Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Exploring Multiliteracies And Other Approaches To Second Language Teaching, Saralee Dunster

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

This teaching portfolio offers a selection from the author’s graduate coursework, teaching experience, and research undertaken while enrolled in the Utah State University Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program. The documents included are a reflection of her pedagogical approach and teaching practice, developed through varying contexts of professional experiences, including teaching English and French as a second language. This portfolio includes: reflections on the author’s teaching environment, a teaching philosophy statement, a professional development peer observation, a reflection paper that demonstrates the author’s experiences teaching with stories within the context of the multiliteracies framework, specifically multimodal fairy tales with …

Becoming “Living Matter”: Alive Things In Octavia Butler’S Xenogenesis Series, Zackary Gregory

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

This project seeks to explore the ways Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis trilogy complicates humans' understandings of subjectivity and human exceptionalism by challenging the concept of Otherness. Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis series focuses on adaptability and acceptance of the nonhuman Other by depicting a forced encounter between humans and an alien species called the Oankali. Characters within the series grapple with a dynamic understanding of themselves, having to renegotiate the concept of the Other as they deal with intelligent nonhuman Beings and animate objects. Further, characters in the series are coerced into accepting the transformation of humanity into something other than human as …

Student Centered Language Teaching: A Focus On Student Identity, Rachel Mano

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

This portfolio is a compilation of essays that describe what the writer has come to see as essential topics in second language acquisition. It begins with a professional environment piece, and then a teaching philosophy statement focused on student identity and interaction in the classroom. This is followed by an essay on observations of teaching. The next two sections focus on pragmatic resistance among advanced learners and the importance of preparing learners for peer interaction. The portfolio concludes with an annotated bibliography outlining the main concepts associated with Communicative Language Teaching, a method that is commonly employed in second language …

Defending Difference: Translingualism In The Composition Classroom, R. Elle Smith

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

Translingualism includes 1. appreciating how people use language differences to produce meaning, 2. recognizing that all language is fluid, and 3. helping students and teachers question standard language ideology. Translingual pedagogy should be process-oriented rather than product-focused. Instead of focusing on the writing product matching or not matching the standard, translingual pedagogy should focus on questioning standard language ideology and being more flexible in our language beliefs. Additionally, most scholarship surrounding translingualism has focused on the multilingual community. This thesis expands on the scholarship by asking how translingual pedagogy must shift in a primarily white monolingual classroom. Also included is …

Authorial Agency: Investigating Composition Pedagogies Under A New Lens, Tyler Hurst

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

This essay considers the work of three prominent composition scholars through the lens of authorial agency, which I define as a form of agency that focuses on the individual voice and self-determination of students in the writing space. Though the concept of agency has been previously considered by composition scholars, this contribution might aid in understanding various pedagogical approaches by analyzing how authorial agency is already being engaged within composition pedagogies and investigating how authorial agency aids teachers in understanding their pedagogy so that students learn to take back control of their own authoritative voice and self-determination. By re-investigating …

A Teacher's Guide In Creating Linguistic Diverse Classroom: Code-Meshing And Translingual Practice In First-Year Composition, Yvonne Liu

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

This thesis and portfolio are inspired by the recent code-meshing pedagogy movement to promote linguistic justice in the composition classroom along with the author’s personal journey in English learning. The traditional, monolingual practice in the composition classroom often isolates international students who have multilingual abilities above the rest of the students. The idea that there is only one correct use of English—standard English—assumes that one type of English is better than others. However, most native speakers cannot explain the rules and mechanism of standard English, which leaves international students often feeling frustrated and lowers their confidence in English writing and …

The Sea Calls: A Selkie's Liminal Existence, Frances Avery

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

Traditionally, the selkies (or seal people) of Scottish-Irish lore exist between spaces: the land and the sea, human and animal, childbearing and childless. Their existence at sea is voluntary but their existence on land is forced. Once the selkie has left behind its sealskin and both the literal and metaphorical sealskin has been stolen, the selkie becomes subject to human will. The lenses of body, reclamation, violation, and abuse prove that the reason why selkies have faded from popularity is because the lessons are too mature for a young audience. A feminist and queer reading and interpretation of this traditional …

Collaborative Classrooms: Incorporating Pragmatics And Technology In Language Learning With A Focus On Generation 1.5, Brandee Burk

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

This portfolio is a compilation of work that the author accomplished during the Master of Second Language Teaching program at Utah State University (USU). It reflects the culmination of the author’s learning and teaching experiences during her coursework and as a graduate teaching assistant (GTA) in the Intensive English Language Institute (IELI).

