Arts and Humanities Commons^™

An Architectural Reading Of Kristeva, Woolf, And Shakespeare, Bailey M. Graham

English Literature Student Projects and Publications

Julia Kristeva’s seminal theories of the signifying process and the abject illuminate texts that challenge readers’ expectations. Kristeva’s psychoanalytic and linguistic ideas build analytic links between texts as seemingly disparate as Virginia Woolf’s 1928 novel Orlando and William Shakespeare’s late 1590s play Titus Andronicus. In this portfolio, I will apply Kristeva’s distinction between the semiotic and the symbolic to elucidate the multiple meanings of nature in Woolf’s Orlando, as well as utilize Kristeva’s notion of the abject to analyze the narrative breakdown of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. In doing so, I will trace the development of Kristeva’s ideas …

Low Textbook Cost Syllabus For Eng 2150 (Writing Ii), Maxine Krenzel

Open Educational Resources

Welcome to English 2150, a writing and reading intensive course that will introduce you to the practice and process of conducting original research. This class will walk you through the research process step-by-step, from drafting an initial research question, to reading and analyzing archival and secondary sources, and eventually mapping out your findings in a final research portfolio. You will learn over the course of the semester that the research process begins with simply asking a question that addresses a topic or issue that impacts you in some way; it is my hope that by the end of the semester, …

Albert Camus's Absurd In 20th Century American Fiction, Alec V. Faiman

Honors Thesis

Out of the turmoil caused by significant intellectual and scientific developments during the 19th century, many people seem to believe that life has no inherent purpose. Albert Camus’s existential treatise The Myth of Sisyphus (1942) outlines his theory of the absurd. Using Camus’s thoughts on the absurd and various critical texts to supplement his theory, this thesis will show that the side effects of the humanity’s intellectual and scientific progress up to and including the late-20th century are documented at length in John Updike’s Rabbit, Run (1961), Paula Fox’s Desperate Characters (1970), and Bret Easton Ellis’s The Rules of Attraction …

Kuiyuidɨkadɨ (Pyramid Lake Reservation, Nevada), Tim Thornes

English Literature Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Pyramid Lake Reservation is about an hour’s drive northeast of Reno, Ne- vada. As such, it lies close to the major isogloss boundary that separates Oregon Northern Paiute (including Bannock) from Nevada Northern Paiute (Paviotso). The lake, a remnant of ancient Lake Lahontan, is home to the endemic Lahontan cutthroat trout, known locally as kuiyui, and is a popular fishery.

Northern Paiute Texts: Introduction, Tim Thornes, Maziar Toosarvandani

English Literature Faculty Publications and Presentations

This volume of Northern Paiute texts is the result of continued collaborative relationships between members of several Northern Paiute (Western Numic; Uto-Aztecan) speech communities and two linguists who have nearly 30 years of combined experience working on the language. The resulting documentary resource provides varied samples of naturally occurring speech—narratives recorded and analyzed by the editors as part of their own fieldwork as well as materials recorded of earlier generations of speakers. In one case, materials from three generations of speakers from the same speech community are provided. By providing access in a single volume to previously inaccessible texts from …

Yahooskin (Beatty, Oregon), Tim Thornes

English Literature Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although it is clear that the term “Yahooskin” is not a native term (likely originating from the Sahaptin (Ichiskiin) language), it has been in general use as a reference to disparate Northern Paiute bands (e.g., YapatɨkaɁa, ‘wild carrot-eaters’) around any of several lake basins of south-central Oregon, including the Silver, Summer, and Abert lakes, and the Warner Valley region. These bands were brought together after the formation of the Klamath Reservation and the signing of the treaty at Yainax in 1864. The “Yahooskin Band of Snake Indians,” as they had come to be called, were most closely tied to the …

Fort Mcdermitt Reservation (Mcdermitt, Nevada), Tim Thornes

English Literature Faculty Publications and Presentations

The McDermitt reservation straddles the Oregon-Nevada border and is the home of the majority of all remaining first language Northern Paiute speakers. Like the Duck Valley Reservation, it is quite isolated, lying approximately 90 miles northeast of the town of Winnemucca, Nevada (population > 7,000). The following stories are two of the many texts collected in the early 1960s by Sven Liljeblad from Pete Snapp, a fluent speaker from McDermitt. Mr. Snapp was in his early nineties at the time of this recording, which was made on reel-to-reel tape and archived as part of the Sven Liljeblad Collection in the Special …

Bannock (Fort Hall, Idaho), Tim Thornes

English Literature Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Bannock, whose precontact territory centered around the Snake River plain of southwestern Idaho and the Boise River valley, speak the variety of Northern Paiute most influenced by its close linguistic relative, Shoshoni. This influence may be due to a combination of factors, including the overlapping nature of aboriginal territories, the acquisition of the horse and buffalo-hunting culture, and the later impact of a one-way bilingualism that was present on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, whereby nearly all Bannock speakers also spoke (and speak) Shoshoni, but not the reverse. The number of Bannock speakers, currently, may be no more than …

