English Language and Literature Commons^™

Asexualities, Aromantics, And Autists In Epic Fantasy By Tolkien And Goddard, Robin Anne Reid, Rory Queripel

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

The Mariner (and his wife): Rethinking Aldarion’s (A)sexuality Rory Queripel

“Aldarion and Erendis” (Unfinished Tales) is a rare example in Tolkien’s work of a marriage gone severely awry. Many readings of the tale apportion blame to Aldarion, who is seen as “unwilling” to make the marriage work (Fitzsimmons, 2015), cruel and unfeeling towards Erendis, who herself is characterised as resentful and unaccepting (Rosenthal, 2004). However, these readings rely on an assumption of a cisheteronormative and, more importantly, allosexual relationship between the couple.

This paper proposes an alternate view of Aldarion and his role in the story, suggesting the possibility that …

Closeted Gays Take Hide, A Lamia Has Been Untied: Bbc Merlin And Queer Experiences Beyond Queer Joy, Anna Caterino

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

A decade after its finale, online fandoms have started labeling Merlin (2008-2012) as “date your bully 101” (theroundbartable), a story written by people “giving each other blowjobs while they talk about how much they deserve servants” (vhagarswattle). In light of the most recent models of queer representation, such takes are to be expected. Even so, Merlin is not a mere case of “hoyay” (Kohnen 201-2012) nor does it engage in queerbaiting or use the “Bury Your Gays” trope. The text is tied to the socio-political landscape of the late 2000s which serves as foundation for the show’s tragedy and, although …

Our Flag (And Spaceship) Means Queer: Monstering The Majority Culture, Sara Brown, Kristine Larsen

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

Although the television series Our Flag Means Death presents on the surface as a romantic comedy, it is enhanced by mythic elements that infuse the narrative with a clear sense of the fantastic. Here, the pirates exist in a Secondary World that openly draws upon the Primary (both in terms of historiography and legend); hence 18th-century piracy and British colonialism can interact seamlessly with human-to-animal-transformations (paying homage to the Greek myth of Ceyx and Alcyone) without seeming either disconcerting or anomalous – all co-exist comfortably in Faerie. OFMD both inverts and deconstructs mythopoeia; the Primary World myths of the Gentleman …

Gazing Queerly: The Art And Text Around Saruman’S Non-Normativity, Christopher Vaccaro

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

The queer is often defined by its relation to normativity. Michael Warner’s The Trouble with Normal situates queerness in opposition to normalcy, even gay normalcy. Karma Lochrie’s Heterosyncrasies: Female Sexuality When Normal Wasn’t deconstructs a monolithic hetero-normativity. Within the fantasy genre, protagonists frequently reside in a queer relation to normative communities. J. R. R. Tolkien quite often depicts his major characters within his mythopoeic framework as in some way outside of the normal; they’re often odd, fringe outsiders in relation to the larger community to which they are a part. The texts of his legendarium present this queerness fairly clearly—so …

Tolkien’S Queer Landscape: Three Papers On Middle-Earth’S Heterotopias, Will Sherwood, Marita Arvaniti, Mariana Rios Maldonado

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

The following papers will explore Tolkien’s queer landscapes of Middle-earth: from Arda’s highest peaks and hidden underbellies, to her liminal, fae places, using the lens of Michel Foucault’s heterotopias.

Marita Arvaniti will introduce the panel and discuss Tolkien’s Faerian Drama and its relationship to the much-maligned Tom Bombadil episode, focusing on the queer figure of Tom Bombadil himself and his heterotopic domain.

Mariana Rios Maldonado will analyse the Barrow-downs, Dead Marshes, and Paths of the Dead as symbolic sites of death created during harrowing moments in the history of Middle-earth. These are no-places: spaces of Otherness containing the evil and …

Welcome And Announcements, The Mythopoeic Society

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

Join us for a screening of the Welcome and Announcements video in the 'Track 1' room, and have a cup of coffee before we get started!

Face Of War: A Collective Narrative Podcast -Retrospective Of Season 2, Barbara K. Robins, Jessie Stewart

English Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

This podcast series reflects how war impacts all of us by listening to the different perspectives of those that have lived it, understanding how the media shapes our views of war, understanding our own feelings, and learning life skills for managing stress, fear, and anxiety. Our goal is to educate, remind you that you aren’t alone, and give you tools to navigate living and watching war.

Barbara and Jessie reflect on their experiences having completed season two of The Face of War podcast.

Participants

Barbara K Robins, Assistant Professor of English, UNO

Jessie Stewart, English Graduate Student

Link to Spotify …

Face Of War: A Collective Narrative Podcast -Season 2 Episode 5: A Personal Story Of Loss, Barbara K. Robins, Jessie Stewart

English Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

This podcast series reflects how war impacts all of us by listening to the different perspectives of those that have lived it, understanding how the media shapes our views of war, understanding our own feelings, and learning life skills for managing stress, fear, and anxiety. Our goal is to educate, remind you that you aren’t alone, and give you tools to navigate living and watching war.

