the scholar: january 2014 edition

The Scholar January 2014 Edition

1 The University of Tennessee at Martin‟s University Scholars Organization

Table of Contents

Disclaimer: Any views or opinions herein

expressed are not representative of the University Scholars

Organization as a whole

Senior Editors: Photographers:

Riley Rich Katrina Moeller

Hunter Lindberg Katie Pigg

Important Dates ................................................................................................................................................ 2

Aaron Eubank—Big Sib Little Sib Dinner ................................................................................................ 3

Clay Palmer—A Presentation on Education Theory by Robert A. Duke, PhD............................. 3

Gina Beckman—Tackling the Titan .......................................................................................................... 4

Rebecca Lund—Up ‘til Dawn ....................................................................................................................... 5

Erin Gallagher—Dreamland ......................................................................................................................... 6

Darian Matheny—Beside Me ........................................................................................................................ 6

Sean O’Brien—What Would You Do If... ................................................................................................... 7

Jeremy Greenburg—To Still a Beating Heart ........................................................................................ 8

Makennen Crane—Angels ............................................................................................................................. 9

Junior/Senior Projects

Zachary Ragland ................................................................................................................................ 9

Lindsey Feigl ..................................................................................................................................... 10

Hunter Lindberg .............................................................................................................................. 11

Lacey Wilkerson .............................................................................................................................. 11

Eric Staggs .......................................................................................................................................... 12

Charles Busby ................................................................................................................................... 13

Payton Mink ...................................................................................................................................... 13



Important Dates

Scholar Events— Spring Semester

Sammies Dinner: February 4th

Induction: February 11th

Prospect Weekend: February 20th-22nd

USO Retreat: March 15th-16th

Scholar‟s and Honor‟s Formal: April 4th

USO Elections: April 8th

Academic Calendar— Spring Semester

Jan. 9, Thursday Day and Evening Classes

Begin

Jan. 20, Monday Martin Luther King, Jr.

Day

Feb. 24, Monday Mid-Term Progress

Reports Due

March 3-9, Spring Break

For more information, visit:

http://catalog.utm.edu/content.php?

catoid=7&navoid=359#Spring_Semester__2013

The University of Tennessee at Martin‟s University Scholars Organization 3


Big Sib Little Sib Dinner

Aaron Eubank

The whole Big Sib/Little Sib concept is something I

have truly enjoyed. As a freshman, there are a lot of things I

have yet to learn. Having someone who has done it all before to

be there for you is sometimes a life-saver. Better yet is having

an older Scholar just to hang out with and someone to talk to.

So, when the dinner for the Sibs was first announced, I was

very excited. The venue was La Cabaña, a Mexican restaurant

that I had yet to try. Immediately I decided to reserve my place

at the table, so to speak, and speak with Jonathan Hewlett, my

own Big Sib, to make sure he could go, too.

The day finally arrived and that evening a decent

gathering of Scholars met up at McCombs to carpool to the

restaurant. The bunch was upbeat and boisterous and, as we

piled into several cars like sardines, I knew it had been a great

decision to go along; I was already having a wonderful time.

Upon arriving, the group met up with others who had decided

to meet us there and roughly twenty college students poured

through the door, crowding the small waiting area while our

table was prepared. The many (admittedly) loud conversations

seemed to double the noise inside the building before we

arrived. The waiter was patient as he showed us to our table,

waited for everyone to find a seat across from their Sib, and

painstakingly took everyone‟s drink order. The menu was large

and full of many options, I myself

deciding to try the chicken and rice

covered with cheese sauce and

chorizo. Jonathan and I really

enjoyed getting to sit and talk with

each other as we rarely get to

otherwise. Ironically, both of us play

flag football intramurals and had a

game against each other that same

night; we both missed it for the

dinner, but we still would have had

the chance to hang out that way, too.

