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Review Of Golem: Modern Wars And Their Monsters By Maya Barzilai, Temma F. Berg

English Faculty Publications

The golem crosses many borders. A popular culture icon and an enduring image of creative power, its hybridity contributes to its elusive nature. What it is and what it means shifts over time. Maya Barzilai's Golem: Modern Wars and Their Monsters takes a unique approach. Deeply interdisciplinary, as one must be to explore such a complex and paradoxical figure, and drawing on religious, literary, cinematic, and historical contexts, Barzilai weaves a rich tapestry of golem narratives. All the while, Barzilai keeps a clear eye on the golem's ongoing association with war, seeing its birth in the clay trenches of World …

City Backdrop: Television And Its Gentrifying Influence On A City's Black Community, Ana Hoshovsky

Pop Culture Intersections

This paper will focus on the issue of race representation in television and its implications to real life communities in the cities featured in television. Scenes from the comedy show Portlandia will be examined to determine the effects the show has on the black community of Northeast Portland, Oregon. Characters from HBO’s Treme will also be analyzed to assess the show’s claim of representing the struggles of locals in a post-Katrina New Orleans. The lack of diverse representation throughout Portlandia’s eight seasons has caused the show to help to fuel the gentrification in the city. Viewers of the show are …

Revulsion, Restlessness, And Rage Through The Body In Pain: Radical Affects And Political Consciousness In The Ariel Poems, Erin P. Beach

Theses and Dissertations

The affective path to radicalism unfolds in Plath's Ariel in three stages. Revulsion identifies a shared source of conflict with a clear patriarchal enemy. Restlessness mimics the context and pace of rebellion, including the acute crises that give way to a societal awakening. Rage connotes incipient action and a commitment to upheaval as an act of restorative justice. The associated “ugly feelings” that facilitate such affects are a reflection of how, historically, progress has come at the cost of suffering. Plath’s language and its capacity for commanding this perverse sense of the sublime – particularly its ability to control …

Masculinity And Chivalry: The Tenuous Relationship Of The Sacred And Secular In Medieval Arthurian Literature, Kaci Mccourt

English Dissertations - Archive

Concepts of masculinity and chivalry in the medieval period were socially constructed, within both the sacred and the secular realms. The different meanings of these concepts were not always easily compatible, causing tensions within the literature that attempted to portray them. The Arthurian world became a place that these concepts, and the issues that could arise when attempting to act upon them, could be explored. In this dissertation, I explore these concepts specifically through the characters of Lancelot, Galahad, and Gawain. Representative of earthly chivalry and heavenly chivalry, respectively, Lancelot and Galahad are juxtaposed in the ways in which they …

Trinity, Freedom, And Evil: The Importance Of The Triune Nature Of God In The Problem Of Evil, Seth Pryor

Masters Theses

This thesis presents an abductive argument for a trinitarian conception of God as opposed to a unitarian conception especially when juxtaposed against the problem of evil. On the whole, this author argues, the Trinity has more conceptual resources to answer the problem of evil by granting freedom of the will to its creation, specifically the will to go against God, by himself consisting in an inherently relational ontological structure of three persons yet the same being that would grant such a capability.

Final Ma Portfolio, James Lamb

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This is the portfolio submission for my Master's in English with a specialization in English Teaching.

The Forbidden Zone Writers: Femininity And Anglophone Women War Writers Of The Great War, Sareene Proodian

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation examines the texts of Anglophone women writers from the First World War. Women’s roles in the war—volunteer nurses, ambulance driver, munitions workers, and land girls—gave them the opportunity to leave the protection of their homes and enter the masculine dominated public sphere. In this dissertation, I examine different genres of women’s writing from the war and trace three aspects of simultaneity as these writings explore the new freedoms, and new and old constraints, that the war brought to women. The three principles of simultaneity explain the conflicting emotions women feel over what the war means for them in …

Iago The Moor Killer: The Geo-Political Context Behind Shakespeare's Othello, Elisha A. Hamlin

Honors Projects

Shakespeare’s Othello is often viewed as an example of seventeenth century Renaissance binaries. Critics make distinctions when reading the play between hero and villain, Moors and Europeans, and between civilization and barbarity. These definitions are all complicated by Iago’s presence in the play. Iago, whose name implies he is actually a Spaniard, frames the play in a geo-political context. Because of Iago’s presence, Othello provides a picture of England’s position in the seventeenth century geo-political climate. Shakespeare is giving his English audience a particular political message.

