This recording from April 11, 2024.

Signum MA student Timothy Francis will present his thesis “Administrative Art as Genre in Kafka, Tooker, and Ravn” and respond to questions from the audience in an interactive Thesis Theater. The discussion will be facilitated by Timothy’s thesis supervisor, Dr. Gabriel Schenk.

Abstract
This thesis explores bureaucracy through the works of three artists working in different media: prose, visual art, and bureaucracy itself as a medium. Rooted in an understanding of what constitutes bureaucracy and administration and previous works on the subject, it seeks to explore what might constitute bureaucratic art and what the aims of such an art might be. Building upon existing literature and prior artistic explorations of bureaucracy and their analyses, this thesis aims to understand bureaucratic art and unravel its significance and potential impacts. The works are considered individually and collectively, offering multifaceted insights from different perspectives. By navigating the labyrinth of bureaucratic structures and creative interpretation, this thesis endeavors to shed light on the intersections between bureaucracy and artistry, ultimately paving the way for a deeper appreciation and comprehension of administrative or bureaucratic art.

About the Presenter
Timothy Francis is a recovering bureaucrat, former public accountant in tax law, and sometimes musician who applies his collaborative and creative lenses outside of the public sector and has been Composer-in-Residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts developing and exploring creative collaborative frameworks for performers, lyricists, and composers. His compositions have been performed worldwide including at the Bregenzer Festspiele by the Vienna Symphony, Carnegie Hall by the New York Pops and the Berlin Film Festival. At Signum University, as a Language and Literature Master’s student, his focus has been on discovering works old and new, and exploring various critical lenses, approaches, and their applications. Highlights include the opportunity to read ancient texts in their original language, and focus on areas of interest including semiotics, translation, and adaptation.

About Signum Thesis Theaters
Each of our master’s students writes a thesis at the end of their degree program, exploring a topic of their choice. The Thesis Theater is their opportunity to present their research to a general audience, and answer questions. All are welcome to attend!

Registration is open for the Summer 2024 semester! Classes begin Monday, April 29th. To view our upcoming courses: https://signumuniversity.org/degree-p....

Learn about Signum University’s mission, leadership and more: https://signumuniversity.org/about/.

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This recording from April 5, 2024.

Abstract
J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth has long been praised for its sense of depth, but Tolkien’s creation has often been criticized, especially by Marxist critics, for its lack in depicting economic realities and for providing a reactionary fantasy to soothe bourgeois anxieties about a changing world. However, the traditional bourgeois-proletarian dichotomy, in particular when mapped onto the Hobbits and the Orcs of Middle-earth, fails to fully engage with Tolkien’s fantasy world. Building off the concept of sub-creation established by Tolkien in his essay “On Fairy-Stories” and Gergely Nagy’s examination of magic as inherent power in Middle-earth, this paper argues that magic rather than capital functions as a means of production in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Just as our relationships to capital in the real world shape our ideologies, so the peoples of Middle-earth are shaped by their relationship to magic, from the highest Elves to the most ordinary of Hobbits. This focus on magic shows how Tolkien’s works present a compelling picture of a world where relationships to power are complicated and change is inevitable.

About the Presenter
Duane Watson is an instructor at Llano High School in Llano, Texas, teaching English Composition, Economics, Government, and Audio/Visual Art and Technology. He received a B.S. in History from Howard Payne University (Brownwood, TX), an M.A. in English from National University (La Jolla, California), and an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University – Nebraska. He resides in the Texas Hill Country with his wife, Jen, and their four cats.

About Signum Thesis Theaters
Each of our master’s students writes a thesis at the end of their degree program, exploring a topic of their choice. The Thesis Theater is their opportunity to present their research to a general audience, and answer questions. All are welcome to attend!

Registration is open for the Summer 2024 semester! Classes begin Monday, April 29th. To view our upcoming courses: https://signumuniversity.org/degree-p....

Learn about Signum University’s mission, leadership and more: https://signumuniversity.org/about/.

Want to enjoy Signum’s educational offerings? Start here! https://signumuniversity.org/non-degr....

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This recording from March 22, 2024.

