Theses and Dissertations

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Pardon blooming
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1983) Hayden, M. D., author; Ude, Wayne, advisor; Tremblay, Bill, committee member; Mitchell, Carol, committee member; McMurray, George R., committee member
A toad, a butterfly, a human being, a philodendron, all need sustenance, need air; all grow and change. Clamp a bottle over a living creature and it suffocates, its movement restricted, its possibilities limited. For an individual, rigidity becomes a glass bottle, and those who struggle to escape the bottle must experience something painful in the process. Glass bottle. Rigidity of society and tradition. For some, rigidity comes from their own acceptance of society's rules or tradition's importance. A creature raised in the confines of a glass bottle is uncomfortable with sudden freedom, as uncomfortable, perhaps as a free creature confined. For others, rigidity is imposed from the outside. These rigid boundaries of society and tradition may not be apparent until they conflict with the individual's inner needs for growth, but when they do conflict, the individual must find air to breathe. Some escape the glass bottle; most don't. Glass bottle. Rigidity of linear time. Although the concept of time as linear is arbitrary in Western thought (some American Indian tribes do not have such a concept), most of us assume our past happened to us in the time line before now. If we remain always the same person, the past, the memories happen continually. But if we have grown and changed, we are not the same person as the child of ten, the adolescent of fifteen, the young adult of twenty. The memories we hold happened to a different person because we are always becoming someone else. Linear time does not allow this idea, but circular time, or even spherical time, does. Glass bottle. Rigidity of gender. Separation of the sexes by innate differences or by imposed societal roles creates a rigid boundary that obscures the commonality of human experience, that denies the similarity of emotion and need in men and women. The first thing that strikes the careless observer is that women are unlike men. They are 'the opposite sex'--(Though why 'opposite' I do not know; what is the 'neighboring sex'?) But the fundamental thing is that women are more like men than anything else in the world. 1 Glass bottle. Rigidity of language. The boundaries of our language define the boundaries of our world. Those things we cannot perceive, we cannot say, and vice versa. The stories in this collection seek to express what our language has no way of saying, to escape a rigid structure, voice or time, to break glass bottles.
Open Access
"Too disconnected/too bound up": the paradox of identity in Mercé Rodoreda's The time of the doves
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1991) Short, Kayann, author; Freeman, Marion, committee member; Mitchell, Carol, committee member; Boyer, Harriet, 1936-, committee member
Feminist theory has shown how women's lives are paradoxically both marginal to, yet affected by, hegemonic discourses of power. However, as long as women's experiences are viewed singularly along an axis of sexual difference, placing paradox as a trope for female identity risks reinscribing a closed system of oppression based only on male-female relations, thereby foreclosing possibilities for oppositional strategies organized around intersecting locations of resistance. Mercé Rodoreda's The Time of the Doves, originally published in Catalan as La Plaça del Diamant in 1962, portrays a working-class woman's life in Barcelona from the onset of the Second Republic to the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, a period she calls "a piece of history." Natalia's presence as both "articulate" narrator and "inarticulate" character embodies her paradoxical position as both outside and inside discourses of gender, class, and national oppression. Attention to the specific cultural contexts within which women's lives are both externally constructed and internalized allows a recognition of Natalia's silence and inwardness oppositional strategies of survival rather than as qualities of limitation and alienation.
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The disciple of because and other stories
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2004) Backens, Nicole, author; Doenges, Judy, advisor; Becker, Leslee, committee member; Bernasek, Alexandra, committee member
These six stories explore common notions of polite behavior, particularly social expectations in the Midwest. Here, women (and one man) of various ages feel pigeonholed into a set of anticipated actions that feel, ultimately, false. When faced with the crisis of choice, many of these characters sense a distinct tension between their own emotions and impulses and the decisions that are expected of them by their families and peers. These people—from an adolescent girl to an old woman to a teenaged boy—handle these crises in different ways, sometimes by defying convention, and at other times by approaching traditional roles with an almost frenzied, panicked enthusiasm, thereby reinventing such roles in often surprising ways.
