Eight senior Westminster College English majors presented their capstone projects Thursday, April 14, at 7 p.m. in the Lakeview Witherspoon Room located in the McKelvey Campus Center.

Jennie Bechtel, who resides in Niles, Ohio, presented No More Witless, Lifeless, Colorless Grandmas: Children's Picture Book Portrayals of Grandma from 1970-1999.'  "I spoke about the portrayal of grandmother figures in children's picture books from 1970-2000," Bechtel said.  "I examined how grandmothers were portrayed in three books from each decade, and then I compared how well each decade portrayed the grandmothers."

Ashley Caskey, a daughter of Tom and Joy Caskey, North Huntingdon, presented Blurring the Line: Homosocial Desire and Gender Construction in the Films of Kevin Smith.'  "I have used Eve Sedgwick's homosocial continuum, Sandra Bem's Bem Sex Role Inventory,' and D.L. Bests and J.E. William's Pancultural Adjective Checklist' to analyze the make best-friend relationships in Smith's films: Clerks,' Mallrats,' Chasing Amy,' Dogma,' and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,' Caskey said.  "My project acknowledges the importance of Smith's work as a call for reconstruction of the nature of make friendship and the masculine role in film."

Jillian Dobi, a daughter of David and Bonnie Dobi, Greenville, presented C.S. Lewis on Sin: Causes, Consequences, and the Imagery in His Fiction.'  "I examined Lewis's use of sin in three works: The Great Divorce,' Till We Have Faces,' and The Screwtape Letters,'" Dobi said.  "I analyzed Lewis's incorporation of sin into the story and the similarities in the ways in which he achieved this.  I compared his use of imagery in dealing with heaven, hell, and the fallibility of the human race."

Lindsay Jasinski, a daughter of George and Barbara Jasinski, Massillon, Ohio, presented Exercising Woman Power: Feminist Detective Fiction.'  "I discussed the fact that detective fiction was stereotypically a male-dominated genre, but women like Sara Paretsky and Dorothy Sayers were able to break through the stereotype to write about women characters that were powerful, independent, and intelligent," Jasinski said.  "I used Sayer's novel, Gaudy Night' and Paretsky's Indemnity Only' as my primary texts.  I focused on how each author's work reflects the time period from which it came.  My creative portion was my own feminist detective story, in which a detective named Lydia Rusos discovers an underground chopshop and is able to bring it down while dealing with difficult characters and dangerous situations."

Kristen Humphries, a daughter of Daniel Humphries, Beaver, presented Putting Women in Focus: A Look at the Female Gaze and the Films of Sofia Coppola.'  "I presented a film analysis of The Virgin Suicides' and Lost in Translation,'" Humphries said.  "I focused on female directors and their contribution to the film industry, but specifically the films directed by Sofia Coppola."

Angela Satteson, a daughter of William and Linda Satteson, Milton, presented Further than a Crow Flies, Deeper than a Dead Man Sees.'  "My presentation was about dystopia and dark romanticism in The Crow' both the graphic novel and the film," Satteson said.

Matthew Snyder, a son of Karly and Bill Snyder, Mercer, presented Batman in the Postmodern World.'  "I discussed Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns' and the way in which Batman's character becomes mythic and critiques the postmodern world around him, specifically the 1980s culture," Snyder said.  "Batman's certainty in his own worldview is justified through supernatural origins, which cause him to be mythic according to my somewhat loose definition.  Batman's certainty offends and competes with a postmodern world where our belief structures are mere social constructs of government and the media.  My project describes and analyzes that conflict and what it has to say."

Jarrod Takah, a son of  Timothy and Jackie Takah, Burgettstown, presented War and the Measure of Men.'  "I studied the effects of war on the American psyche as it developed throughout the course of the 20th century," Takah said.  "I used Ernest Hemingway, Tim O'Brien, and Michael Herr as my primary sources.  I also wrote a semblance of creative non-fiction in which I developed characters loosely based on some veterans I know."

The final component of Liberal Studies at Westminster is a senior capstone course, which is at least a four-semester-hour course within the major designed to provide an opportunity for students to evaluate and assess the strengths and limitations of their major field.

This colloquium is the final event in a series of presentations scheduled for the George Bleasby Colloquia, a series of literary events in honor of Dr. Bleasby, who chaired the Department of English at Westminster from 1954-75.

For more information, contact Dr. Bethany Hicok, assistant professor of English, at (724) 946-6349 or e-mail hicokbf@westminster.edu.

More Stories