Abstract
Dark Academia (DA), as a genre, is an offshoot of academic fiction that has become prominent over the last decade. After defining DA and exploring its roots, I dive into Intertextuality to ask why modern authors have chosen DA as their genre of choice as they reimagine elements of classic works. The works I chose to analyze are The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (2005), which exists in connection with Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897); Conversion by Katherine Howe (2014), which exists in connection with The Crucible by Arthur Miller (1953); Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth (2020), which exists in connection with The Story of Mary MacLane, alternatively titled I Await the Devil’s Coming by Mary MacLane (1902); and The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven (2022), which exists in connection with Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886). Authors give myths breaths of new life century after century, and works that have asked pointed questions of society and their readers often stay around long enough for new, younger readers to ask those same questions of their own changing societal contexts by building on the existing classical works. DA gives a structured power setting that can be treated as a sandbox of sorts for enquiring minds on how new people and places have altered responses to questions that have been asked again and again in literature.

About the Presenter
Laurel M. Stevens completed her undergraduate in English at Westminster College where she first delved into fantasy studies with Tolkien. Her masters coursework at Signum focused on Imaginative Literature and has allowed her to explore fantasy at greater depths and introduced her to areas of studies such as adaptation and Dark Academia. She reads and reviews heavily in modern fantasy and science fiction, yet remains interested in a wide range of literature.

About Signum Thesis Theaters
Each of our master’s students writes a thesis at the end of their degree program, exploring a topic of their choice. The Thesis Theater is their opportunity to present their research to a general audience, and answer questions. All are welcome to attend!

Registration is open for the Summer 2024 semester! Classes begin Monday, April 29th. To view our upcoming courses: https://signumuniversity.org/degree-p....

Learn about Signum University’s mission, leadership and more: https://signumuniversity.org/about/.

Want to enjoy Signum’s educational offerings? Start here! https://signumuniversity.org/non-degr....

Support Signum Symposia

This recording is from Signum University Annual Fundraising Webathon, December 9, 2023. If you want to watch the recordings of the full event, check the 2023 Fundraising campaign playlist here. • Signum University Annual Fundraising ...

This year's campaign announcement • Signum University's Fall Fundraising ...

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This recording from October 6, 2023.

Signum MA student Kira Tregoning will present her thesis “More Complicated Than They Seem: The Semantic and Contextual Meaning of Homeric Epithets” and respond to questions from the audience in an interactive Thesis Theater. The discussion will be facilitated by Kira’s thesis supervisor, Dr. Gabriel Schenk.

The thesis presentation will be pre-recorded and played in the session, followed by a live Q&A with Kira Tregoning.

Abstract
Milman Parry and subsequent scholars since the late 1920s have argued that Homeric noun-epithet formulas are divorced from the context of the sentence and scene. Epithets — those phrases such as “swift-footed Achilles” or “gray-eyed Athena” — have often been shoehorned for much of the last century into a strict interpretation of metrical convenience and mnemonic device. Such a rigid approach unnecessarily limits readings of Homer today. This study analyzes Homeric epithets in the Iliad and Odyssey through a combined linguistic, literary, and digital humanities approach. Three significant characters are examined in detail — Odysseus, Athena, and Helen — to determine how epithets affect interpretations of character, motivations, and actions in a scene. Specific qualities as conveyed by epithets are linked to a character in spite of the framing story. Epithets act as focalization, pushing and pulling characters to and from the foreground as needed, and the lack of an epithet for an important character is as noteworthy as the presence of one. Translators may play with the repetition of epithets to emphasize various connotations according to the context. Epithets have semantic and narrative value and, while they do have a mechanical value, are more necessary to the poems than formulaic theories suggest. This thesis argues that epithets are too complex for any single theory to encompass and should instead be considered with interdisciplinary approaches to include context, semantics, and function. Epithets can be formulaic and still express essential qualities of character, reflect the narrative action, and connect to the immediate context as needed by the poet.

About the Presenter
Kira Tregoning (she/her) is a lifelong fan of mythology, language, and fantasy. Greek and Roman mythology, and the Robert Fitzgerald translation of the Odyssey, were the gateway to studying Classics in undergrad. Kira holds a B.A. in Classics and a B.A. in Linguistics from the University of Maryland, College Park. She now works as a freelance editor and proofreader and is considering options for further study. In her spare time, she writes fantasy novels, plays video games with her two cat sidekicks, and spends time with her husband and family.

