English Language and Literature Commons^™

Miracle, Gabrielle Sullivan

Honors College Theses

This original, speculative fiction novella follows Miracle Beckett, a young woman raised on a dying, climate-change ravaged Earth in an isolated religious cult. While she eventually escapes, she finds herself trapped in another deathtrap, abandoned by her crewmates on a spaceship that is rapidly running out of air. Struggling to reconcile her past with her present and her imminent death, Mira cannot avoid remembering everything she has tried to leave behind.

Engaging with sexual identity, religious trauma, and the difficulty found in reconciling the complexities of a left-behind existence, Miracle highlights the power of memory, friendship, and knowledge in guiding …

“An Oak In A Flower-Pot”: The Brontë Sisters’ Depictions Of Female Agency During The Victorian Era, Jessica Dunn

Honors Theses

This thesis discusses the most popular novels written by the Brontë sisters – Charlotte’s Jane Eyre, Emily’s Wuthering Heights, and Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – in the context of the overbearing patriarchal culture of the Victorian era, specifically through the characterization of feminine agency displayed in each novel. By engaging with the novels as a trinity, this thesis uniquely reveals the more nuanced aspects of the novels through the sisters’ respective depictions of female agency following the lives of their respective protagonists – Jane Eyre, Catherine Earnshaw, and Helen Graham. Additionally, this thesis seeks to engage in conversation …

Grappling With The Aftereffects Of Modernism In American Literature And Culture: Spiritual, Political, And Ecological, Joseph Neary

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

In this portfolio, Joe Neary examines various texts within contemporary American culture, including David Foster Wallace’s short story, “Good Old Neon,” Harmony Korine’s film, Spring Breakers, Richard Powers’ novel, The Overstory, and Bruce Holsinger’s book of criticism, Neomedievalism, Neoconservatism, and the War on Terror.

Final Master's Portfolio, Josue Salas

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

Josue J. Salas' Master's Portfolio

Why Myth Matters: The Value Of The Female Voice In Greek Mythology, Kylie Rogers

Honors Theses

In this thesis I will primarily examine how the retellings of Greek myths from the female perspective provide insight into the importance of myth and why these stories are still relevant today. Specifically, I will examine three major figures: Circe in Madeline Miller’s Circe, Penelope in Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, and Medusa in Marjorie Garber’s The Medusa Reader, along with a few other minor characters featured in Nina MacLaughlin’s Wake, Siren. By studying the fresh perspectives provided by the narration and journeys of these characters and connecting them to plights and experiences that are currently affecting women as evidenced by …

In The Spirit Of St. Peter Claver: Social Justice And Black Catholicism In San Antonio, Philip Lampe Ph.D.

Verbum Incarnatum: An Academic Journal of Social Justice

The editors want to take the space reserved for the abstract to say that this is the final piece of research that Phil Lampe completed before his passing. We publish it here posthumously in tribute to Phil’s tireless work for social justice, as editor of Verbum Incarnatum, as researcher of social-justice efforts in South Texas and Mexico, and as an educator committed to inspiring students to pursue justice in their lives outside the academy.

Social Justice In The Cigar Factory: The Finck Cigar Strikes, 1933-1935, Roger Barnes

Verbum Incarnatum: An Academic Journal of Social Justice

No abstract provided.

A Participatory Action Research Study Of Police Interviewing Following Crisis Intervention Team Training, Maria Felix-Ortiz, Catherine Steele, Marisa Deguzman, Georgen Guerrero, Melissa Graham

Verbum Incarnatum: An Academic Journal of Social Justice

Estimates vary, but a third to one half of individuals shot and killed by police have a mental illness or disability, and many who are taken into custody languish in county jails where no treatment for their illness is available. The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model is an increasingly important adjunct to U.S. police training because it de-escalates tense situations, diverts people with mental illness away from jail and into treatment, and can reduce the risk of civilian deaths during a police encounter. As such, it is a strategy for reducing the social injustice of incarceration or deaths of people …

Promises Endure: Historical Views Of Nursing Faculty, Laura R. Muñoz

Verbum Incarnatum: An Academic Journal of Social Justice

Lessons learned from the history of an organization are valuable. This is especially true for an organization with the legacy held by the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions at the University of the Incarnate Word. Memories recounted by nursing faculty were collected to enhance information provided in the two-volume chronicle written by Sister Patrice Slattery in 1995 entitled, “Promises to Keep” and the last history of the school, “The Story of One School of Nursing” written by Sister Charles Marie Frank in 1976.

