Editors and Editorial Board

Editors:

Austin Kruse – Austin Kruse is a senior at K-State double majoring in political science and philosophy (pre-law track) and minoring in history and leadership studies. He is originally from Topeka, KS and is also a Pre-Law Ambassador here at K-State. He found out about the Primary Texts Certificate program after taking Dr. Johnson’s Intro to Political Thought class and decided to sign up for the program after participating in a Live Ideas Fall Institute and recognizing how complementary the program was to his existing academic program. After graduation, he plans to attend law school.

Kamryn Nickel – Kamryn Nickel is a senior at K-State majoring in political science (pre-law track) and pursuing a Primary Texts certificate. She is originally from Topeka, KS, is actively involved in greek life as a member of Chi Omega and also a member of the band as a classy cat. She became interested in the Primary Texts Certificate program after completing the Live Ideas Fall Institute. After graduation, she plans to attend law school.

Bryant Macfarlane – Bryant Macfarlane is a doctoral candidate and graduate teaching student in the Department of History at Kansas State University. He is a member of the Primary Text core course instructional team, and has taught several courses on the History of Technology, American History, and American Military History. His primary research interests explore the social, institutional, and political implications of the United State military adopting helicopter technologies in the Cold War Era. He has published numerous book reviews, articles in Aviation Digest and Military Review, and has been a contributor to Milestone Visual Documents in American History, Schlager Anthology of Westward Expansion, Schlager Anthology of Early America, and Schlager Anthology of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era from Schlager Group, Inc.

Dr. Laurie Johnson (Political Science) – Director of the Primary Texts Certificate program and Professor of Political Science. Her research interests include early modern and modern social contract theory, the application of political philosophy to international relations theory, the study of honor in modern liberal societies, contemporary ideologies, and the political thought of Carl Jung.

Faculty Editorial Board (see biographies below):

Dr. Laurie Johnson (Political Science)

Jakob Hanschu, former Live Ideas editor (Anthropology)

Olivia Rogers, former Live Ideas editor (Political Science and Pre-Law)

Dr. Benjamin McCloskey (Classical Studies)

Dr. John Warner (Political Science)

Student Reviewers:

Ashley Elliott – Ashley is a senior at K-State studying history and classical studies while also pursuing a Primary Texts Certificate. On campus she is involved in the Judicial Branch of Student Governing Association and Union Governing Board. Ashley is a member of Greek life as a member of Alpha Chi Omega. She is deeply interested in all things poetic and history related, and in her free time Ashley gardens, paints, and writes. After graduation, she plans to attend graduate school.

Tinashe Sekabanja – Tinashe is a freshman at K-State majoring in statistics and data science. She is originally from Kampala, Uganda, the Pearl of Africa (as named by Winston Churchill). Her love for math and numbers is only matched by her love for the arts. She enjoys reading, writing, playing the piano, and spending time with friends and family.

Naomi Galindo – Naomi is a senior majoring in French and pursuing a secondary degree in international area studies as well as a minor in history and a Primary Texts Certificate. Naomi is originally from El Dorado, KS. She is also involved in Modern Languages, as she has served as a modern languages ambassador and MLSA president. She loves learning new languages and history, playing video games, reading literature from different countries, traveling, and plans to attend graduate school to pursue a career in public service and languages.

Laura Anderson – Laura Anderson is a senior majoring in political science and minoring in communications. She grew up in Overland Park, Kansas. The Primary Texts Certificate Program is one of her favorite parts of K-State. After undergrad she hopes to attend law school. Outside of academics, Laura loves to play the piano, cook, spend time with friends, and watch hockey.

Cassidy Hartig – Cassidy Hartig is a junior at K-State majoring in English (pre-law track), minoring in philosophy and psychology, and earning certificates in linguistics and primary texts. On campus, she is the 2023 President of the Engineers Without Borders chapter: an organization dedicated to engineering solutions to meet basic human needs in local and international communities. In her free time, she loves reading, writing poetry, exploring nature, and displaying a healthy obsession with her betta fish Jane.

