Jaidyn's Current Research Questions

Current Research Questions

1. Thesis: I thinking of writing about how and why "The Little Prince" bridges the gap between children's and adult's literature by comparing and contrasting definitions of genre and examining how the way the book is written influences the effect it has on a given audience.

2. Questions

    a. Where can I go to find more scholarly criticism on the book? There hasn't been a lot done with

        it, as far as I can tell, though I have been able to find a few resources. 

    b. Is there any authoritative, accepted source that defines genre and gives standards for

        classification? 

    c. What types of scholarly sources other than literary criticism should I look for to add to my

        paper? Or should I not...?

James' Current Research Questions

Right now, I am working on examining how Mary Shelley blends science and nature in Frankenstein, and how she uses that to highlight the necessary coexistence between science and nature.

• Where can I find examples of people applying ecocriticism to a text so I can see what it is supposed to look like? 
• How do I cite an author's foreword to her own book? 
• Where can I find a solid, scholarly definition of Romanticism and Gothicism? 

Dylan's current research questions

Through Dilsey’s interactions with the Compson family in The Sound and the Fury, Faulkner communicates both the lack of change in the South and in how this lack of change leads to their eventual destruction.

•  How can I find articles using critical race theory on my novel or on others?
•  Is there a good method to find the information I need in a large research paper?
•  How do I know if I have enough sources?

Hannah's Annotated Bibliography on A Streetcar Named Desire

Through my research I feel myself gravitating towards making a claim about identity and how identity is formed, through the lens of queer theory. I am not totally sure exactly what my claim will be, but I have an idea. 

1. [eBook found through searching “Queer Theory” on E-Book Central]
Ferens, Dominika. Out Here : Local and International Perspectives in Queer Studies, Cambridge Scholars Publisher, 2006. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/byu/detail.action?docID=1114150.

This eBook focuses on the foundations of Queer Theory and the idea of what is acceptable and normal to society. I found it interesting how it explored the idea that repetition is what creates normality, which made me think about the idea of identity and how repetition plays a role in one’s identity. This relates to my study of Queer Theory in A Streetcar Named Desire, as it explores homosexuals who tried to escape their identity through participating in the heteronormative society.

2. [Non-textual Source, movie adaptation of A Streetcar Name Desire from 1951. Found under “videos’ on the HBLL main page.]

A Streetcar Named Desire. 1951. [film] Hollywood: Elia Kazan.

This film accurately portrays the events that take place in a Streetcar Named Desire, and even added to my understanding of the different roles light played in the play. There is a moment in the movie that depicts Blanche talking with Mitch just moments before she is seen under the light. In this scene the lights are flickering on and off, demonstrating the difference between light and dark and her own exposure to the increasing light. In this scene it also demonstrates Blanche’s true nature as she becomes subject to the light, he voice becomes deeper and more assertive. This relates to my theory as the light is a representation of who are in hiding, such as homosexuals during this time often found themselves hiding their true sexual identity.

3. [Digital Journal, found through JSTOR, Online full-text databse]

Vlasopolos, Anca. “Authorizing History: Victimization in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire.’” Theatre Journal, vol. 38, no. 3, 1986, pp. 322–338. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3208047. Accessed 18 Mar. 2020.

This article looks at the genre of the play, it’s “modern tragedy” and the characterization of a hero in the play. This article speculates the possibility of Blanche being a hero, yet she is eventually the one who falls to victimization. This can relate to my use of Queer Theory and blanche’s represenataion of homosexuals during this time in a sense that although gay individuals during this time might see themselves as the hero to their lives, they often fell victim to hetero norms during this time.

4. [Print source, fonud through my own collection of books]

Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.

This textbook contained a sectioned that described Lesbian, gay and queer criticism. It described more aspect of the theory that I had not yet considered, such as homosocial bonding and same-sex “doubles” which I had not yet considered looking in to in Streetcar.

5. [Newspaper article, found through HBLL database finder under “newspapers”]

“Pervert Investigation.” Washington Post, May 31, 1950

This source adds to the historical background that is essential to my claim. It is an article that was published which talks about the blackmail that homosexuals could experience because of their sexuality. It also displays the criminal attitude people had towards homosexuals at this time.

Annie's Annotated Bibliography on Death Fugue

I am still struggling to narrow it down. The two directions I am being pulled in are: first in looking towards the past, towards what influenced Celan—the allusions, and then looking towards the future: towards what he has influenced through Death Fugue. The other direction I am thinking about taking my paper is exploring complicated nature of the beauty within the tragedy which I only just found a hint of in my research but it’s out there (see source 4) and I think I could also tie it in with the work I have already done.

