English Graduation Thesis

This thesis explores the cultural uses and revisions of Dickens’s text.

Key topics of discussion include the highly varied representation of the orphan Smike; the portrayal of physical, sexual, and financial violence; and the sociopolitical and economic themes of the novel that allow it to resonate with contemporary audiences down through the centuries.

Author: Kerry Ditson Thesis/Project Type: Independent Honors Thesis Approved by: Jen Adams, English Department and Sonja Drimmer, Art History Program Published: 2015 Abstract: The Wars of the Roses were without a doubt one of the most transformative and traumatic events of medieval England.

This bloody conflict called into question commonly accepted notions of nobility, masculinity, kingship, governance, and violence.

We encourage you to begin thinking about your thesis early in the program.

In addition to coursework and faculty mentorships, the following resources will help you prepare for these intensive, one-on-one classes.A supervision contract outlining the rights and responsibilities of the student is signed by the student, supervisor, and department administration.If a student takes more than two semesters to complete the Master's thesis, supervision will be reduced.Students using a fifth or sixth semester to write their Master's thesis have the right to feedback on a single full and final draft of their thesis if submitted to the supervisor no later than two weeks before the desired final submission deadline. Students are expected to participate actively in their discipline's work-in-progress seminars by presenting their own work and by taking part in discussions about others' presentations.Work-in-progress seminar As part of the Master's thesis, students give hold two approved presentations at the Department's work-in-progress seminars for Master students:1. It is especially important that students take part in these seminars the two semesters they spend writing their Master's thesis, but it is also advantageous that they participate in their first and second semester. Likewise, all obligatory requirements must be met before examination. submission of the master's thesis and subsequent oral examination) can be carried out at the beginning and end of each semester.For course load expectations, see the Graduate School's policies and regulations.Thesis research and writing are the last classes students take in the graduate program.To get you started thinking about your thesis, we encourage you also to read Preparing for the Thesis We offer annual workshops on thesis writing—if you weren’t able to attend our most recent workshop, you can watch it below.grad-english/fall-2019Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Reader.Author: Timothy Conklin Thesis Type: Independent Thesis Approved By: Rebecca Lorimer Leonard and David Fleming, English Department Published 2016 Abstract: This thesis explores the hierarchies of literacy that are upheld and perpetuated in the university.By using a case study of three different institutions at the University of Massachusetts Amherst—the Writing Center, Commonwealth Honors College, and the University Writing Program, this thesis argues that the university functions as a sponsor of white, middle-class English and that this sponsorship is manifested in the physical spaces of those three sites of inquiry.