Honors Program
Introduction and Requirements...
The Honors Program is a two-semester sequence that allows qualified students the opportunity to enrich their experiences in communication theory, history and practice. In the fall of their senior year students enroll in the Honors Seminar and develop an independent research project. In the spring of their senior year students enroll in a second CUE seminar in which they revise their thesis under the guidance of the Honors Director. The experience culminates in an oral defense with a faculty committee. To remain a member in good standing, honor students must maintain the qualifying Grade Point Averages; pass the fall and the spring honors seminars; successfully participate in an oral defense of their thesis; and present their paper or creative work to members of the department at the year-end-colloquium. Students who actively participate in the Honors Program are eligible to graduate with “Honors (or in exceptional cases, “High Honors”) in Media & Communication.” Note: For students who have been accepted into the COM Honors Program, 472: Media and Comm Honors Seminar will satisfy the CUE requirement.
Qualifying...
To qualify for membership in the Honors Program, students must have achieved at least a 3.7 grade point average (GPA) within the major, and a 3.6 GPA, overall. Qualified students receive a letter from the Department notifying them of their membership in the Honors Program in the spring of their Junior year. The Department of Media & Communication faculty then reviews all applications and votes on them. Candidates who are accepted into the program receive a second letter from the Department welcoming them into the Honors Program.
Colloquia...
The Media & Communication colloquia offers honor students opportunities to test their intellectual talents at levels that go beyond the expectations of normal classroom instruction. Each year an outstanding media & communication scholar of national or international repute is brought to campus to speak to and/or conduct a workshop for honor students. Because participation in these sessions is restricted to honor students and faculty, students have significant opportunities for informal interaction with these guests.
Other Opportunities...
Membership in the Honors Program also provides other opportunities for intellectual enrichment and networking. Students who produce outstanding research papers or creative work are encouraged to submit their work to regional and national conferences and competitions. Faculty members work closely with these students in preparing these submissions. On an individual, rotating basis, honor students may also be invited to participate in other special events, dinners, and receptions. A few may earn credit-bearing opportunities to serve as student mentors in media & communication classes or to participate in faculty research or production projections. These opportunities both draw upon and enrich honor students talents, interests, and intellectual gifts.
The James D. Schneider Memorial Award for Social Justice...
Every year the department honors one of our graduating seniors with the James D. Schneider Award for Social Justice. This award is given in honor of our late colleague, Dr. Jim Schneider, who worked tirelessly to advance the cause of social justice both within the department and in his community volunteer efforts in the Lehigh Valley. Each year we bestow this award upon a Media and Communication graduating senior who has pursued these values in her work at the College, both in and out of the classroom. This award may go either to one of the honors students or to another graduating senior major. Click here for more information.
Any and all questions can be directed to Dr. Michael Buozis (Professor and Honors Director, Department of Media & Communication).
Honors Presentations
PIPER ACKERMAN
"All the Young Dudes: A TikTok Potlatch"
This thesis answers the question of how TikTok has affected fan status within the fan potlatch through an examination of TikTok fan videos within the All the Young Dudes (ATYD) fandom. Status within a potlatch, or fan gift exchange, is dictated by whether a fan object (fanart,edit, text) is accepted by the collective. Archive of Our Own user Mskingbean89 wrote the fanfiction, All the Young Dudes, in 2017 and it remains the most circulated fan text of all time with 13.6 million hits. ATYD is a prequel to the Harry Potter series following the Marauders, a friend group from Harry Potter’s father’s generation. I conducted a qualitative textual analysis of ATYD TikTok videos. Patterns in form and tone revealed the collective’s value for consistent character visualization and angst. Fans positioned themselves as a part of their fan object, directly intertwining viewers’ perceptions of the content with their perception of the user. Because of TikTok’s emphasis on the individual user, fan content creators are motivated to follow the collective’s established content standards in order to increase their visibility within the platform’s algorithm. Ultimately, this thesis revealed a transition in the objective of fan content creation from a generous content network to prioritizing algorithmic visibility.
