Department of Writing and Communication Theses
Copyright Statement
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Date of Award
2012
Document Type
Thesis - NSU Access Only
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Writing
Department
Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences
Advisor
Eric Mason
Committee Member
Gary Gershman
Abstract
This creative thesis attempts to bring academic and New Age discourses into conversation by combining the writing voice of the author’s academic identity—the scholar—with the writing voice of the author’s New Age identity—the wayseer. While researching academic discourses on the use of reflective writing, the author also participated in a New Age self development course called the Life Mastery program and facilitated by the Modern Day Mystery School located in Wilton Manors, Florida. The author uses the knowledge she acquired in her New Age studies to reconsider what she learned about writing as a student as well as to construct an identity as a member of both academic and New Age cultural communities. The work exemplifies what composition scholar Patricia Bizzell calls “hybrid” discourse. By mixing conventional components of research reports with language features from the genres of creative nonfiction and memoir, the resulting hybrid discourse explores as it demonstrates the value of reflective writing for academic objectives, of New Age practices for teaching writing and reflection, and of writing as a tool of identity construction and negotiation. Reflecting on topics ranging from the challenges of teaching first-year college students to the objectives of writing assignments received from Archangelic realms, the author portrays a writer’s path to know herself.
NSUWorks Citation
Diane Obregon. 2012. Life Mastery: Reflections of a Scholarly Heart. Master's thesis. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences. (27)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/writing_etd/27.