Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

African American Youth-Identity, Invisible Powers & Hypnotic Blaxploitation-Themed Film Tropes: From Superfly & Drug Culture To Black Panther & Wakanda, Daniel Mitchell

Screenwriting and Film Studies Theses (MA/MFA)

This thesis project explores the most influential effect of the blaxploitation era. It is during a time shortly after the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, where black youth are still enduring identity issues. The point of departure for central discussion of this work revolves around the mesmerizing Hollywood blaxploitation film, Superfly. It arrived on the big screen in 1972. The hit movie and its soundtrack seemingly hypnotized countless young African American youth in urban areas to become drug dealers and users. This coincided with Nixon’s War on Drugs collusion with government agencies, and the secret COINTELPRO operation. They …

Wylder And Wynona: A Graphic Novel Retelling Of The Grimm's Fairy Tale "The Little Brother And Sister", Abigail W. Pannell

Children's Book Writing and Illustrating (MFA) Theses

This thesis provides insight on the psychoanalysis of fairy tales, namely the Grimm fairy tale, “The Little Brother and Sister.” The critical analysis defines theories about the human mind popularized by Sigmund Freud and especially Carl Jung. Modern psychologist Paul Moxnes applies Jung’s theories about character archetypes in fairy tales to his modern study about “deep roles” which solidifies the important relationship between human psychology, fairy tales, and fairy tale retellings. With a deeper understanding of the psychological implications of character archetypes, the creative retelling portion of this thesis rewrites the old version of the brother and sister characters from …

¿Por Qué No Vale La Pena Salvarnos? Experiencias De Mujeres Inmigrantes Latinoamericanas Con Políticas De Inmigración Post-9/11 Y Solicitantes De Asilo En Los Estados Unidos, Kaye Romans

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Esta tesis aborda la Crimmigration—la convergencia de las políticas criminales y la ley de inmigración—en un mundo post-9/11 en lo que se refiere a las mujeres inmigrantes latinoamericanas que buscan asilo en los Estados Unidos. Utilizando la jurisprudencia, la legislación y la erudición legal, sitúo estas políticas en el contexto más amplio de la ley de inmigración tanto a nivel nacional como internacional, centrándome en la legislación y políticas claves posteriores al 9/11 tales como la Operation Streamline, la Operation Liberty Shield y el Title 42, así como la jurisprudencia clave posterior al 9/11 que trata con las mujeres latinoamericanas …

Why Are We Not Worth Saving? Latin American Immigrant Women's Experiences With Post-9/11 Crimmigration Policies And Asylum-Seeking In The United States, Kaye Romans

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis discusses Crimmigration—the convergence of criminal policies and immigration law—in a post-9/11 world as it relates to Latin American Immigrant women seeking asylum in the United States. Utilizing case law, legislation, and legal scholarship, I situate these policies in the broader context of immigration law both nationally and internationally, focusing on key post-9/11 legislation and policies such as Operation Streamline, Operation Liberty Shield, and Title 42, as well as key post-9/11 case law dealing with Latin American women seeking asylum in the United States. With these foundational understandings, I provide possible solutions that would lessen the harms presented to …

A Mexican American’S Introspective On Identity And Embodiment Of The Lester Horton Technique, Fernando Carrillo

Dance (MFA) Theses

In this thesis, I analyze the cultural complexity I embody as a Mexican American. By revealing and naming the invisible power dynamics of white supremacy through a multiplicity of perspectives, I explain and give examples of stereotypes imposed on me and how it benefits whiteness. Having adapted to American culture, I have created a cultural multiplicity that has steered me away from my Mexican culture. I express the conflict of my consciousness when I feel I do not belong in specific spaces because of my heritage or tokenism. The embodiment of the Lester Horton Technique is my passport to navigate …

Honor Thyself, Alonzo O. Williams

Dance (MFA) Theses

The black male experience and identity in America are filled with complexity. We struggle to know ourselves. We work to see the way of love and the peace of an unviolated free spirit. We want to engage with ourselves with the highest degree of freedom and comfort, not to continue to question our identity in a life-threatening white patriarchal masculinity ideal. Honoring oneself from the lenses of the Reconstruction era of the United States is essential. Reconceptualizing this history explores the significance of emphasizing Reconstruction in my life as a black male to go through a process of self-discovery and …

Beginnings, Elizabeth Becker

Dance (MFA) Theses

Researcher Elizabeth Becker uses personal experiences of pregnancy alongside scholarly research on the developmental movement patterns of the human embryo, fetus, and newborn’s first year of life to explore the multiplicity of these movement patterns within and outside the womb. Becker explores the relationship between the fertilization, germinal, embryonic, and fetal stages in relation to a newborn and its mother. These movement patterns within the beginning stages of life are valuable to research because they simulate neurodevelopmental patterns, which help wire the central nervous system in early childhood. These movements also help lay the foundation for sensory-motor development and life-long …

