The United States Supreme Court decided Ramos v. Louisiana in 2020, requiring all states to convict criminal defendants by a unanimous jury. However, this case only applied to petitioners on direct, and not collateral, appeal. In this thesis, I argue that the Ramos precedent should apply to people on collateral appeal as well, exploring the implications of such a decision and the criteria that should be used to make the decision in the case before the court, Edwards v. Vannoy (2021). Ultimately, I find that because the criteria currently used to determine retroactivity of new criminal precedents does not provide a clear answer to the question posed in Edwards, the Court should give more weight to the defendant's freedoms pursuant to the presumption of innocence while considering the potential for any disastrous outcomes.

There exists a gendered difference in how sports films portray female protagonist athletes. This creative project closely examines scenes from four films, Bend It Like Beckham, Million Dollar Baby, Girlfight and Whip It, that collectively represent four gendered themes that are present within the female protagonist sport film subgenre. Each film provides representative examples for themes of exceptionalism, the explicit presence of gender or sexuality, paternal or romantic relationships with male characters, and the punishment or containment of the female athlete. These themes are then analyzed for their presence and meaning in the film genre, including how existing heteronormative film structures are present in female protagonist sport films and how such ideas are reflections of wider societal values. This exposes how the continued use of such heteronormative themes perpetuates stereotypes of female athleticism. After understanding how these themes take shape and what they mean for the genre, this paper then highlights examples of an emergent more feminist genre, promotes alternative filmmaking methods and progressive change to the portrayal of female athletes in sport film.

This thesis will be exploring the situation of one of the most vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 pandemic, low-income renters. As businesses and whole states were shutdown, jobs and wages were lost and the over 100 million renters in the United States, many of whom spend a significant chunk of their income on their rent, were forced into a precarious situation. <br/><br/>The Federal Rent Moratorium that is currently in effect bars any evictions for missed rent payments, but these are expenses that if left unpaid, are just continuously accruing. These large sums of rent payments are currently scheduled to be dropped on struggling individuals at the end of the recently extended date of June 30th, 2021. As these renters are unable to pay for their housing, landlords lose the revenue streams from their investment properties, and are in turn unable to cover the debt service on the financing they utilized to acquire the property. In turn, financial institutions can then face widespread defaults on these loans.<br/><br/>The rental property market is massive, as roughly 34% of the American population consist of renters. If left unaddressed, this situation has the potential to cause cataclysmal consequences on the economy, including mass homelessness and foreclosures of rental properties and complexes. Everyone, from the tenants to the bankers and beyond, are stakeholders in this dire situation and this paper will seek to explore the issues, desires, and potential solutions applicable to all parties involved. Beginning with the pre-pandemic outlook of the rental housing market, then examining the impact of the coronavirus and the resulting federal actions, to finally explore solutions that may prevent or mitigate this potential disaster.

My thesis, titled Female Agency in the Canterbury Tales and Telling Tales, compares Geoffrey Chaucer’s fourteenth century work and Patience Agbabi’s modern adaptation in regards to their portrayal of female agency. While each work contained a whole selection of tales, I focus on four tales, which were The Miller’s Tale, The Clerk’s Tale, The Physician’s Tale, and The Wife of Bath’s Tale. I also include relevant historical information to support and assist in the analysis of the literary texts, and secondary sources were also used supplementarily to enhance the analysis. I argue that female agency is irrationally believed to be dangerous, and the consequent attempts at protection manifest as limitations, which are themselves damaging. The paper is divided into two main sections, which are themselves separated into three smaller categories. The first of the two main sections concerns what actions and options are available to women influenced by a distinction of gender; this section is divided into female gender ideals, marriage, and occupation. The second of the two main sections addresses the entities or individuals enacting the limitations upon female agency, and its three subsections are society, men, and women. I ultimately conclude that not only is it irrational to believe that female agency is dangerous, but also that making gender-based judgment on the capacity of a group of people or an individual is inherently flawed.

Immersion has become a key buzzword in the theme park industry, with many themed lands and attractions being designed with this objective in mind. This paper defines immersion through the concept of the ironic imagination and examines its role in theme park attractions. A literature review was first conducted to identify general design principles for the creation of immersive theme park attractions. Authentic settings that utilize all of the senses were considered first, along with a system of positive and negative cues for evaluating immersive experiences. The importance of simple and emotional stories was also addressed, before investigating the role that employees and guests play in an immersive attraction. Eight design principles were identified, and using these principles a blue sky design for an immersive theme park attraction was developed. An overview of the attraction is included and accompanied by an analysis of how the design principles were applied.