Every Student Is A Writer: Building Confidence Through Tutoring Sessions, Sandra Edwards

Tutor's Column

Students often feel inadequate as a writer when entering a tutoring session. Tutors can instill confidence in the student by praising what they are doing well. They can also let the student express their ideas in the session, then the tutor and student can build off of those ideas together. Overall, the tutor can help the student see themselves as a writer rather than someone who writes, which will give the student conviction beyond the sphere of the classroom.

Feminine Agency In Shakespeare's The Merchant Of Venice And Antony And Cleopatra, Grace Gronowski

Conspectus Borealis

No abstract provided.

Shakespeare And The Chronicles: The Test Case Of Richard Ii, Brandon Coimbra

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Shakespeare wrote most of what we know as his English history plays rather early in his career. He was skilled at making the genre more than a copy of the published historical documents and chronicles of his day. Scholarship has long recognized his favorite sources and has established a solid collection of the material he used to bring his country’s past to life on stage. There are many scholarly studies of the influence of Froissart’s, Holinshed’s, Hall’s and Stow’s Chronicles, among others, and they usually describe what Shakespeare borrowed or sometimes even altered from those sources. What they do …

Covering The Basics: The Importance Of A Good Layout And Strong Thesis, Adam Robinson

Tutor's Column

Thesis writing is key to tutoring. A strong thesis performs numerous functions: covering smaller concerns, teaching writers how to structure their paper, and giving a strong layout. Using a focus on thesis teaching makes the tutoring session easier and more efficient for both the tutor and client too.

Make Listening Visible, Carson Brown

Tutor's Column

Online tutoring can make it hard to feel like tutors are engaging with students and actually helping them. Writing consultants can avoid feeling this way by showing the student they are actively listening. This paper will highlight some of the ways one can demonstrate active listening through backchanneling, gaze, and rephrasing student’s words. Improving active listening skills is a great way to foster engagement from the student and have more fulfilling sessions.

Let Me Write That Down: Tutoring Session Notes, Emma Lundgreen

Tutor's Column

This essay reviews the importance of tutor session notes. It examines different note-taking styles, the purpose behind each, and how those factors are correlated. It also investigates session notes as organizational narratives, wherein the appointment is recorded for the benefit of students, tutors, and administrators.

Soft Skills: The Importance Of Empathy In An Online Writing Center Appointment, Halli Bleak

Tutor's Column

Writing center tutors must practice being empathetic with the students they work with. Students tend to feel their writing is a representation of their worth. As tutors, especially in the online setting, we must find ways to connect with students as collaborators, learners, and fellow writers. This requires that we remember that the student and their wellbeing are more important than the writing. This also means that we should focus on the writer and their development over the expectations we or their professors may hold. Empathy is an important soft skill that we must practice, develop, and put to use …

Scaffolding In Online Tutoring: Addressing The Issue Of Productivity, Nathan Franson

Tutor's Column

The expanding online tutoring format poses unique challenges when attempting to maximize communication and productivity in a 20–25-minute writing center session. Relatively recent literature has revealed that discontented students have reported in feedback surveys that their sessions felt unhelpful or fruitless. This situation has been termed: "non-productive non-directivity,” and it may be attributed to an over-reliance on open-ended questions. It is of interest to determine whether this is truly helping students in online settings. While tutoring roles have not changed, the impersonal nature of an online session requires a more perceptive approach to tutoring: recognizing that a student may need …

Pick Your Poison: Fall Down A Flight Of Stairs Or Have Your Qualifications Questioned, Aubrey Hampton

Tutor's Column

In the writing center, self-confidence is essential. Students respect and trust the advice of a tutor who can exhibit confidence in themselves. Self-confidence in tutoring can be derived from personal experience as well as from observations of the methods of other fellow tutors. Peer observations provide an opportunity for tutors to learn additional skills, and to gain confidence in themselves.

Independence And Interdependence In The Writing Center, Candace Heki

Tutor's Column

The writing center should be a space where we, as tutors, promote both independence and interdependence. We should strive to help students improve their skills, so they have the confidence to move forward with their paper and future papers on their own. We should also encourage interdependence through collaboration with the writing center. Students can benefit from their tutor offering unique perspectives and a place where the writer can talk through their ideas. Tutors need to be available to meet students’ individual needs by offering a balance between our focuses on self-sufficiency and collaboration.

The Empathetic Tutor, Kristina Carter

Tutor's Column

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, writing center tutoring moved online, and fewer social interactions occurred. This issue led to researching how to empathize with people, and specifically students in a virtual setting. Many people have emphasized the importance of focusing on the student and their individual needs. There has also been a shift in the focus of being a compassionate listener and ally to students. This essay compiles research from various academic journals, websites that list essential job skills, and news articles on empathy. This paper also researches standard methods used to implement empathy and how this looks in the …