Digital Commons Network^™

Decoding The Contents Of Working Memory Using Eeg Provides Evidence For The Sensory Recruitment Hypothesis, Allison L. Bruning

Honors Theses

Recent fMRI studies have shown that the contents of visual working memory can be decoded from early visual areas, including V1. This result has been interpreted as support for the sensory recruitment hypothesis: the idea that the neurons responsible for vision also sub-serve visual working memory and visual imagery. However, whereas these results imply that the same brain areas are responsible for vision and visual memory, they do not rule out the possibility that these processes rely on completely different populations of neurons within these areas. For example, although viewing and remembering an orientation might lead to the same global …

The Magic Behind The Magic: Discovering Why The Walt Disney Company Is So Successful, Chloe Becker

Honors Theses

One might not realize the empire standing behind the brand name “Disney” and what has gone into the creation of such a multifaceted business model that is leading the industry. While Disney, officially called The Walt Disney Company, has hand-crafted every element of the magical experiences and creations they put forward, there is an underlying business model and leadership skill-set that has brought the company ahead of the rest. It is within the social sciences that we can focus on this model and how it affects the rest of the film and mass media companies who strive to mimic the …

The World’S Greatest Detectives: Analyzing The Relationship And Cultural Meaning Of Sherlock Holmes And Batman, Emma F. Reeves

Honors Theses

The characters Sherlock Holmes and Batman represent a Gothic archetype aimed at uncovering societal fears and tensions. The thesis analyzes four Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and four Batman-centered graphic novels from DC Comics. By looking at the two in conjunction with each other, this project develops a more comprehensive understanding of the Gothic detective hero in the historical contexts of Victorian England and modern United States of America. The two characters are first explained in terms of the Gothic and as archetypal figures before being examined in terms of their similar contemporary social contexts. Finally, the …

"Tell Me You Own Me, Gimme Them Coins": Postfeminist Fascination With Lolita, Lana Del Rey, And Sugar Culture On Tumblr, Rachel E. Davis

Honors Theses

This research sought to describe the size and analyze the content of communities on Tumblr that share posts regarding Lolita, Lana Del Rey, and sugar culture. Research questions included: Why might young women on Tumblr choose to share posts relating to these things? How are they interpreting the images and texts they share? Is this a means of expressing desire, or are these individuals subverting these images and ideas as a means of critiquing gender expectations? A qualitative textual analysis was conducted on data collected by social media analytics software. Tumblr communities sharing content regarding Lolita, Lana Del Rey, and …

Reach For The Stars, Jill Heilborn

Honors Theses

Literacy is a huge topic today, both in education and in politics. Many are asking questions like: How do we define it? How do we support its development? What is inhibiting literacy? Some programs, such as Read and Write Kalamazoo (RAWK), are working hard to support and encourage literacy in communities. I was able to work with RAWK to plan and teach a 4 hour Saturday workshop (for middle schoolers in the community) called "Reach for the Stars". It combined learning about astronomy with reading and writing.

In my thesis is a portfolio of pieces, which include:

- Literacy Narrative, …

Suffering Sappho! Female Friendships In Superhero Comics, 1940s To 1960s And Today, Hannah R. Costelle

Honors Theses

Comic book superheroines are the goddesses of modern times; they are the ideal beautiful, powerful women of America’s collective imagination whom girls have looked up to and emulated for decades. But these iconic examples of womanhood usually lack one of the key elements of humanity that enrich real women’s lives, an element that has been proven to increase women’s autonomy and confidence: female friendships. Wonder Woman may have led armies of female friends in the 1940s when superheroines first appeared in the comics pages, but by the 1950s and ‘60s, female characters confiding in one another and working together in …

Gender Roles And Gender Stereotypes In Four Newbery Award-Winning Books, Alex P. Brower

Honors Theses

This research project examined the presentation of traditional gender roles and representation in four books that were awarded the Newbery Medal. The four books that were examined are the award recipients from 1922, 1923, 2014 and 2015. It was predicted that as gender equality has become a more prominent issue, and men and women have become more equal, one would expect this change to be reflected in children’s literature. A close reading was performed of these works, and special attention was paid to how the authors present the genders of the main characters in terms of personal interests, the roles …

