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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
The Bengali Oil-Eaters: A Speculative Approach To New Materialism And The Nonhuman In Contemporary Petrofiction, Jenna Wayland
The Bengali Oil-Eaters: A Speculative Approach To New Materialism And The Nonhuman In Contemporary Petrofiction, Jenna Wayland
Honors Projects
Despite oil’s heavy saturation within the context of contemporary global life, novelistic registrations of oil frontiers and extractive drilling in contemporary world literature remain proportionally barren with regards to oil’s political and geographical importance across the world-system. Petro-cultural production, transnational in scale and imposing in material basis, relegates oil to a paradoxical literary deferment. The general invisibility of petrofiction within the petro-sphere suggests that the materialist basis of petroleum and its fraught geopolitical history has culturally transformed oil into a repressed, peripheral, and hidden material that subsequently renders the oil-encounter unseen in contemporary literature. This creative synthesis of the oil-encounter …
Trauma Is A Wound: Demonstrating The Use Of Character Analysis To Practice Clinical Analysis, Madisyn Beare
Trauma Is A Wound: Demonstrating The Use Of Character Analysis To Practice Clinical Analysis, Madisyn Beare
Honors Projects
Evidence-based treatments of trauma require clinicians to base their treatments on the client’s specific and individual needs, experiences, cognitions, and place in recovery. Essentially, each new client is a new and unique case, and the practice of understanding how trauma may affect an individual only comes from clinical exposure.Literature provides the public with somewhat of an aid in these circumstances: fictional characters are not real people, and therefore can undergo limitless character analyses. Analyzing a fictional character allows clinicians the ability to practice their exploration of various behavioral indicators of mental health concerns while honoring the ethical code of non-maleficence, …
"Real Women Have Bodies": A Study In Adaptation, Madison Ephlin
"Real Women Have Bodies": A Study In Adaptation, Madison Ephlin
Honors Projects
The art of adaptation is a difficult process, and is often hard to please general audiences that have a connection to the source material. As a student who studies both English Literature and Film Production, the question asked through this study is what does it take to write a “successful” adaptation? What qualifies as “successful”? How does an adaptation balance the themes, characterization, and plot of a piece of literature with the continuous momentum and visual complexity that the medium of film requires, all in 120 pages or less? This study engages with these questions by actively practicing adaptation, adapting …
"Proud Flesh And Blood": Phineas Fletcher, Gabriel Daniel, And Seventeenth-Century Theories Of Embodiment, Micaela Elanor Simeone
"Proud Flesh And Blood": Phineas Fletcher, Gabriel Daniel, And Seventeenth-Century Theories Of Embodiment, Micaela Elanor Simeone
Honors Projects
The human body was a site of discovery and redefinition in early modern Europe. This project traces the gradual arc from the mid-seventeenth century towards Cartesian notions of the body in the later part of the century through two fictions: Phineas Fletcher (1582-1650)’s The Purple Island (1633) and Gabriel Daniel (1649-1728)’s Voyage du Monde de Descartes (1690). This project views these two largely-overlooked texts as important literary works that represent the seventeenth century’s transformative debates about and explorations of the human body. I argue that Fletcher employs a dissective mode that embraces mind-body harmony while framing the human as both …
Afterlife: Exploring And Accepting Ideas Through Children's Literature, Kiley Vandevelde
Afterlife: Exploring And Accepting Ideas Through Children's Literature, Kiley Vandevelde
Honors Projects
This project is a written and illustrated book for children to assist with the grieving process by exploring different cultural representations of the afterlife. Death is an inescapable part of the human condition. Belief in an afterlife can help children retain a connection to the deceased and can be a useful tool for healing. While very young children (age four to five) inherently believe in existence after death, this decreases after the age of ten. This book targets children aged seven to ten and explains the benefit to believing in an afterlife. It explores different ideas surrounding the afterlife and …
