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Articles 31 - 60 of 486

Full-Text Articles in English Language and Literature

Becoming “Living Matter”: Alive Things In Octavia Butler’S Xenogenesis Series, Zackary Gregory May 2023

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 …

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Critiquing The Present And Imagining The Future: Diversity In Contemporary Young Adult Dystopian Literature, Ericka Stone May 2023

Critiquing The Present And Imagining The Future: Diversity In Contemporary Young Adult Dystopian Literature, Ericka Stone

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This project investigates the historic and contemporary representations of diversity in young adult dystopian literature. First, the functions of utopia and dystopia are examined, as each genre seeks to create change within society, whether it is by presenting the possibility of a more hopeful future, or by projecting the problems of the present into a terrifying vision of what might happen if changes are not made. By examining the elements of utopian and dystopian fiction and the way each genre conveys their themes, this project seeks to locate the significance of diversity and representation of all races, ethnicities, genders, and …

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The Framing Of The Shrew: Induction, Gender, And Agency In William Shakespeare’S The Taming Of The Shrew, Samantha Stringham May 2023

The Framing Of The Shrew: Induction, Gender, And Agency In William Shakespeare’S The Taming Of The Shrew, Samantha Stringham

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Shrews abound, not only in Shakespeare’s works but in our modern world. Katherine, Shakespeare’s titular shrew, is in the good company of Beatrice, Adriana, and even, some argue, her seemingly virtuous sister Bianca. These women, all of whom push against the confines posed by the social conventions of Renaissance womanhood, have become increasingly relevant as women, now more than ever, demand that their voices be heard and continue to rally against the assertion that railing, scolding, turbulent behavior makes one a shrew (or perhaps, that being a shrew is an inherently bad thing). The increasingly feminist leanings of modern audiences …

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Technical Communication Inclusionary Interventions Into Academic Spaces, Sam Clem May 2023

Technical Communication Inclusionary Interventions Into Academic Spaces, Sam Clem

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

While many efforts have been made to make higher education in the US more equitable, there are still academic spaces in which some knowledges and some knowledge makers are marginalized. In this dissertation, I identify three such spaces: technical editing, graduate instructor training, and online academic research in trans communities. When editors make revisions based solely in American Standard English, as most editing practices and teaching are currently based, they risk marginalizing non-heritage speakers of English and speakers of various dialects of English, like African American Vernacular English. I suggest that by shifting our focus of editing from grammar policing …

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Desert Body, Lauren Mckinnon May 2023

Desert Body, Lauren Mckinnon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis is a collection of poems examining certain paradoxes of my body. As a survivor of sexual violence, my body relives trauma which makes it feel uninhabitable. I compare my experiences with the Southern Utah desert. The physical beauty, destruction and inhabitability of the desert teaches me to accept my body as both beautiful and full of grief. The poems move chronologically through my life, beginning with an abusive relationship at the age of sixteen, a move to Moab at nineteen, and becoming a mother at twenty-five. Ultimately, with the desert as my guide, I learn to accept my …

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Incredible Witnesses: ​An Analysis Of Thomas Of Cantimpré’S Use Of Witnesses In The Lives Of Christina The Astonishing And Margaret Of Ypres, Marianne Hale Apr 2023

Incredible Witnesses: ​An Analysis Of Thomas Of Cantimpré’S Use Of Witnesses In The Lives Of Christina The Astonishing And Margaret Of Ypres, Marianne Hale

Student Research Symposium

I will be analyzing two of the works of Thomas of Cantimpré. An initial study of the secondary literature surrounding Christina the Astonishing and Margaret of Ypres showed a lack of attention to the witnesses used by Thomas. I researched primary and secondary literature surrounding the hagiographies of Margaret of Ypres and Christina the Astonishing and the function of witnesses in secular and religious courts to generate guidelines to assess how witnesses were used. What I found is that Thomas used many kinds of witnesses from various levels in society and various relationships to the subjects. The preponderance of his …

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Critiquing The Present And Imagining The Future: Diversity In Contemporary Young Adult Dystopian Fiction, Ericka Stone Apr 2023

Critiquing The Present And Imagining The Future: Diversity In Contemporary Young Adult Dystopian Fiction, Ericka Stone

Student Research Symposium

This project investigates the historic and contemporary representations of diversity in young adult dystopian literature. First, the functions of utopia and dystopia are examined, as each genre seeks to create change within society, whether it is by presenting the possibility of a more hopeful future, or by projecting the problems of the present into a terrifying vision of what might happen if change is not made. By examining the elements of utopian and dystopian fiction and the way each genre conveys their themes, this project seeks to locate the significance of diversity and representation of all races, ethnicities, genders, and …

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Voices Of Usu: An Anthology Of Student Writing, Vol. 16, Utah State University Department Of English Jan 2023

Voices Of Usu: An Anthology Of Student Writing, Vol. 16, Utah State University Department Of English

Voices of USU

This collection of student writing represents the voices of over 2,000 students who enroll each academic year in Utah State University’s second-year composition course, Intermediate Writing: Research Writing in a Persuasive Mode. Voices of USU celebrates excellence in writing by providing undergraduate students of diverse backgrounds and disciplines the opportunity to have their work published.

