Operation Dumbo Drop: Cultural Memory, And Representations Of The Vietnam War In The 1990s,
2025
Scripps College
Operation Dumbo Drop: Cultural Memory, And Representations Of The Vietnam War In The 1990s, Sylvie Kromer
Scripps Senior Theses
In 1995, the film Operation Dumbo Drop was released by Walt Disney Pictures. This film, based on a true story of elephants being airlifted across Vietnam in 1968 by the American military, holds a unique position as a rare family-friendly comedy about the Vietnam War. As a reflection of 1990s-era cultural memory of the Vietnam War, the film rehistoricizes and sanitizes the war, following a similar trend in other pieces of media from the same era. Operation Dumbo Drop must be seen in this context and as a product of the moment in which it was made. In taking a …
The Fight For Education: The Rise Of Indigenous Oaxacan Teachers And Their Role In The 1980s Mexican Teacher’S Movement,
2025
Scripps College
The Fight For Education: The Rise Of Indigenous Oaxacan Teachers And Their Role In The 1980s Mexican Teacher’S Movement, Chiara Gutierrez
Scripps Senior Theses
This thesis investigates the pivotal role of Indigenous Oaxacan teachers in the 1980s Mexican Teacher’s Movement, addressing a significant gap in scholarship that has often overlooked Indigenous political activism in Mexico prior to the 1990s. It argues that these teachers were critical actors whose prior organizing experience, cultivated throughout the 1970s in response to state assimilationist policies (via INI, IIISEO) and discriminatory practices (from SEP, SNTE), enabled them to significantly shape the 1980s movement. Drawing on theories of political identity (Yashar 2006), repertoires of strategies (Rossi 2023), and identity salience (Hunt & Benford), this study traces the development of their …
Finding Futures: Refusing Canva And The Homogenization Of The D.I.Y. Political Post(Er),
2025
Scripps College
Finding Futures: Refusing Canva And The Homogenization Of The D.I.Y. Political Post(Er), Cassidy Bensko
Scripps Senior Theses
The convergence of corporate technology and subversive political expression is not new. Canva, like Xerox, is but another made-for-the-office technological innovation employed to political ends. Its ease-of-use has made it a staple tool for students, office workers, event planners, and political organizers alike. However, it is easy to use because it eliminates the need for creative decision-making, empowering users to quickly and easily produce designs that all look the same. This paper asks: Is the homogenization of D.I.Y. political posters, a medium that has historically been characterized by design elements that are as subversive as the politics they represent, indicative …
Of Monsters And Men: Fantasy, Aesthetics, And The Nation In Pan's Labyrinth (2006) And The Shape Of Water (2017),
2025
Claremont Colleges
Of Monsters And Men: Fantasy, Aesthetics, And The Nation In Pan's Labyrinth (2006) And The Shape Of Water (2017), Ally Fleming
Scripps Senior Theses
ABSTRACT: Guillermo del Toro has established himself as one of Hollywood’s most beloved filmmakers due to his ability to blend popular genres with arthouse flair. This is especially true when it comes to fairy tales, a common thread woven throughout his films that are consistently imbued with political commentary on authoritarianism. This is most apparent in two of his most critically acclaimed films, Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) and The Shape of Water (2017). Part of why these films are so beloved is how they utilize popular culture not just as tools to foreground the story’s setting, but also to guide the …
The Politics Of Memory: The Memorialization Of Student Protests And The Archive,
2025
Scripps College
The Politics Of Memory: The Memorialization Of Student Protests And The Archive, Jane Orkand Lovett
Scripps Senior Theses
This thesis explores the politics of memory and archival power in student activism at Scripps College, arguing that archives are active sites where social power is negotiated and contested. Using frameworks of institutional versus collective memory and John Gaventa’s three dimensions of power, it examines how architectural, digital, and physical archives shape narratives of resistance and institutional authority. Case studies, including the Drop Sodexo campaign, Scripps Graffiti Wall, and the Liberation Through Education movement, demonstrate how students use archives to assert agency, counter institutional narratives, and sustain political momentum. The study highlights the co-optation of activism by institutional actors and …
The Politics Of Fear: Exploring Diversity And Representation In The Modern Horror Genre,
2025
Claremont Colleges
The Politics Of Fear: Exploring Diversity And Representation In The Modern Horror Genre, Abbie Oh Arroyo
Scripps Senior Theses
This thesis explores the horror films and how they have been politicized in the context of modern day poiltics (2017-2021). Works suchs as Jordan Peele's Get Out, Jayro Bustamante's La Llorona, and Nia DaCosta's Candyman are used as case studies that analyze how these films may have been shaped by the political happenings of their time as well as how these films are used as a medium of advocacy and for social commentary.
