English Language and Literature Commons^™

The Texts We Play: Avatar Creation And Racial Invisibility In Role-Playing Video Games, Daniel L. Archer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project sets out to address problems of racial inequalities in role-playing video games as part of a growing field of video game studies in literary criticism. As these games are an increasingly popular form of entertainment in contemporary culture, their potential effects on players cannot be ignored. If these games continue to reflect society in a way that perpetuates racist stereotypes, social progress will halt. In order to study these games from a literary perspective, then, this project combines both narratological and ludological approaches to video game studies in order to bring about new insight from two strong perspectives. …

A Door Into Ocean’S Nonviolent Resistance As Pragmatic Social Vision, Melodie A. Roschman

Andrews Research Conference

In this essay, I examine how Joan Slonczewski’s 1986 feminist science fiction novel A Door into Ocean outlines a practical program of nonviolent resistance to oppression. Unlike many dystopian and utopian novels, which provide social commentary and offer up ideals but not practical solutions, A Door into Ocean depicts the citizens of a peaceful alien nation, Shora, using various practical tactics of resistance against invading Valan forces that can be applied to contemporary protest and political action. I begin my study by examining the threefold influences on the Shoran’s philosophy of resistance: postcolonial resistance, ecofeminism, and Quaker theology. I then …

If Somebody Knows About That Nose, It’S Not The Forgetful Maid: False Memory And The Environment Of Recall In Tristram Shandy, Kylene Cave

Andrews Research Conference

In his seven-volume novel, In Search of Lost Time (1913-1927), Marcel Proust explores the depths and limitations of involuntary memory and argues that remembrance of the past is inherently altered and unreliable. Referred to by many scholars as Proustian Memory, this theory explicates both the revision that takes place in the act of remembering as well as the inherent fictionality of these recollections. Written, however, nearly two-hundred years earlier, Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy (1759-64) hints at some of the same claims regarding the reconstruction of the past through the act of remembering. Deeply concerned with how and to what extent …

Hansel And Gretel: A Feature And Study On How Fairy Tales Have Changed, Nazeli Ekimyan

Honors Thesis

Once upon a time, the Little Mermaid watched her Prince marry another woman, the Sleeping Beauty was raped by a Prince and woke up from her deep slumber to find out she was the mother of twins, the Little Red Riding Hood never made it out alive, and Goldilocks broke her neck jumping out of a window. This project examines original fairy tales and how they have changed over the years through various adaptations in media and film. The purpose is to find an answer to the question of why these sugarcoated changes have been made over time. In order …

Establishing Human Identity Through Randomly-Generated Lyrics: A Comprehensive Performer's Analysis Of Robert Paterson's Captcha And Its Performance, Kyle Yampiro

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Robert Paterson’s CAPTCHA is a five-song cycle for baritone and piano that comes with some unique challenges from an interpretive standpoint. The text is comprised of CAPTCHAs: two-word phrases originally designed to test human identity versus that of a computer. Nearly every phrase contains a gibberish word and a real word and there is no proper syntax. The composer leaves interpretation open to the performer, which prompts the primary question explored in this document: how can a singer create an effective performance of this piece, given its unique challenges?

This document takes a multidisciplinary approach to discover the range of …

Plays And Punks; Or, Aphra Behn And The Restoration Woman, Amanda J. Thompson

Theses & Honors Papers

In many ways, the Restoration Period in England (1660-1700) is defined by its interest in sexuality. Following the Interregnum (1649-1660), sexuality became a mechanism to distinguish royalists from the “puritanical followers” of Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), particularly through the emergence of the libertine (Novak 56). Libertinism “made the senses a primary source of knowledge,” which challenged “conventional morality” through ritualistic fornication, drunkenness, and adultery (Staves 20). Men, like John Wilmot, the Second Earl of Rochester (1647-1680) wrote bawdy poetry celebrating their sexual conquests. Libertines were also regularly featured in Restoration drama, with playwrights like William Wycherley (1640-1716) and George Etherege (1636-1692) …

Pieces: An Inquiry In Family Stories, Southern Identity And Creative Nonfiction Writing, Morgan Elaine Lundy

Senior Theses

This thesis project is, at heart, a creative nonfiction writing project—and one that evolved and changed over the course of its development. Ultimately it consists of two main parts: a 60 page oral history-based artist book, and an accompanying 14 page process paper which details my creative process as well as challenges, influences and insights. Drawing together smaller stylistic “pieces”—oral stories turned poems, pictures, documents, design elements, my own prose reflections through the repurposed mechanism of photo captions—the final text emerges as both a larger narrative and an embodiment of a culture of language greater than its smaller parts. Logistically, …

How Lust Was Lost: Genre, Identity And The Neglect Of A Pioneering Comics Publication, Robert Hulshof-Schmidt

