2017 Summer
Michelle Huynh, The Virtue in Propaganda
Advisor: Glenn Man
Committee: Ruth Hsu, Markus Wessendorf, (Theater/Dance), Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak (Theater/Dance)
2017 Spring
Angie Anderson, Grand Guignol: The Theatre of Horror, the Efficacy of Horrific Staging, and When MY Body Cried Out
Advisor: Todd Sammons
Committee: Markus Wessendorf, (Theater/Dance)
Brandy Dobson, A Murmur in the Weeds: A Memoir [Winner of a National Collegiate Honors Council Portz Prize for 2016]
Advisor: Cindy Franklin
Committee: Shawna Ryan, S. Shankar
Nicolette Smith, Spirituality in the Modern Woman
Advisor: Craig Howes
Committee: John Zuern
2016 Spring
Veronica Freeman, Panic! It’s Organic! The Most Desensitized Food Term in the United States
Advisor: Kristin McAndrews
Committee: Anna Feuerstein
Joanna Gordon, Stretch, Sag, Sing—Songs of Skin: Discussions on Womanhood, Body Image, and Eating Disoders
Advisor: Craig Perez
Committee: Ayu Saraswati (Women’s Studies)
Cindy Huynh, Remember Me
Advisor: Kate Beutner
Committee: Shawna Ryan, Frank Stewart
Tierra Mendez, Observing War Through Literature: The Effects of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars on the Family Unit
Advisor: Mark Heberle
Committee: Todd Sammons, Susan Schultz
2015 Fall
Jon Omura, Queering the Gay/Christian Intersection: An Exploration of Celibacy, Ex-Gay, and the Christian Closet in Gay Christian Narratives [Winner of a National Collegiate Honors Council Portz Prize for 2015]
Advisor: Cindy Franklin
Committee: Candace Fujikane, John Zuern
2015 Summer
Jennifer Ciufo, Color Me In: A Novel
Advisor: Gary Pak
Committee: Kate Beutner, Susan Schultz
2015 Spring
Mary Campany, Motifs of Immortality in Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix
Advisor: John Rieder
Committee: Cristina Bacchilega, Miki Ogasawara (Japanese)
2014 Fall
Sam Ikehara, Cultural Negotiations Through Romantic Love: Nation, Belonging, and Multiculturalism in The Namesake and Native Speaker
Advisor: Cindy Franklin
Committee: Candace Fujikane, S. Shankar
Meagan Reyes, The Representation of Female Identity and Sexuality in Diane De Prima’s Poem “Loba” as a Significant Contribution to the Beat Literary Movement
Advisor: Jon Morse
Committee: Jim Caron, Linda Middleton
2014 Spring
Shelby Griese, Feasting in Fairy Tales
Advisor: Cristina Bacchilega
Committee: Glenn Man, Kristin McAndrews
Kailana Kahawaii, Internet Satire
Advisor: Jim Caron
Committee: Kristin McAndrews, Bob McHenry
Nicole Kurashige, Graphic Representations of the Unspeakable: Comics, Historical Mega-Trauma, and the Prevention of Closure
Advisor: Craig Howes
Committee: Jim Caron, Candace Fujikane
2013 Spring
Eva Avery, The Art of Expecting the Unexpected – A Young Woman’s Journey through Europe
Advisor: Kristin McAndrews
Committee: Frank Stewart, Carolina Sinavaiana
Kaili Britos, Scales Beneath My Skin
Advisor: ku’aloha ho’omanawanui
Committee: Candace Fujikane, John Zuern
Madison Brittingham, Box Car Door and Other Poems
Advisor: Caroline Sinavaiana
Committee: Susan Shultz, Steven Goldsberry
Joseph Han, The Extra: Stories
Advisor: Rodney Morales
Committee: Anne Kennedy, Craig Santos Perez
Andrea Hidano, Tracking the Exotic: Changing Representations of Hawaii Women from Paradise of the Pacific and Honolulu
Advisor: Craig Howes
Committee: Paul Lyons, Christine Yano (Anthropology)
Justin Koelkebeck, Innocence, in a Sense: My Life with Ev Callahan
Advisor: Susan Schultz
Committee: Jim Caron, Laura Lyons
Sarah Medeiros, Facing the Beast Within
Advisor: Cristina Bacchilega
Committee: Kristin McAndrews, Maile Gresham
Chelsea Sassone, ‘We’re all Stories in the End’: The Fair Tale as a Lexicon of Popular Culture
Advisor: Cristina Bacchilega
Committee: John Rieder, Todd Sammons
Maya Scimeca, Alice Neel and Other Poems
Advisor: Susan Schultz
Committee: Kristin McAndrews, John Zuern
2012 Fall
Tim Dominquez, When I Wake, A Novella
Advisor: John Rieder
Committee: Maile Gresham, John Zuern
John McClain, Ghosts, Robots, and Things, A Florilegium
Advisor: Rodney Morales
