Proto: An Undergraduate Humanities Journal, Vol. 4 2013 - Men and Women in the Medieval Era

This year's theme is "Men and Women in the Medieval Era." Katherine Pierpont leads off Volume 4 with a scholarly analysis of the subtle ways prostitution was condoned and regulated in medieval Europe. In the subsequent essay, Kathryn Brossa explains how competing notions of the male and female artist are represented in Tennyson's medievalesque poem, "The Lady of Shalott." That men cry is hardly a modern phenomenon, as Colleen Mitchell insightfully discusses in the context of Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde.

We also include five additional thoughtful and erudite essays in this volume. David Gyllenhaal investigates the functions and symbolic significance of the modern-day shaman. Using the conceptual tools of French philosopher Michel Foucault, Madeline Collins examines the discourse underlying the rhetoric and narrative of the IRA Green Book. While the "Lolita phenomenon" has been widely addressed, Rosemary Clark offers new insights through her careful accounts of Nabokov and his anti-hero, Humbert Humbert. Casey Dunn presents a fresh perspective on the so-called American Dream by looking at two writers who were deeply concerned with it: Jack Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson. Finally, Ben Tarr completes this volume with personal reflections and meditations on the scope of art and is relation to human spirituality.

Each published essay is reviewed by at least two members of the editorial board, which consists of humanities professors from mid-Atlantic colleges and universities. Guidelines for submissions are provided at the end of this issue as well as on the website. We continue to be inspired by the number of undergraduate students who research and write about such a variety of topics and perspectives. Enjoy the contributions; we look forward to hearing from you.