Student Research Symposium

In 1950, St. John Publications published what is arguably the first graphic novel. It Rhymes With Lust was illustrated by Matt Baker, one of the first and most prolific African Americans in the comics industry. It was written by Arnold Drake – a long-time comics creator – and Leslie Waller – a respected novelist. Despite the talent arrayed and the historical significance of its timing, the novel has been largely ignored by comics scholars, historians, fans, and collectors. This paper carefully lays out the historical context for the publication of this “picture novel,” reviewing the state of the comics industry, …

Regimes Of Prestige And Power: Transnational Authorship And International Acclaim In Rutu Modan's Exit Wounds, Kyle Eveleth

disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory

This essay will examine the reception of Rutu Modan’s international-award-winning graphic novel Exit Wounds (2007) in the massive cultural centers of the United States and France by situating its success within the inter/transnational dynamics of the contemporary comics market, or what James English would term an “economy of prestige.” My essay reconsiders Exit Wounds beyond its popular status as an international phenomenon—that is, one that crosses national borders but which maintains distinctions between those nations it enters and its home state—by considering it a transnational work—one which blurs the lines between nation-states in its form, function, and reception. To do …

At Home In The Free-Market World: The Neoliberal Cosmopolitan Man In Salman Rushdie's Fury, Mary J. Nitsch

disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory

This article offers an exploration of the concept of cosmopolitanism in Salman Rushdie's novel, Fury. Through both Rushdie's and his protagonist's cosmopolitanism, the ambivalence of the position is revealed in particular through the latter's (un)easy access to global commodities and problematic exploitation of women. The economic and gender exploitations oddly converge in Solanka's latest creative project, the success of which glosses over the problematics of class and gender privilege. Ultimately, the protagonist’s cosmopolitanism truly impedes any critique cosmopolitanism might afford: he is readily swept up in the rising tide of the 90s financial boom and the frequently misogynist sexuality …

A Linguistic Comparison: Stress-Timed And Syllable-Timed Languages And Their Impact On Second Language Acquisition, Madeline M. Conlen

Honors College Theses

Acquisition of a second language can be a challenging task because no two languages are alike in their structure, syllabification, pronunciation, rhythm, etc. Also, after speaking one language for any amount of time, the speaker becomes accustomed to the specific qualities of that language; therefore, learning to speak another language takes extra effort because it is essentially rewiring the brain to think differently in many ways. One important element of language is prosody, or the patterns of stress and intonation in language (Dilley et al 237). The subsector of prosody that is to be studied is rhythm, explicitly isochrony and …

The Museum Of Small Things: Original Poems And Rationale, Domonique Williams

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This independent study consists of an original children's collection of poems and an accompanying rationale. In addition to the poems, this study includes an examination of child development theories, the benefits of inquiry based teaching and learning, and makes a case for the value of family, museum, and school relationships.

Buzz Jones, Professor Of Music, Musselman Library, John William Jones

Next Page

In this new Next Page column Sunderman Conservatory of Music Professor and composer Buzz Jones explains how reading poetry and plays fires his creative instincts and tells us the last book that made him laugh out loud.

Holy Cow! An Art Show About Puns, Brad Becker

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Using Wordless Picture Books With The Language Experience Approach: A Method For Teaching Pre-Emergent And At-Risk Readers, Rachel Luczkowski

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Proposes using wordless picture books in conjunction with Roach Van Allen's Language Experience Approach as a method for teaching pre-emergent and at-risk readers. The original work that comprises the bulk of this study is a wordless picture book of Aesop's fable, The Ant and the Grasshopper. The author describes the developmental and artistic considerations taken during the creation of the book as well as potential classroom applications for its use.

My Backpack : A Children's Book About Separation, Susan B. Bloch

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This thesis opens with a copy of "My Backpack," a fictional book based on actual events to be read to children between the ages of three and four years prior to their entry to preschool and as a support during the separation process during the first weeks and months of school. The author then continues with an explanation of the genesis of the book, a developmental section incorporating theorists' views on separation for children ages 3 and 4, children's reactions and responses to the book, and a review of other valuable books on separation.

Frames: A Children's Bibliotherapeutic Tool For Opening Conversations About Divorce, Casey Spellman

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Offers a new resource for children experiencing divorce in the form of a wordless picture book, so that children can openly discuss their personal understanding of divorce rather than being presented with someone else's story.

The World Of The Cat's Table: Literature Through Production Design Analysis, Andrea J. Johnson

Senior Honors Projects

The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje is a rich piece of literature that has a diverse set of characters confined to one pivotal location, a ship. Just as the novel builds a world around its characters, in this project I attempted to build a space around immersive design choices.

Production Design is a visual response to analytic reading. By taking a written piece or concept and creating the physical/visual atmosphere for the work, a production designer’s job is to create the overall look and tone of a creative production, be it for a film, play, or museum space. This is …

Between Authenticity And The Postracial: Cultural Trafficking And Identity In Colson Whitehead's Sag Harbor And Percival Everett's Erasure, Jonathan Naumowicz

Master’s Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Liberating Irony: Investigating Postmodern Techniques In David Foster Wallace's Short Fiction, Timothy Urban

Master’s Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.