University of Nebraska Kearney

Student Conference in Language and Literature 2012 

Department of English, University of Nebraska at Kearney

Friday, April 13   Thomas Hall   8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
 

8:30-9:00          Opening Reception: Atrium

First floor, Thomas Hall

9:00-10:00        Session One           

I.  Heroes and Monsters in Anglo-Saxon Literature                                            Room 106 

Chair:   Dr. Marguerite Tassi

Brittany Seawall          “Reap What You Sow”

Jami Scott                    “True Anglo-Saxon Heroes”

Rochelle Bonner          “Grendel: A Species All His Own”

Lacey Rogers               “Grendel: That Was One Mysterious Monster”

II.  Madness, Dystopia, and Poverty                                                                      Room 107 

Chair:   Dr. Kathryn Benzel

Rachel Nozicka           “The Pertinence of Plurality”

Sarah Hoefler              “The Odyssey: Finding Justice Within the Epic”

Amy Hadley                “Gothic Themes in The Castle of Ontranto” 

10:10-11:10      Session Two

I.  Session on the Holocaust                                                                                                Room 113 

Chair:   Ms. Julie Flood

Sarah Maginnis                        “Influences on the Holocaust”

Sydney Weber              “Women in the Holocaust”

Tasha Foulk                “The Evian Conference”

Danielle Cook             “The Progression in Execution Style”

II.  Slaughter, and the Supernatural in Classic Literature                                               Room 106 

Chair:  Dr. Marguerite Tassi

Laura McAtee              “Bedlam Onstage: The Mad Competition for the Elizabethans’ Pennies”

Celeste Lempke           “Defying Genre: Foucauldian Subjectivity in Saunders’ ‘Jon’ and

Palahniuk’s Pygmy” 

Michelle Bixenmann    “Poverty, Drugs, and Consequences in the Works of Lins and Llosa”

11:15-12:15      Session Three

II.  Visual Storytelling: Picture Books and Graphic Novels                                Room 107 

Chair:  Dr. Susan Honeyman

Kayla Kinberling         “The Quest for Truth”

Jacob Sandman            “Is Batman a True Superhero?”

Lindsay English           “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”

Lacey McPhillips         “More Than Words: Using Wordless Picture Books in

Elementary Classrooms

III.  Creative Writing                                                                                                            Room 106 

Chair:  Ms. Julie Flood

Lacey McPhillips         “The Voice of the Irish: Reflections of Irish Immigrants Through Poetry”

Katrina Rosberg          “Umbrella Assassin”

Rachel Nozicka           “Broken Hearts”

Brittany Cudaback       “Are You Thirsty?”

Joel Cardenas               “Family Matters”

 Lunch break

1:25-2:25          Session Four

I.  Transcendentalism to Modernism:  U.S. Literature in Perspective              Room 115 

Chair:  Dr. Robert Luscher

Rochelle Bonner          “The Unattained Transcendence of Bartleby and the Lawyer”

Amy Hadley                “From Alienation to Absolution”

Celeste Lempke           “The Underlying Balance of Imbalance: Structure in Willa Cather’s

                                                The Professor’s House” 

II.  Fate, Hope, and Love: Seeing Through Time in the Arthurian Legend     Room 106 

Chair:  Dr. Rebecca Umland

Ashley Leever              “The Archetypal Mother of the Demise of Camelot”

Eliot Wondercheck     “The Coming and Passing of Arthur: An Anagogical Account According to

Geoffrey, Malory, and Tennyson”

Katie Vergil                 “The Revival of Merlin”

2:30-3:15          Session Five

I.  Sigma Tau Delta Parody Panel on Children’s and Adolescent Literature: 

Saccharine-Free and Not Meant for Children                                              Atrium, 2^nd floor 

Chair:  Dr. Susan Honeyman 

par·o·dy (send-up/spoof): A work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric, or ironic imitation.

After a day filled with serious academic sessions, join members of Sigma Tau Delta (English Honor Society) for a witty, fun, and sarcastic conclusion to the conference. This session will include short creative parodies of both children's and adolescent literature, humorously mocking beloved stories in these genres or imitating classic modes of writing (fairy tales, cautionary tales, etc.). So, be prepared for Disney-free and saccharine-free imitations that are sure to rival the likes of the master, Weird Al, himself!

Featuring:        Celeste Lempke                                   Aaron Rothenberger

Shaye Champ                                       Justin Zyla

Brittany Seawall                                  Kaitlyn Darveau      

3:15-4:00          Awards Ceremony: Atrium

                                      Second floor, Thomas Hall                                             

Presenters:  Dr. Marguerite Tassi, Dr. Robert Luscher, Dr. Susan Honeyman, Dr. Rebecca Umland, Ms. Julie Flood

Outstanding Work in Graduate Studies                                              Celeste Lempke 

Outstanding Undergraduate Essays in Literary Criticism                    Amy Hadley 

Eliot Wondercheck 

Outstanding Applied Research                                                                        Lacey McPhillips 

Outstanding Essay in Expository Writing                                           Danielle Cook                      
Outstanding Work in Creative Writing                                                            Lacey McPhillips                 

Faculty Sponsors  

Marguerite Tassi                      Susan Honeyman                     Kathryn Benzel

Robert Luscher                        Julie Flood                               Robert Ficociello                    

Allison Hedge Coke                Rebecca Umland                     Jane Christensen