Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Beyond Craigslist Personal Ads: Contemporary Usage Of The Label T4t, Madi Lou Alexander

Student Research Symposium

Trans for trans relationships (t4t) are a special type of connection specific to transgender individuals, whether in the process of [re]affirming one’s gender identity and/or finding and building community. Originating from Craigslist personal ads, t4t indicates a trans person seeking out another trans person. What are these t4t relationships like for the trans people involved in them? With this research, I hope to evaluate and define the range of what t4t relationships are, hypothesize how t4t relations foster a sense of connection for the transgender individuals in said relationships, and explain why community amongst those who identify as transgender is …

Mindspace: A Multi-Media Art Exhibition On C-Ptsd Awareness, Emma Wallace

Student Research Symposium

"Mindspace" is an autobiographical art exhibition aimed at raising awareness about Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) through a multi-sensory experience. The exhibition combines sculpture, lights, sound, and video projection to immerse viewers in the intricate emotional landscape of C-PTSD. Through a series of sculptural installations and carefully curated lighting and audio, visitors are invited to explore the internal world of an artist affected by C-PTSD and learn how it differs from PTSD and other types of mental health issues.

“Mindspace" incorporates specially composed soundscapes that offer an intimate look into the artist’s thoughts and memories, which range from spoken word …

Sex Toys In The City- The Sex Toy Market Vs. Profit, Culture And Education, Abigail M. Jobe

Student Research Symposium

Since the development of sex stores, the product appeal has been directed toward cisgender men and excluded other groups, creating an experience exclusive to the male gaze. With this, products sold at early sex stores often did not appeal to the female population and excluded queer and gender non-conforming individuals altogether. These original sex stores objectified the female body and many of these traditional stores still exist now. However, in the 1970s, feminists began to create sex stores directed toward women and they in turn became hubs for information as opposed to just sex stores where women could shop comfortably …

Effects Of Language Status, Community Advice, And Parent Beliefs On Heritage Language Maintenance In The U.S.: A Scoping Review, Isabelle Trujillo, Jasmine Loeung, Carolyn Quam

Student Research Symposium

This scoping review of qualitative research examines effects of language status, community advice to parents, and parents' beliefs on heritage language maintenance within a U.S. context. The review was guided by three research questions: 1. What is the nature of the relationship between a heritage language’s (HL) status in society and language maintenance across generations? 2. How does information parents receive from community members (e.g., health professionals, teachers, friends/family) influence their beliefs about the HL? 3. How do parents’ beliefs about the impact of a HL on academic/career success influence HL transmission? Thirty-four articles met inclusion criteria. Three themes were …

Gangism: An 'Elementary Form Of Religious Life', Robert Northman

Student Research Symposium

This study is intended to examine the question: could gangs be a form of religion? The study will examine Steven Cureton's ethnographic case study of a street gang as found in his work titled Hoover Crips (2008), where I will then analyze the findings within the sociological framework of Emile Durkheim’s theory of religion as set forth in his classic book titled Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912).

This exploration faces challenges as the terms “gang” and “religion” are both hotly contested, and discussions on each have largely occurred independently, leaving a significant gap for this research to address. This …

Film History Digests, Nathan A. Varner

Student Research Symposium

Film History Digests is a web series created by Nathan Varner and chronicled popular culture's smaller and underrepresented parts. This project showcased collaboration, innovation, consistency, and determination for a small team. In return, we uncovered the decades-long mystery, shined a light on mental health, and provided a subtext of non-partisan political discourse all over a year.

Dual Colonization Of Okinawa: Gendered And Militarized Violence, Katie Y. Hashimoto

Student Research Symposium

Off the southern part of Japan is the small archipelago of Okinawa. Making up only 0.6% of Japan’s total land mass, Okinawa hosts 74% of the nation’s U.S. military bases. Since World War II, the U.S. military has grown a dominating presence on the islands, inevitably influencing the lives of the locals. A portion of Okinawans have since been protesting for the removal/reduction of these bases through what is known as the Anti-Base Movement but have been largely ignored by the governments of Japan and the U.S. At first glance, these protests seem to be centered around environmental issues, land …

Disentangling The Nazis And The Vikings, Arden Goldberg

Student Research Symposium

In the development of nationalism, and specifically white ethnonationalism, the Norse have played an unfortunate role, and one that deserves a closer interrogation. In the larger scheme of white nationalism, those who seek to directly appropriate Norse symbology and a reconstruction of their own ideal of Norse culture are a relative minority, but they remain a minority which taints the study of Norse history. In this talk, I will examine how Norse symbology and identity has come to be appropriated by white nationalists, compare the racist perceptions of the Norse with knowable historical realities, explain the usefulness of Norse symbology …

