English Language and Literature Commons^™

Music, Shakespeare, And Redefined Catharsis, Megan Jae Hatt

Student Works

The definition of catharsis has changed since the time of Aristotle. A person does not only experience catharsis out of pity or fear from theatric tragedies; they also experience it through laughter, love, and simply immersing themselves into the emotions presented by different forms of media. This essay reviews the catharsis one can experience through contemporary music and Shakespeare as they become submersed in the emotions and spectacle of each respective media. In this essay, I compare and contrast contemporary music and Shakespeare text and performance in order to relate them to this new definition of catharsis by including different …

The Effects Of Neocolonialism On Indigenous Peruvians, Christina Nelson

Honors Program Theses and Projects

In this world, there exist histories that do not make it into textbooks or school curriculums. There are events that are born in the shadows of suppression, with victims stifled so much so that they have no means of telling their stories. Historical happenings do not always have the privilege of being accurately recorded where the pen meets the paper. Instead, these instances linger in the air, passed on from one generation to the next by storytelling and song, aging into myth. Colonization, or the act of settling into a foreign land and establishing dominance over the natives, has history …

“More Free Than He Is Jealous”: Female Agency And Solidarity In The Winter’S Tale, Stacey K. Mooney

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

No abstract provided.

From Terrorism To Feminism: Live-Action Superhero Films As Reflections Of American Social Problems Post 9/11, Lindsey Poe

English MA Theses

Superheroes have always been used as tools of escapism. From their insurgence into popular culture in the 1930s, to their animation in television programs, and appearance in films in the late 1970s until now, superheroes have allowed audiences an avenue through which they could imagine an alternate, utopian reality. Through the analyses of modern superhero films, audiences are able to connect how the genre reflects larger social and political fears in the wake of such unexpected realities: fear of annihilation after the 9/11 attacks and existing in a potentially unsafe America following the election of Donald Trump. The superhero film …

Disabled Gods: A Critical Disability Studies Analysis Of Ancient Greek Myths, Haley R. Graham

Undergraduate Research Symposium

There has been a popularization in society of the Right hemisphere of the brain being responsible for creativity, and the Left hemisphere being responsible for logical and analytical thinking. However, it is not fully understood whether there is an underlying, neuroscientific basis to these claims or if such claims can be rendered factual. Recent studies have been conducted, revealing that right brained leaders emphasize in innovation and managing whereas left brained leaders focus on continuous improvement and planning (Kumar & Sharma 2016). The right and left hemispheres do possess interconnectedness, however as this study has shown, individuals tend to possess …

Brennan, Mary Kate (Fa 1284), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1284. Student interview conducted by Mary Kate Brennan with renowned Appalachian poet Jim Wayne Miller. Brennan’s focus throughout the interview is on “the cultural sensitivity and awareness that permeates Miller’s poetry.” Miller also touches on what he considers to be the central themes of his work, the struggles and triumphs of communities within the Appalachian region, and pride in cultural heritage. The collection contains a detailed index, interview summary, transcription, index cards with questions, and a reel-to-reel audio tape of the interview.

The Pedagogy Of Harry Potter: Teaching The Fantastic, Kayla Danielle Davis

Student Theses and Dissertations

The many disputes regarding teaching fantastic literature are extensive, especially when the literature in question is controversial and/or directed at younger audiences. However, it is my personal belief that these fantastic novels, primarily the Harry Potter series, should not only be taught in the secondary and/or higher-learning environments, but even studied in-depth due to their versatility and personal appeal to audiences of all ages and identities. A course like this is needed in order to elevate the comprehension of literature through the lens of a worldwide phenomenon that so many people have both cherished and immersed themselves within over the …

