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"Things That Were, Things That Are, And Things That Yet May Be": The Matter Of Time In The Faërie Realms Of Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings, Noelia Ramos

Journal of Tolkien Research

Tolkien’s feelings and relationship to Celtic themes are more nuanced than a simple binary of aversion versus passion. As he professed to Stanley Unwin—"Needless to say they are not Celtic!" (Letters #19)—his stance encompassed both resistance and fascination. His essay On Fairy-Stories, originally delivered as the Andrew Lang Lecture in 1939, can be seen as an early foundation for concepts later developed in The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955). In this context, the concept of fiction and the secondary world—particularly regarding the nature of time—is notably prominent, drawing parallels to the Celtic Otherworld.

This study aims to analyze …

My Achilles Years., Ash William Bittner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a historically and rhetorically grounded creative project exploring the traumas of war. This project is divided into three broad chapters, each using a different (and relevant) approach to cover the content contained within that chapter. The first chapter relies on that historical grounding, exploring the history of PTSD as it is currently understood, before exploring ancient Greek poetry and theater and both the historical and military contexts for each, before finally discussing modern warfare and the “Forever War” of the American War on Terror that lasted for nineteen years. With the historical grounding set, it moves into …

The Substance Of Reality: Moral Perfectionism In Shakespeare's Hamlet., David Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through a selection of and close reading of key passages, I offer an interpretation of Hamlet that seeks to illuminate the play as an important work of moral philosophy, and to situate the play within a strand of moral philosophy named moral perfectionism by Stanley Cavell. Indeed, Hamlet is a masterpiece of Renaissance drama, but when read with attention to moral perfectionism, the play yields additional layers of meaning. Hamlet is a “philosophical drama” that navigates the “moral calling of philosophy”—a text that seems to, almost uncannily, elicit the audience to think reflectively, to ask fundamental human questions along …

Beyond World War I: Post-War Trauma In Agatha Christie’S The Mysterious Affair At Styles, Alayna Puckett

All Theses

This thesis reexamines Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles as a literary response and representation to World War I, arguing that it deserves recognition as a novel of wartime trauma rather than being confined solely to the realm of popular detective fiction. Influenced by Christie’s firsthand experiences as a wartime nurse, the novel subtly weaves themes of personal wartime experience and trauma into its plot, characters, and setting. Christie’s protagonist, Mr. Hastings, represents the returning soldier attempting to reintegrate into society, while Hercule Poirot—a Belgian refugee—embodies the war’s broader displacement and disruption. Set during World War I in a …

Assessing The Accessibility Of Queer Romance Book Covers As Digital Thumbnails: An Analysis Of Color Contrast, Colorblind Safety, And Typography Legibility, Madelynn Sare

Book Publishing Final Research Papers

This research investigates the digital accessibility of queer romance book covers displayed as thumbnails online, focusing on the balance between creative freedom, genre appeal, and inclusive cover design. Using a dataset of 100 highest-rated queer romance titles from Goodreads (2020–2024), the study evaluates accessibility by examining color contrast ratios against Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards, assessing colorblind safe design with Adobe Color, and measuring typography legibility through a custom-developed scale. Findings reveal that many covers fall short of WCAG color contrast requirements, yet a majority are colorblind safe, indicating that relatively minor design adjustments can significantly improve digital accessibility …

In A Safe-Space Of Her Own: Alice's Journey Through A Traumatized Wonderland To Find Attunement And Recovery, Cheston A. Axton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking-Glass’s 160-year existence, Lewis Carroll’s seven-year-old protagonist has experienced many changes and alterations. With an ever-growing pop culture interest, Alice’s original narrative has undergone numerous adaptations, with each new variation diving deeper into the impact of trauma on Wonderland.