Looking back, the dinner was likely

the more relaxing option, and I had a

blast getting to talk not only to my

Big Sib, but other Scholars as well. As the evening

went on the food finally came, and boy was it worth the

wait! I practically inhaled my dinner, I was so hungry,

and it was delicious. I made sure to leave a good tip for

the waiter who had to put up with all twenty-something

of us for an hour. After the meal was over, we all said

goodbye and went our separate ways for the night. I

was happy and full, two of my favorite things to be, and

as I headed back to my room I decided I would

compliment this by getting a good night‟s rest and

relaxation. I am so glad I got to go on that wonderful

little evening out and hope another one comes up again

very soon. To La Cabaña I say: the food was fabulous

and I plan on returning soon. All in all, Scholars‟ trips

are the best and I will be sure to try to go on as many

outings as I can.

“What‟s Happening?” Freshmen News Reports

A Presentation on Education Theory by Robert A.

Duke, PhD

Clay Palmer

On Thursday, October 24th, at 7:30 PM, the

University of Tennessee at Martin‟s College of Music

hosted Professor Robert A. Duke of the University of

Texas. Before his presentation began, he was

introduced by Dr. Johnathan Vest as the Marlene and

Morton Meyerson Centennial Professor and Head of

Music and Human Learning at the University of Texas

in Austin. Professor Duke has conducted extensive

research in the field of learning and human behavior

and has authored several books in his field, including

Intelligent Music Teaching: Essays on the Core

Principles of Effective Instruction and The Habits of

Musicianship.

Professor Duke launched the audience into his

presentation entitled “How we learn...and how we

don‟t” by stating that everyone is a learner. However,

modern day teaching techniques are inconsistent with

how the human brain functions. Today‟s education

system has become an institution that prepares students



to be “better workers” rather than “better thinkers.” This induces an anxious and

unmotivated attitude in most students regarding their schoolwork. Professor Duke

proposed that something needs to be done to motivate students.

Professor Duke says the root of the problem is that joy is missing from

classwork. Humans need positive attitudes about the subject their learning in order to

be successful. It is up to the educators to take responsibility and facilitate positive

thinking, rather than suppress it through hours of memorizing terms for tests. In

modern education, failure is taught to be unacceptable. However, failure is necessary

for proper learning. Understanding is not following someone else‟s explanation; it is

the ability to generate one‟s own explanation. Therefore, grades should not motivate

learning, goals should. Making learning more goal-oriented than grade-oriented is key

to getting a lasting education. Professor Duke ended the presentation by answering

several questions and receiving applause from the large crowd in attendance.

Tackling the Titan

By Gina Beckman

On Thursday, October 17th, the University Scholars went to dinner at Buckets in Union City. The only

thing I knew about Buckets before we got there was that they had a really big pizza. Our fellow Scholar, Andrew,

was ready to eat The Titan! The “Titan Challenge” is a competition to eat a 30” pizza in 30 minutes. It takes a

team of three people to be able to enter the challenge. Andrew quickly recruited two more Scholar men, Zachary

Ragland and Luke Robinson, to help him tackle the giant.

We all jumped into the cars, and drove with giddy excitement to witness their pizza slaying attempt. When

we arrived the waitress heard the talk of the Titan and asked if there was a group that was going to try it. We said

yes and she went to tell the chef to get ready. Then, the rest of the group placed their orders. The wait for the food

was over an hour. It may have been that we had such a larger group, or it could have been that the Titan took a

long time to prepare.

Finally, the food was brought out and Andrew,

Zachary, and Luke began to chow down. They started

from the middle of the pizza and were making amazing

progress. They had eaten over half the pizza in 6 minutes.

Not long after, however, that they began to slow down.

Their original excited postures turned into leaning back or

standing as they tried desperately to make more room for

the pizza. Their chewing became slower and slower. They

had around 8 minutes left on the clock to complete the

challenge. It became clear that they would not make it in

time. Buckets were brought out to catch the potential

puke. The time then ran out and the pizza was left incom-

plete.

I think that they did pretty well, considering that the pizza was as big as the table. Our scholars put their

best foot forward and stuffed themselves to the brim. I have heard rumors that they will train the next time and try

again to conquer the Titan.



