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Best Senior Seminar Paper (ENG 190), 2008-2009
"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: A Vision of feminism and American
culture during turn-of-the-century America"
by Franchesca Castano (click
here to read the essay)
Professor Jonathan Haynes's Citation:
It will come as no surprise to anyone in this year's Senior Seminar
that Franchesca Castano has won the senior thesis prize for "The
Wonderful Wizard of Oz: A Vision of feminism and American culture
during turn-of-the-century America." In writing a senior thesis,
half the battle is staying on top of the process of designing, researching,
and writing such a long project. Every step of the way, from informal
proposal to the final presentation, Franchesca delivered on time
and up to specifications, setting the standard for the class. The
interest of her topic was always obvious and her prose was always
lucid and pleasant. Her essay became steadily more fascinating as
she developed one of its facets after another, setting Frank Baum's
familiar story in the contexts of rural Kansas at the turn of the
20th century, children's literature, and popular culture. Perhaps
the most interesting aspect is her two-pronged argument about Baum's
feminism, establishing a direct personal connection-Baum's mother-in-law
was a close associate of Elizabeth Cady Stanton-and providing an
acute reading of Dorothy as a strong female character surrounded
by pathetically weak males. Franchesca's thesis is a fitting culmination
to her excellent career as an English major, and we are proud to
send her off down the yellow brick road with this additional honor.
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