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Diversifying Knowledge: Presenting And Applying A Framework For Inclusive Graduate Program Websites, Jamal-Jared Alexander, Hannah L. Stevens, Rebecca Walton Oct 2022

Diversifying Knowledge: Presenting And Applying A Framework For Inclusive Graduate Program Websites, Jamal-Jared Alexander, Hannah L. Stevens, Rebecca Walton

English Student Research

This paper reports our experience improving the inclusivity of Utah State University’s (USU) Technical Communication and Rhetoric (TCR) graduate program’s online materials. We report outcomes and implications of a 20-hour project in which Stevens applies aspects of an analytical framework developed by Alexander. In addition to the nine-tactic framework introduced in this report, readers may find value in four takeaways we share, based on our experience applying the framework.

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Cultivating Ethics In The Peer Review Process, Rachel Welton Bryson, Sam Clem Oct 2022

Cultivating Ethics In The Peer Review Process, Rachel Welton Bryson, Sam Clem

English Student Research

After describing the content and implementation of an anti-racist scholarly review training informed by recent scholarship in technical communication (TC), the authors reflect on an unanticipated outcome of that training: a participant using language from the training in an attempt to silence an author they were reviewing. We analyze this experience through a framework of modern virtue ethics scholarship and explore ways to cultivate more ethical peer review practices. Drawing upon elements of ethical self-cultivation articulated by Vallor, we use concepts of moral habituation, relational understanding, and reflective self-examination to understand how to cultivate more ethical, reflexive peer review processes.

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Inquiry Journal Facilitation: A Writing Assignment For Practicing Exploratory Speech, Jessica Rivera-Mueller Aug 2022

Inquiry Journal Facilitation: A Writing Assignment For Practicing Exploratory Speech, Jessica Rivera-Mueller

English Faculty Publications

The Inquiry Journal Facilitation is a project that helps preservice teachers develop habits of mind for engaging in critical dialogue about the situations they confront in their teaching contexts. In this project, preservice teachers compose a piece of writing that examines an idea, question, or issue that emerges from their clinical teaching site and lead an inquiry-based discussion about the ideas raised in their writing. Pairing the activity of writing with the activity of discussion creates a context for preservice teachers to create "exploratory speech" (Smagorinsky, 2013) collaboratively. In doing so, preservice teachers practice intellectual moves–framing observations, explaining those constructions, …

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Authorial Agency: Investigating Composition Pedagogies Under A New Lens, Tyler Hurst May 2022

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 …

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Defending Difference: Translingualism In The Composition Classroom, R. Elle Smith May 2022

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 …

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Student Centered Language Teaching: A Focus On Student Identity, Rachel Mano May 2022

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 …

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Belief, Unbelief, And Rebelief In Santa Claus: A Theory Of Cyclical Belief Or A Belief Cycle An Introduction, Steven G. Merrell May 2022

Belief, Unbelief, And Rebelief In Santa Claus: A Theory Of Cyclical Belief Or A Belief Cycle An Introduction, Steven G. Merrell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Every single person, no matter who they are; what they look or sound like; where they are or come from in space and time; their sex, gender, and/or orientation; their age or maturity; their culture; and/or their background, has one or multiple belief(s) and/or belief system(s) of some kind. Such belief may be temporary, transient, fleeting, or long lasting. It/they may be superficial or deeply rooted. It/they may be (considered) or seem rational or irrational. It/they may be encouraged or discouraged, romanticized or pathologized. It/they may be conscious, subconscious, or unconscious; or, such belief(s) may exist somewhere in between. It/they …

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The Underappreciated Intersection Of Science Fiction And Satire, Christopher Nicholson May 2022

The Underappreciated Intersection Of Science Fiction And Satire, Christopher Nicholson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis considers, from a creative writer’s perspective, the largely untapped potential for combining the strengths of satire and science fiction to create stories that provide both escapism and real-world commentary without sacrificing one for the other. It discusses background information and examples of both genres, and then illustrates the principles discussed with three original short stories.