This thesis continues this existing discourse by examining Wonderland’s capacity to facilitate recovery in the aftermath of severe trauma. Through this research, the traumatic experiences of Alice, from Christina Henry’s The Chronicles of Alice: Alice and American McGee’s Alice: Madness Returns, are examined concerning their effect(s) on her construction of Wonderland, as …

Neoliberal Society, Alienation, And Affective Crisis In The Answers (2017), Xiaoxiao Huang

Kritika Kultura

West finds a nemesis in sex-selective abortion in India. Unfortunately, the sociocultural baggage,

Maritime (Im)Mobility And Heterotopia: Jeju Island In South Korea, Taehee Kim

Kritika Kultura

Jeju Island, located on the remote periphery of the Korean peninsula and historically a site of exile, has become a popular destination for domestic migration over the past decade. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s notion of heterotopia as a methodological framework and taking Jeju Island as an example to reveal “islandness,” this paper discusses how the island is imagined and represented in Korean society. From this perspective, Jeju Island is regarded exteriorly as a place outside the ordinary and internally as a heterogeneous place. Further, in the heterotopia of “illusion” and “compensation,” a sojourn on Jeju Island is expected and experienced …

Love Is A Molecular Island, Chun-Mei Chuang

Kritika Kultura

When clarifying Spinoza’s concept of affect, Deleuze declares, “Hope as such or love as such represents nothing, strictly nothing.” In this paper, I approach the question of love by taking a detour of nonhuman affinity. First, I present this paper as an experimental becoming that weaves through heterogeneous lines of thinking and creating. Second, explicating the Deleuzian-Guattarian notion of “abstract machine” alongside Isabelle Stengers’s figure of “inappropriable unknown,” I argue for viewing the cosmos and art as interconnected abstract machines that foster novel realities and communities. Third, I weave planetary thinking with an interdisciplinary approach to propose a “planetary art …

Literary Study In The Era Of Artificial Intelligence In China, Fen Gao, Pengfei Zhang

Kritika Kultura

In view of the salient characteristics of technological innovation and human-machine symbiosis in the era of artificial intelligence, Chinese literary circles have purveyed a productive exploration of “literary study in the era of artificial intelligence.” Chinese scholars’ innovation of literary theory consists of three characteristics. First, they have established the original theory of “brain text,” systematically analyzed the definition, formation mechanism, and relationship between “brain text” and literature, language, text, and cognition, and applied this theory to literary criticism. Second, on the basis of sorting out and summarizing the core viewpoints of Western digital humanities theory, Chinese scholars have carried …

Beowulf And Théoden: Differing Teaching Methods Of Hrothgar And Gandalf, Ali Mirzabayati

Journal of Tolkien Research

Most studies on the character of Théoden in The Lord of the Rings center on Germanic heroic themes like courage and oath-keeping, often emphasizing his renewal by Gandalf at Meduseld and his death at the Battle of Pelennor Fields. This perspective overlooks Théoden's growth in wisdom and hope between these events. During this period, Théoden learns about the various forces in Middle-earth and contemplates his role in the broader world, leading to a profound sense of humility. Building on Tolkien's inspiration from Beowulf, this paper compares Théoden and Beowulf to explore their learning processes and heroic outcomes. This comparison …

The Impact Of The Translated Frankenstein Story On The Child›S Psyche And Thinking, Riham Halawani

Al Jinan الجنان

In this study, the researcher explored the impact of Frankenstein’s translated story on children. Choosing a topic or idea in translating children’s stories is likely to cause children to not respond to it and therefore not read it. It is therefore imperative for the translator to consider the elements of the story in the translation process, including the subject and idea, characters, environment, and style. Accordingly, the researcher sought to highlight the psychological and intellectual effects that this translated story has on children and its reflection on society. The researcher also mentioned the technique used in translating the proper names …

Why Are Men So Obsessed With Pornography? Andrea Dworkin Was Right, Robert Jensen

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Transgressive Desire And Women’S Liberation In The British Strike Bildungsroman, Carl Clinton Sweat

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the intersection of gender and class identity in British proletarian Bildungsromane set during the General Strike of 1926 and the Miners’ Strike of 1984/5, referred to collectively as “Strike Bildungsromane.” These prolonged industrial conflicts temporarily disrupted the gender division of labor that had hitherto been a defining aspect of pit village life. This development encouraged proletarian writers of the interwar and post-war periods to consider coalfield women as political agents, capable of subverting their preordained roles within the private sphere. These moments of subtle subversion are critical to the General Strike novels explored in this study, …

Climate Fiction Of The Anthropocene, Joseph Paul Ferguson, Cassandra Tytler, Peta J. White, Susan Oliver

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

No abstract provided.