Open Access
Work of art: a collection of stories and essays
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2005) Franck, Judea, author; Doenges, Judy, 1959-, advisor; Calderazzo, John, committee member; Callahan, Gerald N., 1946-, committee member
This collection of work, composed over a period of three years, contains stories and essays that explore the emotional struggles of people in fictional and real-life experiences. These stories and essays are concerned with the idea of resilience -- how people and characters reshape their lives after fracturing events. It is a collection influenced by the idea of loss, but also by the hope of resurgence. It details the ways in which characters and people can be hurt, maimed, brokenhearted, and yet find a way to recover.
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Shuffle and draw
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Dial, Tabitha, author; Beachy-Quick, Dan, 1973-, advisor; Steensen, Sasha, committee member; Lehene, Marius, committee member
Using my own worn Universal-Waite Tarot deck, I wrote a large number of poems while an MFA candidate at Colorado State University. "Five of Pentacles". "The Hanged Man" and "The Empress" are ekphrastic and attempt to verbalize Tarot cards of the same names. Storylines within this thesis began with the Arms suit, a suit created after reading Barbara Walker's study of her Tarot, The Secrets o/the Tarot: Origins. History, and Symbolism. Each of her suits developed myths and symbols, using a direction I wanted to take, after straight ekphrasis of most of the 78 cards produced interesting writing, but poems that were not full and provocative. I came to produce my own versions of-other major arcana cards while studying Walker and others. Only one Cups poem emerges in this thesis. Because the Cups represent the emotions, the implication might be that Tarot-interpretations of emotional maturity are stunted in my collection because there is only one Cup cards/poem. But the poem remains true to the original ekphrastic spirit of my work. The creation of my own poems/suits, some that address the poem reader/Tarot reader, fill in for Cups psyche.
Open Access
Initiating the conversation between emotion studies and critical media pedagogy
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Seville, Lauren, author; Lamanna, Carrie, advisor; Anderson, Karrin Vasby, committee member; Sloane, Sarah, committee member
"Initiating the Discussion between Emotion Studies and Critical Media Pedagogy" addresses the problematic absence of emotion studies (also referred to as affective theory) in the realm of multiliteracy in the field of Rhetoric and Composition. Specifically, I argue for emotion studies' incorporation within the narrowed multiliteracy facet of critical media pedagogy because of the latter's explicit objective that "education must meet the dual challenges of teaching media literacy in a multicultural society and sensitizing students and publics to the inequalities and injustices of a society based on gender, race, and class inequalities and discrimination" (Kellner 158). I argue that critical media pedagogy is one of the most crucial areas emotions studies should meet with because of its objectives, which largely imply affective shifts taking place ("sensitizing" and "empowering" students) while relying on traditional critical literacy methods that have no concern for emotion. Additionally, because of critical media pedagogy's malleable tendencies and willingness to grow and change, it is a prime facet of multiliteracy to begin this discussion.
Open Access
Multi-literacies in the 21st century and the role of the print-based text in public education
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Dixon, Michael S., author; Coke, Pamela K., advisor; Mallette, Dawn M., committee member; Reid, Louann, committee member
This study examines the appeal of print-based and multimodal-based texts in relation to the 21st century learner and in context of the modern secondary level public education classroom. A review of literature gives depth to the ways in which print-based and multimodal-based texts have established themselves within the institution of education as well as how each type of text relates to the fields of semiotic systems and technology. The aim of the study is to examine and measure the appeal of print-based and multimodal-based texts to the 21st century learner. To achieve this goal, two types of research provided results: a quantitative classroom study in which students engaged and interacted with a print-based assessment and a multimodal-based assessment and provided feedback via a survey, and a qualitative study in which educators provided their thoughts and opinions on the role of print-based and multimodal-based texts at the secondary level of education via an electronic questionnaire.