The portfolio contains three main sections: teaching perspectives, research perspectives, and an annotated bibliography. In the first section the author explains her desired professional environment, her philosophy of teaching, as well as insights from language classroom observations she will incorporate into her teaching. The research perspectives section consists …

From Governess To Wife: How Women On The Fringe Of Society Upset And Restore Victorian Homes, Elsa C. Torgersen

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

In middle-class Victorian homes, wives were responsible for the care of the home, the raising of children, and the maintenance and upward mobility of her family’s social standing. She was the heart of the home and her purity and commitment to the home would not only affect her family, but also society. Yet the women who were qualified according to societal standards were a small group, carefully chosen to maintain the standards of society. In the novels Bleak House and Jane Eyre, the authors push back against strict societal expectations. They ask the audience to consider if women should …

The Sacred Circle: Ostension In Native American Hoop Dancing, Emma George

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

This thesis examines the role of the semiotic concept ostension in folk dance, specifically in Native American hoop dance. Although the discipline of folklore is well-versed in ostension, folk dance has not been examined through this lens. I argue that dance is a form of ostension, of demonstrating a narrative, and this is especially apparent within Native American hoop dancing. I begin with a brief history of Native Americans in North America before discussing the origins of powwows, intertribal culture, and hoop dance. I then look at both the sacred nature and material culture of the modern hoop dance before …

Fragmentary Memories: The Cultural Significance Of Famine Echoes In Dracula, Moira Hegarty

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

This Plan B thesis explores the questions: What echoes of the 1845 Potato famine exist in Dracula and how do those echoes impact our understanding of the famine’s cultural impact? Dracula has been studied extensively both as an important example of gothic Victorian literature and as a chance to reclaim a native Irish author from the British. By looking at Dracula through the lens of Ireland’s 1845 Potato famine some of the structural and narrative oddities resolve themselves, such as Stoker’s decision to introduce so many opposing images and ideas to create a sense of uncertainty and rob the reader …

Teaching Issues Of Identity Through Multicultural Young Adult Literature, Emily M. Withers

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

Despite changing demographics of high school classrooms, teaching practices and literature remain similar to decades-old practices focusing more on literary devices and symbolism than on topics relevant to the students. Many teachers don’t have the time to find new novels. And when they do find the texts, they are often at a loss for how to properly teach the novels. This thesis is a three-part paper advocating for teaching identity to high school students using a blend of classic literature and contemporary multicultural young adult literature. The first section focuses on personal experiences and research illustrating the need for more …

"I Wanted Her Dead More Than Voldemort": Examining People's Hatred Of Dolores Umbridge, Jessica Griffeth

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

This Plan B thesis explores the question: Why do audience members detest Dolores Umbridge so much? Dolores Umbridge is an incredibly hated woman in the Harry Potter series who has attracted attention from audiences, but Umbridge has not been studied fully by scholarship. When scholars do discuss Umbridge, they typically focus on her cruelty while ignoring her other characteristics. Looking at popular internet audience reactions to Umbridge, however, shows the complexities of Umbridge’s character by revealing what Louise Rosenblatt calls the “transaction” between the audience and the texts, and scholarship has ignored that “transaction.” Using quantitative and qualitative methods to …

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 …

The Woman Of Sorrows: Clara's Self-Destructive Behavior Based On Supernatural Belief In Wieland, Or The Transformation: An American Tale By Charles Brockden Brown, Paden Carlson

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

Much has been devoted to the study of causality and ambiguity within Charles Brockden Brown’s Wieland, or the Transformation. While there is textual and cultural evidence providing explanations for Clara’s behavior, little has been said about the ramifications of Clara’s actions. This essay seeks to add to the discussion of Wieland by exploring Clara’s transformation from theistic rationalist to someone who is inclined to believe in supernatural explanation concerning seemingly inexplicable events.

