Joyce Appleby has written an extensive amount on the origins and development of capitalism, but her work is influenced by her belief that history is a science with at least some objectivity. She rejects Marxism as a relic of past historians with naïve beliefs about finding the laws of nature, but she also rejects postmodern criticisms of history because they undermine any chance for objectivity. Appleby believes the historian can be objective even if politics necessarily colors his or her work. (...) For Appleby, her support of capitalism leads her to make policy recommendations with her historiography, recommendations that change with the problems capitalism faces. (shrink)

This panel will explore the conventions of books less frequently analyzed in classrooms and often overlooked by the scholarly world: young adult literature. Such undervalued literature often becomes the foundation for an individual's lifelong readership, therefore increasing the significance of children's and young adult literature in relation to its audience. We will be merging a comprehensive study of young adult literature with a specific application to rewritten fairy tales within that genre in order to prove the value of good young (...) adult literature in its strong, believable characters; its foundations in tradition and folklore; and the beauty of the writing itself. (shrink)

This paper examines Mikhail Bulgakov's uses of metaphor and symbolic imagery to criticize the Soviet government's treatment of writers and artists in his novel, The Master and Margarita. Through his characters, Bulgakov demonstrates the suppressive conditions of the Soviet literary world and provides a unique perspective into the Russian soul.

This paper attempts to analyze the social commentary of Jane Austen's early novel, Northanger Abbey. Austen had the rare ability to observe temporary customs of her age and see in them that which was universal. Her perception cuts through culture and identifies the human characteristics that underlie culture. Austen uses the actions of her characters to portray her perception of humanity. This paper reduces those character actions to ideas. Furthermore, those ideas lead to an overall ethic that evolves from Austen's (...) insights, which in the context of the story sometimes appear peripheral. But this paper focuses on only her social commentary, and therefore uncovers in the narrative a theme that lays bare the plot. The uncovered theme reveals Austen's belief that the human soul has an independent identity, but that the environment can entangle the soul and suppress it. Relating that truth to reality sheds light on the well-known phenomenon of social interaction. (shrink)

In literary work, readers can recognize certain devices employed by the author to reflect on the human condition. Through these literary devices, the author can express creativity, emotion, history, politics, or problems of gender and race. One of these themes is food, because it can embody part of a culture and community through its artistic representations. In my proposal, I will analyze the function of food as a metaphor, establishing comparisons in four Latin American narratives: "Leccion de comida" (1971) by (...) the Mexican author Rosario Castellanos, "Historia de arroz con habichuelas" (1983) by the Puerto Rican author Ana Lydia Vega, "Carne quemada"(2007) by the Spanish author Rosa Montero, and "Los amantes" (1996) by the Argentine author Silvina Ocampo. In these narratives, food fulfills a diverse role, ranging from a critique of the patriarchal system to the metaphoric separation of love. Food also succeeds in critiquing postcolonialism and being an erotic form of communication. (shrink)

The devil is a prominent figure in two of Mikhail Bulgakov's works, the well-known novel The Master and Margarita and the earlier and lesser-known Diaboliad. Although in each the devil visits Soviet-era Moscow and interacts with a number of Muscovites, despite similarities in motif and theme, The Master and Margarita and its devil do not simply reexamine the ideas found in the earlier work. The two devils portray two uniquely different manifestations of the devil. Woland, the refined and relatively intellectual (...) devil of The Master and Margarita, often serves as a benefactor to Margarita, while the devil of Diaboliad, a harsher and more chaotic figure, torments the clerk Korotkov and eventually drives the man to suicide. (shrink)

Prevost's 1731 novel, L'Histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut, was a controversial publication during its time. While the title includes both des Grieux and Manon, the latter is the character of interest for most readers. Many composers have fallen in love with this dangerous literary figure and Manon's story has culminated in operas composed by Jules Massenet, Giacomo Puccini, Hans Werner Henze, and Daniel Auber. What is it about Manon that inspires composers to adapt Prevost's written word (...) to the operatic stage? Are these adaptations successful works of the operatic repertoire? Does Manon's seemingly fickle nature become a caricature when transferred to the libretto, or do artistic teams successfully capture this femme fatale? I will delve into these questions and other related topics to uncover the infatuation composers have with Manon, and their commitment to the integrity of Prevost's original Manon in their theatrical renditions of the character. (shrink)

