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College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Humanities and Communication

Spring 2016 Capstones

  • Professor David Reichard

    “Soon enough, nobody will remember life before the Internet. What does this unavoidable fact mean?” So writes Michael Harris in his book, The End of Absence. This capstone seminar takes up Harris’ challenge and more. Drawing on a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary scholarship in the humanities and communication studies, we will explore how changes in technology--broadly defined--have challenged the fundamental question of what it means to be human. In a time where many of us are hyper-connected through social media, have access to more information than ever in human history, and are the subject of untoward efforts to collect data about our every move, we will explore how all of these changes and others have shaped our sense of meaning, of place, of identity, of connection. Moreover, we will address these questions with close sensitivity to the digital divide--examining how access to such technologies can highlight deeper questions about equity, economics, politics, law,ethics, and global citizenship.

    Senior Projects

    • Alvarez, Lyndsey Monique (English Subject Matter Preparation), “21st Century Learning? Evaluating Technology in the Classroom”
    • Bacungan, Sabrina Mils (Pre-Law), “How to be an Ethical Social Media Marketer”
    • Berman, Stefanie Louise (Practical and Professional Ethics), “Social Media and the Political Image”
    • Bonato, Gabriela Marie (Pre-law), “Technology and the Law”
    • Brown, Janine Nicole
    • Carranza, Victoria Elizabeth (Practical and Professional Ethics), “Artificial Intelligence In The Workplace: Effects & Implications”
    • Delgado-Llanas, Elizabeth (Pre-Law), “Humane Executions is an Oxymoron”
    • Edeza-Sanchez, Josefina (Chicana/o Studies), “Una Autobiografia with a Twist of Technology”
    • Faltynski, Kimberly May (Practical and Professional Ethics), “The Seaside Connection: Digitally Connecting an Analogue City”
    • Garza, Adalyn Sue (Literary and Film Studies), “#LoveAtFirstByte”
    • Gierahn, Shawn Alan (Journalism and Media Studies), “3D Printing the Future”
    • Gleason, Trevor James (Practical and Professional Ethics), “How Social Media is Shaping Presidential Elections”
    • Gutierrez, Giselle Marie (Pre-Law and Writing Rhetoric), “The Digitalization of Rape Culture on College Campuses Via Social Media”
    • Hernandez, Andres (Journalism and Media Studies), “The Value of Photographs in a Technological Society”
    • Johnson, Taylor Alexandria (Journalism and Media Studies), “Social Media Has An Impact on Relationships”
    • Kyle, Carson Michael (Practical and Professional Ethics), “Exploring our new Virtual Reality”
    • McCartney, Zena Francesca (Practical and Professional Ethics), “Humanity's Capability of Transcendence through Artificial Intelligence”
    • Nitza, Ryan Christopher (Journalism and Media Studies), “Computer and Video Games Impact on Youth and Young Adult's Development”
    • Peregrina, Jessica (Pre-Law), “The Backdoor to Privacy in the Digital Realm”
    • Pillitiere, Samantha Jo (Pre-Law), “Today's Technology, Tomorrow's Trash”
    • Ramirez, Lizzette (Pre-law), “The Last Take”
    • Renton, Melanie Jean (Writing and Rhetoric), “The Modern Book: the Forms, the Essence, the Experience”
    • Salazar, Steven Alexander (Pre-law), “The Line Between National Security and Privacy”
    • Simon, Daniel Robert (Journalism and Media Studies), “Social Media and Protest in the 21st Century: Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter”
    • Smallman, Danielle Paige (Writing and Rhetoric), “The Impact of Technological Mediations on Humanity and Relationship”
    • Tulipani, Courtney Laine (Journalism and Media Studies), “Social Media's Impact on Compassion”

  • Professor Umi Vaughan

    This Capstone considers Soul as a way of being among people from the Global South. We will consider “Where or who is the Global South?” and learn why Soul is inextricably tied to the struggle for social justice. Instructor Umi Vaughan will use examples from his experience as a researcher, percussionist, and dancer in Oakland, Cuba, Brazil and elsewhere to examine concepts such as improvisation, collective memory/action, redemption/healing, and cultural counter attack in relation to Soul.