In more than one instance, Clara’s supernaturally-charged beliefs endanger her. Brown uses Clara’s increasing reliance on supernatural explanation to suggest that, should the early United States similarly abandon …

Remembering As Resurrection: Transgenerational Trauma And Memory In J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter Series, Erika Beckstrand

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

What does it mean to bear witness to the memories of previous generations’ trauma victims? What lessons should we learn from those who came before us to ensure a happier future?

This thesis explores the trauma and memories of the deceased or older generation found in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. I intend to analyze the character of Harry Potter as he interacts with the memories of the previous generation, which he is able to resurrect in embodied forms through the use of magic. By testifying to the memories of the previous generations’ trauma, Harry is able to break the …

Scholarship On Robert Burton's The Anatomy Of Melancholy, Matthew Bishop

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

The history of scholarship on Robert Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholy will be explored in this thesis, beginning with a biographical background of Robert Burton and a brief description of The Anatomy of Melancholy. The overall arc of scholarship on Burton’s text began with a wave of early popularity in the seventeenth century, followed by a period of critical neglect in the eighteenth century when no new editions of the book were published. A renewed interest in the Anatomy in the nineteenth century led to a flurry of Burton studies in the twentieth century. The major trend in Burton …

Sufficient For Herself: Women & Silence In Wilkie Collins's Novels, Shannon Branfield

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

Wilkie Collins is a major sensation author of the Victorian period, known for introducing the form of the novel to detective fiction. His novels contain biting social critique and dynamic, multidimensional characters, the majority of whom are women, making his novels rich material for an examination of gender norms, power dynamics, and difference in Victorian society. His major works include The Woman in White (1860) and The Moonstone (1868), the two novels on which I focus. Previous critics have focused on the anxious male narrators in these novels and their attempts to establish positions of authority by taking control of …

Quilting In Children's Literature: An Analysis Of Stereotypes, Megan Egbert

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

For many people, exposure to folk art happens at a young age; however, we may not realize what it is, see its value, or be aware of the terminology used by scholars. The lack of understanding the importance of folk art is especially true for children’s books. This project focuses on the analysis of children’s books about quilts or quilting, primarily because quilts are often found in books and relatable to a wide audience. While the choice in genre and topic may limit the scope of folk art analysis, there are still hundreds of books solely based on quilts or …

Rhetoric In Mormon Female Healing Rituals During The Nineteenth Century, Carrie Ann King Johnson

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

Using the minutes of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, journals and diaries kept by early Mormon women, and letters written about healing blessings, this thesis looks at how nineteenth-century Mormon women used rhetoric in healing rituals to build community, claim power, and comfort one another thorough illness, death, and birth. Claudia L. Bushman points out that “Mormon women were much like other American women of their day, but their allegiance to the faith led them in some new directions.” Instead of retreating to acceptable standards of femininity, Mormon women claimed and used godly power and authority.

The women who …

The Slash Between, Tori Winslow Fica

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

In this Plan B thesis, I wrote a braided essay accompanied by a critical introduction. The essay moves between three different topics: Salt Lake Comic Con; the journal of James Holmes, the shooter in the Aurora theatre massacre; and my father’s incarceration. Through the interaction among these three topics, or strands, I explore the lines we construct as human beings as a way of defining and controlling our world. I investigate such dichotomies as normal/abnormal, inside/outside, good/bad, and fantasy/reality. By the end, the strands reveal the fragility of the lines we draw and the futility of attempting to construct them. …

Understanding Second-Person Point Of View In Fiction, Anastasia L. Hawke

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

This thesis consists of a critical introduction followed by a short story and reflection. The critical introduction introduces and analyzes second-person point of view. The first section establishes a working definition for second-person narrative and maps out its unique relationship between narrator, protagonist, and reader. The second section explores the way second-person point of view is taught. The third and last section of the critical introduction focuses on the effects second-person point of view has on fiction narratives.

