2026-05-20T05:21:25Zhttps://keep.lib.asu.edu/oai/requestoai:keep.lib.asu.edu:node-2006162025-04-21T23:20:25Zoai_pmh:alloai_pmh:repo_items200616
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.2.N.200616
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
2025-05
52 pages
Folcarelli, Antonio
Scott Lynch, Jacquie
Jensen, Chloe
Barrett, The Honors College
Department of English
Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies, Sch
"Identity Crisis" is a combination of a craft analysis and personal reflection on a decade of studying creative writing with two excerpts of short fiction. The essay portion reflects on false dichotomies between literary fiction and genre fiction, art and science, and creative talent versus trained storytelling. Afterward, a research section covers various exposition-heavy media to examine how it incorporates scientific jargon into fiction.
The two stories in the second half of the thesis, titled "Singularity" and "Disembodiment," follow sisters Vera and Justine Harper in a near-future literary science fiction setting where Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) implants are ubiquitous and create a social media composed of sensations that directly captures and plays back recordings of the nervous system. The protagonists grapple with personal identity, the philosophical concept of psychological continuity, mental illness, surveillance, and social media addiction.
BCI
Brain-computer Interface
Fiction Writing
Craft analysis
Creative Writing
Transhumanism
Science fiction
Worldbuilding
Craft essay
Writing Process
Short Fiction
Personal essay
Alzheimer's Disease
Dementia
Cyberpunk
brain implant
Mortician
Personal Identity
Philosophy of Mind
Psychological continuity
Literary Fiction
Social media addiction
Mental illness
Memoir
Creative writing workshops
Identity Crisis: Short Fiction and an Essay on the Craft