English Language and Literature Commons^™

Spray-Painting The Sistine Chapel: Aesthetic Problems In Leaf By Niggle, John Holmes

Mythcon

No work of the allegoriphobic Tolkien is more manifestly allegorical than his short story “Leaf By Niggle.” Because of the story’s unmistakably allegorical nature, when the reader encounters the four-word sentence that opens the second paragraph—“Niggle was a painter”—the initial response might justly be to read “painter” in a more generic sense to mean “artist in general.” Indeed, the best criticism of this story tends to read Niggle’s problem as an analogue of Tolkien’s problem as sub-creator of Middle-earth, primarily in writing. But because Tolkien’s rendering of Middle-earth sometimes took form in pencil sketches and watercolors as well, Niggle’s painterly …

Sterner Stuff: Sansa Stark And The System Of Gothic Fantasy, Joseph Young

Mythcon

George R.R. Martin’s characterisation of Sansa Stark is among the contentious aspects of the reception of A Song of Ice and Fire. The violence, indignities and threats heaped upon Sansa have been described as gratuitous, cited as evidence of an unusually cold-hearted writer, and marshalled as evidence by those querying the story’s feminist credibility. Sansa’s passive acceptance of such mistreatment could mark her as a character denuded of agency, which would seem either tasteless or a serious misstep by an author of stated feminist sympathies.

In an alternate reading, however, Sansa’s travails and her capacity to absorb them mark …

Faerie Reality In The Spiral Dance By Rodrigo Garcia Y Robertson, Robert Tredray

Mythcon

Garcia y Robertson's The Spiral Dance begins as a historical novel set in the time of the rebellion led by the Earl of Northumberland and the Earl of Westmoreland against Elizabeth I in 1569, told from the point of view of Anne, Countess of Northumberland. It is also an epic or heroic fantasy; besides Lady Anne, two of its main characters are a werewolf named Jock and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Their adventures carry them not only to the highlands of Scotland but to the realm of Faerie. The author's theme is that one must lose all one has before …

My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me., John Rosegrant

Mythcon

In this presentation I explore why Tolkien singled out for particular appreciation the Brothers Grimm fairy tale The Juniper Tree, which Tatar (Annotated Grimm 209) has called “the most shocking of all fairy tales.” In On Fairy-Stories, Tolkien described its effect on him as follows: “The beauty and horror of The Juniper Tree…with its exquisite and tragic beginning, the abominable cannibal stew, the gruesome bones, the gay and vengeful bird-spirit coming out of a mist that rose from the tree, has remained with me since childhood; and yet always the chief flavor of that tale lingering in …

How Mythopoeic Stories Carve Space For Change, Rivera Sun

Mythcon

Mythopoeic writings have the capacity to carve out space for new visions, radical thought, and social change. Join Rivera Sun for a roundtable discussion on how this has impacted us as readers (or writers) in our own lives. We'll also explore how far these writings can push the envelope before society starts pushing back. Where are the boundaries that can't be crossed, and how can mythopoeic stories help shift those boundaries on behalf of social change? What role does perceived market demand or pushback play in how publishers either constrain or support stories that help us imagine a new world …

Q&A With Unofficial Mythsoc Historian Lee Speth, Alicia Fox-Lenz, Lee Speth

Mythcon

An attendee of Mythcon 3 and a Steward since 1979, Lee Speth has been called the Mythopoeic Society's unofficial historian. Usually "trapped" behind the Mythopoeic Society Merchandise Table at Mythcons, this year he is free to contribute to programming and regale us with stories from bygone times. Come ask Lee about the history of the Mythopoeic Society, Golfimbul, and general shenanigans.

Moderator: Alicia Fox-Lenz
Tech Mod: Megan Abrahamson.

The Personhood Of Nature In J. R. R. Tolkien’S Legendarium, Sophia Parrila

Mythcon

This paper argues that J. R. R. Tolkien’s portrayal of plants, animals, and geographical features as morally complex persons is central to the ecocentric model of environmental stewardship developed within Tolkien’s Legendarium. Tolkien’s Middle-earth writings endow non-human beings such as animals, plants, and even rivers with personhood by emphasizing their individuality, their capacity for interpersonal relationships, and their agency to make moral choices. I build on work done by critics such as Susan Jeffers (Arda Inhabited), and Matthew Dickerson and Jonathan Evans (Ents, Elves, and Eriador) to find a practicable and inspirational environmental ethic in Tolkien’s …

Fairy Tale Retellings For The Modern World., Sarena Ulibarri, Reese Hogan, Charlotte Honigman, Wendy Nikel, Lissa Sloan

Mythcon

Fairy tales have timeless appeal for both audiences and creators, especially when they’re updated in a way that speaks to modern sensibilities or are mashed up with another genre to create something familiar yet fresh. Several authors will discuss what’s behind the impulse to retell fairy tales, as well as the challenges of transferring a traditional tale into a non-traditional setting, such as a steampunk world or a different historical setting.

