Arts and Humanities Commons^™

A Rhetorical Approach To Teaching Shakespeare In Secondary Schools, Kasey Hammer

Student Works

The great bard, William Shakespeare, who penned over 35 plays and more than 150 sonnets, has as one critic notes, over the centuries become "an institutionalized rite of civility. The person who does not love Shakespeare has made, the rite implies, an incomplete adjustment... to culture as a whole" (Greenblatt 1). His genius is indisputable and for this reason, he is still taught in English classrooms at all academic levels. However, generally when the works of Shakespeare are taught in a school setting, they are taught with an emphasis on his poetic and thematic qualities. While these are both undoubtedly …

The Merchant Of Venice As A Non-Racist Text, Marsha Wonnacott

Student Works

The Merchant of Venice is typically read as a racist text, and often censored as such from production in modern society or from study in modern high schools. This is due to the racism in the play. However, I submit that although racism is clearly present in the play, the play in itself never actually promotes any form of racism or condones prejudice. Throughout the play we see good and bad sides of both the Christians and the Jew, and we never come to any conclusion about how they should be treated. In this way the text actually provokes audiences …

Modern Lessons In Relationship Dynamics From Shakespeare's Othello, Mallory Brugger

Student Works

Shakespeare's Othello contains crucial lessons that are important for secondary students to understand. Lessons learned by the play's main characters—both male and female—can serve as a guide to help students find relevance in Shakespeare's words and find solutions to their problems. This paper addresses five topics that are particularly meaningful to the young adult experience: social transitioning, trust establishment, jealousy avoidance, reputation preservation, and integrity maintenance. It is vital for students to learn the social lessons available through the study, discussion, and application of literature.

A (Graphic) Novel Approach To Teaching Shakespeare: Embracing Non-Traditional Texts In The Secondary English Classroom, Janelle Frossard

Student Works

This paper explores the graphic novel as a means to engage secondary English students in the works of Shakespeare. Graphic novels can combat some of the common complaints of teaching Shakespeare in secondary schools. They can help students to better relate to and understand the stories and language of Shakespeare. They can also assist learning disabled students in accessing and engaging in Shakespeare.

Upset The Established Order: Villains And The Shadow, Ian Mcarthur

Student Works

We must alter the way we approach villains. They are not simple stock characters but can also represent an accomplishment desired by humanity. They can be seen as individuals who have resolved what Jung called, the Shadow self.

Shakespeare's Taming Of The Shrew Compared With The Expectations Of Elizabethan Marriage, Jessica Asay

Student Works

Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew demonstrates the possible equality of marriage within Elizabethan marriage standards. However, in order to understand the importance of this concept one must first understand the negotiations, and role expectations within marriage during this time period. In Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare first introduces the audience to Petruchio who emulates the traditional man in an Elizabethan marriage. Then he establishes Katherine's character which does not fit into the expected role of subservient wife. Shakespeare compares their relationship to the traditional marriage because Shakespearean audiences would have been familiar with this social commentary. Katherine realizes that she …

Richard Iii: An Outer Deformity Defines Inner Self-Perception, Catherine Felt

Student Works

This paper explores how Richard III's outer deformity shapes his perception of self and how society's judgments play into his actions.

Troilus And Cressida: Shakespeare's Ungenred Promise Play, Dana Knudsen

Student Works

Troilus and Cressida is a complex play of dualities and contradiction. Because of its confusing nature, many audiences have struggled to make sense of it. Since genre is one of the easiest ways to interpret a play, one of the looming questions about the play is "What genre is Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida?" It has been called a tragedy, "'a comedy of disillusion,' . . . 'a wry-mouthed comedy,' . . . a satire . . . a piece of propaganda . . . a morality . . . and (of course) a Problem play." Both critics and dramatists remain …

The Relevance Of Twelfth Night For Adolescents, Sarah Monson

Student Works

Twelfth Night is a valuable play to be studied by junior high students as an introduction to Shakespeare. It includes humor, it deals with the important issues of relationships and bullying in a healthy way, and it encourages the reader to move away from a suspension of reality with these and other issues that are important in this stage of life. Shakespeare needs to be relatable to students in order to break down the barriers of difficult language and a bygone time period that make his work appear impenetrable to young people today.

