Stakes-Sensitive Testimonial Injustice: Prejudicial Thresholds For Belief In Testimony Of Sexual Assault, Grace Kelleher

CMC Senior Theses

In this thesis, I expand on Miranda Fricker’s account of epistemic injustice by advancing an additional model of testimonial injustice. This model, called stakes-sensitive testimonial injustice posits that an individual may incur an epistemic harm when his or her testimony is measured against a threshold for belief that has been unjustly influenced due to prejudiced stakes considerations on the part of the hearer. In particular, I focus on our society’s tendency to hold the statements of women who testify about their experiences of sexual assault to high thresholds for belief and posit that this tendency stems from a biased understanding …

La Evolución De La Masculinidad En Las Películas De Alfonso Cuarón, Daniel Martinez

CMC Senior Theses

El cine de Alfonso Cuarón representa una oportunidad nueva y emocionante para entender mejor la identidad mexicana y todas sus implicaciones. En esta tesis, analizaré las representaciones diferentes de la masculinidad a lo largo de la carrera de Alfonso Cuarón en México ya que estas películas tratan con el tema de manera directa. Desde sus principios en Sólo con tu pareja hasta Roma ( su proyecto más reciente), el estilo de Cuarón ha llegado a definir la nueva era del cine mexicano y sus películas representan a la masculinidad con un enfoque en el impacto que ha tenido en la …

The Road To Human Emancipation - The Moral And Political Foundations Of Markets, William Shi

CMC Senior Theses

The thesis aims to provide both a real public ideology and the legal and socioeconomic structures to realize Karl Marx’s ideal of human emancipation. Marx argues that in capitalist society, the legal and political superstructure forces the ruling class to represent its interest as the public interest, which legitimizes the massive inequality in resources and social power. To demonstrate how to realize the substantive public interest, the two parts of the thesis have two goals. The first part aims to formulate a rightful candidate to the public ideology of human emancipation, which represents the substantive public interest rather than the …

Ending America’S “Endless” Wars: Is A Left/Right Coalition On Non-Interventionist Foreign Policy Feasible?, Blaise Malley

CMC Senior Theses

Ever since the end of the Cold War, American exceptionalism and militarism have been ascendant, often resulting in a government that is eager and able to engage in military interventions across the world. This reality has been upheld by a strong bipartisan consensus of liberal internationalists and neoconservatives that, while it often disagreed on means, ultimately shared the same worldview. However, a number of recent global and national trends have led to growing voices on both sides of the aisle—progressives on the left, and populists on the right—to question the assumptions driving this consensus. This growing coalition has convergence on …

@Usa Vs. @Realdonaldtrump: The Decline Of Democracy In 280 Characters Or Less, Bryn Edwards

CMC Senior Theses

From threats, to hate speech, to potential criminal statements, Donald Trump has made use of Twitter like no president or world leader before him. His presidency and communication strategy have been defined by his “tweetstorms” and a consequent slew of legal issues. The prolific rate of his tweeting has made large-scale analyses difficult as they quickly become dated.

Nevertheless, this thesis has aimed for a more holistic analysis by uniquely linking trends in his tweeting to its perceived social consequences, situating this work in a long line of analyses of presidential rhetoric and media strategies. Moreover, it assesses Trump’s use …

Examining The Ashley Treatment: A Case Study Of The Bioethical Implications Associated With Growth Attenuation Therapy Through The Lens Of The Capabilities Approach, Allison Hill

CMC Senior Theses

In this paper, I will be addressing the questions: what is the capabilities approach? How does this framework help us to understand how altering our – and our children’s – bodies can assist in achieving equality for minorities? Or does it instead work against accomplishing this goal? How does this framework help us to understand how altering the bodies of people with disabilities can also protects those individuals’ dignity? Or does it do the opposite?

“Going Over The Top” – The Impact Of World War I On Three Leaders Of World War Ii, Nick Sage

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the impact that service in the First World War had on three global leaders of the Second World War: Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, and Harry Truman. Through analysis of original documents from the Churchill Archive Center, the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, and the archives of the National World War I Museum, this project contends that the years 1914-1918 became a common point of reference and reflection for these three leaders—especially in their private musings and public rhetoric during World War II. Additionally, primary evidence reveals that the personal narratives of wartime service that these …

Aristotle And Mutual Accountability: A Just Theory Of Punishment, Dina Rosin

CMC Senior Theses

How can citizens of a moral community both be held accountable and be accountable for their actions and their character? What is the role of both the state and the citizen in restoring accountability? In this thesis, I apply Aristotle’s conception of virtue to Stephen Darwall and William Darwall’s mutual accountability framework for punishment. I present a theory of punishment that creates an obligation on both the state and the citizen to uphold virtue and be accountable, and posits rehabituation of character as a necessary component of maintaining mutual accountability. I then apply this theory to a paradigmatic case that …