    Senior Projects

    • Allenbaugh, Annie M. (Writing & Rhetoric), “The Wild Spirit Within”
    • Ambriz, Vanessa J. (Pre-Law), “One Soul Fighting To Bring Social Justice”
    • Amelio, Caeman B. (Journalism & Media Studies), “The Soul Of Rock ‘N’ Roll"
    • Ba, Faith H. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “The Passion of Silence”
    • Barajas Mena, Daniela (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Con Mis Sueños Encontre Mi Alma”
    • Beltran, Jesse B. (Pre-Law), Supervision of People: It’s Effect On Social Economic Needs, And Inner- Self
    • Bockman, Colin P. (Creative Writing & Social Action), “Musical Vibrancy from the Soul: The Continuing Search for Soul through Guitar”
    • Cervantes-Ramirez, Rosemary (Pre-Law), “Incarceration: The Negative Impact On The Soul”
    • Elyse M. Colbert
    • Davidson, Kevin D. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “Exploitation of the Dominican Republic’s Soul: Blinded by the Sport of Baseball”
    • Ellis, Ja’Monie (Pre- Law), “Finding the Soul of the Nation: An exploration of African Culture in American History”
    • Eriksen, Kiley L. (Journalism & Media Studies), “FREE THE SOUL: An exploration of personal revelations, generational contemplations, and a hope for the future that holds it all together”
    • Garcia, Crystal (Practical and Professional Ethics, Pre-Law), “Music, Soul and Justice: The Force Behind Equality and Change”
    • Hays, Madeline A. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “Quieting the Mind to Awaken the Soul”
    • Howard, William A. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Learning to Teach: Finding Out What it Means to be a Teacher”
    • Koesling, Katerina (Creative Writing and Social Activism, Practical and Professional Ethics), “L’appel du Vide (Call of the Void, The Suffering of the Soul)”
    • MacKillop, Arjuna (Literary and Film Studies), “Echoes of Forgotten Songs”
    • McDonagh, Seamus P. (Practical & Professional Ethics), “Soul Serving: A Social Media Internship with KCBA FOX 35”
    • Medina, Javier C. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “’Quiénes Somos’ (Who are we?)”
    • Mendoza, Jessica (Chicano/a Studies), “Testimonios del Alma”
    • Palmer, Miguel A. (Journalism and Media Studies), “Feeding the Soul”
    • Parr, Aaron J. (Writing and Rhetoric), “Crossfit: Fitness for the Soul”
    • Smith, Daniel B. (Pre-Law), “Deterioration of Soul Through Mass Media and Consumerism”
    • Tavares, Maria I. (American Multicultural Studies), “Finding Myself”
    • Usrey, Cordero (Journalism and Media Studies), “Sabermetrics: The Statistical Soul of Our Nation’s Pastime”
    • Vetter, Hailey A. (Journalism and Media Studies), “Soul Around the World”
    • Ward, Georgette C. (Journalism and Media Studies), “Soul Searching: An American Enigma”

    Senior Projects

  • Professor Sam Robinson

    In the year 2050 there will be more than 9 billion people on earth. People around the world will be faced with famine, drought, severe climate change, over-crowding and a poor economy. Since the 1950s we have increasing looked to science and technology to solve our problems. Recently however, leaders in the science and tech fields have been speaking out and saying they can’t solve these problems alone. Humanists, philosophers, educators, communicators, journalists, etc. all must to be apart of the process to ensure needs are met in a socially just way. How will HCOM grads use what they have learned at California State University, Monterey Bay to meet the needs of the year 2050? We will look at the myriad challenges and predictions for the year 2050, paying close attention to how race, gender, economic class and geographic location impact our perspectives on these issues.We also will explore various theories related to the construct of time and how the past, present and future are represented in our mediated world.