Are The Trailers The Real Star Of Star Wars: The Last Jedi?, Zachariah Lanis

Student Research Symposium

A literature review was conducted that found overwhelming evidence that movie trailers are physiologically stimulating to the viewer. An observational experiment was conducted that involved surveying a total of 204 subjects from randomly selected clusters. They were grouped into categories for further study. Of those 204, 102 had not seen Star Wars: the Last Jedi at the time of surveying. (Responses for movie satisfaction were not recorded from this group.) 31 of them had seen the movie but hadn't seen the trailer, 34 had seen the movie and saw the trailer by happenstance, and 37 had seen the movie and …

From Bird-Woman To Mermaid: The Shifting Image Of The Medieval Siren, Claire Cannell

Student Research Symposium

During the Middle Ages, the siren transforms from its classical status as grotesque bird-woman into an alluring mermaid. A female monster, the siren represents what is considered monstrous in women. I plan to examine the unstable image of the siren in order to better understand the religious and social status of the medieval European woman. The siren is contextualized among contemporary secular images of female sexuality and the writings of religious authorities such as Leander of Seville, who wrote that all women were either nuns or sirens. I plan to analyze the implications of the nun-siren binary created by Leander …

Feminist Divide: Do We Know Where The Problem Areas Are?, Jacqueline Rieth

Student Research Symposium

This research focuses on the divide in the global feminist movement between different types of feminism. As well as how divisions in the feminist movements allow for counter movements to devalue the feminist movement. Hypothesis: The general population is unaware of the divisions of feminism. Method: An online survey was distributed to thirty (n=30) participants asking about their knowledge of the feminist movement as a whole and the divisions within feminism. Results: results showed that the majority of the participants understood the divisions of feminism and had been exposed to different types of feminism.

Culturally Responsive Social Work Methods For Use With Indigenous Peoples, Sara Davidson Cowling

Student Research Symposium

The history of the American social work profession and its interactions with Indigenous people is intimately connected to colonial imperialism. Social workers have been complicit and outright participatory in various forms of settler state violence, especially in the form of forced cultural assimilation through the Indian Adoption Project and Indian Residential schools. While these institutions are now closed, and federal law ostensibly prevents such harms from recurring, Indigenous people are often rightfully suspect of social workers and the work they do.

How can non-Indigenous people approach the profession of social work through a decolonizing lens? How can we center Indigenous …

“It Lurks In The Saying, Not What’S Being Said”: Possible Worlds Theory And Gender Performativity In Marina Carr’S Low In The Dark, Andie Madsen, Susan Reese

Student Research Symposium

Low in the Dark by Irish playwright Marina Carr is an absurdist play that focuses heavily on concepts of gender as performance. It does so mainly through role-playing scenes in which two same-gender characters reenact a heterosexual relationship. These scenes can be tied to Marie-Laure Ryan’s conceptions of the four kinds of textual alternative possible worlds (TAPWs) within possible worlds theory: fantasy, wish, obligation, and knowledge. An analysis of the play’s role-playing scenes in conjunction with gender performativity and these four types of TAPW reveals the constructed-ness of gender norms within the work, which further calls into question a strictly …

A Comparative Examination Of The Hyperbole In Men Without Women By Haruki Murakami And Fudotoku Kyoiku Koza By Yukio Mishima, Jitsuya Nishiyama

Student Research Symposium

This presentation is on a comparative analysis of two prominent Japanese authors' works of literature. The presentation is about a comparative study of hyperbole in Men without women by Haruki Murakami and Fudotoku Kyoiku Koza by Yukio Mishima. Both authors have significant positions in the history of Japanese literature with readership overseas. The rhetoric of hyperbole seems to be significant for both Murakami and Mishima since there are many examples of hyperbole in their works. Murakami’s Men without women is a lamenting short narrative for the loved one while Mishima’s Fudotoku Kyoiku Koza is an entertaining social satire. Regardless of …

An Argument And Survey On Artemisia Gentileschi’S Allegory Of Fame, Rachel Done

Student Research Symposium

The Allegory of Fame is a recently rediscovered painting that is attributed to Artemisia Gentileschi. As is common with all of Artemisia’s paintings, there come certain questions among scholars such as, is it truly her work? When was it made? Who was it made for? This particular painting also features a rare subject for Artemisia- an allegory. Allegory of Fame is unusual for Artemisia in terms of size and composition as well. I was attracted to exploring these questions and peculiarities around such a unique painting by Artemisia. Due to the controversies around the timeline and provenance of this work- …

The Minorities Within The Minority, Gloria P. Aiten

Student Research Symposium

The poster is based off of the research paper I am currently doing, it is about how in the Western Society the Asian-Pacific Islanders are categorized as one, but in reality they're two different ethnicity and how the PI are being misidentified. In other words, imagine putting a dog and a cat into one category. Yes they're both house pets, but they're two different species. That is exactly what's happening between the API community.