Up „til Dawn

Rebecca Lund

The University of Tennessee at Martin decided to participate in the St. Jude Up „til Dawn fundraising

event again, and this year, the University Scholars Organization also decided to participate. What, might you

ask, is St. Jude Up „til Dawn? Well, it‟s a philanthropic event that is led by college students around the

country that raises funds and awareness for the St. Jude Children‟s Research Hospital, which is a non-profit

hospital for children with cancer. The truly amazing thing about St. Jude is that the hospital does not make

the families pay for any of the bills during their child‟s time at the hospital, so every penny that we raise will

go to fund these stays.

The University Scholars Organization has produced three

teams, which each have six members. Each member has

committed to raising one-hundred dollars, so the organization as a

whole has committed to raising 1,800 dollars, which is a

substantial amount of money. If we raise all of our money, we get

to attend the Up „til Dawn all-night challenge, which will take

place on November 22, 2013. During the finale, various teams will

compete against each other in games and competitions, and

everyone will stay up all night!

When we met to decide on our participation, we also

created fundraisers that we would be doing throughout the

semester, such as Letter Writing, the Prettiest Pet Competition, and the Craft and Bake Sale. The first

fundraiser, Letter Writing, took place on September 24, 2013. Team members went to the University Center

Ballroom and wrote letters to friends and family asking them to donate money to their St. Jude Up „til Dawn

account. Our next fundraiser was the Prettiest Pet Competition. Various Scholars submitted pictures of ten

different pets, which were then put on a poster and displayed in the University Center. On October 7th, 8th,

and 9th, UTM students walked by our poster and donated their money for the pet that they thought was the

prettiest. The first place winner was Lyla Abigail, the second place winner was Raggy (our fellow Scholar

Zachary Ragland), and the third place winner was Zeus. A total of $608.18 was raised, which is one-third of

our goal! Our third and final fundraiser will take place in November and will be a Craft and Bake Sale.

We are all very excited about participating in St. Jude Up „til Dawn and cannot wait for the finale on

November 22!

“The more you learn about the dignity of the gorilla, the

more you want to avoid people.”

-Dian Fossey



“Creative Outlet” Sophomore Creative Pieces

Darian Matheny

Beside Me

I would sleep in a dingy cardboard box

If you were snoozing there beside me.

I would dance on the dark side of the moon

If only you were there to help me breathe.

Darling, I don‟t care where we go

I don‟t care how much money we have.

I only want to be where you‟re at.

Bikes and bridges, cars and trains

With you, my Love, I would run away.

I will be your Wendy; you will be my Peter Pan.

We‟ll grow young together in our Neverland.




Erin Gallagher

Dreamland

At night I sail to the Land of Dreams,

To a world that‟s completely my own

Where things might not be quite as they seem

And there exists imagination alone.

Where the sun can gleam with an odd purple hue

And the grass is a weird sort of red

Where unhappy thoughts are rare and few

And the greatest adventure lies ahead.

I‟ve traveled with pirates along the high seas

I‟ve experienced the magic of fairy tales

Each dream defining its own reality

Where courage and bravery never fails.

At night I sail to the Land of Dreams

To a world that‟s completely my own.



Sean O‟Brien

What would you do if...?

Imagine yourself as a second grade student. You are quietly sitting in your classroom when you hear

that a building in New York City has been hit and is falling as at that very moment. Now consider that your

family works in buildings close to those attacked and you aren‟t sure if it's their very building which has just

been hit. You know that your parents have offices in buildings like the ones on the news -- but they are in

Philadelphia. All of this thoughts raced through my head in a matter of seconds on September 11th, 2001.

Two weeks prior to these attacks, I had stood on the top of one of the World Trade Center towers

with my cousins from Scotland, my parents, and my grandparents. My mom had administrative meetings

below us but her hotel, the Marriot at the World Trade Center, had charged her room multiple times. The

mistake was easily corrected and the hotel gave my parents a complimentary weekend at the hotel for the

inconvenience. My parents chose September 11th, the week of their wedding anniversary.

