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Articles 1 - 17 of 17
Full-Text Articles in English Language and Literature
Biracial Identity In Texts Read By Secondary Education Students, Jared Madden
Biracial Identity In Texts Read By Secondary Education Students, Jared Madden
Honors Theses
This thesis sought to examine how biracial identity is portrayed in the literature read by students in secondary education. Unfortunately, the findings indicated that biracialism is not being adequately portrayed in this literature. Students rarely encounter biracial characters, when they do these characters are usually peripheral, and sometimes the biracialism of these characters is presented as an obstacle to be overcome. Furthermore, teachers (at least in this researcher’s local area) seem to be extremely apathetic towards even discussing this issue. The impact which all of this can have on secondary students with a biracial background is discussed. However, there are …
God Only Knows: Family In The Films Of Paul Thomas Anderson, Jordan Rossio
God Only Knows: Family In The Films Of Paul Thomas Anderson, Jordan Rossio
Honors Theses
This project looks at the theme of surrogate families in the first three films of director Paul Thomas Anderson, and shows how these films share a common theme. That theme is how these surrogate families that we create can often become more important and powerful than the families into which we are born. The research is drawn from mostly primary sources. These include magazine, newspaper, and television interviews with the director as well as the audio commentaries and behind the scenes documentaries that are featured on the DVDs of the films. The conclusion of this project found how this theme …
Identity And Gender Constructs In "Written On The Body", Paige Van De Winkle
Identity And Gender Constructs In "Written On The Body", Paige Van De Winkle
Honors Theses
In Jeanette Winterson's novel Written on the Body, the ungendered narrator leads the reader through his/her love story with Louise. At moments, the narrator appears to reveal his/her gender, but these moments only reveal the reader's own assumptions about gender and identity which prove to be social constructions, and inconclusive evidence about the narator's gender. The novel shows that gender is not an inherent part of identity, and emphasizes themes that are universal and more important than gender differences, such as biology and the body. The body proves to be beautiful and universal, and gender is an insignificant part …
The Role Of El Cid In Medieval Spanish Culture And Epic Literature, Emily Chaney
The Role Of El Cid In Medieval Spanish Culture And Epic Literature, Emily Chaney
Honors Theses
This research looks at the medieval Spanish epic poem, the Poema de Mio Cid, and how it reflects the world of Spanish culture and literature, its place in the landscape of epic poetry on the European continent, and the noble virtues of the hero, el Cid. The Poema is an anonymous cantar de gesta, or "song of heroic deeds," likely composed around the early thirteenth century by a person (or persons) very familiar with Castilian noble society and law in effect during the late twelfth and early thirteenth century, as well as the area of northern Spain around …
Understanding Urban Education, Emily Watkins
Redefining The "Reality Picture" By Reassessing Feminist Themes In The Early Cyberpunk Works Of William Gibson And Philip K. Dick, Samuel J. Williams
Redefining The "Reality Picture" By Reassessing Feminist Themes In The Early Cyberpunk Works Of William Gibson And Philip K. Dick, Samuel J. Williams
Honors Theses
As a literary genre, Cyberpunk permits the existence of characters, plots, settings, and styles that challenge heteronormative perceptions of gender. The representations of women in Neuromancer, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and A Scanner Darkly highlight a progression towards feminist ideals. Despite this progression, critics have classified these early manifestations of the Cyberpunk genre as non-feminist works that perpetuate misogynistic themes. These critics assert that the female characters in each work are Othered and heteronormative. The previous analyses of these works fail to consider the fictional context of the female characters. In this thesis, I closely analyze the major …
The Perception Of Literary Quality Differing As A Function Of Authorial Gender And Emotionality, Sarah Dean
The Perception Of Literary Quality Differing As A Function Of Authorial Gender And Emotionality, Sarah Dean
Honors Theses
Previous research suggests that gender acknowledgment yields significant consequences on subsequent judgments. In the current research, we examined whether gender of authorial names affected the perception of literary quality. Participants read a short story excerpt designated as male‐authored or female‐authored that contained either exaggerated emotional content or minimal emotional content. Following presentation of the passage, participants reported perceived quality and emotionality and then completed the 10-item short form of the Need for Affect Questionnaire (NAQ-S; cf. Maio & Esses, 2001) followed by the 18‐item Need for Cognition Scale (Cacioppo, Petty, & Kao 1984). Results indicated that participants rated female authors …
Do You Believe? Peter Pan And The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz As Historical Artifacts, Tamara Stone
Do You Believe? Peter Pan And The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz As Historical Artifacts, Tamara Stone
Honors Theses