Socio-Emotional Development In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Christiana K. Whitley

Honors Theses

The purpose of the present study was to determine which lesson from a social skills program would result in the greatest improvement in duration of social interaction for children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) between the ages of five and fifteen. The Superheroes Social Skills Program (Jensen et al., 2011) includes lesson plans that focus directly on helping children with ASD develop communication skills in group settings. The data indicate that one specific lesson, Participation and Joining In, was responsible for the largest mean increase in duration of social interactions of participants. Social skills lessons were introduced …

Cartooning For Peace? The Necessity Of Political Cartooning To Democracy And Understanding The Struggle Of Inclusion Exclusion And Citizenship For French Muslims, Ashley Enger

Honors Theses

This combined thesis for Political Science and French and Francophone Studies will address the issue of political cartooning in relation to democracy. This thesis will show how political cartooning explores the ambiguities and contradictions of citizenship for Muslims in France. Cartoons reveal the ostracizing of citizens, the challenges of integration, and the difficulties of discovering an identity as an immigrant through explicit, shocking, and often uncomfortable imagery. By analyzing the backlash against cartoons, the effects of cartoons on the Muslim minority in France, and the ways in which traditional French cartooning has the potential to be a positive force for …

Graphic Design And The Cinema: An Application Of Graphic Design To The Art Of Filmmaking, Kacey B. Holifield

Honors Theses

When the public considers different art forms such as painting, drawing and sculpture, it is easy to understand the common elements that unite them. Each is a non-moving art form that begins at the drawing board. Using line, color and shape to evoke a particular response from audiences is what ties these fine arts together. Graphic design, however, tends to separate itself from the fine arts. Because of its later development in the art world, as well as, its operation within modern technological developments, graphic design is driven by the idea of communicating to large audiences. In this way, although …

The Somewhat Less Than Super Adventures Of The Gargoyle And The Sparrow, Including The Pseudo-Comical Incident Of The Fan Fiction And What Transpired After, Thomas Arcuri

Honors Theses

What do superheroes do when they retire? Are they expected to go out and reinvent themselves, maybe write a heartwarming memoir--or worse, sit in silence for the rest of their days as if it never happened? Two out of three of those wouldn't make for very interesting theatre, so I went with Option 1. Frank and Eddie (formerly known as masked avengers The Gargoyle and The Sparrow) haven't seen much of each other since leaving the trade, so when Eddie visits his old comrade out of the blue after fifteen years, it's odd enough. When he pulls out a scheme …

Otaku – A Case Of Assigned Identities, Steven O'Branovich

Honors Theses

With the international rise in popularity of anime and manga in the 1990s, Japan shattered its image as a nation of soulless salary men and robots and became an entertainment giant. Since then, anime has become an even larger force in the global cultural landscape, growing from a niche tape-trading market at science fiction conventions to inspiring large-scale conventions of its own. The driving force behind this expansion is a group of people known as otaku. Internationally, otaku are often defined simply as enthusiastic fans of Japanese popular culture and of anime and manga in particular. In Japan, however, the …

Comics As Film, Film As Comics: The Examples Of Alan Moore, Daniel Clowes, And Harvey Pekar, Rachel A. Atherton

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

From King Leonidas To Lord Farquaad: Popular Culture And How Authority Is Portrayed In Popular Film Of 2000-2009, Solai N. Wyman

Honors Theses

In a modern age dominated by technology, the role of entertainment such as film is steadily growing in American culture and politics. Film and politics “inform” one another, meaning that film reflects the politics within a society in which they are placed (Christensen & Haas 2005). Using this as justification, the central research question of this thesis is, "What is the political content of popular films of the 2000s in terms of authority, and what does this suggest about the culture and view on authority of the Millennials as a generation?" A content analysis of popular films from 2000-2009 was …