. [Encyclopedia entry found through google search]
"Death Fugue (Todesfuge) ." Reference Guide to Holocaust Literature.”
Encyclopedia.com. Accessed 23 Mar. 2020<https://www.encyclopedia.com>.

This article gave me a more wide overview of the poem which was nice because so far I’ve been focused in on just a few lines. It was useful to take a step back and see where else I could take the material in the poem as far as form and historical context.

2. [Scholarly article found through JSTOR]
Roos, Bonnie. “Anselm Kiefer and the Art of Allusion: Dialectics of the Early ‘Margarete’ and ‘Sulamith’ Paintings.” Comparative Literature, vol. 58, no. 1, 2006, pp. 24–43. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4122339. Accessed 23 Mar. 2020.

This source could further develop the claim I made in my last paper as it explores the artwork and allusion and connections between Margarete and Shulamite, all of which I talked about in my paper. If I want to continue down this pathway this is a good source to look to, it also could be useful if I want to look into reader response theory.

3.[Poems based on Death Fugue found American Poetry Review]
Lipman, Matthew. Death Fugue: Jazz. American Poetry Review, 2020, search.lib.byu.edu/byu/record/edsbyu.f6h.141813764?holding=qbmv0ab1p7b6p1qc. Accessed 23 Mar. 2020

These are award winning poems that have been published in the American Poetry Review and take after Celan’s poems, again I think they would be useful if I want to look at the influence his poem has had on the literary world. They would reflect different avenues of interpretation back into the poem because of the material they cover.

4.[Scholarly book review found through LION]
Kligerman, Eric. "UNWANTED BEAUTY: AESTHETIC PLEASURE IN HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATION." Women's Studies Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 1, 2008, pp. 297-301. ProQuest, https://search-proquest-com.erl.lib.byu.edu/docview/233657112?accountid=4488. Accessed 23 Mar. 2020 

This is just a book review on a in depth book project that covers the subject of finding beauty amongst the subject of the Holocaust, but it is something that really interests me in Death Fugue and something I would like to find more information on because there is a lot of beauty in the poem whether or not its meant to be there intermingled with the suffering. I think that I could find something to write about with this that would be really interesting and complex.

5. [Scholarly article found through JSTOR]
KAMINSKY, ILYA. “Of Strangeness That Wakes Us.” Poetry, vol. 201, no. 4, 2013, pp. 469–478. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41702951. Accessed 23 Mar. 2020.

I like this article a lot because it showed some of the contentions in Celan’s life—in being a jew and writing about the holocaust in german, in being from a place that “was dropped from history.” It confronts some of the issues that I would also like to confront in the poem.

Rowen's Annotated Bibliography on The Bards of Bone Plain

Working Annotated Bibliography: The Bards of Bone Plain

The main focus of my research so far has been the interaction between rural and urban environments in relation to creativity. The story focuses largely on the conflict between music as learned in an informal, rural setting, and music as learned in a "bardic college." The rural learning cannot have the same extensiveness as the college, but the college struggles to connect with the latent magic inherent to the more rural music. I'm really curious about the relationship between this concept and movements such as the pre-raphaelite and romantic movements, which both focused on very simple subjects and attempted to capture their beauty, but often the creators were not necessarily a part of the environment they depicted. 

[Full-Text database- JSTOR]
Kaneda, Takuya. “The Concept of Freedom in Art Education in Japan.” Journal of Aesthetic Education, vol. 37, no. 4, 2003, pp. 12–19. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3527329. Accessed 23 Mar. 2020.

This article discusses the evolution of art education in Japan from a rote, imitation based education system to a more organic system designed to encourage creativity. This will help me discuss the relationships between "internal" creativity and "learned" creativity, and how those two interact.

[Print bibliography- ENG 251 packet]
Eliot, T. S.. "Tradition and the Individual Talent."  The Egoist, vol. 6, no. 4, Sept. 1919, pp. 1-6.

Eliot's article, which elaborates on the relationship between tradition and talent, largely focuses on the value of studying, but not necessarily imitating other poets (or artists). I'm really interested in the relationship in The Bards of Bone Plain between art that arises organically (which Eliot disparages) and art that is created after study. Eliot's article will help elaborate on the principles behind the "study" perspective.