EMMA ASH
"In My Artist Connection Era: An Exploration of Fan Parasociality with Artists through Mediatized Liveness"
This study explores fans’ emotional connections with artists when watching mediatized concert videos on YouTube. Through a focus group and four semi-structured interviews, I heard directly from respondents about their expectations from liveness, perception of artist authenticity, and experiences with mediatized liveness. From this qualitative study, I drew conclusions about mediatization’s effectiveness as a medium to emotionally connect with an artist. I found that mediatization reveals its own shortcomings by lacking the physicality and fleetingness of in-person shows, but is still sought after to emotionally connect with an artist if being at an in-person concert is unattainable. For the videos, most respondents are willing to suspend their disbelief of the screen and emotionally connect with an artist if the video embodies their in-person concert expectations: the video is unpredictable; offers variations and uniqueness; the artist personalizes the show and appears relatable onstage; and if the viewing experience itself feels authentic. By exploring fan expectations from concert videos, this study redefines liveness to exist on a continuum where mediatization’s impact on liveness should be considered in today’s concert experiences.
ELIZA BLOCK
"The Cost Of $elf-Care: An Analysis of Self-Care Haul Videos on YouTube"
Within the past few years, self-care haul videos have emerged on YouTube. These videos have garnered millions of views and have grown into a popular trend where predominantly young female-presenting YouTubers shop for hygiene, skin-care and beauty products. As self-care is now being used to promote hygiene and beauty products, the meaning of self-care has transformed from taking care of your mental and physical health to enhancing your appearance. Through a textual analysis of the most viewed self-care haul videos and top comments on YouTube, this study analyzed the gendered labor and consumption involved with self-care. The findings of the study communicate that female-identifying YouTubers define self-care as consuming products to improve themselves through enhancing their physical appearance. The YouTubers also encourage their viewers to consume these products by using the same advertising tactics that they claim to despise. The main takeaway that this study of self-care haul videos provides is that “self-care” is a term that is used to promote stereotypes of gendered consumption and existing beauty standards.
SHOBHA PAI
"Breaking the Mold: Analysing Gendered Perceptions of Chefs in Reality Cooking Competitions through the Stereotype Content Model"
This paper delves into analyzing audiences’ gendered perceptions of chefs in cooking competitions shows through the stereotype content model. As a form of labor, cooking is stereotypically feminine, but the cooking industry is male-dominated. Drawing upon the stereotype content model, this research focuses on the perception of warmth and competence of chefs using gender as a differentiating factor. The study also undertakes an exploratory analysis of media literacy for the perception of stereotypicality through reality television. A survey was used with eight different videos of chefs from the show Hell’s Kitchen. Findings suggest that female chefs are seen as more stereotypical when compared to male chefs but male competent chefs are considered more stereotypical than female competent chefs. This suggests the importance of competency in the perception of chefs. The media literacy part of the study focused on a qualitative exploration of survey responses broken down into six categories to suggest questions for a future media literacy reality television scale. By shedding light on these perceptions, the study can be used to understand the nuances of the cooking industry and also inform the way producers create storylines on cooking shows to highlight the gender differences in competition shows.
SARAH WEDEKING
"'There’s Only One Bed!': Examining the Romcom Narrative Used in Supernatural’s Case of Queerbaiting"
“Is the romantic comedy dead?” people have ruminated in recent years. My answer: No, but it does look different. Elements of the romantic comedy, such as its structure, have been found in unexpected places like the CW television show: Supernatural (2005-2020). My study focuses on the fan pairing between characters Dean Winchester and Castiel, colloquially known as “Destiel,” and how elements of the romantic comedy have developed or hinted at their relationship. “Destiel” is a famous case of queerbaiting, in which a queer couple is hinted at to draw viewers with no intentions to actualize it. Queerbaiting is a nuanced topic, both developed through fan interpretations and the intentions and marketing of the producers. Through visual and textual analysis of Supernatural, coupled with fan discourses, my study examines how Supernatural both fits and complicates the romcom genre as a case of queerbaiting. It also focuses on viewers and how they’ve identified elements of the romcom with “Destiel.” My study exemplifies how the elements of the romcom contest the masculine framework of Supernatural and importantly, how fan readings invigorate the genre. Rather the romantic comedy acts as a central villain from Supernatural: something that never truly dies, always coming back in ways we’ll never expect.