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Becoming A Poet: The Moment Of Metamorphosis, Lauren Mckinnon Apr 2022

Becoming A Poet: The Moment Of Metamorphosis, Lauren Mckinnon

Student Research Symposium

The moment a writer qualifies for the title of poet is undetermined. To gauge if such a moment exists, I launched a mixed method study comparing the perspectives of different published poets. During my study, I interviewed three Cache Valley poets who have their own published books of poetry. In addition, sixteen Utah State University creative writing contest winners were surveyed. My study aims to i) determine the extent to which we can say that there is a decisive moment of change when an individual becomes a poet; and ii) identify the key factors which constitute this shift in identity—sudden …

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Not Your Grandma's Kitchen: Recipe Cards In The Digital Age, Emily Powell Apr 2022

Not Your Grandma's Kitchen: Recipe Cards In The Digital Age, Emily Powell

Student Research Symposium

With the rise in popularity of food bloggers and social media chefs, how do recipe cards function in a digital age? Although scholarly literature addresses the history of cooking, little research focuses on the recipe card, its history, and its use. Originally, recipe cards were not intended to be kept or treasured as family heirlooms. They served purely functional purposes, acting as prompts to housewives when cooking meals and later to promote new technology and foods in the culinary industry. Even with the rise of the internet, many hold onto old recipe cards. This study looks at the history and …

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Beaver Mountain Oral History Project, Hannah Tullis, Gillian Coldesina, Sadie Nellis Apr 2022

Beaver Mountain Oral History Project, Hannah Tullis, Gillian Coldesina, Sadie Nellis

Student Research Symposium

This research is being conducted by the students of ENGL/HIST 6720, a skills-based course in ethnographic fieldwork and oral histories. The class project is focused on gathering oral histories about Beaver Mountain’s history and community by conducting interviews, transcribing these interviews, and taking photographs. The resulting interviews, transcripts, and images will be deposited in the USU archives as a digital exhibit. These oral histories will be accessible not only to future researchers.

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Pest Houses, Quarantine, And Smallpox: Utah Newspapers Reporting On Quarantine In The Early 1900s, Ericka Stone Apr 2022

Pest Houses, Quarantine, And Smallpox: Utah Newspapers Reporting On Quarantine In The Early 1900s, Ericka Stone

Student Research Symposium

This presentation focuses on the methods and rhetoric newspapers used to report on smallpox quarantines in the early 1900s. Newspapers from throughout Utah are examined, with special attention given to articles published within or written about the Cache Valley area. The goal of this presentation is to highlight the ways in which newspapers established quarantine regulations, reported on smallpox cases and negligence, and dealt with rumors and misinformation. Overall, it is concluded that newspapers were a valuable source of information and mass communication during the smallpox epidemic in the early 20th century.

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Making The Old New: The Recontextualization Of Tree Spirits In Video Games, Alexandria Ziegler Apr 2022

Making The Old New: The Recontextualization Of Tree Spirits In Video Games, Alexandria Ziegler

Student Research Symposium

Folklorists study the active rituals between humans and deities, as well as the inactive participation between them in narrative. However, they do not study the active participation that comes in the form of video games between them, though with shifts in society, this new way of engaging through digital forms is widespread and accessible. In my research, I studied Russian and Japanese tree spirits in a variety of video games to understand this new form of engagement with ancient deities. Through the lens of hypermodern and folkloresque folklore, I use the concepts of recontextualization and traditionalization to explain why video …

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Desdemona's Responsibility For Pain In Shakespeare's Othello, Anna Holmes Apr 2022

Desdemona's Responsibility For Pain In Shakespeare's Othello, Anna Holmes

Student Research Symposium

Shakespeare’s portrayal of women has been heavily debated amongst critics from the very beginning. Was he a feminist for his time, subtly pointing out the failings in Elizabethan society’s treatment of women? Or was he instead simply portraying the role of women at the time? I argue that Shakespeare’s nuanced portrayal of women speaks more of the feminist argument, as he writes complex female protagonists in a time when no one believed in these complexities. While some argue that his view of women was sexist from his brutalization and violence against women, I argue that it’s within these confines he …

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Vital Change Needed In Shift Of Focus In Mental Institutions, Emma Carver Apr 2022

Vital Change Needed In Shift Of Focus In Mental Institutions, Emma Carver

Student Research Symposium

Mental Illnesses and disorders are at an all time high in American history with little being done to try and aid such an epidemic. Mental Institutions that focus solely on the short term solution need to shift their focus to long term care to prevent issues such as; mental, emotional and financial stresses on the family or individual felt from caring for struggling individuals. To conduct my research, I used library and internet resources to gather primary and secondary sources all focused on mental illness and mental institutions. I used sources by underrepresented scholars concerning different first hand experiences with …

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The Failed Promise Of Private School Voucher Systems: How We Can Learn From Previous Systems In Future Endeavors, Sarah Curtis Apr 2022

The Failed Promise Of Private School Voucher Systems: How We Can Learn From Previous Systems In Future Endeavors, Sarah Curtis

