English 6970
MA Thesis
Director
Sal Talluto, "Constructive Postmodernism and Gravity's Rainbow," Spring 2012
Brandon McCoy, "The Beat Generation: A Spiritual Quest in the Before and After," Spring 2014
Matt Sweat, "The Greatest Practitioners: Agency and the Witness in Three Works by Cormac McCarthy," Summer 2014
Tess Lyle, "Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath," Spring 2016
Emily Allmond, "New Mother Nature: Deconstructing the Anthropocene and Feminine Constructions of the Natural World in the Age of Climate Crisis," Spring 2020
Committee Member
Adam Fletcher, "Towards a Vancean Ethic: The Ethical Tensions in the Science Fiction of Jack Vance," Spring 2011
Chris Cowan, "Crime and Punishment…and Spandex: an Examination of the Superhero as a Reflection of Social Attitudes toward Crime," Spring 2011
Cara Jackson, "Women Who Ride like People: Tracing Changes in Feminism in Sword and Sorcery," Spring 2011
Kathryn Livingston, "Maladaptive Daydreaming as a Creative Writing Tool: A Psychoanalytic Examination of The Tale of Genji and 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,'" Spring 2017
Mikaela LaFave, "Something Rotten: Space, Place, and the Nation in Hamlet and As You Like It," Summer 2018
Lindsey Poe, Spring 2019, "From Terrorism to Feminism: Examining the Development of the Live-Action Superhero Genre as Reflections of American Social and Political Fears Following the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks"
Jackson Palmour, Spring 2021, "Video Games Are Where the Detective Story Has Always Belonged: The Progression of Detective Stories into Video Games"
Shereka Poole, Spring 2021, "Stand by Me: A Critical Analysis of Child and Young Adult Developmental Understanding of Race and Self withing Affect Theory using I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Between the World and Me, Song of the South, and The Hate U Give"
Makhalath Fahiym, Spring 2022, "Freeing the Black Final Girl in Postmillennial Zombie Horror: Race, Gender, and the Strong Black Woman Stereotype in 28 Days Later, The Walking Dead, and Z Nation"
Three Semester Thesis Timeline (2022-Present)
Semester One: During the summer before a spring defense, the candidate reads primary texts and reviews sources not studied in the thesis proposal's literature review.
Semester Two: By the second week of the semester, the candidate meets with the advisor to create a drafting and revision schedule. By the middle of the term, the candidate submits the first 1/3 of the thesis and receives feedback for revision. Shortly before the end of the semester, the candidate submits the second 1/3 of the thesis and receives feedback for revision by finals week.
Semester Three: During the defense semester, the candidate submits the the final 1/3 of thesis by the fourth week of the semester and receives feedback for revision. The candidate submits a thesis draft to the committee by the date scheduled by the MA Program, typically in Week 8. The candidate submits a defense draft to the committee by the date scheduled by the MA Program, typically in Week 12. The candidate defends the thesis by date scheduled by the MA Program, typically in Week 14.
Three Semester Thesis Timeline (2012-2021)
Semester One: During the summer before a spring defense, the candidate reads primary texts and conducts a literature review of the subject matter.
Semester Two: During the fall before a spring defense, and by the end of the first week of classes, the candidate submits a 2 page proposal outlining the thesis (interpretation, chapters, etc.) and listing secondary sources to be used. By the middle of the term, the candidate submits the first 1/3 of the thesis and receives feedback for revision. Shortly before the end of the semester, the candidate submits the second 1/3 of the thesis and receives feedback for revision by finals week.
Semester Three: During the defense semester, the candidate submits the final 1/3 of thesis by the fourth week of the semester and receives feedback for revision. The candidate submits the revised and completed thesis to the advisor by the middle of the term and receives feedback. Once the thesis is ready to be defended, usually around Week 10-11, the candidate submits the thesis to the other committee members and defends her thesis sometime during Weeks 13-15.