Rhetoric and Composition Commons^™

Beyond Me: Class, Sexuality, And The Work Of The Autobiographical Fragments Of Audre Lorde, Dorothy Allison, And Eileen Myles, Erin E. Heiser

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation looks at what I am calling the “autobiographical fragments” of three working-class, lesbian (or queer) authors: Audre Lorde, Dorothy Allison, and Eileen Myles whose writing is stylistically quite different from one another’s, but who nonetheless have all produced bodies of work that represent bits of their lives over and over and in different ways, sometimes overlapping in time and narrative detail. While there are certainly other writers whose work shares many of the same characteristics, I argue that the autobiographical fragment has special significance for marginalized subjects. Woven throughout the dissertation are many of my own autobiographical fragments …

Defying Normativity: Reclaiming A Narrative Of Queer Resistance In Young Adult Literature, Christopher Morabito

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

At the heart of this dissertation lies a single question: how Queer is Queer Young Adult Literature? As many scholars have argued, Queerness is, in many ways, a literacy, and literature is one of the greatest sponsors of Queer Literacy. While there is certainly no one comprehensive definition of what it means to be queer, it is also true that the general understanding of queerness has changed quite drastically in the last few decades. What was once used as a term to describe someone who is outside of social conventions has slowly begun to lose its sense of “otherness,” and …

Language And The Lord Of The Rings: The Expansion Of A Universe, Thomas Beutz

The Criterion

Tommy Beutz’s essay, “Language and The Lord of the Rings: The Expansion of a Universe” explores J.R.R. Tolkien’s world-building through the lens of linguistics. Beutz argues that Tolkien’s creation of Middle-Earth, anchored in his invented languages, extends beyond the bounds of the text. Drawing on Tolkien’s background as a philologist, Beutz contends that the languages of Middle-Earth are not mere literary devices but rather the foundation of its entire mythology. By examining linguistic markers embedded in the primary text, Beutz reveals how Tolkien hints at a larger world outside the narrative. Through an analysis of historical accounts and characters’ …

Milton’S Exploration Of The Demonic Consciousness, Niall Mckenna

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

The Search For Worth: How Relationship Conflicts Reveal The Universal Nature Of Insecurity, Grace C. Conroy

The Criterion

Since the beginning of time, romantic relationships and their dynamics have taken center stage in media--whether in books, plays, or other forms of literature. In this essay, a comparison of couples' relationships in James Joyce's "The Dead" and Marina Carr's play "The Mai" reveals the core human element of insecurity, prevalent in moments of marital conflict.

The Configuration Of Society In "The Dispossessed" And "Blindness", Patrick Ryan

The Criterion

In both Ursula K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed and José Saramago’s Blindness, character’s are posited into scenarios where the structure of society is either foreign, dilapidated, or outright missing. This essay aims to rationalize why the authors arranged their respective worlds this way, and illuminate points of comparison and contrast between the two works. To achieve this goal, this essay specifically analyzes the types of societies seen within the two novels, and what role individual characters have in shaping them. Additionally, through a supplementary examination of related secondary sources, this essay hopes to answer fundamental questions about the portrayal …

“No Friend Like A Sister”: Christina Rossetti’S Fantastic Departure From Pre-Raphaelite Poetics And Art In “Goblin Market”, Anna M. Lee

The Criterion

Christina Rossetti’s poetics and artistic vision in her seminal poem, “Goblin Market,” have yielded a range of critical theories, from positions on sisterhood to the ambiguous position of capitalist markets. While considering the socioeconomic and cultural context behind the poem’s development and resonance among contemporary feminist movements, readers also ought to consider the actual “goblin brotherhood” — the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB) — behind Rossetti’s authorial ventures. This paper argues that Rossetti’s fantastical methods draw influence from and participate in the PRB’s poetics and artistic traditions, while subverting the same conventions within a feminist paradigm. Rossetti not only envisions a homosocial …

Downfall To Friendliness?: Analyzing Common Tropes In The Boy Who Loved Too Much, Heather Paglia

The Criterion

One of the most commonly held misconceptions regarding the disabled population is that living with any disability automatically decreases the quality of life. It is assumed that any deviation from society’s established norm for the perfect brain and body must be a burden. Both the physical and social implications associated with disability have forged in the minds of many the idea that a disabled life could not possibly be a good life. This overarching negativity, however, is turned on its head when considering Williams Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder more accurately described as happy syndrome. This so-called disability is not …

The Facade Of Names In Benjamin Clark’S “The Emigrant”, Brad Donegan

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

Eliot’S Raid On The Ineffable, Louie Alexandris

The Criterion

In the poem Four Quartets, T.S Eliot employs a fragmentary form to dramatize the disjointed continuity of time. Within the poem though, the fluctuation or fragmentation of the form is also in service to the whole by showing the unending exploration of man to reach the “still point” of divine contemplation. For Eliot, the fragmentary nature of the form in Four Quartets is in service to the whole, because the continual fluctuation of musicality embodies a journey or exploration for the “still point” of the world to achieve true contemplation. In that sense, Eliot’s poem is an artistic success, …

Moving “Passed” Life For Death, Gwyneth Morrissey

The Criterion

The paper Moving “Passed” Life for Death explores Emily Dickinson's poem #479, "Because I could not stop for Death," focusing on the theme of movement expressed through the word "passed." It analyzes the contradictory qualities of movement and stopping and how they interplay. At the same time, it looks into how the poem's periodic stopping points highlight the natural cycle of life and death, challenging the conventional and fearful understanding of dying. Dickinson's use of "passed" ultimately alludes to the persistence of life after death, altering readers' perceptions of mortality. The essay presents an intriguing interpretation of life, death, and …