Evolutions Of The Soldier Hero: Eastwood’S American Sniper And The Iraq War, Justin Gillingham

Honors Projects

Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper (2014) tells the story of Chris Kyle. However, it also participates in an extensive cinematic traditional by making use of the soldier-hero archetype. The soldier-hero is a cinematic historical figure representing a member of the armed services whose characteristics reflect the war in which they participate. Beginning with World War I, and then moving through World War II, Vietnam, and Iraq, the soldier-hero archetype develops in an iterative manner with each respective war. Eastwood’s film, taking place in the Iraq War film genre, both fulfills and breaks away from conventions traditionally ascribed to Iraq War films. …

Race, Slavery, And Evasion: Whitman And Melville’S Changing Perspectives And Their Glancing Poetic Treatment Of The Core Civil War Issue, Said Hail Fallaha

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Whitman and Melville’s poetry about the Civil War is almost completely silent when it comes to slavery. Both writers depict a newly emancipated person in their poems about the Civil War, but they seem to do so almost as an afterthought. Both Whitman's “Ethiopia Saluting the Colors” and Melville's “Formerly a Slave” represent an elderly African American woman. These poems stand alone in their representation of an African American. Peter J. Bellis argues that both writers were concerned with how to negotiate national emotions and policies by the end of the war and these “emotions” and “policies” were vital to …

Enduring Music: Migrant Appalachian Communities And The Shenandoah National Park, Madeline Marsh

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper is an archival study of the displaced children of families formerly living in the Shenandoah National Park which spans from Strasburg to Waynesboro, Virginia. The study looks at interviews, from the JMU Special Collections archives, of these children in the 1970-80s, nearly fifty years after their forced migration from the 197,438 acres that comprised the park. Change and pressure during the 1930s-40s combined with national policy began the nostalgic preservation and veneration of the culture of these people of the Blue Ridge Mountains; through the archives, a clear and diverse picture of the perspectives and lifestyles of people …

Of The Silmarils And The Ring: J. R. R. Tolkien's Fiction And The Importance Of Creation And Art, Michael Hartinger

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

J. R. R. Tolkien embodies the opposing ideals of Enchantment and the Machine in the Silmarils and the One Ring respectively. These created objects oppose each other just as Tolkien’s ideals of art do. Enchantment is art’s ideal, it's purpose is to glorify and enrich the beauty of reality through subcreation. The Silmarils exhibit the delight of making and perceiving beauty. Whereas the Machine is art’s shadowy reflection that utilizes apparatuses or devices rather than personal talent in order to coerce others and reality itself. Overall Tolkien's aesthetic theories reflect many fears surrounding modern attitudes toward weaponizing art. Tolkien supplies …

An Analysis Of Murals Painted By Students At Intermountain Indian School In Brigham City, Utah, Carlos Junior Guadarrama

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

My plan B thesis argues that Intermountain School in Brigham City, Utah was a progressive development, especially when placed within the context of other Native American boarding schools. I argue my point by conducting a close examination and analysis of several murals painted by prominent indigenous artist Allan Houser and students at the school as well as several other forms of art from Intermountain. In the first chapter of my thesis, I present evidence that demonstrates how damaging Native Boarding schools were for generations of students. I then present evidence which showcases how certain changes paved the way for Intermountain …

A Kingly Trichotomy: Spirituality, Lineage, And Deeds In Beowulf And The Lord Of The Rings, Lydia Anvar