To Read Or Not To Read: Navigating Young Adult Literature In The Classroom In The Age Of Trigger Warnings And Banned Books, Ashley Sell
Honors Projects
Most public school libraries or English classrooms celebrate Banned Books Week during the school year, featuring dozens of Young Adult novels that have been challenged or banned in public schools across the country. However, books aimed towards young readers are typically not optimized for educational use in the classroom. In this project, I will explore the benefits of using Young Adult literature in the classroom, while also investigating the obstacles that one might face in order to do so, i.e. censorship, sensitive subject matter. I also want to summarize and respond to an argument for the retainment of classic literature …
"Strong Female Characters"? An Analysis Of Six Female Fantasy Characters From Novel To Film, Valari Westeren
"Strong Female Characters"? An Analysis Of Six Female Fantasy Characters From Novel To Film, Valari Westeren
Honors Projects
This project is twofold. The first section analyzes six female fantasy characters in their literary and filmic incarnations—Dorothy Gale (The Wizard of Oz), Susan Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian), Arwen Evenstar (The Lord of the Rings), Princess Buttercup (The Princess Bride), Hermione Granger (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), and Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief)—noting adaptational changes made to each and placing the twelve incarnations in conversation with each other. This conversation centers around the concept of the “strong female character,” …
"And Gladly Wolde He Lerne": Facilitating Discussion Based Learning About Medieval And Regency Literature Through Interactive Technologies, Emma Vallandingham
"And Gladly Wolde He Lerne": Facilitating Discussion Based Learning About Medieval And Regency Literature Through Interactive Technologies, Emma Vallandingham
Honors Projects
A series of reading guides for Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, and Frankenstein, that utilize interactive technologies to facilitate student engagement with and discussion of the texts. Each reading guide consists of an overview of the text, relevant historical context, and reading and discussion questions for students to answer. Some reading guides also have corresponding answer guides that provides sample answers as well as hints and tips for answering the questions.
The Queer Literature Club, Olivia Behm
The Queer Literature Club, Olivia Behm
Honors Projects
The Queer Literature Club was established August 30, 2018 with the purpose of distributing young adult literature with LGBTQ+ characters and themes as well as providing a space space for LGBTQ+ students. The QLC spent the 2018-2019 academic year establishing itself as a thriving community and has gained standing as an officially recognized campus organization. The club is open to students who want to see themselves reflected in the literature they read - literature meant for an age that is particularly difficult for LGBTQ+ youth - and allies. Through the progression of the year, it was found that the QLC …
Golden Fantasy: An Examination Of Generic & Literary Fantasy In Popular Writing, Zechariah James Morrison
Golden Fantasy: An Examination Of Generic & Literary Fantasy In Popular Writing, Zechariah James Morrison
Honors Projects
This essay attempts to analyze critical theory concerning the division between generic fantasy fiction and higher fantasy literature. In examining how these two different types of fantasy writing are identified by popular criticism, the space in-between is defined and labeled "golden fantasy". This kind of fantasy is identified by maintaining a balance between subversive originality, and derivative reproduction, and is generally popular among consumers and academics as a source of both entertainment and scholarly research. The essay is then followed by 3 original chapters by the essay writer, in an attempt to demonstrate some of the elements of golden fantasy …
He, Jessica Bourget
He, Jessica Bourget
Honors Projects
This small collection of essays addresses the author's relationship to men in her life, in particular her father and stepfather. In "Somewhere Else," she writes about her often changing and unstable relationship with her biological father. She continues this exploration in "What They Don't Tell You" in a different way, addressing her father and mother's relationship and comparing it to an unhealthy dating relationship in her own life. In her last piece, she writes about her stepfather dealing with the death of his brother and simultaneous adoption of his nephew, while also coming to terms with the reality of her …
