English Language and Literature Commons^™

Engl 426: Editing And Production Workshop (Syllabus), Lytton Smith Ph.D.

School of Arts & Sciences

This syllabus was developed by SUNY Geneseo Professor Lytton Smith for the fall 2026 semester.

Course Learning Outcomes

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of editing practices, including manuscript review and selection, and correspondence with contributors.
2. Students will show proficiency at a variety of practical aspects of publishing such as copyediting, proofreading, layout, creating advertising, and soliciting work from SUNY writers and artists.
3. Students will demonstrate knowledge of contemporary literary journals.
4. Students will show ability to work collaboratively.

The Fragmentation Of Helcar: A Paratethyan Model For Rhûn, Núrnen And The Dead Marshes, Federico Manzoni

Journal of Tolkien Research

This work proposes a conjectural paleogeographic model linking the Sea of Rhûn, Núrnen and the Dead Marshes to the former Sea of Helcar. Beginning from Christopher Tolkien's suggestion that Rhûn may represent Helcar ``vastly shrunken,'' the study combines textual evidence, the Ambarkanta, Fonstad's cartographic reconstructions, and terrestrial analogues drawn from the evolution of the Paratethys, the Messinian Salinity Crisis and other endorheic basins. Helcar is interpreted not merely as an isolated body of deep water but as the centre of a broader hydrological province subsequently partitioned by relief change, sedimentary infilling, basin isolation and drainage reorganization. Within this model, Rhûn …

Breaking Free From Gender Norms: Adolescent Constructions Of Femininity Through The Patriarchy And High School Musical, Ina Tolentino

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Ina is a double major in nursing and psychology from Elk Grove, CA. Ina “always had trouble embracing myself with the way masculinity and femininity are pitted against each other” and found meaning in writing this essay, as they believe “there’s so much value in painting ourselves however we want … regardless of the expectations of gendered roles.” As a non-binary individual, Ina feels that writing this piece was a healing experience and a reminder to embrace all aspects of who they are. They love reading and writing, which has led to a bedroom flooded with different kinds of books. …

Rage Against The Machine: How Screen Time Is Impairing Our Intelligence And What We Can Do About It, Jillian Steeves

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Jillian is a history major from Danvers, MA. Her essay was inspired by an article she read in her composition class about how screens could damage cognitive functioning, and she thinks that “for a lot of people, myself included, overindulgence in tech is increasingly affecting our quality of life.” Jillian noted the irony of a history major writing about a current topic, but she “found there to be a lot of overlap between my history studies and the topic of my essay,” and she was able to “take many of the skills I’ve picked up as a historian — research, …

The Brain, The Block, The Bummed Writer, Karina Silva

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Karina is a psychology major with a biology minor from Winthrop, MA. Karina says that writer’s block has “always been an obstacle for me, especially whenever I have to write papers for classes.” She notes that this paper was one of the first that she felt passionate about writing, and she feels that “researching the neurology behind writer’s block” enabled her to “further appreciate the wonders of the brain” and “develop an interest in research surrounding neuroscience and psychology.” Karina is a Brazilian-American who speaks Portuguese as well as English. Her hobbies include drawing, and she notes that art helps …

Fake News’ Negation Of A Useful Education, Vance Naftal

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Vance is an international relations Major from Baltimore, MD. Vance chose to write about the negative effects that misleading/false news stories can have on an individual, especially when in college, because he “sees society moving farther and farther away from truth and leaning more into sentiments based on emotions — which is directly at odds with the point of a higher education.” Vance started college at 16 years old. At 17, he decided to take a gap year (which became a gap of 4 years) to enter the workforce. At 21, he found himself yearning to be a part of …

Your Teachers Are Bullshitting You, Kylie Medeiros

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Kylie is a biology major from Fairhaven, MA. Because she was specifically told for this assignment that students “couldn’t bullshit this essay,” she was reminded of all the times throughout her academic career when other teachers said things of a similar nature. “Being short on time, and desperately in need of a research topic,” she found that it would be “incredibly ironic to bullshit my paper in the form of a research on the topic of BS itself.” While writing her essay Kylie found it interesting how much creative freedom she was given to research and write about something she …

Moral Punishment, Anna Krasnoslobodtseva

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Anna is a biochemistry major from Milton, MA. She decided to write about the prison system and punishment because of conversations about morality during her Composition II class, and because she believes “the prison system in the United States is often discriminatory and does not work toward the rehabilitation of people like it should.” She felt that writing this was “more free than a traditional structured high school essay” and that it “involved a lot of learning, by means of stepping outside of what I am comfortable with writing and exploring new research methods, going to the library, and taking …

What’S In A Name?: A Discussion Of The Nature Of Bilingual Education In The United States, Emma Kennedy

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Emma is a Latin American and Iberian Studies major with a minor in Secondary Education from Ipswich, MA. She has always been intrigued by languages, language barriers, and language learning throughout her studies. She was intrigued to “read about people who have the opposite perspective, who oppose multilingual education, and want their children to focus on perfecting their English.” Emma wants to be a teacher, focusing on multilingual students. She feels that her paper’s connection to her career “made the researching and writing process feel more interesting and relevant to her real life.” Emma enjoys reading and uses it as …

Textism And The Shift In English Writing, Alex Der-Kazaryan

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Alex is a management major with a concentration in accounting from Belmont, MA. While writing this essay, Alex wanted to investigate “how our writing has evolved over the last thirty years or so.” Noticing a “retraction of socialization from other people,” since we introduced ourselves to new technologies, Alex focused this essay on the common complaint that “texting has only done damage to formal writing.” Alex has also come to enjoy writing as a way of self-expression and writes that it “can now be used in a way that benefits me.” Alex is also a huge history buff and has …