Using Digital Storytelling As A Tool To Enhance Vocabulary For Young Learners, Suresh Banoth, Udaya Muthyala

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

Digital storytelling (DST) represents an innovative pedagogical approach aimed at enhancing vocabulary acquisition among young learners. This study investigates how effective Digital Storytelling (DST) is in enhancing English vocabulary skills among 32 sixth-grade students at Government Model School in Hyderabad, Telangana State, India. By integrating visual, auditory, and textual elements, DST facilitates a deeper understanding of vocabulary within context, which supports better retention and accessibility. The study employs the VSS (Vocabulary Self-Collection Strategy) serves as an effective tool to promote student involvement and responsibility in vocabulary learning by encouraging learners to actively discover and gather unfamiliar words, The use of …

The Book That Wouldn't Burn, By Mark Lawrence. Reviewed By Nancy Martsch, Nancy Martsch

Mythprint Book Reviews

Mythprint is the quarterly bulletin of the Mythopoeic Society, a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the study, discussion, and enjoyment of myth and fantasy literature, especially the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams. To promote these interests, the Society publishes three magazines, maintains a World Wide Web site, and sponsors the annual Mythopoeic Conference and awards for fiction and scholarship, as well as local discussion groups.

Representing Middle-Earth: Tolkien, Form, And Ideology (2024), By Robert T. Tally, Jr., Andrew Higgins

Journal of Tolkien Research

Nook review, by Andrew Higgins, of Representing Middle-earth: Tolkien, Form, and Ideology (2024), by Robert T. Tally, Jr.

Mr. Hyde And His Representation Of Alcoholism, Jacob S. Capes

NEXUS: The Liberty Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

This essay explores The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson through the lens of addiction psychology, drawing parallels between Dr. Jekyll’s descent into madness and the stages of alcoholism as defined by the DSM-5. By interpreting Jekyll’s relationship with his transformative elixir as a metaphor for alcohol abuse, the analysis traces his progression through early experimentation, growing dependency, and eventual loss of control, aligning with the three clinical stages of alcohol use disorder. The essay further examines how intelligence and genetic predisposition—two key risk factors for addiction—contribute to Jekyll’s vulnerability, incorporating both modern scientific …

Exploring Students’ Word Stress In Speaking: Does Ethnicity Matter?, Kardi Nurhadi, Diyenti Rusdin, Indah Werdiningsih, Nunung Suryati

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

In recent years, many studies have examined the impact of word stress on speaking, but few have looked into how multiethnic students handle word stress in pronunciation. This gap is particularly noticeable in Indonesia, where the rich diversity of ethnicities and local dialects presents both unique challenges and opportunities for English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners. This study aims to fill that gap by examining how the ethnic backgrounds of Indonesian students from Sulawesi influence their word stress. Twelve students (6 males, 6 females, aged 19–21) from four different ethnic groups were recruited as participants. Data were gathered through interviews, read-aloud recordings, lecturer …

Review: Babe: The Gallant Pig, Rachel Schwedt

Ages 7-9

Caring, Courage, Responsibility

Review: Becoming Naomi Leon, Rachel Schwedt, Janice Delong

Ages 10-12

Boldness, Caring, Cleverness, Compassion, Competition, Cooperation, Coping, Courage, Dependability, Devotion, Encouragement, Ethnic pride, Family love, Faithfulness, Friendship, Generosity, Hope, Independence, Initiative, Love, Neighborliness, Resilience, Sacrifice, Sharing, Spunk, Steadfastness, Strength, Survival (Emotional), Thankfulness, Trust, Wisdom

Mindful Marcelo: The Process Of Writing And Illustrating A Culturally-Specific Children's Book For Early Psychoeducation, Liz Romero-Herrera

University Honors Theses

Socio-emotional learning (SEL) is imperative for young children to learn prosocial skills and how to identify and regulate their emotions. Most children begin to develop these skills in early childhood and depend on caregivers and teachers to model them. However, caregiver and teacher biases related to child gender and race can limit equitable access to high-quality SEL, placing male students of color at higher risk for maladaptive coping strategies. To address this gap, this thesis documents the creation of a culturally sensitive children's book focused on SEL concepts for young Latino boys. Throughout this thesis, I documented the process of …

Representation Of Diseases And Health Care In Selected African Gyno-Texts, Rachael K. Aderoju