Working-Class Black Women’S Role In Building And Sustaining Black Communities In The Pacific Northwest, Tessara G. Dudley

Student Research Symposium

In response to the scholarly focus on the historical racism of the Pacific Northwest, this research attempts to answer the question of how Black communities have persisted in the face of discrimination. This study is a historical examination of the roles that Black women have played in building and sustaining Black communities within predominantly white regions, with a specific focus on the Portland-Vancouver area during and after World War II. This work focuses on the activities of working class Black women, a significant proportion of Black women migrating to the Pacific Northwest during World War II, examining their community-building activities …

Is Fast Fashion A Concern Of The Everyday Teen?, Mariah N. Cruz

Student Research Symposium

The phrase “fast fashion” refers to getting clothes at extremely low costs to keep up with the newest fashion trends. When we purchase items, we don’t put much thought into where our clothing goes after we “get rid” of them. The saying “Out of sight, out of mind” is apparent when it comes down to consumers and letting go of old clothes. Our only concern as consumers is the next big thing. The fashion industry has drastically changed over the past two decades and trends play a huge role in this push for mass production. We as a society are …

Compositional Practice As Expression Of Cultural Hybridity In Lou Harrison’S Double Concerto For Violin, Cello, And Javanese Gamelan, Matthew N. Andrews

Student Research Symposium

Artists in the twenty-first century face a creative dilemma: styles and traditions from around the world are now available to all, and in the post-colonial era it can become difficult to discern the appropriateness of artistic borrowings. I propose that cultural hybridity, defined as genuine investment in another artistic culture's traditions and respect for its practitioners, can provide an “Ariadne's thread” to guide the interculturally sensitive artist. Lou Harrison's long relationship with the gamelan music (karawitan) of Indonesia provides an enlightening example. From his initial exposure to Asian music all through his decades of intensive study and instrument-building, Harrison's development …

The Sensorimotor Approach To Color Perception And The Necessity Of Socio-Cultural Considerations For Color Naming, Matthew Watts

Student Research Symposium

In this paper I argue against Kevin O’Regan’s claim that the “biological reflectance function” and its notion of “simple” colors naturally lead to a biologically consistent standard for species wide color naming. Although the simplicity of these colors may allow for easier apprehension, the notion that color simplicity will naturally lead to a consistent standard for the naming of basic color hues across a species is inconsistent with the idea of objective colors in the way that he portrays it. While it fixes many of the traditional explanatory issues surrounding color perception, it opens up new explanatory issues surrounding color. …

Geography Of Gender And The Gender Of Geography In The Roman Imagination, Austin Howard

Student Research Symposium

This paper argues for a profound link between gendered stereotypes and geography in the Graeco-Roman imagination focusing on the early Roman Empire. Hitherto, this link has been mentioned, sometimes assumed, and almost never treated as a venture worthy or deeper study or unifying themes, apart from questions of “proto-racism.” Notwithstanding, the links can be drawn comparing how the peoples living in different parts of the empire are described and how stereotypes of gender also appear in historical and literary texts. By careful examination (including cross-examination) of Strabo, Tacitus, Livy, Julius Caesar, and others, I seek the argue for a strong …

After Houselessness: Queer Youth Of Color Severed From Cultural And Spiritual Community, Carrie Fuentes, Miriam Abelson

Student Research Symposium

Within the Portland Oregon Houseless Youth Continuum, to what extent are the particular needs of Queer Youth of Color being served by existing programs? There is a gap between the nature of houseless youth services and the need for Queer Youth of Color to rebuild the missing connections resulting from cultural or spiritual rupture that creates a disconnection from their ancestry and community estrangement. Programs exist that offer assistance to QYOC in crisis but these programs lack in a positive connection to spiritual and cultural legacy that will support long term self-efficacy.

