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Swimming Lessons: Exploring And Embracing The Graphic Memoir, Sophia Donati

Honors Theses

My thesis is both creative and analytical, delving into the graphic memoir genre and its components. My own graphic memoir is at the heart of this piece: Swimming Lessons, which I wrote and drew over the past four years. The first and main piece of my thesis is the 122-page completed draft of Swimming Lessons which details three significant parts of my life centering on my relationship with swimming. Following my graphic memoir is the analytical reflective essay which details the graphic memoir by situating Swimming Lessons in conversation with other prevalent texts in the genre. This piece centers on …

Don't Say Gay: Love Language In Coriolanus, Patrick Lynch

Dissertations and Theses

Coriolanus is one of Shakespeare's Roman plays, a sub-genre which also includes Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra. The one element these plays have in common is the ideal Roman hero, the civis romanus, who meets a tragic end. These heroes are not generally considered queer as no free Roman male could allow himself, per social indoctrination instilled since youth, to take on a submissive role. However, Caius Martius and the relationship he maintains with Tullus Aufidius could arguably be seen as homoerotic or even, possibly, homosexual. This paper takes a closer look at …

Lxs Caravanerxs And Nonsecular Protest: Rethinking Migrant Family Separation With Un Llanto Colectivo, Marcelle Maese

English: Faculty Scholarship

Written and directed by Celia Herrera Rodríguez and Cherríe Moraga in 2018, "Un Llanto Colectivo: Press Conference & Performa-Protesta" took place in front of ICE headquarters in downtown San Diego (September 15th) and then in front of Otay Mesa Detention Center (September 16th). Envisioned as an act of consciousness raising around family separation, Central American caravans, and the detention-industrial-complex, the flyer invitation read, "[T]his is ceremonial resistance." This writing is an extension of my witness of and participation in Un llanto colectivo. I provide a historical context for lxs caravanerxs, as well as interviews with Maestras Celia and Cherríe. The …

The Worldly Outsider: A Conversation With Ricardo Pau-Llosa, Michael Anthony Hill

Birmingham Poetry Review

pp. 50-64

The Oswald Review Of Undergraduate Research And Criticism In The Discipline Of English: Volume 25, 2023, Douglas Higbee

The Oswald Review: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Criticism in the Discipline of English

No abstract provided.

Living “Long In A Cold Land”: Ecofeminist Perspectives On Environment, Culture, And “Othering” In Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand Of Darkness, Bethany Pineda

The Oswald Review: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Criticism in the Discipline of English

No abstract provided.

Mind The Gap: Eugenics And Animality, Maren Linett

Department of English Faculty Publications

This article argues that eugenics was motivated, in part, by human exceptionalism. It first explores the ways in which eugenics understood nonwhite race, disability, and animality as forces capable of exerting a drag on the forward thrust of eugenic progress. Next, it traces the incoherent discourse about animality within eugenics, demonstrating that while eugenic breeding—eugenic methods—relied on human animality, the fundamental goal of eugenics was to improve human beings by distancing us from that animality. The final part of the essay explores the imbrication of animality, race, and disability in Aldous Huxley’s 1948 novel Ape and Essence, arguing that the …

Making Us New: From Eugenics To Transhumanism In Modernist Culture, Maren Linett

Department of English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

New Possibilities For The Esl Classroom: Toward An Appreciation Of Creative Writing, Alyssa A. Jewell

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article addresses the gap between ESL and creative writing in college-level ESL writing courses. In ESL classrooms, creative writing activities may be implemented sporadically, but rarely, if ever, prove part of a standard, long-term curriculum. However, the benefits of utilizing creative writing in ESL classrooms are manifold. Highlighted here are various short-term studies and personal accounts that examine smaller creative writing assignments used in college ESL classroom settings. Gloria Anzaldúa has provided a philosophical rationale and springboard for engaging in this pedagogy and its potential wider applications, especially through her bi-lingual approach to creative scholarship. Felicia Rose Chavez’s anti-racist …

Haunted Forms: Intermediality, Trauma, And Literary Memory, Gabriella Graceffo

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis considers contemporary literature’s use of intermediality as a method to heighten the affective embodiment of PTSD symptoms represented in text. Using the meaning-making structures of photography and film, the analysis examines how the writing of Georges Bataille, Annie Ernaux, Michael Ondaatje, and Bhanu Kapil use formal implicit reference—the type of intermediality in which the characteristics and semiotics of one medium are translated to another without direct reproduction—to represent both traumatic experiences themselves and the symptom domains of PTSD. Caroline Levine’s work on affordance theory from Forms: Whole, Rhythm, Hierarchy, Network provides a theoretical foundation as to how the …

