English

Session I

Alexandra Hill, "'A Woman’s Wit': Wit’s Relation to Gender, Class, and Power in As You Like It"

How does wit allow characters to purchase greater agency and power in As You Like It, and how does status impact one's ability to do so? Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of social and linguistic capital, this project proposes wit as a fresh lens to examine the social landscape of the play. Wit’s relevancy extends beyond humor in the text, since characters’ intellects and verbal exchanges affect agency and hierarchy. A quick wit can essentially grant an individual the “purchasing power” to gain choice and status—yet that “purchasing power” is limited by one’s social position. Through principally studying the wits of Rosalind, Audrey, and Phoebe, this project homes in on how gender and class impact the necessity and influence of one’s intelligence and highlights two understudied characters. Ultimately, this project provides insight into the value of wit in challenging hierarchy in a stratified social world—and how the hierarchy itself might limit that value. 

Student Major(s): English and Psychology

Advisor: Dr. Erin Webster

Isaiah Riddle, "The 'Master Storyteller': How Richard Chase Wrote The Jack Tales" 

This project will develop a wholistic analysis of Richard Chase’s The Jack Tales, a work of literarily revised and amalgamated folklore from the Appalachian regions of North Carolina and Virginia. First, this project will explore the methodology, intentions, and ideology of the author, Richard Chase, in writing the book and in folklore in general. Second, this project will contain a literary analysis of The Jack Tales, with particular emphasis on tropes, folk motifs, and the overarching unity of the work as a whole. Finally, this project will contain a comparative analysis of The Jack Tales and other written and oral records of the same tales. The larger implications of this paper are to determine whether or not Chase’s adaptations were effective and whether or not they were genuine in preserving the authentic folklore they represent. This project also has implications into the adaptation and methodology of folkloric adaptations today.    

Student Major(s)/Minor: English Major, Music Minor

Advisor: Dr. Adam Potkay

David Severns, "The Lucid American Dream"

The United States' history could be described as a constant war with the American Dream. This core ideal claiming equal opportunity for all powers everything from American hope and work ethic to American delusion, despair, and politics. However, slavery, racism, cycles of poverty, an dozens of other systemic cultural failings have forever kept the Dream from being fully realized for every American. Now, with the disappearance of the middle class and capitalism's increasing brutality, some ask if the American Dream is dying. Through John Steinbeck's works and through the works of current authors and other creatives playing the role of "modern Steinbecks,” this research will attempt to answer the question: is the American Dream dying? And more importantly: was it ever alive in the first place?

Student Major(s): English and Economics

Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Hagedorn

Irene Straw, "The Depiction of Mothers in Contemporary Japanese Literature: How it Relates to Japan’s Declining Birth Rate"

Japan’s birth rate has been declining since the 1950s. This issue has been examined through political, economic, and sociocultural contexts, but one scope that hasn’t had enough focus is motherhood and its perceptions. This project will explore how mothers and motherhood are perceived in Japan through contemporary Japanese literature, and these depictions will be related to Japan’s ongoing crisis of a declining birth rate. Through a literary analysis of three primary sources, supplemented with several secondary sources, Japanese motherhood in contemporary society will be examined. Highlighting how social pressures, demanding traditional expectations, and the isolation of mothers impact Japan’s declining birth rate is one of the key goals of this project. It will provide insight on the sociocultural causes of Japan’s declining birth rate and how society could move forward to solve this issue. 

Student Major(s): English, Japanese Studies

Advisor: Dr. Alicia Andrzejewski

Session II

Sophia Ofosu, "Political Resistance & Black Autonomy: Media Representation of Black Women in White Spaces Through the TV Series, ‘Insecure’"

This research project explores how Black women undergo intersectionality – face oppression from both racism and sexism. Through the TV series, ‘Insecure,’ it will be analyzed how Black women undergo intersecting struggles while disrupting and resisting racial stereotypes in differing settings. Many do not comprehend what Black women experience being seen as inferior, constantly overlooked for opportunities compared to others. The research project will further explain how ‘Insecure’ portrays microaggressions - negative behaviors towards marginalized groups - and investigate how we can remove unfair burdens Black women often face surrounded by male and white-dominant spaces. The research question investigates how a Black woman obtains success despite the intersection of racial and gender discrimination. The broader goal of this project is to enact change by educating others or fostering social awareness on how female Blackness is portrayed and politically constructed through media as well as how it influences our perception of race and gender in society. 

Student Major(s)/Minor: Africana Studies Major, Film & Media Studies Minor

Advisor: Dr. Terrell Taylor

Video Presentations