Throughout my Master’s program, I have written several research papers, two of which I am presenting here. These papers share the important and critical role of contextual evidence, as well as religious and theological aspects.
In my Composition courses, contextual evidence is a concept I emphasize to demonstrate how an analysis should be developed and to gain a greater understanding of a text. As I teach and author papers, I have found great satisfaction in researching and exploring these narratives that have had a significant impact on me.
The travels of Oloduah Equiano provide more than a narrative of enslaved life. They present a journey of what it looks like to question tradition and form beliefs based on one’s experience. Although considered a slave narrative, Equiano presents his story in a manner intended to teach a greater lesson. These lessons are shown through his encounters that led to his conversion to Christianity. His narrative explores the tragic events that have taken place in his life and how they shaped his identity, perspective, and purpose. While his story was tragic, I suggest that looking back on his life, he was able to recognize where the lesson was in each event and how that drew him closer to God. Equiano’s encounters prompted him to ask questions about God and how his view of Christianity shaped his life both as an enslaved man and a free man. I plan on exploring three encounters that occurred during his enslavement that prompted his questions and ultimately changed his perspective, and how these encounters alluded to his conversion. In doing this, I will show what makes his narrative interesting, as suggested in his title. Amid his conversion, I also plan to demonstrate how he ultimately came to form his opposing view of slavery based on the hypocrisy within it from a predominantly Christian and business-minded view.
The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, written between 1357 and 1371, provides Medieval Christians with an exhaustive travel log and historical, scriptural outline of locations describing what he has seen and learned. One of the most significant events to occur in ancient Jerusalem was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Though Mandeville spends the remainder of this text creating colorful narratives about other cultures, he begins by describing the details of the cross event. From the wood He was nailed to the spices and balms used for His burial, the importance of these materials goes on to be used in a variety of cultures for similar or different purposes. While on His travels, Mandeville describes related events or people that make up the context for the crucifixion. This paper intends to gather the information Mandeville claims he saw on his journey to Jerusalem and synthesize the material to describe the historical and biblical death of Jesus Christ and its impact on those in first-century Jerusalem. This paper will also describe the impact it had on Medieval Christians.