Scholars often analyze J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan and L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz biographically through the author, didactically, or as pure entertainment. While those interpretations provide insight, children's literature like Peter Pan and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz can also be analyzed as political and social commentary. Although children’s literature is often discounted as a lesser genre of literature, analyzing children’s works offers later generations a view into contemporary societal mores because the generally straightforward plotline allows for subtly incorporated commentary by the author. One can read Peter Pan as “simply a children’s story,” or note the …
The Magic Of Books: A History Of Medieval Magic And Literature, Ana Maria Lavado
The Magic Of Books: A History Of Medieval Magic And Literature, Ana Maria Lavado
Honors Theses
Narrative binds people together with a common language and experience. It provides a singular manner for communication and interaction. Without this interaction, there would be no society or culture to speak of; with no way to articulate and control sounds, humans would be forced to communicate through the use of motions and gestures, deprived of the beauty and magic of language. Words can somehow capture pain, joy, beauty, awe, sadness, excitement, emotion and the very thrill that comes from being alive in a way that nothing else can. Language can inspire and influence as much as it can inflict pain …
Studies In The Novella, Lb Kovac
"'More Safe I Sing With Mortal Voice': The Bard, The Reader, And The Problematics Of Creation In Paradise Lost", Benjamin Moran
"'More Safe I Sing With Mortal Voice': The Bard, The Reader, And The Problematics Of Creation In Paradise Lost", Benjamin Moran
Honors Theses
For the first three centuries following its initial publication in 1667, John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost was understood by its critics the epitome of stateliness, a poem brimming with grandeur, and above all, the product of a writer certain about his poetic skills and his theodical mission. Joseph Addison, one of the poem's earliest and most influential critics, summarizes this orthodoxy when he wrote that readers find in Paradise Lost "all the Greatness of Plan, Regularity of Design, and masterly Beauties which we discover in Homer and Virgil." In this essay, I directly and indirectly address Addison's argument as …
Closing The Book On Libraries? Challenging The Idea That Libraries Are Obsolete And Discovering Why They Are More Important Now Than Ever Before, Kayla Hampton
Honors Theses
Libraries have been a part of civilization for thousands of years, but many people are beginning to believe that the information centers are becoming obsolete due to the Internet and other technological advancements. This thesis challenges that opinion by focusing on the past, present and future of libraries. In “The Past” section, the historical background of libraries is discussed, beginning with the first libraries in Greece during the fourth century B.C. to the first public library that opened in the United States, which was located in Peterborough, New Hampshire. During the portion of the thesis that discusses the challenges that …
Glottopoeia: A Case Study In Language Change, Ian Hollenbaugh
Glottopoeia: A Case Study In Language Change, Ian Hollenbaugh
Honors Theses
"Glottopoeia: A Case Study in Language Change" is a thesis in the form of a I32-page grammar booklet, entitled An Elementary Ghau Aethauic Grammar, with a preface detailing what I did, why I did it, and how I accomplished it. In effect, I invented a language called Ghau Aethau. It was created almost entirely ex nihilo, borrowing nothing in the way of phonetics, morphology, or vocabulary from any real language. It does employ grammatical concepts present in many real-world languages, but also several of my own design. I chose this project for two reasons: first, to explore the art form …
Teaching Grammar In Context, Katie Pingle
Teaching Grammar In Context, Katie Pingle
Honors Theses
An English 1000 instructor’s search for the best practices in teaching grammar through a reflective teaching experience which references leading scholarship and critically examines classroom activities and students’ writing abilities.
Please Mind The Gap (Poems), Louis David Benedetto Iii
Please Mind The Gap (Poems), Louis David Benedetto Iii
Honors Theses
No abstract provided.
Life In The Hopeless Emptiness : The Search For Authenticity In Revolutionary Road, Austin Marie Carter
Life In The Hopeless Emptiness : The Search For Authenticity In Revolutionary Road, Austin Marie Carter
Honors Theses
Richard Yates’ Revolutionary Road opens, appropriately, with the “final dying sounds” of the Laurel Players’ dress rehearsal of The Petrified Forest. The suburban community theater is preparing for its inaugural show, and from these opening words, it is clear that this is a novel of performance—of failed performance, specifically. Even though the Players have little theatrical experience, both they and the community have allowed themselves to begin to believe in the “brave idea” of the show (7), and they “let the movement of the play come and carry them and break like a wave” (6). Revolutionary Road is populated by …
Gender, Nature, And The Fairytale Structure In Robin Mckinley's Works, Molly Rogers
Gender, Nature, And The Fairytale Structure In Robin Mckinley's Works, Molly Rogers
Honors Theses
Robin McKinley is an American fantasy author who uses fairytale structure to explore themes of gender and nature. Her first book, Beauty, a retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” was published in 1978. She continues to write fairytales and other fantastic fiction, utilizing the fairytale form and structure. She has won a few awards, including the Newbery Award in 1985 for her novel The Hero and the Crown. Her latest book, Pegasus, was published in 2010. Jack Zipes describes McKinley’s heroines as "self-confident, courageous young women who take the initiative in a world which they help to define with men…it …