Fast forward to the burning towers crashing down around helpless New Yorkers. What would

you do if you had lost your parents in the attack? I consider myself the luckiest son in the country for my

parents not staying that week in the Marriot. The hotel had been demolished and leveled by the rubble. Out

of the guests in the Marriot, there were no survivors. I could not imagine what my life would have been like

if they had been there that weekend.

Caps, t-shirts, and souvenirs

I will never need a thing,

because I‟ll have you here beside me.

Just stay beside me.

Mystic ducks and circus men

Don‟t be surprised,

Anything can happen when

You are here beside me.

Just stay beside me.




Life with you is an adventure.

Just wait. Just wait and see.

I will go anywhere in this world

As long as you‟re with me.

So pack your bags, and I‟ll pack mine.

I‟ll meet you on the corner at ten „til nine.

We‟ll ride away, we‟ll seize the day.

We‟ll make the very best of time.

Because, Darling, I don‟t care where we go


I only, Darling, only want to be where you‟re at.



Jeremy Greenburg

To Still a Beating Heart

Why do they hate me so?

I only try to help them

In my own way, of course.

I cannot offer much, other than

Cessation of pain and suffering.

Why do they fear me so?

I never raised a hand against them,

Only aided them in their own decisions

For I make none; a quasi sentient slave

A force of nature, a wave of cosmic intent.

What do they want from me?

I cannot stop myself anymore than

They could stop their beating hearts,

Freeze their swelling lungs,

No conscious thought alone could achieve that.

Why can't they see?

I do care for them,

For what shows the worth of the Reaper

Other than the quality of his Harvest?

I am not cruel, I am not unkind. I am that I am.

Why do they scorn me?

They say it ad nauseum:

"Life's not fair, life's not fair."

But if even the Sower is unfair,

What do they expect the Reaper to be?

When will they learn?

Not many people can look back to a defining moment in their lives, but this date marked my

childhood. Family friends died in the attack and this spring I found their names on the memorial at

Ground Zero. Not only were my parents not in the hotel that weekend, but my uncles, whom I

believed worked in the buildings, did not in fact have offices there. From being on top of the tower

two weeks before to seeing the towers crumble to nearly losing my family and finally coming full circle

twelve years later has been a period in my life that I will never forget. Looking up from the foot of the

building's foundations, from the reflecting pools to the top of the new One World Trade Center, has left

such an impact on my life, and should definitely leave one on yours.



“Independent Studies” Junior & Senior Projects

Makennen Crane

All angels have their demons

The best are oftentimes heathens

Without their knowledge, deep inside

Poisoned air they breathe in

A pile of bones beneath my bed

A foul place to rest my head

I know they‟re there, just below

Still stained with blood dried red

Each of us, try as we might

Has an evil, inside, to fight

Most will try to hold it back

Some will let it take flight

Let some evil out I say

Leave the door a little open

Cracked a bit, just slight

I am Justice, I am Fairness.

No coward can run from me.

No nobleman can bribe me.

The Harvest may grow competitively, but all are equal at the Reaping.

Will they ever change?

Can the Harvest accept me?

Learn that I'm a caretaker, not an enemy?

Hah! And maybe I'll soon learn

To still my beating heart.

Zachary Ragland

Mentor: Dr. B. Ray

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food industry in the world. The reason is

quite simple. Capture fisheries have reached their sustainable maximum catch, but the

demand for fish is continuing to increase. That increased demand is being met by the

rearing of fish in intensive and semi-intensive aquaculture systems. Tilapia is one of

the fastest growing fish species within this industry. It has even been described as a

miracle fish. Tilapia can grow and thrive in many adverse growing environments,

reproduce rapidly, and are efficient at converting feed into growth.



Lindsey Feigl

Mentor: Dr. Somsak

Second Reader: Lee Bennett

Progress of My Quad Copter

For my project, Improve Crop Scouting using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), I plan to design

a quad copter to assist crop scouts in surveying a field. Ideally the quad copter will fly autonomously

over a field taking pictures of the crops along with taking pressure, temperature, and humidity readings.