    Senior Projects

    • Askew, Melissa A. (History, Oral History, and New Media), “The Past as the Future of Abortion”
    • Aubert, Casey C. (Journalism and Media Studies), “Rethink: Everything We Know”
    • Bates, John R. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Information Technology in the English Classroom”
    • Bays, John D. (Journalism and Media Studies), “Journalism in the Year 2050”
    • Diaz, Nicole D. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Trending Now: A Generation of Technology Dependent Copycats”
    • Flores, Mario A. (Creative Writing & Social Action), “Today’s Tomorrow: No Turning Back”
    • Frago, Justin R. (American Multicultural Studies), “Unity Through Diversity: Working Together to Create Social Change”
    • Geraldo, Oriana S. (Peace Studies), “Citizenship as an Identity”
    • Gray, Samantha C. (Journalism and Media Studies), “Swan Song”
    • Hensley, Elizabeth J. (Journalism & Media Studies, Creative Writing & Social Action), “Lost in Space: Digital Preservation and Social Disruption”
    • Hubler, Taylor C. (Writing & Rhetoric), “Good Ole’ Times Role Playing Game”
    • Kesler, Emily M. (Creative Writing and Social Action), “A Beautiful Apocalypse: A Collection of Poems”
    • Kishi, Katie K. (Journalism and Media Studies), “Invisible Ink: Moving away from Print Journalism”
    • Krause, Keven J. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “An Examination of Anti-GMO rhetoric”
    • Loeuth, Renee (Journalism and Media Studies), “An Exploration of Reproductive Rights”
    • Mackey, Briana R. (Journalism and Media Studies), “Preserving Liberal Arts education will save the future)
    • Mata, Roxana (Pre-Law), “Making Justice Accessible to All”
    • Meyn, Haley C. (Peace Studies), “Will the UN be Effective in 2050?”
    • Ontiveros, Alyssa M. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Assimilation in Education: The American Indian Literacy Gap”
    • Ransom, Eric A. (Journalism and Media Studies), “2050: Journalism”
    • Thomas, Mya’I (Pre-Law), “Justice For All: The Watsonville Law Center”
    • Tonga, Fiava’ai K. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “What Was Left Behind and What Will Be Found”
    • Zapata, Joe L. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “The Only Way to Write: The (Your) World”

  • Professor Lee Ritscher

    This Capstone class considers the theme of social justice and injustice through a feminist lens. In particular, we'll be considering the ways in which we ourselves are privileged within our societies and the ways in which we're less privileged. We'll be using current discussions as well as historical documents which illustrate the problems that social injustice can lead to.

    Senior Projects

    • Adad, Emily X. (Journalism and Media Studies), “Social Justice and Monterey County”
    • Altman, Corliss M. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Collecting Women’s Stories: Cold War Era”
    • Baker, Makenna D. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “Pornography: Ensuring that Women are Never on Top”
    • Bass, Erin A. (Writing and Rhetoric & Creative Writing and Social Action), “I Am a Sexual Being: An Exploration of Oversexualization and Its Effects”
    • Bernard, Jamara R. (Creative Writing and Social Action), “The American Nightmare: Land of the Incarcerated”
    • Boomsliter, Jordan C. (Journalism and Media Studies), “The Abridged Rainbow: Examining Gender Representation of the LGBT Community in Television”
    • Comiso, Damien C. (Journalism and Media Studies), “Media and How it Can Encourage a Culture of Oppression”
    • Kelsey A. Eaton, Practical and Professional Ethics
    • Luke J. Eicher, Practice and Professional Ethics
    • Mackenzie K. Handy
    • McAlister, Shannon C. (Women’s Studies), “The Many Shades of Beauty”
    • Meech, Nick H. (Practical and Professional Ethics), “Justice for Juveniles: Decreasing the School-To-Prison Pipeline”
    • Cesar Mora
    • Murray, Victoria L. (American Multicultural Studies), “Huemanity: A Colorful Study of the History of Humanity’s Fight for Equality”
    • Nguyen, Beemy D. (History, Oral History, and New Media), “Opting Out of Spandex for Armor”
    • Perez, Maria V. (Women’s Studies), “Hunger in the Pajaro Valley”
    • Perez, Noeli (Women’s Studies), “Empowering Women by Breaking the Silence”
    • Richardson, Laila (Creative Writing & Social Action, English Subject Matter Preparation) “maybe when i learn to breathe, i’ll finally be able to speak”
    • Salimi, Jessica E. (Journalism and Media Studies), “The 10-Year Plan: What the College Experience Means Today”
    • Santos, Emmanuel H. (Pre-Law), “Watsonville Law Center”
    • Singh, Avneel (English Subject Matter Preparation), “No Bullying Allowed! What teachers and students can do to stop bullying at their schools”
    • Sullivan, Sara (Practical and Professional Ethics), “The Privileged 3% of College Students”
    • Vicencio, Eloisa (Pre-Law), “Watsonville Law Center: Legal Studies Internship”
    • Marquise D. Washington
    • Williamson, Megan R. (English Subject Matter Preparation), “Kitchen-Table Talk: Creating Authentic Engagement in K-12 Classrooms”