To have your research accepted for publication in a scholarly journal is a mark of outstanding accomplishment. Journals receive thousands of submissions and set very high standards for acceptance. Recently, three Moravian College students earned that honor. In celebration, Inside Moravian shares excerpts from these students’ work as well as links to their full papers.
Maison Allen ’19: “Anthony Bourdain & Puerto Rico: An Island of Non-Identification”
Maison Allen’s piece appeared in the spring 2019 issue of Queen City Writers, a refereed journal that publishes essays and multimedia work by students in undergraduate programs from across the country. Following is an excerpt from Allen’s conclusion to her work:
In Parts Unknown [a television series that explored various cultures within the conceit of cuisine], Anthony Bourdain fosters a discussion around the lives of the people of Puerto Rico. In doing this, he asks his audience to form a non-identification with the locals, which shapes an understanding and appreciation for their culture. And while his efforts alone will not solve racism and end bias towards those the United States has colonized, it could be a starting point for those who wish to renounce their ignorance and assumptions in order to constantly learn more about Puerto Rico from those who live there. Bourdain himself, in sitting quietly as those he interviews tell their stories, shows how he is able to make non-identifications with them. Now more than ever, it is crucial that we as Americans understand those in our own territory; after the devastation Puerto Rico faced due to Hurricane Maria, it is our moral obligation to cast away biases, stereotypes, and assumptions in order to listen to the needs of Puerto Rico.
Maison Allen graduated from Moravian College last year with a self-designed major in communications and social justice. Currently a membership coordinator at Lehigh Valley Zoo, her goal is to work in politics.
Christopher Shosted ’20: “PragerU as Genre: How Ideologies Typify Speech”
Christopher Shosted’s work was published in the fall 2019 issue of Xchanges, an interdisciplinary journal of technical communication, rhetoric, and writing across the curriculum, produced by the English department at the University of New Mexico. Of Shosted’s piece, Xchanges says, “Christopher Luis Shosted applies rhetorical genre analysis to expose how the far-right media outlet PragerU propagates falsehoods in order to destabilize competing worldviews,” Following is an excerpt from the introduction to “PragerU as Genre: How Ideologies Typify Speech:”
PragerU is a website founded by conservative talk show host Dennis Prager. It features five-minute videos on a variety of topics such as immigration, criminal justice, and education. As demonstrated by its name, PragerU brands itself as a university but this branding is part of a larger trend of ideology-promoting discourse garbing itself in well-established genres. PragerU is a university in much the same way Fox News is news; while both use the style of the genre they are mimicking, the use of false information to reaffirm hegemonic ideologies belies the motivations that inspire these types of rhetoric.
Christopher Shosted (pictured above) will graduate this May with a BA in English and a certification in writing arts. He has been accepted into Lehigh University’s master’s program in English. (Photo of Shosted by Scott Johnson)
Gabrielle Stanley ’21: “Understanding the Learned Conceptions of Writing that First-Year Students Bring to College”
Gabrielle Stanley’s research appeared in Young Scholars in Writing, an international peer-reviewed journal that publishes research and theoretical articles by undergraduate students on rhetoric, writing, discourse, language, and related subjects. Here, the abstract from Stanley’s work:
Professors, writing center tutors, and peers often observe that many students struggle with college-level writing, particularly during their first year. While the struggle itself is easy to observe, its origins are not as easy to identify. To better understand why students find difficulty in the transition from high school to college-level writing, I conducted qualitative research involving an analysis of 221 incoming first-year students’ descriptions of “good” writing. Through learning what students’ conceptions of writing are upon entering college, and measuring those conceptions against the writing practices supported by writing-studies research, it should be possible to pinpoint the areas in which students need further development in order to be successful college-level writers.
Gabrielle Stanley is majoring in English with a certification in writing arts. Her focus is in rhetoric and writing studies, and she is interested in writing education.