English Language and Literature Commons^™

Further Up & Further In: Understanding Narnia, By Joseph Pearce, Chad Chisholm

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Tolkien And Philosophy, Edited By Roberto Arduini And Claudio A. Testi, David Emerson

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Informing The Inklings: George Macdonald And The Victorian Roots Of Modern Fantasy, Edited By Michael Partridge And Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson, Tiffany Brooke Martin

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

“Something Has Gone Crack”: New Perspectives On J.R.R. Tolkien In The Great War, Edited By Janet Brennan Croft And Annika Röttinger, James Prothero

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Tractacus De Deificatione Sexdecim Heroum Per Martianum De Sancto Alosio / A Treatise On The Deification Of Sixteen Heroes By Marziano Da Sant’ Alosio, With Text, Translation, Introduction, And Notes By Ross G.R. Caldwell And Marco Ponzi; The Marziano Tarot The Oldest Known Tarot Deck Conceived By Marziano Da Tortona First Created By Michelino Da Besozzo In Milan Between 1412 And 1425; Con Gli Occhi Et Con L’Intelletto / Explaining The Tarot In Sixteenth Century Italy, Translation And Commentary By Ross Sinclair Caldwell, Thierry Depaulis, And Marco Ponzi, Emily E. Auger

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

A Content Analysis Of Rachel Held Evans’ Impact Through Her Virtual Community Of Faith, Maddie Christy

English and Journalism Student Works

This research discusses the impact of Rachel Held Evans’ life, work, and death on her virtual community of faith. Evans’ work as a writer and theologian in the progressive evangelical Christian world was analyzed in this study through the Twitter hashtag #becauseofRHE, a space that emerged on Twitter after her death to commemorate how she had impacted followers’ lives. In addition to an outpouring of grief the hashtag presented three key impacts: radical inclusiveness, accepting and encouraging doubts, and helping followers keep their faith in God and the Church.

Amatonormativity, Aromanticism, And What Defines A Relationship, Rilee Granger

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Romance is seen in many aspects of western culture, from movies and tv, to songs and language, but beliefs about romance go beyond what is portrayed in the media. Portrayals of romance with the marriage plot in movies show the underlying belief that romance is a goal everyone is striving towards. This belief that all people are striving towards an exclusive, romantic coupling is called amatonormativity. Professor Elizabeth Brake coined the term amatonormativity and defines it as “the assumption that a central, exclusive, amorous relationship is normal for humans, in that it is a universally shared goal, and that such …

W. H. Auden’S Proto-Queer Theology Of 1939-1941, Aaron Bisson

Honors Program Theses and Projects

With the advent of queer theory in the early 1990s, critics have increasingly sought to “queer” texts; that is, seeking out demonstrations of identity that do not fit conventional norms of sex, gender, and sexuality. Given the historic persecution of homosexuals and other “deviants” in the twentieth century, W. H. Auden is an interesting case when viewed through this lens because his expansive career brims with homoerotic (and equally homosexual) undertones.

Se Dice Pelo Bueno: Black Affirmations In Contemporary Puerto Rican Literature, Amaryllis Lopez

Honors Program Theses and Projects

In recent years, the natural hair movement has demanded social, political, and cultural acceptance of Black hair on a global scale. Particularly in the Hispanophone Caribbean, the natural hair movement has been a tool to not only promote the acceptance of curly, kinky hair but to combat Latin America’s anti-Blackness. I have found that although Black hair in the Hispanophone Caribbean is constantly compared to textures found in nature such as wool and pajón, it has also been regarded as unnatural. My work has been largely inspired by the essay “Beyond blanqueamiento: black affirmation in contemporary Puerto Rico,” in which …

All In The Family: A Collection Of Essays On Family And Mental Health, Kiana Govoni

Honors Program Theses and Projects

I was inspired to write this honors thesis because I wanted to share my experiences dealing with mental health issues and nontraditional family dynamics. I struggled, at the beginning of the project, to find nonfiction books that closely resembled my life and experiences. I am a black woman, but I grew up in a white family. Finding memoirs on adoption and nontraditional families that were similar to my experiences was difficult because many narratives on adoption focus on the adoptee’s search for their biological family. Such memoirs also have themes of cultural loss and struggles with identity. I never felt …

African American Vernacular English: A Language Necessarily Adorned, Christelle Lauture

Honors Program Theses and Projects

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) has been spoken by African Americans for centuries but has only recently been acknowledged as a distinct dialect. It is often used in tandem with Standard English, through a concept referred to as code-switching. Although linguists have done substantial work to validate AAVE, there is an incomplete understanding of why the dialect developed, and, in particular, what functions the dialect serves for its speakers. In order to begin the work of discovering why AAVE developed the specific features it manifests, I synthesized other linguists’ observations into a taxonomy of five categories that account for most …

Understanding Gender Practices And Identity In Virginia Woolf’S To The Lighthouse Through The Theories Of Erving Goffman, Meaghan Mcintyre

