What We Make of This World

Jennifer Case, University of Nebraska at Lincoln

Document Type Article

A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts Major: English Under the Supervision of Professor Hilda Raz Lincoln, Nebraska May, 2010 Copyright 2010, Jennifer Case

This thesis has been moved to the Embargoed series, at http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/embargotheses/68

Abstract

At its core, Jennifer Case’s “What We Make of This World”—a collection of poetry based on her experiences working with at-risk youth—serves as an inquiry into the ethics of writing. By carefully navigating the speaker’s role as an observer and participant in the lives of the subjects, the project explores the students’ needs for dignity and voice and the relationship between privilege/oppression and the ability to speak.