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Beowulf and The Lord of the Rings both present complex narratives of an individual using spiritual favor, heroic deeds, and a notable heritage to affirm their right to rule as king. By doing a close reading of this ancient epic alongside J.R.R Tolkien’s modern fantasy, one can understand the various ways that the kings in these texts have drawn power from these distinct realms of authority. In Beowulf, the title character’s successful acts of warfare affirm his spiritual favor, and the poem demonstrates that one can construct a heritage using their self-made reputation. Unlike Beowulf, Aragorn’s solidified, sacred …

Breaking With Tradition(?) : Female Representations Of Heroism In Old English Poetry., Kathryn A. Green

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For the Anglo-Saxons, strength, bravery, and the willingness to put oneself in harm’s way for king and kingdom were not only part of contemporary society but recurring themes in Old English literature. Poems like Beowulf and The Battle of Maldon reinforce the important bond between lord and retainer and the heroic ethos key to that relationship. Women were not historically part of this relationship and, therefore, not subject to the heroic code in the same way; consequently, they are rarely seen as anything more than conventional mothers, queens, wives, sisters, daughters, and virgins, all identified by their relationships to men, …

Dolls Who Speak: Sex Robots, Cyborgs And The Image Of Woman, Victoria E. Pihl Sorensen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines the emerging phenomenon of sex robots from a feminist materialist perspective. I explore the current scholarly and popular debates on sex robots, and suggest a reading of sex robots in their machinic, literary and cinematic expressions to move beyond the moral-ethical impasse that seems to dominate sex robot discussions. Employing Donna Haraway’s “Cyborg Myth” on a methodological and theoretical level, I argue for an interdisciplinary approach to studying sex robots, which proceeds carefully so as to avoid contributing to sex panic, and which thinks critically about what it might mean to assess sex robots from a feminist …

They Have No Ears To Hear My Pleas: Short Stories Of The Post-Apocalypse, Keoki W. Kemp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This is a creative thesis consisting of two short stories in the post-apocalyptic genre. A genre that highlights suffering, societal trauma, and the effects of trauma and loss on the human psyche. This genre asks the reader to be sympathetic to these extreme plights. Post-apocalyptic narratives also feature classic heroes who come out on top, despite the genre’s harrowing settings. The two stories featured in this creative thesis are an answer to my inquiry into the genre and seeks not only to show what makes post-apocalyptic literature entertaining but also worthy of literary merit.

The two short stories that constitute …

Critique Of Kathleen Parker’S 'Women Don't Belong In Military Combat', Megan M. Rice

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

For this project, I chose an opinion article about whether or not women should be allowed in combat positions. The author believes women should not be in the infantry, while I believe women should be given the chance if they so desire to be in a combat role. The main idea in the original article was that women are not capable of succeeding in the infantry. I countered this idea throughout my response essay by agreeing that not every woman is cut out for a combat job, but the women out there who would thrive in the infantry should be …

An Annotated List Of Fantasy Novels Incorporating Tarot (1968-1989) [Notes], Emily E. Auger

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

This selective list includes abstracts of each novel or series and how the author incorporates the Tarot or Tarot imagery.

Maiden Voyage (A Novel), Kyra Bauske

English

Maiden Voyage is an adventure story. It didn’t start out that way, but that’s what it has become. The story follows a young woman who stumbles onto her father’s secrets. Alexandra feels trapped in an 18th century English settlement on Nassau. Under her father’s protection, Alexandra is expected to marry and remain on the island. When she discovers a letter in her father’s office naming her as an “asset” she finds herself asking who her father really is. Who is the business associate who comes every month? Why does he really want her married to Lord Dewhurst? When her best …

“That Noble Northern Spirit”: J.R.R. Tolkien, The Great War, And The Germanic Heroic Tradition, Gregory L. Rabbitt

Masters Essays

No abstract provided.

J.M. Coetzee And Literary Paternity: The Father In The Work Of Writing, Joshua Kesterson

Masters Essays

No abstract provided.