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This paper uses sociologist Erving Goffman’s theories to examine the nature of gender and identity in Virginia Woolf’s 1927 novel, To The Lighthouse. By reading the novel through the lens of Goffman’s theory about what constitutes a performance, as well as applying his argument about the role of the front region and back region in shaping human conduct, gendered behavior is shown to be part of a “socialized [and] molded” (Goffman 35) performance instead of being a predisposed trait. In her representation of the Victorian man Mr. Ramsay, the Victorian woman Mrs. Ramsay, and the modern woman Lily Briscoe, Woolf …

Snc Fights Covid-19 Pandemic

St. Norbert Times

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  • How Disney Hurts the Film Industry
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  • “Parks and Rec” …

More Man Than A Horse? Bojack Horseman And Its Subversion Of Sitcom Conventions In Search Of Realism, Bradley Simpson

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

As the television market diversifies and fragments, TV show creators in the postmodern era have been pushed to subvert the conventions of various genres to stay relevant. This research uses a combination of genre analysis and close content analysis of the Netflix original series BoJack Horseman to identify several conventions of the situation comedy genre that the show subverts. Through an unconventional handling of irony, tone, unique form, and subject matter, BoJack Horseman manages to transcend generic expectations by portraying a dark, realistic worldview. Contrary to the traditional view of the situation comedy as a media oriented towards escapism, BoJack …

“Pen Is Envy”: Education, Feminine Sexuality, And Fruitfulness In Christina Rossetti’S “Goblin Market” And “An Apple Gathering” And Margaret Atwood’S The Handmaid’S Tale And The Testaments, Hannah White

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The Victorian era was a time in which people were very much interested in morality and sinning, especially when it came to women’s sexuality. It was also time in which conversations about women and education often linked women to their bodies—even medical doctors during this era spoke of the dangerous consequences education might have on a woman’s reproductive capabilities. While men’s sexual transgressions were often viewed as a natural result of their being in the public sphere, women were expected to be the pure and domestic moral compass there to guide men that could not help but sin because of …

Another Perspective: Telling The Hero’S Story Without The Hero, Renee Hopper

Honors Projects

Can a YA story be effectively told through the lenses of side characters that typically exist to further the main character’s plot? What gives a side character agency? How do you make a hero without ever getting close to them through the narrator? This Honors Project seeks to answer those questions through a YA-style novella in which four different "side characters" tell their stories, and the hero's point of view is never followed.

The Poetry Of History: Irish National Imagination Through Mythology And Materiality, Ryan Fay

English Honors Theses

The thesis culminates in the twentieth century and yet it begins with the Ulster Cycle, a period of Irish mythological history that occurred around the first century common era. Indeed, since the time frame was before the arrival of the Gaels, Normans, or Christianity, the extent of this mythology’s relevance today is whatever extent it is conceptualized as “Irish.” As such, the first chapter locks onto an aspect that could feasibly transcend time and resonate with modern Irish society: gender. Of course, the epistemological dynamics of gender^[1] in the first-century common era are vastly different than the twentieth century …

European Imperialist Violence And Feminine Influence In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness, Katlyn S. Davenport

English Department Theses

This thesis explores themes of influence and resistance to imperialism in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. To contextualize the feminine control and resistance of imperialism and colonialism, the thesis first examines Marlow’s and Kurt’s roles as agents and representatives of the Company, and thereby reveals their complicity in the brutalities carried out against the native people of the Congo. Additionally, it compares the vivid descriptions of violence inherent in imperialist domination with the vaguer characterization of violence among the tribespeople. Finally, by examining relationships between male and female characters as well as the ideals of the Anglo/American New Woman, this …

Another Likable Serial Killer: Fans' Representation Of "You"'S Joe Goldberg Through Memes, Carlisle Lynch

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

America is no stranger to likable serial killers in the media and Netflix's "You" with its protagonist Joe Goldberg is an example of this trope. Fans are taking to Twitter and TikTok to share their opinions about their new favorite serial killer, and the opinions are similar. The purpose of this research is to discover what the limited ideas on Twitter and TikTok reveal about how fans view Joe. Scholarly research shows that social media platforms have shifted fans from observers to participants, with the ability to create and share their own content across the Internet. The snowball effect that …

Her Voice On Air: How Irish Radio Made Strides For Women's Rights, Emilie R. Hines

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

Radio is the voice of the people; this is no less true in Ireland, a nation that prefers talk radio and phone-ins. These formats were popular from 1970-2000, formative years for the feminist movement. Scholarship suggests a correlation between radio and women’s issues in Ireland but does not answer what elements create this. Here, I analyze 10 archival radio clips from Ireland’s national public service broadcaster, RTÉ, looking at how women’s issues are framed. After analyzing these clips, I found that Irish identity embedded in the shows allows for the discussion of controversial ideas. Radio promotes an inclusive environment, by …

"And Gladly Wolde He Lerne": Facilitating Discussion Based Learning About Medieval And Regency Literature Through Interactive Technologies, Emma Vallandingham

Honors Projects

A series of reading guides for Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, and Frankenstein, that utilize interactive technologies to facilitate student engagement with and discussion of the texts. Each reading guide consists of an overview of the text, relevant historical context, and reading and discussion questions for students to answer. Some reading guides also have corresponding answer guides that provides sample answers as well as hints and tips for answering the questions.

