Tom Wymer Thesis Award Winner: Andrea Avers

The 2019 winner of the Tom Wymer Thesis Award is Andrea Avers, for her project: “We don’t torture the women enough”: The Hitchcock Blonde as the Homo Sacer in The Birds, Vertigo, and Rear Window.

The Tom Wymer Thesis Award is granted to an undergraduate student in the literature program whose work is clear and well-written, has a strong central argument that is thoughtfully executed and supported with textual evidence, and demonstrates strong research skills and original thinking.

Avers' project explores the trope of the Hitchcock Blonde through the lens of Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben's concept of the homo sacer, a being whose death has no meaning and whose killer will not be punished. She explores Hitchcock's own filmmaking process and personality, as well as three of his well-known films that include the Hitchcock Blonde: The Birds, Vertigo, and Rear Window.

Please join the Department of English in extending our congratulations to Andrea Avers!