Fragmentation

Fragmentation is what happens when things that once felt connected start to break apart or feel disconnected. It can describe how stories are told in pieces instead of straight lines, how communities become divided, or how people navigate multiple identities, platforms, and perspectives at the same time.

Fragmentation is the latest theme in the College of the Liberal Arts’ Moments of Change series—an annual, year-long focus on pivotal ideas, events, and movements that shape society. Past themes have explored topics like women’s activism, 1968, sustainability, and immigration, all examining moments when the world shifted in meaningful ways.

Building on this tradition, Fragmentation brings together the work of faculty, students, and alumni to explore how disconnection and change show up across language, literature, culture, technology, and politics. As globalization, rapid technological change, and shifting policies reshape society, long-standing institutions and shared experiences are being challenged and redefined. By looking at examples from both the past and the present, this theme helps us understand how fragmentation influences the way we communicate, govern, and relate to one another—and why it’s such a defining experience of life today.

AFR 230N/APLNG 230N Language and Social Justice
APLNG 320N/JST 320N Language, Ideology and Propaganda
GER/ENG/CMLIT/JST 128N Representations of the Holocaust in Film and Literature
PSYCH 420 Moral Psychology
VSTUD 597 the Politics of Color

Identity, Culture, and Community Organizations

Advocacy and Social Justice Organizations

Political, Policy, and Civic Engagement Groups

Language, Communication, and Media Organizations

Service and Community Engagement Organizations

Student Leaders

Fragmentation

Isabelle Ems

’26

Political Science

Isabelle’s leadership demonstrates fragmentation in student governance and civic engagement. Her work brings together diverse voices and interests, showing how leadership can create connection and shared purpose in moments of division and change.

Fragmentation

Shelby Corbett

’26

Criminology

International Politics

Spanish

Criminology

International Politics

Spanish

Shelby’s academic journey reflects fragmentation through global learning and interdisciplinary study. By navigating multiple fields and international contexts, she examines how political, cultural, and social systems intersect—and sometimes clash—in an increasingly complex world.

Fragmentation

Barron Owusu

’26

Psychology

Economics

Psychology

Economics

Barron’s story connects to fragmentation through questions of equity, representation, and community. His leadership work responds to social and institutional divides, focusing on how disconnected systems can be challenged and reshaped through collective action.

Fragmentation

Avery Snowden

Political Science

Spanish

Political Science

Spanish

Avery’s experience highlights fragmentation across disciplines and perspectives. As a double major in Political Science and Spanish, she bridges language, law, and leadership to understand how political systems and communities are shaped by cultural and structural divides.

Fragmentation

Natalie Wright

’27

Global and International Studies

Political Science

Global and International Studies

Political Science

Natalie’s work shows how fragmentation plays out in a globalized world. Through research and public service that spans countries, institutions, and policy systems, she navigates the complexities of solving problems that cross borders and don’t have simple, unified solutions.

Fragmentation

Alexis Wilson

’26

English

Italian

English

Italian

Alexis’s story reflects fragmentation through language, identity, and history. By combining English and Italian, she explores how meaning shifts across cultures and generations, using oral history to piece together stories that might otherwise be lost or overlooked.

Faculty Research

Fragmentation Faculty

Anne Pisor

Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Demography

Pisor explores fragmentation by examining the evolution in humans, especially social relationships that span communities. Her research focuses on how individuals and households respond to environmental risk, with implications for their livelihoods and health. Pisor’s work brings light to the environmental impacts of managing risk.

Fragmentation Faculty

Mariana Ortega

Professor of Philosophy and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Ortega explores fragmentation through the lens of women of color feminisms, critical phenomenology, philosophy of race, and aesthetics. Her research focuses on questions of self, identity, and relationality as well as visual presentations of race, gender, and sexuality. Ortega’s work investigates the intersection of feminism from the perspective of women in color and power.