The short fiction “Pregnancy and Other Dysfunctions” following the critical introduction demonstrates a narrative effectively using second-person point of view. It follows …

Those Who See: Emily Dickinsons And May Swensons Poetic Language Of Spiritual And Scientific Possibility, Samantha Latham

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

Emily Dickinson and May Swenson are major American poets who use scientific language in order to explore the productive tension developed when core spiritual beliefs are challenged by new scientific observations and theories. Rather than shrink from the uncertainty resulting from the challenge to faith posed by Darwin in nineteenth-century America, Dickinson and Swenson blend scientific and spiritual language to move beyond the binary opposition often seen as separating these discourses. Dickinson responds most immediately to the advent of Darwinian thought, while Swenson builds on the work of Dickinson as she examines twentieth-century scientific discoveries ranging from the microscopic (the …

Navigating The Outdoor Recreation Folk Group: A Functional Analysis Of The Personal Narrative, Lori Lee

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

Among the participants of the outdoor recreation folk group, or people who participate regularly in human-powered outdoor recreation as a lifestyle, personal narratives are an integral and integrated part of interaction. This group is particularly rife with stories, because in the natural order of their lifestyle they regularly engage in activities filled with adventure and challenge. As members of this folk group engage in recreation together they share their personal narratives because it is the common tie between them, not only in interest, but in current participation and thus natural conversation. This common and simple tie sets the stage perfectly …

A Place For The Personal: Autobiographical Literary Criticism Through The Lens Of Transformative Learning, Jennifer Scucchi

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

Up through the 1980s, literary criticism scholarship had been primarily defined by New Criticism, an ideology which suggests that the approach to literary studies should be objective, focused solely on the text itself, and should not take into consideration authorial intent or readers’ response. While this approach to literary studies seems practical in undergraduate literature courses in which students are still learning how to read literature, excluding different approaches to reading, understanding, and writing about literature can and does have inadvertent consequences. Although literary scholarship has been increasingly welcoming of alternative forms of literary criticism since the 1980s, including cultural …

Reimagining The Rhetorical Canons For Professional Communication Pedagogy, Jocelin A. Gibson

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

One of the most significant challenges for professional communication educators is identifying and providing the skills students need to succeed in their careers. The rapidly evolving professional landscape complicates this identification; the skills a college student needs when she enters the program could be dramatically different from what she needs when she graduates. A crucial change in the past decade is the shift from a largely solo composing environment to one featuring distributed work, in which professional communicators “find themselves becoming "dividuals" – one part writer, one part project manager, one part programmer, one part student”; this has them involved …

Listening To Silence: A Rhetorical Examination Of Silence In The Tale Type The Maiden Who Seeks Her Brothers, Crystal Stephens

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

Fairy tales are an integral part of our culture and have been for hundreds of years. Most of us grew up hearing certain stories, reading the Grimm brothers, watching Disney adaptations of classic tales, and passing these things on to the next generation. But even though we sometimes dismiss fairy tales as we get older as “stories for children,” that does not mean that fairy tales do not play an important role in our lives and cultures. Studying and understanding fairy tales can provide insight into our history, our cultures, and ourselves. As stated by Dan Ben-Amos, “The folktale has …

Madwoman In The Living Room, Amber Christine Bowden Whitlock

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

As a young child, Tara Elgin Holley knew little of her mother’s actual character. Raised by her grandparents and then by her aunt, she desperately wanted to understand the mother who was institutionalized shortly after her birth. In her aunt’s attic she found an unexpected treasure trove: her mother’s preserved musical recordings and show dresses. At first the clothing was just a way for Holley to be near her mother, but once the costume was on, Holley’s sense of self fell away. She writes in her memoir, “I would clamber into the beautiful red dress, the long skirt pooling around …

Why And How To Increase The Amount Of Writing In Utah's Schools, Sarah Orme

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

The writing culture in elementary schools and secondary schools needs to change if students are going to be equipped for their future academic and career goals. An ideal writing culture promotes advanced writing by encouraging more writing, sharing, and a sense that everyone in the classroom is a developing writer. The writing students produce shows that this type of writing culture is not being nurtured in many secondary schools. It is apparent that the ideal writing culture in secondary schools is not being achieved because of the writing students produce. Arthur Applebee and Judith Langer, in connection with the National …

Press Start & Small Things, Brian Mark Brown

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

This thesis project comprises two essay-length memoir pieces exploring the dimensions of fatherhood accompanied by a critical introduction. The essay “Press Start” explores the influence of video games on a young father, tapping his own childhood experiences to illuminate his relationship to the games as well as to his spouse and children. “Small Things” shows his efforts in preparing for the arrival of twins, an event which threatens to disrupt the family dynamic. Touching on issues of protection, separation, and control, the essays work together to comment on the complexities of the father-child relationship from a father’s point of view. …