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What is Life?

Life as an academic topic appears across nearly every discipline because it touches the fundamental conditions of human existence — how individuals develop, make choices, navigate systems, and find meaning. In personal issues courses, sociology, nursing, literature, and ethics, students are asked to examine what shapes lived experience and how institutions, relationships, and culture either support or constrain individual ability. The topic resists easy definition, which is precisely what makes it intellectually rich: it forces writers to clarify terms, interrogate assumptions, and connect abstract concepts to concrete human realities.

The papers archived here reflect a genuinely wide range of approaches. Literary analysis appears in essays on works such as Bernice Morgan's fiction and Bessie Head's "The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses," where writers examine how characters construct identity, belonging, and personal freedom. Policy and ethical frameworks drive essays on abortion, DNR legislation, and prison overcrowding, while sociological and cultural analysis informs work on parenting styles, family therapy, and soccer hooliganism. Observational and practice-based writing — such as operating room reflections and evidence-based nursing — grounds the topic in professional experience, showing how the concept of life plays out in direct care and institutional settings.

A strong essay on this topic begins with a focused, arguable thesis rather than a broad statement about life in general. Evidence drawn from specific texts, case studies, policy documents, or observed practice carries far more weight than vague generalization. The most common pitfall is treating "life" as self-evident — a compelling essay defines its scope early, specifying which dimension of individual experience or social process it actually intends to examine.

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Paper Undergraduate

Jung's concept of personal myth and authentic individuation in psychotherapy

Casement (1998) describes Jung's idea of the 'personal myth' -- or the specific meaning that a person attributes to his or her own life, depicting the originality of that person's character in an overall context.

Paper Doctorate

Lessons from the 2007 financial crisis for U.S. market reform

U.S. Financial Market -- Lessons from the Economic Crisis

Essay Doctorate

W.E.B. Du Bois's "double consciousness" and Langston Hughes's "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"

The Harlem Renaissance was a noteworthy era in human history that was triggered immediately after the upheaval of World War 1. It is largely characterized as a period in which African Americans searched for greater self-actualization, and struggled for racial equality in an America drowned in ethnic bias. The Black community deemed it absolutely necessary to realize their dreams of a world with no prejudice and equitable opportunities in all walks of life. Political and economic movements reigned supreme and many iconic personalities lent their philosophies to the cause of Black Pride. As the Black community resorted to articulating their tumultuous views through art and literature, many specific ideologies sprang up through names such as W. E. B. Du Bois and James Weldon Johnson. The result was an aesthetic tide of expression that changed the face of America for all times to come. Many instances of heart wrenching tales and poems can be found, that reflect the epoch of the Civil Rights Movement, and challenged the mindset of a racially rigid America of the 1920s. (Gifford)

Essay Doctorate

Concepts of self in Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Shintoism

The concept of the self is examined in non-Western religious traditions. The Confucian self is defined in terms of its relation to the established social order. The Taoist self is defined in terms of "wu wei" or the path of least resistance. The Buddhist self is defined in terms of the necessity for escaping the cycle of samsara. And Hinduism and Shintoism are examined in terms of their similarity to Buddhist practice, while examining the Hindu concept of dharma and the Shinto conception of ritual practice and spiritual animism.

Paper Doctorate

Structural and cultural violence in the pedagogy of Hughes and Douglass

The situations of two protagonists who face a common dilemma—racial prejudice—are addressed by their clever and resilient use of education as lever of change. The constructs of critical pedagogy, structural violence, and cultural violence lend a framework to the analysis that is deepened by the socio-political perspectives. Critical pedagogy, in particular, is germane to the exploration of these two works by Hughes and Douglass, in that, what Freire has contended, he has also demonstrated. That is, education and literacy are platforms for changing social structure in so much as they enable people to alter their perspectives as dramatically as twisting a kaleidoscope.

Essay Doctorate

Mary Oliver's "Wild Geese": imagery, content, and form

Mary Oliver is an American poet who explores an individual's relationship with nature through her work. Oliver's poetry has been described as "an excellent antidote for the excesses of civilization for too much flurry…

Research Paper Undergraduate

Full inclusion of learning disabled students in mainstream classrooms

Full inclusion critics maintain that in many if not most instances, young learners with special needs fail to receive the specialized training they are going to need to succeed after they leave school. Proponents of full inclusion counter that all students can benefit from inclusive practices and resources are available in the community to assist with daily needs training. To determine the facts, this study uses a review of the relevant peer-reviewed and scholarly literature and a qualitative meta-analysis concerning these issues, followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Research Paper Doctorate

Common traits and quests of epic heroes in ancient literature

Epic Heroes of folklore and classic literature have several common traits, which allow them to be called "heroes." Epic heroes do not only posses virtues common for "heroes" but they do also perform heroic deeds for the…

Research Paper Doctorate

African-American achievements during the peak civil rights era

Civil rights movement is considered one of the most complex and tumultuous times in this nation's history. Though the civil rights movement spanned many years, peak activity and highlights of the movement are most often…

Paper High School

Plato's Cave and the ghetto as representations of ignorance

This paper discusses the comparison of Plato's Cave and the Ghetto described in Earl Shorris' magazine article on liberal arts education. It posits that the environment of the Ghetto is dominated by violence, illusion and ignorance, which makes the inhabitants fearful and retreating. It concludes that education punctures this illusion and ignorance by sparking their curiosity and improving their understanding of the forces that threaten them.

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