Renegotiating Liminal Spaces: Catholic Nuns As Spiritual And Feminist Activists, Emily M. Lauletta

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The objective of this thesis is to recognize the critical work being done by the women in two Sister-led organizations, Talitha Kum, and Network. Throughout this thesis, I make note of how the actions of these groups of nuns align with several values attributed to spiritual activism. Simultaneously, I discuss the complications that arise from doing social justice work within the confines of an institution that has perpetuated settler colonialism and white supremacy. My analysis is grounded in three theoretical frameworks; spiritual activist theory as articulated by Gloria Anzaldúa, Indigenous Feminism(s), and Womanism. In reference to the nuns' status as …

Physical Spaces In The Digital Age: Legacies, Narratives, And Memory Of Plantation History, Em Miller

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In recent years, plantation tourism has become a prominent concern for many researchers, with studies being done on how plantations use these sites and the ways that they incorporate enslavement into their narratives as a historical site. The current research used a textual analysis approach to explore the themes and language that plantations use when discussing enslavement via the analysis of 16 plantations in nine states. There are three themes that are apparent in the plantations analyzed: the visibility of Enslaved history, the promotion or rejection of Lost Cause memory, and the use of plantations as event spaces. While many …

Women In American Pop Music: Christina Aguilera’S Impact On Cultural Narratives, Chin Wai (Rosie) Wong

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Pop music as a mainstream medium is often more enjoyed than critically studied. Former studies and literatures point out a major issue that many American female pop music artists face. These artists are often confined in a box that reduces their full human-being attributes to a narrowed view, where their identity is portrayed in a diminishing and inaccurate way. Despite this narrowed narrative of what a woman should be, this box has become a norm that many female artists must adhere to in order to achieve mainstream success. This paper responds to this phenomenon by analyzing Christina Aguilera’s music, spanning …

Robert The Bruce Fights For Scottish Independence Once Again: The Influence Of Nationalism And Myth In Scotland's Modern Pursuit Of Independence, Claire Hintz

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Robert the Bruce, King of Scots from 1306-1329, led the Scottish to victory in the Wars of Independence against England. Today, the fight for Scottish Independence is alive and being led by the Scottish National Party (SNP) as they push for a second independence referendum. The first, in 2014, failed with 45% of Scots voting YES and 55% voting NO. Since Brexit, however, support for Scottish independence has consistently risen; polls in 2020 showed sustained majority support for Scottish independence for the first time in recent Scottish history. Nationalism, or the constructed ideology that is politically used to uphold a …

The Sinking Of The Schooner Sofia And How It's Crew Utilized Adaptive Leadership To Survive, Kevin H. Cox

Liberal Studies (MA) Final Essays

This is the historical account of the tall ship, or schooner, Sofia that sank on February 23, 1982, off the North Island of New Zealand, between Cape Reinga and North Cape. Of the 17 crew members on board, 16 of them made it into the life rafts. They were rescued by the Russian trawler Vasili Perov more than five days later. How the crew managed to survive in the life rafts is further examined through the adaptive leadership framework by Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, and Marty Linsky. Through this examination, the Sofia’s survival leadership is compared and contrasted to the …

Rejecting Bolivarianism: Political Power In South America, Jaiya Mcmillan

Undergraduate Research Awards

By the time he was 36, Simon Bolivar had freed six countries from Spanish rule, often fighting armies of thousands with a couple hundred militia rebels. Bolivar was an incredible military strategist with a liberal approach, and went on to govern both Peru, and then-Gran Colombia, which was made up of modern-day Colombia and Venezuela. After his death in 1830, each of the countries he liberated mourned his loss, and in the almost two centuries since then, leaders have constantly used his name in order to revive his spirit and bolster their own political agendas. One such example is the …

Ann Hopkins Papers., Beth S. Harris

Finding Aids: Guides to the Collections

This is a collection of personal and professional papers related to the Hopkins v. Price Waterhouse (Wash., D.C. Federal District Court) and Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins (U. S. Supreme Court) cases. The final decision capped a seven-year battle against Hopkins’ employer for gender discrimination and her final victory in 1990 helped to expand workplace discrimination laws to include gender stereotyping.

The collection date ranges from 1967-2001 and includes correspondence, court documents, materials related to the book So Ordered: Making Partner the Hard Way (University of Massachusetts Press, c1996), newspaper and periodical publications, photographs, and a scrapbook.