Let's Talk About Sex: Investigating Radical Feminist Theories On Prostitution In The United States,
2025
Scripps College
Let's Talk About Sex: Investigating Radical Feminist Theories On Prostitution In The United States, Anna E. Peterson
Scripps Senior Theses
This paper explores the feminist debates surrounding prostitution through an analysis of Catharine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin’s abolitionist theories, juxtaposed with critiques from Wendy Brown, Janet Halley, Susie Bright, and Marxist feminist abolitionist Esperanza Fonseca. The text examines the systemic forces of patriarchy and capitalism that commodify women’s bodies and the challenges of legislative approaches to the sex trade. While MacKinnon and Dworkin identify the structural inequalities underpinning prostitution, their legislative proposals often fail to address the stigma and systemic conditions that perpetuate the marginalization of prostituted people. Critics like Brown and Halley highlight the limitations of punitive measures, calling …
From Segregation To Censorship: The Evolution Of "States’ Rights" In Shaping American Educational Policy And Its Role In Contemporary Culture Wars,
2025
The University of Akron
From Segregation To Censorship: The Evolution Of "States’ Rights" In Shaping American Educational Policy And Its Role In Contemporary Culture Wars, Halle Wright
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
This paper traces the rhetoric of “states’ rights,” “local control,” and “parental rights” as evolving tools for shaping American public education. Using legal, political, and cultural sources, it constructs a historical timeline that shows how this rhetoric transformed from an explicit defense of segregation into a central weapon in contemporary culture wars. I begin with the post–Brown v. Board of Education era and Massive Resistance of the 1950s and 60s, when Southern officials deployed states’ rights language to resist desegregation and recast segregationist goals as “local control” and “freedom of choice.” I then examine how these arguments persisted through the …
“Democracy,” Usa,
2025
CUNY Graduate Center
“Democracy,” Usa, Marc Edelman
Publications and Research
What does it mean to be an effective citizen in a democracy? Answering this question requires unpacking “democracy” and an analysis of institutions that systematically disempower and alienate citizens. This paper briefly examines the contributions of psychoanalysis to understanding democracy and authoritarianism. It scrutinizes U.S. governance institutions and points to democratic deficits and backsliding present even before Trump 1.0 and 2.0. These range from the Electoral College, the Senate, and the Supreme Court to the Federal Communications Commission. All contributed to institutionalizing minority rule and elite capture. Governance institutions failed to deliver what the American people tell opinion pollsters they …
How Insider-Led Processes Lead To Localization: The Case Of Digital Technology And Humanitarian Protection,
2025
Swarthmore College
How Insider-Led Processes Lead To Localization: The Case Of Digital Technology And Humanitarian Protection, O. Kaplan, Emily Paddon Rhoads
Political Science Faculty Works
The humanitarian sector has been increasingly concerned with localizing its activities—devolving capacity, power, and decision-making authority to the local communities and organizations that are the frequent recipients of its assistance. However, the mere “outsider-led” provision of assistance to local actors is not itself sufficient to empower them. Instead, we argue that “insider-led,” locally initiated processes can be an effective approach to localization. We identify how such shifts can occur and distinguish three different configurations of “insider-led” processes: Autonomous Adopters, Balanced Partners, and Exporting Entrepreneurs. We examine “insider-led” localization in the context of the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) …
Internal Or External: An Exploration Of The United States Police Chief Hiring Process,
2025
The University of Akron
Internal Or External: An Exploration Of The United States Police Chief Hiring Process, Kayleigh Walker
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
This paper explores the hiring processes of police chiefs across the United States, focusing on internal versus external hiring practices. The goal of this research was to identify common trends, legislative barriers, and the impact of leadership on the hiring process through historical context, legal analysis, and case studies. The findings suggest that internal hires dominate chief appointments, though external hires are often sought during crises. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research and highlights the need to more fully understand this phenomenon. Understanding the processes and limitations surrounding the appointment of new leadership is critical to reform and …
Increasing Women In Political Careers,
2025
The University of Akron
Increasing Women In Political Careers, Kendall Craig
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
Women are underrepresented in political careers and through a series of questions, female, college-aged participants were asked to rank their answers to various questions in regard to inequalities women face on a scale of one to ten. The participants ran through two interventions where they learned about political careers as well as the struggles of women in political careers, the importance and impact. After the interventions, the exact same questions with the same scales were offered to participants to observe whether education on the topic could increase desire to seek careers in politics. The findings show that a small majority …
Futures Assessment Of The Russo-Ukrainian War,
2025
The University of Akron
Futures Assessment Of The Russo-Ukrainian War, Jonathon O'Brien
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
This report discusses and explores a series of scenarios regarding the end of the Russo-Ukrainian war, which began in February 2022. The three scenarios are a continued stalemate, where neither side gains an upper hand in the conflict, a Ukrainian victory, and a Russian victory. Each scenario also explores several factors that could impact their likelihood, including international support, battlefield prowess, etc. This paper aims to provide readers with the necessary context to understand the situation in Ukraine and the likely outcomes of the conflict. Research for this project was conducted between March and April 2025, with findings representing an …
The Connection Between Fragmentation And Traffic Stops,
2025
Wayne State University
The Connection Between Fragmentation And Traffic Stops, John Bulat