Jane Austen’s depictions of musical performers and listeners in her novels suggest her belief that musical performances should strengthen intimacy between people, both between listeners and performers as well as among listeners. Austen commends music for its power to increase intimacy through honest expressions of taste, which more often arise in private performances, but she warns against its power to decrease intimacy through pretentious displays of taste, which more often arise in public performances. Austen’s belief that music allows for this healthy intimacy indicates that music has great significance in society. Austen suggests that music has a greater importance to everyday life than many may originally suppose, as it is a universal connection between people. Ultimately, Jane Austen’s perspective of music’s great power both to expose pretentiousness and to cultivate intimacy should lead all of her readers to recognize and respect music’s true power and to consider seriously the importance and role of music in their own lives.

Western culture has oversimplified and mythologized the possibility of first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence. Whether through anthropocentrism, lack of contextual literature and/or available knowledge, or simple misunderstanding, humanity has failed to fully consider the impacts of seeking out alien life. Instead, humanity’s cultural and political representations of extraterrestrials tell us a great deal about the people behind the stories—all of us stuck together on our pale blue dot. This thesis explores the mythological character that is ever-present in the extraterrestrial conversation, and how past and current cultural creators in the global West have perpetuated and changed that paradigm. This thesis is also an exploration of the ways we envision our ability to contact and interact with an unknown extraterrestrial other—in many ways mythological, and in some ways as powerful symbols for struggles against oppression. I argue for a more nuanced, creative, and scientifically driven representation and consideration of first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence.

Pedagogical researchers have explored pop culture media in educational settings in the past. However, pop culture media is always evolving. Teachers should be aware that students have already formed their own cultural activities and work with them, rather than neglect them. Anime has remained largely unexplored in this context despite its popularity. Its animation style and storyline may provide exciting moments that are memorable to young adults. This study examines the potential of anime, a style of Japanese animation, in educating through a visual medium. Recent anime have successfully incorporated science into their storytelling.
The 2019 anime, Dr. Stone, follows a high schooler and his friends as they attempt to use science to restore human society after 3,700 years of global petrification. Through qualitative analysis and coding of select episodes of Dr. Stone, this study examines the ways in which scientific concepts in engineering, chemistry and geology are taught. It also examines the significance of science and representation of scientists within its storyline. Dr. Stone presents an image of science which is interesting, relevant and understandable to adolescent students through its compelling visuals and engaging story. Through its characters, it also presents a relatable and less stereotypical image of scientists. Innovative pop culture media like anime is one way of generating interest in science among adolescents and challenging preconceived notions of science. Educators may find it useful in a classroom setting.

Ayuba Suleiman Diallo’s 1731 journey from a trader of enslaved people, to enslaved, and back a trader of enslaved people is both remarkable and seemingly contradictory. However, his involvement in the West African trading networks bridged the goods-centered market and the ensuing one centered around enslaved people. Thus, his actions reflect the economic insecurity that permeated Senegambia, and his return to trading enslaved people illustrates the need for a competitive edge in these newmarkets. Foundational to his return were his manipulation of race, color, and religion in response to an increasing demand for enslaved people. Diallo established himself as different than the enslaved people around him, positing that he was instead more similar to his white captors. Through his royal mannerisms and devout practice of Islam, Diallo befriended Thomas Bluett, James Oglethorpe, the Duke of Montagu, and even King George II and Queen Caroline. He was branded “the Fortunate Slave” and frequently described as a white man with black skin. Diallo’s actions allowed him to regain enough social capital to travel to England and eventually return home to Bondu in present-day Senegal. Once home, he participated in the trade of enslaved people far more zealously than before his capture, which emphasizes how the Senegambian markets had transitioned away from being goods-centered during his absence in response to British demand. Diallo’s story illustrates the changing nature of Trans-Atlantic slave trade as well as eighteenth-century attitudes towards race and slavery.

The Mu’tazila were a group of early Islamic rationalists whose primary philosophical project was to reconcile God’s perfectly just nature, as well as the existence of a judgment day, with human free will. Drawing on Greek logical precepts, the Mu’tazila rejected the idea that human actions were caused solely by God, thereby affirming that humans have at least some degree of originative power. In this thesis, I will present a logical analysis of the Mu’tazila’s rejection of determinism, as well as their position on human-originated action, primarily using Qadi Abd al-Jabbar’s Book of the Five Principles as my source text. I will then present some of the primary views in contemporary free will discourse and compare these views to those of the Mu’tazila. The aim of my thesis is to present a logically rigorous picture of free will under Mu’tazilism, as well as to highlight the relevance of Mu’tazilism within contemporary discussions of free will.