Wilbur Dodderidge – Wilbur is a sophomore at K-State studying history and classical studies while also pursuing a Primary Texts Certificate. His main interest lies in polytheistic religions of the ancient world and museum studies. He likes to spend his free time weaving and gardening. After graduating Wilbur intends to attend graduate school and pursue a career in conservation.

Past Editors and Participating Alumni:

Jakob Hanschu (Editor: F2018 – S2019) – Jakob is originally from Hillsboro, Kansas. He graduated from K-State in May 2019 with degrees in anthropology and geography, as well as a minor in statistics and undergraduate certificates in GIS and primary texts. During his time at K-State, Jakob worked extensively with primary texts and finds value in their ability to expose him and to new and unfiltered ideas that he can then interpret and apply to his research. He is the founding editor of Live Ideas.

Olivia Rogers (Editor: S2019 – S2020) – Olivia is a law student at Notre Dame Law School and graduated from K-State with a degree in Political Science and Pre-Law and a minor in Philosophy. She is from the great town of Gardner, known for its fields and town coffee shop. A fascination with the philosophical roots of the American founding as well as education policy drives her to learn as much as possible from early thinkers. Reading those thinkers firsthand has proved incredibly valuable to her studies and she can’t wait to continue working with Primary Texts.

Suan Sonna (Editor S2020-S2022) – Suan Sonna graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in philosophy. He studies issues in the philosophy of religion, ethics, and metaphysics. He also loves fiction, films, and other art forms that make life beautiful and worth living.

Mawi Sonna – Mawi graduated from K-State in May 2019 with a degree in English and minors in Spanish and Art. She has completed her MA in English at K-State. Her academic interests involve the interdisciplinary fields of art and creative writing. Though she greatly enjoys reading, she finds even more fulfillment in creating her own work. She finds it amazing that what someone created hundreds of years ago could be studied today in hopes of learning about the world around them and how it applies to our present world. What originally drew Mawi to primary texts was her realization that the thoughts and ideas that people had previously written about are still relevant to our emotional, communal, spiritual, and intellectual experience today.

Trace Henderson (Former Assistant Editor) – Trace Henderson is a junior at Kansas State University. He is studying Psychology with plans to enter the clinical practice in the years to come. He spends most free moments reading (particularly enjoying the Surrealist movement of the 90s) and writing poetry and short stories. Trace works as one of the assistant editors of Live Ideas and keeps up the various websites.

Camryn Eberhardy (Former Assistant Editor) – Camryn Eberhardy is a senior at Kansas State University. She is studying Elementary Education and Sociology as well as pursuing the Primary Texts certificate associated with Live Ideas. After graduating, she plans to pursue a career teaching Special Education at the elementary school level. She spends her free time doing yoga, running, and reading books from her very long list of book recommendations from friends. Camryn works as one of the assistant editors for Live Ideas and is primarily in charge of the social media pages and advertising for the program.

Makenna Eilert – MaKenna Eilert is a senior at Kansas State University studying political science. She is also pursuing a minor in leadership studies with a certificate in nonprofit leadership and primary texts. Currently, MaKenna is working for a local nonprofit, the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation as the communications coordinator. She loves reading in her free time and staying up to date on local and national news.

Faculty Reviewers:

Kathleen Antonioli (Modern Languages) – Specializes in Modern French literature, literary history, the sociology of literature, theories of modernism, women’s writing, feminist theory, Québec literature and theories of francophone literature.

Mark Crosby (English) –Director of the Digital Humanities Center, Mark’s main avenues of research are Digital Humanities (DH) pedagogies and methodologies, and the literature and visual culture of the British Romantic period. He has published two books on William Blake and articles on Blake, William Godwin, Thomas Paine, William Hayley, and DH pedagogy.

John Fliter (Political Science) – Author of articles on freedom of speech, church-state relations, the jurisprudence of Justice David Souter, and prison reform litigation. His recent book, Fighting Foreclosure: The Blaisdell Case, the Contract Clause, and the Great Depression, co-authored with Derek Hoff, was published by the University Press of Kansas in 2012. He also published a book entitled, Prisoners’ Rights: The Supreme Court and Evolving Standards of Decency, by Greenwood Press (2001). He received the 2010 K-State Presidential Teaching Award and was named the 2013-14 Coffman University Distinguished Teaching Scholar.