Nick Carraway, the narrator in F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece The Great Gatsby, serves as a nuanced instrument for portraying the novel's characters and their interactions. His salient quality as a habitual listener allows them to open up to him, permitting the reader to get to know them through his eyes. Therefore, Nick's beliefs and perceptions shape the way that the personalities and interactions of his fellow characters appear to us. Nick lets us see Gatsby in a more complex light than (...) we otherwise could. Winifred F. Bevilacqua's "In Ecstatic Cahoots': Nick's Authoring of Gatsby" supports this notion. Bevilacqua uses the work of Mikhail Bakhtin to develop her thesis: "I argue that Bakhtin's theories in Author and Hero in Aesthetic Activity (1924-1927) give us the concepts and patterns that best enable us to understand Nick's strategies in the strand of his narrative that traces the process by which he achieves and gives form to his understanding of Gatsby's inner self.". (shrink)

"Catherine Morland Grows Up" chronicles the journey of the heroine of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, Catherine Morland, specifically her trials and the circumstances which she experiences in order to develop into a mature young woman. The essay delves into the sources of Catherine's immaturity and the negative consequences that result as well as the turning point which results in Catherine's recognition scene that leads to her enlightenment that begins the gradual development of her conscious. My essay (and the novel) describes (...) Catherine's traits that delay her maturation. If we use her as an example and resolve our own problems, we find that our lives too can break the bonds that deter us from realizing what we can truly become. (shrink)

In Republic IX, Plato claims that the philosopher would live the most pleasant life, learning being the greatest pleasure. However, Plato is not explicit as to what the life of an accomplished philosopher would be like. Some have posited that the philosopher, once he has acquired knowledge of the good, continually relearns it, experiencing residual pleasure in this. While this approach works for ordinary pieces of knowledge, Plato's description of the nature of the good puts it in another class. Looking (...) to the aviary model of coming to know in the Theaetetus, I argue that, while the philosopher does have the most pleasant life overall and experiences ordinary pleasures in ways that no one else can, he transcends the ability experience the greatest of intellectual pleasures upon completing his knowledge of the good. Once obtained, knowledge of the good is of such a sort that it would never be released from mental grasp, making the pleasure of learning it a once-only experience. (shrink)

A widespread view of Plato's thought on poetry is that Plato was extremely hostile to poetry and that he wanted it banned from the state. It seems certain that Plato believed that poetry could corrupt the minds of the citizens and give them a false view of the gods. I explore what I think are three reasons for rejecting the ubiquitous view and accepting a more nuanced view of Plato's aesthetics. The use by Socrates in the REPUBLIC of a feverish (...) city to demonstrate how justice is to be found in the city is an ironic method for arriving at a concept of justice. Plato has the interlocutors discuss the training of guardians for the feverish city as well and includes the humanities as significant for their training. I argue in this paper that the proposed ban on poetry must be understood in the context of the sick city which Socrates is using as a pedagogical device aimed at triggering insight into how justice can be realized. (shrink)

Oedipa Maas' search for the meaning behind Tristero makes her anxious and paranoid about her reality. This paranoia and anxiety is brought upon by the ubiquitous influence of major corporations, mostly through mass media. Timothy Melley describes the paranoia and anxiety of postwar authors as symptomatic of what he refers to as agency panic. Postwar authors skeptically interrogate Enlightenment notions of free will in postwar America, and fear that institutions control the everyday actions of individuals more than many might wish (...) to admit. Oedipa Maas is threatened by the overwhelming power of an entity that is more powerful than her. Her anxiety and paranoia comes from the fear of major corporations gradually arrogating her agency. (shrink)

This inquiry into the Stalinist-era Soviet novel, The Master and Margarita, tries to establish and examine a link between its title characters and its author's real-life experience. Questions concerning morality and ethics emerge as a consequence of close analysis. Bulgakov's literary use of illusion, metaphysics, and the surreal to express his worldview, in essence, helps us to understand the extremes of Soviet censorship and totalitarianism in the 1930s.