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the interdisciplinary field of literature and medicine through a feminist psychoanalytic lens, focusing on how Nigerian female writers represent illness, healthcare, and medical ethics in post-independence gyno-texts. Traditionally, scholarship in this field has centered on andro-texts (literary works authored by men), leaving a critical gap in the exploration of women’s perspectives. This research addresses that gap by analyzing nine prose works authored by Nigerian women, including texts by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ayobami Adebayo, Lola Shoneyin, and Samira Haruna Sanusi. These texts are examined for their portrayal of diseases such as infertility, cancer, bipolar disorder, and renal failure, …

“Eyes Can Be Blinded”: A Narratological Analysis Of Focalization In Sarah J. Maas’S A Court Of Thorns And Roses And A Court Of Silver Flames, Georga Mae Feek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the complex relationship between Feyre and Nesta, two prominent characters in Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) and A Court of Silver Flames (ACOSF). My analysis uses narratological concepts from three significant scholars in narrative theory: Gérard Genette, Shlomith Rimmon-Kenan, and Mieke Bal. I begin with a theoretical synthesis of narration and focalization and outline the various categories of types of narrators and focalizers. Then, I analyze Feyre’s focalization in ACOTAR and Nesta’s focalization in ACOSF. Through this process, I have developed rich character studies of Feyre and Nesta. My investigation of the …

The Shōnen Apocalypse: An Analysis Of The Shōnen Power System And Its Narrative Functions, Mario Da Silva Melo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis has two primary goals. First, it provides an overview of the history of manga as a medium, and manga studies as a field. In doing so, I observe a lack of terminological and methodological specificity. As a result, I provide a formalist approach to thematic criticism in order to address the above issues. Second, my thesis primarily centers on shōnen power systems and their narrative functions. Power systems are "magic rules" that determine how superhuman abilities mechanically function. I identify two main power systems in shōnen manga: spiritual manipulation and transformations. My thesis posits that shōnen manga authors …

Utilizing Creative Writing Techniques In First-Year Composition, Brett Moss

Student Theses and Dissertations

One common issue found in first-year composition courses is a lack of emphasis on creative style and writing about writing (WAW) concerns. This thesis is concerned primarily with explaining how creative writing skills can benefit students in first-year composition courses, as well as advocating for more WAW ideas. I argue that by allowing students the chance to write with a more creative mindset in an environment which consciously considers writing as a skill, not just in the English department but across disciplines, a greater understanding of the importance of writing can be gained, along with more transfer skills.

Beyond The Meadow: Exploring The Violence And Dynamics Of Power In Watership Down Through Critical Animal Studies And Cinematographic Lens, Marwa Hussein Abdelfattah

Arts and Design

This paper aims to analyze the 2018 Netflix miniseries adaptation of Richard Adams's classic novel, Watership Down, using Critical Animal Studies and a Cinematographic lens. The analysis focuses on its visual storytelling through the camera angles, lighting, and character representation. Adams’ novel was adapted three times. The first two animated versions were horrifying to the extent that one of them was banned. The most recent version used Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) technology to be more friendly. The CGI version toned down explicit brutality while maintaining the novel's darker themes. Unlike the two previous versions, the CGI focused on inferred violence and …

How To Walk On Water: Living Through The Absurd, Esther Du

Masters Theses

Set in a speculative world submerged by water, this thesis constructs a fragmented, nonlinear narrative that reflects on survival, memory, and displacement in the aftermath of catastrophe. Through three interwoven chapters—The Outcast, The Researcher, and The World—the project explores the emotional and psychological landscapes of individuals navigating a post-apocalyptic existence where the past is irretrievable and the future uncertain. Using an interdisciplinary form of visual storytelling, writing, and sound, the work draws from personal experience and collective trauma to examine how people reconstruct identity and meaning after loss. Rather than offering a definitive answer to existential …

A Teacher, A Supervisor, An Undefined Self, Alexa Muse

The Qualitative Report

This article follows the experiences and reflections of an American high school English teacher while evolving a single tenth grade memoir and grammar unit into a published student-led research project over the span of 3 years. As a partner piece, this article supplements my students’ published project, titled “A Teacher, a Tutor, a Friend,” that explores ChatGPT and student perspectives through a thematic discourse analysis under the framework of Figured Worlds (Holland et al., 1998); as their teacher-turned-supervisor, I found that preparing 10th grade students—now called the Lexington Student Research and Publication Collaborative—to grapple with such complex material was a …