Carol Franko (English) – Writes on utopian and science fiction and in contemporary fantasy. Her articles have appeared in Science-Fiction Studies, Extrapolation, Journal on the Fantastic in the Arts, and Mythlore.

Sara Luly (Modern Languages) – Specializes in late 18th and early 19th century literature and culture, with an emphasis on German Romanticism and Gender Studies; German Gothic literature and questions of masculinity in the works of German Romanticism.

Jim Hohenbary (Nationally Competitive Scholarships) – Directs the Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships at Kansas State University. He advises all students interested in nationally and internationally competitive scholarships. He is also Associate Director of K-State’s Honors program. His academic area is English literature with a focus on creative writing.

Laurie Johnson (Political Science) – Director of the Primary Texts Certificate program and Professor of Political Science. Her research interests include early modern and modern social contract theory, the application of political philosophy to international relations theory, the study of honor in modern liberal societies, contemporary ideologies, and the political thought of Carl Jung.

Benjamin McCloskey (Classical Studies) – Member of instructional team, Primary Texts core course. Director, Classical Studies Minor. He writes on the intersection of philosophy and historiography in Socratic literature of the 4^th century BCE, impact of narratological approaches on our understanding of philosophy and authority in Xenophon’s corpus, construction of ethnic and gender identities in the literature of the Second Sophistic (1^st to 3^rd centuries CE).

Shannon Skelton (Theatre) – Member of instructional team, Primary Texts core course. He has published on topics ranging from American culture to punk subcultures and graphic novels. His plays have been performed in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Wisconsin. He founded and directed the Madison Young Playwrights program in Madison, Wisconsin in which he and other teaching artists worked with more than 100 middle and high school dramatists to create 10 minute plays. His book The Late Sam Shepard is forthcoming (2015). Research interests include: Critical Theory, Popular Culture, Humanities, Late 20th Century American Drama, Contemporary Adaptations of Greek Tragedy, Circus, Re-Enactments, and Horror Cinema.

Chris Sorensen (Physics) – Member of instructional team, Primary Texts core course. Research includes experimental and theoretical studies of light scattering by particles of arbitrary size and shape; synthesis, solution properties and self-assembly of nano-particles; synthesis of graphene; aggregation and gelation kinetics in aerosols and colloids, fractal aggregate properties; and physics of flow-based refrigeration systems.

John Warner (Political Science) – Member of instructional team, Primary Texts core course. His research interests center on how politics structure experiences of intimacy. He has published articles that track this broad theme in the Journal of Politics, History of Political Thought, and The Review of Politics, and has published a book, Rousseau and the Problem of Human Relations, with Penn State University Press. He is currently working on a book manuscript concerning the role of friendship in early modern political thought.

Founding Editors:

Previous Student Reviewers:

John Dotterweich (Reviewer: F2018 – S2019) – John graduated from K-State in May 2019 with a bachelors in secondary education with an emphasis in social studies. John believes that understanding where we came from is paramount to being able to understand where we are going. Using primary texts to explore the ideas and values of authors allows one to use their own reasons to interpret their meaning. John feels that introducing primary texts to younger students gives them the foundation for understanding broader societal concepts at a much younger age.

Jessica Johns (Reviewer: F2018 – S2018) – Jessica, originally from Richfield, Kansas, graduate from K-State in May 2019 with degrees in Philosophy and Political Science and a Primary Texts certificate. While at K-State, she developed a passion for political philosophy and normative ethics; some of her favorite K-State courses were Religion and Politics and American Political Thought. Jessica views primary texts as a means to intimately interact with the thoughts and emotions of past thinkers who were responsible for some of the most defining movements in human history.

