Matching Items (7)
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- All Subjects: creative writing
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- Creators: Sturges, Robert
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
Aside from uplifting and tearing down the mood of a young LGBTQ+ kid, journalistic media has the potential to alter the way audiences understand and react to individuals of the LGBTQ+ community. Looking at the rhetorical approaches, frameworks, and expanded narratives of news sources, this project engages with the concepts of same-sex marriage, lifestyles, bans, and children in education in order to attain an understanding of what media messages are being shared, how they are being communicated, and what the implications of such rhetoric are. Summary of the findings:
• Same-sex marriage as the win that cannot be repeated.
Infamously known as the central legal battle for the LGBTQ+ community, same-sex marriage finds itself in many political speeches, campaigns, and social commentaries. Interestingly, after being legalized through a Supreme Court decision in the United States, Same-Sex Marriage finds itself framed as the social inevitability that should not be repeated in politics or any legal shift. In other words, “the gays have won this battle, but not the war.”
• There are risks around the “LGBTQ+ lifestyle” and its careful catering to an elite minority and the mediation through bans.
The risks of the LGBTQ+ “lifestyle” date back far, with many connotations being attached to being LGBTQ+ (AIDS epidemics, etc.). In modern journalism, many media outlets portray LGBTQ+ individuals to be a tiny minority (.001% according to some) that demands the whole society to adhere to their requests. This framework portrays the LGBTQ+ community as oppressors and obsessed advocates that can never “seem to get enough” (ex: more than just marriage). The bans are framed as the neutralizing factor to the catering.
• LGBTQ+ children and topics in academic and social spaces are the extreme degree.
When it comes to LGBTQ+ issues and conversations as they revolve around children, media outlets have some of the most passionate opinions about them. Often portrayed as “the line that shouldn’t be crossed,” LGBTQ+ issues, as they find themselves in schools and other spaces, are thus portrayed as bearable to a certain degree, never completely. Claims of indoctrination are also presented prominently even when institutional efforts are to protect LGBTQ+ kids.
• Same-sex marriage as the win that cannot be repeated.
Infamously known as the central legal battle for the LGBTQ+ community, same-sex marriage finds itself in many political speeches, campaigns, and social commentaries. Interestingly, after being legalized through a Supreme Court decision in the United States, Same-Sex Marriage finds itself framed as the social inevitability that should not be repeated in politics or any legal shift. In other words, “the gays have won this battle, but not the war.”
• There are risks around the “LGBTQ+ lifestyle” and its careful catering to an elite minority and the mediation through bans.
The risks of the LGBTQ+ “lifestyle” date back far, with many connotations being attached to being LGBTQ+ (AIDS epidemics, etc.). In modern journalism, many media outlets portray LGBTQ+ individuals to be a tiny minority (.001% according to some) that demands the whole society to adhere to their requests. This framework portrays the LGBTQ+ community as oppressors and obsessed advocates that can never “seem to get enough” (ex: more than just marriage). The bans are framed as the neutralizing factor to the catering.
• LGBTQ+ children and topics in academic and social spaces are the extreme degree.
When it comes to LGBTQ+ issues and conversations as they revolve around children, media outlets have some of the most passionate opinions about them. Often portrayed as “the line that shouldn’t be crossed,” LGBTQ+ issues, as they find themselves in schools and other spaces, are thus portrayed as bearable to a certain degree, never completely. Claims of indoctrination are also presented prominently even when institutional efforts are to protect LGBTQ+ kids.
ContributorsNieto Calderon, Ramon Antonio (Author) / Himberg, Julia (Thesis director) / Sturges, Robert (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory proposes that the personality has three components, the id, superego, and ego. The id is concerned with pleasure and gain, the reason it is often identified as a human's animalistic side. Additionally, the id does not consider social rules as closely and is the uncensored portion of the personality. The superego is the id's opposite; the superego considers social expectations and pressures immensely, is more self-critical and moralizing. The ego mediates the id and superego, and is understood as the realistic expression of personality which considers both the "animal" and human. A Fractured Whole: A Collection of Short Stories, explores Freud's construction of human personality in both form and content. Within the collection are three sections, each with a different pair of characters. Within each section, the same scene is written in the three "modes" of the id, superego, and ego, as three separate stories. The fifteen stories comprising this collection address the substance of daily life: sexuality, body image, competition, among other topics, to consider how a single person can balance the desires for personal pleasure and to satisfy social expectations. Writing the same scene in three "modes" allows for the observation of how the characters attitudes and actions alter under the influence of different parts of their personalities.
ContributorsOtte, Aneka (Author) / Sturges, Robert (Thesis director) / Bryant, Jason (Committee member) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
DescriptionA short, fantasy novel using essential characters, themes, and events as depicted in the Bible.
ContributorsMcDonald, Joshua Dave Mallrich (Author) / Facinelli, Diane (Thesis director) / Bruhn, Karen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The following is a fantasy twist on the Christian Bible, set before the time of Adam of Eve. The plot follows the lives of the first humans before Adam and Eve, the Father's first attempt at creating humanity. Additionally, it follows the first generation of archangels on an adventure into the abyss. The work draws on theological, and mythological ideas including Greek mythology, Hasidic legend, John Milton's Paradise Lost, and even Dungeons and Dragons.