Marriage Politics In Measure For Measure, Brinn Bullough

Student Works

During the Renaissance, violence and immorality had grown unchecked in England, and as a new Puritan government came into power, leaders determined to rein it in through drastic social and legal reform. But when certain behaviors that are morally acceptable in public opinion and practice come in conflict with the regulations and ideologies of new leadership, could justice actually be more effective when tempered with forgiveness and opportunities for restitution, rather than strict enforcement? These challenges were especially involved in perceptions of what was acceptable and legal in shifting marriage practices during Shakespeare's time. In addition, more widespread access to …

Concerning The Ending Of Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost, Sarah Landeen

Student Works

Unlike Shakespeare's other comedies, Love's Labour's Lost ends unresolved. A marriage does not unite the characters in happiness; rather, the characters separate with little expectation of reuniting; like Beron says, "Jack hath not Jill" (5.2.866-67). Many scholars have mapped out the history of the play and studied the play textually and contextually, but their findings do not relate directly to the ending of the play. Exploring the context in which Shakespeare wrote the play reveals reasons for why he caused his only original play to end unresolved. (A) Historically, Shakespeare wrote the play during a season of plague, causing many …

Mormon Media Studies Symposium - 2012, Sherry Baker

Faculty Publications

Website for the Mormon Media Studies Symposium year 2012.

I Will Send You Elijah The Prophet, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Chapter 3 from the volume from the 2012 BYU Sperry Symposium, "I Will Send You Elijah the Prophet" investigates contemporary Christian and Jewish beliefs in the 1830s regarding Biblical prophecies regarding the return of the Prophet Elijah.

Provo City Library: Building Across A Century, Gregory M. Nelson

Faculty Publications

The public library in Provo City, Utah has undergone significant changes since the founding of the original 1906 building that was funded by Andrew Carnegie. The library has changed according to the needs of the community as it has adapted from its pioneer heritage to a modern service information organization. As it has adapted, however, the Provo Library has maintained its focus on community service with its physical facilities, collection development, community outreach and quality staffing.

Italy At Home And Abroad After 150 Years: The Legacy Of Emigration And The Future Of Italianità, Mark I. Choate

Faculty Publications

Shortly after unification in the Risorgimento, mass emigration stretched Italy in unforeseen ways, changing its culture, economics, and politics, and even its state, territory, language, and population. This enforced globalization polarized Italy and radically changed Italy as a nation-state and as a national culture. Controversies over emigration sharply divided Italian Liberals from the Nationalists and Fascists. The ideals of the nation-state, articulated by Mazzini, have been transformed by emigration in ways that have anticipated the twenty-first century global world. Today Italy faces similar challenges with rising immigration, together with the potential for constructive solutions.

Mormons And The Grand Army Of The Republic, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Civil War veterans, like most military veterans, enjoyed continued association following the war. The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) veterans’ organization was established in 1866 and grew to be a large and politically powerful organization. This chapter by Kenneth L. Alford provides an overview of the GAR’s history in Utah with an emphasis on relations between Latter-day Saints and the GAR.

Lebensbeschreibung (Annotated Transcription), Friderika Baldinger, Alec Down

Prose Nonfiction

No abstract provided.

Not Quite At The Well: 2 Samuel 11 As An Inverted Betrothal Journey Narrative, David B. Ridge

Library Research Grants

No abstract provided.

Early American Bookbinding In Brigham Young University's Special Collections, Kylie Ladd

Student Works

Bookbinding is a tradition that began in America before America itself. The earliest identified binder was John Ratcliff, who came to Boston from England about 1662. In fact, bookbinding preceded printing in America – the first (anonymous) binding was completed in 1636, and the first printer didn't appear until two years after that. Save for a few major figures, most binders and the bindings they completed remain anonymous, identifiable only by the style of decoration. In this paper will attempt to study the characteristics and traditions of early 19th century publishers and book binding through a case study of a …

The Men Behind The Pen: The Clerks Of The Lds General Conferences, Alan Clark

Student Works

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds General Conferences every year. At these conferences, the leadership of the Church speaks to its entire membership, as well as any others who may be listening. The practice of holding such conferences has existed throughout the history of the organization. In April 2012, 182nd Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was held. Over the 18 decades that these conferences have been held, the format, location, and speakers have changed. Conference have been held in New York, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah, in a number of different …

Lloyd Alexander: A Film By Jared Crossley, Jared Crossley

Student Works

A 9:04 film about Lloyd Alexander "American Author, Pioneer, and the High King of Fantasy."

