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The Sum of My Undergraduate Degree

Call it being Type "A", being anal retentive, intelligent, stupid, crazy, on-crack, but I saved every single paper from my undergraduate degree (at least most of them.)

Most people write their papers, wipe their brows with tear-soaked tissues, and say "thank fuck that's done so I can never think about THAT again," before moving onto the next paper.

To me, I thought that was a waste. If I'm going to spend five years of my life writing papers, researching, and learning how to think deeply and critically, how can you measure your actual progress without keeping that record? So. I kept it. And it is very obvious how much I grew even year to year, never mind how much I grew from year one to year five.

Preserved entirely, I present, ALL of my papers that have survived (alas, when my mac died on me, I didn't have every single one backed up, so you can see the gaps in the earlier years). I have published them so it actually adheres to the dates they were submitted, and from most recent to least recent.

The growth is astonishing.

All the essays are available for free below, but a bound edition will soon be available, and the funds from the sales of this book will be 100% going to my student debt.

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Juvenilia: University-Era Essays

The Third Time is Not the Charm: A "Dracula" Discussion

The Third Time is Not the Charm: A "Dracula" Di...

Amanda Rautio

Context is key – what kind of fears and anxieties of the 1890s do you think this novel might address? This was my third time reading this novel, and it’s...

The Third Time is Not the Charm: A "Dracula" Di...

Amanda Rautio

Context is key – what kind of fears and anxieties of the 1890s do you think this novel might address? This was my third time reading this novel, and it’s...

The Power of Belief: A Discussion on "The Picture of Dorian Gray"

The Power of Belief: A Discussion on "The Pictu...

Amanda Rautio

The centrality of Basil’s masterpiece portrait of Dorian creates many questions about art, representation, responsibility, character, craft, society, life….. what do you make of the artist – Basil – and...

The Power of Belief: A Discussion on "The Pictu...

Amanda Rautio

The centrality of Basil’s masterpiece portrait of Dorian creates many questions about art, representation, responsibility, character, craft, society, life….. what do you make of the artist – Basil – and...

On the Nature of an Impressionable Disposition: A Seminar on "The Picture of Dorian Gray"

On the Nature of an Impressionable Disposition:...

Amanda Rautio

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is a text as much about irony as it is about ethics and morality, juxtaposed with the nature of art and beauty....

On the Nature of an Impressionable Disposition:...

Amanda Rautio

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is a text as much about irony as it is about ethics and morality, juxtaposed with the nature of art and beauty....

Interview With the Vampire: A Discussion on the Novel

Interview With the Vampire: A Discussion on the...

Amanda Rautio

In Rice's novel, the frame narrative for the story is one of interest – what do you usually associate with an interview?  Who is usually interviewed? Why is s/he interviewed?...

Interview With the Vampire: A Discussion on the...

Amanda Rautio

In Rice's novel, the frame narrative for the story is one of interest – what do you usually associate with an interview?  Who is usually interviewed? Why is s/he interviewed?...

Apt Pupil: A Discussion on the Novel

Apt Pupil: A Discussion on the Novel

Amanda Rautio

What does “The child is the father of the man” mean in the context of Tod? The ‘child is the father of the man’ means that how one is as...

Apt Pupil: A Discussion on the Novel

Amanda Rautio

What does “The child is the father of the man” mean in the context of Tod? The ‘child is the father of the man’ means that how one is as...

Dracula: A Discussion on the Novel

Dracula: A Discussion on the Novel

Amanda Rautio

For many of you, this will be the first time you have read Dracula; while you have seen the un-dead in films, some good and some definitely horrible, there are...

Dracula: A Discussion on the Novel

Amanda Rautio

For many of you, this will be the first time you have read Dracula; while you have seen the un-dead in films, some good and some definitely horrible, there are...