Race And Rhetoric: Examining How The Audience’S Race Creates Rhetorical Constraints And Influences Rhetoric, Quinn Gabrielle Cantor

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Quinn is a mathematics major living in Jamaica Plain, MA, but born in the Philippines. Quinn rhetorically analyzes Linda Villarosa’s essay from the 1619 Project by The New York Times by investigating how Villarosa’s “intended audience and purpose ultimately culminated into her published essay.” Quinn says her analysis is supported both by the rhetorical knowledge gained in her Composition I course and by a history class she took in high school that investigated race relations and discrimination. Quinn’s experiences as a student in both the Philippines and the United States has made her “deeply care about the importance of a …

2022 Editor's Introduction, Lauren M. Bowen

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

No abstract provided.

Moral Ecology In Shakespeare's Tragedies: Nature, Animals, And Conscience As Ethical Agents In Hamlet, Macbeth, And King Lear, Md. Abu Bakkar

Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts

Shakespeare's tragedies repeatedly dramatize a universe in which moral transgression produces consequences that extend beyond individual psychology to affect society, nature, and the non-human world. This study examines how Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear construct a system of moral ecology, understood as a framework of ethical causality in which human actions generate interconnected consequences across psychological, social, and natural orders. Using qualitative close reading informed by moral criticism, ecocriticism, animal studies, and early modern cosmology, the study analyzes selected passages representing natural disturbance, animal imagery, and conscience as forms of ethical response. The findings show that the three …

Progress, Poetry, And Peace: Romantic Ideals And The Present Day, Kristen Dawn Morgan Hess

Masters Theses

In the busy, technologized, and mechanized life that most people live today, it can be difficult to find true rest, comfort, and peace because the very technology and machinery that is marketed as providing these 21st-century amenities often fall short in their delivery. Taking a look backward at the Romantic era ideals presented in the poetry of William Wordsworth can offer people today the chance to gradually improve their mental, physical, and emotional health by slowing down, minimalizing, and moderating their lifestyles. This thesis talks about the historical background of three of Wordsworth’s poems— “Lines Written in Early Spring,” “The …

How The African American Contribution To Early American Literature Aided In Shaping The American Literary Identity, Jennifer E. Thompson

Masters Theses

This study argues that Jupiter Hammon’s early African American literature actively helped shape American literary identity rather than just mirroring it. By blending Christian morality with human rights, Hammon challenged Eurocentric narratives, validated Black humanity, and established a foundational tradition for anti-slavery writing. Traditional theories often contest this national inclusion through critical viewpoints. These views treat slavery as a distinct model, arguing that these texts represent separate responses to bondage rather than unified contributions to a shared national canon. This research redefines the American literary canon by showing how Hammon's historic publications dismantled eighteenth-century racist ideals about intellectual capacity. His …

Finding The Numinous: An Ecocritical Look At “Dune” And “The Lord Of The Rings” (2025), By Willow Wilson Dipasquale, Douglas Charles Kane

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Douglas Charles Kane, of Finding the Numinous: An Ecocritical Look at “Dune” and “The Lord of the Rings” (2025), by Willow Wilson DiPasquale

It's Your Voice: Why Not Use It?, Tyler Tran

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Tyler is an Accounting and Finance major from Stoughton, MA. Tyler felt a personal connection to the topic of his essay as he “has always been conscious of my voice in previous writing assignments, but it wasn’t until English 101 and 102 that I purposefully used my own voice in my essays.” This made Tyler want to explore the topic of “self-censorship” of students when writing. He admits that “undergoing the writing process in a remote setting was very new, but I think it helped emphasize the importance of really writing with my own voice.” While writing this essay, Tyler …

Using A Narrative Approach To Cater To Multilingual Student Writers, Hadassa Sossou

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Hadassa is a Biochemistry major from Brockton, MA. She is multilingual but does not consider herself a “multilingual student” since her primary language is English. She speaks four languages and is now learning Japanese. This semester, Hadassa met and befriended many international and ESL students at the university. She states that “after I met them, I realized that they had a lot of struggles with writing in the classroom that I never considered. So, during my research for this essay, I wanted to learn more about what could cause difficulty and how that could be resolved.” Hadassa also has learned …

Texts In Conflict, Adia Samba-Quee

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Adia is a Political Science Major with a Minor in Africana Studies from Springfield, MA. In writing this essay, Adia was able to “reflect on my relation with writing and how I am perceived as an individual through my writing. I consider letting go of my prideful and embarrassing ego a huge factor in my development.” Like many students, Adia felt the remote learning semesters to be “historically bad on my mental health.” Efforts and interest in school fluctuated wildly and “I didn’t think I’d made much of an impact on my professors this year.” But, Adia is “learning a …

Paradise Found? Orality In The Composition Process, Alexander Quadros

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Alex is an undecided major from Chelmsford, MA, who is interested in International Relations, English, and Economics. Alex said this topic “thoroughly piqued my curiosity” and he “wondered whether my recurrent frustrations with procrastination of writing assignments was a symptom of ‘thinker’s block,’ or rather the usual culprit of ‘writer’s block.’ This distinction became important to him as he realized “utilizing orality could spur the composition process.” Alex is a very family-oriented person and is passionate about helping others. His ideal day would be hiking with friends while listening to the Rolling Stones and then playing basketball all night long. …