Volume XIII Preface

Greetings!

It is our enormous pleasure to present our esteemed readers with the thirteenth volume of The Kennesaw Tower. This journal provides a venue for undergraduate students of languages and World Language Education to publish their multilingual research. This publication would not be possible without the support of our generous Editorial Board members and external reviewers who donate their time and energy to this endeavor.

This volume features stellar undergraduate scholarly studies in Chinese and Spanish. These articles are presented in two thematic and linguistic groups as outlined below.

The first group of articles offers studies of pressing current issues in the Chinese context. In the first, Emily Cerimele provides a case study of students with disability in order to examine the problem of educational inequality. She then considers multiple avenues to enact change to improve this disparity. Then, Jodie Clay investigates differences in television advertisement quality and appeal in Japan and the United States. By incorporating those nations’ consumer cultures, value systems, and advertising guidelines, she offers a compelling comparative cultural study. Concluding the first section of this issue, Addie Rossinow explores China’s response to air pollution. She explores China’s goal to transition from the most significant contributor to climate change to a global model for climate rectification and amelioration.

The second group of articles centers on film studies and compares the consequences of reductive narrative techniques and their impact on understanding historical realities in the Spanish-speaking world. First, Julia DeVane engages with two Cuban films, Fresa y chocolate and Antes que anochezca, to explore whether male gayness is conveyed through a stereotypical supporting character or a fully-fledged “post-paradigmatic” protagonist. Through this study, she follows the trajectory of change in queer public culture within a Cuban context. In the final article of the issue, Lelani Smith examines superficial retellings of events in the Dominican Republic under Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship through the film adaptation of En el tiempo de las Mariposas. Her analysis engages with the causes and effects of varying portrayals of authoritarian rule.

We hope you enjoy this enriching undergraduate scholarly work. The early-career commitment to scholarly excellence of the authors showcased in this issue is clear from the caliber of research included herein.

If you have any questions regarding The Kennesaw Tower, the scholarship published herein, or our commitment to publishing undergraduate research, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Dr. Abigail Alexander
Editor-in-Chief
The Kennesaw Tower
thetower@kennesaw.edu