Digital Commons Network^™

Overzealous: The Harm Caused By Parental And Administrative Censorship Of Books In An Intellectually Free Education, Tyler Engel

Outstanding Gateway Papers

Books and their ideas are such a fundamental part of our learning culture. Despite this fact, many books, some of our best books, have been banned in schools and communities across the world for the controversial, uncomfortable, necessary ideas they contain. Parents, school administration, and state legislatures often go to great lengths to police these ideas within the classroom, limiting what teachers can actually teach within their classrooms and the ideas that students come into contact with. This practice is harmful, and we as a country need to normalize the reading of banned books so that students can engage diverse …

“Fight Him With His Own Weapon”: The Fluctuating Role Of The Holmesian Detective, Abraham Bishop

Outstanding Gateway Papers

Adored the world over for his incredible abilities, Sherlock Holmes is a character who redefined what it means to be a detective. This paper examines the fluctuation of this role by looking at a Holmes story as well as a work inspired by the great detective in the context of Colonial and Post-Colonial India.

A Dangerous Neutrality: Howard Campbell In Mother Night, Kathryn Alderman

Outstanding Gateway Papers

In this review of Kurt Vonnegut's Mother Night, the author determines whether the book should be required reading for English 101 classes. Students, in a generation of apolitical views and the common belonging in middle ground, are often assigned books that do not seem to grasp their attention needed to take anything away from the reading experience. Mother Night has many ways of grabbing and holding this attention while displaying the dangers of running away from history. The author concludes that Mother Night should be required for all English 101 classes.

The Manga Attack On Titan As A Literary Medium, Joseph Song

Outstanding Gateway Papers

Attack on Titan is a globally celebrated Japanese manga written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. The manga has sold over 110 million copies worldwide, garnering several awards which have cemented its enormous success. The narrative is set in the early nineteenth century, when a small portion of humanity has been forced to live behind gigantic walls that protect them from enormous, human-like titans who feast on human flesh. It is through the events that take place in Attack on Titan that the reader can reflect critically on topics relevant today, such as racism, genocide, and revenge through the formal ways …

The Trouble With Literature (Text And Video), Joanne Diaz

Honorees for Teaching Excellence

No abstract provided.

Daniel Terkla On His New Book, A Critical Companion To English Mappae Mundi, Charlie Schlenkar

Interviews for WGLT

WGLT's Charlie Schlenkar discussed the latest book from Emeritus Professor of English Daniel Terkla, A Critical Companion to English Mappae Mundi of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries.

James Plath And "100 Greatest Literary Characters", Laura Kennedy

Interviews for WGLT

Professor of English James Plath discusses his latest book, The 100 Greatest Literary Characters, with WGLT Radio's Laura Kennedy.

James Baldwin On The Question Of The Identities Of Americans And The Black Muslim Movement, Minzhao Liu

Outstanding Gateway Papers

One of the tactics the director Raoul Peck employed to make the I Am Not Your Negro documentary so powerful is the juxtaposition of violence against the black population in the 1960s and the brutalities taking place right now. He reveals on a more profound level the wretchedness of the current racial situation and the lack of real change. Peck’s film is built on James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript Remember This House. Baldwin’s treatment of the racial issue is uniquely interrogative, demanding a clear picture of the reality of both the environment and individuals’ identities. This principle of digging for …

Critical Thinking And Buddhism, Ruihan Zhang

Outstanding Gateway Papers

Many people believe that religions and science cannot coexist logically because science is evidence-based, whereas religion belief is supported by spiritual, personal, or subjective experiences. When a scientific theory is presented, many immediately ask for proof or hard evidence. When people speak of religious revelations, many ask what it was and how it was experienced. Hence, people make connections between science and critical thinking much more readily than they make such connections between religion and critical thinking. Critical thinking is conventionally related more to the scientific method, logic, deductive/inductive reasoning, etc. However, a sincere Buddhist, born into a Buddhist family, …

Rachel Carson: Giving A Voice To The Earth, Katherine Cavender

Outstanding Gateway Papers

When Rachel Carson was a little girl growing up in Springdale, Pennsylvania, she fell in love with the wilderness. While all around her, factory after factory was beginning to spew toxic waste, Carson loved to get away from it all by venturing into the “deep woods” to observe birds. From a very young age, Carson was able to articulate her thoughts eloquently, giving her the opportunity to be published several times in St. Nicholas Magazine. When she was 15, she wrote her first article about her enchantment with nature, foreshadowing her future as a nature writer, and it was …