Student Research Symposium

Voucher systems have been enacted in a number of states, giving government grants to students in order to attend private school institutions where they may not have had the financial ability to before. Voucher systems have claimed to ensure the prosperity of students as they aim to provide religious freedom, special needs education, and opportunities for academic excellence. This promise has held popularity among its supporters, but looking at decade old systems now reveal that this simply isn’t true and has stirred controversy around vouchers. While school vouchers promised higher test scores, they have failed to provide such results when …

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Caring, Investing, Empowering: Undergraduate Research Mentoring Practices By English Faculty, Emily Powell, Taylor Wyatt, Lauren Mckinnon, Taylor Franson, Kylie Smith, Zackary Gregory, R. Elle Smith Apr 2022

Caring, Investing, Empowering: Undergraduate Research Mentoring Practices By English Faculty, Emily Powell, Taylor Wyatt, Lauren Mckinnon, Taylor Franson, Kylie Smith, Zackary Gregory, R. Elle Smith

Student Research Symposium

Mentoring undergraduate research has received attention in scholarly publications, particularly in STEM areas (Pierszalowski & Buser, 2021; National Academies; Pathways to Science). More general advice on mentoring appears in Temple et al (2010) and Vandermaas-Peeler et al, 2018). Attention to mentoring undergraduate researchers in the humanities has been addressed by Behling (2009), Klos, et al (2011), Crawford et al (2014). Grobman and Kinkead (2010) include a section on mentoring in their Undergraduate Research in English Studies. What are the characteristics of faculty mentors in a department of English? This study seeks to determine a profile of effective mentoring in this …

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The Fabric Of Genius: Examining The Material Choices Of Creative Writing Graduate Students, Kylie Smith Apr 2022

The Fabric Of Genius: Examining The Material Choices Of Creative Writing Graduate Students, Kylie Smith

Student Research Symposium

In recent years, the material culture of writing has been an important topic of study for composition scholars. Though many studies examine the material choices of many types of writers, including creative writers, researchers have yet to examine whether or not individuals use different implements to perform different writerly identities. This case study, examining three graduate students in Utah State University’s department of English, asks which writing implements individuals choose to complete creative writing tasks, and whether those differ from implements chosen to complete critical or academic writing tasks.

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The Tragic Loyalty Of Sir Gawain, Annie Heywood Apr 2022

The Tragic Loyalty Of Sir Gawain, Annie Heywood

Student Research Symposium

Sir Gawain was one of the most popular figures from Arthurian legend in medieval England. His absolute loyalty to Arthur, no matter the circumstances, was greatly admired. In every story, Sir Gawain is completely loyal to Arthur, even when Arthur is in the wrong. He is willing to make any sacrifice, whether it be his life or his honor, to protect Arthur and his legacy. However, modern critics have found a darker side to his total loyalty, ideas that Kazuo Ishiguro examines in his novel The Buried Giant. Ishiguro explores the darkness that war can bring out in even the …

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Say Gay, Miranda Wiener Apr 2022

Say Gay, Miranda Wiener

Student Research Symposium

On February 8th, 2022, Republican Representative Joe Harding of Florida proposed the “Parental Rights in Education Bill''. Under this Bill, classroom discussion from grades k-3rd grade will be exclusively heterosexual and will limit how much teacher’s can say in regards to the LGBTQ community in those grades. The bill states that a school “may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate”. Within the LGBTQ community, mental health is at a staggering low. Thoughts of guilt, self-hatred and fear lead to thoughts or acts of suicide …

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Dynamics Of Difference: Creating A Translingual Class At Utah State University, Rebecca Elle Smith Apr 2022

Dynamics Of Difference: Creating A Translingual Class At Utah State University, Rebecca Elle Smith

Student Research Symposium

With social justice topics like racial inequality on the rise, some universities are creating curriculum that emphasizes how language standardization privileges some while disadvantaging others. I propose that USU should create an English class that emphasizes linguistic justice topics like the power dynamics and consequences of utilizing languages outside of English in essays and writing projects. My research project investigates what it would take to create a linguistic justice based English class at USU through the lens of translingualism. I created a mixed methods study where I analyzed translingual syllabi and interviewed lecturers in the USU English department about creating …

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The Buried Giant: Unearthing The Corruption Of Organized Religion, Maryn Van Tassell Apr 2022

The Buried Giant: Unearthing The Corruption Of Organized Religion, Maryn Van Tassell

Student Research Symposium

The Buried Giant is a fantasy novel that has resurrected many of the characteristics of the medieval romance genre. Noble warriors and knights embark on a quest to slay a dragon and face other supernatural antagonists. In this resurrection of genre, what tropes and themes have been re-imagined or subverted for a modern audience? In this presentation, I will illustrate how Kazuo has taken traditional tropes of the medieval romance genre and manipulated them to send a new message about organized Christian religion. I will examine how Kazuo has swapped traditional character roles, called in biblical parallels, and used beautiful …

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