Title

Bears Wearing Clothes

Identifier

etd-04202010-111813

Degree

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

English

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

From the Land of Mary, to S.S. Wellesley, into employment at the New York City Parks Department and then to that New Age Circus by the Sea, Lots of Lost Angeles, L. Crittenden sifts through the containers of culture, sexuality and meaning. She is looking for her heritage. She is looking for home. She is looking to get her financial aid’s worth. And she is always, frantically, looking to get laid. L. imbibes figurative and literal signs, sometimes assimilating into the structures of school and work, and other times rejecting them. Commercialization of Appalachian hillbilly culture, sexuality, and childhood playthings are the external ingredients to this bisexual scrapbooker’s quest. What makes her more than just a vessel of references is her constant arranging and re-arranging of her references and her attempts to master her environment with her body. She learns that no external system of meaning-making can read her, and that ultimately, she must create meaning from the interaction between her body and the fragments of simulacra that make up her landscape. This is a story of a woman who makes her own meaning.

Date

2010

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Secure the entire work for patent and/or proprietary purposes for a period of one year. Student has submitted appropriate documentation which states: During this period the copyright owner also agrees not to exercise her/his ownership rights, including public use in works, without prior authorization from LSU. At the end of the one year period, either we or LSU may request an automatic extension for one additional year. At the end of the one year secure period (or its extension, if such is requested), the work will be released for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Bennett, James

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.753

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