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America’s Problem Child: The Tomboy as a Threat and Symbol of American Values Through Little Women and its Cinematic Adaptations
No full textThis thesis is a documentary film. In it I examine the figure of the tomboy in American culture as both a threat and symbol of American cultural values, focusing particularly on Jo March from Little Women and the novel’s major cinematic adaptations in 1933, 1949, 1994, and 2019. It argues that Jo\u27s tomboyism has served as a politically charged site of anxiety about women\u27s independence, the stability of the American family, and the meaning of national identity. From her first appearance in Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel, Jo March challenged traditional gender roles, embodying traits — ambition, independence, physical boldness — that directly confronted the economic and social expectations placed on women, especially at a time when marriageability determined family survival.
Through cultural and historical analysis, this thesis traces how adaptations of Little Women have responded to shifting American attitudes towards cultural threats, specifically in regards to gender and feminism. In the 1933 adaptation, Jo’s tomboyism is softened to comfort Depression-era audiences seeking nostalgia and stability during economic hardship. In the 1949 version, post-World War II anxieties about women’s roles in the workforce are reflected in the portrayal of Jo’s eventual domesticity, framing her youthful rebellion as a phase to be outgrown in the service of reaffirming traditional family structures. By contrast, the 1994 film reflects the girl power feminism of the 1990s, emphasizing personal ambition and individuality while still framing Jo’s independence within an appealing, highly feminized, and commercially viable image. Finally, the 2019 adaptation directed by Greta Gerwig reclaims Jo’s authorship and autonomy in explicit conversation with #MeToo-era feminism, challenging the traditional narrative arc by foregrounding Jo’s right to tell her own story and questioning the compulsory marriage plot altogether.
The thesis also situates Jo’s character within broader political and cultural conflicts, including the North-South divide following the Civil War, the rise of the Southern Belle as a contrasting ideal, and America’s persistent tension between radical ideals and conservative structures. The tomboy figure is shown to represent the fractures within American society itself: a symbol of radical freedom that must continually be contained, reinterpreted, or neutralized to preserve social order. From her inception, Jo March — and the broader figure of the American tomboy — has been politicized, depoliticized, and re-politicized, mirroring broader cultural battles over gender, autonomy, and national identity.
Ultimately, this project argues that the tomboy is never a neutral or purely nostalgic figure; she is a threat that must be managed, a promise of freedom that risks undermining the very structures she arises within. Through Jo’s evolution across literature and film, we see the ongoing politicization of femininity, family, and the future of the American nation itself
INVESTING IN OPPORTUNITY? ASSESSING THE EFFECT OF EDUCATION SPENDING ON INTERGENERATIONAL MOBILITY
No full textThe relationship between education spending and student outcomes has been hotly contested for decades. This study attempted to measure whether a systematic correlation between school spending and economic outcomes exists for children born in California between 1978 and 1983. This study used average per-pupil funding estimates based on district-level enrollment and funding data from California public schools between 1995 and 2003, and matched this district level data to economic mobility outcomes at the Census tract level. Mobility outcomes were measured in terms of children’s rank in the income distribution around age 30 relative to that of their parents. After controlling for mean earnings, employment status, poverty levels, average educational attainment, and racial makeup of the community individuals grew up in, this study did not find a significant relationship between either early education or secondary education spending and economic mobility outcomes for White or Native American students. A positive relationship between secondary spending and outcomes was identified for Asian students at the 10th, 25th, and 50th percentiles, suggesting that a $1,000 increase in secondary spending was associated with up to a 0.36 percentage point increase in economic mobility. An inverse relationship between secondary spending and average mobility was identified for Black students born at the 50th percentile, though it is possible that confounding variables related to teacher race contributed to this result. A negative relationship between spending and outcomes also appeared for Hispanic students at the 50th, 75th, and 100th percentiles. Finally, an inverse relationship between elementary school spending and mobility outcomes was identified for Black and Hispanic students at the 25th percentile, which may have been driven by the inequitable effects on minority students of the California K-3 Class Size Reduction Program of 1996
Home: Ever a Work in Progress
Get PDFHome: Work in Progress (2025), examines the concept of ‘home’ through a diasporic and transcultural lens to explore how personal and collective experiences of migration shape identity. Using the clothing of my loved ones, I constructed a wearable textile sculpture—creating a physical object that gathers the pieces of my home into one place. Through video performance, I embodied my sculpture as a living, breathing space that is alive with my own memories and experiences
Doubly Protected anti-CTLA-4-6325: A Novel Antibody-Drug Conjugate
No full textAntibody-drug conjugates are a subset of cancer immunotherapy that allows for reduction of harmful side effects by targeting cytotoxic drugs to tumor cells through selective binding. This study focused on anti-CTLA-4-6325, an antibody-drug conjugate that targets tumor stromal cells in sarcomas and carcinomas. Anti-CTLA-4 and 6325 work together to enhance the innate anti-tumor immune response by stimulating and activating inactive T-cells. However, conjugation of 6325 can render the conjugate ineffective by binding to the CTLA-4 and FcɣRIV binding sites, which are essential to the proper function of anti-CTLA-4. In this study, a version of anti-CTLA-4-6325 was created that was blocked from binding to both the CTLA-4 and FcɣRIV binding sites to study the effect of 6325 conjugation on FcɣRIV binding. Protection at the FcɣRIV binding site did not significantly increase the FcɣRIV binding affinity of the conjugate. This was validated through molecular modeling, showing very few available conjugation sites at or near the binding site. Further studies would be needed to further clarify the effects of 6325 conjugation on FcɣRIV binding and anti-CTLA-4 function
