The Signum Scene

Thesis Theater: Elizabeth (Libby) Lyon, “Chaucer’s Enigmatic Quitting of The Canterbury Tales"

This recording from December 13, 2025. Signum University presents Thesis Theater with Elizabeth (Libby) Lyon on Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 11am ET. This thesis explores Chaucer’s perplexing conclusion to his Canterbury Tales, reflecting particularly on parallels between the Parson’s Prologue and Chaucer’s Retraction in order to discover ways these final elements influence the collection as a whole. Supported by critical scholarship, historical context, and a close reading of primary source material, the thesis argues that the Parson’s Tale and Retraction were neither accidentally included nor hastily appended to the CT; rather they are Chaucer’s meticulously designed conclusion to the Tales. Despite the penitential tone of Fragment X, what ultimately emerges from Chaucer’s final lines, through his signature techniques of purposeful irony and ambiguity, is a poetic challenge to 14th century ecclesial concerns over the perils of narrative fiction as Chaucer subtly champions the transformative potential of stories. About the Presenter: Elizabeth (Libby) Lyon hails in part from the wilds of northern Wisconsin, where she raised and homeschooled her brood of six alongside her late husband, Dr. John Lyon. She earned her BA in the Program of Liberal Studies at the University of Notre Dame. She has taught high school Biology, Algebra, and Composition at a classical academy, and served as a volunteer EMT with Bayfield Ambulance near the shores of Lake Superior. As a Masters degree student with Signum University, she has presented for Mythmoots X and XI, OzMoot, and Prancing Pony Podcast Moot on topics ranging from LotR to Huckleberry Finn to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Libby currently resides a stone’s throw from the Michigan state line, in northwestern Indiana. Besides taking Signum courses, her favorite pursuits are running, knitting, traveling, playing violin, and aggressively spoiling her grandchildren. About Signum Thesis Theaters: Each of our master’s students writes a thesis at the end of their degree program, exploring a topic of their choice. The Thesis Theater is their opportunity to present their research to a general audience, and answer questions. All are welcome to attend! Learn about Signum University’s mission, leadership and more: https://signumuniversity.org/about/. Registration is open for Spring 2026! Term begins the week of January 12th, 2026. To view our Upcoming Courses: https://signumuniversity.org/degree-programs/graduate/upcoming-courses/ To learn more about Signum's rigorous academic graduate program: https://signumuniversity.org/degree-programs/graduate/ma-in-language-and-literature/ Want to enjoy Signum’s educational offerings? Start here! https://signumuniversity.org/non-degree-programs/Support The Signum Scene

State of the University Address, 2025

Now Corey Olsen delivers the 2025 State of the University Address, to discuss the exciting future of Signum University! Thank you all for your support for Signum University. https://signumuniversity.org/news/annual-fundraising-campaign-2025/ https://signumuniversity.org/support/ https://signumuniversity.org/support/donate/ To know more about us, Signum University, visit https://signumuniversity.org/ https://signumuniversity.org/new-here/Support The Signum Scene

Storyweb 005 - Stacy Aannestad

This episode contains my conversation with Stacy Aannestad about her novel: Flight: the Den-Aronel Chronicles in the Signum University Collaboratory. I also report on two new works that have entered the fiction sector since the last episode.Support The Signum Scene

Thesis Theater: Bronwyn Rivera, "Pilgrimage Narrative in Violet Evergarden"