[Thesis/Dissertation abstract on BYU library]
Jensen, Jordan, "A Comparative Case Study: Investigation of a Certified Elementary Art Specialist Teaching Elementary Art vs. a Non-Art Certified Teacher Teaching Elementary Art." Theses and Dissertations, 2861, 2011. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2861. Accessed 23 March 2019.

This dissertation concluded that many teachers, while more than willing to teach elementary-school students art, did not feel like they had the education necessary to teach children art. I think the fact that they can, but don't feel suited to the position was especially interesting and will help me discuss the benefits of encouraging internal creativity. 

[Image]

Millais, John Everett. Ophelia. 1852, Tate Britain, London. 

The artist who does most of the cover art for Patricia McKillip, including that for Bards of Bone Plain, uses a fairly common high-fantasy style for her art, which largely seems to imitate the art in the pre-raphaelite movement in the 1800s. From my understanding of the movement, there is a similar combination of incredibly detailed and intense style, depicting very simplistic subjects. 

[research guide- emailed Robert Means]

SZANIAWSKI, KLEMENS. “Creativity and Values.” Dialectics and Humanism, vol. 6, June 1979, pp. 73–76. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=phl&AN=PHL1084966&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Iili      I'm really interested in this article since it attempts to discuss the value of creativity. It could be argued that the protagonist in Bards of Bone Plain is not musical/creative at all, and it is his very non-musicality that ends up "saving the day."

Alyssa'a Annotated Bibliography on Dr. Faustus and Judith

Working Annotated Bibliography

So far my research has directed me towards the religious and cultural influences on the language used during the Anglo-Saxon and Renaissance periods of England. Because both Dr. Faustus and Judith center around religious practices and beliefs, I wanted to explore how Christianity and types of Christianity are portrayed in both of these texts, and see if there was any connection between each presentation.

[Scholarly source via an email exchange with a professor]
Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Charles University in Prague, 2010, http://bosworth.ff.cuni.cz/. Accessed 23 March 2020.I used this dictionary last semester to help me write on and Old English text, and it is quite helpful in giving possible translations and meanings of Old English words and phrases. I intend to use this to help me decipher the intentions surrounding Judith's writing and analyze the formal elements of the poem.

[BYU English Literatures database]
Chickering, Howell. “Poetic Exuberance in the Old English Judith.” Studies in Philology, vol. 106, no. 2, Spring 2009, pp. 119–136. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=prf&AN=37180756&site=prc-live.This essay discusses the formal elements of Judith, especially how the tone of the poem influences its meaning and message to the reader. I find it interesting that the author used the word "exuberance" to describe the poem's formal qualities; I think it will be interesting to further explore the implications of the celebratory language in the text as a potential form of propaganda.

[The BYU Library database page]
MARSHALL, PETER. "The Reformation of Hell? Protestant and Catholic Infernalisms in England, c. 1560-1640." The Journal of Ecclesiastical History 61.2 (2010): 279-98. ProQuest. 23 Mar. 2020 .This paper differentiates the Catholic and Protestant versions of hell. Because the concepts of heaven and hell are so central to Dr. Faustus, I want to look at the play to see how Marlowe portrayed each, and whether this portrayal aligned more with the Catholic or Protestant version of the afterlife. Knowing which version he used of heaven and hell will help me to gauge how this play would have been received by his mostly-Protestant English audience.

[Amazon]
Marlowe, Christopher. The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, Harris, John D. E-book, John Harris, dba, 2018.This annotated version of Dr. Faustus gives insight into the legend of Dr. Faustus and the deliberate changes Marlowe made to the story for a mostly Protestant English audience. The editor has made some comments on the ironic play on words that Marlowe has made in Faustus' name, and notes some allusions to other faustian figures in that time period.

[E-book through BYU's library page]
The Anglo-Saxons : Synthesis and Achievement, edited by J. Douglas Woods, and David A. E. Pelteret, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1986. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/byu/detail.action?docID=685986.This book explores the different kinds of propaganda used to tell the history of the Anglo-Saxons in England (such as the Bayeux tapestry, though this was woven after the Norman conquest), as well as discusses the culture of the Anglo-Saxon period during the time that Judith was probably written. Since the Anglo-Saxons were trying to unite the people of the country (which the Anglo-Saxons themselves had invaded just a few centuries earlier) against the Vikings, this book is particularly interesting to use as a filter for what kind of characteristics are applied to the heroine Judith.