Humanities and Communication
Fall 2015 Capstones
Professor Estalla Porras
"Generation Y," "millennium generation," "digital natives," and other labels try to grasp the meaning of being young today. Youth is synonymous of freshness and high expectations, but also it represents a time of deep transformations, of finding one’s identity and voice. In our capstone seminar we will engage in analysis and criticism about what to be young means globally and locally, particularly in times when the promise for a better future --at least in economic terms-- seems elusive.
The seminar will wrestle with questions such as: How do young people find their voice and create their identities? How do they build meaningful connections and a sense of belonging? How do they define their roles as learners, citizens, consumers, users and producers of media technologies? How do youth become agents of social change in their local and global communities? Students enrolled in this course will engage in research and/or creative projects that demonstrate the articulation of the HCOM’s MLOs to the theme in a significant manner.
Senior projects
Coming soon!
Professor Estalla Porras
“Generation Y,” “millennium generation,” “digital natives,” and other labels try to grasp the meaning of being young today. Youth is synonymous of freshness and high expectations, but also it represents a time of deep transformations, of finding one’s identity and voice. In our capstone seminar we will engage in analysis and criticism about what to be young means globally and locally, particularly in times when the promise for a better future --at least in economic terms-- seems elusive.
The seminar will wrestle with questions such as: How do young people find their voice and create their identities? How do they build meaningful connections and a sense of belonging? How do they define their roles as learners, citizens, consumers, users and producers of media technologies? How do youth become agents of social change in their local and global communities? Students enrolled in this course will engage in research and/or creative projects that demonstrate the articulation of the HCOM’s MLOs to the theme in a significant manner.
Senior Projects
- Coming soon!
Professor Estella Porras
“Generation Y,” “millennium generation,” “digital natives,” and other labels try to grasp the meaning of being young today. Youth is synonymous of freshness and high expectations, but also it represents a time of deep transformations, of finding one’s identity and voice. In our capstone seminar we will engage in analysis and criticism about what to be young means globally and locally, particularly in times when the promise for a better future --at least in economic terms-- seems elusive.
The seminar will wrestle with questions such as: How do young people find their voice and create their identities? How do they build meaningful connections and a sense of belonging? How do they define their roles as learners, citizens, consumers, users and producers of media technologies? How do youth become agents of social change in their local and global communities? Students enrolled in this course will engage in research and/or creative projects that demonstrate the articulation of the HCOM’s MLOs to the theme in a significant manner.
Senior Projects
- Andrade-Gonzalez, Selena A. (Creative Writing & Social Action), “#ProjectVoz: A Reclaiming of Body and Voice”
- Areias, Evan S. (Journalism & Media Studies), "Open the Door for Girls in Professional Sports"
- Armenta, Jose R. (Writing & Rhetoric), “Shooting Our Feet: Moral Panic of Young Muslim Radicalization”
- Bocalan, Liesel-Marie A.
- Buffo, Sara R. (Practical & professional Ethics), “Connecting with Youth through YouTube: A Case Study”
- Byers, Morgan L. (Pre-Law), “Moral Restoration: Youth & Justice”
- Celaya, Karem A. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “Ethics to Youth”
- Chutney, Jacob E. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “High School Sports: Learning Life Skills That Go Beyond the Field”
- DePasquale, Lauren A. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “‘Like’ For Food: Engaging Youth in Community Service Through Social Media and Technology”
- Drivon, Corey D. (Writing & Rhetoric), “Growing Up Fast: A Study of Adolescent Pregnancy in America”
- Green Jr., Bernard K. (Journalism & Media Studies)
- Lomanto, Sarah J. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “Youth and Empathy: Lower Levels of Empathy in a Tech-Driven World”
- Maher, Matthew J. (History, Oral History, and New Media), “Millennials in the Workforce: Working Hard or Hardly Working”
- Martinez, Celeste M. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “The Kaleidoscope Effect: The Influence of Multicultural Literature on Adolescent Identity”
- Mendez, Ambrose D.
- Moneymaker, Kodi M. (Pre-Law)
- Pacioni, Madisen M. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Getting Millennials to Read: The Benefits of Young Adult Literature”
- Perez, Maria V.
- Reyes-Chavez Jr., Emilio (Writing & Rhetoric), “Adaptations to Society: Latino Youth”
- Salas, Paola E. (Literary & Film Studies), “Millennial Women Online: From Consumers of Beauty Products to Digital Media Producers”
- Sarakinis, Haralambos P.
- Smith, Taylor M. (Pre-Law), “Power of Protest: Youth in Politics”
- Strobel, Dalton J. (Practical & professional Ethics), “‘Down the Hatch’—Alcohol & College Culture”
- Stroh, Jessica N. (English Subject Matter Preparation & Writing & Rhetoric), “Learning with #Hashtags: Introducing Digital Literacy in High School”
- Wilson-Thornton, Cherri A. (Creative Writing & Social Action), “Through Their Words: Millennial Poet Conversations on Power, Difference, and Oppression”
- Worthy, Austin E. B. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “Conquering Borders”
Professor Maria Villaseñor
In a March 2014 report, the Prison Policy Initiative, a criminal justice research and advocacy group, reported that there are over 2 million incarcerated individuals around the country. The reasons people are incarcerated are complex and multiple. The same report included findings that showed that "The number of federal laws has risen from 3,000 in the early 1980s to over 4,450 by 2008." ("America’s Prison Population: Who, what, where and why," _The Economist_). Moreover, incarcerated juveniles are often subject to being locked up for infractions that are not considered crimes for adults "such as running away, truancy, and incorrigibility."