Children As The Power Of Shakespeare, Samantha Rowley

Student Works

An dive into how children are used in Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets. While there has been some extensive research on numerous of Shakespeare’s minor characters, some of his other characters, the minors, have been focused on less. Because they fly under the radar, Shakespeare uses these “minor” characters in order to subtly manipulate his audience, using them as a source of pathos in much the same way adults use children to manipulate audiences while silencing the actual opinions of the children they claim to represent. However, though he may often use children for this effect due to their fragility, Shakespeare …

Choosing Advocacy

Occasional Paper Series

Two articles comprise this publication. In "Beyond the Story-Book Ending: Literature for Young Children About Parental Estrangement and Loss," Megan Matt analyzes over 30 books for young children on the topics of abandonment, estrangement, divorce, and foster care. She observes that this loss might appear as an event within the story or as a fear articulated by a young child. She states that, as an educator, she hopes that she can make the children realize that their own stories are "real" and legitimate, no matter what messages they might encounter or fail to encounter in the media. In "Walking the …

Two Poems: Stop Time Before; Forsaken Ones, Ánh-Hoa Thị Nguyễn

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

This creative work features two poems: Stop Time Before; Forsaken Ones

“New Hope In The Midst Of Darkness”: Eucatastrophe As Kairos In The Lord Of The Rings, Chance Gamble

English Department Theses

Present-day rhetorical scholarship has largely rectified the neglect of kairos James Kinneavy noted in 1986. However, the ancient Greek concept combining temporal-spatial factors, due measure, situational adaptability, and perfect timing has not seen much use in the rhetorical study of fiction. The application of kairos, a foundational rhetorical device, to fiction has the potential to generate new insights on familiar subject matter. J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) may seem an unlikely choice for such inquiry, but there are several factors that make it especially suited to such analysis. Chief among these are the numerous …

Ya Think Ya Know A Guy, Glenn Spencer

Spring Presentation of Undergraduate Research

Through looking at the graphic novel Y the Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn this research project will be exploring ideas of male and female gender performance. This text provides a tight focus on a single male in a suddenly female-dominated world that flips the stereotypical gender script and allows a new perspective to be taken when looking at gender performance. This juxtaposition of strong and complicated female characters to Yorick's less than heroic nature in Vaughn's novel is his tool to break down what it means to be a man and an attempt to create a dynamic between the …

Sink Hollow Volume 7

Sink Hollow

This issue marks my last as both an undergraduate student and as Sink Hollow's Editor-in-Chief. I have been with this precious publication since I was a freshman, new and green in the creative writing world.

My time with Sink Hollow has been invaluable. It has given me a deep appreciation for the vulnerability of creators and writers alike who share their work with us. It is terrifying to not only bring your creativity into actuality, but to share it publicly for the world to see. I have sat back in awe through every submission period at the bravery of all …

Politicized Identity In Peter Ho Davies's The Welsh Girl And The Fortunes, Savanna S. Batson

English Department Theses

This thesis explores the effects of politicized identities on the basis of particular aspects of an individual’s being, such as gender, ethnicity, or nationality in Peter Ho Davies’s novels The Welsh Girl (2007) and The Fortunes (2016). By carefully studying each of his protagonists within the context of the particular time and place in which they have come of age, and are now living, this thesis demonstrates how Davies engages with themes of identity, community, and alienation relative to the specific socio-cultural matrix that informs the politicization of identities at their time. It explores how Davies’s characters undergo the process …

Languages Killing Languages: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Media Portrayal Of The Struggle Between English And Arabic, Denise Muro

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

The English language has grown to become international, but at the same time, many indigenous languages have become endangered and extinct. Recognizing these trends, scholars have begun recording and cataloging endangered languages. Though Arabic is not considered to be an endangered language, the physical and cultural presence and influence of the West in the Middle East, makes the issue pertinent and popular media has addressed it as well. Articles and speeches addressing the trend of the globalizing English language and the endangerment and extinction of indigenous languages have joined the discussion. 65 arguments from popular media sources against the globalization …

Beyond Marital Bliss: A Redemption Of Motherhood In Jane Austen, Destiny Cornelison