All the data would be compiled into a final map of the field, called a Crop Deficiency Survey,

highlighting areas that need improvement. The quad copter will be a tool the scout or the farmer can use

to detect crop deficiencies in areas of the field that the scout did not survey, ultimately producing higher

crop yields.

This semester is dedicated strictly to research. In order to build a quad copter, I must first

understand all of the parts involved in it. I have had weekly meetings with my advisor and second

reader, Dr. Somsak and Lee Bennett respectively, to discuss the research I have compiled and determine

what research still needs to be done. Each week we have systematically decided on a part of the quad

copter for me to research. Although the do-it-yourself websites are helpful the most useful resources I

have found are research papers of other students whose quad copter designs are similar to mine. One

paper in particular, Peter Basta‟s “Quad Copter Flight” from California State University, Northridge, has

been the best resource because he not only explains the details of the part he chose but also the reasoning

behind it. This has helped me narrow down which parts would be suitable for my quad copter.

So far in our meetings we have covered the basics that every quad copter needs – the frame,

motors, propellers, electronic speed controls, sensors, GPS, and batteries. The parts that still need to be

discussed are the microcontroller, camera, and software to create the Crop Deficiency Survey. Over this

last month of the semester I plan to finish all preliminary research and decide which parts to buy so that

next semester we can start construction of the quad copter immediately.

My project is focused on two aspects of rearing tilapia. First, we are discovering the minimum

amount of feed that can be given to tilapia and still be productive and efficient in growing the fish.

Secondly, we are studying if the amount of feed has an impact on macromolecule composition. The

details of the project are still being refined, but the idea is to have four separate trials with three pseudo-

replications each.

The amount of feed given to each of the four trials will be varied based on body weight over a

six-week trial. The amount of feed will be varied at 1%, 2%, 3%, and 5% of body weight. Hopefully

we will be able to raise tilapia effectively with less feed than what is currently recommended and there

will be a statistical difference in the physical composition of the trials being observed. After the tests

have been completed we will run tests on a sub-sample of the tilapia to determine the dry-weight, ash,

protein, and lipid composition of each different trial.

This is the general idea for the project. I am currently completing a literature review on the

aquaculture industry and beginning to write my project proposal, which we plan on beginning in the

spring of 2014. The details of the project may change, but to date the general direction I wish to take is

dependent upon the optimization of feed amount given and determination if the amount has an influence

on macromolecule composition.



Hunter Lindberg

Mentor: Dr. James Fieser

Collidascopes

My Scholars project is one that I have absolutely no basis to start from. Honestly, I have no

business doing this. And yet, I‟ve chosen it. I am not a musically inclined person, although I do love

music. I am not a poet, but I like to think I have a poetic way of looking at the world. At this point, it is

fair to mention what my project actually entails.

For the next year and a half, I will be composing, writing, recording, and producing a hip-hop

album based on philosophical themes and addressing major sociological issues that are prominent in rap

music today. At this point, I am reading articles about rap music and

society. I have begun composing a couple of the instrumentals, and

studying a few concepts in philosophy that will be very important to

developing the issues that are lyrically popular in hip-hop today.

This project is my first ever serious venture into either the domain

of philosophy or rap music. My mentor, Dr. James Fieser, has a great deal

more musical and philosophical knowledge than I do, and his guidance

has been essential to getting me as far as I am now. I have several musical

inspirations going into this project like Mos Def, Eyedea, and Zeroh.

However, this album will probably sound most like Odd Future, a group

that created all of their original music in the exact same manner I will be

doing it. They used GarageBand and homemade recordings, because they

were all amateurs with only ambition to their credit.

Unfortunately, this group purports to a lot of the ideology that I

will be combatting in my project. In this way, I guess my project will be

the antithesis to OFWGKTA (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All). A

lot of other musicians engage their efforts and their audiences with violent

and immoral themes that are captivating for a negative reason. My music

aims for the same level of engagement, but with a complete departure from the popular icons and motifs

that have inundated hip-hop over the past twenty years. Going forward, I am excited, confused, scared,

and hopeful.

