English and Communications seniors to give thesis presentations

More than 20 seniors majoring in English communications and English literature will give their thesis presentations in the DiStefano Lecture Hall April 21-22. Featured will be students’ examination and in-depth analysis of a variety of cultural topics drawn from popular contemporary novels, classic literature, fairy tales, television shows, movies, video games and social media, among others.

Seniors have been working under the supervision of Dr. Madeleine Esch, associate professor of English, and Dr. Jen McClanaghan, assistant professor of English.

Friday, April 21 from 3:30-5 p.m.

• Clarissa Verleur: “Be Different and Be Damned: ‘Gone with the Wind’ Within the Context of Modernism”
• Lyndsay Rinere: “Smoke Shows or Sideshows? Exposing the Presence of Objectification in Barstool Smokeshows Instagram Account”
• Emma Farinacci: “Kissing and Telling: A Critical Analysis of Anonymous Hookup Narratives Online”
• Jessica Deegan: “Booze and Balls: Representations of Masculinity and Alcohol in Super Bowl Commercials”

Friday, April 21 from 6:30-9 p.m.

• Marrissa Ballard: “Indoctrination over Objectivity? Examining Breitbart’s Framing of Candidates and Social Issues in the 2016 Election”
• Meghan Hannon: “‘Can I Live?!’: Celebrity Icons in the Age of Social Media”
• Rebecca Clar: “Escape from Reality: The Bridge Dystopian Fiction is Building Between Fiction and News”
• Alexis Mateus: “The Beginning of the End: How Reliving the Lives of Others Gives Solace to Our Own Suffering”
• Ryan Colwell: “Blank Spaces: How Figurative Language Helps the Reader Reimagine Reality”
• Lily Margaret Jones: “‘Can’t repeat the past? Why, of course you can’: A Defense of Baz Luhrmann’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ and Auteurist Adaptation”

Saturday, April 22 from 9 a.m. to noon

• Julia Morisi: “Blurring Borders: Examining the Occupation of Palestinian and Israeli Narratives in the Works of Sayed Kashua”
• Juliette Livingston: “Evaluating Social Media as a Tool for Positive Body Image”
• Katie Persechino: “@ctress to @ctivist: Sophia Bush’s Activism and Self-Branding Through Twitter”
• Caitlin Downing: “Gender in Black and White: Examining Interracial Relationships in ShondaLand”
• Stephanie Menders: “Tracing the Macho Constellation: Categorizing Hypermasculine Discourse in Platinum Age TV Dramas”

Saturday, April 22 from 1:30-4 p.m.

• Gabriella Rodriguez: “Islamophobia in 140 Characters or Less: Political Discourse on Twitter Following the 2016 Election and the EU Referendum”
• Carly Perini: “The Thread to the Threshold: An Exploration of Changing Characters and Altered Realities”
• Meghan Sullivan: “‘Hey Guys, What’s Poppin?’: How YouTube Video Loggers Broadcast Their Expertis”
• Allison Graham: “Monsters Tell Stories Too: The Uncanny in Literature and its Disrupting of Convenient Narratives”
• Matthew Levine: “‘Poor little rich girl, what does she know about misery?’: The Symbolism and Significance of Rose in James Cameron’s ‘Titanic'”
• Kevin Onofreo: “Punching Neo-Nazis, Overthrowing Regimes and Other Things to do in Star-Spangled Spandex: Marvel’s Cinematic Universe in the 21st Century”