Felicity Edzerza
Has successfully defended her thesis titled: "Seasons of a River" on January 4, 2021.
ABSTRACT: Seasons of a River is a fictional story about a woman looking back on her life. In her recollections she has to acknowledge and come to terms with the fact that her relationships with indigenous people in Canada have been inequitable and unbalanced. She realizes that she has been in the role of helper, of ally, and as such has perpetuated ideas of colonization and oppression, despite her good intentions. The protagonist, Annan, is in the process of trying to understand the complicated issues involved with the helping industry and her part within that industry. My introduction discusses the power differentials within allyship relations. I discuss how liberalism, at the root of the helping industry, although seen as a positive ideology, often perpetuates inequities and injustices when dealing with groups that are seen as “different.” I also discuss the importance of relationship building and listening and the need for quelling the tendency to assist others without consultation. This introduction and story also contain themes of ageism and how these attitudes are woven into the fabric of society in such a way as to internalize oppression and the idea of staying in one’s “place.” Ultimately, this story is about transformation.
Jordan Carstairs completed his MA English in December 2019.
Liz Albl
Liz Albl (MA English) and her team of fellow creators have been nominated for best narrative, Advanced Writer at Monolith Productions, WB Games (Ghost of Tsushima) for the 2020 Game Awards.
'The Last of Us Part II' leads video game nominees for next month's The Game Awards.
Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix) Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE) The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/SIE) 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (George Kamitani) Final Fantasy VII Remake (Kazushige Nojima, Motomu Toriyama, Hiroki Iwaki, Sachie Hirano) Ghost of Tsushima (Ian Ryan, Liz Albl, Patrick Downs, Jordan Lemos) The Last of Us Part II (Neil Druckmann, Halley Gross) Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix) Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE) Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios/Xbox Game Studios).
Jenni Bomford
Successfully defended her thesis “Blocking the School Play: US, Japanese, and UK televisual High Schools, Spatiality, and the Construction of National Identity” on August 16, 2016.
Andrea Fredeen
Successfully defended her creative thesis titled “Spaces for Interpretation: Story Telling in Autobiographical Fiction and Visual Art” on May 25, 2016. Andrea’s artistry has also been displayed in a showing at the Two Rivers Gallery in Prince George.
Jay Lewyn
Successfully defended his thesis titled “Surviving Childhood Trauma: First Nations Novels and the Indian Residential School” on April 10, 2017.
Kara-lee MacDonald
Successfully defended her thesis “Distinguished Cuisines: Food, Status, and the Disintegration of Character in High Society Youth Fiction” July 6, 2016 and has recently published a book of poetry called Eating Matters with Caitlin Press (Oct. 2016). She was asked to present a keynote speech for the 12th Annual UNBC Graduate Conference and headlined alongside Jeremy Stewart (also a UNBC Graduate Alumni and local Prince George poet) during the 1st Annual UNBC Graduate Conference Poetry Night that debuted at the 2017 conference.
Dustin Batty
Successfully completed his thesis “Animals are People Too: An Ecocritical Exploration of Fantasy in Environmental Children’s Literature” on August 23, 2016. Dustin is a Canadian Masters' Scholarship - SSHRC (2015) recipient. He was recently accepted to University of Toronto (2017) for PhD studies in English.
Renata Gebert
Successfully defended her thesis "Then, we were wolves again: The Mutable Lycanthropy Mythos and its Challenge to Anthropocentrisms and Androcentric Thought."
Solomon Goudsward
Successfully defended his thesis "Simon's Song"
Maryssa Grayer
Successfully defended her thesis "The Passions of a Woman: Rereading the Disabled Female Body in Wilkie Collins's Novels"
Helen March
Successfully defended her thesis ""Body Language" Pilot and Gendered Language in Modern Canadian Television"
Ceyanna Meroniuk
Successfully completed her thesis "How Heroes Die but Live Forever: Escapism and Celebrity Status in Heroes Die"
Wendelin Schwab
Successfully defended his thesis "Postcolonial Reading of the Niqab and Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women Inquiry Debates during the 2015 Federal Election"
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