English Language and Literature Commons^™

Tolkien’S Transformative Women: Art In Triptych (2024), By Annie Brust, Sara Brown

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Sara Brown, of Tolkien’s Transformative Women: Art in Triptych (2024), by Annie Brust

Knighthood In The Wilderness: Ecocritical Readings Of Nature And Chivalry In The World Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight, Dajana Memko

Theses and Dissertations

Many interpretations of the Green Knight portray him as a personification of nature or as nature’s embodiment. Ecocriticism, however, challenges a more anthropocentric approach, calling into question deeply ingrained ideals of chivalry and human dominion over nature. The Green Knight is a hybrid creature whose striking features mark his otherness; yet, through his familiarity, he challenges the knight of Camelot and asks them to consider their chivalric identities as well as the nature of their Trojan ancestry and legacy. Among them, Gawain is forced to confront his identity as he ventures into the wilderness of Wirral, and his interactions with …

Earnest And Authentic Translation From Victorian England To The Wilde West, Carly E. Mcclure

Masters Theses

Oscar Wilde’s critical, theatrical, and fiction works (notably The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray), critique Victorian societal norms through themes of authenticity, duplicity, and identity. In a period marked by strict domesticity and concealed social contradictions, Wilde’s satire dismantles rigid ideologies, exploring self-discovery and societal expectations. Through a retroactive and contemporary definition of authenticity, Wilde’s works exhibit an advocacy for art as a central pursuit rather than purely a reflection of societal norms, which is a defining value of his Authenticism. Wilde’s emphasis on Aestheticism is a key component of his authentic representation of self, …

Mundane And Magical: How Studio Ghibli Adapts Female Protagonists Toward Gendered Narrative Reconstruction, Lauren F. Frymire

Masters Theses

This paper explores the literary significance of film adaptations, specifically focusing on Studio Ghibli's adaptations of children's novels. Through examining the themes of self-discovery, transformation, and cultural representation in films like *Kiki's Delivery Service*, *Tales from Earthsea*, and *Howl's Moving Castle*, it discusses how Ghibli’s choice of young female protagonists connects with both their original audiences and broader cultural narratives. Drawing on Carl Jung’s theory of the unconscious, Linda Hutcheon's theory of adaptation, and Mariah Chiara Oltolini’s insights on mass media adaptations, the study argues that these films successfully preserve the "magic" of their source material while offering unique, culturally-infused …

Education Within Prisons: The Good And The Bad, Tristan T. Morris

Quest

Independent Study

Research in progress for CRIJ 1301: Introduction to Criminal Justice

Faculty Mentor: Stefanie LeMaire

This manuscript began from a response to a discussion prompt in my Introduction to Criminal Justice course where students were asked to discuss some of the issues facing inmates upon release from incarceration. Tristan completed outside research on the relationship between education and recidivism among incarcerated individuals. More specifically, she wanted to discuss the barriers to successful reintegration and programs that have been introduced to address these concerns. Most offenders will be released from incarceration, and they will reenter our society. There is a …

The Deceptive Third Place: Comparing Steinbeck’S The Pearl To Modern Cell Phone Escapism, Christina Doublesin

Quest

Literary Analysis

Research in progress for ENGL 2333: World Literature II

Faculty Mentor: Anna Genneken, PhD

It gives me great pleasure to introduce Christina Doublesin’s “The Deceptive Third Place: Comparing Steinbeck’s The Pearl to Modern Cell Phone Escapism.” Christina wrote this essay for her term paper in my World Literature II course in the spring of 2023. The assignment allows students to choose a text we have read for class to be the focus of a critical analysis. I intentionally leave the direction of this analysis very open-ended with the hope that students will make connections that extend far beyond …

The Imposition Of Power: Modernity And Nature In Hemingway And Mccarthy, Danielle Ball

Honors College Theses

This thesis focuses on the role of nature in opposition to modernity in Ernest Hemingway's “The Last Good Country” and “The End of Something” as well as Cormac McCarthy’s The Orchard Keeper. Each author places the forces of modernity, such as the logging industry or the introduction of the railroad, at odds with the untouched state of the natural world. Specifically, I emphasize the different portrayals of the natural world from each author. Hemingway’s nature is very closely tied to Romanticism, as nature is a spiritual and healing force for those who choose to commune with it. However, McCarthy portrays …

The Enduring Enigma Of Tom Bombadil: From Riddlic Styling To Metaphorical Encounter, Derek Simon

