POPC MA Current Students

First Year Master's Students:

Bucky (They/Them)
Hometown: Farmington Hill, MI
B.A. Religious Studies, Michigan State University 
Research Interests: Mythology/Religion in International Film/Games

Sean Cleland (he/him/his)
Hometown: Hicksville, OH and Kent, OH
B.A. Psychology and Classics with Religious Studies Concentration, Kent State University
Research Interests: Cryptid folklore and legends from the American West; history of the American West and interaction with the Western film genre; online communities and storytelling focused on Cryptids and the Missing Persons 411 mythos; Creepypasta; signs and symbols of supernatural belief and how they pragmatically influence behavior.

Sara Gonzales (she/her/hers)
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT, Atlanta, GA, and Baltimore, MD
B.A. Death and Gender in Folklore, Westminister University
Research Interests: What are the intersections of true crime and ghost stories?

Alex Lane (He/Him)
Hometown: Commerce Township, MI
B.A. Philosphy and Religous Studies Minor, Michigan State University
Research Interest: Popular Culture as religion, intersectional feminsm in modern media

Joseph K. Macdonald
Hometown: Lake Milton, OH
B.A.- History, Ashland University
Research Interests: My intent is to research various varieties of television genres and how they connect with the eras in which they were created. I would also like to look at how some folklore may have influenced the advent of television and how these two subjects are intrinsically connected.

Ellie Parsons (they/them)
Hometown: Rockingham, NC
B.A. Communications, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Research Interests: The evolution and relationship between fandom and the internet, queer representation in children's television shows and comics, the impact of streaming and binge-watching on the longevity of television shows

Davis Ritenour
Hometown: North Wilkesboro, NC
B.A. Popular Culture and Production, High Point University
Research Interests: Current popular music or movies in relation to Gen Z

Second Year Master's Students:

Brandon Alva
Hometown: Smyrna, Delaware
MFA, Creative Writing, University of Arizona BA, English, University of Utah
Research Interests: Comics and Jewish studies, the rhetoric of films “based on true a story,” and popular culture pedagogy at open access institutions.

Kayla Minniear
Hometown: Bowling Green, OH
Associates - Bachelors - Management (Ohio University )
Research Interests: Japanese Popular Culture, Video Game Industry

Garrett Scherff

John Harris