English Language and Literature Commons^™

The Criterion (2025), Mackenzie Hughes, Emily Carbone, Marisa O'Malley, Gericho Louis Conge, Afton Fay, Fiona Smith, Gwyneth Morrissey, Niall Mckenna, Roan Brimacomb, Sarah Park, Madeline T. Zafon-Whalen

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

The Oppression Of Embrace, Gericho Louis Conge

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

Where Angels Fear To Tread And Heart Of Darkness: Imperialism’S Civil Dehumanization, Roan Brimacomb

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

Stories Of Chiaroscuro Control, Gwyneth Morrissey

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

A Trek Into New Territories: Sound In Rachel Hadas’ “The Red Hat”, Emily Carbone

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

"You Know The Rules": A Dramatic Experiment In Aromantic Literary Theory, April Chronowski

English

This paper proposes a new literary theory framework based on the zine "an aromantic manifesto" by yingchen and yingtong, as well as the work of Erving Goffman, using theater as a device to examine romantic relationships. Blending English and sociology, I focus each chapter on a different literary period and examine two plays each: early modern (Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing), modern (Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Djuna Barnes' "To The Dogs"), and contemporary (Caryl Churchill's Cloud 9 and Margaret Edson's W;t). In tandem with analysis of formal elements---like …

Back Matter, Harry Denny

The Writing Center Journal

Back Matter for Writing Center Journal 43.1.

“Already My Heart Misgave Me”: Doomed Fantasy And Children In James Joyce’S “Araby” And William Faulkner’S “Barn Burning”, Kathleen E. Conner

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

While rarely put into conversation, William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” and James Joyce’s “Araby” have a remarkable amount to say to one another. These parallel portraits of childhood each follow a young boy, Sarty Snopes and a nameless narrator respectively, struggling to find emotional clarity within a repressive society. While far from either authors’ most blatant critique of Southern or Irish culture, both stories subtly weave in the confining forces of Catholicism, imperialism, patriarchy, and poverty. To cope with the drudgery and cruelty of their surroundings, the boys retreat into fantasies of love and heroism. These idealizations allow the boys to …

Stories Of The Silenced And Mixed Media In Fiction: Disrupting Tradition For The Enhancement Of Reader Experience, Rylanne Burdette

English Creative Writing Theses

In almost all crimes, there is a victim, a perpetrator, and someone trying to uncover the truth. These tropes are often highlighted in fiction – told in thrillers, mysteries, or true-crime books that include intense themes, suspenseful moments, and plot twists. Stories of the Silenced is a collection of short stories told from the perspective of three characters in an exploration of cycles of violence and silence. Each character – a detective, victim, and serial killer – responds to and engages with the world differently, and their individual lives are shared. Each story emphasizes the idea of mixed media to …

Frank O'Hara: The Figure That Remains, Madeline T. Zafon-Whalen

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

Final Master's Portfolio, Sophia Michalski

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio explores research in technical writing revolving around digital products and literary practices such as Post-Structuralism as literary theory and the methodology Docile Bodies within literary texts. While half the portfolio includes analytical essays which examine how these themes intersect and arise in literary landscape, the other half aims to investigate how the current digital marketplace prioritizes cloud-based products and what limitations are placed through extensive research.

"We All Of Us Have Our Particular Devil Who Rides Us And Torments Us": Sexuality And Identity In Trauma Narratives, Aysenur Zaza

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio reads literary narratives through the lens of feminist trauma theory to critique how institutional powers like heteronormativity, misogyny, and racism shape the production and perception of trauma. Centering works by women writers (with an exception in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) it examines how experiences such as childbirth, racial respectability, and gendered identity formation are silenced or pathologized under dominant frameworks, particularly the medicalization of trauma. Drawing on scholars like Laura Brown and Lucy Thompson, the portfolio challenges the white, male-centric origins of PTSD and critiques the expectation of “wholeness” imposed on women in both literature and …

False Virtues And Fragile Honor: The Weight Of Reputation In Shakespeare’S Works, Amanda Sheps

Theses and Dissertations

"False Virtues and Fragile Honor: The Weight of Reputation in Shakespeare’s Works" analyzes the intersection between honor and social standing in William Shakespeare's Othello and Much Ado About Nothing, specifically in regards to the gender roles prevalent in the plays' societies. In both plays, women who are perceived as a threat to the prevailing norms of society are ostracized, ridiculed, and may even face violence at the hands of their male love interests. The innocence of Desdemona and Hero, however, calls into question the validity of this cruel treatment. These negative reactions reflect the pressure that men have to preserve …

The Imposition Of A Narrative Line: The Bildungsroman As Form In Contemporary Art, Brianne Chapelle

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the work of contemporary American artists and writers Moyra Davey, Chris Kraus, Frances Stark, and Martine Syms within the context of feminist art history, theory, and practice in the post-1970s artworld. While often read as autobiographical or self-referential, their work across media uses personal narrative as a means of engaging broader theoretical and institutional concerns. Through the literary form of the bildungsroman, these artists employ narrative, fiction, and memoir—often through new and time-based media, but also through interdisciplinary modes rooted in writing—to reflect on their ongoing education as artists within an increasingly globalized Euro-American artworld. By …

“Bottom Nature”: Embodying History In Gertrude Stein’S The Making Of Americans, Yasmin Tehrani

Theses and Dissertations

This paper attempts to connect Gertrude Stein’s conception of being in The Making of Americans with her vision of the production of history. This paper then concludes that for Stein, historical subjects themselves, both individually and collectively, and the imbued qualities in their being, shape history.

