I researched depictions of dragons in several works of modern literature to conceptualize what a dragon looks like and how they generally function in popular media. From there, I researched several key characteristics of dragons to see how they work with science’s current understanding. I looked into size and scaling,...
This paper focuses on Satan as a sympathetic figure in Paradise Lost, and it argues that readers' sympathy for Satan drives them to pursue God's grace in order to avoid falling into the same fate as Satan. It uses Reader Response theory to show how readers connect with Satan, and...
Monstrous beings, or distortions of nature, were a tangible object of fear in the medieval and early modern eras. Aristotle, as a precursor to the scientists and magical practitioners of the twelfth century or the barber-surgeons of the sixteenth century, understood monsters to be human or animal beings deformed by...
:
________________________________________________________________________
RebeccaR. Olson
Monstrous beings, or distortions of nature, were a tangible object of fear
In this thesis, I use modern concepts of feminism, gender performativity, and psychoanalysis as a means to understand female characters and authors of Renaissance England in a new way. In my first article, I analyze various texts and performances of Queen Elizabeth I, as well as texts of Renaissance female...
My thesis is comprised of two articles, titled "Interpreting Britomart's Encounters with Art: The Cyclic Nature of Ekphrasis in Spenser's Faerie Queene III," and "Picture This, Imagine That: Teaching Visual Literacy in the Disciplines." The purpose of my first article is to argue that Edmund Spenser uses ekphrasis in his...
:
_____________________________________________________________________
Vicki Tolar Burton RebeccaR. Olson
My thesis is comprised of two articles, titled
This thesis explores how students can find Shakespeare relevant in this modern technological society by creating and editing two podcasts that summarize two well known Shakespeare plays, Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Interviews are also included from Oregon State University students to see their perspectives from reading...
Shows, books, and media are constantly negotiating power with their fans. Who decides what is canon? To whom does the story belong?? The answer has traditionally been in favor of producers. However, in the age of the internet, fans now hold considerably more power than they ever have before, and...
Ever since Henry Jenkins’ groundbreaking _Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture_ (1992), fan studies has slowly worked its way further into mainstream academia. However, particular practices and cultures of femslash fandom, and the contribution of queer women to fandom archives and circulation have, in many ways, been neglected. In...
This thesis examines a range of generic influences in William Shakespeare's Richard II. By exploring the play's references to conflicting interpretations of history from different generic perspectives, I hope to advance a more nuanced reading of the play's dynamic staging of history. In Chapter One, I suggest that Richard II...
The novella follows a protagonist named Charlie Tinger and his daughter Rainy. The purpose of this novella was to highlight the complexity of a father-daughter relationship, projecting a quirky and special bond between the two. Written with the intent of eliciting emotion in the form of humor and sadness, I...