Thoroughly Under The Skin, Patrick Pride
Thoroughly Under The Skin, Patrick Pride
Honors Projects
This honors project examines the connections between literature and political theory. Specifically I will follow the journey of the British literary critic Raymond Williams. Williams had a very interesting life. He grew up in the Black Mountains of Wales as the son of a railroad worker: a life he memorialized in his autobiographical novel Border Country (1960). In his obituary of Williams in The New Statesman in 1988, Stuart Hall reminds us how Williams’s deep sense of attachment to the Welsh working class border community of inhabited shared commitments in which he grew up. This community of shared commitments was …
Who We Are: Incarcerated Students And The New Prison Literature, 1995-2010, Reilly Hannah N. Lorastein
Who We Are: Incarcerated Students And The New Prison Literature, 1995-2010, Reilly Hannah N. Lorastein
Honors Projects
This project focuses on American prison writings from the late 1990s to the 2000s. Much has been written about American prison intellectuals such as Malcolm X, George Jackson, Eldridge Cleaver, and Angela Davis, who wrote as active participants in black and brown freedom movements in the United States. However the new prison literature that has emerged over the past two decades through higher education programs within prisons has received little to no attention. This study provides a more nuanced view of the steadily growing silent population in the United States through close readings of Openline, an inter-disciplinary journal featuring …
The Buried Seed: Generational Narcissism In D.H. Lawrence's The Rainbow, Christine Dennen
The Buried Seed: Generational Narcissism In D.H. Lawrence's The Rainbow, Christine Dennen
Honors Projects
D.H. Lawrence’s novel The Rainbow follows three generations of the Brangwen family as they experience problems of identity while trying to navigate a changing world. The identity issues in the novel can be understood as symptomatic of what clinical psychologists term Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Each generation embodies narcissistic traits that prevent them from living happy, full lives. The thesis focuses on the generational aspect of the novel and how the repeated narcissistic issues found in each generation build on and reflect one another, culminating in the character of Ursula. With this character Lawrence portrays the struggles necessary to transcend the …
"Ok, I'M A Teacher Now:" Reading Young Adult Literature In A Teacher Education Program, Brittany Richer
"Ok, I'M A Teacher Now:" Reading Young Adult Literature In A Teacher Education Program, Brittany Richer
Honors Projects
After taking a young adult literature course as part of my Secondary Education/ English program, I felt I had gained only a limited understanding of the importance of the genre to my future career. In the class, we read several popular young adult texts, learned about their authors, identified censorship issues, and mentioned a few strategies related to the teaching of the texts. Much of the “understanding” related only to future applications in imagined classrooms, which left no room for critical reflection about what we might learn from reading the texts about ourselves as students and teachers. A sense of …
Old Made New: Neil Gaiman's Storytelling In The Sandman, Sara Reilly
Old Made New: Neil Gaiman's Storytelling In The Sandman, Sara Reilly
Honors Projects
An exploration of the narrative and storytelling of Neil Gaiman in his DC Comics series, The Sandman.
"Play Along" With The Authors: Half-Life 2, Bioshock, And Video Game Narrative, Samy Masadi
"Play Along" With The Authors: Half-Life 2, Bioshock, And Video Game Narrative, Samy Masadi
Honors Projects
Applies narrative analysis to two story-based video games, Half-Life 2 and BioShock, arguing that such games combine traditional narrative elements in innovative ways. Includes discussion of narratology, ludology, and game narrative theory.
Idealization And Desire In The Hundred Acre Wood: A.A. Milne And Christopher (Robin), Laura E. Bright
Idealization And Desire In The Hundred Acre Wood: A.A. Milne And Christopher (Robin), Laura E. Bright
Honors Projects
Argues that A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner represent the conscious rejection, unconscious reproduction, and re-imaging of the author's traumatic Victorian childhood.
