We are excited to bring you the Fall 2022 issue of EP, a collection of some of the strongest essays composed during the Fall 2022 semester for Texts & Contexts classes here at Fordham. In this issue, we have a collection of essays exploring media representation, the difficulty in fully expressing identity, and the conflicts that arise from socially-imposed limitations. Rachel McLaren’s essay “Are Good Intentions Enough?” and Yasna Muratovic’s essay “Your Word Their Perceptions” each examine how media representations shape and influence perceptions of marginalized groups, particularly those who are neurodivergent. Danielle Zhong’s essay “Gap Between Thinking and Writing: Body, Queerness, and Self in Gladman and Nelson” and Lily Poorman’s essay “Redefining Categorization” look at the work of American writer Maggie Nelson while Leela Kiyawat’s essay “The Subversive Female Desire of Monsoon Wedding” examines the Bollywood film Monsoon Wedding to discuss multifaceted, complex representations of gendered experiences, especially of those who have been stereotyped or urged to fit into neat, tidy boxes. Finally, Riley Coffman’s essay “Change, Liberation, and Freedom in Parable of the Sower” and Timothy Nikonorov’s essay “On The Time Led Zeppelin Was (Legally) Innocent of Plagiarism” discuss the limitations often faced by those trying to do transformative work; Coffman explores this through speculative fiction, while Nikonorov unpacks a real plagiarism case brought against the band Led Zeppelin. Each essay explores a struggle against social norms, be that in how we understand and communicate our identity or express ourselves through art.
Essays
Are Good Intentions Enough? by Rachel McLaren
Change, Liberation, and Freedom in Parable of the Sower by Riley Coffman
Gap Between Thinking and Writing: Body, Queerness, and Self in Gladman and Nelson by Danielle Zhong
On The Time Led Zeppelin Was (Legally) Innocent of Plagiarism by Timothy Nikonorov
Redefining Categorization by Lily Poorman
The Subversive Female Desire of Monsoon Wedding by Leela Kiyawat
Your Words Their Perceptions by Yasna Muratovic
Editorial Staff
CO-EDITORS
Carolyn Cargile
Stephen Fragano
Lina Jiang
EDITORIAL BOARD
Nicole Andranovich
Melissa Bean
Elizabeth Bolger
Corinna Cape
Nicholas Clark
Anwita Ghosh
M. Gaby Hurtarte Leon
Rhys Marks-Watton
Jason Ray
Sean Spillane
FACULTY ADVISOR
Vlasta Vranjes
Questions or comments? Please contact us at epjournal@fordham.edu
