The opportunity to present his academic work at a national convention was integral to Charlie Barefield’s Westminster College experience.

“The experience of presenting at the Sigma Tau Delta Centennial Convention in St. Louis last spring was vital for my future plans which include attending graduate school,” said Barefield, a senior Westminster College English major from Driftwood, Texas, who presented his paper, “Frankenstein: Upturning Heteronormative Binaries.”

Barefield’s work examined the masculine and feminine binary as well as the romantic and platonic binary in “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley. He concentrated on the characters, Alphonse and Henry for much of his research into the novel.

“This convention experience allowed me to speak in a new setting alongside other people interested in the same topic. Our session was completely full, and many people asked questions in areas I had not previously thought about,” said Barefield, who was mentored by Assistant Professor of English Dr. Robert Craven. “This gave me presentation experience which will help me when presenting my honors capstone this year.”  

Travel funding to the conference was provided by the Drinko Center for Undergraduate Research. Drinko promotes and provides students with various research, scholarly and creative opportunities in all academic disciplines through support and resources for undergraduate work.   

For more information about Westminster’s English major, please visit www.westminster.edu/english.

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