Digital Commons Network^™

Spectre Of Justice: Russian Reform In The Courtrooms Of Dostoevsky And Tolstoy, Abby Moore

Senior Theses

The Great Reforms of Alexander II are regarded as transformative policies in the history of Tsarist Russia, drastically changing the empire’s social and political fabric. The judicial reforms of 1864 in particular addressed longstanding issues within the existing criminal justice system, yet they also liberalized the institution at large. Following in the West’s footsteps, the reforms introduced an unprecedented level of democracy into Russia’s courtroom. Among the critics of these changes were renowned authors Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy, both of whom used the realm of fiction to explore their respective concerns with reformed Russian jurisprudence. Both authors bring distinct …

The Americans Progress Forgot? An Interdisciplinary Study Of The Role Of Media In Opiate Politics, Rachael M. Erickson

Senior Theses

The most recent opioid crisis in the United States was largely described, by politicians, the media, and subsequently members of the voting public, as being an issue primarily affecting rural White communities. This phenomenon is shaped by the fact that the rate at which White Americans use opiates is outpaced by the frequency with which White American use of opiates is described as an issue of human interest in opinion or editorial articles in news media. In this thesis I aim to understand how the racialized public and political perception of opiate use is shaped by local media.

The following …

Alexa, Should I Trust You? A Theory Of Trustworthiness For Artificial Intelligence, Elizabeth K. Stewart

Theses and Dissertations

As people turn to AI driven technologies for help with everything from meal planning to choosing a mate, it is increasingly important for individuals to gauge the trustworthiness of available technologies. However, most philosophical theories of trustworthiness focus on interpersonal trust and are inappropriate for non-agents. What, then, does it mean for non-agents such as AI driven technologies to be trustworthy? I distinguish two different forms of trustworthiness: naive trustworthiness and robust trustworthiness. An agent is naively trustworthy to the extent that it would be likely to meet the truster’s expectations with respect to a given domain. An agent is …

Discursive Incarceration: Black Fragility In A Divided Public Sphere, Meili Steele

Faculty Publications

The expression of fragility has always been a difficult and complex matter for African Americans, for the discourse of mainstream media is set up to both sustain and misrecognize their fragility . Even though the black public sphere split off from the dominant public sphere after the Civil War to enable distinctive forms of expression, the “practiced habits” of which Coates speaks continued working within the structures of the dominant discourse. My essay will analyze the structure of America’s indifference to fragility in six parts. In the first section, I will introduce a normative problematic that can track how the …

Barbara Powers: Witch Or Myth? The Last Case Of Witchcraft In South Carolina, Brandon Smith, Bobbie Jo Wimberly, Courtney Mcdonald

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

Was an elderly woman from the upstate of South Carolina the last to be accused of and put on trial for witchcraft in the United States? In this paper, we investigate claims from an old letter sent to the president of South Carolina College to determine whether or not Barbara Powers was truly accused of witchcraft during a criminal trial. After thoroughly investigating census data, court records, marriage records, and other historical data in the named counties and those surrounding them, we were unable to determine conclusively if the trial was real or fabricated. Despite not knowing if the case …

The Effects Of Racialization On Sikhs In America: An Intersectional Approach, Harsirjan K. Roopra

Senior Theses

Sikhs have been largely ignored in the literature surrounding social justice and religious tolerance. The many pressures Sikhs face, and the social assumptions that lead to them, must be brought into the broader conversation on these issues so that educators and politicians might help support the well-being of the Sikh community. Sikh identity has been misinterpreted and redefined in modern day American society. The lack of cultural and religious literacy of many Americans, coupled with Sikhs’ distinct visible identity, has led to xenophobic violence against Sikhs since their arrival in the U.S. more than a century ago. The root of …

Justice For All? An In-Depth Look At Sexual Assault Kit Testing In The Carolinas, Jessalynn C. King

Senior Theses

Within the last few decades, technological advancements and an improved understanding of biological materials have led to an increase in evidence that can be submitted for forensic testing in criminal justice investigations. In a sexual assault investigation, a sexual assault kit (SAK) is often collected and contains the evidence found on the victim’s or suspect’s person. While the true total is unknown, it is estimated that several hundred thousand untested SAKs remain in the custody of law enforcement and forensic crime laboratories across the United States. Whether these SAKs were neglected due to law enforcement bias, the prioritization of other …

Political Theatre: Entertainment Or Instrument Of Social Change?, Olivia M. Matthews

Senior Theses

This paper explores political theatre as a means of conveying information and inspiring action regarding socio-political issues. Through a staged reading of The Exonerated, and subsequent audience discussion and survey, the effectiveness of theatre as a means of commenting on political problems was explored. The conclusion was reached that theatre is uniquely suited for this role due to the emotional human connection forged by seeing examples of real people dealing with the addressed issues.

