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College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Humanities and Communication

Spring 2012 Capstones

  • Professor Debian Marty

    "The quality of our communication affects the quality of our communities." I have long considered this statement to be the "bumper sticker slogan" for communication ethics. Its author, communication ethicist James A. Mackin Jr., asserted further that "We cannot act together with common purpose unless we can communicate with each other." This capstone seminar will explore how our communicative choices affect our communities, whether the latter is understood as an interpersonal relationship or as an international alliance. Students who want to explore the power of communication to unite or divide communities--especially across differences and disagreements--are most welcome.

    Senior projects

    • Tuba Abbasi, Journalism and Media Studies "Mentoring Autistic Young Adults: An Examination of Power and Hierarchy"
    • Michelle Arcos, Practical and Professional Ethics) "Modern Latina Magazine: Empowerment Through Social Media"
    • Maria Avalos (Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies) "The Imperative Need of Middle School Counselors' Focus on the Personal/Social Development in Today's Young Adolescents"
    • Jason Berring (Pre-Law) "Restoring the Hope of California's Victims and Offenders"
    • Sarah Carroll (Journalism and Media Studies) "Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost: Exploring the World Through Study Abroad"
    • Sara Casillas (Writing and Rhetoric) "Bridging Confidence in the Classroom"
    • Eliseo Diaz (Peace Studies) "An Eye for an Eye Makes the Whole World Blind: Films for Peace and Justice"
    • Nicole Evans and Monica Riopel (Journalism and Media Studies) "What's Love Got To Do With It? 500 Million Users Decide Their Facebook Relationship Status"
    • Megan Gutierrez (English Subject Matter Preparation) "The Outsiders of Today: Teaching Compassion and Empathy for the Bullied and the Bullies through Reader Response"
    • Kayla Hansen (English Subject Matter Preparation) "Teaching Reader Response for Empathic Outcomes"
    • Delmy Juarez (Practical and Professional Ethics) "Violating our Constitutional Rights: Political Rhetoric and its Effect on California's Prison Inmates"
    • Dahria Kianpour (Practical and Professional Ethics) "The Truth Will Set You Free: Dispelling Stereotypes of Evangelical Christians in America"
    • Brenda Lomeli (Practical and Professional Ethics) "¿Estás Preparado? Creating Disaster Preparedness Content for Spanish Speaking Communities"
    • Ashley Martinez (Journalism and Media Studies) "A Commuter Without a Community: A Call to Action at CSU Monterey Bay"
    • Brittany Martinez (English Subject Matter Preparation) "Multi-Cultural Adolescent Literature in the High School English Classroom"
    • Casey McPhail (Creative Writing and Social Action & History, Oral History and New Media) "Neither Black nor White: A Creole Family History"
    • Emily Morgado (Pre-Law) "Green Retrofit: Advocating for a More Energy Efficient Community"
    • Andrew Morgan (Practical and Professional Ethics) "Protect What You Love: Exploring Environmental Ethics and Dialogue at the Monterey Bay Aquarium"
    • Adriana Nishio (Journalism and Media Studies) "Shades of Normal: Examining the Role of Identity in Interracial Dialogic Communication"
    • Kristopher Owens (History, Oral History and New Media) "Ambition Towards a Better Future"
    • Alyssa Peña (Practical and Professional Ethics) "Finding Forgiveness: A Poetic Process"
    • Sam Pereira, "Extra! Extra! ASAP Newsletter Provides a Vision of Organizational Cohesiveness"
    • Janice Rocke (Creative Writing & Social Action) "The Serendipity of Moral Repair"
    • Izzy Scott (Women's Studies) "Beyond the Controversy: A DOMA Dialogue"
    • Brian Stettenbertz (Pre-Law) "Character Education: A Moral Compass for Youth"
    • Kayla Taiviti (Practical and Professional Ethics) "Marketing For Social Change: Pro-Social Values in Advertisement"
    • Kyson Willis (Literary and Film Studies) "Inside My Cocoon: Transsexuals Share Our World of Passing"
  • Professor Estella Porras