Nearly Halfway There: The Future Of Hong Kong, China, And One Country Two Systems, Lery Hiciano

CMC Senior Theses

The 2019 Hong Kong Protests mark a critical juncture in the history of Hong Kong. Although they started due to an extradition bill, the demonstrations are deeply rooted in larger concerns regarding Hong Kong’s place within China and its future. The global responses to the protest, from Beijing to London, reveal a complex web of relationships and interests. As the Chinese Communist Party continues to expand its global footprint, the bridge between domestic and international concerns will widen. Ultimately, that makes the Hong Kong situation a balancing act, one that observers can use as a litmus test for the Chinese …

Mistaken Murder And Written Womanhood: The Evolution Of Evelina Edwards In Late Eighteenth-Century And Early Nineteenth-Century Bath, England, Amanda Mell

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the major themes and literary influences of Jane Austen’s novels through the voice of Evelina Edwards, a fictional girl born in Bath, England in 1784. Over the course of nine years, Evelina reconstructs her social world in a series of diary entries and letters, mirroring the anxieties and concerns of real women during the Regency era. Her writing juxtaposes the novel of manners with mystery, both satirizing trivial concerns and confronting emotional trauma in response to death and social isolation. Class hierarchy and gender roles placed heavy restrictions on women’s freedom, forcing them to carefully calibrate the …

Killing Within Communities: What Causes Collective Violence, How We Remember It, And Why It Matters, Laleh Ahmad

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis seeks to understand motivations for collective violence beyond the traditional explanations of ethnic hatred or racism. Often, historical scholarship focuses on ethnic hatred and racism, and elaborates on the processes by which those notions and hatreds came to be. Scholarship in the political science realm often gets past the hatred hypothesis but does not explore historical myths and legacy formation as they contribute to past and current violence. This thesis employs a case study approach to understand collective violence that is global and takes multiple cultures and religions into account. The case studies were chosen thematically, and each …

How Contemporary Curatorial Practice Co-Opts Participatory Art, Caroline S. Eastburn

CMC Senior Theses

Instagram users post photos in art exhibitions all of the time. Contemporary art curators and museums have a role to play in this new phenomenon. Programming and curating participatory art exhibitions allows for the perfect art selfie which draws in visitors from around the world. But, how do curators and museums affect the significance of these artworks by placing them within the Instagram age? This thesis uses the three exhibitions as case studies: Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors at the Broad Museum in Los Angeles, Take Me (I'm Yours) at the Jewish Museum in New York, and "Hélio Oiticica: To Organize …

"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised": Looking At The 1964 Freedom Day Boycott As A Means Of Combating Educational Segregation In New York City Today, Carlos Mendez

CMC Senior Theses

Throughout the 20th century, New York City underwent a number of changes, most of which occurred due to waves of immigration. Amidst all of the changes, the lack of attention students of color in low-income areas received remained constant. The lack of attention resulted in deteriorating school conditions and a widening achievement gap between students of color and white students. In 1964, 10 years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, civil rights activists across the City reached a boiling point and organized themselves to protest against the Board of Education. It was an effort that resulted in over …

Visualizing Participatory Politics: The Communal Power Of Street Art In Revolutionary Egypt, Warring Syria, And Divided Lebanon, Erin Baranko

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the role of street art in the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa in 2011 in order to investigate the extent to which the political struggle was also a visual struggle. Through analysis of murals and graffiti, it seeks to address how revolutionary politics are created, consumed, and witnessed in images. In Egypt, protesters created street art that coopted public space in order to circumvent the state’s authority and subvert the state’s legitimacy. Due to its accessible nature, street art also democratized the protest process, facilitating a truly popular revolutionary movement. In Syria, citizens used …

Populism: An Exploration Into The American Case Through The Academic Literature, Data Analysis, And Fiction, Maxwell Knowles

CMC Senior Theses

The twenty-first century has seen a rise in populist leadership and rhetoric throughout the globe, with the United States standing as one powerful case. This thesis hopes to develop the “story” of populism from multiple perspectives, attempting to not only inform but change the way we approach the populist movement in America, and perhaps, the world. In Part I, I summarize and blend much of the core literature written on populism and economic change, developing the story that populism in America today has its roots in the significant techno-economic and cultural paradigmatic shifts of the 1970s. Social media and an …

Il Contrapasso Nell’Inferno Di Dante Alighieri: Un’Analisi Del Contrapasso Attraverso Francesca Da Rimini, Conte Ugolino, E Lucifero, Liv Allegra Baker

