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English Language and Literature Commons

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Student Research Submissions

Theses/Dissertations

2015

Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in English Language and Literature

Writing Is Learning, Aubrey M. Kennedy May 2015

Writing Is Learning, Aubrey M. Kennedy

Student Research Submissions

This paper examines composition in the secondary English classroom; specifically, the paper addresses common problems associated with composition curricula, and attempts to determine the best methods for teaching composition that strive to foster learning and authorial agency. The paper underscores the importance of incorporating personal experiences and insights into the composition process, and stresses that writing cannot only be taught, but that writing is learning. Moreover, writing is a way to make sense of experiences and insights. The paper includes the scaffolding for a secondary composition curriculum, and outlines the most effective pedagogical practices to teach writing that is meaningful …


Overcoming The Symbolic Annihilation Of Females In Classroom Literature, Lisa B. Johnson May 2015

Overcoming The Symbolic Annihilation Of Females In Classroom Literature, Lisa B. Johnson

Student Research Submissions

Although there are more than enough children's books with female protagonists available for children to read, girls are often underrepresented in classroom literature. This symbolically annihilates girls, leading them to believe that they are unimportant members of society. In order for boys and girls to feel that they are equally vital members of society, it is important that they are evenly represented in the classroom. While past studies have indicated that the cause for this is boys' distaste for literature with female protagonists, this study investigates why boys dislike literature with female protagonists and how teachers can approach such literature …


The Social Theories Of Charles Dickens: An Analysis Of Victorian Class And Industrialism, Julia Anne Davis May 2015

The Social Theories Of Charles Dickens: An Analysis Of Victorian Class And Industrialism, Julia Anne Davis

Student Research Submissions

This comprehensive analysis of Charles Dickens' social theory looks at Dickens' views on class issues in the paper "Our Great Expectations of the Upper Class" and Dickens' controversial approach to the growing issue of industrialism in the annotated bibliography "A Hard Time for Dickens: Analyzing Dickens' Portrayal of Industrialism in Hard Times." In Dickens' popular 1860 bildungsroman, Great Expectations, Dickens looks at the flawed way that society defines a gentleman, in order to caution against the dangerous societal constructions on class roles. This paper analyzes how Dickens makes these warnings and connects his teachings to issues and prejudices related …


The Nature Of Love, Loss, And The Plague: The Reign Of Filostrato In Boccacio's The Decameron, Jessica Lynn Perez May 2015

The Nature Of Love, Loss, And The Plague: The Reign Of Filostrato In Boccacio's The Decameron, Jessica Lynn Perez

Student Research Submissions

Many scholars have discussed the symbolism of love and loss as well as the imagery of the plague in Giovanni Boccacio's the Decameron. In this paper, I discuss Boccaccio's plague narrative in the introduction to the text. Then, I examines the introduction to Day Four to show the inability of language to hinder nature. I also show how the meaning of Filostrato's name, its correlation to the somber theme that he has chosen, and Pampinea's reaction to Filostrato's theme demonstrate that these are emblematic of loss as part of the human condition. Lastly, I closely analyzes the story of …


Prescribed Fire, Moira J. Mcavoy May 2015

Prescribed Fire, Moira J. Mcavoy

Student Research Submissions

As the culmination of my nonfiction seminar (ENGL 470C) with Professor Colin Rafferty, I chose to explore three disparate, but interwoven, narratives: the death of and delayed grief over my high school mentor; my struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; and, the 2011 wildfire that destroyed much of the Great Dismal Swamp. Through a use of segmentation, lyric language, and a manipulation of tense, I explore the tensions underlying these narratives, namely the idea of futility of preparation and the insistence on destructive cycles which sustain themselves. Ultimately, the essay serves on a rumination not on mortality, but on our cultural …


Take What You Can Carry: A Novella, Maggie Stough Apr 2015

Take What You Can Carry: A Novella, Maggie Stough

Student Research Submissions

They say when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, but what do you do when there's too many dogs to walk, two postmenopausal muggers on the loose, and one unexpected pregnancy? That's for MJ McCormick to find out. Upon taking a pregnancy test in a coffee shop bathroom one afternoon, she soon finds herself grappling with the reality of a strange genetic condition, its religious connotations, and her family's secrets. Take What You Can Carry is a novella written by Maggie Stough for her Creative Writing Fiction Seminar during the Fall 2014 semester.


Still, Emily Claire Humberson Apr 2015

Still, Emily Claire Humberson

Student Research Submissions

Still is a collection of poetry written for the ENGL470 Seminar: Poetry course, taught by Professor Pineda. The word "still" itself has two definitions: not moving or making a sound, and nevertheless, all the same. The collection seeks to quietly reconcile the inevitable end of all things, while still reporting the difficulties of reaching such a conclusion. The collection blends both narrative and lyric elements. The poems straddle the range between surreal and realistic imagery, juxtaposing the visions of dreams with the hardships of reality. Still explores change over time, witnessed in interpersonal relationships and an aging landscape. It works …


Bending Gender: Perversions In Children's Literature, D. Claire Winkler Apr 2015

Bending Gender: Perversions In Children's Literature, D. Claire Winkler

Student Research Submissions

This paper examines the role literary perversions play in children's literature. Specifically, it examines the role they play within the books Charlotte's Web and Bridge to Terabithia. Moreover, it is particularly interested in examining how literary perversions of gender--that is, representations of gender that fall outside of the normative standard of society--effect the narratives and characters of the books in question. The presence of this form of literary perversion in children's books is fascinating because childhood is one of the only times gender fluidity is acceptable. Yet, children are also being prepped for the roles they will be expected …


The Wind Of Madness And The Search For Order Through Disorder In Partition Narratives, Sarah C. Longenderfer Apr 2015

The Wind Of Madness And The Search For Order Through Disorder In Partition Narratives, Sarah C. Longenderfer

Student Research Submissions

By drawing on Partition theory such as Pandey (2001), Daiya (2008), and Butalia (2000) as well as madness theory by Foucault (1971), this paper explores the way madness is described in Partition texts through characters attempting to regain control over their lives and assert their new national identities. Coinciding with decolonization of British rule, the Partition of India (1947) divided India and Pakistan and led to genocidal violence during the migrations of both Hindus and Muslims to their respective countries. I utilize three short stories by Saadat Hassan Manto: "Colder than Ice" (1950), "The Return" (1948), and "Toba Tek Singh" …