Open Access
Protection, freedom and choice: a rhetorical analysis of current health care reform and its resistance
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Kelly, Mary Helen, author; Kiefer, Kate, advisor; Doe, Sue, 1957-, committee member; Carcasson, Martin, committee member
The following thesis investigates the most dominant rhetorical strategies used by President Obama in his health care reform proposals, and the resistance which has manifested in their wake by three public non-profit organizations. Due to the complexity and divisiveness of such efforts, this project strives to understand the rhetorical nature of health care reform policy and its resistance by answering the following questions: What kinds of rhetorical strategies are President Obama and these organizations using to establish a position in the current debate surrounding U.S. health care reform and policy? More specifically, how are people within organizations, such as Conservatives for Patients' Rights and Patients United Now, using language to formulate resistance to current health care reform as proposed under the Obama administration in the U.S.? What can be understood by examining the use of these rhetorical strategies through specific theoretical lenses such as affective theories of politics and emotions and cognition and metaphor? Based on my analyses of three speeches and three websites, I conclude that both President Obama and the three public groups are using a rhetoric of crisis to establish and frame their rhetorical positions on health care. Further, I argue that this tool of crisis works to increasingly destabilize the possibility of a larger public debate or conversation on this issue which impacts the lives of everyone.
Open Access
A suggestion to use codeswitching as an L1 resource in the students' written work: a pedagogical strategy
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Jalal, Runeela, author; Ehlers-Zavala, Fabiola, advisor; Flahive, Douglas E., advisor; Gudmestad, Robert H., 1964-, committee member
Pakistani English has marked its presence in all genres and poses pedagogical implications for both teachers and students. Most students in English as Foreign Language (EFL) settings are unaware of how and when to use code-switching (CS) as an L1 resource in their written work to convey local social meanings as no common standard has been established for teachers and students. This situation negatively affects uniformity in instructional and assessment procedures. While the use of CS in academic settings is still a relatively new area of research, recent studies advocate the use of L1 as a resource in the classroom. This focused study provides an overview of previous CS research centered on its importance as a discourse tool in the oral and written work of multi/bilingual persons who use CS to convey social aspects which cannot be appropriately communicated through the target language (TL). Some studies observe the CS patterns found in teacher talk during instruction and advocate its use as a potential L1 resource, but they fail to address how it can be regulated in students' written work without hindering TL learning. This study fills in the gap by suggesting the use of bi-directional translation methods in conjunction with acceptability judgment tasks in order to instruct students in identifying how and when CS should be used as an L1 resource. The study is conducted with the pool of 36 students in a local university in Lahore, who read four English newspaper articles and code-switched in Urdu in pre and post-instruction stages. Paired t-test results showed significant improved results for the acceptance rates and number of attempts by the participants in the post instruction. This suggests that students can use L1 as a resource to convey concepts in the TL when properly instructed and that further research in this connection can be useful for FL learning settings.
Open Access
Metaphor-based approach to representing writing tasks
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Stoner, Frank, author; Kiefer, Kathleen, advisor; Merolla, Andrew, committee member; Doe, Sue, committee member
This document argues that the long-standing practice of imitation within the field of rhetoric, along with recent qualitative studies in rhetoric and composition, foster problematic attitudes of student deficiency. In this thesis, I propose a cognitive theory based alternative. Recent work in cognitive science, metaphor theory, and linguistics suggests that metaphors may be more significant than mere nourishes of style—they may be evidence of mental structures called schema that organize the human mind. 1 argue that certain generative metaphors can be drawn from students' own experiences to help them more successfully set goals, plan, and mentally represent writing tasks. This approach empowers students by focusing their attention on their own experiences rather than problematically requiring students to rely upon expert writing models.
Open Access
New English language arts: communication, technology, and rhetoric in the secondary classroom
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Beard, Eric, author; Sounder, Donna, advisor; Frank, Katherine, committee member; Eskew, Doug, committee member
In this thesis, I discuss the changing nature of communication in the twenty-first century and how these changes affect English language arts education at the secondary level. I argue that emerging technologies are changing the way people process and produce information, yet the current environment of English language arts in America is stagnant and outdated. A new vision for English language arts must be adopted by teachers, administrators, and policymakers which includes innovative approaches to the goals, pedagogies, curricula, and methods of assessment used in these courses. Educators must look at communication as much more than merely print based writing; the terms “literacy” and “composition” must be expanded to include all of the multifarious ways that people communicate. I also assert that technology and rhetoric must play fundamental roles in these courses because they foster deeper critical thinking and encourage new methods of production. Greater communication between professionals at the secondary and post-secondary levels is essential for this vision to take root, as is solid professional development.