CMC Senior Theses

In his Divina Commedia, Dante Alighieri uses the contrapasso as an instrument to administer justice to the sinners in Inferno. The law of the contrapasso mandates that the punishments inflicted upon the sinners in Inferno respect the nature of the sins that they committed on earth. In Dante’s afterlife, the contrapasso is the means to fulfill the sinners’ ultimate destinies, as determined by their terrestrial choices and actions. Though he explicitly uses the term contrapasso only once, the poet invites its application in every circle of the Inferno. This thesis explores the law of the contrapasso in …

The Future Self: Promoting Prosocial Decision-Making Through Motivated Episodic Simulation, Su Young (Kevin) Choi

CMC Senior Theses

Vividly imagining the future self can help inform our present decisions. Given that most attempts aimed at understanding the prosocial effect of imagining future episodes have focused on sensory properties, little is known about how prosocial motivations can explain the link between episodic simulation and helping intentions. Here, the current research investigated whether altruistically and reputationally motivated simulation of helping behavior promote a willingness to help a person in need. The study found that imagining helping episodes increased willingness to help relative to a control manipulation, especially when reputational concerns were made salient. Path modeling analyses revealed that the prosocial …

Trickle Down Nationalism: Interactions Between Liberal Nationalism And Colonialism In The Raj And Nigeria, Aaryaman Sheoran

CMC Senior Theses

The combination of nationalism and colonialism has remained understudied in academia, despite the important interaction between the two phenomena. European ideas bled over into their colonial empires and began to fill the power vacuum created by colonial enterprises. This study analyzes the impact of British colonialism on the development of national identity in British India and Nigeria.

British influences included large scale economic disruption, cultural reform through ‘westernizing’ the population and abolishing local customs, and creating a new set of institutions to replace traditional power centers. Inevitably, these factors created a nationalist surge across both the Raj and Nigeria, as …

The Ontological Significance Of Consciousness, Corydon Diamond

CMC Senior Theses

Providing a wholly physical description of consciousness in nature is an elusive process. Unlike all other physical systems, consciousness seems to be explainable only if it is considered as non-physical. However, the arguments for a materialist view of consciousness, with consciousness prioritized as a process which creates imperfect dependence relations in reality, eliminates the need for a dualist understanding of reality. Through an explanation of imperfect dependence, materialist consciousness overcomes all relevant dualist arguments, while simultaneously retaining an epistemic gap, denying the conceivability of zombies, and providing convincing explanations of seemingly dualist positions in a materialist fashion.

Why Does Aristotle Make So Much Sense? A Philosophical Analysis Of Aristotle, Kant, And Mill’S Moral Theories, Will Sileo

CMC Senior Theses

Throughout my experience as a student of philosophy these past four years, the philosophy that has interested me the most has been that which gives us something to take back to daily life or the ‘real world’ with us. As a result, I've been strongly drawn to ethics and pulled into the debate between the three main schools of ethics — virtue ethics, deontology, and consequentialism, with a strong affinity for virtue ethics, especially the ideas of Aristotle.

The question that I am exploring in this paper is if there is something unique about Aristotle’s virtue ethics compared to the …

The Trends Of Right-Wing Populism In Germany Post-World War Ii, Savannah Green

CMC Senior Theses

This paper aims to shed light on the trends of right-wing populism in tandem with immigration rates, economic indicators, and social welfare and active labor market initiatives in Germany after World War II. The current right-wing populist party in Germany, the Alternative for Deutschland, has had a sharp increase in support in recent years and currently sits as the third largest party in Germany. Looking at trends from past right-wing populist parties, I identify the important characteristics of the current climate that allow right-wing populist parties to flourish.

Peace, Love, And (Soul)Cialism: Function Of Teacher- Student Love In Collectivist Societal Education And Its Relationship To The Elimination Of African American Educational Underachievement, Nirel Jonesmitchell

CMC Senior Theses

Top researchers in the field of intimacy education signify that definitions of intimate connection—referring to a deep relationship with oneself, immediate circle, or humankind, more broadly—are identity dependent. Different countries and racial demographics, thus, conceptualize notions of solidarity, interdependence, and self-awareness distinctly. Without investigation, these discrepancies provoke division; attention, alternatively, has the power to induce the mitigation of educational achievement gaps in Latin America and domestically. Cuban notions of ‘legitimate’ relationships are contextualized by the political philosopher Jose Martí who delineated an ideological framework encouraging collectivism. This idea undergirds his contribution to the revolutionary Cuban literacy campaign: dialogical education. Despite …