In an interview discussion with Harley, Barbara shares her experiences living with a US Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam and his death by suicide in 2020 after a second cancer diagnosis.

Participants in this …

Face Of War: A Collective Narrative Podcast -Season 2 Episode 4: Samuel Bak, Holocaust Survivor And Artist, Part 2, Barbara K. Robins, Jessie Stewart

English Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

This podcast series reflects how war impacts all of us by listening to the different perspectives of those that have lived it, understanding how the media shapes our views of war, understanding our own feelings, and learning life skills for managing stress, fear, and anxiety. Our goal is to educate, remind you that you aren’t alone, and give you tools to navigate living and watching war.

Sam shares a few of his experiences of survival during WWII and what it means to be an artist representing displacement, survival, and hope. Following a 2019 exhibition at UNO, the artist donated more …

Libraries And Changing Humanities Fields, Peter Hesseldenz

2024 R&I Day

A description of a project which explores how Humanities fields are changing as they grapple with diversity and inclusion issues, focusing particularly on curricula and teaching methods. The project also seeks to understand how well libraries are working with and supporting these changes with particular emphasis on the role of Academic Liaisons.

Face Of War: A Collective Narrative Podcast -Season 2 Episode 3: Samuel Bak, Holocaust Survivor And Artist, Part 1, Barbara K. Robins, Jessie Stewart

English Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

This podcast series reflects how war impacts all of us by listening to the different perspectives of those that have lived it, understanding how the media shapes our views of war, understanding our own feelings, and learning life skills for managing stress, fear, and anxiety. Our goal is to educate, remind you that you aren’t alone, and give you tools to navigate living and watching war.

Sam shares a few of his experiences of survival during WWII and what it means to be an artist representing displacement, survival, and hope. Following a 2019 exhibition at UNO, the artist donated more …

An Enchanted Place

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

No abstract provided.

New Coyote Stories: “Ooljéé”

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

No abstract provided.

The Holy Thorn Of Glastonbury And The Two Trees Of Valinor, Giovanni Carmine Costabile

Journal of Tolkien Research

An old wooden church in Glastonbury rose on the site of the Abbey church taking its place after a fire burnt it. This old church is traditionally considered to have been the eldest church in England, founded by Joseph of Arimathea after landing upon the British shore. Such a legend, probably spread after the Norman Conquests by the Abbey monks who needed to fund the monastery, also relates that Joseph planted his staff upon the highest hill in Glastonbury, and the staff grew branches and roots, transforming into a wonderful thorn tree which, unlike common thorns, bloomed twice a year, …

When Language Fails: A Critical Analysis Essay Of Kathryn Stockett’S The Help:, Evan Mccreary

Black Album Mixtape

A critical analysis essay of Kathryn Stockett's New York Times Bestselling book, The Help, and it's subsequent film adaptation, and how in recent years, particularly following the murder of George Floyd, the story has been used as a classroom tool for teaching students about racism and its effects. Written by a Black student in a primarily white school community, this essay was written as an antithesis to the ideology that the book and movie exceed their intended intentions of being a beneficial teaching tool to youth.

Téacsúil Fionnachtain, Alan Delozier

Critical Inquiries Into Irish Studies

“Textual Discovery” is presented to pique interest in the obscure, yet unique works in Irish language, literature, and history that have been largely forgotten over time. Articles will cover different subject areas, authors, themes, and eras related to the depth and consequence of the Gaeilge experience in its varied forms. The inspiration comes from selections found within the affiliated Irish Rare Book and Special Collections Library at Seton Hall University, but on a deeper level this piece serves to honor works that can be found listed in bibliographical compilations and on the shelves of libraries across the world.

Bad Bridget: Crime, Mayhem, And The Lives Of Irish Emigrant Women By Elaine Farrell And Leanne Mccormick, Penguin, 2023, Elizabeth Brewer Redwine

Critical Inquiries Into Irish Studies

No abstract provided.

Coda: Storytelling As A Cultural Context In Vona Groarke’S Hereafter, Niamh Macgloin

Critical Inquiries Into Irish Studies

No abstract provided.

Storytelling As A Cultural Context For London-Irish Writing In Donall Macamhlaigh’S Schnitzer O’Shea, Jimmy Murphy’S Kings Of The Kilburn High Road And Enda Walsh’S The Walworth Farce, Niamh Macgloin

Critical Inquiries Into Irish Studies

The oral tradition of storytelling is culturally significant to Irish literature and important for immigrant communities as a way to connect with their home culture and share stories without the necessity of literacy. This essay considers the motif of storytelling and the importance of voicing the community in much London-Irish literature. In Walsh’s The Walworth Farce, a play within a play, the main character obsesses over retelling the story of their emigration from Ireland but corrupts its purity as he pushes his narrative of innocence too far, and the cycle of storytelling begins again. Similarly, in Murphy’s Kings of the …

A Gaelic South African Revival?: The Irish Republican Association Of South Africa, The Republic, And Irish South African Identity, Tom Mcgrath

Critical Inquiries Into Irish Studies

In September 1920, at a meeting in Johannesburg, the Irish National Association of South Africa rebranded itself as the Irish Republican Association of South Africa. The IRASA was unique within the history of the Irish in South Africa. While it existed only until 1923, it was the largest Irish group in South African history, made evident by the establishment of its own journal, The Republic. The association was fundamentally devoted to nurturing an “Irish Afrikander” identity and culture within South Africa, primarily through the promotion of Irish works in its journal, from excerpts of Thomas Davis’ writings to a full …

Hereafter: The Telling Life Of Ellen O’Hara: An Interview With Vona Groarke, Elizabeth Brewer Redwine

Critical Inquiries Into Irish Studies

No abstract provided.