Moderator: Sarena Ulibarri
Panelist: Reese Hogan
Panelist: Charlotte Honigman
Panelist: Wendy Nikel
Panelist: Lissa Sloan
Tech Mod: Joan Marie Verba.

“Long Anguish And Self-Murdering Thought”: Gollum And The Figure Of Jealousy In The Faerie Queene, Anne Acker

Mythcon

This paper argues that Gollum’s story has parallels to the story of Malbecco in The Faerie Queene, and that Gollum should be read as an exploration of jealousy and its relationship to power, represented by the Ring that Gollum covets. In Spenser’s allegory, Malbecco is cuckolded and robbed and retreats to a cave in the mountains where he is transformed into the inhuman shape of Jealousy. While The Lord of the Rings is not an allegory and should not be read as one, Smeagol’s transformation into Gollum has striking similarities to this and other strange metamorphoses of characters who …

The Speculative Worldbuilding Of Adál’S Blueprints For A Nation, Matthew David Goodwin

Mythcon

ADÁL’s Blueprints for a Nation is an art installation that displays artifacts from the conceptual nation of El Spirit Republic de Puerto Rico. This imaginal nation expresses the unique social and linguistic experience of Puerto Ricans living off the island, and its principle tool is speculative worldbuilding. This essay examines two of the speculative roots of Blueprints for a Nation. First, the essay explores “El Mapagraph,” the fictional map of the nation that is in the shape of a domino and that alludes to the common practice of mapping utopias and fantasy worlds. The work also makes clear by its …

From Malacandra To Mars: Representations Of The Red Planet In C. S. Lewis, Robert Sawyer, And Andy Weir, William Thompson

Mythcon

In his introduction to Visions of Mars: Essays on the Red Planet in Fiction and Science, Howard V. Hendrix suggests that the long-standing fascination with the red planet emerges from an unspoken anxiety around the extinction of the species. According to Hendrix, the “fascination with the Neanderthals, like our fascination with greenhouse-blasted Venus or with Martians of the Dying Planet scenario, arises from forebodings that such scenarios present ourselves and our world as viewed—both seen and dreamed—through a funhouse mirror” (Hendrix 10).

The ongoing fascination with mars has resulted in texts that treat the red planet in strikingly different ways. …

Eärendil’S Errand And “Errantry”, Janet Brennan Croft, David Bratman, David Emerson, Verlyn Flieger

Mythcon

Tolkien’s love of word play legitimizes considering the linguistic closeness of errantry, Eärendil , and errand. This leads to the points this panel will consider: Tolkien has more than once taken themes and motifs first used in a lighter story and woven them, in more serious form, into his broader legendarium; for example, The Hobbit’s Bard presages Aragorn, and its lower-case ring the centrally important Ring of the longer work. Eärendil is supposed to have been the subject of one of the great tales, but we never get it in its full form, or more comparably, in multiple forms …

The Philosophy And Theology Of Fairy-Stories: Fantasy, Escape, Recovery, And Consolation, Giovanni Costabile

Mythcon

In his seminal 1939 Andrew Lang lecture “On Fairy-Stories,” Tolkien proposed what we might term his most extensive pronouncement on his own fiction and underlying poetics, as well as an analysis of Fairy-Stories constituting a referential and authoritative statement on the matter. The importance of the subsequently published text, chiefly cited from Christopher Tolkien's posthumous edited version in The Monsters and the Critics, or, more recently, in Douglas A. Anderson's and Verlyn Flieger's critical edition, simply cannot be overstated.

In the light of such awareness, I would like to examine Tolkien's antecedents as far as his chief arguments are …

Concerning The Interpretation Of The Concept Of Phraseological Units, Abdugafur Mamatov

Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal

This article is about the interpretation of the concept of phraseological units. Phraseological units are a communicative tool, it is a social phenomenon as a language tool, it exists in the relationship of language and thinking, language and culture, language and national mentality, and also performs a communicative function that reveals their essence in speech. Phraseological units, along with naming (nominative) an event or reality, have in their essence a content that reflects the material, mental, spiritual side of the person, the life experience of the people.

