Completed Thesis Titles

Zariyah Baynard (2023)
Body Positivity: Hypersexualization of Black Female Artists in the Hip-Hop Industry
Advisor: Jeffrey Brown

Taylor Bowles (2023)
Sex Workers with Hearts of Gold: An Ancient Trope of Sex and Class in Popular Culture
Advisor: Becca Cragin

Jenna Sule (2023)
Bodies, Bodies, and more Bodies: The Female Body in Horro Media
Advisor: Becca Cragin

Jason Mecchi (2023)
The Roads Ahead: Anthropomorphized Cars in Film
Advisor: Jeffrey Brown

Haley Shipley (2023)
Truth, Justice, and the American Crop: Smallville, Corn, and the Creation of the Ultimate American Myth
Advisor: Jeffrey Brown

Zamirah Hussain (2022)
Drag Queens and Cowboys: Cultivating Queer Country Music through Postmodern Camp
Advisor: Becca Cragin

Jaymen Neff-Strickland (2022)
Non-Prestige Television Is Worth Taking A Look At: MTV's Teen Wolf
Advisor: Becca Cragin

Alex Kostrzewa (2022)
Racial Essentialism in High Fantast
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach

Oladoyin Abiona (2021)
What I Do When I Dance: Foregrounding Female Agency in the Dance Culture in Nigeria
Advisor: Angela Nelson

John King (2021)
Soft Focus: The Invisible War For Reality
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach

Devin Elliott (2021)
West Virginia Urban Legends and Thier Impact on Cultures Both Local and Abroad
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach

Tristen Leighton (2021)
Contrasting sounds and overlapping scenes: The role of the middle class in punk/metal crossover
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach

Ryan Monk (2021)
Pretty/Violent: Cinematic Action Heroines From 2015 to 2020
Advisor: Becca Cragin

Marley Stuever-Williford (2021)
Hex Appeal: The Body of the Witch in Popular Culture
Advisor: Jeffrey Brown

Emma Lynn (2021)
Fan Remake Films: Active Engagement With Popular Texts
Advisor: Jeffery Brown

Cheyenne White (2021)
Nostalgia and the Physical Book
Advisor: Kristen Rudisill

Rachel Ramlawi (2020)
Queen of the Hill
Advisor: Becca Cragin

Judith Clemens-Smucker (2020)
Major Kira of Star Trek: DS9: Woman of the Future, Creation of the 90s
Advisor: Becca Cragin

Joshua Smith (2020)
Dick Grayson: Relatability, Catharsis, and the Positive Development of a Superhero
Advisor: Jeffrey Brown

Anna DeGalan (2020)
Cresecendos of the Caped Crushaders: An Evolutionary Study of Soundtracks From DC Comics' Superheroes
Advisor: Jeffrey Brown

Katelyn Balkum (2020)
Disabled Heroes: Disabilities in Rick Riordan's Greek and Roman Retellings
Advisor: Kristen Rudisill

Alexis Isaac (2020)
Expressions in Genrelessness: Genre in the Netflix Era of Television
Advisor: Becca Cragin

Jerry Reed (2020)
You Are What Others Eat: Informal Economics and Social Hierarchy in Middle Schools
Advisor: Kristen Rudisill
Current Position: Academic Advisor, Central Piedmont Community College

Eric Sobel (2018)
Masters of the Universe: Action Figures, Customization and Masculinity
Advisor: Montana Miller

Trinidad Linares (2018)
"Dis-Orienting Interactions: Agatha Christie, Imperial Tourists, and the Other"
Advisor: Kristen Rudisill
Current Position: Library Associate -Music Library and Bill Schurk Sound Archives, Bowling Green State University

Wonseok Lee (2018)
"Diversity of K-Pop: A Focus on Race, Language, and Musical Genre"
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
Current Position: PhD Student, Ethnomusicology, The Ohio State University

Robin Hershkowitz (2018)
"Popular Memoirs of Women Held Captive"
Advisor: Montana Miller
Current Position: PhD Student, American Culture Studies, BGSU

Katelen Brown (2018)
""Local Band Does O.K.": A Case Study of Class and Scene Politics in the Jam Scene of Northwest "
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
Current Position: PhD Student, Folklore and Ethnomusicology, Indiana University,

Jason Maageria (2018)
"Hollywood Made in Kenya: Domesticating or Appropriating?"
Advisor: Kristen Rudisill
Current Position:  

Courtney Bliss (2017)
"Reframing Normal: The Inclusion of Deaf Culture in the X-Men Comic Books"
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
Current Position: PhD Student, American Culture Studies, BGSU