Afterlives of American Bodies: Embalming, Green Burial, and the Social Construction of Deathcare
No full textThis paper examines the social construction of American deathcare and the American funerary industry through two case studies: chemical arterial embalming and green burial. Using the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) framework, Chapter 1 analyzes embalming’s rise in the late 19th century as a product of social negotiation, not inevitability. Chapter 2 investigates how green burial standards – in particular, those set by the Green Burial Council – reflect consumerist values rooted in traditional deathcare, despite environmentalist aims of the broader green burial movement. Through these cases, the paper explores how sociocultural, aesthetic, and economic values shape and are embedded in American deathcare technologies, industries, and standards, arguing that to die in America is to encounter deeply embedded structures informed by a uniquely American sociocultural, historical, and political landscape
Psychological Time, Deep Time, and Timekeeping in Virginia Woolf’s Oeuvre
No full textThis thesis examines deep time, psychological time, and timekeeping in Virginia Woolf\u27s Mrs. Dalloway (1925), The Waves (1931), and Between the Acts (1941
Selling Citrus
Get PDFOur zine, created for Professor Lily Geismer\u27s advanced history research seminar about labor, race, and inequality in the Inland Empire, focuses on the political economy of the citrus industry in Southern California. Utilizing archival materials from the David Boule Orange Collection and the Matt Garcia Papers in the Claremont Colleges Library\u27s Special Collections, we argue that “growers simultaneously sold citrus for exponential profits and sold the immaterial idea of citrus to consumers across California, the United States, and the world.
Between Commandment and Identity: A Proposed Study Investigating the Cortisol Stress Response in Queer Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Birthing People
No full textThis thesis aims to explore how chronic dissonance between religious expectations and gender and/or sexual identity impacts the physiological stress response among queer ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Jewish birthing individuals. Drawing on Minority Stress Theory, Hegemonic Masculinity, Reproductive Justice, and Intersectionality frameworks, the study seeks to investigate the role of identity-based chronic stress in dysregulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Using salivary cortisol as a biomarker of stress, this mixed-methods research will compare diurnal cortisol rhythms in queer versus cisgender heterosexual Haredi birthing people. Quantitative measures will include cortisol samples collected over two days; qualitative methods will involve interviews contextualizing religious, gender, and reproductive experiences. It is hypothesized that queer participants will exhibit hyperactivated or blunted cortisol patterns indicative of chronic stress. By linking religiously embedded identity-based stress with measurable physiological outcomes, this thesis will illuminate the biological embodiment of marginalization and its implications for inclusive, culturally competent, and affirming reproductive care
Exploration of College Campus Design: Centering Community in Urban Life
No full textFrom the earliest medieval scholarly institutions to today\u27s college campuses, educators have pursued designs to advance human achievement, and the attention to the spatial layout reflects a longstanding belief that physical environments shape behavior. The communal model for learning gave rise to the English collegiate system and went on to greatly influence the origins of American universities and colleges. While a primary goal of higher education is the generation and transmission of knowledge, campuses are also known as places where people feel the most connected or in community. In contrast, as of 2025, Americans report historically low levels of community belonging, and U.S. cities increasingly fail to meet social needs. What about college campuses cultivate community life, and can their design be a model for more human-centered neighborhood city planning? This paper examines how college campuses promote well-being through an exploration of their history and design, urban planning frameworks, and case studies of the five Claremont Colleges. I argue that campus design principles – walkable, green, and socially engaging – could be better incorporated into urban neighborhoods through shared public spaces, mixed-use development, and accessible pedestrian networks. This paper is an initial study, aiming to contribute to conversations about the importance of the built environment to foster belonging, and posits the question of whether community and well-being can be prioritized under a system still shaped by output, exclusivity, and economic growth
SPACE FOR THE DEPARTED: BURIAL, LAND SCARCITY, AND BONE-ASH APARTMENTS IN CHINA
Get PDFThe rise of bone ash apartments in China reflects a layered response to urban land scarcity, shifting funeral policies, and real estate speculation. As the state mandates cremation and restricts private cemetery development, traditional burial customs are increasingly reshaped by spatial limitations, economic pressures, and political regulation.
For some families, bone ash apartments function as modern ancestral halls—domestic spaces for remembrance and ritual continuity. For others, they represent a pragmatic investment strategy, offering long-term storage of ashes within assets that retain market value.
This thesis examines how urban planning, state funeral policy, real estate dynamics, and the disintegration of neighborhood relationships collectively give rise to this phenomenon. Rather than interpreting bone ash apartments as merely a cultural departure or financial tactic, the study argues that they embody a complex convergence of spatial constraint, ritual transformation, political governance, and socio-economic adaptation within the conditions of contemporary urban china