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College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Humanities and Communication

Spring 2014 Capstones

  • Professor Qun Wang

    This Senior Capstone Seminar is designed to encourage students to place the study of self and society in cultural, historical, political, and/or economic contextualization. The School of New Criticism, for instance, posits that "the complexity of literature lies in its use irony and paradox." Thanks to the development of some of the contemporary theories such as post-modernism and new historicism, we start to look at how culture, history, politics, and economic stratification not only inform but also help define literary representations of society. Or in British culturalist Raymond Williams's words, to avoid reducing the concept of "typicality" to "art as the typification (representation, illustration) not of the dynamic process but of its (known) laws" is to define "typicality" as "a constitutive and constituting process of social and historical reality" "specifically expressed in some particular 'type.'" This seminar will explore and address some of the critical issues in literary and cultural studies such as: how is human experience represented and/or (mis)re-presented in literature? How is border crossing defined in literary studies? Why is cultural negotiations critical in understanding today's society? Is the reader response tradition in literary criticism valid? How do we define our relationship with some of the great literary works? How does that understanding help us find our own identity toward the eventual goal of the achievement of self-actualization?

    Senior projects

    • Banuelos , Cory N. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “Diet, Weight, and the Farmers’ Market: A Path of Discovery to a Healthier Identity, Corporate Consumerism and Supporting Local Business, and the Search for Identity within the Context of Groceries”
    • Berger, Shannon K. (Journalism and Media Studies), “Gender Roles In the Media”
    • Bowman, Derek A. (Literary and Film Studies), “The Kids Aren’t All Right: On the Cinematic Portrayal of the Queer Search for Identity”
    • Edwards, Breanne N. (Pre-Law), “Seniors Fighting for Their Identity at Legal Services for Seniors”
    • Feickert, Evan M. (Pre-Law), “Diet, Weight, and the Farmers’ Market: A Path of Discovery to a Healthier Identity, Corporate Consumerism and Supporting Local Business, and the Search for Identity within the Context of Groceries”
    • Garland, Benjamin R. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “Diet, Weight, and the Farmers’ Market: A Path of Discovery to a Healthier Identity, Corporate Consumerism and Supporting Local Business, and the Search for Identity within the Context of Groceries”
    • Hambaro, Garrett (Literary and Film Studies), “Decay and Detritus: The Interplay of Race and Class and How It Shapes Identity In The Wire and Oliver Twist”
    • Harden, Brittany M. (Journalism and Media Studies), “Seniors Fighting for Their Identity at Legal Services for Seniors”
    • Hewett, Jessica D. (Literary and Film Studies), “Nature Versus Nurture: Is Identity Defined or Redefined?”
    • Iniguez, Monica (Chicano Studies), “A Journey of Self Discovery Through the Lens of Second Generation Latinos”
    • Landrum, Carissa Y. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “Finding Love, Community, and Self: A Journey of Healing and Self-Acceptance”
    • Lim, Cassandra P. (Journalism and Media Studies), “Search for Identity: The Personal and Societal Benefits of Protecting Equitable Power Distribution by Promoting Farmers’ Markets and Production In the Food Industry”
    • McGregor, Lauren A. (Journalism and Media Studies), “(Mis)understanding, (Mis)re-presentation, or Vilification: On Hollywood’s Portrayal of Arab-Americans In A Terrorized America”
    • Miller, Alexander H. (Pre-Law), “Childhood Obesity, the Implications to Individual Health and Our Healthcare System”
    • Myers, Alexander W. (Literary and Film Studies), “History and Intention: Baggage of Hegemonic Privilege in Reconciliatory Discourse”
    • Oviedo, Ruben (Practical and Professional Ethics), “Over the Air: Empowerment through Education—How to Locate Financial Aid for Scholarship for College”
    • Piol, Kelly A. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “The Opening of the American Mind: A Digitalized Story of the Campus Life at the Rancho Cielo Youth Center”
    • Rauch, Cierra C. (American Multicultural Studies), “Transnational Mothering: Renegotiating the Mother’s Role for Overseas Filipina Domestic Workers”
    • Rodriguez, Kevin M. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “A Journey to Letting Go: Discovering Self-Identity Through the Stages of Loss and Grief”
    • Sanchez, Jaime M. (Pre-Law), “Ethnic Studies: A Luxury or Necessity In Education?”
    • Shannon, Josslyn E. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “ ‘To Write or Not to Write?’ That is the Question to Ask Our Students: Bringing Creativity Into the High School English Classroom”
    • Sluggett, Jordan C. K. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “Show Me, Don’t Tell Me”
    • Thomason, Ryan C. (Pre-Law), “In Search of Willy Loman and the American Dream”
    • Tomsic, Sarah J. (Literary and Film Studies), “The (Re-)presentation of the Search for Identity In American Literature and Film: The Color Purple, Death of a Salesman, and Real Women Have Curves”
    • Villa-Uptain, Tobias G. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “The Road Not Taken: An Empirical Journey to Find Where I Belong”
    • Welch, Megan L. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “It Takes a Village: Communal Transformation Through Individual Empowerment and Growth”
  • Professor John Berteaux

