Rhetoric and Composition Commons^™

Parallel Concepts Found In The Thousand And One Nights And Sufi Hagiography, Walaa Kamal Emam Kamel

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that The Thousand and One Nights functions as more than mere populist entertainment; rather, it constitutes a literary corpus imbued with Sufi mystical epistemologies that reflect the spiritual quests and Sufi concepts evident in hagiographical traditions. Through discourse and intertextual analysis of two Nights stories, “The City of Brass” and “The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad,” alongside Farīd al-Dīn ʿAṭṭār’s Tadhkirat al-awliyāʾ, this study demonstrates how shared rhetorical strategies—specifically David Pinault’s Leitwörter analysis and L.A. Paul’s Transformative Experience concept—reveal a narrative and rhetorical emphasis on the metamorphosis of the self from worldly attachment toward …

Finding Luis: A Creative Nonfiction Account Of Law & Society, Jason M. Leggett

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This essay explores the contradictions in legal theory and human experience through creative nonfiction. Its main purpose is to argue that a truly just society requires acknowledging the profound influence of individual narratives on the law. This is supported by blending personal narratives, critical analysis, and philosophical inquiry to reveal the gap between codified law and lived realities for marginalized individuals. This unique Legal Poetics methodology employs a series of six vignettes, such as the author's and Luis's shared experiences with traumatic brain injury and the denial of justice, as data. By integrating autoethnography, law as narrative, and performativity theories, …

Voice And Student Engagement With Writing: Integrating Perspective, Personality, And Style, Sara S. Martin

English Dissertations

The rise of generative AI has many teachers worried about the future of writing classes and students’ desire to learn. However, instructors can motivate students to write by valuing what AI can never replace: their voices. Previous definitions of voice took the concept for granted and left it either vague or reductive, unhelpful for structured lessons. I propose a new, more teachable definition of voice as perspective, personality, and style. Perspective takes priority because it belongs solely to the individual and the unrepeatable moment of composition. Personality infuses passages with emotion, forming a bond between author and reader. Style, the …

Black And Autistic In Neo-Nationalist America, Timotheus Gordon Jr

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

In "Black and Autistic in a Neo-Nationalist America," Timotheus “T.J.” Gordon, Jr. explores the intersectional challenges faced by Black autistic individuals in a socio-political climate marked by rising neo-nationalism. Drawing on personal experiences and historical contexts, Gordon navigates the metaphorical tightrope of double consciousness, as articulated by W.E.B. DuBois, to highlight the precarious existence of those who do not conform to monolithic identities. The essay critiques the melting pot analogy of American culture, advocating instead for a pluralistic society that recognizes and values diverse identities. Through a blend of autobiographical narrative and scholarly analysis, Gordon underscores the systemic marginalization of …

Poetries Of Abandonment: A Study Of Plath And Glück, Yara Abdelmoneim

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the intersection between literature and trauma, which can be discerned in the key works of two poets, Sylvia Plath and Louise Glück. While offering readings of crucial poems, the thesis also examines the interrelations among trauma, memory and narrative as theorized by two contemporary psychiatrists, Bessel van der Kolk and Judith Herman. Both Plath and Glück wrote about personal and generational trauma after going through different experiences of abandonment. Absence, indirection and repetition provide the basis for literary techniques that allow their traumas to be better understood by authors and readers alike. The degree to which each …

Write The Way: A Healing-Centered Model For Moving Toward Liberatory And Transformative Experience, Ioanna P. Opidee

Educational Studies Dissertations

Writing can be a source of affirmation, empowerment, liberation, healing, and joy, but it can also be a source of dread, oppression, and identity-based harm, particularly for people who have been marginalized or minoritized. Write the Way is a theoretical model for writing and pedagogy, intended to help writers and teachers of writing clear out and tread safely along various pathways toward healing ourselves and our relationships—with writing, with others, and with ourselves—as we move together in the direction of a healing world. The purpose of this study was to identify the ways in which the Write the Way model …

Ztc Eng 151 Syllabus: College Writing, Nicolette Guida

Open Educational Resources

This syllabus provides a curriculum for an introduction to research writing. In this course, students develop introductory skills for academic research writing, work on critical thinking and analysis skills, and build an awareness of the rhetorical situation both in texts read in class and in their own writing. This course focuses on the impact that culture has in shaping behavior and life experiences. Included course texts are centered on the exploration of the different cultural groups that people occupy and the specific cultural norms, values and beliefs for each of these groups. This is zero textbook cost (ZTC) course, so …

How Kirby’S Return To Dream Land Deluxe Subverts Narrative Expectations, Kelley I. Hale

Aurora

The Kirby series has been around for over 30 years, and very little has been done to research it. This is a shame, as I believed (and still do believe) the series has a lot to offer in terms of research. For this paper, I analyzed Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, a Switch remake of the Wii game Kirby's Return to Dream Land. I analyzed the cutscenes found within the game using fantasy theme criticism. I did this to explore how the game subverts narrative expectations, as well as show that Kirby games have value when it comes to …

Fostering Creativity Through A Signature Creative Writing Pedagogy, Ryan Stone

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study offers a historical and conceptual lens to guide the proposed research. A historical account of creative writing in higher education and its relationship to progressive education and creative education is offered. The conceptual framework involves the development of the creative person through the primary pedagogical method within creative writing: the workshop. The research involves a qualitative phenomenological study. Methods utilized include coded observations and interviews.