Open Access
Rethinking avoidance of English phrasal verbs by Arab learners
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Abu Jamil, Basem Saleh, author; Flahive, Douglas, advisor; Berry, Nancy, committee member; Grim, Frederique, committee member
There is a long-standing controversy about the causes of underproduction (avoidance) of structures in second language learning/acquisition. A significant field of research has focused on one lexicalized phrase, the English phrasal verb. The present study explores the cultural dimensions of the avoidance of English phrasal verbs among 160 Arab learners of English. It examines the impact of educational background (EFL, ESL), levels of proficiency (advanced, intermediate), and the inherent semantic complexity of phrasal verb (literal, semi-transparent, figurative) on the avoidance of phrasal verbs. It also explores the role the environmental background plays in comprehending phrasal verbs. Although Arab learners in the study tended to under-use English phrasal verbs, there were significant developmental differences ranging from avoidance to nonavoidance based on participants’ educational background and level of proficiency and the semantic properties of phrasal verbs. This study calls into question straightforward interpretation of the avoidance phenomenon. Although these findings support previous studies’ results, they do not support previous studies that show that L1-L2 differences might motivate learners to develop a genuine avoidance; Arab learners in this study did not avoid literal phrasal verbs. The study offers interesting clues to the success of advanced ESL students in learning and mastering phrasal verbs.
Open Access
Whiteness, anger, and anti-racist pedagogy: toward a raced theory of emotion
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Earle, Christopher, author; Langstraat, Lisa, advisor; Jacobi, Tobi, advisor; Browne, Kate, committee member
This thesis examines the political and rhetorical functions of white racial anger in the anti-racist first-year composition course. Elizabeth Spelman poses a generative question: "[w]hy has anger been appropriated by and for dominant group or beings when in so many other ways emotions are thought to be the province of subordinate groups?" (264). Further, this thesis questions why the anger of white men has become so common and persuasive in and through racial discourses? To address these questions and to explore pedagogical strategies to address white racial anger in the anti-racist composition classroom, this thesis seeks to investigate and build upon the connections and overlaps (or gaps) between anti-racist pedagogy and critical emotion studies.
Open Access
"We just needed a place we could write": composing transitions in a first-year student writing group
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Hammond, Kathryn, author; Jacobi, Tobi, advisor; Kiefer, Kathleen, committee member; Merolla, Andrew, committee member
A writing group could be beneficial for first-year college students because during that period of life, termed “late adolescence" (see Erikson; McAdams), many elements of identity are being negotiated. In connection with the changes related to college, many decisions are being made that will affect identity formation. Also, there is potential for an extracurricular writing group for this age group because the focused genre of writing during this first year is typically scholarly, not personal or reflective. Three main questions are guiding my research on this topic: 1) What are first year students’ perceptions of the outcomes of an extracurricular writing group? 2) Does writing through the transition to college raise awareness to identity formation? 3) How does experience-sharing in a writing group impact a students' transition to college? In order to address these questions, I am reviewing relevant literature to draw connections between identity formation, writing groups, and personal writing; I am facilitating a writing group for first-year students at CSU; and I am conducting post-writing group interviews so the participants can evaluate whether personal writing in a social context influenced them during their first year. The purpose of my thesis is tripartite. First, it will revisit expressive writing as valuable to the academic community. Secondly, it will argue for a place for a first-year writing group as a setting for personal writing beyond the classroom. Finally, this thesis synthesizes the potential positive outcomes of this college group through a survey of writing research, reflection on the facilitated writing group, and students’ reported perceptions of the writing group.
