2023

Jasmine Mattey, “Octavia E. Butler’s Redefinition of Motherhood in Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents” Octavia E. Butler’s groundbreaking novels, Parable of the Sower (1993) and its sequel Parable of the Talents (1998), present a compelling and thought-provoking exploration of a near-future America devastated by social, economic, and environmental collapse. These dystopian… Read more Jasmine Mattey, “Octavia E. Butler’s Redefinition of Motherhood in Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents,” 1st Place

Kamryn Kobel, “Inspecting the Image: Metatheatric Representations in Croxton Play of the Sacrament and Gammer Gurton’s Needle” The Croxton Play of the Sacrament and Gammer Gurton’s Needle are two plays that utilize metatheatricality to call attention to the fact that they are pieces of drama and performance. Both plays make use of props and staging… Read more Kamryn Kobel, “Inspecting the Image: Metatheatric Representations in Croxton Play of the Sacrament and Gammer Gurton’s Needle,” 2nd Place

Kamryn Kobel, “‘You Can’t Just Fly Off and Leave a Body’: Cycles of Discovery in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon” When something is moving in a circular motion, there is no beginning or end to the movement. A forward movement is simultaneously a movement through what has already happened, as the same path is being… Read more Kamryn Kobel, “‘You Can’t Just Fly Off and Leave a Body’: Cycles of Discovery in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon,” 2nd Place

Emily DeGarie, “We-Narration and Racial Dynamics in Chang-rae Lee’s On Such a Full Sea” On Such a Full Sea by Chang-rae Lee is a novel centered on class and racial divisions. Set in a dystopian futuristic America, people are separated into three classes: the Charters, where the wealthy elite live and prosper; labor colonies composed… Read more Emily DeGarie, “We-Narration and Racial Dynamics in Chang-rae Lee’s On Such a Full Sea,” 3rd Place

Kathryn Grande, “Poking Holes: Resistance of Patriarchy in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard III, and The Winter’s Tale” As William Shakespeare’s plays Richard III, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Winter’s Tale were written in the early modern era of English history, they each, in some way, reflect the social and political landscape… Read more Kathryn Grande, “Poking Holes: Resistance of Patriarchy in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard III, and The Winter’s Tale,” 3rd Place