A collection of papers that I’ve written. All of these were written as coursework.
A Brief Security Analysis of Arch Linux and its Package Management System
Arch Linux is an independently developed GNU/Linux distribution which has remained popular for personal computers for the past decade. Without the support of a company or organization that many other popular distributions have, it might be expected that Arch Linux lags behind in terms of security. In this paper, I analyze the trust model of Arch Linux and its underlying implementation. I also analyze the security of Arch Linux’s package management system by applying common attacks and analyzing code. I find that the Arch Linux community cares about security and employs a strong trust model, but touts a package management system that is susceptible to common attacks.
Anonymous’ Hunt for Power Through Propaganda
Analyzes the propaganda of the “hacktivist” group Anonymous during the events surrounding and leading up to the Stop Online Piracy Act.
This analysis reveals that Anonymous felt as if they had a strong control and ownership over the Internet as a whole, and their propaganda was a way to convince others to believe this, join them, and fight against the government’s proposed act.
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Anonymous’ Hunt for Power Through Propaganda by Brandon Milton is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Black Community in “Devil in a Blue Dress”
A brief exploration of black community in Carl Franklin’s film “Devil in a Blue Dress.” Analysis is performed by following specific events in which the main character, Easy Rawlins, acts differently toward members of the black community than he does towards others.
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Black Community in “Devil in a Blue Dress” by Brandon Milton is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Gallimard’s Embodiment of Orientalism and its Effectiveness in Challenging It
A literary analysis of David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly which explores the effectiveness of its challenging of Orientalism. Specifically, this paper addresses how Gallimard embodies the Oriental ideals that are presented in John Luther Long’s Madame Butterfly and why this embodiment serves as an effective challenging.
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Gallimard’s Embodiment of Orientalism and its Effectiveness in Challenging It by Brandon Milton is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Hamlet’s Journey to Carnival
A literary analysis of Hamlet’s psychological journey from following standard social norms to an inverted social structure: carnival.
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Hamlet’s Journey to Carnival by Brandon Milton is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The Influence of The Chinese Exclusion Act on the American Populous
Often times, the Chinese Exclusion Act is seen as a result of evolving racist attitudes of the American Populous. This paper aims to offer a different perspective and instead analyzes the ways in which the passage of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act affected the viewpoints of the American populous.
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The Influence of The Chinese Exclusion Act on the American Populous by Brandon Milton is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Racism and The Individual in The Legends of Gregorio Cortez
The legends of Gregorio Cortez follow an individual escaping from the reaches of blatantly racist attitudes; however, the stories make no mention of these attitudes. This paper explains that this is because those who heard and repeated the stories shared a mutual feeling about the racism, therefore not needing a reminder within the content of the stories.
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Racism and The Individual in The Legends of Gregorio Cortez by Brandon Milton is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Reflections on My Changing Attitudes Toward Science
Over the past few centuries, science has formed and evolved. Using broad transformations of various fields and the development of specific theories as evidence, this paper discusses how my views of science changed as I analyzed its development as a whole.
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Reflections on My Changing Attitudes Toward Science by Brandon Milton is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The Repressed Anger of Oppressed Inner-City Los Angeles
Charles Burnett‘s 1978 film Killer of Sheep depicts daily life in inner-city Los Angeles before the Watts Riots. The racist attitudes of the time deeply affected the lives of Watts residents, and Killer of Sheep clearly shows this through the actions and attitudes of its characters. Instead of acting out in a large demonstration, the characters in Killer of Sheep release their frustrations in common actions of daily life – clearly showing growing tensions.
Dan Freeman’s Transformation to Cultural Nationalism
Ivan Dixon’s 1972 film The Spook Who Sat by the Door depicts Dan Freeman, a black man struggling to find recognition during the Civil Rights Movement. After failing to be promoted while working for the Central Intelligence Agency, Freeman realizes that acting outside of societal norms is the best way to create change.