Bound To A Mast: Matelotage And The Queer Contract In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night And The Tempest, Agnese Palumbo

Comparative Literature M.A. Essays

Analyzing the language of a 1699 matelotage contract and locating that same terminology in Shakespeare’s maritime plays, this essay argues that there is a thematic and genealogical link between the contractual forms of homosocial union that existed during the premodern and early modern periods and the bonds shared by male characters in those plays where a “sea change” occurs. First, the essay delineates a history of matelotage and of contractual bonds; then, it establishes this homosocial dynamic as an additional point of inquiry for male relationships in Shakespeare. Critical attention has largely overlooked this queer contract, and prioritized a focus …

Joining A Conversation Research Project, Nicole Green, Deborah Minter

Department of English: Faculty Publications

Description: This unit is a culminating (end-of-semester) project designed to have students bring together the knowledge they have developed throughout the semester in the service of purposefully joining a real-world conversation, addressing a specific audience (or related set of audiences) who are part of that conversation. This unit has a small number of texts that the whole class reads and/or analyzes together. Instead, a lot of the work happening in this unit is project-driven and process-oriented.

Time Frame: This unit was designed/paced as the last unit of the course (and it followed an earlier unit focused on rhetorical analysis of …

Interlanguage Of Functional Usages Of L2 English Present Continuous Tense By L1 Thai Learners, Pajaree Buasomboon

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study aimed at examining the functional use of English present continuous tense by L1 Thai learners, under the theoretical framework of the Interlanguage Hypothesis (Selinker 1974; Tarone 2006). The functions investigated included instant, continuing, temporary, habitual, and future (Eastwood, 1994). A Grammaticality Judgement Test (GJT), aiming for perception, a Fill-in-the-Blank Test, focusing on production, and interviews were employed to elicit data from the subjects, i.e. 30 L1 Thai learners of the intermediate proficiency level. The results revealed the learners’ low accuracy rates in some functions, from both perception and production tasks. The accuracy rate in the production task was …

Carceral Form And Social Critique In Zadie Smith's Nw, Wesley Hackman

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

The Dissonant History Of Tristan And Isolde, Amanda Persaud

Dissertations and Theses

This essay traces the historical evolution of the story of Tristan and Isolde through three distinct phases, highlighting the transformation of the story from a feudal version to a post-feudal rendition infused with courtly love doctrines and notions of Christian love. It examines the early versions of the story by Béroul and Gottfried von Strassburg and discusses the shift in the portrayal of the relationship between Tristan and Isolde from one that decries disloyalty to one that is more sympathetic to their love. The essay also analyzes Richard Wagner's opera version of the story, which celebrates individual desire over duty …

Fascism In Sci-Fi: "Mobilizing Passions" In Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers, Alton C. Ayers

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis responds to criticism of Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers (1959) as a “fascist” novel by further investigating the claim through a close reading of the novel that applies political theory scholarship on fascism. Chapters I and II introduce the novel along with its general reception and controversy. These chapters consider the accusations of “fascism” given to the novel while at the same time understanding that a clear, exact definition of “fascism” has long been grappled with by scholars since the rise of the regimes in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Chapters III and IV apply political theory to …

Othello As A Political Commentary On "The Myth Of Venice", Alejandro Tamayo

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The premise of this essay is that the ascension of James VI of Scotland to the throne of England in 1603 motivated Shakespeare to give Othello -- performed for the king in 1604-- a setting, topicality, and an embedded political commentary that suited the political ideas and personal interests of the new monarch. After an overview of the possible sources of the play, this essay also reviews some of James's political writings, where he expresses his absolutist philosophy. Although some commentators believe there is a pro-republican subtext in Othello, this essay argues the opposite. It posits that by adding the …

The Effect Of Peer Assessment And Non-Scripted Role-Play Activities On Efl High School Students’ Oral Performance And Motivation, Cheng-Chun Tsai