Super Heroes V Scorsese: A Marxist Reading Of Alienation And The Political Unconscious In Blockbuster Superhero Film, David Eltz

Kutztown University Masters Theses

As superhero blockbusters continue to dominate the theatrical landscape, critical detractors of the genre have grown in number and authority. The most influential among them, Martin Scorsese, has been quoted as referring to Marvel films as “theme parks” rather than “cinema” (his own term for auteur film). Despite this, these films often possess considerably challenging views in regards to social justice, and continue to interface with the pervading theme of alienation in increasingly abstract and progressive ways.

This thesis considers four films (1978’s Superman, 2000’s X-Men, 2013’s Captain America: Winter Soldier, and 2018’s Black Panther) from a Marxist perspective, viewing …

User Experience As A Rhetorical Medium: User At The Intersection Of Audience, Reader And Actor, Áine Doyle

English Honors Theses

The goal of this project is to demonstrate how digital interfaces are bodies of visual language that can be “close-read” and interpreted critically, just like any other traditional text; digital user interfaces, like poetry and novels, have form and content that complement and shape the meaning and interpretation of the other. It is meant to encourage academic discussions about digital interfaces to go beyond whether social media is “good” or “bad” to how digital interfaces are structured, why they are structured the way they are, and what effects these structures have on the way they communicate information and content to …

Salt In The Deep Marine, Rachel Bollinger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Rachel Allison Bollinger: Salt in the Deep Marine

(Under the direction of Dr. Christine Butterworth-McDermott and Dr. John McDermott)

The surface tension present between liquid and air is due to the fact that liquid molecules are highly attractive to one another. Because of this, the surface of water acts like an elastic membrane, allowing human hands or light insects to sit or slide on its surface. For a moment or two, the hand or the insect seems to occupy both the water and the air simultaneously. This commonplace phenomenon is explored in the poetry collection, Salt in the Deep …

Septimus Smith Had To Die: An Examination Of Virginia Woolf’S Frustration With The Mental Health System After Wwi, Mackenzie K. Mccotter

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

In 1922, Virginia Woolf began writing Mrs. Dalloway as reports of shell shocked soldiers began coming out. Treatments were being created and doctors were putting those treatments into practice at the same time. Woolf was armed with her own experiences in the area of treatments for mental health and created Septimus Smith to display how wrong the contemporary treatments are for those struggling with their mental health. Septimus’ doctors, Dr. Holmes and Sir William Bradshaw, were examples of the way doctors ignored the trauma many patients were processing after coming back from the war. By creating these characters and having …

Little Girl In The Country: A Children's Book, Holly Mcginnis

Honors Theses

A Work of Children’s Literature to Address Realities of Childhood in the Southern United States

This thesis investigated the intersection of life’s realities and children’s literature. Representation is an oft-talked-about area of children’s literature. It is coming to light that many groups are underrepresented in writings for children, and recent works are attempting to broaden the types and backgrounds of characters to represent the diversity of readers and authors. This thesis is the author’s attempt to accurately represent the types of students she encountered in student teaching experiences in the Oxford-area. Using inspiration from her own childhood and knowledge of …

Playing To Win: The Marriage Market In Jane Austen’S Northanger Abbey, Sense And Sensibility And Emma, Caroline Elizabeth Nall

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to analyze the implications of the marriage market in Jane Austen’s novels Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility and Emma. In these books, the main focus will be on Isabella Thorpe, who is actively participating in the “game” of the marriage market, Charlotte Palmer, who has won the “game” of marriage, and Miss Bates, who has lost the “game” of marriage. The historical context of these situations, taking place in eighteenth and nineteenth century England, has been taken into account. Austen has created characters to demonstrate the many aspects of a female’s life and how it relates …

Religion In George R.R. Martin's "A Song Of Ice And Fire" Franchise, Sydney A. Craven

Honors Theses

This thesis is a study of religion in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire franchise. Specifically, George R.R. Martin's use of medievalisms, his interpretation of the Middle Ages, when creating the religions in A Song of Ice and Fire.

More Than A Language: A Detailed Look At The English Major, Hannah Woods

Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes the perceptions of the English Major in order to come up with suggestions for the Univeristy of Mississippi English Department with the purpose of increasing enrollment in the English Program. The last decade has seen a large decrease in the number of English Majors throughout the country, and this decrease has been reflected in the University of Mississippi. This thesis looks at recent opinions of the English Major in society, including popular criticisms of the major and responces from the English community. It was found that the two main criticisms of the English Major are that graduates …

"Monsters In Suburbia": Women's Bodies, Monstrosity, And Motherhood In The Mere Wife, Claire M. Bonvillain

Honors Theses

This thesis explores themes of monstrosity in Maria Dahvana Headley's novel The Mere Wife in connection with issues of women's bodies and feminism. It analyzes prominent female characters in the novel and the relationships of their bodies to patriarchal authority, showing how and why bodies are deemed monstrous. It discusses the role that motherhood plays in patriarchal society, as well as explores alternatives that the novel offers to this system.