Wayne State University Dissertations
Throughout the United States, there are hundreds of metropolitan areas. For myriad reasons, the number of local governments within each metropolitan area varies. Some scholars argue that having too many local governments leads to inefficiencies and inequities for the metropolitan area as a whole and for its central city in particular (e.g., Wood, 1958; Dreier et al., 2014). Others maintain the opposite. They contend that having more local governments leads to greater competition between municipalities for citizens and businesses. This, in turn, keeps service costs low, leads to lower taxes, and provides greater choice for citizens in terms of places …
Unstable Rivalry: Structure, Domestic Politics, And Taiwan In U.S.-China Relations,
2025
Wayne State University
Unstable Rivalry: Structure, Domestic Politics, And Taiwan In U.S.-China Relations, Brendan Edward Flynn
Wayne State University Dissertations
International relations (IR) scholarship frequently utilizes structural and domestic political levels of analysis to explain interstate war and conflict. While U.S.-China relations have deteriorated significantly, there is considerable disagreement about what caused this change. In this dissertation I utilize Militarized Interstate Disputes (MIDs) to operationalize instability between the U.S. and China and test competing theories. Increasing levels of MIDs since 2009 broadly confirm structural theories that hold power parity is a primary driver of conflict between great powers. Case studies of the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis (1995 – 1996) and Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis (2022), however, illustrate that domestic political …
Passing The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act: Gun Control After 30 Years,
2025
Wayne State University
Passing The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act: Gun Control After 30 Years, Kory Lohrmann
Wayne State University Dissertations
In June of 2022, the United States Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) after nearly 30 years of inaction. This dissertation analyzes why after decades of status quo maintenance (lack of gun control action), Congress decided to act following the shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde Texas. This research uses hypotheses generated from Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET) to compare six different mass shootings to examine what set the Uvalde shooting apart from other similar shooting within the last 15 years. This study analyzes media coverage, public opinion shifts, political saliences, election cycles, and victim characteristics to break down …
God’S Country: Perceptions Of Religious And Place-Based Candidate Identities,
2025
Indiana State University
God’S Country: Perceptions Of Religious And Place-Based Candidate Identities, Levi G. Allen, James R.G. Kirk
Government: Faculty Publications
It is often assumed that the rural identity is linked to the Republican Party and the urban identity to the Democratic Party, but little scholarship has investigated how voters connect these identities to the parties in an electoral context and how that perception may influence their electoral preferences. Furthermore, recent elections have seen various political elites employ rural and Evangelical Christian identity labels in virtually synonymous ways in their association with the Republican Party. But are these partisan stereotypes really how Americans perceive these candidate identities? Utilizing a novel survey experiment, we find important distinctions between religious and place-based candidate …
Academic Freedom Under Attack: How Faculty And Students Can Protect Their Rights Situated In The Scholarly And Public Spheres,
2025
Roger Williams University
Academic Freedom Under Attack: How Faculty And Students Can Protect Their Rights Situated In The Scholarly And Public Spheres, Emma Hansen
Honors Senior Capstones and Theses
This thesis project challenged me to apply my learning to the larger community and accomplish something that would make a lasting impact at Roger Williams University. When I was attempting to come up with my topic, I tussled with how my project could accomplish my main goal, to help people. With the current threats to academic freedom and institutional autonomy from the Trump Administration, I recognized that the faculty were expressing concern about the permanence of their jobs. The general feeling on campus and in the news was fear. So, I thought to myself, “How do I put these fears …
Race, Diversity, And The Development Of Political Attitudes On College Campuses,
2025
Loyola Marymount University
Race, Diversity, And The Development Of Political Attitudes On College Campuses, Nathan Chan, Tanika Raychaudhuri
Political Science and International Relations Faculty Works
Faced with demographic change, many colleges are offering courses about race and ethnicity. How does taking race-focused courses affect public opinion? We theorize that while White,Latino, and Asian American students develop more inclusive political attitudes through race-centered coursework, Black Americans may enter college with a deeper understanding of racial issues. We test these expectations using two longitudinal multi-racial datasets. First, using a national longitudinal survey of college students, we find that ethnic studies coursework is associated with increased recognition of racial discrimination among Whites, Latinos, and even Black Americans. Second, using an original panel survey from a public university, we …
The Group-Basis Of Political Behaviour Among Minoritized Communities: The Case Of Lgbtq+ Linked Fate And Sexual And Gender Minorities,
2025
Loyola Marymount University
The Group-Basis Of Political Behaviour Among Minoritized Communities: The Case Of Lgbtq+ Linked Fate And Sexual And Gender Minorities, Nathan K. Chan, Gabriele Magni
Political Science and International Relations Faculty Works
LGBTQ+ individuals often display consistent political behaviour despite being internally diverse. We theorize about the importance of group-based heuristics to understand this cohesiveness by proposing the concept of LGBTQ+ linked fate. First, we argue that LGBTQ+ linked fate is stronger among privileged individuals within the LGBTQ+ community (white, cisgender, gays/lesbians) and among those whose life experiences have made their LGBTQ+ identity salient. Then, expanding on social identity theory, we posit that individuals with greater LGBTQ+ linked fate are more likely to hold group-based political attitudes and voice these preferences through electoral participation. We provide support for these claims using a …