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The present study focused on investigating the effectiveness of integrating peer assessment (PA) and non-scripted role-play (NSRP) activities on the oral performance and motivation of Thai EFL high school students. Recognizing the importance of developing effective English language communication skills, the research was situated within the context of a public secondary school in Bangkok, targeting Grade 12 students. The study employed a mixed methods approach, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, and centered its course development and NSRP activities on “Research Methods and Presentation Skills”. The nine-week implementation involved pre- and post-speaking tests, training sessions, a speaking rubric, …

The Investigation Of Using Dynamic Assessment To Enhance English Academic Vocabulary Knowledge Of Thai Low Proficiency Undergraduate Students, Duangkamon Klungthong

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Students in university settings require English academic vocabulary to succeed in academic English (Phoocharoensil, 2015). Vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) are tools to help learners acquire and improve vocabulary knowledge (Nation, 2001), and an examination of the dynamic nature of employing VLS should be conducted (Gu, 2020). Dynamic assessment (DA) is an alternative assessment that consistently and systematically combines assessment and instruction to help learners reach their zone of proximal development (ZPD) by using mediation from more competent others (Lantolf & Poehner, 2004). Thus, this study used DA to equip learners with VLS to learn academic vocabulary. The study aimed to …

The Effects Of Speaking Portfolios On Speaking Ability And Interactional Competence Of Thai Efl Undergraduate Students, Pirada Anuwech

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Interactional competence has been in the lime light of L2 instruction and assessment over the recent decades as well as the use of portfolio assessment in language classrooms to provide students with opportunities to monitor their own progress as well as enhancing their language skills. This present study was thus conducted to examine the effects of using speaking portfolios on speaking ability and interactional competence of Thai EFL undergraduate students in order to serve three major objectives as follows: 1) to examine the effects of using speaking portfolios on students’ speaking ability ; 2) to examine the effects of using …

A Comparative Study Of Beliefs, Attitudes, And Motivation Toward English Language Learning Among Thai And Chinese Undergraduates In Different Study Programs, Lu Geng Sun

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study investigated the beliefs, attitudes, and motivations towards English language learning among Thai and Chinese undergraduate students at Dhurakij Pundit University (DPU). Employing a mixed-method approach, this research utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods to discern and compare these students' experiences. The quantitative phase involved 332 students, selected through stratified random sampling, who completed comprehensive questionnaires based on a five-point Likert scale. The qualitative phase included 31 purposefully selected participants from the initial pool for semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed that Chinese undergraduates exhibited a significantly stronger belief orientation, more positive attitudes, and greater motivational drive towards English language learning …

Washback Effects Of Vstep.3-5 On Lecturers' Teaching Practices And Students' Learning Strategies At Tertiary Level In Vietnam, Phuong Ai Ngoc Doan

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The study aimed to explore the washback effects of “Vietnamese Standardized Test of English Proficiency” (VSTEP.3-5) - a locally produced high-stakes test that fulfills the country’s specific requirements – on Vietnamese EFL lecturers’ teaching practices and undergraduate students’ learning strategies. The study utilized a mixed-method design, incorporating three primary research instruments: questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observation. Quantitative data were obtained through questionnaires delivered to 25 lecturers of English and 600 sophomores, Academic year 2022, at Hue University of Foreign Languages and International Studies (HUFLIS), Hue City, Central Vietnam. Qualitative data were collected thanks to in-depth interviews with 8 selected …

Exploring Communication Competence And The Attitudes Of Lower Secondary Efl Students Towards Communication Competence In An Online Project-Based Learning In Myanmar, Khaing Thar Tun

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study explored communication competence, small-group communication competence, and the attitudes of lower secondary EFL students towards communication competence in an online project-based learning approach in Myanmar. The study used a mixed-methods research design that integrated surveys, semi-structured interviews, and observations. The study discovered that lower secondary EFL students' online communication competence was slightly high, approaching sufficing competence, while their small-group communication competence in online PBL learning settings was moderately high, approaching maximizing competence. The study predicted slightly high online communication competence and moderately high small-group communication competence within the parameters of the population. In addition, approximately 30% of lower …

Ruptures In Indentures In Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter Of Maladies And Unaccustomed Earth, Prabal D. Gupta