Comparative Analysis Of Definitions Of A Polysemantic Word Proverb In The Reference Books, Shuhratjon Boykhanov, Abdumajit Mamadaliev

Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal

In writing a research paper or learning a foreign language, it is normally used in reference books to provide a definition of a particular term. If the term is well explained and defined, there will be no question. However, all reference books do not always add even frequently used words and their multiple meanings to the word lists. Consequently, it will engender difficulty among language. Similar limitations were found in analysing the definition of the word proverb and its meanings and equivalents in Russian, and Uzbek Dictionaries. Qualitative analysis revealed that there were some gaps, such as limited word meaning …

Structure And Content Of Preparation Of Teachers For Professional Activity In The Process Of Practice, Dilbar Karshieva

Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal

This article aims to define the methodological basis of the formation of professional competence in teacher in the process of professional practice, to define the essence of the concept of “professional practice” and to improve its theoretical model. The study resulted in the development of a ʻmodel for the formation of professional competence of teachers in the process of internshipsʻ. From this model, it is clear that at each stage of the internship, the student-practitioner aims to acquire certain professional competencies, and to achieve this, certain tasks are set. It also outlines the tools for developing these competencies and the …

The Role Of Motivation In Learning Foreign Language, Shakhlo Rakhimova

Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal

This paper analyzes the role of motivation in language learning, especially foreign language acquisition. It compares two different subjects who are learning English yet they have various background of family, language learning experience, and interests. They were provided pre-, post-tests to testify their knowledge; moreover, they were interviewed to know how they are encouraged to learn a language. The paper indicates the importance of intrinsic motivation for second language learners.

Linguostatistic Features Of English And Uzbek Proverbs, Nurbek Juraev

Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal

The following article provides some findings about linguostatistic features of English and Uzbek proverbs. Proverbs, which are one of the genres of folklore, combine the life experiences, dreams and aspirations of ancestors, their attitude to the state and society, historical and spiritual state, philosophical, ethnic and aesthetic feelings. They have been polished over the millennium to form a concise poetic form. Linguistic statistics is a branch of linguistics that is used to study, analyze, and classify language sources using a statistical method. Among proverbs which we have discussed, we have found not only universal proverbs of both nations, but also …

Phraseosemantic Field, Expressing A Positive Characteristic Of A Person, Anora Jabbarova

Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal

This article is about phraseological units that represent the positive characteristics of a person. Directly analyzes phraseological units that reflect positive qualities such as sincerity, fearlessness, courage, intelligence, and so on. As noted above, phraseological units differ from other linguistic units in revealing the phenomena of reality, in describing the appearance, and emotionally revealing the inner world of man. Figurativeness, emotionality occurs through the use of metaphors, metaphors, the symbolization of words and phrases. In this study, approximate values of verbal phraseological units were used, which mainly reflect the positive qualities and characteristics of the person.

“Compentlik” And “Compactness” Of Tincalaring Of Talhs And Jewelry, Gulnoza Rashidova

Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal

With respect to competence, competence is understood to be the successful use of professional knowledge and skills in a variety of conditions from the ability to apply them in life situations. Consequently, competence and competence mean the organization of a person'seksex reserve, the use of it in his professional activity, in social spheres. In connection with the plethora and complexity of social experience, the emergence of new forms of data retrieval and processing, the competence of a specialist becomes increasingly important. Serious changes in the social direction of modern society, attention to the personality of each person as the main …

Synonymous Relations In German And Uzbek Languages (On The Example Of Forestry Lexicon), Gavkhar Tilovova

Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal

The article examines the synonymous relations that have historically developed in the forestry terminology of the German and Uzbek languages on the basis of the causal intentional development of semantic, grammatical and word-formation systems of genetically heterogeneous languages. Derivation of absolute and semantic substantive, verbal adjective, hybrid and borrowed synonyms from Latin and Greek is considered, identical and distinctive aspects of synonymy of the two languages are analyzed. A comparative characteristic of the original, derivative and synonymous terminology of a number of areas of forestry vocabulary of the German and Uzbek languages is carried out.

Interpretation Of Dog Image In Badoe'u-L-Bidoya, Laylo Khasanova

Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal

This article is a scientific observation about the image of a dog in Alisher Navoi lyrics and its textual meaning. The mystical meanings of the image of the dog in the poet's work are explained on the basis of examples.