Moonstorm In The Mainstream Or On The Margins?: Constellating St. Louis Lesbian Rhetorics From The Archives, Aurora Blanchard

Theses

Combining rhetorical analysis, oral history collection, and archival study, this multi-genre research project explores lesbian feminist organizing in the 1970s. Moonstorm was a St. Louis lesbian feminist magazine that operated in the 1970s and 1980s. The sample in this research project focuses on the issues of Moonstorm published between 1973 and 1977. Issues of Moonstorm are available for viewing in the archives of the State Historical Society of Missouri. Building on V. Jo Hsu’s theory of constellating, the poems and stories found in Moonstorm serve as sites of both contested and unconditional belonging for modern LGBTQ+ activists. Constellating, specifically in …

I Worked In A Building That Was Not Accessible And That's Too Bad, Aaron Donaldson

Toyon: Multilingual Literary Magazine

No abstract provided.

Remembering Ancient Heroes: How Literary Devices Inbeowulf And Homer Assist In Poetic Recollection, Emily Davey

Posters - 2025

In both Ancient Greek and Old English traditions of poetry, memory is an essential part in the retention of the language and story in the culture’s history. Beowulf shares some poetic lyrical elements with Homer’s epithets. Though both poems have unique and different poetic meters, they possess similar tactics in the language to move the story along while providing poets “footholds” in the poem to remember the story.To deliver these stories of heroes to the public, the sophists of Greece and the scops of Celtic England had only one tool available for the record of these lengthy poems: their capacity …

The Disinformation Vaccine: A Case For Integrating Comprehensive Disinformation Education Into First Year Writing Classes, Benjamin F. Jackson

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Students’ exposure to disinformation and misinformation is far greater than it has ever been. As the ability of generative AI to produce image, video, and audio deepfakes grows more sophisticated, disinformation will become even easier to spread and harder to detect. The rapid spread of social, political, scientific, and medical disinformation has been deadly and its potential is disastrous. Security experts now warn that dis/misinformation is the greatest threat to national security. Americans at large and students in particular have a demonstrated lack of information literacy when it comes to detecting false information, and bad actors nationally and globally are …

What's Their Story? To Help Save The Humanities, Let's Listen To English Majors, Kevin T. Caffrey

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Amid declining enrollment in humanities programs throughout the United States, the English major has been hit the hardest. This article gives voice to current English majors about why they choose to enroll in a program that often receives criticism pertaining to its value and worth. This study provides a literature review of the history of higher education in the United States, an examination of the humanities backlash that has evolved over the past half-century, and an exploration of the value of a degree in English. In addition, it provides survey results from a small group of English majors currently enrolled …

Duae Cypriani Soarez Praefationes Ad Opus De Arte Rhetorica Libri Tres Commentariis Rhetoricis Instructae, Marcus Porto

Theses and Dissertations--Modern and Classical Languages, Literature and Cultures

De Arte Rhetorica Libri Tres (1562) written by Cyprian Soarez (1524-1593), priest and teacher of the Society of Jesus, was the standard rhetorical manual in the Ratio Studiorum and thus was used for over two centuries in Jesuit colleges throughout the world. Concerned that young students of Latin were not yet ready for the major rhetorical texts of antiquity, such as Cicero’s and Quintilian’s, Soarez wrote this manual as a digest of ancient rhetoric to the beginner. This thesis uses the rhetorical precepts found in Cyprian’s work to analyze the work’s own two prefaces. Thus, it aims at providing …

Lineation To Liberation: The Transformative Power Of Poetic Rhetoric, Amber Rae Alvarez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This project explores the transformative power of poetic rhetoric and examines how poetry as a form of expressive art serves as a means of reclamation in the aftermath of encounters with the American criminal justice system. I contend that poetry provides a space where folks can reimagine (and reclaim) their identities, asserting their agency in empowering and authentic ways. Taking a Cultural Studies and Critical Prison Studies informed approach, this project engages the concept of lineation to liberation to conduct a close reading analysis of artist (Reginald) Dwayne Betts’ poetry. Betts’ work not only provides a powerful example of how …

The Bridge, Volume 22, 2025, Bridgewater State University

the bridge

Editor-in-Chief

Katie Johanson

Managing Editor

Andrew Chermesino

Editors:

Tom Beaudry

Anna Connor

Jayce Elliott

Daniel Manning

Allison Marchand

Kristiana Nogueira

Giana Wigmore

Kaia Young

Faculty Advisor:

Professor Jessica Melendy

Design Advisor:

Professor Alain Blunt

Lead Designer

Vanessa Greaves

Designers

Nia Alvarado-Rodriguez

Robert Barove

Matt Curley

Matthew Fountain

Michelle Green

Grant Hall

Reject Modernity, Embrace Tradition: Unpacking Gender Roles In Social Media Performances Of "The Good Life", Lauren Mar