“Forget The Old . . . The New Wonder Woman Is Here”: The New Wonder Woman And The Feminist Movement, 1968-1972, Kristi N. Fleetwood

Honors Theses

In 1968, Wonder Woman gives up her powers and embraces her human identity as Diana Prince. Powerless, she learns martial arts and continues to fight. The majority of discussion surrounding the Diana Prince era—Wonder Woman #178-204—argues for the period as embracing anti-feminist sentiment. This analysis of the Diana Prince era argues that the portrayal of Diana Prince without her superhero persona aligns with the ideals of the 1970s feminist movement. By incorporating general themes and ideas of feminism, the comic portrays Diana Prince in a feminist light throughout the comic. Even though her powers are striped, she is able …

Discourse And Narrative: Creating Gender Control In Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao, Charles Lee

Honors Theses

Junot Diaz's Pulitzer-Prize-Winning 2007 novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao explores Dominican masculinity through narrator Yunior de Las Casas's portrayal of protagonist Oscar de Leon's family history. Yunior's perceived virility shapes his understanding of masculinity, which he stresses through the novel's plot and structure. This analysis considers how Yunior constructs Dominican masculinity through his narrative by marginalizing and emasculating passive character such as Oscar. I argue that Yunior's narrative closely links definition of masculinity and power as he strives to dominate passive characters in order to assert his virility as the "best" method for being a Dominican man.

Film Marketing And The Creation Of The Hollywood Blockbuster, Colton J. Herrington

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to trace the Hollywood blockbuster from its roots, gain insight into how Steven Spielberg's Jaws and George Lucas' Star Wars ushered in the Blockbuster Era, and explore how the blockbuster has evolved throughout the subsequent decades into its current state. This case study uncovers the intertwining relationship between revolutionary film marketing tactics and the creation of the blockbuster as a genre and strategy and observes how increased costs of film marketing and the rise of ancillary markets and new media have led to a contemporary slate of blockbusters alternatingly different and similar from those …

Modern American Myth-Making In Mass Media Texts, Kassandra Andreadis

Honors Theses

What is an American myth? “Myth” can have many meanings and can refer to many different types of works. For example, Edwards and Klosa refer to Frankenstein as “an important mythic text” (Edwards and Klosa 34), which provides a middle point between ancient myths (e.g. the Odyssey) and current myths, showing that myths have continued to be produced and establishing myth-making as a continuous process. This process continues into the present, all over the world, so it stands to reason that the United States of America has its own myths. The identity of those myths is less certain. While ideas …

Women And Watchmen: Opening Alan Moore's Refrigerator, Sally Ferguson

Honors Theses

Zack Snyder's film adaption of Watchmen was my first exposure to the rabid side of the comic book enthusiasts. During that year, I took tottering steps towards comic books and superheroes, but the clamor of frenzied supporters of the film battling zealous purists nearly blew me off my feet. Alan Moore--the name reverberated through the internet and spilled onto the sidewalks in front of the movie theater. I pondered the identity of this individual for an infinitesimal amount of time before contenting myself with Batman for a few years. Years later, various enthusiasts were singing his praises to me, …

Biracial Identity In Texts Read By Secondary Education Students, Jared Madden

Honors Theses

This thesis sought to examine how biracial identity is portrayed in the literature read by students in secondary education. Unfortunately, the findings indicated that biracialism is not being adequately portrayed in this literature. Students rarely encounter biracial characters, when they do these characters are usually peripheral, and sometimes the biracialism of these characters is presented as an obstacle to be overcome. Furthermore, teachers (at least in this researcher’s local area) seem to be extremely apathetic towards even discussing this issue. The impact which all of this can have on secondary students with a biracial background is discussed. However, there are …

Super Terror: The Complex Relationship Between Sequential Art And Real World Political Violence, Tyler R. Chance

Honors Theses

While scholars have recognized that the media plays a very important role in the understanding of terrorism and other forms of political violence, alternative and popular forms of media (such as the Comic Strip, Graphic Novel, Cartoon, etc.) have not been examined as closely by social scientists.