A phenomenological approach to philosophy, criticized by some for analyzing only at the surface of the current state of affairs, is often contrasted with a genealogical approach, which is thought to look deeper for explanations. Friedrich Nietzsche's gives a genealogical account of the concept good in On the Genealogy of Morals, arguing for a shift in our understanding of the origins of the concept. In what is regarded as an opposing approach, Simone De Beauvoir gives a phenomenological account of woman (...) in The Second Sex. I argue that Beauvoir in fact utilizes the Nietzschean approach in The Second Sex, demonstrating that conventional assertions about the stark differences between genealogical and phenomenological approaches are not well-founded. While there are a few clear differences in the particular methodologies of each, both accounts demonstrate a much less distinct line between genealogy and phenomenology, particularly as they apply to the question of metaphysical essences. (shrink)

This presentation explores the narrative personas of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and how the narration can affect the readers' perception of the illustrated events, characters, and society. It argues that there are two narrative voices; one voice makes opinionated comments directly to the reader and one voice relates the story objectively. The biased narrative persona can influence the readers and the impartial persona allows readers to gather their own conclusions about events, characters, and society. Northanger Abbey demonstrates the importance of (...) the narrator as a character whose voice acts as a mediator between the reader and the action of any story. (shrink)

Using Aldo Leopold's essay The Land Ethic I argue that Leopold's land ethic provides a consistent and dynamic paradigm for how we perceive and protect the natural environment. The land ethic implies that people interested in conservation must develop an understanding of what is necessary for conservation through experience with nature. Experiencing nature allows us to enter into a relationship with the land and develop sound judgment in our ecological decision-making. Invasive species have become an area of concern for ecologists, (...) industrialists and those who use the Great Lakes recreationally. In examining the cost of ecological damage to the Great Lakes ecosystem caused by the 140 species of invasive plants and animals now present in the lakes we are faced with many ethical questions. This essay attempts to understand the moral paradigm which is necessary to effectively manage the Great Lakes ecology in light of these questions. (shrink)

Throughout human history and around the world, myths have arisen to carry on the values and stories of cultures. Many times these myths are inspired by extraordinary true events, but as time goes by, truth becomes secondary to storytelling. In Thailand, King Mongkut and King Chulalongkorn have been elevated to semi-deity status because of their role in modernizing Siam. A parallel myth has developed in the West around Anna Leonowens, a Western teacher who taught in King Mongkut's court from 1862 (...) to 1867. Leonowens is elevated in the West to be viewed as an essential part of Siam's modernization. In this paper, I trace the historical story and cultural myth of Anna Leonowens as it developed in American art up to the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical the King and I. I will thoroughly analyze the compositional decisions made by Rodgers and Hammerstein to depict Siam (or Thailand) and show how Orientalism operates in 20th-century American musical theater. (shrink)

Abraham Lincoln's Address at the Dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery” is one of the most well known speeches in American history. The implications of this speech, however, go far beyond simply consecrating the battleground. The address at Gettysburg functions, most importantly, as a call to American citizenry to continue the work which Union soldiers died performing on that Pennsylvania battleground. This directly called its immediate audience; however, it directly calls its twenty-first century audience as well. The painstaking work of (...) rewriting the text of the American republic belongs to all who would claim citizenship from her. Today, we are called to do our small but vital parts in rewriting the draft of the republic of 2011, just as Lincoln called at Gettysburg for those American citizens to do their small but vital parts in rewriting the draft of 1863. This is the ultimate legacy of Gettysburg. (shrink)

Throughout history, revolutions have started because of new ideas that change thinking and disrupt the status quo. The Haitian Revolution of 1789-1804 is no exception. The Enlightenment ideas of equality for men and representative government were crucial to the insurrection. However, how did Enlightenment philosophy make its way to the Caribbean and influence the people to free themselves from their colonizer, France? One slave in particular was strongly influenced by Enlightenment ideas: Toussaint L’Ouverture, the leader of the revolution. Ultimately, the (...) Enlightenment inspired a successful slave revolt in Haiti. While traditional scholarship has depicted the slaves in the revolt as brutes blindly following their cynical leader, in fact L’Ouverture actively used the ideas of European philosophy, which empowered them to become agents. (shrink)

Although the overarching metaphor of The Awakening is the sea, it cannot be said that Edna’s victory lies in her death by drowning; instead, it lies in what she has made of her life. The novel tracks the evolution of her will. The will is the element of human nature that German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer calls the “thing-initself,” that which strives successfully against those constraints imposed by society. Edna desires to break through the chains of convention and constraint as she (...) moves toward new freedoms—physical, intellectual, and moral. Edna’s victory lies within her ungrounded will, which in turn, wills itself to be free. My essay demonstrates that at the end of the novel it is Edna’s body that succumbs to exhaustion and eventual death, but not her will. Her will has steadily moved toward indomitable triumph. (shrink)