Tag: Katherine Kelp-Stebbins

Reforming the Self and Re-Forming the Other: Revisiting the Political Potential of Baldwin’s Fiction

Presenter: Kyra Lauersdorf – English, Sociology

Faculty Mentor(s): Katherine Kelp-Stebbins, Matthew Norton

Session: (Virtual) Oral Panel—Read, Speak and Act

The existing scholarship pertaining to James Baldwin tends to examine either his nonfiction essays or his fiction novels, but it rarely places the two alongside each other. This project aims to bridge the schism between the two bodies of work, using the political theory that Baldwin outlines in his nonfiction as a lens through which to analyze his literary fiction. Such an analysis reveals how, in many ways, Baldwin utilized his fiction as a space in which to engage and examine his own political theory. As such, the fiction that Baldwin produced during his lifetime contains as much if not more political ideation than his nonfiction –– and warrants just as much consideration from scholars for its political potential. This project seeks to contribute to existing scholarship on James Baldwin through its interdisciplinary analysis of the author’s works. Ultimately, it argues that Baldwin’s literary fiction possesses significant potential to effect political belief changes among its readers and ought to be valued accordingly.

Violence to Women in Superhero Comics

Violence to Women in Superhero Comics

Sarah Faulkner

Faculty Mentor(s): Katherine Kelp-Stebbins

Oral Session 1 M 

Since the first issue of Action Comics, violence has been a staple in superhero comics. The violence in these comics is normalized and often forgettable, especially when the violence is done to women, with a few exceptions designed to highlight behavior. This project explores male violence toward women within the superhero narrative using feminist theory and female- authored responses to the content and comic book culture, as well as a comparison to the circumstances when a woman in superhero comics resorts to violence. In order to understand cultural female representation within graphic narratives, this project analyzes visual and verbal cues that identify the intended audience, what constitutes as violence in comics, the targets of violence, and under what circumstances violence against women is acceptable. The violence comes through language, predatory behavior, sexual assault, rape, and murder. These actions put into media desensitizes viewers of the material, either with frequency or the setting up of the character. The violence towards women in superhero comics serves as an excuse to have an action sequence to move along the hero’s development, plot, or to critique a the medium, which normalizes the violence and ignores the woman. This reflects ingrained views of how women are treated.