English MA Theses

Though the mother figures in Jane Austen’s novels are often written off as ridiculous or unlikeable, this thesis posits that the mothers of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Mansfield Park are written as they are in an intentional effort on Austen’s part to condemn the society that forced them into roles of ridiculousness or stinginess. Their inconsistencies highlight the unattainable standards placed on mothers by society as a whole and their eccentricities are the result of a lack of outlet for feminine energy. Character studies of the women of these novels illustrate that they are not …

The Divinity That Shapes Our Ends: Theological Conundrums And Religious Scepticism In Hamlet, Kyler Merrill

Student Works

This paper proposes that Shakespeare deliberately incorporated speculative theology into Hamlet to stimulate religious scepticism. It explores the troubling implications of the ghost’s behaviour, cinematic adaptations of the murder testimony, and the characters’ moral failings in the purportedly Catholic cosmos of Elsinore.

Knowing, Loving, And Being Through Excess: Creation Of Subject In Bertha Harris’S Lover, Kristin S. Bruckner

English Department Theses

This article is a psychoanalytic and feminist reading of Bertha Harris’s novel Lover, a text that deserves wider critical scrutiny and close reading for the theoretical implications it initiates. The novel presents an understanding of what it means to be both a woman and a lover, and it indicates the ways that these two ideas are intertwined. Although it was written in 1976, Lover portrays innovative feminist performances of subject which remain relevant to contemporary feminist readers. The subject this novel envisions is one who is able to enact a seduction that was unavailable to traditional conceptions of self under …

140%: Helping Students With Reading Disabilities, Emily Joy Powell

Tutor's Column

Tutoring students with reading disabilities will take more than a simple knowledge of reading disabilities in general; it takes knowing how to ask specific questions and fighting against popular stereotypes to create a successful tutoring session. Studies show that one in five students have some type of reading disability. There are ways for tutors to make these students feel more comfortable and confident in their ability to write, however, these techniques must be practiced. While mastering these techniques can be profoundly beneficial for students with reading disabilities, they are valuable to apply in all tutoring sessions.

“All Right Stop, Collaborate, And Listen”: A Writing Center’S Role In Community Collaboration, Riley Anderton

Tutor's Column

Writing centers become inextricable parts of the community that surrounds them. Community ties allow writing centers the chance to nurture a love for writing outside of the confines of a university classroom. This column aims to explore the ways in which writing center tutors have the ability to cultivate practices of writing through engaging in community collaboration. The Utah State Writing Center has created a community collaboration known as Helicon West. Helicon West is an event in which members from the University and community have a chance to listen to writing as well as share their own during open mic …

Preparing To Perform: The Power Of Observations In Tutor Education, Jordan Forest

Tutor's Column

One powerful tool for further developing our education as writing tutors is peer observations. Observations give us the opportunity to develop new skills and— as one surveyed tutor puts it— add to our toolbox. In order to benefit from observations, we can see to ask questions in a way that provokes further knowledge and insight. Additionally, we can utilize the time after a session in order to ask specific questions to the peer we observed. Through these processes, our own tutoring skills and knowledge can be expanded.

Professionalism In The Writing Center: Combining Compassion And Composition, Carrigan Price

Tutor's Column

Much is demanded from peer tutors if they are to be perceived as professionals; they must be a listening ear, a helping hand, and an expert writer in order to effectively help students. However, tutors’ behavior must adapt to each individual student, paper, and session. Truly professional tutors ignore traditional definitions of professionalism in favor of providing students the help and advice they most need. Tutors need to pay attention to students’ initial behavior, students’ body language throughout the session, and their own feelings of comfort or discomfort in order to appropriately react to the private and personal content of …

Balancing Give-And-Take In Tutoring, Stephanie Fielding

Tutor's Column

Satisfaction in a session increases for both sides when a tutor uses active listening as the mediator between student participation and tutor guidance. Part of the session needs to be devoted to hearing the student’s concerns, which makes the student feel validated. However, at appropriate times, the tutor also needs to provide the student with feedback, and active listening contributes to the tutor’s knowledge of what to say to the student. Active listening can also help diffuse tense tutoring situations.