Open Access
Moving toward a newer understanding of writing anxiety in adult students using a critical emotion studies framework
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Smith, Carmody Leerssen, author; Langstraat, Lisa, advisor; Jacobi, Tobi, committee member; Davies, Timothy, committee member
Writing anxiety has been a part of composition scholarship for many years, but the research has failed to adequately address the effect it has on adult students. Early research on writing anxiety was primarily cognitively based and focused on quantitative data analysis such as Daly and Miller’s Writing Apprehension Assessment from 1975. These cognitively based research strategies are useful and valuable to composition and for understanding writing anxiety, but in this thesis I argue that it is now time we move beyond the notion that writing anxiety is an internal, mental barrier to writing success and instead look at the causes as well as strategies for alleviating writing anxiety through a critical emotion studies lens. By using a critical emotion studies framework, we can begin to understand writing anxiety as a social and cultural construct that is created through the individual’s relationship with writing.
Open Access
Performance and pedagogy in the 21st century: theoretical and practical comparisons of composition and the theatre
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Heedt-Moosman, Dorothy, author; Frank, Katherine, advisor; Souder, Donna, committee member; Eskew, Doug, committee member
In this thesis, I explore the shared exigencies of composition studies and the theatre as a method for addressing the problems inherent to first year composition programs. More specifically, I consider those issues that arise in mid-to-open enrollment institutions. I argue that composition instructors should use the practical approaches of the theatre as a means to 1) improve instructor attitudes and teacher-student communication; 2) embrace and effectively use technology, not as the defining pedagogical tool but as a way to maintain the relevance for composition students; 3) connect classroom practices to real-world purposes. I suggest that both composition studies and the theatre are rooted in the process of translating thoughts and feelings into action, resulting in effective communication to an audience. These aims are reflected by Kenneth Burke, whose explorations of motives and human communication and dramatism are applicable to composition pedagogy as well as connected to theatrical principles. I argue for an approach to teaching first year composition that would include the use of Burke’s pentad of human motives (with his inclusion of “attitude” as a sixth element) as a means for instructors to assess and revise their motives and perspectives as compositionists. I further contend that Burke’s pentad serves as a means to guide students towards more effective methods of rhetorical analysis and composition.
Open Access
Rhetorics of silence/listening and teaching trauma: Holocaust testimony in the composition classroom
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Miller, Teva, author; Langstraat, Lisa, advisor; Jacobi, Tobi, committee member; Alexander, Ruth, committee member
Many scholars and educators who have taught Holocaust testimony and literature in their classes have offered numerous pedagogical methods to outline best practices, ethical concerns, and student engagement. While some of these methodologies are particularly instructive for the first year college composition course, most do not address the gaps or silences found in Holocaust testimony. Other pedagogical methods tend to lack the affective component that is an unavoidable part of teaching trauma texts. In this thesis, I offer a heuristic that can be used in the composition classroom to engage with Holocaust testimony. I argue that there is a need for this heuristic because it not only attends to the affective economies that are vital and inseparable from reading and writing about Holocaust testimony, but also because it re-privileges silence as a powerful rhetorical act made by both survivors and secondary witnesses. It also works to destabilize and disrupt “sentimental” student responses that tend to thwart invested critical analysis and which often lead to dehumanizing depictions of victim as well as potential misappropriations of a victim’s or survivor’s words.
