By Alice Asch ‘22

The Words would like to take a moment to celebrate the graduating class of 2021’s magnificent capstones. As the culminating experience of an English major, these projects are impressive accomplishments in any year. For this group of students, however, finishing their capstones proved an especially daunting task: not only did they work amidst the backdrop of a pandemic, but they completed their projects in seven-week modules, rather than full semesters. 

If you’d like to see samples of student work, feel free to visit our Capstone Showcase. Listed below, you can find the titles of students’ final projects, grouped by course. We applaud our English majors! 

Literature Capstones

ENGL 400-01, Seminar: Special Topics in Literary Studies 

With Professor Amy Elkins, Fall 2020, Module 2

Xochitl Quiroz ‘21 

“Pa’lante: The Poetics of Hope in the Puerto Rican Literary Diaspora” 

 

 

Nicolle Donaire ‘21 

“Wild Women: Intersectional Trauma and the Environment” 

 

 

 Asha Ma ‘21 

“Isolation and the Natural World” 

 

 

Tyler McFarland ‘21 

“Prison Poetry”

 

 

Jackson Ullman ‘22 

“Evolution and Progress in Adaptation: Disability in Dororo” 

 

 

ENGL 401-01, Projects in Literary Research      

With Professor Penelope Geng, Spring 2021, Module 3

Amy Vandervelde ‘21 

“Prophetic Players: How Language Likens Two Kingships in Shakespeare’s Richard II”  

 

 

Conor Broderick ‘21 

“A Reparative, Queer Reading + Adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

 

 

Sadia Mohammed ‘21 

“The Sea as a Repository in Olaudah Equiano’s narrative and M. NourbeSe Phillip’s Zong!”

 

 

Nora Stewart ’21

“A Genuine New Departure: Elaborating Postcolonial Cultural Production in Frantz Fanon’s Peau noir, masques blancs

 

 

Kelsey Stender-Moore ’21

“Redeeming Goneril and Regan: Gender Labor in King Lear

 

 

Lindsay Weber ’21

“Reforming 16th Century Protestantism: Religion, Rebellion, and Social Hierarchy in King Lear

 

 

Gabriel Fisch ’21

“A Note on Vaseline: Theorizing Raw Sex, HIV, and Black Gay Sexual Subjectivity in Don’t Call Us Dead

 

 

Malcolm Cooke ’21

“At the Center of the Spider’s Web: Throne of Blood and Indigenization”

 

 

Lauren Adams-Plehal ’21

Romeo and Juliet Ballet Adaptations”

 

 

Teresa Padron ’21

“A Clear and Present Danger: Queer Kink Crip Positionalities and Temporalities in Shakespeare’s Macbeth” 

 

 

Shelby Kruger ’22

“Fine Eyes and Forbidden Lovers: Exploring Sexuality and Intimacy in Contemporary Adaptations of Pride and Prejudice

 

 

Teddy Holt ’22

“Mothers, Murder, and Meeds: Unearthing Indigeneity in The Kalevala and Beowulf

 

 

Creative Writing Capstones

ENGL 494-01, A New Decameron: Fictions and Nonfictions 

With Professor Marlon James, Fall 2020, Module 1

Zarra TM ‘21

“three days in inpatient”

content warning: suicide attempt, rape mention, substance references, self-harm mention 

 

William Ummel ‘21 

“The Desolation of Laketown” 

 

 

Zoelle Collins ‘21 

“Shamuna” 

“Dishes” 

 

Noel Reiling ‘21 

Title: Pending 

 

 

ENGL 406-01, Projects in Creative Writing 

With Professor Michael Prior, Spring 2021, Module 4

Asher de Forest ’21

“They’re Just Like Us! essays, more or less”

 

 

Gianella Rojas ’21

“Nohelia”

 

 

Becca Lewis ’21

“What Will Not Sink Will Push Against the Sea”

 

 

Eric Fong ’21

“Georgiana of the Earth”

 

 

Abby Lawrence ’21

“Testimonies of a Triplet”

 

 

Ben LeBlanc ’21

“Where and When I’ve Been So Far”

 

 

Katie Woodhouse ’21

Title: Pending

 

 

We would also like to celebrate Albert Lee 21’s capstone, completed last school year, in 2020: 

Albert Lee ’21

“線TENSE (pronounced “sentence”): A Poetic Peregrination of Japanese Imperial Postmemory and Korean Diasporic Intimacy in a Nuclearized Sinosphere”