Toidɨkadɨ (Cattail-Eaters) Of Stillwater Marsh, Tim Thornes

English Literature Faculty Publications and Presentations

Wuzzie George (b. ~1880, d. December 20, 1984) was, by all accounts, a true keeper of traditional knowledge. Over the course of more than three decades, she provided detailed ethnographic information about her people, the Toidɨkadɨ (Cattail-Eaters), for ethnographer Margaret Wheat (1967) and anthropologist and historical linguist Catherine S. Fowler (1992). Wuzzie also had an ongoing working relationship with the intrepid folklorist Sven Liljeblad, as evidenced by this prayer, which she composed for him in Fallon, Nevada, during a time of illness.

Duck Valley Reservation (Owyhee, Nevada), Tim Thornes

English Literature Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Shoshone-Paiute community of Duck Valley includes reservation territory that straddles the Idaho-Nevada border. Recordings of the Duck Valley communolect were made at the home of the speaker’s niece in the presence of several extended family members, including speakers, passive bilinguals and non-speakers alike, as well as children. The speaker was 60 years old at the time and clearly enjoyed recounting Coyote stories. That said, a few of the stories were considered by her family to be a bit too lurid to include here.

Wadadɨka’A (Burns Paiute Reservation, Oregon), Tim Thornes

English Literature Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Harney Valley, or tibidzi yipɨ (the True Valley), region of southeastern Oregon is a rich and varied landscape consisting of all the extremes one expects to find in the Great Basin—vast marshlands, high-elevation grasslands, alkali basins, pine forest, and ephemeral lakebeds and rivers. This high desert area attracts hundreds of thousands of water and other fowl (as well as birdwatchers) on their seasonal migration. Water has been, and remains, a source of tension in the region, as does the management of federal land more generally, including, in particular, the allocation of grazing rights. The occupation of the headquarters of …

Nature Over Nurture: The Source Of Morality In Oliver Twist, Brandon Burger

Honors Projects

The purpose of this research is to examine the nature-nurture debate In Charles Dickens’ famous novel Oliver Twist. More specifically, this research will examine the ways in which Dickens communicates to the reader how morality is innate, inherent, and immutable, as opposed to being the product of accumulated experience. While this is by no means the first examination of this philosophical debate within the novel, past research has placed greater emphasis on the role Oliver plays in communicating this theme, oftentimes neglecting to investigate the other major characters of the novel. In this sense, this research stands apart by …

The Myth Of Neutrality: Linguistic Influence In The Integration Of Nonbinary Identities In English And German, Zoe A. Philippou

Student Publications

Grammatical structures that differ among languages can affect the way people of different cultures think, speak, and behave. Because of its close ties with identity, language also has the ability to manipulate the way people view themselves and others. Ethnographic research among English and German speakers shows that these differing grammatical structures affect the integration into society of nonbinary, intersex, and agender individuals through a grammatical predisposition for gender neutral language. As such, the means of increasing social integration of these groups also differs between linguistic and cultural borders.

Man-Maid Merchant: Rebellion And Otherness In Shakespeare's Othello And Merchant Of Venice, Taylor Flickinger

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

No abstract provided.

Fragment, By Craig Russel. Reviewed By Ryder W. Miller., Ryder W. Miller

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.

Full Issue Winter 2020

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

No abstract provided.

Zitkala-Ša And The Holistic God: Redefining American Spirituality In "The Great Spirit", Jared Brockbank

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

No abstract provided.

On Waiters And Writers: Views Of Authorship In Charles Dickens's "Somebody's Luggage", Michela Miller Dickson

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

No abstract provided.

Torn By Tension: Modernism In Edith Wharton's The Age Of Innocence, Kathryn Taylor

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

No abstract provided.

Game Of Thrones, Produced By David Benioff And D.B. Weiss. Reviewed By Ryder W. Miller., Ryder W. Miller

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.

Innocent No More: How Child Vampires Challenge The Social Narrative Of Childhood, Ashley Quinn

Masters Theses

The inclusion of children within Gothic and horror fiction has always been regarded as untoward because children are vulnerable to misrepresentation. However, excluding children from transgressive genres eliminates a space where childhood can be critically analyzed. Fortunately, authors such as Stephen King, Anne Rice, and John Ajvide Lindqvist break the taboo through the inclusion of children in vampiric narratives. These narratives encourage readers to question the social narrative of childhood within the context of vampire stories. Through an examination of ‘Salem’s Lot (King, 1975), “Popsy” (King, 1987), Interview with the Vampire (Rice, 1976), and Let the Right One In (Lindqvist, …

2020 Greenleaf Review (No. 33), Sigma Tau Delta

The Greenleaf Review

No abstract provided.