Deflecting Voyeurism: Elizabeth Keckley’S Indictment Of Capitalism And Rejection Of The Exploitative White Gaze, Laura Steel

Theses and Dissertations

This paper analyzes the ex-slave narrative Behind the Scenes, or Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House by Elizabeth Keckley through a Marxist and Romantic lens as a means to explore the impact of capitalism on Keckley while enslaved, as well as post-slavery. Through the paper, the author argues that Keckley successfully deflects the white voyeuristic gaze by replacing her physical form with clothing that she creates, as a means to both indict capitalism and reclaim ownership over her body. Further, the paper argues that Keckley employs Romanticism to highlight the unnatural capitalist roots and subsequent …

Alienation In Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, Chunying Xu

Theses and Dissertations

Mrs. Dalloway is one of Virginia Woolf’s best-known novels. It was published in London in 1925-seven years after the end of World War I. The novel centers on Clarissa Dalloway’s life on a specific day in June 1923, in preparation for a party she will host in the evening. The day is also the death of Septimus Smith, a subplot character who is an ex-soldier of World War I and serves as Clarissa Dalloway's doppelganger. Clarissa is a middle-class woman who has just recovered from heart disease. Septimus is a working-class young man, a victim of war, and a sufferer …

A Constellation Of Vital Phenomena: Exploring Post-War Ethics, Claire Marshall Watkins

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

In my paper, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena: Exploring Post-War Ethics, I explore the embodiment of care ethics and informed altruism through the novel’s protagonists, Akhmed and Sonja, respectively, who each care for a local girl Havaa whose home has been destroyed and whose father has been disappeared by the Russian Feds from their small Chechen village. Akhmed immediately takes her on as his own while Sonja is hesitant. As the novel progresses, Sonja and Akhmed each provide an even amount of time and effort into her care, though they approach it differently. Akhmed—Havaa’s neighbor and family friend—works together with …

Reimagining Heroes: The Evolving Narratives Of Helen And Achilles In Feminist Greek Mythology Retellings, Elena A. Smith

Honors Scholar Theses

“Reimagining Heroes: The Evolving Narratives of Helen and Achilles in Feminist Greek Mythology Retellings” is an analysis of an array of novels, monographs, and critiques regarding the genre of mythology retellings. Combining feminist ideas with historical examples, this thesis delves into why retellings are so popular in the twenty-first century and why the stories of Greek Antiquity have stayed relevant.

This thesis focuses specifically on Helen of Troy, Achilles, and the events of the Trojan War in The Iliad. Comparing the epic with retellings of its events may reveal why these characters, gods, and heroes have continued to be discussed …

Storytelling Or Telling Stories: An Analysis Of Disnarration In Music Videos, Victoria Garrett

Honors Theses

Music videos have grown in popularity in recent years and have begun to augment the stories being told by the lyrics of their songs. This is done by using narrative techniques, such as disnarration, to develop complex narratives that can conflict with the lyrical content. Through analysis of the videos "Willow" (2020 dir. Taylor Swift) by Taylor Swift, "The One That Got Away" (2012 dir. Floria Sigismoni) by Katy Perry, and "One Beer" (2020 dir. Justin Clough) by HARDY, the distinction between the plots of the videos and the lyrics can be brought into focus. This distinction in the stories …

Negotiation, Expression, And Microlanguage: The Processes Of Student Welfare And Identity In High School English Language Arts Classrooms, Jencarlos Feliciano-Ponce

Master's Projects

In this study, I will explore negotiation and expression as processes that educators can utilize (or continue to intentionally engage with) to empower the student body of the current high school English classrooms to counteract current pressures and negative trends in ELA. Negotiation and expression are not topics that should be explored in only a single ELA unit, either. The small moments that students experience with language, culture, and power all culminate to the processes explored in this research study; they guide English educators in their lesson instruction, curriculum design, and student engagement. By managing negotiation and expression as undercurrents …

Contributor News, Jen Hirt

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

Editor Jen Hirt shares a collection of contributor updates, highlighting successes in publications and careers following articles published in the Journal of Creative Writing Studies.