An Intersectional Analysis Of Structural Racism And Police Violence Against Black Women, Ceylin H. Ucok

Senior Theses

Structural racism in the United States affects racial and ethnic minorities in many areas of life. The Black community, specifically, faces the highest risk of police violence and brutality. In particular, this paper explores the ways in which adverse police violence experiences affect Black women. Black women often face marginalization in movements for racial justice and gender equality, so this paper investigates the intersectionality of how Black women experience police violence. They often face overlapping forms of discrimination and racialized gender violence at the hands of police. The negative ways in which Black women are stereotyped are discussed to further …

Ideology In Physics: Ontological Naturalism And Theism Confront Big Bang, Cosmic Fine Tuning, And The Multiverse Of M-Theory, Anthony Walsh, Marc Ruffinengo

Journal of Ideology

The most profound questions that philosophers and scientists have asked across the centuries have been metaphysical and existential, such as “What is the meaning and purpose of life, why are we here, and why is there something rather than nothing?” There can be no definitive answers to these questions, so those who pose and propose answers to them necessarily engage ideology. Some physicists have become philosophers in that they are attempting to answer these profound questions with highly speculative theories as, for instance, Hawking and Mlodonow’s book The Grand Design (2010) which they tout as providing new answers to age-old …

Black Power And Neighborhood Organizing In Minneapolis, Minnesota: The Way Community Center, 1966-1971, Sarah Jayne Paulsen

Theses and Dissertations

The Way Opportunities Unlimited, Inc. was a non-­‐profit community center that operated from 1966—1984 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Inspired by the national black power movement that arose in the 1960s, this community center led a local movement for African American equality. This thesis investigates The Way as a unique example of how black power ideology was implemented at the local level, in a city with a statistically small black population, presenting a northern urban context often overlooked by historians. The Way offered a space where aspiring young black musicians could perform, including Prince.

Social Imaginaries And The Theory Of The Normative Utterance, Meili Steele

Faculty Publications

Theorists of the social imaginary, such as Benedict Anderson, Charles Taylor, Cornelius Castoriadis, and Marcel Gauchet have given us new ways to talk about the structures of the shared meanings and practices of the West. As a group, they have directed their arguments against the narrow horizons of meaning oyed by deliberative political theories in developing their basic normative concepts and principles. Anderson speaks of the new shapes of time and space provided by the novel and newspaper; Taylor and Gauchet discuss the ontological importance of the emergence of secularity, the public sphere, popular sovereignty, and the market; Castoriadis places …

Ideology, Race, And The Death Penalty: "Lies, Damn Lies, And Statistics" In Advocacy Research, Anthony Walsh, Virginia Hatch

Journal of Ideology

We use the literature on race in death penalty to illustrate the hold that ideology has on researchers and journalists alike when a social issue is charged with emotional content. We note particularly how statistical evidence become misinterpreted in ways that support a particular ideology, either because of innumeracy or because—subconsciously or otherwise—one’s ideology precludes a critical analysis. We note that because white defendants are now proportionately more likely to receive the death penalty and to be executed than black defendants that the argument has shifted from a defendant-based to a victim-based one. We examine studies based on identical data …

Sex And The State: Sexual Politics In South Carolina In The 1970s, Jennifer Holman Gunter

Theses and Dissertations

Sex and the State: Sexual Politics in South Carolina is an investigation of the interactions of feminists and the state from 1966 through 1985. Nationally, women cooperated with officials of state agencies to push their agenda of self-sovereignty. Using South Carolina as a case study highlights the inherent power struggles inherent in these maneuverings. Inspired by the Second Wave of the women’s movement, activists across South Carolina, in both small towns and urban settings, worked with the state and manipulated state reactions to suit their needs. The work focuses on four key aspects of the women’s movement including: the abortion …

Maybe Mermaids And Robots Are Lonely: 40 Stories And A Novella, Matthew Fogarty

Theses and Dissertations

Maybe Mermaids and Robots are Lonely comprises 40 stories and a novella all set in or around Detroit and featuring figures that have become almost legendary in American culture. Stories in the collection range in form from a more traditional, if quirky, realism to a somewhat more ethereal or slipstream or magical realism. In the title story, for example, we meet a pair of star-crossed lovers, a robot and a mermaid, who must find a way to bridge their different worlds. "Rollo is Rollo" is a more realist play on the Cain and Abel, good brother-bad brother story. There's an …

Political Science Fall 2011, Dan Sabia

Political Science Newsletter Fall 2011

No abstract provided.

Political Science Spring 2011, Dan Sabia

Political Science Newsletter Spring 2011

No abstract provided.

Political Science Fall 2009, Dan Sabia

Political Science Newsletter Fall 2009

No abstract provided.

Political Science Spring 2009, Dan Sabia

Political Science Newsletter Spring 2009

No abstract provided.

Justice By Paperwork: A Day In The Life Of A Court Scribe In Bourbon Mexico City, Michael C. Scardaville

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Power Of Apology And The Process Of Historical Reconciliation, Robert R. Weyeneth

Faculty Publications

The article analyzes one of the ways that history makes the headlines today: in discussions of whether the present can--and should--apologize for the past. It examines this recent phenomenon by asking if historical apologies have the ability to facilitate a process of historical reconciliation. In its first three sections, the article explores the range and forms of apologies reported in the press during the last decade or so, the motives and goals of apologists, and the reasoning of those with misgivings about the utility and wisdom of apologies. A fourth section assesses the efficacy of historical apologies. Is an apology …

New Voices In The Nation: Women And The Greek Resistance, 1941-1964, By Janet Hart, Gerasimos Augustinos

Faculty Publications

Reviews the book New Voices in the Nation: Women and the Greek Resistance, 1941-1964, by Janet Hart.

History, He Wrote: Murder, Politics, And The Challenges Of Public History In A Community With A Secret, Robert R. Weyeneth

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.