Etymology Of “Ragtime”: Role Of “Tag, Rag, And “Bobtail” (The Rabble) And The 19th Century “Fancy Rag Balls”, Fred Hoeptner

Arts, Languages and Philosophy Faculty Research & Creative Works

Despite abundant speculation about the etymology of “rag” in “ragtime” since the emergence of ragtime music into popular consciousness in 1896, a convincing solution has remained elusive. As OED3 sums up the situation (rag, n. meaning #5): “Origin uncertain and disputed.”

But at least some new insight may now be possible. The present study is the first to use digitized newspaper archives to track “rag” and “ragtime” from their sources to full maturity, and the following picture emerges:

1. The starting point is tag, rag, and bobtail “the common herd, the rabble”; the word appears in OED3 under bob-tail.
2. Rag as …

Global Language Variation In Online Writing Instructional Spaces: English As A Lingua Franca Among Global Participants In A Massive Open Online Course, Angela May Dadak

English Theses & Dissertations

Two vectors of the internationalization of US higher education—online courses and student diversity—intersect at a point where a broad mix of culturally and linguistically diverse students enroll in online courses, including writing courses. This study applies an English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) lens to examine language in an online writing environment in order to understand how the participants use their linguistic resources to communicate in English across varieties and around the world. This study employs discourse analysis to two discussion forums from a US-based composition MOOC (Massive Open Online Course). More than three quarters of the MOOC participants came …

Genre And Loss: The Impossibility Of Restoration In 20th Century Detective Fiction, Kathryn Hendrickson

Dissertations (1934 -)

My project situates loss, rather than restoration, as the identifying trait of the detective fiction genre. I contend that instead of providing a problem-solution model that gives readers closure and reinforces simplified understandings of good and evil, detective fiction refuses to build comforting narratives that rehabilitate a corrupted world. Detective fiction, with its continual attempts to provide an unobtainable solution, ruminates on the impossibility of restoration.Genre and Loss: The Impossibility of Restoration in 20th Century Detective Fiction divides into four chapters, each addressing a perceived subdivision of the detective fiction genre in order to illuminate the unifying connections between …

Reforming Victorian Sense/Abilities: Disabilities In Elizabeth Gaskell’S Social Problem Novels, Hunter Nicole Duncan

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation rewrites the representations of disability, impairment, and illness throughout Elizabeth Gaskell’s fiction. The project’s four chapters examine blindness in Mary Barton, pregnancy, deformity, and typhus fever in Ruth, tuberculosis and hysteria in North and South, and hysteria and disfigurement in Sylvia’s Lovers, in order to intervene with disability in its literary, historical, medical, and social contexts by uniting methodologies ranging from Disability Studies, Medical Humanities, feminist theory, and Victorian studies. By looking at the novel and rethinking it through Disability Studies, this dissertation joins contemporary theory with historical context, refreshing scholarly attention toward under-represented bodies and minds. This …

When The Foreign Became Familiar: Modernism, Expatriation, And Spatial Identities In The Twentieth Century, Danielle Kristene Clapham

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation uses the life writing and fiction of Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, and James Joyce to challenge the mythic construction of the autonomous modernist subject through the lens of expatriation. I use the expatriate as a paradigmatic figure of modernism to scrutinize common perceptions of modernist expatriation as a dissociation with tradition and national politics. Instead, this project positions modernism as a movement deeply enmeshed in celebrity culture and the cooptation of foreign spaces. I employ a spatial mode of reading expatriate fiction through which the physical sites of expatriation become symbols of expatriate values and identity in conflict …

A Productive Failure: Existentialism In Fin De Siècle England, Maxwell Patchet

Dissertations (1934 -)

In this dissertation, I argue that Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and G. K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday belong to a broader, transnational tradition of existential novelists. I discuss how recognizing their novels as existential explains why these authors exist in a liminal space in literary criticism, caught between Victorianism and modernism. My dissertation historicizes their existential contribution by placing it within the context of late-Victorian optimism. While their contemporaries celebrated Britain’s technological, imperial, and philosophical strides, Hardy, Conrad, and Chesterton wrote novels that warned against too firm a faith in the …

What We Do Not Perceive When We Perceive It, Hannah Jane Trammell

English Theses & Dissertations

The thesis herein attempts to traverse, overcome, and, ultimately subsume back into the conventions of such genres as science-fiction, fabulism, surrealism, romance, horror, and speculative fiction. The primary tool used for this purpose is a great bag of hot, sparking meat caught between two ears and a thick skull. A few notebooks, pens, and a laptop might also have helped in this pursuit. The stories and poems contained herein are works of fiction inspired by non-fictional systems of feeling. Using all the tools given to me by my professors and the craft and theory books I read during my coursework …

Engl 110: College Writing (Cultural Identity), Margot Kotler

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.