How to Join a Cult in the 21St Century

Author

Sarah Jessica Sones

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Hagenston, Becky

Committee Member

Claggett, Shalyn R.

Committee Member

Dodds, Lara A.

Date of Degree

5-6-2017

Original embargo terms

MSU Only Indefinitely

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Campus Access Only

Major

English

Degree Name

Master of Arts

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of English

Abstract

My short story collection How to Join a Cult in the 21st Century documents the transition of Mona Jones, a young queer girl, from her past into her future. As a guide on how to navigate social circles in the new millennium, these transitions usually emerge in the form of Mona joining a new social group. A major theme running through the collection is the idea of multiple roles or “personalities” that Mona cycles through over the years. The point of this is to demonstrate the complexity of persona, as well as its fluidity, especially when adapting to gender norms, or more specifically, the social expectations of women. It is my intention to mesh my raw Southern heritage with fantastical scientific elements to both inspect and subvert the experience of being “othered” in the South.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/17803

Recommended Citation

Sones, Sarah Jessica, "How to Join a Cult in the 21St Century" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 2510.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/2510