George R.R. Martin And The Fantasy Form (2019) By Joseph Rex Young And Tweaking Things A Little: Essays On The Epic Fantasy Of J.R.R. Tolkien And G.R.R. Martin (2023), By Thomas Honegger, Andrew Higgins

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review by Andrew Higgins of George R.R. Martin and the Fantasy Form (2019) by Joseph Rex Young and Tweaking Things a Little (2023) by Thomas Honegger

The Tale Of ‘Aldarion And Erendis’: Not Just A Medieval Love Story, Sara Brown

Journal of Tolkien Research

J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner’s Wife’, published in the Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, is a cautionary tale of a failed marriage that also serves as an indicator of the moral decline of Númenor in the Second Age of Middle-earth. In this relationship is the beginning of the Downfall, heralding the shadow of evil that will entangle events into the Third Age. This paper explores the significance of this story to the history of Middle-earth, as well as its possible roots in medieval texts such as the Prose Edda and the Icelandic Laxdaela Saga.

Book Review: Seen And Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, And Ansel Adams’S Photographs Reveal About The Japanese American Incarceration, Lisa M. Harrison

The Utah English Journal

“Early in the morning on December 7, 1941, Imperial Japan bombed the U.S. Navy Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawai’i.” This is how Elizabeth Partridge sets the stage for her beautifully-presented recounting of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Nurturing Academic Writing: Empowering Students Through Socratic Seminars, Rebekah Crawley

The Utah English Journal

Throughout my eight years as a high school English teacher, I have struggled to know how to expand my students’ abilities to write academically. That struggle has only been exacerbated in recent years with the increasing use of smartphones, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the introduction of Artificial Intelligence programs. With constant resistance from defeated students, it’s easy to get discouraged. However, this resistance is not new and one technique that has consistently helped me encourage even the most reluctant students to overcome writing challenges is the Socratic Seminar or Fishbowl Discussion.

Book Review: Ay, Mija! My Bilingual Summer In Mexico, Robin White

The Utah English Journal

Ay, Mija! is a fun and quirky graphic novel that modernizes the traditional memoir genre. Christine Suggs, who uses the pronouns they/them, heads to Mexico the summer before their junior year in high school with a couple goals in mind: improve their Spanish and reconnect with their family. Through the use of engaging images and text, Christine Suggs explores themes of identity, family, and belonging through heartwarming storytelling.

Book Review: Gallant, Jessica Ashurst

The Utah English Journal

Orphaned and unwanted, Olivia Prior lives at Merilance Academy. Mute, misunderstood, and mistreated by the others, Olivia craves a home, but all she has left of her family is her mother’s journal. Often, Olivia turns back to the journal’s words and paintings as she tries to understand the world around her. Home is a choice, her mother wrote. You will be safe as long as you stay away from Gallant.

Place-Based Multimodal Narratives With Storymap Js, Laurel Phillips, Johnny Allred

The Utah English Journal

At the beginning of a recent cross-country road trip, Johnny pulled open a map app on his phone and entered his final destination—Fort Worth, Texas—into the search bar, along with three other stops: the Maverik in Moab (he had to load up on Dr. Pepper); a hotel in Santa Rosa, New Mexico; and “Cadillac Ranch” in Amarillo (Google it). For the next 1,200 miles, the digital map guided him and his family along the path, setting the stage for experiences and stories that the family will tell and retell for years to come.

That example—the use of maps to guide …

Integrating Sentence Combining With Existing Curriculum, Jessica Low

The Utah English Journal

Over the last few years I have been astonished by the noticeable decline in my students’ reading and writing abilities when compared to those in previous years. Every teacher at my school has also noticed the problem, but many of us, burned out from COVID, didn’t have the bandwidth to try something big and new. That changed for me when Kayleigh, a likable, hardworking seventh grader, said “Mrs. Low, I’m glad I have a short book because I can read all the words, but I don’t understand what I’m reading. This gives me more time to try to reread and …

Dreams, Empathy, And Stories: From The Editors, Mandy Luszeck, Jon Ostenson

The Utah English Journal

Teachers often fall victim to having their stories told for them. The local and national news broadcast stories of the negative moments in teacher’s classrooms, or highlight the few who are not really committed to their students. The loud voices of political dissent focus on the few who oppose our teaching practices as we strive to educate our students within the global and cosmopolitan contexts in which they live. Yet, teachers famously “close the door” and continue to teach. But stories matter.