Constructing an Early Modern Queen: Posturing, Mimicry, and the Rhetoric of Authority

As the illegitimate daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, a woman executed for treason, Elizabeth Tudor stood at the center of discourses that often sought to contain or even destroy her. Early on, Elizabeth understood that constant re-invention, performance, and mimicry were key strategies for survival. When she finally ascended the throne in 1558, Elizabeth continued to use these rhetorical methods to retain her autonomy, as far as possible, garnering public support and the loyalty of her court. Although Elizabeth has long been acknowledged as a historical icon and has received considerable scholarly attention, particularly from feminist and feminist-leaning scholars, her status as a skilled rhetor and use of strategic imitation has only been briefly considered. This project will examine Elizabeth as an iconic rhetor, one with the semblance of power and agency within the confines of gendered discourses. Analyzing her performance through the lens of mimicry and historical inaccessibility, as outlined in the theories of Homi Bhabha and Gayatri Spivak, this project considers the following lines of inquiry: Tudor era debates regarding pedagogical strategies and their intersection with rhetorical theories; the influence of early instructors, both women and men, on Elizabeth’s rhetorical strategy; and Elizabeth\u27s emulative self-fashioning as it appears in her speeches, behavior, letters, and portraits. This project suggests that as a seminal figure at the start of the modern moment, Elizabeth’s deft use of mimicry to establish and maintain her royal authority is significant within the rhetorical tradition

Use of ePortfolio as Integrated Learning Strategy in Computer Integrated Manufacturing Online Course

Integrated learning is a vital strategy for engaging undergraduate Engineering students in the higher levels of learning, as it encourages students to reflect on their learning processes and draw connections between course-work and real-world experiences. Specifically, ePortfolios encourage novice engineers to consider their learning processes over time, drawing connections between coursework and their intended profession, as well as cultivating an online identity that supports their efforts to pursue a career in Engineering. The use of ePortfolios is one method for fostering integrative learning, focusing on the application of digital communication and assessment and awareness of self-competence. By training students to archive digital artifacts related to their learning, ePortfolios encourage student to draw connections between course content and their future careers. Digital portfolios also provide students with the opportunity to develop an online presence, demonstrating through multi-modal content the skills they gained through their education. At the same time, students develop basic digital literacies, from creating and curating digital artifacts throughout the learning process, managing their data, to displaying knowledge and skills which are important for their future engineering careers. This paper examines the efforts of students at Old Dominion University (ODU), Norfolk, Virginia who created ePortfolios in a variety of contexts, as a part of a course which was specifically developed as part of a university wide ePortfolio initiative. In May 2015, faculty attended a professional development workshop, eP3: Praxis, Process, and Production, in order to learn about basic ePortfolio strategies and ways in which to foster students\u27 archival habits. The project presented in this paper was established in the summer 2015 semester in the undergraduate course Computer Integrated Manufacturing at the senior level