Open Access
Teaching Shakespearean drama through the Second Shepherds' Play: a guide to increased student motivation
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Colgrove, Misty Michelle, author; Eskew, Doug, advisor; Frank, Katherine, committee member; Souder, Donna, committee member
In this thesis, I discuss two types of theories currently used to direct literary curriculum in secondary English/Language Arts classroom. One group of theorists argues for the classics, while another argues for young adult literature. The traditionalists assert that the classics are rich enough to engage any student’s interest and to challenge the student to think critically. Advocates of young adult novels assert that teaching works above a student’s developmental level, like some classics may be, damages the student’s engagement with the text. Such damage, these theorists maintain, has in part caused the United States to largely be a non-reading society. They argue instead that young adult novels provide literature that is engaging and encourages enjoyment of reading. While there are instructional strengths to both sides of the argument, a middle ground between the two is needed in order for students to remain challenged and to enjoy reading. I argue for using companion pieces to aid in student motivation in the high school English/Language Arts classroom. A companion piece is a high-interest work that must have many of the same attributes as the classic work--the same plot, themes, symbols, allusions, settings, ideas, real world connections, humor, etc. Specifically, I argue that The Second Shepherds ’ Play should be used as a companion piece to Shakespearean drama because both share common themes, genre, literary techniques. settings, etc. The Second Shepherds’ Play is a fifteenth century mystery play that combines the nativity story with a farcical story of a sheep stealer, Mak, who deceives shepherds into believing that he has not stolen their sheep. However, the shepherds realize after visiting Mak and his wife. Gill, that their newborn child is actually the stolen sheep wrapped in cloth. The shepherds must then decide how to punish Mak. The play ends with a surprising shift to the announcement of Jesus’ birth and the nativity scene. While The Second Shepherds’ Play is not traditionally taught in secondary classrooms, it is a beneficial play for secondary teachers to incorporate into curriculum because it will help students to engage in the text itself through such research based strategies as humor, real life connections, and interdisciplinary connections. The critical thinking students engage in while studying The Second Shepherds ’ Play will also help prepare them to engage in a study of Shakespearean drama where critical thinking is also needed in order to interact with the text in a more meaningful manner than just knowing plot details. While I assert that The Second Shepherds’ Play should be used as a tool to prepare students for a study of Shakespearean drama, the focus of this thesis is on highlighting the benefits of The Second Shepherds’ Play through research based strategies. Shakespearean drama will not be discussed in great detail. However, introducing The Second Shepherds’ Play into the curriculum and facilitating student exploration of the text through research based strategies will help students to engage more deeply in Shakespearean drama and to be more motivated in the classroom.
Open Access
Psychological principles and pedagogical possibilities: toward a new theory of motivation in the composition classroom
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Van Winkle, Kevin W., author; Frank, Katherine, advisor; Souder, Donna, committee member; Eskew, Doug, committee member
Despite its importance, the issue of a student’s motivation to engage in the composition process is rarely discussed in composition theory. As a first step towards correcting the absence of motivation as a topic in composition theory, this thesis advances the notion that more attention should be paid to what can motivate students to engage in the composition process. The central tenet of this thesis is that students motivated to write are more likely to become better writers and fulfill the expectations composition instructors hold for them. Furthermore, the key to motivating students to engage in the composition process requires composition instructors make connections between the use of composition and the students’ original goals for entering the university. This thesis puts forth the argument that rhetoric, as learned and developed through composition studies, is the most useful aspect of composition studies for students, and therefore the teaching of rhetoric in the composition classroom is most likely to motivate students to write. As a result of the dearth of research and discussion on the topic of student motivation in the composition classroom, it was necessary to search outside the composition theory field and look at what others, namely psychologists, have to say about motivation as it relates to individuals and their participation in academic endeavors. Lastly, this thesis makes suggestions for future areas of study as related to student motivation in the composition classroom.
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barbarous
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Dempsey, Sunshine, author; Cooperman, Matthew, advisor; Beachy-Quick, Dan, committee member; Dicesare, Catherine, committee member
What barbarous is primarily concerned with, as a book of poetry, is a formal representation of the disintegration and recreation of the speaker’s psyche. A more stable identity, that with which the speaker begins the manuscript, is represented by a more stable form, that of the prose block, which will gradually evolve into a more “fractured” structure, that of the “spatial” or “field” work. This hybridization of form is deliberate in that it should most aptly capture the disorientation of identity, the “breakage” that occurs to the speaker when he/she loses (and attempts to regain) a sense of “wholeness.” In this manuscript, the loss of identity is also represented metaphorically by an inability to speak, or to be understood. This loss of voice is a displacement to the speaker, and is therefore furthered by fracture and negative space. When there is no voice, there is no language, no written word, and therefore the silence of the empty page.