Committee: John Rieder, John Zuern
Corey Onerheim, Reunion (Short Film)
Advisor: Glenn Man
Committee: Jim Caron, Joe O’Mealy
Jenna Saito, Two Weeks to Live
Advisor: Glenn Man
Committee: Chris McKinney, Keith Kashiwata (KCC)
Cody White, Ars Comica: Comic Books, Literary Analysis, and Planetary
Advisor: Jill Dahlman
Committee: Craig Howes, Todd Sammons
2012 Spring
Rebecca Dew, Dostoevsky’s Greatest Revelation: Understanding Human Nature and the Role of Suffering in The Brothers Karamazov and Notes from the Underground
Advisor: Virginia Bennett (Russian)
Committee: Judith Kellogg, John Zuern
Karleanne Matthews, Improbable Realities, Improbable Art: The American Tall Tale and the Instability of Humor in Children’s Literature
Advisor: Jim Caron
Committee: Bob McHenry, Cynthia Ward
Tanya Oishi, Shake and Sway: A Memoir of the Tohoku Earthquake, 2011
Advisor: Cindy Franklin
Committee: Candace Fujikane, Greta LaFleur
Raindrop Wright, Strength and Struggle
Advisor: Rodney Morales
Committee: Craig Howes, John Zuern
2011 Spring
Marissa Chomko, Caring for Those Who Care: A Study of Japanese-Americans Caring for Their Elder Parents
Advisor: Christy Nishita (Center for Disability Studies)
Committee: Colette Brown (Social Work), Craig Howes
Kara Hisatake, “Nothing Says I Despise You Like a Blow Job”: Opening Queer Moments for Queer Spaces in Harry Potter Slash Fan Fiction
Advisor: John Zuern
Committee: Cristina Bacchilega, Cynthia Franklin
Laura Hui, Kahinihini‘ula, The Red-Haired Boy of Kailua, A Novel
Advisor: ku‘ualoha ho‘omanawanui
Committee: Ruth Hsu, Laura Lyons
Kelsey Inouye, Body Language: Words and Recovery in Anorexia Memoirs
Advisor: Miriam Fuchs
Committee: Jim Caron, Kelly Vitousek (Psychology)
Janelle Takesono, The Butterfly Effect: Stereotypes of Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly in History and on the Internet
Advisor: Candace Fujikane
Committee: Vernadette Gonzalez (American Studies), Jun Yoo (History)
2010 Fall
Eric Birkeland, Rope
Advisor: Uzma Khan
Committee: Cristina Bacchilega, Frank Stewart
Daniel Bogert, Ukranian versus Russian Nationalism in the Works of Nikolai Gogol
Advisor: Virginia Bennett (Russian)
Committee: Jill Dahlman, Jonathan Morse
Marissa Chung, Eternal Blinking: A Collection of Poems
Advisor: Susan Schultz
Committee: Candace Fujikane, Gary Pak
2010 Spring
Midori Hirai, American Girls: A Fictional Look at Racial Profiling from 9066 to 9/11
Advisor: Erica Clayton
Committee: Anne Kennedy, Todd Sammons
2009 Spring
Keslie Abing, Sushi King and Company
Advisor: Anne Kennedy
Committee: Uzma Khan, Ann Rayson
Gizelle Gajelonia, Stop Requested
Advisor: Susan Schultz
Committee: Candace Fujikane, Caroline Sinavaiana
Kristin Herrick, Renegotiating the Identity of Afghan Women: The Role of Orientalism and Traditionalism in the Construction of Afghan Female Identity
Advisor: Jim Caron
Committee: Laura Lyons and Aslam Syed (Center for South Asian Studies)
2008 Fall
Sharaya Llanes, Writing Transformations: Mediating the Effects of High Stakes Testing Through the National Writing Project
Advisor: Caroline Sinavaiana
Committee: Erica Clayton, Larene DeSpain
Cortney Silva, Nyctophobia and Counting
Advisor: Rodney Morales
Committee: Jim Caron, Susan Schultz
2008 Spring
Sheela Jane Menon, Bush and Bin Laden: The Rhetoric of Culture, Politics, and War
Advisor: George Tanabe (Religion)
Committee: Joan Peters, John Zuern
Patricia Wilson, Dana’s Night
Advisor: Craig Howes
Committee: Cristina Bacchilega, Jennifer Orme, Caroline Sinavaiana
2007 Fall
Laura Jenkins, Morocco’s Youth en Avant: A Presentation of Changing Perceptions on Self and Society in the Discourse of Marriage, Tradition, and Moudawana Reform
Advisor: Linda Middleton
Committee: Tamara Albertini (Philosophy), Ann Auman, (Communications)
Janna Plant, The Refinery
Advisor: Susan Schultz
Lourena Yco, Branching Down the Evolutionary Ladder and Exploring the Virgin Territory in Lost Race Fiction
Advisor: John Rieder
Committee: Reinhardt Frederich, Craig Howes
2007 Summer
Cora Puliach, Combat Zone of the American Imagination: Rhetorical Dimensions of an Ideology of Volunteerism