The New Face Of Civil Revolution, Kalen Gray

Outstanding Gateway Papers

"The New Face of Civil Revolution" explains how with changing times comes changing platforms of expressing disdain for modern oppression against Black people of the United States of America. By juxtaposing the Black Power Movement and the Black Lives Matter Movement, this article provides a history of the oppression Black people face in America, as well as the many ways that these separate movements operate. Based on diversity of populations served, leadership, and the ways in which these movements gain supporters, this paper ultimately shows that there is currently a call for a new method of achieving equality in the …

Mary Tyler Moore & Her Role In The Feminist Movement, Haley Steward

Outstanding Gateway Papers

First airing in 1970, The Mary Tyler Moore Show was viewed as “TV’s first truly female dominated sitcom” (Reese). As society was being challenged to accept new values that promoted equality for women on both a personal and political level, The Mary Tyler Moore Show had begun to positively portray the realities of the feminist movement. The women characters of the show, Mary, Rhoda, and Phyllis, brought forth many controversial issues that were occurring throughout America during the decade. As early as the pilot episode, Mary Richards, played by Mary Tyler Moore, was everything that a woman of the early …

Goldman’S Paradox: Imperfect Perfection, Aaron Manuel

Outstanding Gateway Papers

In The Paradox of Punishment, Alan Goldman argues that the mixed theory of punishment is inherently contradictory. Goldman explains that the mixed theory is a combination of two older theories of punishment: retributivism and utilitarianism. The combination of these two theories into a single mixed theory was intended to mitigate these theories’ flaws. However, Goldman asserts that the two theories are incompatible, as justification of one requires dismissal of the other, creating a paradox. While I agree that Goldman’s paradox exists, and that it is logically inescapable, I believe he has neglected several points of analysis which weaken the …

Wes Chapman, 2016 Dougan Award Presentation, Brian Brennan, Iwu Chapter Of The Aaup, Illinois Wesleyan University

Dougan Award Winners

No abstract provided.

I, The Unreliable, Rigoberta Menchu, Rebecca Anderson '19

Outstanding Gateway Papers

There have been many discrepancies regarding the credibility of the book I, Rigoberta Menchu. In the so-called “autobiography” Menchu describes the mass destruction, misery, violence, and oppression towards the indigenous Guatemalan people during the Guatemalan civil war. However, according to research done by anthropologist David Stoll, there is an abundance of inconsistencies and exaggerations in this story. Due to the potential that there are skewed facts and false accounts, this book should not be entered into evidence for the Guatemalan Commission for Historical Health (GCHH). Menchu’s book contains very questionable truths not only about the book’s facts, but about …

Captain Ahab And Her Crew, Abigail Kauerauf '19

Outstanding Gateway Papers

In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the novel’s anti-hero R.P. McMurphy unexpectedly parallels Moby Dick. In the infamous Melville classic, Moby Dick bites off the leg of Captain Ahab. Ahab thusly convinces his crew to join him in a revenge-filled quest to kill the white whale. The life of R. P. McMurphy presents a similar journey. While McMurphy attempts to restore the masculinity of the men on the ward so the men can live freely as they once had before the women’s liberation movement, women such as Nurse Ratched endeavor to hunt down these men and emasculate …

Contrasting Biblical Themes In The Novel And Film One Flew Over The Cuckoo’S Nest, Madeline Gibson '19

Outstanding Gateway Papers

In the beginning of the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Chief Bromden and his fellow patients in the psychiatric ward of the hospital are confined in a strict environment, subject to the cruel decisions of those in control, and convinced that there is no way to escape. Renewed hope for the patients comes in the form of the newly-admitted Randle McMurphy, who serves as an advocate for the overthrow of the authoritative forces controlling the ward, specifically Nurse Ratched. As savior of the ward, McMurphy frees the patients from oppression and helps them rediscover their strengths. Clear …

James Plath, Bruce Bergethon

Interviews for WGLT

No abstract provided.

Kathleen O'Gorman, 2015 James D. Dougan Award Presentation, Rebecca Roesner, Iwu Chapter Of The Aaup, Illinois Wesleyan University

Dougan Award Winners

No abstract provided.