Additional personal correspondence (1965-1989) …

Sustainability Literacy In French Literature And Film: From Solitary Reveries To Treks Across Deserts, Annette Sampon-Nicolas

French Faculty Scholarship

This essay explores the imperative to embrace a new model of education that will engage students in learning about the interconnectedness of our multi species world, sustainability, and global solidarity -- the belief "that unity of humankind can be established on the basis of some basic or core human values" (Korab-Karpowicz 305). Foreign language courses -- in particular advanced-level offerings that address literacy, critical thinking, and cultural comparisons -- are ideal settings for educating for sustainability literacy. Such literacy is essential to our collective twenty-first-century global identity, but it requires transformative educational practices. As we design foreign language courses, we …

Escape From The East, Martha Marie Failinger

Children's Book Writing and Illustrating (MFA) Theses

Although a plethora of documentaries, movies, and literature surrounding the trauma of

World War II and its aftermath exist, a relative paucity comes from the German people – perhaps

due to the collective guilt and shame that surrounded the horrors of the Holocaust.

This thesis project is a middle school graphic novel memoir based on a true story of a German boy (pseudonym: Hans) during the years 1940 to 1949. Hans becomes a member of the prestigious St. Thomas Boys Choir in Leipzig and finds that Bach’s music, which he is constantly singing, helps to keep his soul alive in …

“She Didn’T Understand It At All”: Harriet The Spy Through The Lens Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Lisa Krajecki

Children's Literature (MA) Theses

This paper looks at autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits in the main character of the book Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh, as well as traits associated with mental breakdown. A brief history of the understanding of autism in the media and in medical circles is explained, as well as some notes on the author’s life. The paper also discusses censorship in diverse literature, specifically books about people with disabilities. The paper notes some attempts at the censorship of the book Harriet the Spy from well-meaning parents, teachers, and librarians, while taking an alternative view of the protagonist. This paper …

Julia Randall Papers, Beth S. Harris, Megan Stolz

Finding Aids: Guides to the Collections

This collection has manuscripts, teaching papers, and correspondence of poet Julia Randall. The correspondence include letters to or from colleagues, alumnae, and friends.

Feminism In Revolution: Women Of The 19th Century Anti-Tsarist Movements, Kayley Delong

Undergraduate Research Awards

The climate of political upheaval in Russia over the course of the 19th century reached a violent climax in the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in March of 1881. His death was the result of decades of civil unrest amongst Russian citizens who had taken hold of enlightenment ideas and sought justice for economic and social inequality. In a complex equation of issues and policies, the ways in which the women question combined with the surge of new ideas produced a unique and perfect storm. Russia was the epicenter of a collision between an underdeveloped infrastructure and changing philosophies about …

Nasser Of Egypt And The Egypt Of Nasser, Pria G. Jackson

Undergraduate Research Awards

In the Egyptian consciousness, there is a date that resonates in the nation’s memory as the official catalyst that led to the rise of modern Egypt: July 23, 1952. On this day, a military group called the Free Officers rose up and seized control of Egypt from the monarchs and British colonizers in a near bloodless coup d’état. The face of the Free Officers at the time of the coup was General Muhammad Naguib (1901 – 1984), but the brain and heart of the movement was the then colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918 – 1970). During the first three years …

Brazen (Fall 2015), Hollins University

Brazen - Gender & Women's Studies Department Newsletters

No abstract provided.

The Case For Women In Financial Services, Thao Thanh Nguyen

Undergraduate Research Awards

Finance literature has been studying the gender gap and the roles of women in business and finance. Focusing on mutual fund management, this study revisits the idea by investigating the impact of gender-specific investing styles on the level of volatility involved with the funds. The initial hypothesis is that the performance of funds managed by females is less volatile compared to funds managed by males. If we have statistical evidence to show this hypothesis is valid, gender diversification should be encouraged in asset management. The empirical results show evidence that the participation of women in fund management lowers the ten …

Brazen (Fall 2014), Hollins University

Brazen - Gender & Women's Studies Department Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Female Activism: Reevaluating Traditional Buddhist Patriarchy In Chinese Occupied Tibet, Mikaela Murphy

Undergraduate Research Awards

Examines the role of Buddhist women as activists in Chinese-occupied Tibet. The author's entry essay for the 2014 Undergraduate Research Awards is included.

Brazen (Fall 2013), Hollins University

Brazen - Gender & Women's Studies Department Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Brazen (Fall 2012), Hollins University

Brazen - Gender & Women's Studies Department Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Brazen (Spring 2012), Hollins University

Brazen - Gender & Women's Studies Department Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Brazen (Fall 2011), Hollins University

Brazen - Gender & Women's Studies Department Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Brazen (Spring 2011), Hollins University

Brazen - Gender & Women's Studies Department Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Brazen (Fall 2010), Hollins University

Brazen - Gender & Women's Studies Department Newsletters

No abstract provided.