Advisor: Darin Payne
Committee: Jim Caron, Daphne Dresser
2007 Spring
Rachel Choy
Advisor: Craig Howes
2006 Fall
Jayci Roney, Queer Identities in Modern and Historical Polynesia: Reflections in a Broken Mirror
Advisor: Ruth Hsu
Committee: Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri
Paul Sakuma, The Tattored Knight
Advisor: Ian MacMillan
Committee: Reinhardt Frederich, Gary Pak
Marika Staff, Only A Few Days Bloomed
Advisor: Steven Goldsberry
2006 Summer
Sarah Myhre
Advisors: Steve Curry, Judith Kellogg
2006 Spring
Jonathan Callahan, Of Dreams and Waking
Advisor: Ian MacMillan
Committee: Cynthia Franklin, Paul Lyons
Sabrina Favors, Daughters of the Flame
Advisor: Ian MacMillan
Committee: Robert Onopa, John Zuern
Shelby Furukawa, Courtly Love in the Arthurian Tradition: Discussion and Fiction
Advisor: Judith Kellogg
Committee: Todd Sammons, Susan Schultz
Alphie Garcia, Heaven and Earth
Advisor: John Zuern
Committee: Stephen Canham, Robert Onopa, Todd Sammons
Dawn Nakagawa, Female Lawyers in Hollywood Movies: The Price She Pays to Practice Law
Advisor: Susan Schultz
Committee: Susan Hippensteele (Women Studies), Marie Hara, Peter Britos
Jade Sunouchi, Mouth to a Wall
Advisor: Robert Sullivan
Committee: Susan Schultz, Ruth Hsu
Kristine Wada, Searching for Japan in four Generations of Family Recipes
Advisor: Miriam Fuchs
Committee: Steve Curry, Ruth Hsu
2005
Sherie Char, Snow White and Her Fairy Tale Sisters: Poems about Women’s Bodies, Beauty, and Boundaries.
Advisor: Susan Schultz
Annie Fukushima, Yobo: Conceptualizing the ‘Korean Bargirl’ in Hawai‘i Literature
Advisor: Candace Fujikane
Christine Hong, Claptrap DOD: The Dead We Know
Advisor: Robbie Shapard
Natasha Loo, Between Swallowing and Bruising
Advisor: Stephen Canham
Heidi Sakuma, The Best That Money Can Buy
Advisor: Rodney Morales
Leah Young, Beyond Platform 9 3/4: Race, Class, and Gender in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series
Advisor: David Baker
Lauren Esposo, I Don’t Remember
Advisor: Craig Howes
Committee: Miriam Fuchs and Cynthia Franklin
Jayci Roney, Queer Identities in Modern and Historical Polynesia
Advisor: Caroline Sinavaiana
Committee: Albert Wendt and Reina Whaitiri
2004
(to be added)
2003
(to be added)
2002
Alison Izawa, As Spring Comes
Director: Robbie Shapard
Naomi Long, Serial Walker: Poems and Photographs
Director: Morgan Blair
Susan Sanger, Snapshots: Images of a Life
Director: Craig Howes
Caitlin Yamamoto, Understanding a Contentious ‘Local’ Literary Community: The Controversy over Lois-Ann Yamanaka’s Blu’s Hanging
Director: Ruth Hsu
2001
Candice Nii, Upon the Brink of Believability: Gothic Literature and Fairy Tales
Director: Reinhard Friederich
Jeremiah Boydstun, Stomping Grounds and Common Ground: Train Whistle Guitar, the Blues Hero, and Translation at the Crossroads
Director: Jeff Carroll
Christy Wong, Facets of Recommendation in Adoption: Three Stories
Director: Phil Damon
Shereen El-Kadi, The Sultan’s Daughter: A Historical Fiction
Director: Ian MacMillan
Georganne Nordstrom, Educational MOOs: Exploring the Potential
Director: John Zuern
2000
Louisa Lam, Reading Donald Duk: A Conversation with Frank Chin
Director: Craig Howes
Teri-Ann Shiroma, Arguments Against Capital Punishment in Literature and Law of the New Era
Director: Craig Howes
Tia Ballantine-Berger, Spring Loaded: A Book of Fiction
Director: Craig Howes
Melissa Uchimura, Jane Austen’s Appeal
Director: Beth Tobin
1999
Jennifer Hamada, Living with the Wold
Director: Roger Whitlock
Alison Ikeda, Establishing the Picara as a Distinct Archetype: Some Observations and Conclusions
Director: Todd Sammons
Lisa Lum, Appetite Lost: A Creative Exploration of Bi-Lingual Identity
Director: Cristina Bacchilega
Kirstie Morikawa, Home Court Advantage: Local Literature in the Schools
Director: Susan Schultz
Charlene Tran, My Mother’s Story: A Collection of Journeys Through Cambodia and Vietnam
Director: Craig Howes
Mark Vega, One Good Eye: Vision and Testimony in Art Spiegelman’s Maus
Director: Rheinhard Friederich