Upcoming Events

The Siposium: Safe & Sound - The Healing Power of Music in Cozy Video Games

What makes music feel cozy? Join us for a deep (and delightfully nostalgic) dive into the soundtracks of over 40 video games—from Animal Crossing: New Horizons to Zelda and Final Fantasy. You'll learn how music signals safety, comfort, and emotional connection—even in the unlikeliest places. Featuring research from a soon-to-be-published article, this talk explores how cozy games—and their soundscapes—became a refuge, especially during times like the early days of the pandemic.

We will kick off our evening with a Wii Mario Kart Tournament, so come ready to race!

Speaker Bio: Adriana Ezekiel is a PhD student in music theory. She teaches freshman music theory and aural skills. She earned her Master of Music degree in music theory from the University of Alabama in 2024, where she taught aural skills classes in classical music and in the aural analysis of popular and jazz music. She earned her Bachelor in Music Education from Delta State University in 2020 and Associate of Arts from Northeast Mississippi Community College in 2017. Before pursuing graduate degrees in music theory, Adriana taught K–5 music and band in Birmingham, Alabama.

Her current research interests include the analysis of video game and film music, music theory pedagogy, and popular music studies. She is also interested in public scholarship and making music research more accessible. She has presented at the North American Conference on Video Game Music (2024), Play Again? Online Mini-Symposium (2023), and the South Central Society for Music Theory's Annual Conference (2023).

As an active musician, Adriana enjoys playing trumpet in jazz ensembles, singing, and playing ukulele. Outside of school, Adriana enjoys playing video games, cross stitching, and baking.

Man Up? The Culture Wars Behind America's Favorite Sport

Is football making men—or breaking them? Throughout the 20th century, American football was more than a game; it became a cultural battleground for defining masculinity. This event explores how debates over football's physicality, violence, and moral value reflected broader tensions about what it means to be a man in America. Was the sport a proving ground for courage and character—or a dangerous relic of outdated ideals? From locker rooms to living rooms, the contest over football's place in American culture reveals the evolving story of masculine identity, and the powerful role sports play in shaping our collective values and symbols.

Speaker Bio: John Rochford is a PhD candidate at The Ohio State University. His primary interest involves exploring martial masculinity and the relationship/s, continuities, and discontinuities between affect, masculine ideology, and masculine behavior in the context of soldiering in wartime.

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