the boundaries of what is considered political, this paper demands that we re-examine our assumptions about both what constitutes the political realm, and who may take part in political conversation.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: With landscape as a visual and conceptual framework, this paper discusses the ideological implications of the film franchises The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, and Terminator. Through a discussion of landscape theory and its implications within a larger postmodern paradigm, it will examine how imagery and narrative construct visions of politics in the United States that deviate from their (often ostensibly progressive) surface-level messages. As each trilogy is a landmark in popular and film culture, and as they attained considerable symbolic capital in both subculture and dominant culture, they are ideal entry points for a discussion of negotiated popular ideology. Moreover, as the Terminator trilogy spans twenty years from its first to its third film, and changes considerably in its politics, it provides a useful counterpoint to the massive The Matrix and Lord of the Rings productions. By discussing all three through their visual rhetoric, it is possible to navigate the often perplexing worlds of United States ideology, and the increasingly blurred lines between progressive and reactionary agendas.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: How feasible is it to collect data from court records to better understand how Daubert has altered the admission or exclusion of expert testimony? The Daubert trilogy has impacted the courts, yet how and to what extent is largely still unknown. A lack of empirical data on this topic has underscored the need for researchers to investigate how to approach the collection of pertinent and reliable data on this topic.

We have evaluated both civil and criminal case files from a sample of cases in all three Superior Courts in Delaware and tested the reliability of conducting electronic searches in the case management system. Together with the methodological assessment, we also collected valuable data through both case file reviews as well as interviews with judges and attorneys on the actual impact of Daubert and how this decade old decision has affected the parties in the case, proffered experts, judges, and the time and resources of court staff.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Anthony Kronman's influential book about the modern lawyer, The Lost Lawyer, forms the backdrop to this lecture on the more general question about the theoretical foundations of responsibility prior to economic analysis. The lecture will begin with how Kantian thought failed to withstand Hitler, and then consider those other theories generated from interaction with and in response to Nazi Germany in conjunction with Western theological and philosophical traditions. Ingmar Bergman's "reduction" of Protestant theology and its spirit of capitalism to a spiritual nullity is the first to be considered. Following this will be Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Emmanuel Levinas, who both argued for the necessity and possibility of a theory and more importantly of a practice of human responsibility that is necessary for the survival of the human soul. The lecture will conclude considering the fit of these positions into professional codes or into any virtue theory that might be offered in opposition.Anthony Kronman's influential book about the modern lawyer, The Lost Lawyer, forms the backdrop to this lecture on the more general question about the theoretical foundations of responsibility prior to economic analysis. The lecture will begin with how Kantian thought failed to withstand Hitler, and then consider those other theories generated from interaction with and in response to Nazi Germany in conjunction with Western theological and philosophical traditions. Ingmar Bergman's "reduction" of Protestant theology and its spirit of capitalism to a spiritual nullity is the first to be considered. Following this will be Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Emmanuel Levinas, who both argued for the necessity and possibility of a theory and more importantly of a practice of human responsibility that is necessary for the survival of the human soul. The lecture will conclude considering the fit of these positions into professional codes or into any virtue theory that might be offered in opposition.