The proposed research goal is to examine these …

How Lust Was Lost: Genre, Identity And The Neglect Of A Pioneering Comics Publication, Robert Hulshof-Schmidt

Student Research Symposium

In 1950, St. John Publications published what is arguably the first graphic novel. It Rhymes With Lust was illustrated by Matt Baker, one of the first and most prolific African Americans in the comics industry. It was written by Arnold Drake – a long-time comics creator – and Leslie Waller – a respected novelist. Despite the talent arrayed and the historical significance of its timing, the novel has been largely ignored by comics scholars, historians, fans, and collectors. This paper carefully lays out the historical context for the publication of this “picture novel,” reviewing the state of the comics industry, …

Locke, Figure, And Judgement: A Consistent Answer To The Molyneux Problem, Jamale Nagi

Student Research Symposium

Ever since the early modern period the Molyneux Problem has been a topic of debate both in the philosophy of perception and the psychology of perception. The problem centers on whether the senses share representational content between one another, or does each sense modality have its own stock of representational content that becomes associated with the others after some habituation. For example, if you knew a shape only by touch, could you identify that shape when seeing it for the first time without being allowed to touch the object? Typically, rationalists have held to the former claiming yes, while empiricists …

Retracing Foucault: Neoliberalism And The Occupy Movement, Jaycob Izso

Student Research Symposium

The Occupy movement presented itself as a reaction to a socio-economic relation; to some it decried the unconstrained expanses and injustices of capitalism, to others it was a resistance to the gross economic disparity perpetuated by a subset of the social strata that lacked governmental accountability. Branded by some as neo-Marxist, by others as merely lazy or lacking any concrete objectives – the Occupy movement met with mixed results. By providing an archaeology of neoliberal governmentality by-way of Michel Foucault; I believe we can not only elucidate the underpinning and political origins of the movement, but also seek to clarify …

Freedom From Equality: Democratic Education And The Failure Of The Nclb, Andrew X. Fleming

Student Research Symposium

Deeply rooted societal concerns about what role democratic ideals should play within systems of education, and how much sway the federal government should hold over educational institutions, have been at the forefront of American educational policy for decades. These questions have more recently been brought into the limelight once again within the context of the implementation of charter schools and the controversial No Child Left Behind act, and its subsequent failure. The expressed goal of this paper is to provide an examination of what philosophies and ideals of so-called "democratic education" are have played major roles in developing the discourse …

Representation Of The Mother’S Body As A Narrative Conduit For Wartime Themes In Saga, Bess Pallares

Student Research Symposium

“Representation of the Mother’s Body as a Narrative Conduit for Wartime Themes in Saga” examines how both diagetic and extradiagetic art creates a visual syuzhet to convey themes of interdependence and transgenerational memory in the comic book series Saga. My method of research was a narrative analysis of volumes 1-4 of Saga, particularly focusing on the artistic representation of two mothers’ bodies within the narrative and on covers of the books, as related to the themes and story. As a result, I found in the artistic syuzhet that the representation of two characters’ bodies as they interact …

A Habitable Madness: Inclusion Of Feminist Thought In The Development Of Mad Theory, Casadi "Khaki" Marino

Student Research Symposium

Objectives: Mad theory is in the early stages of development. This paper draws on disability studies and feminist thought in theorizing models of madness.

Methods: This paper explores the available literature in order to explore the contribution of feminism to mad theory.

Results: Disability studies have challenged hegemonic concepts of normality and the definition of disability as individual deficit. Disability becomes framed as a social construction involving power relations. Feminist perspectives on disability honor lived experience and human variation. In feminist thought, different ways of being are valued and people are recognized as equal in terms of …

Detecting Rule Of Balance In Photography, Uyen T. Mai, Feng Liu

Student Research Symposium

Rule of Balance is one of the most important composition rules in photography, which can be used as a standard for photo quality assessment. The rule of balance states that images with evenly distributed visual elements are visually pleasing and thus are highly aesthetic. This work presents a method to automatically classify balanced and unbalanced images. Detecting the rule of balance requires a robust technique to locate and analyze important objects and visual elements, which involves understanding of the image content. Since semantic understanding is currently beyond the state of the art in computer vision, we employ the saliency maps …

Family And Social Roles In Queer Children's Literature, Nicolas Toscana Brouhard

Student Research Symposium

This research investigates family and social roles in queer children's literature. It provides a thematic analysis of popular titles published during the last decade. It argues that heteronormative and queer-identified protagonists in these stories have identical values concerning family and society. The analysis includes "In Our Mother's House" by Patricia Polacco, "And Tango Makes Three" by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, "King & King" by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland, and "Donovan’s Big Day" by Leslea Newman. The analysis focuses on how characters relationships and their commitments to each other such as weddings. It also explores how they take …