    Besides being a stage of human development that represents physical, mental and emotional transformations, youth brings images of freshness, everything current, torrents of energy, idealism, time for discovery, and promises for a better future. We see young faces creating art, leading protests, asking hard questions, seeking to be understood, and finding expression with music, graffiti or facebook updates. HCOM students from all concentrations are welcome to participate in this capstone seminar in which we will explore questions related to youth and their roles as students, workers, creators, participants in politics, consumers, users and producers of media and technology, and agents of change in their local and global communities.

    Senior projects

    • Michelle Adkins, English Subject Matter Preparation Program, “Sustained Success from the Start: Free High School Tutoring Centers and Renewed Hope for Youth”
    • Taylor James Aja, Pre-law, “Rancho Cielo and the Monterey County Probation Department:Empowering the lives of “At-risk” youth with opportunities for success”
    • Liliana Castrellon, Chicano/a-Latino/a Studies, “Realizing the DREAM: Making Watsonville a Safe Zone for Undocumented Youth”
    • Martha Patricia Garcia, Chicano/a-Latino/a Studies, “Realizing the DREAM: Making Watsonville a Safe Zone for Undocumented Youth”
    • Casandra Fox, Journalism and Media Studies, “Keeping Fort Ord Wild: Creating Media to Educate, Inspire, and Engage Youth in Environmental Activism”
    • Lauren Elise Giulitti, Pre-Law, “After School Programs: Bridging the Gap between School and Home Life”
    • Margarita Gonzales, Practical and Professional Ethics, “Investing in Today's Youth”
    • Jacqueline Graciano, Pre-law, “Call to Action: Youth and Politics”
    • Haley Hernandez, Journalism and Media Studies, “24/7 Youth: The Impact of Social Media on the Millennial Generation”
    • Alyssa Huerta, Creative Writing and Social Action, “My Millennial Life: An Experience of Growth, Identity, and Connections”
    • Aya Kamata, Journalism and Media Studies, "Integrating 2α's: First Generation Asian Americans' Quest for Self-Identity Through Assimilation to America and Attachment to Their Parents' Native Cultures."
    • Ayanna Keeling, Journalism and Media Studies, “We are the 4%: The Phenomenon of Racial Disparity, Fear and Belonging of African American students at California State University, Monterey Bay”
    • David Lansford, English Subject Matter Preparation Program, “Cultivating Hope: Character Based Literacy for At-Risk Youth”
    • Leonel Alberto Martinez, Creative Writing and Social Action, “I Am Another of Yourself: Brooding in America from the Unripe Identity of a Mexican’t During the Days of the American Youth, Future and Counter Culture"
    • Cameron Stanford McFadden, Peace Studies, “Helping the Youth See that Non-violence is the Key to Stop Violent Wars in the Streets”
    • Veronica Miramontes, Creative Writing and Social Action and Journalism and Media Studies, “The Soccer Project: Life, Spirit and Drive through the Power of Goals”
    • Jasmine Morales, Practical and Professional Ethics, “See Me for Who I Am”
    • Sara Marie Ochoa, Creative Writing and Social Action, “Gracias Virgen de Guadalupe”
    • Nicole Arce Onuska, Practical and Professional Ethics, “PURSUIT Youth Expo 1212”
    • Shelby Louise Pratte, Writing & Rhetoric, “Working with the Justice League: A tale of 100 Degree Weather, Being a Superhero, and Working on Hollywood Blvd”
    • Shayna Resnick, Women’s Studies, “Silence After Sexual Assault, Reporting the Crime: The First Step To Recovery"
    • Jared William Roberts, Journalism and Media Studies, “Science Matters: The Impact of Science on Youth and the Future”
    • Jubenal Hector Rodriguez, Chicano/a-Latino/a Studies, “Readiness to Enter the Conversation on Ethnic Studies”
    • Brendan Joseph Sullivan, Pre-Law, “Transcending The Digital Divide, Digital Media Literacy and Our Youth”
    • Eric Warnars, Creative Writing and Social Action, “High School Chronicles: Defeating Expectations”
    • Amy Francine Wigg, English Subject Matter Preparation Program, “The King James Bible: Its Influence on Literature and the Millennials”
  • Professor Umi Vaughan

