Literature & Writing Studieshttp://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/10211.8_122024-03-29T06:07:30Z2024-03-29T06:07:30ZThe Rhetoric of Lowriding: A Misunderstood Cultural Movement in the Public RealmOrtega, Franciscohttp://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/2171352020-08-05T20:34:16Z2020-08-05T00:00:00ZThe Rhetoric of Lowriding: A Misunderstood Cultural Movement in the Public Realm
Ortega, Francisco
In its simplest sense as known in the public realm, a lowrider is an old lowered car which might even bounce, and is driven by someone who has brown skin. I argue, however, that the lowrider is much more than that: it extends a car; it extends a person; it extends a crowd of vicious gang-banging hoodlum Mexicans. Lowriding is a cultural movement which undermines stereotypes, and is a very complex tradition of building community through various art forms and solidarity, historically amongst underprivileged individuals of Mexican descent. The culture begins with expression through one’s customized vehicle, although lowriding’s legacy has instilled its spirit into individuals who (no longer) own cars, and keep the lowrider culture alive through the forms to be discussed.
2020-08-05T00:00:00ZExploring Science-Fantasy, Gender, and Postcolonial Issues in Netflix's DisenchantmentWhittaker, Jeremyhttp://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/2158802020-05-13T22:54:39Z2020-05-13T00:00:00ZExploring Science-Fantasy, Gender, and Postcolonial Issues in Netflix's Disenchantment
Whittaker, Jeremy
This thesis examines ways in which the Netflix series "Disenchantment" portrays issues of gender and Otherness within the hybrid genre of science-fantasy. Specifically, it identifies the show's attempt at constructing its main character as a female hero while simultaneously reinforcing Othered depictions of its nonhuman characters through exoticized efforts of world building.
2020-05-13T00:00:00Z(Sub)urbanites Under the Influence: High Crimes and Border Crossings in the Addiction Narratives of Junky and Breaking BadHurt, Melissahttp://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/2157202021-05-02T10:00:19Z2020-05-01T00:00:00Z(Sub)urbanites Under the Influence: High Crimes and Border Crossings in the Addiction Narratives of Junky and Breaking Bad
Hurt, Melissa
This thesis examines fictional addict character representations in contemporary texts and highlights how racial and economic privilege is extended and exercised within addict communities. This work also considers the historical contexts of the social and political stigmas of drugs and drug addict perspectives and how the recent decriminalization of certain drug offenses have favored some populations and affect the ways addicts are represented in American popular culture.
2020-05-01T00:00:00ZComposing Herself: Joan Didion and the Art of Public BereavementKeehn, Mikaylahttp://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/2157092020-05-11T18:55:14Z2020-04-28T00:00:00ZComposing Herself: Joan Didion and the Art of Public Bereavement
Keehn, Mikayla
Composing Herself: Joan Didion and the Art of Public Bereavement” unpacks Didion's psychological process of “magical thinking” and elucidates how Didion depicts negotiating feelings of abandonment and denial as she guides her readers into her candid progression into grief, utilizing literature, research, and her writing process to make sense of her identity as a new widow traversing the unfamiliar landscape of bereavement through memory.
2020-04-28T00:00:00Z