How Not To Panic In The Face Of Panic, Emily Abel

Tutor's Column

While tutors may not interact daily with students who have reached a point of panic, they should be prepared to handle these potentially precarious situations. A student who is truly at the end of their rope likely needs specific tutoring techniques not always focused on in other sessions. Tutors have the potential to be a turning point in a stressed student’s life, if they have taken the time to learn how. This essay equips tutors with a strategic plan, including specific phrases, to coax a student out of their panic and into state of confidence.

Making Sandcastles With The Sands Of Time, Sophia Thimmes

Tutor's Column

Rushing through a tutoring session can seem alluringly efficient, but this theorized efficiency is a faulty conception. In a tutoring session, moving through content too quickly can lead to discussion based only on surface level observations. By being fully present and taking the time to explore ideas in depth, a tutor is able to supply a Writing Center visitor with much more helpful and in-depth insights.

Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, And Nowhere: The Influence Of Place On Bildungsroman, Brady Gwynn

Honors College Theses

This research focuses on two metropolitan cities, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, and addresses their connection to the novel form. Bildungsroman texts are necessary for this analysis of place because adolescence allows for the awakening of oneself and one’s surroundings. On the brink of adulthood, these protagonists reminisce on home while exploring a new landscape: the city.

"My Dear Boy": Roscoe Cather's Role Within Willa Cather's Kingdom Of Art, Laurie Ann Weber

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The 2007 donation to the University of Nebraska of correspondence, photos, books, and other materials belonging to the family of Willa Cather’s next younger brother, Roscoe Cather, provides evidence of an intimate relationship between the two siblings. In addition to relying upon Roscoe’s financial management and advice, Willa Cather frequently shared information with him about her writing and the public reception of her writing for which I have identified two main purposes: a desire to favorably influence his opinion of her writing and a desire to seek his input as a middlebrow reader of her literature. This thesis discusses a …

A Damned Travel Through Hell, Allie Daniels

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

This is a creative project which examines the horrific mystery behind a real cursed poem. One poem was all it took to create a dent in American history. When a cursed poem is produced in the 1600’s during the time of the Salem Witch Trials, the poem travels through events of American trauma, allowing the curse to affect people in different time periods. The story focuses on moments in American History, stemming from the Salem Witch Trials, advancing forward into the era of the Civil War, World War 2, and 9/11. This piece that blends fiction and nonfiction to convey …

No Doubts About "Doubt"

St. Norbert Times

• News
  • No Doubts About “Doubt”
  • Members of SNC Take Back the Knights
  • Spectrum Alliance Presents Pride Week
  • Grande Finale: The Senior Art Exhibit
  • WANTED: Writers, Photographers, Cartoonists, and Others!
• Opinion
  • #WhatsMyName
  • Don’t Be Trashy, Keep it Classy
  • Lesser Known 2020 Candidates
  • The Future
  • Lessons From Video Games
• Features
  • A Knight for Mental Health
  • Great Decisions: State Dept. & Diplomacy
  • Senior Reflection: Elynor Gregorich
  • Senior Reflection: James Viall
  • Senior Reflection: Sammi Dyson
  • Senior Reflection: Cate O’Brien
• Entertainment
  • Junk Drawer: Favorite Setting
  • “Us” is a Masterpiece
  • The Challenges to Online Music Education
  • Pretty Little Perfectionists
  • The Great Outdoors
  • Upcoming Events
  • New Christopher …

Letters To My Dead Mom, Alexandra Mclaughlin

Creative Nonfiction MFA Theses

This thesis is a collection of letters to the author's mother spaced throughout seasons of the year.