Using Automatic Speech Recognition Technology With Elicited Oral Response Testing, Troy L. Cox, Randall S. Davies

Faculty Publications

This study examined the use of automatic speech recognition (ASR) scored elicited oral response (EOR) tests to assess the speaking ability of English language learners. It also examined the relationship between ASR-scored EOR and other language proficiency measures and the ability of the ASR to rate speakers without bias to gender or native language. To that end, 179 subjects were given an ASR-scored EOR test with 60 items, followed by an oral proficiency interview (OPI) type assessment and a battery of other language tests. Findings suggest that ASR-scored EOR results could be used alone to predict speaking ability in specific …

Relationship Between Reported Out-Of-Class English Use And Proficiency Gains In English, Wendy Baker-Smemoe, Denisa K. Cundick, Norman Evans, Lynn Henrichsen, Dan P. Dewey

Faculty Publications

This study investigated the relationship between out-of-class L2 use and proficiency gains in learners of English as a second language (ESL) in an intensive English language program. In contrast to previous studies on this topic, which have found weak, non-existent or even inverse relationships between out-of- class language experience and L2 proficiency gains, this study took place over a longer period of time (31 weeks), involved a larger number of participants (61 ESL learners from 12 different language backgrounds at four proficiency levels), and found a statistically significant connection between out-ofclass language use and proficiency gains. Participants took a proficiency …

Conrad, "The Times", And Some Explorers, Aaron Eastley

Faculty Publications

Even in a day when historicism in literary studies is ubiquitous, the pitch and duration of historicist fervor that has surrounded Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is extraordinary. Since its original publication over a century ago, the text has flourished amid a swarm of meta-textual narratives variously critical, political, philosophical, and historical. As Benita Parry attests, Heart of Darkness has enjoyed a “singular afterlife” (41), one that Allan Simmons aptly captures in the metaphor of “a pendulum swinging back and forth between aesthetics and history” (104). First appearing serially as “The Heart of Darkness” in three monthly installments of Blackwood’s Edinburgh …

Desperate Not To "Forget The Gods": Mormon Fantasy And The Epic Poem, Gerrit Van Dyk

Faculty Publications

Because of humanity's fixation on death, religion and the afterlife have played a part in human culture throughout history. As a result, belief, religion, and theology have been central to the main action of stories since the earliest forms of literature. One of the greatest ancient literary genres, the epic, is no exception.

Epics have many universal characteristics, such as elevated language in poetic form, vast settings, and strong protagonists who demonstrate feats of great strength and genius. They also commonly contain "supernatural forces-gods, angels, and demons-[who] interest themselves in the action" (Harmon and Holman 185). After the Renaissance, the …

Utah And The Civil War Press, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

A discussion of how Mormons were treated in the national press during the American Civil War with an emphasis on polygamy, statehood requests, loyalty, and Brigham Young.

This chapter was originally published (and reprinted in "Civil War Saints" with permission):

Kenneth L. Alford, “Utah and the Civil War Press.” Utah Historical Quarterly 80, no. 1 (Winter 2012): 75–92.

3 Nephi 9:19–20: The Offering Of A Broken Heart, Dana M. Pike

Faculty Publications

As recorded in the Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 8), the atoning death of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem brought prophesied destruction and darkness in the Americas. Following approximately three hours of terrible devastation (8:19), a “thick darkness” engulfed the land for three days (8:20, 23; 10:9). During this period of darkness the voice of Jesus was “heard among all the inhabitants of the earth, upon all the face of this land” (9:1).

Clothed With Salvation: The Garden, The Veil, Tabitha, And Christ, Dan Belnap, Daniel Belnap

Faculty Publications

Sandwiched between the account of Saul’s conversion in Acts 9 and Peter’s vision of the Gentiles in Acts 10 is the story of the raising of Tabitha. While staying in the town of Lydda, Peter, the presiding disciple of Christ, is approached by two individuals from the neighboring city of Joppa with the request that he come and attend to the then-deceased Tabitha. When he gets there, he is met by widows weeping and wailing over Tabitha’s departure. We know practically nothing of Tabitha except that she is a believer and a woman “full of good works and almsdeeds” (Acts …

Measuring Written Linguistic Accuracy: A Question Of Reliability, Validity, And Practicality, Troy L. Cox, Norman Evans, K. James Hartshorn, Teresa Martin

Faculty Publications

Error correction in second language writing has an interesting history with some scholars calling for its abolition, and others arguing for its inclusion in L2 writing pedagogy.

Most of the debate has centered around whether or not L2 writers' linguistic accuracy improves or not.

"There Arose A Mist Of Darkness": The Narrative Of Lehi's Dream In Christ's Theophany, Dan Belnap, Daniel Belnap

Faculty Publications

The events surrounding Christ’s theophany as recounted in 3 Nephi describe the creation of a new world, both physically and socially. In particular, chapters 8–18 depict a series of events that are reminiscent of the creation of the earth as described in Genesis and elsewhere. From the all-pervasive darkness experienced during the cataclysmic destruction to the glorious, light-filled arrival of Christ and the institution of new laws and ordinances delivered during his first day among the people, the Book of Mormon text reflects this biblical narrative. Yet the manner in which it is presented echoes a creation narrative unique to …