Symbolism - The Poetics Of Associations And An Artistic Interpretation Of The Text In The Works Of The Symbolists, Ulugbek Jabbarov, Ulugbek Turgunov

Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal

This article is about an artistic interpretation of the text in the works of the symbolists. It discusses , the colorful and multifaceted meaning of symbols strengthened in many associations in life and literature. Some artists tried to theoretically substantiate the purely associative connection of this sign with the perception of the viewer, and not with semantics. Association is the formation of a semantic or emotional parallel with an event or phenomenon that occurs in the human mind, forcibly replacing it with an already familiar synonym, forcing the reader to think and reflect only on what has been read. Symbols …

Modern Concepts Of The Study Of Phraseological Units Within The Framework Of Frame Representation And The Theory Of Conceptual Metaphor, Navruza Aliyeva

Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal

The current article is devoted to the particular theoretical views of the notion of frame as well as it focuses on the and the theory of conceptual metaphor. Moreover, it deals with the specialized frame, slot and terminal characteristics which might be involved in most common used phraseological units, particularly, on the examples of English, Russian and Uzbek sentences and collocations. As it’s obviously seen that phraseological units contain deep sense, which have roots in the culture of nation. They reflect people’s way of thinking and perception of the world. They are considered to be “codes” of culture, its specific …

Methods For Testing Role Play And Discourse Completion In Pragmatics, Nodira Sabirova

Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal

This article discusses Role Play and Discourse Completion Test Methods in Pragmatics. Many of the role-plays used in interlingual and intercultural pragmatics are artistic, and the participant must express himself or herself as a different person. This process allows the researcher to control various variable combinations such as social distance, power use, confidence criteria, and gender. The test method that completes the discourse is the most common research tool for researching the linguistic implementation of communicative acts and a type of effective questionnaire. Discourse completion test is used effectively to assess participants’ pragmatic competence and reduce test constraints.

The Role Of Innovation In Continuous Educational System, Umida Masharipova

Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal

Innovation in education (innovation) - the introduction of innovation in the organization of joint activities of teachers and students, the goals, content, methods and forms of education and upbringing; is a change in way of thinking. Innovations are classified based on certain classification criteria. The first criterion depends on the area in which the innovation takes place. The second is a general criterion for the emergence of the innovation process, the third is the scale and breadth of innovative activities, and the fourth is the basis for the emergence of innovations. This article describes the criteria for the classification and …

Fear Then And Now: The Vampire As A Reflection Of Society, Mackenzie Phelps

English (MA) Theses

Over the expanse of centuries, human society has created monsters in order to give a physical form to their abstract fears. Society has gone from speaking of them in oral traditions to watching them on a screen in more recent decades, but the written works of these monstrosities have occurred in the multitudes across multiple eras. The globalized monster I have chosen to focus on here is the vampire. Said vampires are witnessed as changing over time to adjust to the awakening or loss of certain human fears, distresses, and perceived threats—whether that be war, religion, race, etc. While …

This Was The World And I Was King: Land And Identity In Scottish Children's Literature Of The Golden Age, Rodney Fierce

Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on Scottish cultural identity and its erasure in nineteenth-century British children’s literature as successful Scottish authors became known as British authors, and British children’s literature was canonized as the genre’s first Golden Age. Specifically, it explores the ways that Catherine Sinclair, George MacDonald, R. M. Ballantyne, Robert Louis Stevenson, J. M. Barrie, and Helen Bannerman—six popular nineteenth-century Scottish authors—maintain a sense of Scottishness in their adventure fiction. By reading the texts in the historical context of the authors’ biographies, I demonstrate that the land in their works and the benevolent colonizers allowed to control it in some …

Mythcon 51 - A Virtual “Halfling” Mythcon, The Mythopoeic Society

Mythcon Programs

Nothing “halfling” about it in the end, this year we are presenting fifty papers, panels, roundtables, and alternative programming for your Mythopoeic enjoyment. 2020 was a rough year for literally the whole world, and not just because we had to reschedule Mythcon 51. Many of us found ourselves turning to our favorite books for solace, not just academic interest, in the past year. We never could have expected to be hosting Mythcon 51 virtually, but already I’m thrilled about the silver linings that a virtual conference brings:

• Greater international attendance, with presenters and attendees from all over the world!
• Reduced …

A Teacher's Guide In Creating Linguistic Diverse Classroom: Code-Meshing And Translingual Practice In First-Year Composition, Yvonne Liu

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This thesis and portfolio are inspired by the recent code-meshing pedagogy movement to promote linguistic justice in the composition classroom along with the author’s personal journey in English learning. The traditional, monolingual practice in the composition classroom often isolates international students who have multilingual abilities above the rest of the students. The idea that there is only one correct use of English—standard English—assumes that one type of English is better than others. However, most native speakers cannot explain the rules and mechanism of standard English, which leaves international students often feeling frustrated and lowers their confidence in English writing and …