The Montview Journal provides an opportunity for authors to enter the scholarly community by publishing research in conjunction with Research Week.

Research Week is a multidisciplinary event designed to highlight excellent research and scholarship produced by Liberty University faculty, staff, and students. We welcome submissions from Research Week award winners. Submissions for this academic year will open after the Research Week Award Ceremony.

Current Issue

Volume 12, Issue 1 (2026)View issue

Current Articles

Creative Arts19 December 2025

Of Cicadas and Ducks: Humor in Emmanuel Chabrier's "Les cigales" and "Villanelle des petits canards"

This research project consists of a vocal performance of two songs from Emmanuel Chabrier’s “Barnyard Suite” (Volailleries), a song cycle on poems of Edmond Rostand and Rosemonde Gérard. It will be accompanied by program notes and a separate oral presentation that detail the research process and creative decisions inherent in presenting a work of musical performance art. The project will provide a broad historical context for Chabrier’s work, with special attention given to the role of humor in French art song. The first song presented, Les cigales, masterfully depicts cicadas and their raucous noises, while the second, Vilanelle des petits canards, describes the wide range of vocalizations and temperaments demonstrated by little ducks. Chabrier, born in 1841, was a member of the first generation of French mélodie (accompanied art song) composers. Unlike most mélodies, which typically contain themes of disillusioned love or the extremes of human beauty and sorrow, Chabrier chose to use humorous texts enhanced by the interplay between piano accompaniment and soloist to present light texts with comedic gravitas. This style of text setting almost certainly influenced Francis Poulenc, whose compositions were marked by his use of parody, jest, and unexpected musical timbres. While it is not clear whether Chabrier was the first to employ humor in his mélodies, his legacy does remain as the first composer to make the trend popular in fashionable French circles. Future research on this topic may include an analysis of Poulenc’s works with an eye toward Chabrier’s influence. Additionally, future research on the topic of humor in art songs (beyond the French mélodie genre) may prove beneficial. The following are links to the other (non-document) components of the presentation (1. Oral Presentation, 2. Performing Arts Presentation) https://youtu.be/YPeR1SFDepw https://youtu.be/9m95wxwORCY?si=O3OTXQx-X7BdRCO2

Most Popular Articles

Journal Article
6 May 2016

Insight into the Community: Bee Similes in the Iliad and the Aeneid

This paper offers a comparative analysis of the bee similes in Homer’s Iliad and Virgil’s Aeneid to demonstrate that there are significant thematic connections between the similes in the two epics. In both works, bee similes illustrate the structure of the ideal society, as a close reading of each simile reveals. This paper demonstrates that both Homeric and Virgilian bee similes focus on the concept of community. In the Iliad, Homer’s first extended simile compares the Greek forces to a colony of bees. This prominent placement foreshadows the significance of bee similes in the Homeric epic. As a Greek poet, Homer demonstrates that his understanding of community has been influenced by the social structure of the individualistic Greek city-states. In the Iliad, his bee similes exemplify a tension between unity and self-interest within the Greek camp. Homer’s bee similes emphasize the need for mutual interest and cooperation, lest the Greek forces disintegrate. For Homer, the ideal community is not homogeneous, but it is unified. Unlike Homer’s similes, Virgil’s three bee similes exalt homogeneity as a central characteristic of the ideal society. Individuality is erased in the bee similes of the Aeneid. The wellbeing of the hive transcends the purpose of the individual. This paper examines these similes as a unit to provide a unique perspective on the two poets’ worldviews, thus contributing to the analysis of the relationship between the epics. Clearly, Virgil is well aware of the Homeric epics, and intentionally provides further commentary on the ideal society through his bee similes. When compared with each other, Homer’s and Virgil’s similes artfully depict two divergent portraits of the ideal society.
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Journal Article
5 January 2024

The USS Liberty Incident: Accident or Intentional Attack

When I first heard the story of the USS Liberty I became extremely interested in learning more about the events that transpired and began reading about the incident in my free time. Thus, when I registered for Modern American Military History with Dr. Snead, I was already eager to research this topic. While my primary fields of study are engulfed in the Colonial American period, I have had a strong interest in American military history since I was a child. This would especially be the case with the U.S. Navy as my father is a retired Naval officer and I grew up living on different military bases around the United States. Furthermore, I am ethnically half-Jewish and have relatives who have gotten citizenship to the state of Israel. The first time I heard of the USS Liberty incident I was shocked that I hadn’t heard of it before. A friend of mine who at the time was an active-duty sailor in the Navy had become acquainted with many of the survivors from the Liberty. Thus, I was able to get in touch with multiple Liberty survivors including Philip Tourney and Ron Kukal. In the last year, Phil and I have been able to build a close friendship and we have communicated with one another often. It has been an honor to have had Phil help me in my research. Finally, as a Christian, I believe we should continually seek for truth. Both Tourney and Kukal attest their survival to God’s Grace, and it has been an honor to develop a relationship with these strong Christians. When conducting this research, I often thought of Proverbs 18:15 which states, "The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge."
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Journal Article
27 April 2016

