Current Search:   Bryan, Matthew (x)

View All Items

  • CSV Spreadsheet
(1 - 2 of 2)
THE WHOLE HEADLIGHT-COLORED NIGHT
Title
THE WHOLE HEADLIGHT-COLORED NIGHT.
Creator
Bryan, Matthew, Jensen, Toni, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This collection of short fiction probes the lives of characters trying to make their home in the flat, unchanging landscape of the small towns that make up central Florida. The largely static environment reflects the rigid patterns of behavior and domesticity the characters find themselves so easily falling into. Seemingly ordinary items--a shotgun, a t-shirt, a paper bag--and the small moments that make up everyday life are imbued with significance as men and women painfully aware of their...
Show moreThis collection of short fiction probes the lives of characters trying to make their home in the flat, unchanging landscape of the small towns that make up central Florida. The largely static environment reflects the rigid patterns of behavior and domesticity the characters find themselves so easily falling into. Seemingly ordinary items--a shotgun, a t-shirt, a paper bag--and the small moments that make up everyday life are imbued with significance as men and women painfully aware of their own ordinariness struggle to hold onto those fragile instances of connection, happiness, or even their own self-constructed sense of identity. The struggle becomes one of opposing forces: as characters yearn to connect to the people, places, and objects around them, they find themselves more and more attracted to the idea of escaping their own lives, even if for just a moment. Stories range from two pages to over twenty and introduce the reader to a diverse population of characters, from an out of work construction worker cum wannabe philosopher to an amateur historian writing a history nobody cares about to the one man who actually did escape--a cockfight organizer who made it big in Georgia before blowing himself up at a gas station. Characters fight over toothbrushes, puzzle out whether a father is just drunk or beautiful, and look for space stations they may or may not be able to see at all. As in life, in these stories, it's the small, quiet moments that come to define who these people are and demonstrate their pursuit of something bigger and more important, even if they don't have any idea what that may be.
Show less
Date Issued
2009
Identifier
CFE0002630, ucf:48219
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002630
Consequences of Skipping First Year Composition: Mapping Student Writing from High School to the Academic Disciplines
Title
Consequences of Skipping First Year Composition: Mapping Student Writing from High School to the Academic Disciplines.
Creator
Bell, Craig, Roozen, Kevin, Bryan, Matthew, Rounsaville, Angela, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Research in writing studies has focused on students who make the traditional transition from high school to first year composition, to the entry level discipline specific courses in their chosen majors (Wardle, 2007, 2009; Sommers and Saltz, 2004; Beaufort, 2007; Carroll, 2002). Very little scholarship addresses those students who (")skip(") first year composition and find themselves in entry level discipline specific courses classrooms. With three former students, I conduct a case study over...
Show moreResearch in writing studies has focused on students who make the traditional transition from high school to first year composition, to the entry level discipline specific courses in their chosen majors (Wardle, 2007, 2009; Sommers and Saltz, 2004; Beaufort, 2007; Carroll, 2002). Very little scholarship addresses those students who (")skip(") first year composition and find themselves in entry level discipline specific courses classrooms. With three former students, I conduct a case study over the course of eight months via a series of face to face, facetime, skype and email interviews. Each of these students, through earning high test scores in high school, forego first year composition and move directly to entry level discipline specific courses. Using third generation activity theory as a lens (Engestr(&)#246;m, 1996, 1999, 2001; Roth and Lee, 2007; Russell, 1995, 1997; Kain and Wardle, 2002), I examine these students' understanding of what they have experienced in high school writing(-)specifically high school English class(-)what they think college writing will demand, and finally what, in fact, they find the college writing demands to be. Not only do I find that each of the students felt very prepared for the demands they will encounter, but they remained confident. The study does, however, illuminate unforeseen challenges for both students and those who teach them: student literate lives are incredibly complex, and there is a real potential for a writing gap between formal writing instruction and when students will engage in intensive discipline writing tasks.
Show less
Date Issued
2017
Identifier
CFE0006933, ucf:51636
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006933