    This Senior Capstone Seminar is designed to encourage reflective and critical examination of social and economic justice at the local, national and global levels. For example, while some people maintain that governmental domestic welfare programs are unjust because the government has no right to tax those who are relatively well off in order to provide funds for those in need, others argue that it is unjust not to provide government aid to those who lack adequate food, clothing, and shelter. This seminar will explore these kinds of issues. How should a just society address poverty or access to health care, education, and social services? At the international level, what are the moral obligations of individuals and nations to less affluent nations? What should affluent nations do to prevent and alleviate devastating hunger, malnutrition, and poverty in developing countries? What ethical standards should individuals in affluent nations use when deciding whether to buy goods produced in international sweatshops?

    Senior projects

    • Adams, Janine (Journalism & Media Studies), “True Image”
    • Andrews, Stacie A. (Africana Studies), “The Black Panthers and Marxism”
    • Bee, Julia M. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Language, Power, and Ebonics: Balancing Students’ Home Literacies with Teaching Standard English in the Secondary Classroom”
    • Cervantes, Herminia (Pre-Law), “The Effects Immigration Policies have had over U.S. History”
    • Colvard, Sydney M. (Creative Writing & Social Action), “Tales of the Outsiders”
    • DeGregori, Mallory R. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Shakespeare’s Rape of Lucrece in America”
    • Donovan, Kasey M. (Peace Studies), “Is the Religious Right Making Things Right?”
    • Garibay, Osvaldo A. (Pre-Law), “The Effects of IRCA on Immigrant Communities”
    • Griffith, Veronica A. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “Oral Histories of Chinatown: Embracing the Street”
    • Hawkins, Erin N. (Journalism & Media Studies), “Exploring the Vision of Inequality in America Using the Ethics of Care in Journalism”
    • Hollingsworth, Sarah J. (Pre-Law), “Oral Histories of Chinatown: Embracing the Street”
    • Longergan, Hannah L. (English Major), “Breaking News: Heads Are Spinning Over Nutrition”
    • Louth, Megan K. (Creative Writing & Social Action), “Tongue Twister”
    • Madrigal, Aubrey M. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “Living United: Creating Community Through the Use of Social Media with United Way Monterey County”
    • McArdle I, Alexander T. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “Homeless Representation in Mass Media”
    • McCracken, Mariel A. (Pre-Law), “Economic Necessity, the Ability to Choose, and the Rise of Self-Confidence in Women”
    • Morales-Villa, Adan (Pre-Law), “The Magnitude of Racism”
    • Origel, Nataly (Pre-Law), “The Effects of Immigration Policies Throughout U.S History”
    • Orosco, Zachary A. (Journalism & Media Studies), “Media Controlling the Youth”
    • Ramirez, Christopher M. (History, Oral History & New Media), “Ethnic Studies Discourse in America”
    • Scarminach, Stephanie P. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “The Restoration of Juveniles: A More Productive Kind of Justice”
    • Siminski, Sarah L. (Writing & Rhetoric), “Legato*”
    • Smith, Zachary G. (Pre-Law) A Rational Case Against Affirmative Action
    • Stubbs, Andrew J. (Writing & Rhetoric) Those With No Countries and No Borders: The Thai Hill Tribes
    • Waldie, Christine (Creative Writing & Social Action) A Win Win Situation: Saving the Life of an Animal While Improving the Quality of Life in Senior Citizens
    • Wendel Rice, Sabrina K. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “Government as Caretakers”
  • Professor Jennifer Fletcher