    This seminar explores the concept of “diaspora” from various disciplinary and cultural perspectives. Originally the term came from the Greek word meaning “to scatter.” Diaspora is the diverse unity of a people spread far and wide. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, it was used for decades almost exclusively in reference to Jews who were scattered throughout Europe, North and South America. Later, in the 1950s and 1960s, the “African Diaspora” came to mean all those communities around the world with close genetic and cultural ties to Africa. Most recently diaspora refers to various groups that have developed transnational and intercultural identities in which a common thread links an infinitely wide range of manifestations.

    Senior projects

    • Ana Alvarez Chavez, Chicano/a-Latino/a Studies, “New Migration Wave: The Oaxacan Indigenous Diaspora”
    • Derek Raymond Bausek, Creative Writing and Social Action, “The Beat Goes On: An Examination of Music within the Chicano Diaspora"
    • Virginia Kaye Brown, Practical and Professional Ethics, “Searching For Our Homoland: The Diasporic Qualities and Consequences of Heteronormativity in High Schools”
    • Marissa Ann Contreras, History, Oral History and New Media, “Poetry Born In Diaspora”
    • Mary Flynn, Practical and Professional Ethics and Women's Studies, “From Bombs to Peace: The Story of the Hmong and the History that Led to Their Diaspora”
    • Ahmed Gaber, Journalism and Media Studies, “Diaspora and the Rise and Fall of Multicultural Egypt”
    • Melanie Graham, Practical and Professional Ethics, “The Ethics of Law and Diaspora”
    • Caliah Hill, Pre-Law, “An Examination of the Idiosyncrasies and Parallels Found Within the African & Jewish Diaspora Communities of The U.S.”
    • Lyndsay Amber Isidro, Creative Writing and Social Action, “ScatterHood”
    • Janet Bosely Jacquier, Peace Studies, “From Bombs to Peace: The Story of the Hmong and the History that Led to their Diaspora”
    • Nicole Jones, Journalism and Media Studies, “Shades of Beauty”
    • Brenda Teresa Medina, English Subject Matter Preparation Program, “Breaking Language Barriers”
    • Imelda Munoz, Chicano/a-Latino/a Studies, “Irish and Mexican Immigrant Experiences: The Racialization of Immigrants in the 19th and 20th Century United States”
    • Erika Marie Murillo, Journalism and Media Studies, “Conexión Comunitaria: Connecting a Diaspora Group through Technology”
    • Julie Regalado, Creative Writing and Social Action and English Subject Matter Preparation Program, “The Challenges of the Native Tongue”
    • Emilie Rodrigues, English Subject Matter Preparation Program and Women's Studies, “Searching For Our Homoland: The Diasporic Qualities and Consequences of Heteronormativity in High Schools”
    • Michelle Salgado, English Subject Matter Preparation Program, “Diasporic Language Barriers in Secondary School Classrooms”
    • Patricia Sanchez, Practical and Professional Ethics, “A Look Into The Diasporic Qualities of Immigrant Children”
    • Katie Shoneff, Journalism and Media Studies, “The Daily Diaspora”
    • Joel Samuel Silva, English Subject Matter Preparation Program
    • Tashia Trevino, Pre-law, “Coming Together: The Legal System meets the Diasporic Community”
    • Claudia Uriarte Zeller, Pre-law, “Where Else But In America? The Real Life Story of a Vietnamese Refugee”