Immigration Detention Facilities also detain people for violations of immigration policies and "public safety," and the United States military has been detaining prisoners said to be "military threats" in a Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility since the early 2000s. Furthermore, a recent federal Department of Justice investigation about the police in Ferguson, Missouri has brought into the national spotlight the way in which people of color, in general, and African Americans, in particular, have been systematically discriminated against by the police and are disproportionately affected by police policies and practices.
What is a crime and who are considered criminals? How do federal, state, and local governments define criminality and punish crime? How do race, nationality, class, gender and/or sexuality impact who and what is criminalized? This Capstone seminar will explore these and related questions, using theoretical, historical, social, political, and cultural frames of reference.
Senior projects
Coming soon!
Professor Maria Villaseñor
In a March 2014 report, the Prison Policy Initiative, a criminal justice research and advocacy group, reported that there are over 2 million incarcerated individuals around the country. The reasons people are incarcerated are complex and multiple. The same report included findings that showed that “The number of federal laws has risen from 3,000 in the early 1980s to over 4,450 by 2008.” (“America’s Prison Population: Who, what, where and why,” _The Economist_). Moreover, incarcerated juveniles are often subject to being locked up for infractions that are not considered crimes for adults “such as running away, truancy, and incorrigibility.”
Immigration Detention Facilities also detain people for violations of immigration policies and “public safety,” and the United States military has been detaining prisoners said to be “military threats” in a Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility since the early 2000s. Furthermore, a recent federal Department of Justice investigation about the police in Ferguson, Missouri has brought into the national spotlight the way in which people of color, in general, and African Americans, in particular, have been systematically discriminated against by the police and are disproportionately affected by police policies and practices.
What is a crime and who are considered criminals? How do federal, state, and local governments define criminality and punish crime? How do race, nationality, class, gender and/or sexuality impact who and what is criminalized? This Capstone seminar will explore these and related questions, using theoretical, historical, social, political, and cultural frames of reference.
Senior Projects
- Coming soon
Professor Maria Villaseñor
In a March 2014 report, the Prison Policy Initiative, a criminal justice research and advocacy group, reported that there are over 2 million incarcerated individuals around the country. The reasons people are incarcerated are complex and multiple. The same report included findings that showed that “The number of federal laws has risen from 3,000 in the early 1980s to over 4,450 by 2008.” (“America’s Prison Population: Who, what, where and why,” _The Economist_). Moreover, incarcerated juveniles are often subject to being locked up for infractions that are not considered crimes for adults “such as running away, truancy, and incorrigibility.”
Immigration Detention Facilities also detain people for violations of immigration policies and “public safety,” and the United States military has been detaining prisoners said to be “military threats” in a Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility since the early 2000s. Furthermore, a recent federal Department of Justice investigation about the police in Ferguson, Missouri has brought into the national spotlight the way in which people of color, in general, and African Americans, in particular, have been systematically discriminated against by the police and are disproportionately affected by police policies and practices.
What is a crime and who are considered criminals? How do federal, state, and local governments define criminality and punish crime? How do race, nationality, class, gender and/or sexuality impact who and what is criminalized? This Capstone seminar will explore these and related questions, using theoretical, historical, social, political, and cultural frames of reference.
Senior Projects
- Amezquita, Christina M. (Chicana/o Studies), “Criminalization of the LGBTQ Community 1940s-1960s”
- Ba, Khadija H. A. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “Melting America”
- Boos, Sarah N. (Literary & Film Studies), “Damned Scribbling Women”
- Colicchio, Emily E. (Literature & Film Studies), “Friendship is the New Black: Female Relationships in Orange is the New Black”
- Enoch, Shannon M. (Pre-Law), “America’s Mental Health Rehabilitation for Inmates: Solitary Confinement”
- Garibay, Christina, K. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “More Than a Number: Victims of Sex Trafficking”
- Graham, Patrice F. (Literature & Film Studies), “#BlackLivesMatter Monologues”
- Guillen, Eduardo (American Multicultural Studies)
- Gutierrez, Evelyn (Creative Writing & Social Action), “Different Paths”
- Hennessey, Alexander P. (Journalism & Media Studies), “Monterey vs. Salinas: The Media’s Framing of Crime”
- Hinton, Ashly M. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “Schoolhouse to Jailhouse: Alternative Approaches to Zero Tolerance”
- Hutchison, Sean C. (Journalism & Media Studies), “CTE: How America’s Favorite Sport is Dying”
- Ingram, Alexis M. (Literature & Film Studies), “TV in Transition: Changing the Face of a Changing Medium”
- Jouthas, Katie J. (Writing & Rhetoric), “Putting the Unity Back in Community”
- Medina, Javier C. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “No Human is Illegal”
- Miller, Katelyn M.
- Miller, Raquelle M. (Journalism & Media Studies), “Motherhood Behind Bars: Shedding Light on the Prison System’s Invisible Women”
- Northey, Neil (Media & Journalism Studies), “Career Choices in Law Enforcement: Oral History Case Studies on Public Safety Officers”
- Rincon, Jessica (Pre-Law)
- Orozco-Rosales, Alejandra (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Tracking English Language Learners”
- Rudolph, David M. (Writing & Rhetoric), “Talk”
- Scholes, Lauren A. (Literature & Film Studies), “The Kids Aren’t Alright”
- Shaw, Alexis A. (Journalism and Media Studies), “It Remains the Same”
- Siders, Christopher J. J. (Creative Writing and Social Action), “Born in the World of…”
- Weber, Tammy L. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “Judging the County by its Cover: Inmate Programs”