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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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Research Paper Doctorate

Monotheism and prophethood in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

I am sure that most of you already have some pretty strong convictions about one or all of the three major world religions I will discuss today -- particularly, given the state of current events, considering Islam.

Paper Doctorate

Gender and class in Charles Perrault's fairy tales

This essay examines how Charles Perrault's use of wild and domesticated animals in his fairy tales serves to reify repressive ideologies regarding class and gender. Male characters are rewarded with animal helpers that allow them to reach the upper classes, while female characters are associated with dangerous wild animals and must suffer if they are to receive any kind of reward. While Perrault was mostly just enacting the ideology of 1690s France, this analysis demonstrates the importance of criticizing popular works in order to see their underlying ideological functions.

Paper Doctorate

Butler and Riederer's essays on end-of-life care and medical ethics

Capturing the anguish and agony which consumes those caring for loved ones at the end of life is an exceedingly difficult task, but essayists Katy Butler and Rachel Riederer have harnessed their unique literary abilities in vastly different ways to achieve the same ambitious objective. Published within the 2011 edition of the annual anthology of American creative nonfiction The Best American Essays, Butler's haunting elegy What Broke My Mother's Heart and Riederer's visceral portrayal of her own injurious accident Patient each deploy disparate rhetorical styles to impart a shared premise. With the rancorous debate over health care and its most efficient and effective form of delivery currently embroiling the nation's political, private and public sectors, penning a polemic railing against the medical industry hardly represents an exercise in intellectual courage, which is why the contributions made by Butler and Reiderer are refreshing in their candid and emotionally honest approach to the issue. The different perspectives offered by both writers result in What Broke My Father's Heart reading as a clinical reflection on illness with an emphasis on choices and consequences, while the power of Patient is derived from its ability to describe illness in a more direct way, conveying both the physical and emotional pain with vivid descriptions.

Paper Doctorate

How Sophocles' Oedipus exemplifies Aristotle's tragic principles

Aristotle sought to convey the techniques of a perfect tragedy by drawing all the distinctions that seem to be conveyed in Oedipus. The perfect tragedy follows an outline of "six parts, which parts determine its quality—namely, Plot, Characters, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, Melody" (Aristotle; Poetics). Each of these six parts contain distinct conditions and the whole is supposed to result in a certain psychological sensation called catharsis where the reader/ spectator, through identifying with the protagonist, reaches a certain well-being of mood or purging of emotion. Each of the six parts can be seen in the story of Oedipus in various ways. Oedipus was the perfect character whom readers could identify with. His misfortune came about through error rather than vice. The story is complex enough to provide surprises yet holistic so that the whole centers around one plot and theme. The story follows a crescendo of beginning, middle, and end. It contains Melody and implications, and reflection.

Essay Doctorate

The distinction between depression and bipolar mood disorders

In this paper I review the symptoms, causes, and existing treatments of both uni-polar depression and bipolar depression. In particular, I emphasize the difference between states of depression and states of mania, but conclude that the two mood disorders share far more commonalities. Both disorders can be diagnosed and treated effectively. Some of the barriers to the treatment of these mood disorders are societal perceptions that engender shame in suffering individuals.

Paper Undergraduate

Evaluating CSOSA's Day Reporting Center intervention to reduce recidivism

In this paper, we are going to be studying recidivism and how it is impacting society. This will be accomplished by providing a research proposal that is focusing on: programs to prevent increases, the way they can improve communities and the approaches for implementing them. Once this occurs, is when we provide specific ideas that will show how this can reduce the number of repeat offenders.

Research Paper Doctorate

John Brant's "Dual in the Sun" and 1980s American culture

There's a lot more to life than sports and athletic competition in the name of glory. But when a sports-focused individual is on a roll and has either achieved fame, money, and championship level victories - or is in…

Research Paper Doctorate

Domestic violence during pregnancy and its impact on low birth weight

Implications for the Nurse in Care Delivery

Research Paper Doctorate

Long-term psychological effects of parental divorce on children

In the 21st century the society has undergone a change, for better or worse we cannot really say. Before the mid-60's divorce was rare. Family was integral to the life of individuals and above that children were the…

Research Paper Doctorate

Media portrayal of racial profiling in New York City police practices

The purpose of this work is to provide a media analysis on racial profiling with four different perspectives or view of racial profiling. The analysis will be focused on how the media has portrayed racial profiling.

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