Lacey Wilkerson

Mentor: Dr. Michael James Kempf

My project is entitled “The Sequencing of Bacteriophages Infecting Flavobacterium

johnsoniae.” It is done under the mentorship of Dr. Michael James Kempf. The overall goal of the

project is to sequence the DNA of bacteriophages that infect the bacterium, F. johnsoniae. F.

johnsoniae, exhibits a gliding motility, which is not fully understood at this time. It is aerobic, gram

negative, and capable of digesting chitin and many polysaccharides. A bacteriophage is a type of virus

particle that infects bacteria.

So far this semester, Dr. Kempf and I have chosen a medium to grow the organism on and have

made a large supply of medium and agar plates to use in future experiments. Casitone yeast extract broth

and agar was chosen over several other candidates due to its lower concentration of essential nutrients.

F. johnsoniae must be motile in order for the phage to infect it, and bacteria are more motile when there

are fewer nutrients available in the immediate environment.



I have also completed a growth curve experiment using optical density and plate counts to determine

when the bacterium reaches mid-log phase during its growth. Knowing the incubation time at which the

organism reaches mid-log phase is important for future experiments because that is the opportune time to

infect the bacteria with phage. It ensures that the bacteria are actively growing and are motile.

The growth curve experiment is to be repeated to ensure the reliability of the data collected during

the first trial. Several experiments will also be done using known phage before the actual infection takes

place. By the end of this semester, Dr. Kempf and I hope to have taken water samples from Reelfoot Lake to

use for the infection. The sample will be filtered several times, and the phages will be isolated and used to

infect the organism.

Eric Staggs

Mentor: Dr. Abigail Shelton

Second Reader: Dr. Phillip Shelton

My project is entitled “Promoting Phosphorescence in pi-

conjugated Platinum Chromophores”. Conjugated compounds,

compounds with alternating single and double bonds, often exhibit

absorption and fluorescence. I am attempting to modify these

compounds to make them phosphoresce instead. This can be

accomplished by incorporating a heavy transition metal, like

platinum, into the organic framework. Phosphorescence is

beneficial because it is a long-lived emission pathway. The

application of this, which I am concentrating on, is creating Optical Power Limiters (OPLS). These are used

in electronic devices (i.e. CD/DVD players) to absorb harmful laser light. My current goal in my research is

to find a means of achieving efficiency in synthesizing these compounds. Once the desired synthetic

procedures are found, I will study the photo-physical properties of the compounds. I first want to promote

the fluorescent compound (2-phenylbenzothiazole) to phosphoresce by attaching platinum (potassium

tetrachloroplatinate (II), K2PtCl4) onto the compound. Then, I will add a compound that will aid in solubility

without affecting emission and absorption analysis. Then, I will be able to accurately observe the absorption

and emission of the compound. In the future, I hope to create a family of compounds with varying ligands

and measure their photo-physical properties. As of now, I have completed approximately fourteen reactions

using varying temperatures, solvents and amounts of reactants. I have been able to achieve acceptable

product yields while working with 2-ethoxyethanol; however, this solvent is very difficult to remove from

the final product due to its viscosity. In my latest reaction, I replaced the 2-phenylbenzothiazole compound

with 2-(4-iodophenyl)-benzothiazole. I am in the process of purifying this compound so that I will be able to

accurately analyze it via its emission and absorption as described above.



Charles Busby

Mentor: Dr. Nathan Howard

Second Reader: Dr. Jeffery Longacre

(Working) Title: Gangster Guts, Guns, and Glamour: A chronological and comparative study of the gangster

genre from the 1930‟s-1970‟s and its significance in American culture.