This recording from September 1, 2025. Signum University presents Thesis Theater with Bronwyn Rivera on Monday, September 1, 2025 at 11 am ET. From psychology to film theory, ecocriticism to posthumanism, anime studies have flourished as scholars investigate the medium through a variety of interdisciplinary lenses. In particular, academics are examining relationships between pilgrimage and tourism to anime/anime-adjacent sites, how anime plotlines reflect or reject narrative archetypes, or how specific anime subgenres lend themselves to telling stories of recovery and change. However, texts related to the study of pilgrimage within anime are limited in scope. As such, pilgrimage structures are typically paired with anime-related tourism rather than investigating how anime reflects the motives, processes, and outcomes of pilgrimage. Using Kyoto Animation’s 2018 series Violet Evergarden (ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン) as a case study, this thesis aims to bridge the gap and demonstrate how an anime can function as a pilgrimage narrative. Based on Laing and Frost’s three-stage model, the thesis is divided into three main categories: Departure, Transformation, and Return. Within these categories are smaller sections that examine the literal, emotional, and spiritual facets of pilgrimage found throughout Violet Evergarden. Additionally, this thesis provides insight into components of Japanese culture and literary devices, specifically ningyō (“doll”) culture and iyashikei (lit. “healing type”), both of which contribute to a deeper understanding of who Violet is as a protagonist and the journey she takes from ex-child soldier to Auto Memories Doll. About the Presenter: Bronwyn Rivera lives with her family, a cat, a dog, and a host of livestock on their small homestead in Pennsylvania. She received her BSc in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Library Science, but chose to pursue her love for writing and literature at the Master’s level through Signum University. Along the way, she discovered a passion for East Asian languages, media, and popular culture, which ultimately influenced her thesis topic. Bronwyn works as a Research/Teaching Assistant, volunteers as Signum’s Library Research Student Aide, and enjoys multiple hobbies, including reading, baking, and getting lost in (J)RPGs. About Signum Thesis Theaters: Each of our master’s students writes a thesis at the end of their degree program, exploring a topic of their choice. The Thesis Theater is their opportunity to present their research to a general audience, and answer questions. All are welcome to attend! Learn about Signum University’s mission, leadership and more: https://signumuniversity.org/about/. Registration for Fall 2025 is open until September 5th! To view a list of our upcoming MA courses: https://signumuniversity.org/degree-programs/graduate/upcoming-courses/ To learn more about Signum's rigorous academic graduate program: https://signumuniversity.org/degree-programs/graduate/ma-in-language-and-literature/ Want to enjoy Signum’s educational offerings? Start here! https://signumuniversity.org/non-degree-programs/Support The Signum Scene

Thesis Theater: Grace Bennett, “Neutral and Evil Technology in Lewis and Tolkien"

This recording from August 13, 2025. Signum University presents Thesis Theater with Grace Bennett on Wednesday, August 13, 2025 at 3pm ET. This thesis challenges the reductionistic narrative that C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were anti-technology and anti-science. It examines technological examples from the works of Lewis and Tolkien that show their varying degrees of comfort and caution surrounding different types of technology. The first category this thesis assesses is technology created for knowledge, which Lewis and Tolkien saw as inherently neutral and able to be used for good or evil. The second category, technology for travel between worlds, highlights Lewis’s fears about lasting negative consequences of space travel, and the third category examines inherently evil technology created for control and domination. About the Presenter: Grace Bennett has been working towards an MA in Language and Literature from Signum University with a concentration in Medieval and Renaissance Literature. She is originally from North Carolina and got her bachelor’s degree in Literature from Patrick Henry College, located in Virginia. She currently lives in St Andrews, Scotland with her husband while he pursues a master’s degree at the University of St Andrews. Grace works for the Classic Learning Test and spends much of her free time (now that her thesis is finished!) reading, baking, and exploring the magical Scottish seaside. She is head-over-heels for anything to do with Lewis, Tolkien, Middle English, tea, Doctor Who, and puffins. She hopes to pursue further Lewis and Tolkien studies in the future! About Signum Thesis Theaters: Each of our master’s students writes a thesis at the end of their degree program, exploring a topic of their choice. The Thesis Theater is their opportunity to present their research to a general audience, and answer questions. All are welcome to attend! Learn about Signum University’s mission, leadership and more: https://signumuniversity.org/about/. To learn more about Signum's rigorous academic graduate program: https://signumuniversity.org/degree-programs/graduate/ma-in-language-and-literature/ Want to enjoy Signum’s educational offerings? Start here! https://signumuniversity.org/non-degree-programs/Support The Signum Scene