I just finished writing the latest draft of my dissertation prospectus. Tomorrow I'm going to put in all the citations I still need to add and send it off to my committee. I'm hoping what I'll hear back is "When do we schedule your defense?" and I can finally get working on more than that.… Continue reading Vision Shifting Soon
Author: Courtney Bliss
My name is Courtney Bliss and I am a professional geek. More specifically I am a Cultural Studies scholar working on a PhD in American Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University. My Master of Arts is in Popular Culture, also from BGSU.
My research focuses on popular culture texts that come along and disrupt the “norm” in a way that changes culture without being completely alien to audiences. These are texts that bring together familiar elements in a new way and connect with audiences in a way that provides representation for some and exposes others to new ideas and concepts. Popular culture texts do not simply entertain people. Popular culture texts have the power to change culture for the better by providing representation that informs audiences about a culture they might not have known about.
cblissacafan.com
It’s finally starting!
Last week, I got an e-mail that has changed my life. I had submitted a proposal for a chapter about Oracle and why both her presence and removal from comic books is so important for a book about representing disability in the media. The e-mail said that the editor of the book just got the… Continue reading It’s finally starting!
Supers and disability
Around a month from now, I'll be presenting "SuperTropes: Finding the difference between Narrative Prosthesis and Introduction to Disability in Marvel Comics" at the Comics and Popular Arts Conference (CPAC) at DragonCon in Atlanta, GA. I submitted it in my continuing side project of looking at representation of disability in superhero comic books. I kept… Continue reading Supers and disability
Interdisciplinary sites of Deviancy
In working on getting ready to really start my dissertation, I am pleasantly surprised to find myself interested in musical theater as a site of research. That means I am finding interesting topics to look at within musical theater productions, but I am not a theater or performance studies scholar. It's the same way that… Continue reading Interdisciplinary sites of Deviancy
Starting to Scorch
I am currently at my third conference of the school year (Wayne State Popular Culture Conference), with at least one possibly two more to go. It's an awesome conference. I've become friends with the organizers and always love coming. It's not far from home. It focuses on Popular Culture studies. And it's fun! The first… Continue reading Starting to Scorch
I am so lucky!
Both of my parents went to college and earned bachelor's degrees. My mom was the first in her family. My dad was the son of a Spanish professor. Both of them raised my sister and I to not repeat their mistakes: don't get a degree because it sounds like fun. My mom wanted to be… Continue reading I am so lucky!
Falling in love with non-compliancy
One of the things that has been drawing my academic attention is the comic book series Bitch Planet. BP is a dystopian, feminist, sci-fi comic set in the not-too-distant future where the world is ruled by patriarchy, literally. It is what these alt-right a----- would love to see: women belong in the home, bearing children, raising them,… Continue reading Falling in love with non-compliancy
Scrivener. It’s actually useful!
Way back during my first semester of graduate school (Fall 2015), one of my professors told us about this program for writers, Scrivener. It had been available for Macs for a while, but had more recently come out with a version for Windows. It looked really neat. It allows you to save a ton of… Continue reading Scrivener. It’s actually useful!
Refocused. Re-energized. Restarting.
I am currently reading The Craft of Research, 4th edition. Actually, I'm doing my first skim through, as suggested by the authors, before I give it a thorough read-through. But what I'm reading is already getting my brain going on multiple projects. I finally picked it up for a couple of reasons. One, it's summer! While… Continue reading Refocused. Re-energized. Restarting.
“Tiny Shoulders”
Tiny Shoulders is a documentary on Hulu about Barbie. It is a very well-done film that looks at the recent revamping of the iconic doll and the history. Part of why they are coming up with different body types available in the dolls is because people are saying the doll is too unrealistic. Duh. It's… Continue reading “Tiny Shoulders”
Deviate from the Norm 