Scripps Senior Theses

What do JD Vance, tradwife influencers, and the “sprinkle sprinkle” movement have in common? They all have something to do with the increasing popularity of an apparent return to traditional gender roles. This thesis is an intersectional investigation of women’s gender roles in relation to class and race as they appear in different performances of “the good life” on social media. Through a series of personal essays, this thesis explores how these media examples represent a deeper political unhappiness with present conditions. This thesis takes the time to unpack the different sides of discourse surrounding each subject, and counters the …

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 Rhetorical Interlude In Alfonso Cuarón’S Gravity: Suggesting A Model For Examining Rhetorical Discourse In Film, Brent Yergensen, Scott Church

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This essay advances the concept of the “rhetorical interlude,” a means by which scholars and teachers may examine how rhetorical messages are embedded in films. To illustrate, this study includes an examination of the rhetorical interlude in the film Gravity (Cuarón, 2013) as the film’s protagonist, Ryan Stone, is visited by the apparition of her dead colleague, Matt Kowalski, who instructs her on survival in space and on the significance of moving on from personal tragedy. In a pattern of ghostly apparitions appearing in perplexing outer space situations, Gravity situates scientific complexity as capable of being transcended with the help …

Chasing The Albino Pygmy Giraffe, Charles H. Haddad

School of Communication and Journalism Faculty Publications

It's never a good sign when someone is knocking on the door of your hotel room at seven in the morning. That's especially true if you have been schlepping eight college students across Western China, as I had been for the past week. I now heard in this soft rapping the death knell of my fledgling professorial career. Wrapping a ratty, threadbare pillow around my head, I tried to shut out the insistent rapping. Of course, that didn't work. Bad news has a way of butting in.

So begins my novel “Chasing the Albino Pygmy Giraffe.” It is a laugh-aloud …

Once Upon A Sh*Tty Draft..., Andrew Messer, Wendell Hixson

Cardinal Compositions

No abstract provided.

Rhetorical Analysis Of Ai-Generated Content, Rachel Morgan

Cardinal Compositions

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Professional Writing Practices Of An Attorney, Jen Hankins

Cardinal Compositions

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Culinary Landscape: A Study Of Restaurants And Tipping Culture, Madeline Tudor

Cardinal Compositions

No abstract provided.

The Haunting Echoes Of Familial Turmoil In Adulthood, Arri Ho

Cardinal Compositions

No abstract provided.

Texas Gothic, Taryn Uribe Turner

Art Theses and Dissertations

The emotional and the ecological combine to create my body of work titled, “Texas Gothic.” My thesis tells the stories of my oil paintings created through personal connections to a variety of landscapes, animals and experiences that share the setting of Texas.

Desire and regret take shape as animals and figures not fully formed or real. Unreliable narratives of the past are entangled with present tensions to create a painting that haunts and stalks.

And yet, there is hope!

Through nostalgia and sweetness and burdens, my paintings confront a shrouded future. The contradictions of time passing are explored in my …

Talking About Writing: Scenes Of Writing Workshops In History And Practice, Erika Luckert

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation envisions the writing workshop as a space where we do essential political and social work—where we can reimagine writing, and the teaching of writing, in more interdependent and inclusive ways. This research responds to the work of BIPOC writers and scholars who have urged those of us in Writing Studies to address the homogeneity of the workshop’s history, and to revise its exclusionary logics. Drawing on interviews and observations of teachers in undergraduate creative writing and composition classrooms across the United States, the author examines what actually happens when students talk together about their in-progress writing. This dissertation …

Diy Delivery Systems Rethinking Self-Sponsorship Through Extracurricular Literacy Narratives, Jason W. Luther

College of Communication & Creative Arts Departmental Research

This essay reconsiders the role of the “self-sponsored” writer in the attention economy by suggesting that contemporary do-it-yourself publishers have not only attempted to negotiate a public sphere which has linked "self-sponsored" to "entrepreneurial," but contend with a digital environment that makes it difficult to parse authorial desire from neoliberal rationality. Ultimately, this essay suggests that materialist models of circulation should be accounted for in studies of extracurricular literacies, specifically by drawing from the literacy narratives of public writers such as zine authors. It thus provides a method of analysis for understanding how these writers, who must necessarily exist within …

Developing And Sustaining A Graphic Scholarship Collection For Academic Libraries, Stewart Brower, Toni Hoberecht, Zane Ratcliffe, Bethie Seay

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

In early 2021, the Schusterman Library at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa satellite campus took a new step towards building a culture of interest by creating the Graphic Scholarship Collection. This new endeavor is a curated collection of graphic novels, primarily non-fiction, aligned with the academic programs on campus, as well as promoting University initiatives in diversity, equity, and inclusion. A new organizational structure for the collection materials and their circulation metrics will be examined in detail. There will also be consideration of the challenges of selection and acquisition by a mixed team of selectors, some of whom have no experience …