Sammye Greer, Sammye Greer

All oral histories

Professor of English Sammye Greer was on faculty at IWU from 1970-1982. On behalf of the newly-formed 2014 Women's Caucus, Greer was asked to provide any recollections she had of the ca. 1970s IWU Women's Caucus, including any records or documentation that might still exist. Her remarks describe the campus climate for female faculty, events of the Caucus in her era, and perspectives on the issues she encountered as department chair.

Dr. Greer received IWU's Teaching Excellence Award and gave an Honors Day Convocation address in May 1978. The text for that address may be found at http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/teaching_excellence/42

The False Idea Of Human Nature’S Duality In Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, Megan Sperger '18

Outstanding Gateway Papers

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The mention of these two people will evoke a specific thought in most people’s minds: good and evil; light and dark; normal and deformed. However, the truth isn’t nearly so simple. Humans are free, and therefore a mixture of good and evil; accordingly, both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are neither solely good nor evil. Due to the stifling sexual and social repression in Victorian society, Jekyll became convinced that he could somehow purge himself of the evil inside him by splitting his soul; this, however, had far graver consequences than he suspected. Due to …

The Rise Of Boko Haram: An Analysis Of Failed Governance, Andrew Pichette '18

Outstanding Gateway Papers

The Boko Haram threat in Nigeria has been the subject of constant review as of the last few years. Underlying causes as well as the organizational ideology have consistently been the subject of investigation. While popularly considered to be an Islamic extremist group, academic thought has proposed that Islam is used as a means of legitimization rather than motivation, and that socio-economic and political realities are far more relevant to explaining the activities of Boko Haram. The purpose of this essay is to examine the origins of Boko Haram, how the government has reacted, and propose solutions to the deeply …

Preyer, Mack Rivkin

Honors Projects

One of the most difficult obstacles I faced while working on this collection of writings was articulating exactly what this project is. It is, on the surface, a Research Honors Project, defined by Illinois Wesleyan University as "an opportunity for qualified seniors to engage in a significant research project under the guidance of a faculty advisor" ("Office of the Provost"). In my preliminary Research Honors proposal, I declared my intention to concoct a capstone project which, through ecopoetics, would honor my four years of study in the fields of Environmental Studies and English. I wanted to utilize my skills in …

Leave Creation To The Creator: The Corrupt Creator In Mary Shelley’S Frankenstein, Faith Borland '17

Outstanding Gateway Papers

My paper discusses the impact that Mary Shelley’s theistic views and the science of her time had on the writing of Frankenstein. Her Christian ideals helped her to shape the character of Victor and play out the consequences of his actions. She discusses many questions about the human soul and the afterlife in her novel. Using writings from her diary, it is clear that Shelley was a very dedicated Christian and believed absolutely in the presence of an eternal soul. A large theme in the story is the question of whether or not the Creature has a soul and, …

Plath Edits Book Of Essays On Raymond Carver, Kim Hill

News and Events

No abstract provided.

Sainsbury Honored With 2013 Dougan Award, Matt Kurz

News and Events

No abstract provided.

Memory, Deconstructed And Reconstructed An Ontward Expression Of An Inward Reality, Jessica Rochford

Honors Projects

Opening Paragraph

Lieux de Memoire, or "places of memory," are symbolic sites of national identity. Defined in Le Grand Robert de la langue franfaise, the term is attributed to French historian Pierre Nora. Nora has compiled two large project anthologies and several individual books of essays by various authors that identify and reflect upon symbolic sites of great national importance throughout France. Nora's various collections of work, span over "seven volumes, six thousand pages") and "more than one hundred and thirty authors" (Le Goff 118). The particular project of Nora's that I will focus on, titled Realms of Memory: The …

Theune Creates "Voltage Poetry" Anthology, Kim Hill

News and Events

No abstract provided.

Reputation And Social Perfection: The Social Creation Of Mr. Hyde, Valerie Mack '16

Outstanding Gateway Papers

This essay works to explain and generalize the values of the Victorian era and their suppressive quality, and then to apply this knowledge specifically to Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It argues that Victorian values were harmful to the people they governed and forced Victorians to choose between the parts of themselves that would lead to success, like measured behavior, and those that contain basic human desires, such as sexual desires. Respectability and reputation, as well as the need for the appearance of social perfection, suppressed unwanted aspects of human nature.

The essay first describes the …

Down A Dusty Haitian Road, Lydia Rudd '16

Outstanding Gateway Papers

No abstract provided.