RESEARCH

This critical annotated edition of 1 Timothy is for modern English readers who wish to learn more about the Bible, its origins, its authors, and its cultural and historical context, all while reading a translation as close to the original language as possible. This project in involves translating, editing, and researching the first two chapters of 1 Timothy in the Bible. Detailed footnotes regarding translation choices, etymology, cultural context, and history of relevant words and phrases are added where relevant. The format of this Bible is important to its audience; the integration of footnotes as pop-up speech bubbles that appear when words are hovered over encourages readers to explore and interact with the text on a deeper level. The digital format also allows for a much greater exploration of the Bible than the page-count confines of print does, and makes updates, revisions, and additions much simpler. The scope of this project is multifaceted, as both translation and editing were performed. Each word has been heavily researched to confirm their translations. Ultimately, the focus of this project is to uncover what the author wanted to express, which may or may not be in line with what the Christian religion teaches.

A case study analyzing the rise of big box stores as prominent booksellers. Big box stores certainly didn’t start out as major players in the bookselling world, but certain unprecedented events pushed them to the forefront of publishers’ attention. After the Harry Potter phenomenon cemented big retailers as competitive booksellers and book buyers, independent bookstores began to struggle. They had just been making a comeback from near-extinction after Amazon’s emergence when COVID-19 wrecked the U.S. economy and left many small bookstores struggling to make ends meet. With indies forced to close due to lockdown restrictions and Amazon prioritizing shipping for essential items, people began to turn to other means to purchase books—and big box retailers had the spotlight once again. As mega buyers who purchase and sell tens of thousands of books at a time, big box stores operate as a primary bookselling piece in the publishing industry and are relied upon to push the sales of bestsellers using their convenient locations, wide product range, and curated-for-consumers book selection.

William Shakespeare’s plays are infamous for their many variations; many of his scripts were published in error-filled quartos and folios that create arguments over what the “real” version of his plays should be. However, two plays in particular remain at the forefront of editorial criticism in terms of textual issues, which include plot differences, line misplacement, and spelling and punctuation changes. Both King Lear and Othello appeared in four different published versions, each with their own substantive, accidental, and editorial differences. Each of these versions will be compared and discussed at length, while introducing theories on how these differences may have come about. 

Isabella d'Este, an oft-forgotten patron of Renaissance art and an early image of modern feminism, sought to be seen as man's competitor in the world of art collecting. Her humanist education was conducted alongside her brothers, encouraging her from the start to search for equality among men. She grew up to depart from the classic "courtly lady" image by flaunting her intelligence rather than hiding it and devoting her life to collecting artwork. She challenged men's position as the prescribed intellectual giants by collecting mythological art, a genre previously forbidden to women due to its sexual undertones, and adopting practices such as having her own imprese and impresa (or motto and emblem). Her position as an artistic intellect led her to develop significant relationships with many famous cultural individuals, including Pietro Perugino, Ludovico Ariosto, and Leonardo da Vinci, who respected her as a powerful figure of artistic influence. Her relationships with famous artists served to aid her in her rise to social power, which peaked when her husband Francesco Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua, gave her reign of the city while he was away on military duty. He trusted her enough to let her represent him in courts so often that it was rumored he had died and Isabella had taken his place as ruler. Using New Historical methodology, this paper will examine letters to and from Isabella d’Este, as well as poems and essays discussing and exalting her, to illustrate a rare moment in the Italian Renaissance when a woman was able to take a position of power at the intersection of art and politics. 

Many scholars and founders of the modern science fiction film genre claim superhero movies do not deserve to be categorized as sci-fi because they will never compare in theme, content, or story to "true" science fiction films. However, according to commonly-accepted sci-fi tropes and sub-genres used to identify, analyze, and study films, superhero movies do in fact fit into science fiction. Film noir, a genre featuring maze-like storylines that invariably lead to the protagonist's demise, is often used in conjunction with science fiction. Film noir as a sub-genre of science fiction is spearheaded by classic science fiction movies like Blade Runner; however, Christopher Nolan's Batman movie The Dark Knight also portrays elements of film noir. Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice reintroduce the idea of the messianic and menacing alien, a classic science fiction theme that originated in The Day the Earth Stood Still. The X-Men movies are famous for their mutant superheroes; this concept of post-humanity originated in science fiction books and movies in the 1950s as a direct response to nuclear power and social conformity. Now, post-humanity is frequently analyzed through sci-fi movies such as Ex Machina and Children of Men. Finally, Guardians of the Galaxy embodies the adventurous, fantastical genre of space opera, a sci-fi film type made famous by classics like Star Wars and Star Trek. Superhero films certainly deserve a place in the exclusive science fiction genre. The mingling of superheroes and science fiction has created a fresh new outlook on the age-old sci-fi world, creating legendary movies that will be remembered for generations to come.

• Conducted research on an original thesis, comparing primary sources with formal academic critiques

• Formulated original ideas based on analysis and close reading of the linguistic and formal tendencies between two historical authors and poets to prove that in many cases there are elements of Modernism in Romanticism and vice versa, with a specific case study on Shelley's use of elements mentioned in Woolf's "Modern Fiction"

• Compared two poets' narrative style and symbolic choices surrounding their ideas of femininity, sexuality, and domesticity to suggest that Sexton was influenced by Millay's earlier work in spite of Sexton's stated resistance towards being compared to Millay

• Used poems as primary source material to compare stylistic and tonal tendencies between the authors, then supported claims made from close readings of poems with scholarly research