Putting The Spotlight On Smaug, Casey Pellerin
Putting The Spotlight On Smaug, Casey Pellerin
Honors Projects
Despite its popularity, much of the scholarly criticism available on Tolkien’s works focus on his even more popular and well-known epic, The Lord of the Rings, or his earlier work, The Silmarillion. The Hobbit, due to its traditionally younger audience, does not receive nearly as much attention. Much of the criticism of The Hobbit engenders does not focus on the dragon. Smaug is one of the focal characters in the story, and yet very little has been written about him. Almost all of the critical treatments I have found do not address Smaug as a character, but treat him as …
Jane Austen's Persuasion: A Study In Literary History, Katherine Nadeau
Jane Austen's Persuasion: A Study In Literary History, Katherine Nadeau
Honors Projects
Seeks to explore literary Romanticism and the current debate surrounding this concept as either a useful or an accurate one. It looks to Jane Austen and her novel, Persuasion, around whom some of this debate gathers and how Austen's novel relates to that of a more traditionally accepted Romantic author, Charlotte Bronte, as revealed in Jane Eyre.
"So I Shall Tell You A Story:" The Subversive Voice In Beatrix Potter's Picture Books, Veronica Bruscini
"So I Shall Tell You A Story:" The Subversive Voice In Beatrix Potter's Picture Books, Veronica Bruscini
Honors Projects
Describes how recent literary scholarship has begun to interpret the themes and topics found within the children's picture books of Beatrix Potter through the lens of the code-language in Potter's secret journal, deciphered and published by Leslie Linder in 1966. Analyzes three tales from Potter's collection of picture books, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Two Bad Mice, and The Tale of Pigling Bland, to illustrate the ways these books continued to represent the social and personal observations, voicing subversive reactions to the excesses and hypocrises of Victorian culture, that Potter first began in her journal.
Fontana Hall And Other Stories, Vincenzo Lucciola
Fontana Hall And Other Stories, Vincenzo Lucciola
Honors Projects
Collection of short stories, including three pieces of flash fiction, three short stories, and one longer story. The author aims at developing a wider grasp of the craft of fiction writing and uses as a running theme the ways by which we choose to negotiate the imperfect life situations in which we find ourselves.
Living With Dying: Grief And Consolation In The Middle English Pearl, Karen A. Sylvia
Living With Dying: Grief And Consolation In The Middle English Pearl, Karen A. Sylvia
Honors Projects
Analyzes the themes of grief and consolation in the Middle English poem, Pearl, and compares this work to Boethius's The Consolation of Philosophy and Chaucer's The Book of the Duchess. Applies the five psychological stages of grieving identified by Kubler-Ross to the poem's Dreamer and concludes that, at the poem's end, the Dreamer has failed to finish the grieving process.
Language, Gender And Identity In The Works Of Louise Bennett And Michelle Cliff, Nicole Branca
Language, Gender And Identity In The Works Of Louise Bennett And Michelle Cliff, Nicole Branca
Honors Projects
Examines the writings of two female, Jamaican authors, Louise Bennett and Michelle Cliff. Bennett flourished during the period of de-colonization and independence for Jamaica, while Cliff came into prominence after Jamaican independence. Shows how both writers played an important role in helping Jamaica establish a national identity by focusing on multiple dimensions of what it means to be Jamaican, including issues of language, gender, and identity.
"Twinned Brothers": The Parallel Personalities Of Timon And Hamlet, Amanda Machado
"Twinned Brothers": The Parallel Personalities Of Timon And Hamlet, Amanda Machado
Honors Projects
Examines Shakespeare's play, Timon of Athens, in relation to Hamlet through a psychoanalytical and New Historical comparion of the two protagonists. Shows parallels between these characters in their behavior, illusions of reality, and inability to cope with loss of their illusions. Suggests that Timon may be a later reimagining of Hamlet.
Textual Possession: Manipulating Narratives In Wilkie Collins's Sensation Fiction, Kieran Ayton
Textual Possession: Manipulating Narratives In Wilkie Collins's Sensation Fiction, Kieran Ayton
Honors Projects
Examines the mechanisms through which Collins updated the gothic novel to create the sensation novel, with particular emphasis on The Woman in White, The Law and the Lady, and The Haunted Hotel. Highlights Collins's use of transgressive gender characterization, whereby his main characters use documents to gain social power over other characters. Describes the influence of Ann Radcliffe's gothic novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho, on The Woman in White.