Examining Protein-Protein Interactions Within The Esx-4 Secretion System Of Mycobacterium Smegmatis, Sophie Boerboom

CMC Senior Theses

Bacteria use secretion systems to export proteins from inside of the bacterium into the periplasm, extracellular space, or host cell. Within the Mycobacterium genus, the type VII secretion systems (T7SS) transport products across the unusually thick and waxy mycobacterial envelope. T7SS are of particular importance because they are involved in the virulence of pathogenic mycobacteria. Mycobacteria have as many as five distinct T7SS called ESX systems. ESX-1, 3, and 5, have demonstrated roles in viability and virulence in certain pathogenic species like M. tuberculosis and M. marinum. Our research focuses on the ESX-4 apparatus, the ancestral system that gave rise …

Suffrage Over Suffering: How Disenfranchisement Erodes The Legitimacy Of Democratic Punishment, Kendall Hollimon

CMC Senior Theses

In this thesis I analyze both retributive and consequentialist justifications for punishment to understand the foundation for disenfranchisement as punishment. I then argue that although some of these justifications can condone disenfranchisement, the practice of disenfranchising criminals damages the democratic process, thus delegitimizing the punishments that societies democratically decide to impose.

Effects Of Sleep Deprivation And The Link To Alzheimer’S Disease In Night Shift Workers, Aracelia Aldrete

CMC Senior Theses

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a degenerative neurologic disorder that is often defined by beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques. These Aβ plaques are formed from protein pieces that are incorrectly cleaved from an amyloid precursor protein (APP). These protein segments, cleaved from APP, are toxic due to increased “stickiness”. They cling together to create protofibrils that eventually mature into neuronal plaques. Aβ plaques lead to neuronal cell death causing classic AD symptoms: memory loss, a decline in speech and motor control, and personality changes. One connection between high Aβ plaques levels and AD is chronic sleep loss or disruption. Night shift workers, even …

Escaping The Snowstorm: Legal Rights And Economics In The Developing World, Zane Tolchinsky

CMC Senior Theses

In this thesis, I seek to provide a framework for developing nations making policy-decisions about legal rights, as in the realm of Rawlsian ideal theory, prescriptions for governments not living in conditions of moderate scarcity is lacking. I first springboard off Stephen Holmes and Cass R. Sunstein’s conclusion that “all legal rights are positive,” from their book, The Cost of Rights, to argue for the value of considering the economic implications of rights protections. I then propose that Holmes and Sunstein’s conclusion means that we can think of legal rights as goods to be purchased by governments. Next, I …

The Mediating Role Of Positive Emotion Socialization On Maternal Alexithymia’S Detrimental Impact Towards Child’S Adaptive Regulatory Capacity, Madeleine Ding

CMC Senior Theses

The current study examined the relations between maternal alexithymia and child’s negative outcomes in the form of behavioral problems and adaptive regulatory capacity, as indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). It also explores the main and mediating role of positive emotion socialization. Participants consisted of 155 mother-child dyads within a 25-mile radius of a college in Southern California (Mothers M_age=33.1 years, SD=5.5; Children M_age=42.01 months, SD=4.68; 51% male children). The Toronto Alexithymia Scale-26 (TAS-26) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were given to mothers to report on alexithymic traits and their child’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors, …

Frobenius Problem, Geometry And Number Fields, Yingqi Shi

CMC Senior Theses

We introduce the classical Frobenius Problem in Mathematics.

Cruzando La Frontera: Choreographing The Mexican-American Identity, Chloe Vich

CMC Senior Theses

This dance project explores the consequences of assimilation on immigrants’ cultural practices and identity specifically for Mexican-Americans in Southern California. The dance project explores the crossing of borders through mixed contemporary and Mexican ballet folklorico dance styles in order to tell a story of immigrants trying, failing, and succeeding in crossing the U.S. and Mexico border. By exploring the integration of Western dance styles with Mexican ballet folklorico, this paper will analyze how Mexican identity, as expressed through dance or song, is maintained by immigrants to remain connected their culture, but is changed through the process of assimilation.

Mexican ballet …

“We Will Never Forget:” Developing Collective Memory And Meaning After 9/11, Kylie Harrison

CMC Senior Theses

From the oval office to town halls, from the television screen to the archive, Americans sought to define 9/11 and its role in American national identity and history. This thesis will focus on the ways collective memory regarding 9/11 was established, the role of elites in memory initiatives that ingrained 9/11 in American national identity, and how collective memory can be used as a political or cultural tool to create national unity. Throughout this thesis, I will rely on the theoretical frameworks of collective trauma and collective memory to inform and guide my examination. The framework of collective memory lays …