English and Communications seniors to give thesis presentations

Photo: English literature and English communications majors from the Class of 2015

Twenty-two seniors majoring in English communications and English literature will give their thesis presentations in the DiStefano Lecture Hall April 15-16. 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. Stephen Trainor, professor of English.

Friday, April 15 from 3-5:30 p.m.

• Emily Lipinski: “Millennials on Fire: The True Reasoning Behind Dystopia”
• Kimberly Provax: “Behind the Cut: Understanding Motorcycle Clubs, Gender Stereotypes and Rape in ‘Sons of Anarchy'”
• Fletcher Bonin: “The Hero’s Glass Half-Full: On the Necessity and Benefits of Optimism in Dystopia”
• Cassidy Rota: “A Song of Ice, Fire and Power: Leading Ladies in HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones'”
• Elysa Schuhmacher: “LC as CEO: Lauren Conrad’s Use of Identity and Social Media to Redefine Feminism”
• Sofia Dias: “Two Pure Women: A Defense of Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Moll Flanders”

Friday, April 15 from 6:30-9 p.m.

• Brianna DaSilva: “The New Witch: Contemporary Portrayals of Female Witches”
• Keiko Gammel: “Progressive Prime-Time Dramas? Gendering the Crime-Drama Antihero”
• Melissa Prunier: “Hic Sunt Dracones: A Study of the Triangulation Between Humanity, Dragons, and Gods”
• Massimo Aronson: “My Best Friend is Black: Observing Mock Reality Television and the Portrayal of Token Characters”
• Hannah Montero: “Citizens, Candidates and the Caribbean: Public Relations and Politics on Facebook in Belize”
• Ellena Sweet: “It Wants to Get Inside of You: Interrogating Representations of Women in Possession Films”

Saturday, April 16 from 9 a.m. to noon

• Kelly Corrigan: “Intro to Curriculum 101”
• Liam Centrella: “4th and a Long Way to Go: Media’s Outdated Portrayal of Locker Room Culture”
• Julia Casberg: “Get Off the ‘Banned’ Wagon”
• Gabrielle Lefrancois: “Reviving Animation: The Emergence of Diversity in Disney’s Modern Animated Films”
• Kristin Wilinkiewicz: “‘He’s a Princess?!’ Progressive Depictions of Royalty in ‘Adventure Time'”

Saturday, April 16 from 1:30-4 p.m.

• Tara Stanzione: “What Do Romance Readers Want? How Romance Authors Use Facebook to Engage With Readers”
• Kathryn Barry: “What’s Haunting Shakespeare: How Ghosts Are Used in Shakespearean Works”
• Emily Smith: “Not So Subtle Wink: The Strategic Drama in the Lives of Modern ‘Real Housewives'”
• Ashley Bourque: “Greatest QB of All Time? Examining Bias in Sports Illustrated’s Coverage of Brady and Manning”
• Sean Garrity: “The Prejudice of Publicity: Race and Gender in Celebrity Scandals”