The contemporary American wasteland of Infinite Jest, 2019

Item — Call Number: MU Thesis Yar

Identifier: b7929339

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The collection consists of theses written by students enrolled in the Monmouth University graduate English program. The holdings are primarily bound print documents that were submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Master of Arts or Master of Fine Arts degrees.

From the Collection:

Students become eligible to pursue the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree if they have obtained a Master of Arts (M.A.) in English from Monmouth University and demonstrate a proficiency for creative writing through a thesis or equivalent work.

From the Collection:

After completing their 30-credit M.A. in English with a Creative Writing concentration, Monmouth’s M.F.A. students take an additional 18 credits of intensive creative writing study that includes the completion of a book-length Creative Thesis.

From the Collection:

During the fall 2022 semester (in instances where the requisite waivers were received from consenting student authors), the Monmouth University Library, together with the University's Graduate School and Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences, began providing open access to select full-text digital versions of current theses and dissertations through links to the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global website in the Library's Online Public Access Catalog. Links to these open access digital publications can also be found in the "External Documents" section under any conforming titles that are listed among the holdings itemized in the collection inventory for this finding aid.

Dates

Creation: 2019

Creator

Yard, Matthew J. (Matthew John) (1996- ) (Author, Person)
Azcuy, Mary Kate (Thesis advisor, Person)
Thomas, Michael P. (Michael Paul) (Thesis advisor, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use. Access is by appointment only.

Access to the collection is confined to the Monmouth University Library and is subject to patron policies approved by the Monmouth University Library.

Collection holdings may not be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

Research appointments are scheduled by the Monmouth University Library Archives Collections Manager (723-923-4526). A minimum of three days advance notice is required to arrange a research appointment for access to the collection.

Patrons must complete a Researcher Registration Form and provide appropriate identification to gain access to the collection holdings. Copies of these documents will be kept on file at the Monmouth University Library.

Extent

1 Items (print book) : 39 pages ; 8.5 x 11.0 inches (28 cm).

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Introduction/Overview [excerpt]

As scholar Cory Hudson notes, a paradigmatic shift has occurred in the way that critics read David Foster Wallace's fiction in the wake of the author's 2008 suicide. This shift has seen readings of Wallace's fiction turn away from the texts themselves and begin instead in para-textual materials such as interviews and personal writings. This causes scholars to often conflate their interpretations of the texts with details from Wallace's personal life (especially his own troubles with addiction and depression). This study seeks to avoid such readings, as they limit interpretations of Wallace's fiction to focus exclusively on aspects of the work that overlap with the author's personal life. With this limited scope, elements of Wallace's fiction (such as the "figurants" of Infinite Jest) go undiscussed in Wallace criticism, as they lack a clear parallel to his personal life through para-textual materials left behind. In contrast, this study only employs these para-textual materials where they are necessary and focuses its interpretations of Infinite Jest in the text of the novel itself rather than the details of Wallace's personal life.

Partial Contents

1. Introduction/overview -- 2. Literary wastelands and maximalist literature -- 3. Rhizomatic polyphony -- 4. The figurants of Infinite Jest -- 5. America in Infinite Jest -- 6. Conclusion -- Works cited.