About Signum Thesis Theaters
Each of our master’s students writes a thesis at the end of their degree program, exploring a topic of their choice. The Thesis Theater is their opportunity to present their research to a general audience, and answer questions. All are welcome to attend!

To view Kira's Epithets Database, please visit: www.epithetsdatabase.com

Registration is open for the Spring 2024 semester! Classes begin Monday, January 8th. To view our upcoming courses: https://signumuniversity.org/degree-p....

Learn about Signum University’s mission, leadership and more: https://signumuniversity.org/about/.

Want to enjoy Signum’s educational offerings? Start here! https://signumuniversity.org/non-degr....

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This recording from August 1st, 2023.

Signum MA student Gina Petrone will present her thesis “‘Let Me In!’ Vampirism in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights” and respond to questions from the audience in an interactive Thesis Theater. The discussion will be facilitated by Gina’s thesis supervisor, Dr. Sara Brown.

Abstract

In Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights, scholars have studied the gothic elements of the story, but only in recent years has the idea of vampirism emerged. Cathy, a strong-willed and spirited girl, wants nothing more than to live her life at Wuthering Heights with her soulmate, Heathcliff. However, it is impossible for the two to be together in Victorian society. Cathy is from a respectable family, and Heathcliff is treated as no better than a servant after the death of Cathy’s father. Both monstrous in their own rights, Cathy and Heathcliff undergo transformations in order to become vampiric. I explore the transformation process of both characters and argue the possibility of traditional vampirism. I also argue the vampiric qualities of both characters due to their souls being halved by Cathy’s death. As such, this research connects Brontë’s own criticism of Victorian society to the meaning behind her characters in Wuthering Heights.

About the Presenter

Gina Petrone (she/her) is an English teacher for both middle and high school students. She has been an educator for the past thirteen years, and this will conclude her second Master’s degree. She recently moved to upstate New York with her fiancé and four cats.

About Signum Thesis Theaters

Each of our master’s students writes a thesis at the end of their degree program, exploring a topic of their choice. The Thesis Theater is their opportunity to present their research to a general audience, and answer questions. All are welcome to attend!

Registration is open for the Fall 2023 semester! Classes begin Monday, August 28th. To view our upcoming courses: https://signumuniversity.org/degree-p....

Learn about Signum University’s mission, leadership and more: https://signumuniversity.org/about/.

Want to enjoy Signum’s educational offerings? Start here! https://signumuniversity.org/non-degr....

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This recording from July 30, 2023.

Signum MA student Patrick Lyon will present his thesis “Merry Old Englyn: The Familiar and the Strange in The Old English Rhyming Poem” and respond to questions from the audience in an interactive Thesis Theater. The discussion will be facilitated by Patrick’s thesis supervisor, Dr. Paul Peterson.

Abstract

The Old English Rhyming Poem is one of the stranger and more overlooked entries in the lexicon of OE poetry, often regarded as interesting but flawed and incoherent due to its intensive pursuit of rhyme. As the poem is both unique and highly allusive, critical analyses have focused on the potential inspirations for (and origins of) the poem, and have attempted to make sense of the work’s convoluted grammar and syntax. This thesis examines three related questions concerning the poem’s origin, translation, and interpretation, and in conversation with critical analyses and previous editions of the poem presents a new argument for the inspiration of the poem coming from Welsh poetry. This thesis also makes the case that treating the poem as a riddle in addition to an elegy can make greater sense of some of the passages that earlier critics have found most vexing in the past.

About the Presenter

Patrick Lyon is a graduate of the Program of Liberal Studies at the University of Notre Dame and has presented on topics of Tolkien Studies, Homeric epics, and Black Speech at various Mythmoots; he also writes freelance Movie and TV Features for collider.com. In his spare time he enjoys gardening, Beowulf, juggling, Irish music, more Beowulf, playing the violin, a pipe full of Old Toby, a spot of the Old Winyards, and tilting at windmills of various sizes as he whiffles through the tulgy wood of academia. He enjoys all the comforts of a hobbity home with his lovely wife and three rambunctious children.