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Jhumpa Lahiri (1967) is one of the prominent American writers of Bengali descent, contributing mainly to diaspora literature to depict the nuanced aspects of Bengalis in their immigrant lives. Lahiri’s stories in Interpreter of Maladies (1999) and Unaccustomed Earth (2008) illustrate the challenges of the Bengali diaspora due to their indentured identity, which I have used to refer to the Bengali people’s culturally-rooted identity. This study investigates how the diaspora’s native cultural identity fluctuates in connection with the host culture. The research renders a reconfigured image of “home” because the concept of home changes for these people after migration in …

"Why Do You Keep Alone?:" Isolated Women In The Plays Of Shakespeare, Alexus Litchfield

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The works of William Shakespeare have been well explored, but there is a lack of criticism that examines how the depiction of women is shaped by the genre of the play. Linda Bamber is one of the few critics who have explored this connection between gender and genre. However, while she focuses on the plays’ psychological dynamics, I examine the social dynamics between characters in my study of gender and genre. I suggest that, in both tragedy and comedy, isolation is a strong marker of unhappiness for Shakespeare’s female characters. Examining three tragedies, I find that Lady Macbeth, Goneril, Regan, …

Constructing (Un)Situated Women: Situated Knowledges In Arundhati Roy's The God Of Small Things (1997) And Balli K. Jaswal's Erotic Stories For Punjabi Widows (2017), Necole T. Deloach

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This thesis applies Donna Haraway’s concept of “situated knowledges” to postcolonial feminist novels such as Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things and Balli K. Jaswal’s Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows in order to illustrate why there needs to be a new framework for analyzing literary postcolonial women. Despite the applicability of Donna Haraway’s “situated knowledges” to postcolonial feminist literary studies, there has been little research published that analyzes not just the intersection of “situated knowledges” and postcolonial feminist literature, but also the problems that occur when Western scholars approach postcolonial texts without completely acknowledging their own worldview. I argue …

Maternal & Spiritual Healing In J.D. Salinger's Nine Stories, Emily Pittman Hoste

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

After World War II, spiritual and emotional healing was needed in America, despite a dependence upon materialism and conspicuous consumption for success. J.D. Salinger’s short-story cycle, Nine Stories (1953), explores what loss and trauma look like from all sides of war—mother, child, soldier, lover—all are harmed by war. Nine Stories emphasizes the need for nationwide spiritual healing and suggests that mothers offer the necessary antidote to consumeristic America. In fact, eight of Salinger’s Nine Stories employ one of three types of mothers: the self-serving and ineffectual mother; the spiritual, often surrogate maternal guide; and the ideal mother. While the ineffectual …

Contingency As A Barrier To Decolonial Engagement: Listening To Multilingual Writers, Grace Lee-Amuzie

The Writing Center Journal

Based on the concept of transformative listening by García (2017) that views listening as a form of decolonial work that must take place in writing centers, the article examines colonial thinking and contingency as toxic preexisting conditions of writing center ecology that hinder our ability to listen to marginalized multilingual voices. Recognizing the commonality between multilingualism and contingency, both as ignored marginalized intersecting identities in the hierarchy of the racialized and corporatized university system, the article describes the complexity of engaging contingent workers in decolonial work and listening. Further, it argues that contingency creates significant barriers to the type of …

The Pandemic-Uncanny: Self-Estrangement And Environment In Out There And Bliss Montage, Kersten Khaley

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the WHO on March 11, 2020. The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency lasted from January 30, 2020, to May 11, 2023. During this time, abundant literature across disciplines began appearing, assessing the pandemic experience and aftermath. However, there needs to be more investigation and application of the term uncanny in the pandemic experience and literature.

Two short story collections, Out There by Kate Folk and Bliss Montage by Ling Ma, both published in 2022, are works of pandemic literature demonstrating the pandemic's inherent uncanniness and the human experience. The term pandemic-uncanny represents an inherent attachment …

“What Do Any Of Us Really Know About Love:” A Discussion Of Irony Within Raymond Carver’S Short Story Cycle What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Niyonna Johnson

Honors College Theses

With minimalist technique, Raymond Carver manages to accurately depict a depressed working-class America. Current contemporary criticism has focused on the main themes of Carver’s work such as the struggle with identity, alcoholism, disconnection, and domesticity hardships; the one ideal that has seemed to be missing is the irony that lies within the lives of the characters. This paper will analyze, in depth, short stories from a short story cycle of Raymond Carver and detail how their current situations are directly juxtaposed by their occupations and how this benefits the currently discussed themes of his work.