Journal of Tolkien Research

Conversationalists and critics alike continue to take delight in Tom Bombadil, yet remain perplexed by his enduring enigma. Interpretive positioning appears to be determined by the semantics of the term enigma deployed and how it intersects with any of the several textual standpoints adopted. The primary contention of this article is that the enigma is intentionally both a riddle (noun) and a riddling (verb). Reading the enigma through literary features of the Old English riddle-song can yield an alternate interpretation of Tom Bombadil that has received scant attention in critical commentary. In support of this contention, I propose to read …

The Collected Poems Of J.R.R. Tolkien (2024), Edited By Christina Scull And Wayne G. Hammond., John R. Holmes

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by John R. Holmes, of The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien (2024), edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond

Editor's Introduction, Vincenz Serrano

Kritika Kultura

No abstract provided.

Volume 8, Issue 1

International Yeats Studies

No abstract provided.

Cities And Strongholds: Of Middle-Earth: Essays On The Habitations Of Tolkien’S Legendarium (2024) Edited By Cami D. Agan, Marilyn R. Pukkila

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Marilyn R. Pukkila, of Cities and Strongholds: of Middle-earth: Essays on the Habitations of Tolkien’s Legendarium (2024), edited by Cami D. Agan

Shadows And Seduction: Exploring The Duality Of Night In Romeo And Juliet, Elizabeth Woelkers

Rushton Journal of Undergraduate Humanities Research

This essay explores how societal perceptions of night evolved from a time of secret worship to a period fraught with fear and demonic influence. Further, this essay explores Shakespeare's use of night to frame the clandestine romance between Romeo and Juliet, highlighting the lovers' perilous engagement with darkness. By embodying the duality of night within the lovers, Shakespeare underscores the timeless struggle between the purity of light and the seduction of night. Additionally, this duality serves as a cautionary narrative, urging audiences to resist the allure of night's temptation and remain in the true light of God.

Expressive And Epistemic Pedagogies: A Blended Approach To Voice Development, Raquel Esma Haddad

English Department Theses

As contemporary basic writing courses lean on Current Traditional texts that emphasize the inductive nature of thought in its relation to truth, this thesis explores expressivist and epistemic pedagogical approaches complemented by metacognition in their contribution to the development of voice with respect to student disengagement due to a disconnect in the understanding of writing for the academy in the basic writing student. The elements of the expressivist methodology as embodied in Writing with Power by Peter Elbow and the epistemic in Facts, Artifacts, and Counterfacts by Dave Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky each contribute to the research of this thesis …

Examining State Development In West Africa, Through Senegal And Nigeria, Kasandra L. Housley

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper studies the relationship between the state and armed conflict in West Africa with an emphasis placed on the value, influence, and role of social institutions on the long-term stability of the West African state. The countries of the Republic of Senegal and Nigeria represent the primary focus of the paper. Comparisons are made of the history of each country/state and experience with socio-political conflict in an effort to explain the penultimate place of social as opposed to legalistic or political influences responsible for the long term survival of the independent state in West Africa. The central question explored …

Diverse Possibilities Of Shakespeare: Teaching Twelfth Night Through A Queer Lens, Julia Ritzler

Honors Projects

This project seeks to understand the ways in which Queer Theory can be applied to secondary language arts education to enhance students' understanding of identity and gender in literature. For the purposes of this project, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is being used as a case study text. This project includes a thorough analysis of Twelfth Night through a queer lens, a literature review of Queer Theory and educational pedagogy, a block plan and related instructional and assessment materials, a rationale for the block plan, and project limitations and implications for future research. By analyzing scholarly texts and applying the theories within …

‘Fiery The Angels Rose’: The Romantic Prometheanism Of Tolkien’S Diabolical Characters, Robert T. Tally Jr.

Journal of Tolkien Research

Milton’s Satan in the seventeenth century was hardly viewed as heroic, yet in his resistance to supreme authority and bold transvaluation of values (“Evil, be thou my Good”) he emerges as a sort of tragic hero for many Romantics such as William Blake or later Herman Melville. Like Prometheus, the subject of Percy Bysshe Shelley great poetic drama, Satan is a figure of noble rebellion against omnipotent force. Tolkien’s more ‘satanic” characters, such as Melkor, Sauron, and perhaps even Saruman, do not often strike readers as heroes, yet there is a sort of Prometheanism in each of them. Viewed from …

Career Preparation In English And Creative Writing, Katherine Fischer

Honors Projects

The information presented within this Honors Project considers and evaluates career preparation within English and Creative Writing (CW) majors. The project is divided into three parts titled Business Curriculum, Field Research, and Connections with Businesses. The Business Curriculum section analyzes how the Schmidthorst School of Business career preparation curriculum can be applied to the CW or English major; the Field Research section explores current CW and English students’ perceptions of career preparation at BGSU; and the Connections with Businesses section discovers businesses regional to BGSU for potential future experiential learning opportunities. Ultimately, the results of the project's sections include: a …

William Gibson, Neuromancer And The Making Of A Reluctant Cyberpunk, Billy J. Stratton

English and Literary Arts: Faculty Scholarship

While Neuromancer cemented Gibson’s place as a commanding presence in SF, he has consistently sought to position his work beyond the parameters of limiting genre categories.

