Under Construction @ Keele 2017 Under Construction @ Keele Vol. III (3) | Page 8

Introduction
A warm welcome to this sixth issue of Under Construction @ Keele. Once again, we
were thrilled to receive such an enthusiastic and multi-faceted response to our call
for papers, and we are pleased to be able to present, here, a small sample of the
thoughtful and innovative research conducted by Keele’s Humanities and Social
Sciences postgraduate students.
Small as the sample may be, the five essays featured in this issue
nevertheless demonstrate the wide range of work being undertaken, with
contributions from disciplines as varied as History, Philosophy, Psychology, Law and
even Humanities as a whole. What is more, they exemplify the importance and
topicality of postgraduate research within the faculty. Samuel D. Holder’s
examination of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, for instance, opens our eyes to the
Third World spaces hidden within the First World – spaces that too often remain
unseen, ignored, denied. Another of our current blind spots is pointed up by Emma
Harrison’s literature review of bullying studies, which reveals a stunning dearth of
robust investigations into bullying at institutions of higher education and highlights
the need for further, and more systematic, research within this field. Also nudging
boundaries is Nicholas Sheldon’s contribution, which not only aims to reopen areas
of thought around the concept of absolute pacifism, but does so by creating a fresh
and innovative typology. Samuel Taylor’s paper, in turn, serves as a striking reminder
of how certain events and accounts can mould our memories and our assessments.
Specifically, Taylor highlights how President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and,
notably, the highly favourable memoirs of two of his close advisors retrospectively
shaped Kennedy’s popularity and his legacy. Last but by no means least, George
Blake’s inventive application of comics theory adds a more light-hearted touch to this
issue, but his paper, too, is about testing boundaries. Blake’s thoughtful examination
of the IKEA MALM assembly booklet as a (potential) comic will leave you viewing
those instructions in a different light – just you wait until you have to build that next
piece of flat-pack furniture!
The course of creating this journal never does run smooth, and it would be
impossible without the hard work and dedication of the journal committee. I would
therefore like to welcome our new members – the Humanities Editors Glenn Price
and Lizzy Trafford, the Social Sciences Editor Scott Mason and the Peer Review
vi