Everyone to the Front

Date of Award

6-15-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Organizational Unit

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, English and Literary Arts

First Advisor

Joanna Howard

Second Advisor

Roddy MacInnes

Third Advisor

Patrick Cottrell

Fourth Advisor

Kristy Ulibarri

Keywords

Women's lit, LGBTQ+, Artificial intelligence (AI), Immersive theater, Deepfake

Abstract

In the novel, Everyone to the Front, Layne Millen is a 37-year-old adjunct teaching a foundational art survey class at a reputable college in New York. Having failed to launch her own career as an artist, she funnels all her creative energy into designing an impressive and at times provocative course curriculum for her Gen Z students, meanwhile taking on various other odd and often humiliating part-time jobs such as digital sex work and even a weekend stint at a Renaissance Faire to get by. Drawing from her personal belief that art should be shocking rather than beautiful, after having been profoundly affected by Andres Serrano’s transgressive piece Piss Christ when she herself was fresh out of college, Layne’s course material focuses on subversive images and radical performance art with an emphasis on feminist body horror. Believing artists, or in this case “art enthusiasts,” to be morally and intellectually superior, Layne does not question the potential harm in exposing her students to violent spectacles, both real and simulated, that dominate modern and contemporary art—at least not at first. But as her students’ behavior grows more and more bizarre, she begins to question whether they are capable of engaging critically with such material, or if instead they might be driven to mimic the violent images through their own cruel acts, with herself as the target. What if the artist's power to destroy is just as strong, if not stronger, than the desire to create?

Copyright Date

6-2024

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. Permanently suppressed.

Rights Holder

Kristin M. Corso

Provenance

Received from author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

262 pgs

File Size

886 KB

This document is currently not available here.



Share

COinS