    Few words have stronger resonance for us than "home" or "family." Expressions such as "treated like family," "blood is thicker than water," "home truths," "at home," "home is where the heart is," and "feeling homesick" convey the emotional power these words hold for us. Both concepts--home and family--are weighted with ideological, social, political, material, historical, and personal meaning. Our imaginative literature is rich with fantasies of ideal homes, nightmares of their opposites, and the intense longings of the displaced, dispossessed, and bereaved. In The Poetics of Space (1958), twentieth-century philosopher Gaston Bachelard proposes the word "topoanalysis" to describe "the systematic psychological study of the sites of our intimate lives." This interdisciplinary Senior Capstone Seminar will offer a topoanalysis of how notions of space--both public and private, gendered and ungendered, bordered and boundless--shape our understanding of what it means to have a home or be a member of a family. What, for instance, do travelers' tales, diaspora studies, domestic fiction, and migration narratives tell us about the appeal and portability of these concepts? What do they tell us about ourselves? And what do issues such as marriage equality and homelessness contribute to our understanding of this topic? Shared readings will include literary, historical, philosophical, and legal texts.

    Senior projects

    • Ackerman, Sarah R. (Pre-Law), “Mentoring Matters: Ethical Implications Within an Interpersonal Relationship between Mentors and Children or Adolescents”
    • Ahrenstorff, Nikki L. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “The Ultimate Task—Returning Home”
    • Boon,Vanessa R. (Journalism & Media Studies), “The Difference Within Homes”
    • Britt, Madeline J. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Effects of Life at Home on Life at School”
    • Byrd, Elliott R. (Writing & Rhetoric), “Global Warming Hits Home: Stories From Disappearing Cultures”
    • Calderon, Leanna G. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “I Am a Tree”
    • Condos, Joanna K. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Finding a Connection to Learning”
    • Corral, Estrella M. (Pre-Law), “Providing Legal Aid to Families”
    • Fernandez, Jesse (English Subject Matter Preparation), “A Rich and Diverse World of Cultures Inside the Classroom”
    • Flores, Adam M. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Building Community: The Class as a Home for Family”
    • Floyd, Lauryn A. (Africana Studies), “Africa the Homeland: Diaspora and the Changing Global Community”
    • Fox, Jacqueline S. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “At Home in Literature”
    • Gallardo, Jaquelyn Z. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Building Familias”
    • Gatton, Jessica N. (Creative Writing & Social Action), “The Missing”
    • Gutierrez, John M. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “The Modern Family of Gay and Lesbian Parents”
    • Hernandez, Gabriela (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Home Language in the Classroom”
    • Hernandez, Michaela B. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Praising Differences: the Beauty of Culture”
    • Kessler, Katherine D. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “The Reality of Body Image: How Family, Friends, and the Media Influence Young Women”
    • Malfatti, Alyssa M. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Analyzing Personal Backgrounds”
    • Mejia, Jessica M. (Creative Writing & Social Action), “Chasing History”
    • Perryman, Travis C. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “A Comfortable Vision”
    • Pickerrell, James R. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “You Otter Be Ready”
    • Rankin, Glenni A. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Changing Masculine Domesticity: Shifting Gender Roles in Late-Victorian Britain”
    • Ruiz, Gabriella L. (Literary & Film Studies), “Congratulations, you're having a... child!”
    • Snow, Hallie R. (Pre-Law), “Conquering Chaos: Using the Classroom as a Catalyst for Change”
    • Townsend, Aneisha P. (Pre-Law), “My Home, My Future”
    • Storm, Kendra A. (Journalism & Media Studies), “KINdred Spirits: A Veteran Experience”
    • Trigueiro, Brandon J. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “A Soldier's Family: An Expository Study on the Solidarity of U.S. Military Families”