Recent Masters Theses

Jason Warren, “Indirect Realism of Time Travel in Wells, Heinlein, and Crichton”

Defended Spring 2005

Committee:  Daniel Punday (chair), Dennis Barbour, Colin Fewer

The purpose of this study was to explore how realism occurs in the time travel fictions of Wells, Heinlein and Crichton.  After introducing time travel in diverse ways, these three authors intensify the reader's sense of plausibility by directing the reader's attention away from the gadgets.  When this occurs, having a complete explanation for the machine may not be desirable or necessary.  In The Time Machine, the technology is quickly justified and removed from the story immediately after its first use.  Our attention is focused on the creatures the Time Traveler encounters and the sociological statement that Wells wished to make.  In Heinlein's "By His Bootstraps," Bob Wilson is too frazzled to care about the details of his time travel.  Instead, Heinlein explored how a time loop can affect free will and fate.  In Timeline, Michael Crichton worked hard to convince readers that time travel is real, he successfully directed our attention to the Middle Ages, but he continued to return and spoil the realism.

Bergiel, Phyllis.  “Practical Applications of a Philosophical Novel: How Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Impacts the Teaching of College Writing.”

Defended Spring 2005

Committee:  Carolyn Boiarsky (Chair), David Detmer, Clem Stacey

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the state of postsecondary pedagogy as practiced in the composition classroom which is composed of students who are increasingly influenced by the trend toward a non-literate culture in the 21^st century.  In addition, much of the current pedagogical literature stops far short of metaphysical analysis, assuming either traditional or postmodern forms of Subject-Object metaphysics (SOM).  There has been no resolution to this now entrenched debate over the status of these two opposing sides of SOM within the discipline of philosophy where it originated; thus its derivative ramifications in pedagogy are problematic and incoherent.  A third alternative, the metaphysics of quality (MOQ), developed by Robert M. Pirsig, and explicated in his novels Zen  and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Lila is analyzed as a coherent option, positing as its conclusion that the MOQ alternative is a superior synthesis of the two competing SOM theories, since it allows for inclusion and validation of subjective preferences, as well as, rigorous objective standards.  This inclusiveness means that an instructor can articulate authentic standards of evaluation of student writing which in turn will drive a more effective curriculum and pedagogy in which students are empowered as capable judges and thus writers through experiential “quality events” in the classroom.

Heather Clark, “The Myth of the American Adam Re-Bourne”

Defended Fall 2004

Committee:  Clem Stacy (chair), Dennis Barbour, Richard Van Orman

The purpose of this study is to examine the myth of the American Adam in the 21^st century.  The myth of the American Adam has long been recognized as an integral part of American culture in the 19^th century.  What is less understood is how this myth plays out in American culture today.  In developing this study, it has been imperative to define the characteristics of Adam in order to recognize and apply them to figures in 20^th and 21^st century literature and culture.  The definition included some general characteristics.  Essentially, he is a man, innocent at first, but with some great ‘fall’ either illustrated in the text or understood through subtext.  He is alone by choice and lives outside of society.  There is usually a sense of loneliness about this character.  He is in motion in space (not necessarily outer space although that time did come), but the wide, open space of the Plains, or the West or any other unimpeded land which he can inhabit without society interfering.  He is an answer to the European Romantic and to those critics who doubted there could ever be a uniquely American literature.  While there have been variations on these characteristics, essentially, they remain in the characterization of the American Adam.  In the 21^st Century we see this character most clearly in Robert Ludlum’s creation of Jason Bourne.  Bourne fits the characteristics of Adam, and includes variations within the character that make him unique to the culture from which he comes. 

Jennifer Perkins, “Postmodern Paranoia:  The X-Files, The Crying of Lot 49, Libra and Ubik”

Defended Spring 2004

Committee:  Daniel Punday (chair), Dennis Barbour, Colin Fewer

Because The X-Files has generated such a large fan base, there has been no lack of attention paid to the show, resulting in a multitude of trendy books, magazine articles and Internet websites and user groups.  The X-Files has not only generated popular attention, but due to its large number of followers and high acclaim, scholarly research concerning The X-Files has also been conducted.  Topics studied link the show with various subjects such as gender studies, mythology and overall postmodern studies.  While I discuss the cultural issues depicted throughout The X-Files, I will concentrate specifically on its use of paranoia, with paranoia being characteristic of postmodern culture.  I will accomplish this goal by comparing the use of paranoia in The X-Files in relation to three other works of contemporary fiction also dealing with paranoia:  Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, Don Delillo’s Libra, and Philip K. Dick’s Ubik.  I will analyze the manner in which the paranoia is created in each novel, comparing that with the fashioning of paranoia in The X-Files.  I will discuss how the author/produce serves to involve the reader/viewer in the paranoia atmosphere of the text and show.  I will emphasize the use of conspiracy theory in The X-Files, The Crying of Lot 49 and Libra because conspiracy theory is a direct result of the paranoia thought process in our society. 

April Gabbert, “The Cybertext Body”

Defended Spring 2003

Committee:  Daniel Punday (chair), Dennis Barbour, Colin Fewer

Hypertext has become a signature of transformation, prompting a reexamination of the relationship we have with text and the power structures that guide it. At the core of many literary discussions about electronic text remains the inquiry as to how its form impacts and shapes perspectives concerning language, literature, and written discursive practices. Writing and reading practices in the virtual environment prompts us to reconsider matters of form and medium, purpose and significance, author and audience, as they relate to conventional principles and methods ascribed to textual expression. By applying a Foucauldian poststructural analysis of discourse to the electronic text, and by examining contemporary hypertext theory and criticism, we are better able to examine the impact the virtual text is having on our postmodern literary culture.