Fragmentation Faculty

Tommaso M. Milani

Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Applied Linguistics, Jewish Studies, African Studies, and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Head, Department of Applied Linguistics

Director of the Jewish Studies Program

Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Applied Linguistics, Jewish Studies, African Studies, and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Head, Department of Applied Linguistics

Director of the Jewish Studies Program

Milani explores fragmentation by analyzing language and power through language ideology, intersectionality, queer theory, southern/decolonial perspectives and theories of affect. His research aims to understand how power (in)balances are reproduced and contested through meaning-making resources (language, visuality, the body etc.). Milani’s work aims to examine multiple identities, platforms, and perspectives to preserve memories and stories.

Fragmentation Faculty

Michael Kulikowski

Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of History and Classics

Kulikowski explores fragmentation through his interest in how written evidence can be read in light of archaeological and numismatic material. His research analyzes the use of historical sources and ethnic self-identifications in Roman history and the problem of the Germanic as a historical category in late antiquity. Kulikowski’s work to dissect Roman history uncovers how previous history can be misconstrued.

Fragmentation Faculty

Sabine Doran

Associate Professor of German and Jewish Studies

Doran explores fragmentation at the intersection of literature, visual culture, and Holocaust studies. Her research focuses on color and its relation to theories of race, material history, and religious thought. Doran’s work exposes representations of stigmata in contemporary art and film.

Fragmentation Faculty

Daryl Cameron

Associate Professor of Psychology

Senior Research Associate, Rock Ethics Institute

Director, Empathy and Moral Psychology Lab

Director, Consortium on Moral Decision-Making

Associate Professor of Psychology

Senior Research Associate, Rock Ethics Institute

Director, Empathy and Moral Psychology Lab

Director, Consortium on Moral Decision-Making

Cameron explores fragmentation through the lens of moral decision-making and empathy. His research examines how people divide the social world into “us” and “them,” often fragmenting moral concern along group lines. By studying when empathy narrows or expands across social, political, and cultural boundaries, Cameron’s work helps explain how fragmented moral judgments form and how they can be repaired to support more ethical, inclusive decision-making.

Event Recordings

Communication, the Key to Resolving Fragmentation and Building Community in Precarious Times

In this First-Year Lecture, Kirt H. Wilson, associate professor and department head of communication arts and sciences, explores how communication shapes our lives, our identities, and our relationships. Communication, he argues, is one of the most essential but taken-for-granted human activities, from one-on-one conversations to group discussions and even cross-cultural exchanges.

Upcoming Theme Events

Feb

“Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Why the Western Roman Empire Fell and the Eastern Empire Survived”

4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m.

062 Willard Building

Apr

“Promoting Healthy Public Deliberation About Academic Freedom in a Time of Sociopolitical Fragmentation”

4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m.

062 Willard Building

Fragmentation

Student Leaders

Isabelle Ems

Shelby Corbett

Barron Owusu

Avery Snowden

Natalie Wright

Alexis Wilson

Faculty Research

Anne Pisor

Mariana Ortega

Tommaso M. Milani

Michael Kulikowski

Sabine Doran

Daryl Cameron

Event Recordings

Communication, the Key to Resolving Fragmentation and Building Community in Precarious Times

Upcoming Theme Events

“Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Why the Western Roman Empire Fell and the Eastern Empire Survived”

“Promoting Healthy Public Deliberation About Academic Freedom in a Time of Sociopolitical Fragmentation”

Previous College Themes

Academics

Admissions

Academics

Funding

Beyond the Classroom

Professional Development

Student Services

Admissions

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Upcoming Events

African Studies Global Virtual Forum: Decoloniality and Southern Epistemologies—Lani Akande

Center for Language Science Speaker Series: Jorge Valdés Kroff

Empathy and Moral Psychology Lab Meeting

Darwin Day 2026 – Panel Discussion

EMP Lab / MASC Lab Joint Lab Meeting

African Feminist Initiative: Feminist Book Talk—Laurian Bowles

Change-of-Campus Info Session

Exam Prep: Five-Day Study Plan Drop-In Hours

Liberal Arts Chaiken Center Info Table

Mindfulness Mondays: Friendship Bracelets and Boundaries

EPPIC Speak UP: Weekly English Speaking Group

“Belizean Mythistory and the Invention of Colonialism”

EPPIC Academic Workshop: Building Connections for Career Development Series

LSAT and Applying to Law School

Religious Studies Reads

Trending Pages

Diversity, Equity,
Inclusion, and Belonging