The Criterion (2024)

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

Locked-In Learning: Honorlock And Surveillance Capitalism In The First Year Writing Department, Tehyah Carver

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This paper explores the impact of implementing the proctoring software Honorlock in the collegiate writing classroom. Through a framework inspired by Shoshana Zuboff’s The Age of Surveillance Capitalism and Foucault’s Discipline and Punish, the investigation analyzes the efficacy of Honorlock’s attempts to reduce plagiarism and student test-taking anxiety when applied to preliminary writing assessments in Seton Hall University’s First Year Writing program. With professor interviews, surveys, and observations, the paper exposes the flaws of Honorlock’s promise of student empowerment and honesty by dissecting the punitive language used in their marketing material to potential and current consumers, administrators and professors. …

What Counts As Legitimate College Writing? An Exploration Of Knowledge Structures In Written Feedback, Miriam Moore

Journal of Response to Writing

Research in feedback literacy (Carless & Boud, 2018; Molloy, Boud, & Henderson, 2020; Yu & Liu, 2021; Zhang & Mao, 2023) explores student use of written feedback and barriers to feedback uptake; the role of faculty in designing contextually appropriate feedback has been termed teacher feedback literacy (Carless & Winstone, 2023). When feedback does not achieve desired results, faculty must evaluate their feedback practices; they may be unaware of underlying features that hinder feedback effectiveness. In this paper, a long-time instructor of first-year college composition (FYC) interrogates her own feedback practices using tools from the specialization dimension of Legitimation Code …

Generous Audience, Activist, Evaluator: Tutor-Teachers’ Knowledge, Practices, And Values For Response To Writing, Carolyn Wisniewski

Journal of Response to Writing

The relationship between tutoring and teaching has been a recurrent topic of interest among writing center directors and writing program administrators. While scholarship agrees tutoring experience aids composition teachers with implementing process pedagogy and fostering a collaborative classroom, the relationship between tutoring and assessment of student writing is less clear. This qualitative study uses interviews with eight graduate teaching assistants with tutoring experience to examine how they transfer and juxtapose knowledge, practices, and values for response between the writing center and classroom. Like previous scholarship, this research finds writing center tutoring contributes to teachers’ enactment of constructivist, student-centered pedagogy and …

A Defense Of The Neronic Date Of The Book Of Revelation, Jason L. Quintern

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There are two primary dates for Revelation that are generally accepted: the early or Neronic date (A.D. 64-68) and the late or Domitianic date (A.D. 95-96). In this dissertation, the early date of the book of Revelation is defended against the commonly accepted late date. The study engages with two major texts: Kenneth L. Gentry Jr.’s Before Jerusalem Fell, supporting the Neronic date, and Mark L. Hitchcock’s dissertation “A Defense of the Domitianic Date of the Book of Revelation,” defending the Domitianic date. This present study discusses the central arguments of both Gentry and Hitchcock as it defends the Neronic …

More Than A Punchline: A Comparative Analysis Of Diversity In Dropout.Tv & Collegehumor, Alexander Gluchowski

Student Research Submissions

This paper examines the evolution of digital comedy through a comparative analysis of CollegeHumor and its offshoot, Dropout.tv, focusing on how each platform has approached the portrayal of diversity and inclusion. Utilizing a qualitative content analysis, the study contrasts selected episodes from both platforms to explore shifts in the representation of queer and POC comedians, and the thematic treatment of identity issues. The findings reveal that Dropout.tv significantly advances the inclusivity of comedic content, moving beyond CollegeHumor’s earlier reliance on stereotypical and controversial humor. This shift not only reflects changes in contemporary comedy but also highlights Dropout.tv's commitment to fostering …

Texas Gothic, Taryn Uribe Turner

Art Theses and Dissertations

The emotional and the ecological combine to create my body of work titled, “Texas Gothic.” My thesis tells the stories of my oil paintings created through personal connections to a variety of landscapes, animals and experiences that share the setting of Texas.

Desire and regret take shape as animals and figures not fully formed or real. Unreliable narratives of the past are entangled with present tensions to create a painting that haunts and stalks.

And yet, there is hope!

Through nostalgia and sweetness and burdens, my paintings confront a shrouded future. The contradictions of time passing are explored in my …

Finding Focus: Authentic Inquiry And Composition In The Third Space, Noah Brewer

Dissertations

This research seeks to better understand the attitudes and dispositions of advanced-level English Language Arts students toward the activities of academic research and writing, and to explore the ways that critical pedagogies focused on authentic inquiry and composition interact with these attitudes. The project draws upon research in student motivation, sociocultural definitions of literacy, and theories of hybrid identity in order to discover the potential impact of engaging students in critical reflection on their own meaning-making practices, and of curricular and pedagogical choices aimed at making the lessons of the classroom more relevant to the demands of real-world literacy practices …

The Unseen Pen: The Hidden History Of Black Women Writers During The Civil Rights Movement, Serenity Hill

Master's Theses

As taught in standard high-school and general educational courses, integration was a primary goal of the Civil Rights Movement; however, when this era is discussed in classrooms, by historians, and in textbooks there are key perspectives and acknowledgements that are less recognized. The visibility of the Black women who pushed forward the movement is often reduced, overlooked, or overshadowed because of the more celebrated contributions of their male counterparts. Focusing on an era before the internet, with the eloquent writing of activists like Dr. King memorialized, this project aims to showcase how changes in course curriculum can shed light on …