About Signum Thesis Theaters

Each of our master’s students writes a thesis at the end of their degree program, exploring a topic of their choice. The Thesis Theater is their opportunity to present their research to a general audience, and answer questions. All are welcome to attend!

Registration is open for the Fall 2023 semester! Classes begin Monday, August 28th. To view our upcoming courses: https://signumuniversity.org/degree-p....

Learn about Signum University’s mission, leadership and more: https://signumuniversity.org/about/.

Want to enjoy Signum’s educational offerings? Start here! https://signumuniversity.org/non-degr....

Support Signum Symposia

This recording from July 29, 2023.

Signum MA student Christoph Schabert will present his thesis “Mágus saga jarls: A Digital Edition” and respond to questions from the audience in an interactive Thesis Theater. The discussion will be facilitated by Christoph’s thesis supervisor, Dr. Paul Peterson.

Abstract

An Old Norse-Icelandic genre that has long been relegated to the background of scholarly studies is the genre of riddarasögur. With the largest amount of surviving manuscripts, this genre was very popular among audiences of medieval Norse sagas. With 89 different manuscripts, Mágus saga jarls has the most attested witnesses of all riddarasögur. The saga exists in two recessions: a younger and an older one. The earliest surviving manuscript of the younger and longer recension is the subject of this edition. It is known under the shelfmark AM 567 XVII ß 4to and was written between c. 1390 and 1410. This version of the saga has been rendered into a three-layer transcription – facsimile, diplomatic, normalized – and is fully compliant with version 3 of Medieval Nordic Text Archive (Menota) standards.

About the Presenter

Christoph Schabert is a development operations engineer currently living and working in Germany. Growing up he loved reading fantasy and was always intrigued with old languages, which only deepened during his studies of Old Norse with Signum. His combination of a deep interest in language and a technical background made him a prime candidate to do a digital edition.

About Signum Thesis Theaters

Each of our master’s students writes a thesis at the end of their degree program, exploring a topic of their choice. The Thesis Theater is their opportunity to present their research to a general audience, and answer questions. All are welcome to attend!

For more information about Signum University and our degree program, please visit: https://signumuniversity.org/

Registration is open for the Fall 2023 semester! Classes begin Monday, August 28th. To view our upcoming courses: https://signumuniversity.org/degree-p....

Learn about Signum University’s mission, leadership and more: https://signumuniversity.org/about/.

Want to enjoy Signum’s educational offerings? Start here! https://signumuniversity.org/non-degr....

Support Signum Symposia

Find out about the new courses offered at Signum University this coming Summer Term (May 1 – July 30) and meet the professors who will be teaching them! Representatives from the courses will be on hand to explain how the classes work, what people can expect if they sign up, and answer questions from the live audience.

The Summer 2023 Courses:

Please note: Unfortunately, following the recording of this Signum Symposia event, we have decided to postpone "Literary Copernicus: The Cosmic Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft" until the Fall 2023 semester. "Tolkien Illustrated," "The Inklings and King Arthur," and "Introduction to Old Norse" are still open for registration. Thank you.

Tolkien Illustrated: Picturing the Legendarium – This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the history of Tolkien illustration and its visual, contextual, and critical analyses.

Literary Copernicus: The Cosmic Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft – This course explores the work of H.P. Lovecraft and his impact on literature and popular culture. Students will study the foundations of Lovecraft’s writing, the meaning behind his works, along with his cosmic vision and legacy.

The Inklings and King Arthur – This course explores how J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and other Inklings authors interpreted the Arthurian legends in their work.

Introduction to Old Norse – The first half of this course provides a focus on Old Icelandic grammar, and the second half allows students to begin reading from a selection of Old Icelandic prose and poetic texts.

To view our course offerings for Summer 2023, please visit: https://signumuniversity.org/degree-p...

To learn more about Signum University: https://signumuniversity.org/about/

For more upcoming news and Signum events: https://signumuniversity.org/news-and...

Want to learn more about Signum's educational offerings? Start here: https://signumuniversity.org/non-degr...

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Thesis Theater: Jennifer Ewing, “The Promises to the Overcomer”

This recording from April 3rd, 2023.