This research is concerned with the reaction by graphic narratives to events of terror and the graphic work as a way of influencing the public in its opinion of terror.

The main piece examined is Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta which was made as a discussion of the justification of terror witch specific …

Snakes And Their Holograms, Benjamin James Zuerlein

Honors Theses

To join the individual among the infinite. In as much as a reader experiences fiction personally and solitarily. In as much as fiction is novelty and imagination is boundless. V

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: Cold War For Kids, Kaitlyn Shaw

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Western Culture And The Spread Of Serial Murder, Angela Pilson

Honors Theses

Serial murders may have occurred in non-Western cultures, like Japan, South Africa, and Pakistan, before the introduction of Western ideals. These murders would have gone unnoticed and unreported if the populace did not know or understand the significant differences between serial murder and other types of violence and death. The people and authorities in non-Western cultures would not know of these differences unless they were made known to them or if they started to investigate the murders more closely. People from Western cultures who move to non-Western areas or communicate with non-Western natives may introduce these differences and familiarize the …

Bridge Over The River Kawaii: Examining The Consumption Of Anime And Manga In The United States, Luke Daniel Schwalm

Honors Theses

The sale of manga, Japanese comic books, and anime, its animated counterpart, in the United States has become a multi-million dollar enterprise and both mediums have gained an increasingly large fandom. Based on the framework of Said’s conception of orientalism and using information gathered from observing seven popular anime and manga internet forums and five semi-structured interviews this thesis seeks to understand how a segment of this fandom, namely those of its members who are active in online discussion, consume manga and anime and how this consumption affects their views of Japan. In conducting this research I found that the …

Break The Sky: An Exploration Of Ethics With Swords And Superheroes, Kris Miranda

Honors Theses

In an extended piece of speculative fiction (specifically, a cross between the sword-and-sorcery and superhero genres), I try to explore the complexities of ethical deliberation in difficult circumstances. Through my protagonist I also present an “alternative” to Enlightenment ethics. I’ve referred to this alternative as an “ethics of the badass and the beautiful,” a little (but only a little) jokingly. The reason for doing all of this through fiction, and not a conventional philosophical paper, is that I believe my ethical education started in stories, and it’s still in good stories and the creative exploration of concretely realized personalities (as …

The Inextinguishable Longing For Elsewhere: Escapism In Recent Pulitzer Prize Winning Novels, Charles Barton Wynn

Honors Theses

In reading a selection of Pulitzer Prize winning literature since 1980,1 found that many of the novels included characters who, either literally or metaphorically, longed to escape from the reality of their lives. Four novels in particular embodied this theme: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, Martin Dressier: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser, and The Road by Cormac McCarthy. All four books treated escape and escapism ambiguously-sometimes escape is a flaw; sometimes escape is a virtue. Upon closer readings of the four …

Fear And Loathing In Contemporary British Art: A Critical Analysis Of The Banksy Phenomenon, Courtney Spring

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of Sexuality In Vampire Novels, Elizabeth Lauren Butler

Honors Theses

Sexuality is a common theme in vampire novels, especially in those intended for adults. The first vampire novels appeared in the 19^ century, and I was curious to know the sexual themes have changed as society has changed. The book industry has been inundated with vampire novels in the last fifteen years, so I read early vampire novels and short stories, vampire novels from the 1970s, and modem vampire novels to analyze how sexuality is dealt with in each. I also read scholarly journals dealing wdth sexuality in vampire novels. Vampirism as a metaphor for sexuality has evolved along with …

Graphic Design Work For The Band Riverleft, Benjamin William Deneka

Honors Theses

The purpose of my thesis was to create merchandising and promotional artwork for the Oxford, Mississippi-based band RiverLeft and their album “Stranger Things.” I used the design software Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop to create album artwork, posters, and other illustrations to be implemented onto promotional materials. By tying all of the artwork together around a central theme, I created an identity for the band’s marketing and advertisement around the south and beyond. 1