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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Discovery Of Timbuktu: Geopolitical Rivalries And Myths, Katherine Van Meter
Discovery Of Timbuktu: Geopolitical Rivalries And Myths, Katherine Van Meter
Honors Theses
This thesis examines the exploration and discovery of Timbuktu primarily focusing on the travels and narrative of René Caillié the first European to publish his successful journey to Timbucku in 1828. Timbuktu since the thirteenth century had become a romantic mystery for Europeans and stimulated massive interest in its discovery by major geographical Societies. Through a mixture of primary and secondary sources I am able to analyze the geopolitical rivalries and myths surrounding Timbuktu that would instigate the travels of twenty-five English, fourteen Frenchmen, two Americans and one German which the majority of resulted in death. Examining Caillié’s published narrative …
The Monster In The Mirror: Challenging The Glorification Of Humanity In Human And Monster Literature, Hanna Squire
The Monster In The Mirror: Challenging The Glorification Of Humanity In Human And Monster Literature, Hanna Squire
Honors Theses
Earlier scholars have claimed that literary monsters merely serve the purposes of celebrating the human’s triumph over adversity. I contest this claim in my close analysis of Homer’s The Odyssey, the medieval epic Beowulf, and the Hannibal Lecter series of novels by twentieth‐century American author Thomas Harris. I show that each author uses monsters not to convey human dominance over their ability to defeat the monster but rather to reveal the monstrous flaws found within all of humanity: coveting, vengeance, and hybris. My analysis of these flaws shows how society’s willingness to admit our monstrosity progresses from Homer to Harris. …
When Mountain Meets Road: Mfankind's Connection To Nature Through Sublime Theory In Shelley's Mont Blanc And Mccarthy's The Road, Catherine Elliott
When Mountain Meets Road: Mfankind's Connection To Nature Through Sublime Theory In Shelley's Mont Blanc And Mccarthy's The Road, Catherine Elliott
Honors Theses
Cormac McCarthy's The Road (2005) is a strong example of how post-modern dystopian fiction has captivated the mass imagination. Contemporary scholars have discussed The Road thoroughly, commenting on the text's redemptive journey, post-apocalyptic message or cauterized terrain. However, I argue that McCarthy's novel is not merely a modern text with an alienating landscape. Rather, the story conveys a strongly sublime aesthetic, which is recognizable from nineteenthcentury British Romantic works such as Percy Bysshe Shelley's Mont Blanc (1817). These texts have a shared obsession vvith the fictional representation and investigation of the sublime aesthetic and humankind's relationship with the natural world. …