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Publication Date
Spring 2024
Degree Type
Thesis - Campus Access Only
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
English and Comparative Literature
Advisor
Alan Soldofsky; Nicholas Taylor; Sally Ashton
Abstract
This thesis consists of a hybrid or multi-genre collection of poems and stories that explore questions of identity—specifically, the ways in which a person creates (constructs) as well as discovers (construes) their own individual identity or sense of self. The two methods of identity formation are combined to form the title: "Constru(ct)ing the Self." The writings in this collection fall into three broad categories or components of identity: the body, boundaries or edges, and comparisons to heroes. Each category corresponds to a section of the thesis, and is informed by literary and scholarly readings on the topic. A secondary theme throughout this collection is an exploration "the wild," or the part of nature that is defined as functioning autonomously from human intervention. In reality, the wild is a far more ambiguous category. Nevertheless, humans have long turned to the examination of the wild, through both art and science, in order to explain who we are, and who we are not.
Recommended Citation
Cheilek, Anne T., "CONSTRU(CT)ING THE SELF" (2024). Master's Theses. 5497.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.dqm2-ke5a
https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/5497