Notes From Underground: Fugitive Ecology And The Ethics Of Place, Sarah L. Lincoln

English Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this essay, I argue for “fugitive gardening” as a form of “poaching” or “resignifying,” a radical appropriation of hegemonic spaces and practices that both deconstructs the logics of mastery and hygienic possessiveness that underpin colonial culture, and articulates what we might call a fugitive ecology: a dispossession of self in relation to the environment, a refusal to conceive of land, soil or planet in terms of property. Fugitive gardening sets itself in opposition to the prisons, camps and forts that index South African political history, restorying place, environment, and the self as grounds for community formation, dialogue and cooperation. …

The Reality Of Escape In Fantasy, Abbigail Mazour

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper seeks to examine the instances of escape experienced by the characters in popular fantasy novels such as The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter and looks at how this escape teaches its audiences lessons about the real world and philosophical truths. It answers the question of whether or not fantasy is escape and why, accepting fantasy as escapist, this genre—and escape itself—is valuable to its audiences. The method for completing this project was a close analysis of the primary texts The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter along with the research and writing done by Tolkien …

Encountering Shakespeare's Cleopatra: The Subversion Of The Occident's Threat Of Objectification, Amany El-Sawy

Selected Papers of the Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference

No abstract provided.

The Functional Specialties: A Workshop On Applying Lonergan, Praxis Program Of The Advanced Seminar On Mission, Seton Hall University

Praxis Conference and Workshop Proceedings

These are the proceedings of the Praxis Program of the Advanced Seminar on Mission’s third annual summer workshop which was held in Trieste, Italy in July 2017. It focused on the application of Bernard Lonergan’s Functional Specialties to the work of the Seton Hall University faculty participants. The workshop was jointly sponsored by the Center for Vocation and Servant Leadership and the Center for Catholic Studies, and co-sponsored by Boston College, the Jacques Maritain Institute and the University of Trieste.

The “Sighan, Cantan, Grace-Proud Faces”: Robert Burns And The Kirk, G. Ross Roy

Selected Essays on Robert Burns by G. Ross Roy

A sympathetic examination of Burns's kirk satires and his attitude to religion.

The Thin Blue Line Of Theodicy: Flannery O’Connor, Teilhard De Chardin, And Competitions Between Good/Good And Evil/Evil, Sue Whatley

Faculty Publications

This essay explores the concept of theodicy in Flannery O’Connor’s works of fiction. O’Connor’s fiction complicates the subjects of good and evil, moving the reader through what seem to be competitions not only between good and evil, but also between actions of good and actions of evil. Characters align themselves with one force, then another, in a constantly fluctuating system, and there is no traditional pattern of Christian warfare that we would expect orthodox Catholic writing to produce. Sometimes, evil brings about the resolution of the narratives, and sometimes actions of good fail to redeem. It is only through the …

Reading Carlos Bulosan/Documenting The Filipino Diaspora: An Editorial Introduction To Writer In Exile/Writer In Revolt: Critical Perspectives On Carlos Bulosan, Jeffrey Arellano Cabusao

English and Cultural Studies Journal Articles

This editorial introduction to Writer in Exile/Writer in Revolt: Critical Perspectives on Carlos Bulosan (2016) sheds light on the diasporic scope of Bulosan’s literary imagination and the literary scholarship on his diverse body of writing. Writer in Exile/Writer in Revolt gathers for the first time nearly sixty years of literary criticism by scholars in the United States and the Philippines on Bulosan, a pioneering twentieth-century Filipino writer in the United States. The editorial introduction highlights the ways in which Writer in Exile/Writer in Revolt documents the unfolding of Bulosan’s radical literary imagination which straddles the colonial and neocolonial periods of …

South Asian American Visual Culture And Representation, Bakirathi Mani

English Literature Faculty Works

South Asian American visual culture is a diverse field of visual art, created by artists who are first-, second- and third-generation immigrants from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, among other diasporic locations (e.g., Kenya). South Asian American artists work in a range of media forms, including photography, sculpture, installation, video, painting, and drawing. Collectively, these artworks are frequently exhibited in museums and galleries as depictions of contemporary South Asian immigrant life. However, a close reading of individual works produces a more dynamic picture. Instead of viewing South Asian American visual culture solely in terms of artists’ own immigrant biographies, scholarship and …