This thesis, a collection of short fiction, attempts to surface some of the discrepancy between inner and outer lives, between who these characters want to be and who they've become, between the lives they might have had and those they've chosen because the former are too chancy and the latter...
In this thesis, I examine composition scholarship on the intersections of religious faith and writing pedagogy over the past twenty years, tracing the origins of compositionists' discomfort with religion and focusing on pedagogical approaches for working with religiously-committed students. In particular, I emphasize the way in which these approaches are...
Contrasting the productive ground gained in ecological rhetorical theory through embedded fieldwork, composition as a discipline has yet to enact such transformative engagements with ecology. In this thesis, I put forward a praxis for ecological rhetoric and composition through permaculture design, utilizing the design framework’s system of ethics and principles...
A 2014 Pew Research poll revealed large gaps between public opinion and scientific opinion over environmental and biomedical issues (Funk and Rainie). Similarly, a number of recent popular books have described a growing public mistrust in scientific expertise (Mooney; Storr; Specter). Why is it, then, that so much of the...
Clashes of ideology are all around us, from our computer and television screens to our composition classrooms, and they merit attention within the composition classroom. This thesis examines the justifications and pedagogies that scholars in rhetoric and composition use to infuse issues of ideology and social ethics into writing instruction...
Creative nonfiction is a genre replete with contradictions--the name itself shows that: nonfiction writing is true and factual, but creative writing is imaginative and inventive. Because of fundamental contradictions like this, there is no standardized or even most common definition of the genre. This creates confusion for both critics and...
The term, spirituality, as used in this study, refers
to that part of our lives that has the deepest meaning,
that which nurtures each of us and moves us toward wholeness.
It is the basis for which we live out our lives,
following our own truths with honesty and commitment....
The field of composition studies has concerned itself with the way in which people learn to write and the role schooling plays in writing development. Recently a trend has developed within the field towards exploring writing development outside of the classroom, termed the extracurriculum. Much of the scholarship thus far...
The four stories and one essay within are linked by themes: love, sex, truth, and music. Three of the stories are told by first person narrators who are also musicians. In "Elementary Music," a young girl views her parents' divorce through the lens of an orchestra concert in which she...
As I began to explore the evocative nature of language, the creation of themes and images, and the rhythm and beauty of words that I feel must accompany meaning, I discovered that I had always seen and heard and felt the world as many of my characters do; in this...