Signum MA student Jennifer Ewing will present her thesis “The Promises to the Overcomer: The Gifts and Rewards Given to the Fellowship in The Lord of the Rings” and respond to questions from the audience in an interactive Thesis Theater. The discussion will be facilitated by Jennifer’s thesis supervisor, Dr. Michael Corso.

Abstract
J. R. R. Tolkien’s devout Catholicism and Biblical knowledge, through personal study and professional translation and commentary on medieval works, is well known. This Catholic and biblical ‘leaf-mould’ finds its way into the gifts and rewards which were given to the Fellowship in completion of their quest in The Lord of the Rings (Letters 409). This thesis presents evidence that the gifts or rewards articulated as promises to the overcomer in the book of Revelation seem to correspond in theme and value to a gift or a reward in The Lord of the Rings and include: the tree of life (Rev. 2.7), no second death (Rev. 2.11), manna, a white stone, and a new name (Rev. 2.17), rule of the nations, the morning star (Rev. 2.26, 28), white raiment (Rev. 3.5), to be a secure as a pillar in the temple of My God (Rev. 3.12), and to sit with Jesus on his throne (Rev. 3.21). In addition to the religious symbolism, there is a cursory exploration of the stewardship aspects of the gifts and rewards. Without prudent use of these gifts (or rewards), the War of the Ring would have been lost and quest would have surely failed.

About the Presenter
Jennifer Ewing read the Bass & Rankin illustrated edition of The Hobbit when she was ten years old. Despite this auspicious start, fourteen years passed before she read The Lord of the Rings. Some say that entering a course of study with an aim in mind brings a certain depth to that subject. Jennifer has known for the past twenty years that she wanted to write a thesis on Tolkien and Revelation 2-3. She attended seminary (where she is the library director), taking courses with that object in mind, and after graduation she waited two whole months before enrolling at Signum.

About Signum Thesis Theaters
Each of our master’s students writes a thesis at the end of their degree program, exploring a topic of their choice. The Thesis Theater is their opportunity to present their research to a general audience, and answer questions. All are welcome to attend!

For more information about Signum University and our degree program, please visit: https://signumuniversity.org/

Registration is open for the Summer 2023 semester! Classes begin Monday, May 1st. To view our upcoming courses: https://signumuniversity.org/degree-p...

Learn about Signum University’s mission, leadership and more: https://signumuniversity.org/about/

Want to enjoy Signum’s educational offerings? Start here! https://signumuniversity.org/non-degr...

Support Signum Symposia

This recording from December 1, 2022.

Find out about the new courses offered at Signum University this coming Spring Term (January 9 – April 2) and meet the professors who will be teaching them! Representatives from the courses will be on hand to explain how the classes work, what people can expect if they sign up, and answer questions from the live audience.

Your host, Professor Sparrow Alden, will introduce you to some of our amazing Spring Term professors: Sara Brown, Gabriel Schenk, Liam Daley, and Nelson Goering.

The Spring 2023 Courses:

Race, Gender, and the Other in Tolkien’s Middle-earth – This course explores the issues of race, sexuality, gender, and Othering in the mythological legendarium of J.R.R. Tolkien.

The Gothic Tradition – This course will investigate the fascinating and subversive Gothic imagination, identify the historical conditions that have inspired it, and consider how it has developed across time and place and medium.

Chaucer I: Visions of Love – This class is the first semester in a two-part survey of Chaucer’s major works, looking at his early dream vision poems and his greatest completed work: Troilus and Criseyde.

Introduction to Germanic Philology II – This class provides an introduction to Germanic comparative philology in a broad sense. Students are not expected to have prior familiarity with any language other than modern English.

To view our course offerings for Spring 2023, please visit: https://signumuniversity.org/degree-p...

Gift the joy of learning. Our Anytime Audit Holiday Special runs from now until December 31st. To view a full list of eligible courses and register for a certificate: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScOqBiJ7akJl37Oo5RPfGKn_rBA_LR0SxtZXoBLNyW_G8fqMA/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0

To learn more about Signum University: https://signumuniversity.org/about/

For more upcoming news and Signum events: https://signumuniversity.org/news-and...

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