The magical realism writing movement involved blurring the line between reality and fantasy. It takes reality and portrays its otherwise seemingly mundane elements as magical ones. This allows the writer the opportunity to faithfully represent reality itself as magical without creating a barrier between the reality and fantasy. In my thesis, I will implement these elements of magical realism, while also attempting to blur the line between the physical plane and the narrative. This will allow me, the writer, to center on the emotions I want to convey through my characters, while also allowing the reader to create a unique experience of their own.

The paper outlines the importance of the class and a general selection of the information that will be gone over in the class. I decided to go with Italian soccer in general as opposed to just the league. The league is of utmost importance, but no Italian soccer discussion is complete without mention of Gli Azzurri (the Italian national team). Throughout the paper I talk about soccer’s origin, its history, how it came to Italy, and much more. We focus a lot on Italy’s transition of soccer from the traditional name of football to calcio, because that plays a major role in the sport. Italy essentially had formed its own version of the sport with some even claiming that Italians were the ones who created football and not the English. This is actually quite tough for an Italian to admit, I would know first-hand. Nonetheless, the paper goes on to talk about other important topics, such as the structure of the league, the players, accomplishments, scandals, politics and more. The students will be able to get a much better grasp on the importance of soccer in Italy as they are able to better understand the league, the teams, the fans, and the roles the individuals play. In summation, this class is meant not only to inform the students on the informational part of the league, its teams, etc. it is to help students understand how crucial and central soccer is to the Italian culture. Through the lectures and teachings, the students will learn bit by bit how important soccer is on a day to day basis for Italians. Soccer is an escape for those who never got to live their dreams, for those who are in a tough situation, or for those who want to have something to look up to or hope for. For Italians, soccer is another dimension and I plan on explaining that through this paper and my lectures.

Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette’s novel La Vagabonde about struggling 33-year-old divorcée Renée Néré has only had a handful of translations into English since its original publication in 1910. It was picked up for its first translation in the late 1950s as a result of its sensitive nature concerning female sexuality and patriarchal oppression of the physical and mental female sphere. Due to the bowdlerized and outdated language of previous English interpretations of the novel, I set forth to create a new translation that would convey the complex simplicity of Colette’s words and the ever-relevant themes of the novel that may have been overlooked in the past. Although Colette’s diction is simple, her poetic use of grammar, focused rhetoric, and poignant insights into the female experience are deceptively intricate.

In this introduction, I discuss the methodology used while translating the novel and a few of the linguistic, semantic, and cultural problems I encountered while working on this new annotated translation. I also explain the cultural and literary context of popular novels during the fin-de-siècle that helped create motifs and themes that Colette later inverses in the novel. Colette reverses the narrative of the male spectator sitting in the dark theatre, eyes fixed on the desirable form of the female performer. Instead, Renée observes those in her life reversing the male gaze in onto itself.

Despite the meticulousness of the translator, each translation remains only an interpretation of the original text. From hunting motifs to the socio-economic role of diction in class structure during La Belle Époque, I discuss the specific diction Colette uses to show Renée’s dissociation of self and internalized misogyny in her stream-of-consciousness narration.

Following the introduction is seventy-nine pages of the new translation with annotations on certain cultural and linguistic peculiarities unique to French culture and language.

Pizza, Pasta, Parmesan, this is Italian cuisine? What is conceived by many to be Italian cuisine and way of life is actually a glamorized and artificial unification of a multitude of different regional sub-cultures. The aim of my project was to provide a means through which other students can come to understand the diversity and complexities that make up the Italian culture and cuisine. The way in which this is to be accomplished was through the creation of a syllabus for a course here at ASU. The project aims to encourage students to think critically about the Italian lifestyle and how food and culture are interrelated. It is imperative that stereotypes surrounding the Italian culture are broken down and for the culture to be understood through a new lens. The manner through which Italian culture is examined rests upon the culture's impact on cuisine and the cuisine's impact on the culture. Italy's connections to the Mediterranean are explored through the cultural impacts of exchange and the scientific evidence behind the Mediterranean Diet. It is critical to consider cuisine when attempting to understand the history and culture of a location. Prezzolini's quote, "what is the glory of Dante compared to spaghetti?" was the starting point to which the questions surrounding the importance of cuisine were considered. One of the most important goals was to foster self-reflection and growth. As many of the texts challenge the preconceptions that most American maintain about Italian society, it is imperative that students reflect upon their own cultures and biases. For a course to have a meaningful impact upon the students the students must take something away from the course. The method of analysis was an analysis of the texts given the goals of the syllabus expressed through the learning outcomes. I concluded that the syllabus overall was sound. There was a wealth of texts which were unbiased or provided ample critiques to other readings. The texts also encourage students to reflect upon their own cultures and beliefs.

My thesis is about media in both Italy and the United States, and how they evolved into the media we consume today. It revolves around my Journalism and Communication major, as well as my Italian minor. I have incorporated both areas of my studies in my thesis; such as the differences in two different worlds and how they cover and relay media to their viewers, the way in which media influences children, and how advancements such as social media affect journalism in today's society. Through my research, I was able to show that media exists all around the world but the way it is relayed to it's public changes, and influences its audience. I conducted my research via peer-reviewed articles, journals and accredited academic works as well as personal and anonymous surveys. I used my interviews and surveys to build off of the articles I found to make a firm and strong conclusion. The resources used in my thesis were different professionals who currently work, or worked with a credible and well-know media
ews outlet. I also gathered information from elementary, middle, high-school, and college students. Having a different variety of ages, helped me gage the influence media has on its consumers so that I could draw an accurate conclusion.