Joyce Okango (2017)
"Fair and Lovely": The Concept of Skin Bleaching and Body Image Politics In Kenya
Advisor: Jeff Brown
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Amira Hassnaoui (2017)
“Stambeli Awakening: Cultural Revival and Musical Amalgam in Post Revolution Tunisia”
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
Current Position: PhD Student, World Arts and Cultures, UCLA

Marin Muthee (2017)
“An Echo to a People's Culture: Ken Walibora's Kidagaa Kimemwozea as a Representation of the Kenyan Socio-Political Environment”
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
Current Position: PhD Student, African Cultural Studies, Universtiy of Wisconsin

Yu Zheng (2016)
"The Screaming Successor": Exploring the Chinese Metal Scene in Contemporary Chinese Society (1996-2015)
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
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Alex Garner (2016)
“The Erotics of Fanfiction: Queering Fans, Works, and Communities in Modern Internet Fandom”
Advisor: Jeff Brown
Current Position: PhD Student, English, University of Oregon

Olivia Roig (2016)
“Green Day: Rock Music and Class”
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
Current Position: M.A. Student, History, Albany

Robert Humphrey (2016)
“Representing Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Empire: (Counter)Hegemonic Masculinity, Black Fatherhood, and Homosexuality in Primetime Television”
Advisor: Angela Nelson
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Philip Clements (2015)
“Roll to Save vs. Prejudice: The Phenomenology of Race in Dungeons & Dragons”
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
Current Position:  

Cynthia Porter (2015)
Plan II
Current Position: PhD Student, German, Russian, & East European Studies, Vanderbilt University

Meredith King (2015)
Plan II
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Hannah Maulden (2015)
“Heroes and Villains: Political Rhetoric in Post-9/11 Popular Media”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Matti Pomeroy (2015)
Plan II