Claire Archer: Trans- Cending -Gender, Billy Adams

English: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

On The Verge Of Brilliance: A Cross-Cultural Study Between Susan Glaspell And Elena Ferrante, Ariel Wilcox

English: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

In this paper, I discuss how for Susan Glaspell and Elena Ferrante, violence is how their female characters respond to attempted entrapment in a cage when they are offered no escape. Susan Glaspell’s plays “Trifles” and “The Verge” in comparison to Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Quartet shows how women have had oppressive male forces acting upon them for decades. At times when feminists were campaigning for other issues, Glaspell and Ferrante advocated for proper divorce laws by showing the dark side of marriage through the physical and emotional abuse their brilliant female leads undergo alongside the female character’s resulting violence.

Tactical Staging: Evolving Methods Of Feminist Activism In Susan Glaspell’S Work, Allison Mcpeak

English: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

In the marketplace of ideas, the Theatre Arts employ narrative stories and eye-catching visual art pieces draw listeners and viewers in a way that is unmatched by other methods. Art not only reflects the society from which it was created, it also acts as a projection of the creator’s ideal world. Theatre, being both a sonic and visual medium also has the unique advantage of speaking directly to a captive audience that are physically in the same room as the characters onstage, making those connections significantly more personal. A caveat, however, is that modern theatre tends to reflect the values …

Mapping The Modern Geography Of Floyd Dell’S Port Royal And Susan Glaspell’S Freeport, Megan Yarusso

English: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

The Stark Surrealism In Spectra’S Soulfulness, Zach Blair

English: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Arthur Davison Ficke and Witter Bynner were American poetry's first Surrealists, preceding Breton and his founding of Surrealism, with the publication of its first manifesto, in France in 1924. Though the creative merits of 1916's "Spectra: A Book of Poetic Experiments" are many, most scholars and critics regard it as a hoax intended to mock Imagism and the like. But Ficke and Bynner, using the pseudonyms Anne Knish and Emanuel Morgan, respectively, blazed trails no poets had priorly dared to venture down.

The 'Biographer' And Her 'Subject': Vita Sackville-West's Influence On Virginia Woolf, Sydney Sherman '28

Best First-Year Seminar Writing

Woolf and Sackville-West's relationship has been scrutinized and celebrated since its beginning. While deeply affectionate, their bond also blurred boundaries between personal intimacy and artistic exploitation. Woolf immortalized Sackville-West in her 1928 novel Orlando, a work both heralded as a groundbreaking exploration of gender fluidity and critiqued for its appropriation of Sackville-West's life and identity. Orlando, The Letters of Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf, and Portrait of a Marriage serve as unique lenses to observe the relationship between Woolf and Sackville-West. Orlando is a testament to the true love between a biographer and her Orlando, but as an artist, Woolf's …

The Vision Of The Inklings: Mythopoeia And Modern Christian Literature, Emmalene Sotomayor

Senior Honors Theses

The Inklings wrote with the intention to convey truth through myth. C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien and their friends developed stories to point readers to something greater—very often God. Christian creators now can look to their example while writing their own works of art. Currently, Christian fiction is in a sad state, known for mediocre romance novels that hardly portray faith in a moving or truthful manner. Believers can use the wisdom of Tolkien and Lewis to develop their own excellent works. Lewis and Tolkien’s beliefs in myth pointing to God, hope against adversity, and good resisting …

Una Historia Inspiradora Aprendiendo Espanol/An Inspirational Story Learning Spanish, Viviany Barbosa Brito

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

No abstract provided.

La Campeona/The Champion, Sara Diaz

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

No abstract provided.

De Lima A Hartford/From Lima To Hartford, Kevin Susanin

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

No abstract provided.

El Poderoso Michael/The Powerful Michael, Alejandro J. Guzman

Our Heritage: Short Stories of Bilingual Youth in the Northeastern United States

No abstract provided.