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Victim Or Villain: Female Resilience And Agency In The Face Of Trauma In Chimamanda Adichie’S, Purple Hibiscus (2003) And Tsitsi Dangarembga’S, Nervous Conditions (1988), Adaobi Juliet Chukwuma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As long as disparities persist in the way women are treated as compared to their male counterparts, the issue of gender will continue to call forth literary productions. For this reason, female writers are on a mission to dismantle the stereotypes that keep women confined to societal roles. Grounded in a feminist framework, this study focuses on the gender disparity theme in Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions. The aim is to examine how these writers represent the trauma of women living in an African patriarchal system. The traumatic experiences of the female characters in both texts …

The Beast In The Beauty: An Analysis Of Cultural Gender Biases And Stereotypes In The Classic Fairy Tale “Beauty And The Beast” And Implications In Modern Retellings, Lauren Lefler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis looks at the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast to examine the way that this tale has been used throughout history to address the concerns of young women, as well as reinforce the culturally accepted gender roles of the time of their publication. The first chapter defines the fairy tale genre and features some of the most common criticism on the genre, it will then define and offer critical perspectives on the monster bridegroom motif which Beauty and the Beast is a part of. The second chapter will look at the first two publications of the text, the …

Gentleman Death In Silk And Lace: Death And The Maiden In Vampire Literature And Film, Emily Wilson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis contains an examination in the psychosocial significance of Hans Baldung Grien’s “Death and the Maiden” art motif, created during the Renaissance period following the Black Death, and its resurgence in the vampire fiction genre of both literature and film. I investigate the motif in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) and Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire (1976) as well as their film adaptations by Francis Ford Coppola (1992) and Neil Jordan (1994), respectively. By examining the presence of the motif in art, literature, and film, I found that the common threads across all investigated works were the dominant social …

Exploring Black Queer Doctoral Student Experiences With Utilizing Campus Services, Mitchell Everett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized narrative inquiry to examine the experiences of Black Queer Doctoral Students (BQDS) with campus services and their ability to ameliorate minority stress and establish community with other students minoritized by their sexual or gender identity. I used the minority stress model and intersectionality as frameworks to understand how students minoritized by their race and sexual identities experienced campus services. The minority stress model provided an explanation of the stress BQDS may experience due their minority identity (Meyer, 2003, 2013). Connecting to community is also an ameliorating factor in reducing minority stress. In addition, structural intersectionality addressed the …

The Monster Mash: A Monster Studies Approach To Literature In The University Classroom, Megan L. Bowen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Monster Mash is a course proposal for an upper-division undergraduate literature course focused on exploring monsters in literature and building connections between classic and more contemporary texts using high-impact practices (HIPs) with student success in mind. I build on previous work in the field of Monster Studies and introduce my own original monster pattern that prompts students to interpret monsters as they trek through Origin, Separation, Power, Threat, and Diminishment. This pattern highlights commonalities when it comes to the representation of monsters and their stories, allowing students to identify them across texts. I also divide monsters into three categories …

Their Country: Black Women, Three Chords, And The Truth, Dmetri J. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Country music has long overlooked and at times outright erased the contributions of people of African descent. The past and present contributions of Black women are particularly ignored. Country music— a racially contested space centered in Nashville, Tennessee— is imbued with themes referencing the “good ole days” that were dangerous times for anyone who was not White, male, cisgender, and heterosexual. The genre has only become slightly more welcoming to those who are not part of the dominant class. And yet, there are Black women who feel called to use country music as their storytelling medium. My research shows …