ContributorsWhite, Zachary Christopher (Author) / Sturges, Robert (Thesis director) / Corse, Taylor (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
In the mid-twentieth century, a number of vital and quietly revolutionary gay male writers, including Christopher Isherwood, Gore Vidal, James Baldwin, and John Rechy, increasingly wrote about explicitly homosexual experiences and culture despite social and legal opposition. Both individually and collectively, these four authors ultimately merged disjointed identities to establish a tradition of visibility and resistance in the United States. Divided into four main sections, this thesis examines each author’s portrayal of homosexual experiences and culture through his distinct approach with a close literary analysis of various works. The first section considers Christopher Isherwood and how milieu affects his depictions of homosexuality in The Berlin Stories (1945), Down There on a Visit (1962), and A Single Man (1964). The second examines Gore Vidal’s The City and the Pillar (1948) and the relationship between homosexuality and masculinity. The third section looks at how James Baldwin writes about the intersection of homosexuality, race, nationality, and class in both Giovanni’s Room (1956) and Another Country (1962). Finally, the fourth section considers the emergence of queer communities built around resistance in John Rechy’s City of Night (1963). In addition to these literary texts, original reviews of each novel published in The New York Times capture their reception and acceptance into a mainstream American readership. Through their distinct approaches, these four authors collectively present a varied, although somewhat limited, look at the homosexual experience in postwar, pre-Stonewall America.
ContributorsBramlett, Charles Paul (Author) / Sturges, Robert (Thesis director) / Bryant, Jason (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This project uses the format of a web-based choose-your-own-adventure game to integrate allusions, themes, and symbolism presented throughout Hellenic and Medieval literature. The research draws upon translations of The Aeneid by Virgil, Perceval by Chrétien de Troyes, Physica by Hildegard of Bingen, The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as well as various Celtic, Germanic, and Greco-Roman myths and figures. The game itself draws on writing theory as exemplified in The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler, which sets the archetype of what constitutes a Hero and the stages a character must undergo to become that Hero. Hosted on an online game creation program called Inklewriter, the game presents a scenario, starting with a knight, waking up in a tree with no previous recollection of getting there, and the reader is given clickable options to choose in response to the situation.
The ultimate purpose of this project is to serve as an educational resource, wherein links to the alluded material and analyses of symbolism can help students find source material based on their interests, serve as a guide for critical analysis of literature, and exemplify how writing theory can be implemented into a narrative. Though this project is presently incomplete, the link to the game contains the introductory scenes and the following analysis exemplifies the writing process, explains the choice and integration of alluded material and symbolism, and describes several scenes that are to be completed in the future.
The ultimate purpose of this project is to serve as an educational resource, wherein links to the alluded material and analyses of symbolism can help students find source material based on their interests, serve as a guide for critical analysis of literature, and exemplify how writing theory can be implemented into a narrative. Though this project is presently incomplete, the link to the game contains the introductory scenes and the following analysis exemplifies the writing process, explains the choice and integration of alluded material and symbolism, and describes several scenes that are to be completed in the future.
ContributorsCarr, Gillian Elizabeth (Author) / Sturges, Robert (Thesis director) / Corse, Taylor (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Feminism has been the focus of many writers throughout the decades but has recently gained momentum in the eyes of the general public thanks to works like Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Feminist figure Hélène Cixous encourages women to empower themselves by applying feminist ideas to their writing, rather than remaining complacent in an oppressive society. Avalon strives to portray some of these ideas through the lens of Arthurian Legend. A feminist story set in an epic fantasy world, Avalon shows the struggle of marginalized groups in a patriarchal, discriminatory, and dystopian society.
The main character, Princess Alexandria, must navigate a world where the all magic is controlled by a power-hungry ruler, King Mordred. After he decides to pursue the Ruins of Kronos in order to gain control over time itself, the princess decides to intervene. Alexandria escapes the palace with her childhood best friend James, to stop him, nearly dying in the process, and finds a group of fairies who have lost their wings. The fairies help her discover the true origins and capabilities of magic, making her realize that she must restore it to the realm in order to stop King Mordred. Alexandria disguises herself as a man and joins the King’s Knights, befriending a rebel in disguise named Keith along the way, as she discovers her brother Noah may be on the King’s side. Together, they work to liberate lands oppressed by King Mordred’s rule, and by the Black Plague that Morgana has set upon them, all while uncovering the corruption present in their society.
The main character, Princess Alexandria, must navigate a world where the all magic is controlled by a power-hungry ruler, King Mordred. After he decides to pursue the Ruins of Kronos in order to gain control over time itself, the princess decides to intervene. Alexandria escapes the palace with her childhood best friend James, to stop him, nearly dying in the process, and finds a group of fairies who have lost their wings. The fairies help her discover the true origins and capabilities of magic, making her realize that she must restore it to the realm in order to stop King Mordred. Alexandria disguises herself as a man and joins the King’s Knights, befriending a rebel in disguise named Keith along the way, as she discovers her brother Noah may be on the King’s side. Together, they work to liberate lands oppressed by King Mordred’s rule, and by the Black Plague that Morgana has set upon them, all while uncovering the corruption present in their society.
ContributorsMucino-Martinez, Gwendolyn (Author) / Moran, Stacey (Thesis director) / Sturges, Robert (Committee member) / Dean, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05