Congratulations to Ginger Johnson and Abby Nance!

Last week, two of our majors, Ginger Johnson (English/Math) and Abby Nance (English Teacher Cert.) successfully passed their Honors Thesis Defense! After completing a 70+ page thesis, both students were required to spend an hour discussing and defending their research before their mentor professor (Dr. McMahon for Ginger, Dr. Grasso for Abby), Dr. Benton (Honors Director) and two other professors, one from the English department and one from an outside department. The discussions were wide-ranging and tested how well the students understood the ramifications of their research, and how they might extend this research into further inquires and projects. Both Ginger and Abbey kept remarkably cool during the "grilling" and impressed their committee members with their knowledge, enthusiasm, and sheer willingness to play along. 

Ginger Johnson's thesis was entitled, "Lost in Pixelation: The Representation of Women From Book to Screen." As she writes in the paper, "This paper will be divided into three chapters to identify commonalities in the transformation of the aforementioned characters from text to screen. The first will look at the way in which each character’s role in the plot is affected to see ways in which their characters are used to push the plot of the story. Moreover, it will examine the way in which the characters are regularly transfigured into tropes such as damsels in distress, love interests, or friend. In the second chapter, relative strength of character will be examined. We will look at changes to the characters regarding intelligence, values, and individuality. Finally, in chapter three, image will be examined, particularly the way in which the transition from page to screen results in modifications to characters’ physical appearance and self-image."

Abby Nance's thesis was entitled, "How Jane Austen Re-Wrote Gothic Literature." Her abstract explains that, "From its beginning in the 1700s, there have been many examples of authors who participated in the writing of gothic novels, and there is one author in particular who contributed greatly to the gothic movement: Jane Austen. Austen is one of the most influential writers in the literary world, and she is mostly known for writing novels such as Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, but she also wrote a more explicitly gothic novel called Northanger Abbey. Based on my research into gothic literature and into Jane Austen’s works, I have determined that Jane Austen used gothic themes throughout most, if not all, of her writing, and not only in those works that are explicitly gothic. Not only is Jane Austen’s work heavily influenced by gothic themes, but it is her rewriting of these themes that make her works something uniquely different from other gothic novels. Austen is able to use these themes to create a familiarity in her stories, while also changing them to create something new. This rewriting of the gothic is something we still do in our culture today, and Jane Austen is one of the biggest proponents of this movement through her many works."

Congratulations Ginger and Abby!