Oppression, Empowerment, and the Role of the Interpreter

This paper examines the history of oppression of the Deaf as a cultural minority and the ways in which interpreters may contribute to oppression. The paper then shows how interpreters can recognize and stop such oppressive tendencies and how they can instead empower the Deaf as an ally. Society views the Deaf as defective and requires that they conform to the hearing majority—a type of oppression called audism—this can cause interpreters to unconsciously form a negative view of their Deaf clients. Also, because interpreters are often the only ones that understand what is going on between both languages and cultures, they are in a powerful position that could easily be abused. Even after the establishment of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), interpreters have still frequently caused oppression in the Deaf community, and whether that oppression is caused by ignorance or lack of respect, becoming aware of such tendencies will help to stop oppression. Oppression ceases and empowerment begins when the interpreter becomes an ally, someone who comes alongside and supports the Deaf. There are many different ways to empower the Deaf, such as using a Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI) and constantly working at improving competence with skills in interpreting and American Sign Language (ASL). The end goal is dynamic equivalence for Deaf and hearing clients. It is when both hearing and Deaf people work alongside each other that the cycle of oppression will be broken.
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Journal Article
7 May 2016

Possible Causes of Increased Domestic Violence among Military Veterans: PTSD or Mefloquine Toxicity?

After more than a decade at war, our returning service members and their families are facing enormous amounts of difficulty when returning home. PTSD and TBI, the signature wounds of these wars, have been well covered in the media. The family struggles have remained hidden and mostly undiscussed. These families are facing very specific issues in military relationships like infidelity, substance misuse, and intimate partner violence; the latter of which military families are three times more likely to experience when compared to the civilian population. There is a potential effect on caregiver burden in the role of PTSD as a factor for relationship difficulties as well. Many times, spouses can struggle with no longer a being just a wife; they have become full-time, exclusive caregivers. This loss of personal identity is one of many things that can cause a cascade of mental health problems for the spouse. As much as spouses are excited to have their service member home, incorporating the service member back into the family can be stressful. Spouses may be taken off guard to find themselves experiencing deep sadness at the changes they perceive in their veteran. These are some of the more common relationship issues in a marriage where PTSD is present. Yet there seems to be a darker side to all of this. With the higher rates of domestic violence, this paper is researching the possibility of being wrong about PTSD or potentially there may be some previously unrecognized confounder that has not been looked at yet. Mefloquine is an anti-malaria pill given to our military members that is already known to confound the diagnoses of PTSD and TBI. This literature review will assess the difficulties that these veterans and family members are facing by looking at the different possibilities of what could be making veterans more violent.
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Journal Article
2 September 2015

One Big Thing: Suffering as the Path to New Life in Crime and Punishment

After spending a whole semester reading and thinking about Dostoevsky, the main thing that has struck me about him is his treatment of the theme of suffering. Despite, and even through, his extremely complicated characters and events, he nevertheless focuses his novels, particularly Crime and Punishment, on presenting a nuanced yet unified picture of suffering. After a brief analysis of several of the relevant characters and plot points, his thoughts on what suffering does to and for the individual will be presented. In contrast to our culture’s almost idolization of suffering as an experience which gives one instant respect, authority, and a platform, Dostoevsky’s perspective is honest, informed, pragmatic, and thoroughly Christian.
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Journal Article
2 September 2015

Vicarious Trauma as Applied to the Professional Sign Language Interpreter

This collected research and analysis will focus on vicarious trauma as applied to the experience of the professional Sign Language interpreter. Sign Language interpreters work in a vast scope of different settings where there can be a high risk of exposure to traumatic events or content and where the staffed professionals are equipped with training and support services. Sign Language interpreters do not have access to training or support services for managing vicarious trauma, though they are widely impacted by it. The extent of impact depends on the nature of the assignment as well as the susceptibility of the interpreter. Sign Language interpreters face a unique risk due to the nature of a dual-mode interpretation process, majority status struggle, and the required strict adherence to confidentiality through their Code of Professional Conduct. The lacking discussion of vicarious trauma to professional Sign Language interpreters has resulted in a dearth of effective preventative strategies and support systems within the field. This deficiency has resulted in positive and negative consequences of interpreters self-discovering active and inactive coping strategies. The overview of impact and current coping strategies will conclude that the addition of interpreter training and education on vicarious trauma, interpreter self-analysis, and colleague support groups would be valuable to the profession.
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