Institute for the Humanities at Old Dominion University

You could ask ten people “what are HUMAN RIGHTS,” and you could get ten different answers. You could ask ten people “what is ART,” and you could get ten different answers. Sometimes, individually, the two might be less than attention grabbing, but together they pack a powerful PUNCH!

Delivering with impact! These posts, created by Teresa Mitchell and Sophie Rofheart as part of a project for Humanities 603, show the strong connection between Studio Arts and Human Rights

Humanities 603 students Riley Cunningham and Nayana Walker showcase The Value of the Humanities - Training Future Leaders in a social media post created as part of a class project.

Empathy: The humanities forces students to practice and understand ethical
reasoning, which develops a stronger sense of empathy that effective leaders should possess.

Human Expression: Creativity is a vessel for understanding human experience and
allows interpretation of complex societal issues beyond just words.

Collaboration: The Humanities push students to break out of siloed work styles and
engage with peers.

Creative Thinking: Learning to think outside of the box in order to solve real-world
problems is a key focus in the Humanities

Humanities 603 students Grace Gonzalez and Lainey Sharratt brought their distinct academic backgrounds together around a deeply personal subject.

Lainey and Grace chose to explore the intersection of their academic backgrounds for the first part of their Humanities project. Lainey, who holds a bachelor’s degree in art history, and Grace, who studied Women’s and Gender Studies, found common ground through Lainey’s piece “A Seed of Hope.” Lainey describes the artwork as a journey of self-discovery, self-love, and body image. These themes closely connect to topics Grace encountered in her Gender, Fashion, and the Body course, where she examined the impact of body image and body dysmorphia, particularly among young women navigating identity and self-perception.

Happy Pride! 🏳️‍🌈 As part of Humanities 603, graduate students Gabby Igloria and Izzy Ozeki created this educational Instagram carousel exploring the origins and contemporary use of the term "sapphic," highlighting six influential sapphic poets and reflecting on why these voices matter within the Humanities.

Through their research, they examined how poetry preserves stories, identities, and experiences that have too often been erased from the historical record. Their project asks important questions: What stories are being documented? Who gets to tell them? And why is it important to share our experiences with others?

Featuring Gloria Anzaldúa, Natalie Diaz, Adrienne Rich, June Jordan, Jenny Johnson, and Lehua M. Taitano, this project celebrates the power of poetry to connect personal narratives to broader histories, communities, and movements for justice.

Congratulations to M.A. Humanities student, Teresa Mitchell, whose presentation of Free, Yet Still Property: A Portrait of Billy was awarded Best Graduate Presentation from the College of Arts & Letters at the Knowledge & Creativity Expo! Teresa's work emerged out of Professor Kyle Kogut's Fall 2025 Envisioning Revolution course. Teresa's artwork will be featured in the Envisioning Revolution: Virginians in Action, 1776 - 1786 exhibition that opens on June 12, 2026, at the Library of Virginia in Richmond! This exhibition is a partnership between The Library of Virginia and Old Dominion University's Department of Art commemorating Virginia's role in the 250th anniversary of American independence.

Link to website: https://www.lva.virginia.gov/events/exhibitions/envisioning-revolution

Description of Teresa's Work

This is a pen and ink portrait grounded in archival research and historical interpretation. Created in response to the 1781 petition submitted to the Virginia Legislature by Manns Page who was the executor and son-in-law of John Tayloe, ESQ. The drawing centers on an enslaved man known as only Billy, who was found aboard a British warship and charged with treason for giving aid to the enemy. As property of The Tayloe Estate, which includes Mount Airy Plantation, Billy was denied legal personhood. Positioned between the ship and Mount Airy Plantation, the portrait situates Billy within the opposing forces that defined his life: displacement, captivity, and legal erasure.

Although sentenced to death, Billy was spared ex*****on through an argument by former governor Thomas Jefferson that he could not commit treason because he was not recognized as a citizen, but as property. This legal reasoning preserved his life while denying his personhood. The work confronts this contradiction by restoring visual presence and individuality to a figure historically reduced to legal language.

Through detailed line work and symbolic composition, the drawing merges traditional portraiture with narrative landscape. The surrounding imagery functions as both context and constraint, framing the subject within inherited structures of power.

By combining portraiture with historical inquiry, Billy challenges eighteenth-century conventions that reserved portraiture for the wealthy and powerful. The work positions drawing as a form of witness and recovery, asserting art’s capacity to reclaim identity from archival silence.

ID: student wearing glasses, a blue-and-white floral dress, and a light pink cardigan stands beside a framed black-and-white artwork displayed on an easel at an indoor event. The artwork features a historical figure standing between a sailing ship and a landscape with buildings and trees. Papers and informational materials are displayed on nearby tables.

Humanities 603 students presented their collaborative social media projects in class this week, and we can’t wait to share them with you throughout the summer!

Each two-person team created:
1. A creative post merging the disciplines of each member in either:
· solving a problem they have identified;
· or demonstrating how the disciplines intersect in communicating a specific or common message, objective, or value.
2. A post about the value of the humanities.

Featured groups:
Group 1: Sophie Rofheart & Teresa Mitchel
Group 2: Grace Gonzalez & Lainey Sharratt
Group 3: Riley Cunningham & Nayana Walker
Group 4: Gabby Igloria and Izzy Ozeki
Group 5: Jake Amoroso & Anne Jackson

Keep an eye on our page this summer to see the creativity, collaboration, and interdisciplinary thinking our Humanities students are bringing to life!

Spring 2026 HUM 603 Strategic Professional Development Pro-Seminar! This is why I love the Humanities. These students will change the world and make it better!

Top (left to right) Anne Jackson, Lainey Sharratt, Grace Gonzalez, Jake Amoroso, Riley Cunningham; Center (left to right) Sophie Rofheart, Teresa Mitchell, Dr. Muraoka; Bottom (left to right) Nayana Walker, Gabby Igloria, Izzy Ozeki.

Explore art across time—from the surreal worlds of Hieronymus Bosch to the questions shaping contemporary painting today.

This fall, the Institute for the Humanities highlights two exciting upper-level courses:
• Hieronymus Bosch (ARTH 408/508/HUM 595) with Dr. Anne H. Muraoka
• Painting Now (and how we got here) (ARTH 442/542/HUM 595) with Dr. Colaizzi

Celebrating creativity and achievement at the 2026 English Awards!

Congratulations to M.A. Humanities student Gabriela A. Igloria, recipient of the ODU College Poetry Prize for best graduate student poem for “Inspecting the Crabs.”

ODU English Department ODU College of Arts & Letters

Image 1:
A student stands at a podium speaking during an awards ceremony in a small auditorium. Two people stand behind them, and attendees sit in rows facing the stage. Acoustic panels line the wall, and an Old Dominion University table is visible to the side.

Image 2:
A wide view of the English Awards Ceremony 2026 at Old Dominion University. A presenter stands at a podium beside a large screen displaying the event title. In the foreground, a refreshment table with coffee containers, cups, and snacks sits in front of seated attendees facing the stage.