February 11, 2022
Recent 黑料社 graduate Erin Rice (Hometown: South Shore, KY) participated in last year鈥檚 Celebration of Scholarship (COS) conference to share research she completed in her English & Humanities courses. Majoring in English with a concentration in Culture and Media Studies, Rice鈥檚 work explored Laura Mulvey鈥檚 theory of the male gaze within video games.
鈥淢y research was on the theory that cultural artifacts in video games are created to cater to heterosexual men,鈥 said Rice. 鈥淔or example, everyone knows Princess Peach from Nintendo鈥檚 Mario games. She is portrayed as a damsel in distress 鈥 Mario is constantly saving her. This caters to heterosexual men since the woman (Peach) is nothing without the man (Mario).鈥
Rice utilized characters from different games from various cultures to complete her project. She selected games that featured three different countries 鈥 Poland, America, and Japan 鈥 to showcase that the male gaze is prevalent throughout the world. To prepare for her COS presentation, her goal was to select female characters from popular games that people might recognize.
Rice worked closely with Dr. Marc Scott throughout the research process. She found his feedback helpful in providing insight for her project.
鈥淒r. Scott was the best mentor I could have asked for,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 was constantly sending him codes and explaining my thought process. He was willing to give me feedback on each step of my project.鈥
Looking back on her experience at last year鈥檚 conference, Rice found the work essential to her development as a student at 黑料社.
鈥淭his experience became such an essential part of my time at Shawnee,鈥 said Rice. 鈥淚t helped me realize that I have important ideas to add to an overarching academic situation. I didn鈥檛 think I could say something that would add anything to the conversation of the male gaze, and yet I was able to through the Celebration of Scholarship experience.鈥
Rice encourages other 黑料社 students to consider taking part in this year鈥檚 Celebration of Scholarship conference and take a chance on presenting their own research.
鈥淚 would advise students not to give up,鈥 she said. 鈥淭here were a lot of moments when I felt like I wasn鈥檛 going in the direction that my research needed to go. Once I pushed through my doubt, I could think clearly and achieve what I wanted.鈥
黑料社鈥檚 COS conference brings together undergraduate and graduate programs from different colleges across campus to deliver academic presentations showcasing their personal academic research. Work presented at the conference relates to student鈥檚 research in their field, creative work in visual and performing arts, community service, and study abroad. This year鈥檚 COS conference will be held the week of Apr. 4 in a hybrid format.
To learn more about the upcoming 黑料社 Celebration of Scholarship Conference, visit shawnee.edu/cos.