Andrew Le (Reviewer: F2018) – Originally from Wichita, Kansas, Andrew graduated from K-State in December 2019 with degrees in Political Science and International Studies. He views primary texts as a theoretical and cultural foundation to interdisciplinary study. He firmly believes in the value of primary texts and recommends KSU’s Primary Texts Program to any student interested in interdisciplinary study, no matter their major.

Andrew Brandt (Reviewer: F2019 – S2020) – Andy is a Senior majoring in English Literature and with a minor in Classical Studies. He comes to K-State from Champaign, Illinois, though he’s lived all over the Midwest. Andy is fascinated by the connections between the ideas passed down through history, and the Primary Texts program is a perfect opportunity to continue exploring these ideas and hearing what others have to say about them.

Nathan Dowell (Reviewer: F2019- S2020) – Nathan was raised in Liberal, Kansas. He is a Senior who uses primary texts to explore the connections between his two majors: History and English Literature. His primary academic focus is on Medieval history, but he also enjoys researching other eras. Nathan is a member of the K-State forensics team, which he believes allows him to explain his interests for new audiences. In 2019, Nathan became the AFA National Champion in Impromptu Speaking. His other interests include reading obscure detective stories, making bad puns, and designing board games.

Kayla Davis (Reviewer: F2019 – S2020) – Kayla grew up mostly in Derby, KS (right outside of Wichita) but spent a lot of time in Spearfish, South Dakota, which she calls her “true hometown.” Currently, she is in her 7th and final year of undergraduate study, and will be graduating with a B.S. Chemistry, B.S. Biochemistry, B.A. Philosophy, a minor in Classical Literature, and a Primary Texts Certificate. “The study of primary literature is a must have in my academic world,” she says. She believes that there is no greater depth or scope to understanding humanity than through reading a written-record of its past, but that this is only the first step of primary texts scholarship. We must then analyze these records, together, with a constructive vision of the future.

Clayton Jarrard (Reviewer: S2019 – F2019) – Clayton grew up in North Carolina and other regions of the South. He is currently a senior studying Anthropology with a minor in Queer Studies at Kansas State University. His interests revolve around topics of sexuality and gender, religious studies, and identity. Being captivated by the art of storytelling from a young age, he strives to tell stories and share ideas in new and compelling ways through his work. Clayton sees primary texts as foundational to the ways we have come to view the world and considers the deep understandings and concepts within them to be especially relevant today.

Emma Herrman (Reviewer: F2019 – S2020) – Emma is a returning K-State student who graduated in 2016 with a degree in English Literature. She has been working in the Deans’ Office in the College of Arts and Sciences for a little over a year now and found that she missed the riveting discussions she used to have in her literature courses. Thankfully, she got the opportunity to return to K-State as a student and is now finishing up her Primary Texts Certificate. Always an avid reader, her ultimate goal in life is to one day work at a publishing agency. She hopes that maybe one day she’ll create literature that makes people think long after she’s gone.

Quinn Noone (Reviewer: F2019 – S2020) – Quinn Noone is a junior at Kansas State University originally from Sedgwick, KS. She is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design. She is involved in being an Art Ambassador for the Department of Art at KSU and working as the Swim Program Supervisor for the UFM & K-State Global Campus. She is intrigued to be a peer reviewer for Live Ideas and is excited to broaden her horizons in the area of Art and Primary Texts.

Natalie Jabben (Reviewer: S2019 – S2021) – Natalie is a Sophomore in Philosophy and Political Science from Olathe, Kansas. At K-State, she is involved in the Model United Nations team and in the Student Governing Association as a student senator. She enjoys reading and having discussions about philosophy in her free time. After repeated exposure to primary texts in history, philosophy, and political science classes taken through her first few semesters at K-State, Natalie began to realize that these sources tied together her academic interests in a unique way. She finds herself referencing the same ancient texts in discussions that occur in almost all of her classes. She hopes to continue the study of primary texts throughout her life.

Chris Butler (Reviewer: F2019 – S2021) – Edwin ‘Chris’ Butler is a graduating senior from the College of Arts and Sciences. His studies are in Sociology and Anthropology with a interest in topics such as global development and criminal justice. Chris has spent his undergraduate years studying social interactions between the elderly living at ‘Meadowlark Hills Retirement community’. Chris has also worked closely with the ‘Bridges out of Poverty’ group based out of Clay Center. He is a passionate poet and lover of history.

Alissa Rehmert – Raised in the humble town of Purdy, Missouri, Alissa is in the English M.A (Creative Writing) program. In her free time, she enjoys reading and collecting classic literature, cuddling her pet bunnies, embroidering, and playing board games with her husband. As for academics, she is primarily interested in gothic and new wave science fiction literature. She finds the complex and timeless interweaving of individual’s thoughts and expressions found within primary texts deeply enlightening and modernly pertinent.

Sydney Wolgast – Sydney, originally from Wichita, KS, completed her undergraduate career at Kansas State University in History and Anthropology in 2021. She is now looking forward to starting a graduate degree in History. Sydney fell in love with history at a young age when she decided she wanted to be like Indiana Jones, although that hasn’t really changed too much. She believes that history is important and incredibly fascinating because seemingly ordinary people did extraordinary things that led to where we are today. Using primary texts has always been interesting simply because the words from the past survived to the present and we are able to preserve them.

Kristin Chaney – Kristin Chaney is a Social Work major with an English minor. She is a McNair Scholar in the Honors Program and Treasurer for the Phi Alpha Honor Society of Social Work. She is driven by her love for people and the written word. Through her studies she has found that policy is a little-known love language that when crafted and written properly can change lives for the better. Kristin is looking forward to the work she will get to do with the primary texts and as a peer reviewer.

Cade Ciesielski (Reviewer: x – S2022)- Cadence Ciesielski is a senior at K-State studying Spanish and Philosophy, Pre-Law. She is originally from Valley Center, KS. At K-State, Cadence is a member of the Mock Trial team, Pre-Law Ambassadors, Mortar Board Senior Honorary, Snyder Leadership Legacy Fellows, and the Food Recovery Network. After graduation, she plans to attend law school and has an interest in practicing immigration and human rights law.

Levi Van Hoecke – Levi Van Hoecke is a Senior at Kansas State University studying Economics with an emphasis on Entrepreneurship. Levi enjoys getting coffee with friends, disc golfing, reading classic novels, and going on road trips. He would like to apply his education towards helping nonprofits or ministries with their finances. The easiest way to get Levi talking is to ask for his opinion on The Incredibles II.

Lori Leiszler – Lori is a senior in the Honors program, majoring in secondary education with an emphasis in English/journalism. Previously, she served as the assistant culture editor for the Kansas State Collegian. She grew up on a farm outside Clifton, KS and credits her persistent work ethic and perennial love of learning to her childhood there. She loves deep talks about life, literature, morality, and cows.

Bob Brummett – Bob Brummett is a senior majoring in GWSS along with secondary ed. social studies. He loves the social sciences so much and is interested in getting a degree in one and a degree in how to teach it. His main interests are early feminist movements, education, and history.

Bailey Britton – Bailey is a senior at K-State studying English and journalism. She participates in Mortar Board and the McNair Scholars Program. Previously, she acted as the editor-in-chief for the Kansas State Collegian. In her free time, she likes to play with her dog, travel, spend time with friends, and drink coffee. She also has strong feelings about the Oxford comma.

Eli Wilch (Reviewer: F2022) – Eli Wilch is a freshman at K-State majoring in finance and pursuing a Primary Texts Certificate. He is originally from Wichita, Kansas, and hopes to become involved in business-centric clubs. He became interested in the Primary Texts Certificate program while searching for opportunities in liberal arts on campus.

Kinsley Searles – Kinsley Searles is a junior at K-State majoring in English. She also is pursuing minors in French and leadership studies. Kinsley is originally from Topeka, KS but now calls Manhattan home. In her free time, she likes to read (especially Agatha Christie), play Nintendo games,, and do all types of puzzles. Kinsley is also a LEAD212 Class Leader and does research with the Chapman Center. She is very excited to review submissions from students.

Editors and Editorial Board

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