Date of Award
8-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Humanities
Committee Chair
Dr. Joshua Bernstein
Committee Chair School
Humanities
Committee Member 2
Dr. Olivia Clare Friedman
Committee Member 2 School
Humanities
Committee Member 3
Dr. Monika Gehlawat
Committee Member 3 School
Humanities
Committee Member 4
Dr. Luis Iglesias
Committee Member 4 School
Humanities
Committee Member 5
Dr. Craig Carey
Committee Member 5 School
Humanities
Abstract
Roadkill Reverend is a novel-in-progress about the citizens of a fictional, small New Jersey town named Cooper, coupled with a critical preface about human concern for non-human animals and the value of considering our interconnectedness. Spanning a single year and spread across four sections—each named after a season—the novel tells the story of a nascent connection between Francesca Sledge and Dupree Nutt, two children of local paragons. Born to long-established Cooper families and expected to take up the reins of their parents’ dreams, Francesca and Dupree oscillate between fears of remaining stagnant at home and building a life through opportunities that arise beyond the town’s limits. “Roadkill Reverend” explores the vertiginous, intersecting lives within Cooper and its sleepy environs for humans, non-humans, and the natural world alike, taking liberties to discover how a complex ecosystem of ordinary life can be formed, nurtured, or destroyed as suddenly as it appears. Works that have been and continue to be inspirational for this project include Tom Drury’s The End of Vandalism, Bonnie Jo Campbell’s American Salvage, Colson Whitehead’s Apex Hides the Hurt, Annie Proulx’s That Old Ace in the Hole, and Cormac McCarthy’s Suttree, as well as the philosophies of Brett Buchanan, Margo DeMello, Peter Singer, Jakob von Uexküll, and Kari Weil.
Copyright
David Nikityn, 2024
Recommended Citation
Nikityn, David, "Roadkill Reverend" (2024). Dissertations. 2264.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/2264