Capturing The Realities Of Space And Culture: An Exploration Of Landscape In The House On Mango Street And Woman Hollering Creek, Leanna C. Mendiola

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Capturing the Realities of Space and Culture: An Exploration of Landscape in The House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creek (May 2025)

Leanna Carmela Mendiola, B.A., Texas A&M International University; Chair of Committee: Dr. Zachary Hernandez

This thesis explores Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creek. Cisneros’s books explore the landscape and culture around her characters as readers piece together the experiences of women. The two novels use architectural elements to examine each book’s protagonists’ community and culture. The thesis argues that Cisneros employs space and place to underscore empowerment and the characters’ journeys …

Examining The Connections Between Gender, Identity, And Land In Leslie Marmon Silko’S Ceremony And Rudolfo Anaya’S Bless Me, Ultima, Denise Perez

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the representation of gender, identity, and land in the novels Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko and Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. To understand the role of gender in the novels, women are analyzed as sources of salvation and refuge for men. The male protagonists seek a “cure” or an understanding of themselves, and they are only able to achieve this through the nurturing of the women in their lives. This thesis also examines how the male protagonists develop their masculinity through the formation of a bond with the Earth, their homeland, and nature. In Ceremony and …

Exploring Black Identity In Chester Himes’ Cotton Comes To Harlem, Jowan Williams, Matthew Carlson

Undergraduate Research (Journal)

Chester Himes’ 1965 novel, Cotton Comes to Harlem, is perhaps his most celebrated and renowned work. The novel is firmly rooted in the detective fiction genre; however, Himes loads the text with so many rich racial concepts that it also functions as a political piece. His characterization of the novel’s protagonists, Detectives Coffin Ed and Grave Digger, whose identities are trapped between being officers of the law and civilians of Harlem, highlights Himes’ personal identity struggles. Likewise, the text’s villains, Rev. Deke O’Malley and Colonel Robert Calhoun, play on the nostalgic question of black identity in America, which has ties …

The Prescribing Of Gender, A Scope On The Societal Ideologies Showcased Within Le Roman De Silence, Derrian Fernandez

Master's Theses

Culture is constantly evolving, its ideologies cementing themselves within our minds, shaping how we as a society guide ourselves through living in such. Social class, religion, gender, all are forms of identity that have a place, and a certain understanding and standing within our culture and society. Through this understanding of ourselves, we are defined, creating multiple forms of distinct expression to help differentiate our place further. A pope is expected to wear a certain attire just as a bride is expected to. The same ideology trickles down, creating demarcations of attire that subsequently ingrain themselves into our culture and …

Transgressive Fiction And The Problem Of Negative Affect: A Case Study Of Samuel Delany’S Hogg, Brian Thornton

Master's Theses

Samuel Delany began drafting Hogg in March of 1969 and worked on it intermittently before completing the novel in October of 1973.1 Yet Hogg remained unpublished until 1995 before finally seeing the light of day “during the ‘transgressive turn’ in American literature” (Mitchell 1). As such, the novel is historically situated along what Jonathan Mitchell calls a “dual temporality,” which “allows the novel to be located as an intervention in two key moments in America’s LGBT+ history: first, the developments in identity politics coming out of the socio-political cultural shifts of the 1960s; and, second, the post-AIDS awareness 1990s”.

Weird Weather Against The Pathetic Fallacy, Avery L. Leonard

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This project claims the weather and nature in Algernon Blackwood’s “The Willows” and Shirley Jackson’s “The Summer People” is weird fiction and displays an eerie subversion of John Ruskin’s literary philosophy, “The Pathetic Fallacy.” By analyzing these texts through the lens of the weird fiction genre, the signifiers of the genre make the weather in these stories extend past common literary tropes. Ruskin’s work calls attention to the literary trope of assigning weather in literature emotion, yet Algernon Blackwood and Shirley Jackson intentionally deviate from the pathetic fallacy and make the weather in their stories weird and eerie by both …

Systems Of Survivance: Exploring Armenia's Ancient Past Through Dungeons & Dragons, Jango Janigian

English Honors Theses

Systems of Survivance: Exploring Armenia’s Ancient Past Through Dungeons and Dragons is an English Honors and Classics undergraduate thesis that brings the hidden voices of Armenia’s past into dialogue with the present. Opening with an exploration of D&D and a reflection on the field of Ancient Studies from an Armenian-American perspective, Janigian questions the priorities of “Classics” and its amplification of Eurowestern voices. This thesis draws inspiration from the fantasy anthology Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel, where a team of writers tell folkloric stories of their cultures through a D&D setting and adventure. Likewise, Janigian provides scholars and tabletop …

Why You're Gayhee For Jaehee: How Dating Sims Promote Queer Self-Discovery, Amira Elliby

2025 Spring Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Dating simulators are a video game sub-genre in which the player’s primary goal is to romantically pursue their favorite love interest through in-game interactions. While some dating sims present situations that encourage heterosexual female players to question, explore, and even accept possible queer identities for themselves, there is little research on what specific game elements foster this exploratory behavior. This project examines player responses and in-game content from two dating sims, Chrono Days Sim Date and Mystic Messenger, to determine which game aspects women found most helpful in encouraging them to question their own sexualities. Out of five key …