Briana Pocratsky (2015)
Plan II

Alexander Nader (2015)
“"Infinite Earths": Crossmedia Adaptation and the Development of Continuity in the DC Animated Universe”
Advisor: Jeffrey Brown
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Anthony Thibodeau (2014)
“Anti-colonial Resistance and Indigenous Identity in North American Heavy Metal”
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
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Krista Wise (2014)
"’I Won't Let Anyone Come Between Us’ Representations of Mental Illness, Queer Identity, and Abjection in High Tension”
Advisor: Becca Cragin
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Molly Weinberg (2014)
“The Quest For Power In Desperate Housewives: Ideal Femininity Through The Body, Emotion, and Employment”
Advisor: Becca Cragin
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Jeena Kim (2014)
“Tea Parties, Fairy Dust, and Cultural Memory: The Maintenance and Development of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan Over Time”
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
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Yannick Kluch (2014)
“The Man Your Man Should Be Like: Masculinity and the Male Body in Old Spice's Smell Like a Man, Man and Smell is Power Campaigns”
Advisor: Becca Cragin
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William Jones (2014)
“Paper Tower: Aesthetics, Taste, and the Mind-Body Problem in American Independent Comics”
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
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Amber Fetch (2014)
"More than Alchemic Reactions: Playing with Gender Norms in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood”
Advisor: Kristen Rudisill
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James Beale (2013)
“"The Strong, Silent Type": Tony Soprano, Don Draper, and the Construction of the White Male Antihero in Contemporary Television Drama”
Advisor: Becca Cragin
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Annamarie O’Brien (2013)
“Mind over Matter: Expressions of Mind/Body Dualism in Thinspiration”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Seth Brodbeck (2013)
“Gender-Blind and Gender-Bound: Young Adult Comics and the Postfeminist Protagonist”
Advisor: Becca Cragin
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Kendall Binder (2013)
“Rural Hysteria: Genre of the Reimagined Past, Spectacle of AIDS, and Queer Politics in Diana Lee Inosanto's The Sensei”
Advisor: Becca Cragin
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Katherine Reynolds (2013)
“Narrative, Body and gaze; Representations of Action Heroines in Console Video Games and Gamer Subjectivity”
Advisor: Becca Cragin
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Anna Mullins (2013)
“Sucker Punch and the Political Problem of Fantasy to Female Representation”
Advisor: Becca Cragin
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Broc Holmquest (2013)
“Ludological Storytelling and Unique Narrative Experiences in Silent Hill Downpour”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Jared Brown (2013)
“Sex and the City, Platinum Edition: How The Golden Girls Altered American Situation Comedy”
Advisor: Becca Cragin
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Menghan Liu (2012)
“Rephrasing Mainstream and Alternatives: An Idealogical Analysis of the Birth of Chinese Indie Music”
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
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Nathan Winters (2012)
“Schoolgirls with Katanas: Appropriating Japaneseness and the Postmodern Cool in Sucker Punch”
Advisor: Kristen Rudisill
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Michael Wiatrowski (2012)
“A Man's Gotta Do: Myth, Misogyny and Otherness in Post-9/11 America”\
Advisor: Kristen Rudisill
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Mackenzie Ryan (2012)
“An Analysis of National Football League Fandom and Its Promotion of Conservative Cultural Ideals About Race, Religion, and Gender”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Christopher Ryan (2012)
“Hunks of Meat: Homicidal Homosociality and Hyperheteronormativity in Cannibal Horror”
Advisor: Jeffrey Brown
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Travis Limbert (2012)
“The Magic of Community: Gathering of Card Players and Subcultural Expression”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Brian Keilen (2012)
“Echoes of Invasion: Cultural Anxieties and Video Games”
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
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Sean Ahern (2012)
“The Clash and Mass Media Messages from The Only Band That Matters”
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
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Cory Barker (2012)
“Genre Welcome?: Formula, Genre and Branding in USA Network's Programming and Promotional Content”
Advisor: Jeffrey Brown
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Sade Young (2011)
“SOUTHERN-PLAYALISTIC-HIPHOP-SPACESHIP-MUSIC”
Advisor: Angela Nelson
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Nicholas Porter (2011)
“The Dark Carnival: the Construction and Performance of Race in American Professional Wrestling”
Advisor: Montana Miller
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Kasey Cullors (2011)
“Gradations of Thrills, Kicks and Moonwalks: A Textual and Cultural Analysis of the Effects of Michael Jacskon, the Legend and “Thriller”, the Legendary”
Advisor: Kristin Rudisill
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Brandi Venable (2011)
“Feed Me! Insatiable Children and the Monsters Who Want to Devour Them: Fairy Tales and Consumption in Clive Barker's The Thief of Always and Neil Gaiman's Coraline”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Timothy Bavinka (2011)
“Superheroes and Shamanism: Magic and Participation in the Comics of Grant Morrison”
Advisor:  Jeffrey Brown
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Tierney Oberhammer (2010)
“MILKY BODIES, OFF-WHITE MENACE: IDENTITY, MILK AND ABJECT FEMININITY IN RECENT US MEDIA”
Advisor: Jeffrey Brown
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Nicholas Ware (2010)
“’You Must Defeat Shen Long To Stand A Chance’: Street Fighter, Race, Play, and Player”
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
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Nicholas Reinhard (2010) – PLAN II
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Elizabeth Mason (2010)
“American Masculinity in Crisis: Trauma and Superhero Blockbusters”
Advisor: Kristen Rudisill
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Mallory Jagodzinski (2010)
“Of Bustles and Breeches: Cross-dressing Romance Novel Heroines and the Performance of Gender Ideology”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Puja Batra-Wells (2010)
“One Nation, Under Arugula: The Obama White House Kitchen Garden as Cultural Display and Pedagogy”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Sean Watkins (2009)
“Media Literacy and the Digital Age”
Advisor: Esther Clinton
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Ora McWilliams (2009)
