This autotheoretical paper exploring a collaborative project we engaged in during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-May 2020) is structured as two intertwined stories. The first, a series of autotheoretical vignettes, expresses our process of sense-making about affect as well as multiple affective productions that spurred learning,…

In this experimental piece of writing I want to think about the pedagogy of contact and the plight of the hikikomori or social recluse in Japan. I am interested in exploring how the hikikomori practices a kind of contactlessness or what I will call a deadly ipseity of desire. What does it mean to resist contact, to be without contact, to be…

In the course of the COVID-19 crisis, teachers and students experienced a prolonged separation from vital social needs, such as social interaction, and therefore many of them felt a sense of loneliness. However, while some teachers may perceive school as a place that provides comfort and support, others may be suspicious of it and feel neglected.…

Author Toni Morrison used fictional narratives to make readers uncomfortably aware of their collective role in perpetuating the culture of poverty and pitying its victims. In her first novel, "The Bluest Eye," she focused on the most vulnerable member of society -- a child -- to depict the consequences of extreme social isolation and…

Caring for a child that has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has implications for parents' social and emotional health and well-being. The following article presents the findings from a review of the literature to help elucidate some of the issues that these parents experience. The article begins by arguing that early intervention is the key to…

In this article I draw on Lauren Berlant's notion of "cruel optimism" to identify and untangle how the prevailing sense of "optimism" in education works against our common hope or collective striving for what is educational in education. In particular, I discuss how the "cruel optimism" that invites individuals to…

The main purpose of this study was to gain an in depth understanding of the adjustment needs of international graduate students at the host university. There are, of course, a variety of factors that play a part in the adjustment needs that plague international graduate students and their adjustment to the host university. Consequently, in order…

People aging with severe disabilities face many age- and disability-related challenges that are shared with a range of family members and other caregivers. Although these challenges are often exacerbated by substantial physical, cognitive, communication, health, and other impairments associated with severe disabilities, thematically, they are…

This article explores ways of studying loneliness and solitude in schools. Research methodologies are considered, and descriptions are given of various previous studies, as well as of the research carried out by the author for a "being alone" project. The deeply personal nature of being alone, in a broad theoretical tradition of…

This piece offers a reflection on how language learning and multicultural studies during the pandemic have highlighted the potential to help communities draw parallels with, and face wider issues concerning, minorities within a challenged society. Through storytelling, a novel approach to teaching and learning helps students find their voice and…

We examine the experience of boredom and its relationship to troublemaking and drug use among rural youth in southwestern New Mexico. We draw on qualitative research with area youth to describe "what" they think about drug use and "how" they situate it within their social circumstances. We then locate youth drug use within…

People with Asperger's syndrome (AS) experience mental comorbidities, and behavioral symptoms that can deepen social isolation and handicaps. We compared the frequency of mental and behavioral symptoms, motor abnormality, and life history between adults with AS and those with no mental disorders but with disturbance of social functions and…

This article explores how adolescents feel and think about contexts of moral conflict and social exclusion. We asked twelve-year-old adolescents how they would feel about intentionally harming another peer, omitting a prosocial duty, and excluding another peer. We then asked them to explain the reasoning behind their feelings and report on levels…

"Interpersonal" rejection and "intergroup" exclusion in childhood reflect different, but complementary, aspects of child development. Interpersonal rejection focuses on individual differences in personality traits, such as wariness and being fearful, to explain bully-victim relationships. In contrast, intergroup exclusion focuses on how in-group…

This article presents an overview of adult suicide in the United States and Alabama. This includes the latest available information on the prevalence of suicide in the US and Alabama, demographic characteristics of suicide victims, trends in suicide, and known reasons behind adult suicide. With respect to adult suicide in Alabama, it focuses on…