My project discusses the cinematic portrayal of the American gangster from the 1930‟s to the 1970‟s,

comparing his shifting depictions to the reality of organized crime during that forty-year period. The goals of

this project are (1) to conclude how and why some of the gangster genre‟s major elements deviate from the

reality of traditional organized crime, and (2) discussing the social and cinematic significance of these key di-

vergences. The major elements specifically in question are violence, gangster self-image, and family/ethnicity.

Moreover, the paper‟s structure breaks the genre into three chronological eras – Early Gangster, Gangster

Noir, and The Syndicate. The following is an excerpt from the Early Gangster section discussing family and

ethnicity.

“The origin of traditional organized crime in America is due in large part to ethnic bigotry and the in-

dustrial revolution. The influx of poor European immigrants into American during the late nineteenth and

early twentieth centuries did indeed fill American factories with cheap labor, helping to jumpstart the nation‟s

manufacturing powerhouses, but it also led to a deluge of destitute poor following the saturated labor market.1

Among these, the young men were most apt to find themselves restless, jaded at the broken promises of

American prosperity, and willing to do something about it. They never surrendered their dreams of success in

America, and the ubiquitous sentiment of achieving their promised fortunes would be satisfied, legally or oth-

erwise. They perceived the American system as having failed them and felt their non-adherence to some of its

laws partially justified on this basis.2 The gradual amalgamations of disenfranchised young men were origi-

nally small and generally ethnically homogenous, preferring the safety of their own to the rhetoric of a dis-

trusting nativist WASP society. These small groups, particularly Italians, had “old country” traditions that in-

fluenced the transformation of small street gangs or individual world-weary recruits into legitimate criminal

enterprises, chief among those old world traditions being the Italian Mafia.3”

1 Ruth, David E. Inventing the Public Enemy: The Gangster in American Culture, 1918-1934. Chi-

cago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. 2 Munby, Jonathan. Public Enemies, Public Heroes: Screening the Gangster from Little Caesar to

Touch of Evil. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999. 3 Paoli, Letizia, and NetLibrary, Inc. Mafia Brotherhoods Organized Crime, Italian Style. Studies in

Crime and Public Policy. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Payton Mink

Mentor: Dr. Hill

Second Reader: Dr. Pigg

My Scholar‟s project is a genre study of William Shakespeare‟s plays with an emphasis on his prob-

lem comedies. The plays that I am focusing on include Measure for Measure, The Merchant of Venice, All’s

Well That Ends Well, Troilus and Cressida, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Taming of the Shrew. These

problem comedies are significantly different from the other plays in the genre. They have a general comedic

structure, but they also have elements within them that take away from the festive nature that is prevalent

throughout Shakespeare‟s other comedies.

One very important source that I‟ve used in my paper is Rabelais and His World by Mikhail Bakhtin.

In this book, Bakhtin explores the type of laughter and humor that Shakespeare uses in his plays. Bakhtin ex-

plains that in Renaissance writing, laughter was a symbol of renewal and release. This kind of laughter, which



he calls carnival laughter, is not a light amusement. Carnival laughter frees one completely from all reli-

gious and ecclesiastic dogmatism. Bakhtin focuses on three key aspects when talking about carnival laugh-

ter. First, he distinguishes it as a festive laughter that is not an individual reaction to an isolated comic

event. Carnival laughter, he says, is a laughter of all people. He also discusses it as being universal in

scope and directed at everyone. Lastly, he says that this laughter is ambivalent. It buries and revives at the

same time.

The concepts of laughter and humor are a large part of my study. Comedies are typically seen as

and meant to be humorous. One thing that the problem comedies often lack is a constant humorous tone.

Rabelais and His World is important to my research because it distinguishes the laughter in Shakespearean

plays as different from the laughter that is prevalent in current times. This distinction is important because

without an understanding of the laughter of the time, the literature of the time cannot be fully appreciated.

Bakhtin, Mikhail. Rabelais and His World. Trans. Helene Iswolsky. Bloomington: Indiana Uni-

versity Press, 1984. Print.

the scholar: january 2014 edition

Documents

university of tennessee

uso elections

uso retreat

senior editors

education theory

clay palmera presentation

honors formal

jeremy greenburgto