““Hey Batman, What Are Your Parents Getting You For Christmas?”: The Orphan Narrative and Non-Traditional Families in American Superhero Publications”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Daniel Manco (2009)
““In Our Different Ways We Are The Same”: Representations of Disability in the Music and Persona of Morrissey”
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
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Brian Blitz (2009)
“Blood, Birth, Imagination: Ethnic Nationalism and South Korean Popular Culture”
Advisor: Kristen Rudisill
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Katherine Barak (2009)
“Reading, Writing, and Reality TV: Encouraging Media Literacy and Critical Thinking in American Classrooms Through Popular Culture”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Stephanie Plummer  (2009)
“Food Contamination Narratives in United States News Media”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Benjamin Phillips  (2009)
“A Community in a Cow Pasture: Football at Penn State”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Sarah Lafferty  (2009)
“Holding Out For A Female Hero: The Visual And Narrative Representation Of The Female FBI Agent In Hollywood Psychological Thrillers From 1991-2008”
Advisor: Jeffrey Brown
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April Boggs (2009)
“No Chick Flick Moments: 'Supernatural' as a Masculine Narrative”
Advisor: Esther Clinton
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Laura Butera (2008)
“Height, Power, and Gender: Politicizing the Measured Body”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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David Pratt (2008)
““Too Many Olives in My Martini”: W.C. Fields and Charles Bukowski as Postmodern Carnival Kings”
Advisor: Jeffrey Brown
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Julie Rowse (2008)
“Trouble Right Here in Digital City: Censorship of Online Student Speech”
Advisor: Montana Miller
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Benjamin Olson (2008)
“I am the Black Wizards: Multiplicity, Mysticism and Identity in Black Metal Music and Culture”
Advisor: Esther Clinton
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Michael Lewis (2008)
“Representations and Discourse of Torture in Post 9/11 Television: An Ideological Critique of 24 and Battlestar Galactica”
Advisor: Jeffrey Brown
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James Paasche (2007)
“Documenting the Expert: The Films of Errol Morris”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Michelle Cordone (2007)
“The Role of Vernacular Architecture in Small Town Identity and Economy: A Study of Mentone, Indiana”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Arisa Shibagaki (2007)
“The Barbie Phenomenon in Japan”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Matt Diebler (2007)
“The Models of Empowered Femininity We Offer Young Boys: American Animated Action Teams and the Token Female,”
Advisor: Jeffrey Brown
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Rebecca E. Dawson (2007)
“And Starring as Himself: Cultural Context and Images of Jesus in North American Film,”
Advisor: Angela Nelson
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Tony McCosham (2007)
“’This is Generally Followed by a Blackout’: Power, Resistance, and Carnivalesque in Television Sketch Comedy”
Advisor: Becca Cragin
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Gavin Mueller (2007)
“Ghettotech: Racialized Authenticity in Detroit Dance Music”
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
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Callie Clare (2007)
“An Ethnographic Look at Rabbit Hash, Kentucky”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Michael Lecker (2007)
“Treacherous, Deviant, and Submissive: Female Sexuality Represented in the Character Catwoman”
Advisor: Jeffrey Brown
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Jennifer Brandt  (2007)
“The Not So Sacred Feminine: Female Representation and Generic Constraints in The Da Vinci Code”
Advisor: Jeffrey Brown
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Claire Folkins (2006)
“Disney Starlets and the Feminine Girl Fantasy”
Advisor: Becca Cragin
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Christopher Martin (2006)
“’We Feed off Each Other’: Phenomenological Embodiment and Listener Receptivity of Nirvana’s In Utero”
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
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Sarah Gothie (2006)
“‘Great Minds Start Little’: Unpacking the Baby Einstein Phenomenon”
Advisor: Becca Cragin
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Matthew Aslaksen (2006)
“Middle Class Music in Suburban Nowhere Land: Emo and the Performance of Masculinity”
Advisor: Jeremy Wallach
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Celina-Beth Myers (2006)
“Romance and Identity: A Feminist Analysis of Felicity and Dawson’s Creek”
Advisor: Becca Cragin
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Kristen Moore (2006)
“The Grim Reaper, Working Stiff: The Man, the Myth, the Everyday”
Advisor: Montana Miller
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Adam C. Murdough (2006)
“Worlds Will Live, Worlds Will Die: Myth, Metatext, Continuity and Cataclysm in DC Comics’ Crisis on Infinite Earths”
Advisor: Angela Nelson
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Lisa Elliot (2005)
“Remaking Dawn of the Dead and The Stepford Wives”
Advisor:
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Cristen Blanding (2005)
“Interracial Romance Novels and the Resolution of Racial Difference”
Advisor: Marilyn Motz
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Gian A. Bruno (2004)
“The Evolving Gay Television Character: An Analysis of Gay and Lesbian Representation within the Situation Comedy Genre”
Advisor:
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Mark Dolan (1998)
“Study of Cultural Effects of Commodification on the Alternative Music Community”
Advisor:
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Jesse J. Scott (1998)
“Diseased Language: Black Popular Music in 12 Monkeys”
Advisor:
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Leigh P. Hallisey (1997)
“Decades of Decadence: Aaron Spelling as Television Auteur”
Advisor:
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Patricia Kim (1997)
“‘The Words We've Heard and the Music We Play’: Media and Group Dynamics in the Britpop Subculture”
Advisor:
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Jennifer C. Waits (1997)
“Fantastic Reality: The Blurring of Leisure and Work Space on MTV's The Real World and Road Rules”
Advisor:
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Julio Rodriguez (1996)
“SportsCenter: Audience as Subculture”
Advisor:
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Cliff Z. Samaniego (1996)
“Digital Sampling and Cultural Resistance in Rap Music”
Advisor:
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Travis Cunningham (1994)
“‘Beavis,’ ‘Butt-Head’ and You: American Television Today”
Advisor:
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Morrella Raleigh (1994)
“Riot Grrrls and Revolution”
Advisor: