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Cas Honors Symposium Program, Fall 2021, College Of Arts & Sciences Honors Program

College of Arts & Sciences Honors in the Major Symposium

No abstract provided.

Magic, Monsters, And Make-Believe Heroes: How Myth And Religion Shape Fantasy Culture, Saira Chhibber

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Douglas Cowan, Magic, Monsters, and Make-Believe Heroes: How Myth and Religion Shape Fantasy Culture (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2019).

Sensuous Cinema: The Body In Contemporary Maghrebi Film, Shreya Parikh

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Kaya Davies Hayon, Sensuous Cinema: The Body in Contemporary Maghrebi Film (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2018).

Crowdsourcing Civics Instruction To Improve Student Civic Knowledge, Skills, And Citizen Engagement, Charles T. E. Jones

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Secondary students’ lack of civic knowledge, skills, and engagement is well documented in the literature. States continue to address the issue through an increase in mandated civics requirements, but a striking improvement has not been confirmed. Improving civics instructional delivery through crowdsourcing holds promise in addressing deficits in students’ acquisition of civic knowledge, skills, and engagement. Crowdsourcing is the act of using the internet to obtain information and input from multiple parties on specific topics and to find solutions to problems. The purpose of this study was to determine if crowdsourcing may be an effective instructional tool that civics teachers …

Prosecutors, Ethics And The Pursuit Of Racial Justice, Roger Fairfax

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The 2020 murder of George Floyd catalyzed a national reckoning on race, and scrutiny of barriers to racial justice, rightfully focused on policing. However, as this Symposium has demonstrated, it is also critical to interrogate the prosecutorial function, given the outsize role prosecutors play in the criminal legal system. Scholars and advocates have utilized a number of frames to explore a key topic of this symposium-the intersection between prosecutorial discretion, prosecutorial ethics, and racial inequity.'

Although the renewed interest in the prosecutor's role in the pursuit of racial justice raises many new questions and opportunities, the scaffolding for such work …

An Integrative Literature Review And Critical Reflection Of Intersectionality Theory, Ashley Ruiz, Jeneile Luebke, Katie Klein, Kaylen M. Moore, Michael Gonzalez, Anne Dressel, Lucy Mkandawire-Valhmu

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Intersectionality theory has been used by nursing scholars to offer insight into how multiple systems of oppression mutually interact to impact health and to examine how multiple social modes of existence shape individual and group experiences of health inequality. The application of intersectionality theory, however, requires a reflexive critical lens to more effectively inform nursing science and practice. We draw on a comprehensive integrative literature review to offer a critical reflection by considering the semantic and structural consistency, generalizability, simplicity and complexity, and the utility and value of intersectionality theory to nursing science and practice. If nurses are to effectively …

Covid-19 Vaccine Diplomacy In West Africa: Empathetic Soft-Power Or Neocolonial Intentions?, Mary Sperrazza

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

With the impending roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines, many questions have been raised concerning the roll-out of the vaccines beyond the Global North. While some countries across the Global South have been able to purchase limited numbers of vaccines; many countries in the Global South remain highly or entirely dependent on various programs for the distribution of vaccines, such as the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) program. Another means of distribution is of individual countries of the Global North that have either higher purchasing power or are producers of one or more vaccines that have begun donating an allocated amount of …

Draagmoederschap: Surrogacy In The Netherlands, Olivia Murray

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In this paper, I investigated surrogacy in the Netherlands by interviewing four surrogates and one intended parent about their experiences. I found that the participants shared several common experiences and opinions, especially related to why they chose to be surrogates, how surrogates and intended parents negotiate their relationship during and after pregnancy, the tensions of passing on parenthood and merging families, the (non-binding) contracts that surrogates and parents create, Dutch law, and commercial surrogacy. I argue that much of the discourse around surrogacy relitigates many of the arguments made in favor and against sex work, in that it sets surrogacy …

Burning In Purgatory: The Suffocation Of Bisexuality And How The Match Was Lit, Tricia Menzel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The present study examines the way in which bisexuality is experienced and conceptualized in the city of Amsterdam, and how this influences bisexuality’s existence as a sexual identity. Data was collected through conducting one-on-one open-ended interviews with six queer women living in Amsterdam, five of whom are attracted to all genders. Interviews included themes of binegativity, conforming to lesbianism for safety in queer spaces, the additional mental load bisexual women carry, the perception that bisexual women are delusional to their real selves. These themes are then analyzed in order to give reason to the dissolving of the bisexual identity. This …

Public Perception Of Forest And Fire Management Policy In Portugal, Jensen Rocha

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The impacts of forest fires are growing as climate change creates more frequent ideal temperature conditions for extreme wildfires. With the devastating fires it experienced in 2017, Portugal stands as an example of the impacts of dangerous wildfires and is working on developing a plan to protect its country from this rising threat. Important in the plan development is the opinion of the many stakeholders involved and the public whom the fires impact. Using an interview and survey approach, this study gathers public and stakeholder opinion on the forest and fire management policy in Portugal to understand what issues in …

A Socio-Ecological Perspective On Integrating Biodiversity Conservation And The Security-Development Nexus In Sub-Saharan Africa, Lilyon Conroy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential of community-based biodiversity conservation as a security-development strategy in Sub-Saharan Africa. While the creation of the security-development nexus has been an essential component in mainstreaming the principles of sustainable human development, there exist numerous gaps in the nexus. With the aid of four expert interviews, this analysis critically assesses the role of the environment and of local communities in successfully implementing the security-development nexus. Using the existing body of work comprising the security-development nexus as a framework, this research examines why biodiversity conservation has been overlooked as a security-development strategy …

An Analysis Of The Role Of Gender In Political News Media Coverage, Clare Atkinson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Although there has been a decrease in specific exclusionary rules in governments around the world, most nations are very far from a governing body which represents the diversity that exists within their borders. There are many issues which may dissuade previously marginalized populations from political participation. One of these problems when it comes to female participation, is differential political news coverage. This study looked at how media sources set the political agenda and frame news stories in terms of the gender of a politician, and how this can create an additional challenge for women in government. The investigation found that …

The Labyrinth Of Data Collection For Humanitarian Project Funding And Implementation, Maria Alejandra Pulido

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My research concentrates on four NGOs: IOM, IDMC, JIPS, and OCHA which use different tools to collect data and translate the information into evidence for data-driven decision making (DDDM) for the implementation of humanitarian assistance projects. I focus on the importance, advantages, and various data collection tools which help ameliorate the humanitarian sector since it does not have a current professionalized path to enter the workforce. I incorporated four interviews, attended two conferences and analyzed multiple online sources during my project.

Assessing The Need For And Access To Migrant-Sensitive Rehabilitative Healthcare: An Analysis Of Current Swiss And German Practices, Lauren Cuppy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In recent years, the noticeable increase in migration has placed scrutiny on the migrant-sensitive services provided in healthcare settings globally. Migrants, in general, experience different health issues and worse health outcomes than non-migrants. In response to this, healthcare systems around the world have begun implementing migrant-sensitive healthcare (MSHC) systems; yet, although nearly a third of the world’s population experiences some health condition that would benefit from rehabilitation, the implementation of MSHC rehabilitation services have been critically understudied. This paper seeks to investigate the geographic and MSHC accessibility of rehabilitation in Geneva, Switzerland to fill the current gap of literature and …

Evaluating The Pragmatic And Moralistic Approach To Drug Policy And Addiction In Opioid Epidemic Outcomes, Brielle Seidel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Drug use, policy and outcomes differ in all countries; however, trends exist in response to these circumstances and can typically be evaluated through a pragmatic and moralistic lens. The public health, and evidence-based pragmatic approach differs from the law enforcement-centered moralistic approach, specifically in outcomes of people suffering from substance use disorder. Particularly for opioid use disorder, countries that have taken the pragmatic approach in response to opioid epidemics have had dramatic results. Two of the countries discussed include Switzerland and Portugal, with additional information on the Netherlands. In contrast, current opioid epidemics exist in certain countries who maintain a …

Narrativas De La Autoconstrucción: Posicionalidades E Identidades En Migrantes Venezolanos En Quito, Ecuador, Vicente Bickel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this project is to explore the identities of the Venezuelan population in Quito, Ecuador. The country itself has received more than a million people from Venezuela, some who have continued their journey and around 500,000 who have stayed in Ecuador. Most migrants left to the unstable political situation in Venezuela which reached its breaking point around 2015, the year in which this population began to enter Ecuador en masse. The central question of this study is: "What is the self-constructed identity of Venezuelan migrants and refugees in the city of Quito, Ecuador and how has their migratory …

La Autenticidad Y El Yo: Un Análisis Sobre La Experiencia Urbana De Las Mujeres Indígenas En Ecuador, Madison L. Mcclellan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As research on the urban indigenous experience continues to expand, considerations of how indigenous populations understand, express and introspect upon their being indigenous in the city still proves an underexplored topic. The generalizing notion that indigenous persons are staticーin temporal, migratory and identity termsーcategorically conflicts with the growing trends of rural to urban migration patterns. Even more, deep-rooted indigenous-rural associations engender identity disorientations among indigenous women living in the city. The city becomes a space of self-confrontation and re-construction as indigenous women encounter questions of authenticity and shame.

Based in literature on identity, performance, authenticity and shame, this research considers …

Cape Town Cartographies: Which Spaces Can The Youth Access? Mapping The Mobilities Of 11 University Of Cape Town (Uct) Students, Sokona Mangane

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

South Africa went through a gruesome system of segregation known as apartheid, from 1948 until 1994 which enforced spatial and racial divisions through limiting access to spaces, places and (im)mobilities. Despite the formal ending of apartheid in 1994, and some changes it brought to the divided and wounded country, the neo-apartheid spatial structure of the regime lives on in some form or other, particularly in Cape Town. This research paper sought to explore the racial segregation in the mother city further, by examining the daily movements of students from the University of Cape Town (UCT), who are part of the …

The Gap Between Policy And The People: A Case Study Of The Buikwe Fishing Communities, Capri Gutiérrez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

To examine the implementation of Local Government development planning in periphery and hard to reach communities in Uganda, the fishing villages of the Buikwe District were used as a case study. The objective of the study was to explore how Local Government development planning is implemented in the fishing villages to identify gaps. Implementation was broken down into three areas: consultations, needs and services, and service delivery.

The study mimicked the bottom-up approach to decentralized development planning in Uganda, beginning with seven focus group discussions in five fishing villages of Buikwe. Eleven key informant interviews were then conducted with Local …

Cbos As A Tool For Sustainable Community Development: The Case In Kapchorwa, Annie Manges

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this research was to assess the ability of Community Based Organizations, or CBOs, in the Kapchorwa District of Uganda to create long-term and sustainable community development that meets the needs of their community. To provide the necessary context for the study, I conducted a literature review of poverty in Uganda, theory in sustainable and community development, the connection of CBOs to sustainable community development, challenges and strengths for CBOs, and the general context of the structure of and the regulations for a CBO in Uganda.

The participants in the research were members of CBOs in the Kapchorwa …

An Assessment Of The Traditional Botanical Usage Of The Indigeneous People Of The Bugungu Sub-Region Of Western Uganda, Elena Kilber

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The questions that this study aimed to answer were: how are indigenous plants used for medicine, and spiritual practices by the indigenous Bagungu communities? What effect has colonization and globalization had on the knowledge of plants held by indigenous Bagungu communities? And how is the knowledge the Bagungu people hold of traditional plant use preserved through the generations? The methods used to answer these questions were key informant interviews with five herbalists and seven clan custodians from the Bagungu community, and questionnaires administered to 31 Bagungu community members between the ages of 27 and 83. Data were analyzed using qualitative …

Soil Not Oil: An Assessment Of The Role Of Earth Jurisprudence In Restoring Biodiversity Conservation In The Indigenous Bagungu Community, In Uganda, Joslyn Primicias

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

An Earth-centered way of living is essential in Western Uganda, along with many more repressed regions affected by giant corporate evils. The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of Earth Jurisprudence in the restoration of conservation in the Indigenous Bagungu community. More specifically, this study examines the customary laws and rituals used by the Bagungu, the strategies used to decolonize their culture, and their perspectives on foreign influence and globalization. Key-informant interviews were conducted with seven custodians and questionnaire-led interviews were administered to thirty-one clan members from the districts of Buliisa and Hoima. The study sample size …

Man V.S. Wild: An Analysis Of Language Used Regarding Human-Wildlife Conflict In The Kibale National Park Community, Western Region, Uganda, Sophie Perfetto

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

If humans are to live sustainably and in harmony with wildlife in the vicinity of Protected Areas, policy makers, and government authorities need to make informed decisions with consideration to the needs of local communities. For this to happen, policy makers must understand the perceptions of local communities and take local perspectives into account. As language is at the root of perception, language was studied in the context of its role in shaping local perceptions of human-wildlife conflict and consequential conflict mitigation strategies. Six communities around the Northern region of Kibale National Park, Uganda, were studied, with sites located in …

Indigenous Conceptions Of Community Organization And Autonomy In Oaxaca’S Sierra Norte: Answers And Resistance To State-Sponsored Practices Of Internal Colonialism, Carter Minnick

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Over the past century, the Mexican government has continued to reproduce dominant, colonial relationships with its indigenous populations. Within the last few decades, clashes between harmful neoliberal visions of national development and continued demands for indigenous autonomy have only intensified. In the context of such events, this present work seeks to explore a specific conception of community identity, coined as la comunalidad, in the Sierra Norte region of Oaxaca. After the breakdown of its most fundamental tenets, I will attempt to both underscore its position as a framework of resistance in combatting historical and ongoing state-organized aggressions against these communities, …

Perceiving The Intangible: Introspective & Meditational Practices In Moroccan Sufism, Anna Gray Morales

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Sufism has earned an exponentially prominent role within Morocco’s political and social arenas through recent decades. The Moroccan monarchy’s endorsement of the religious variant and its prevalence in pop-cultural events, national journalism, and literature are a few indicators of its growing influence. However, the tradition is, by no means, a modern construction and has existed since the beginning of the larger Islamic tradition. What qualities, then, has granted Sufism its relevance as a cornerstone of Moroccan society today? Its chief focus on introspective and meditational practices, rather than physical religious discipline, may foster a more inclusive and liberal form of …

The Odyssean Dilemma: Homelessness As Home And The Search For Ithaka, Francesca Casarella

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research project aims to explore the concept of “home” as expressed in the analogical Homeric figure of Odysseus in his journey to Ithaca. The research involves an inquiry into the meaning and reality of the concept of home in the context of both the Moroccan culture and the lives of displaced persons who find themselves located in Morocco. Engaging existing definitions of migration and a concept of homelessness expressed by Nietzsche, the theoretical research involved in this project provides a conceptual framework from which I examine the set of interviews obtained. The interviews conducted with both Moroccan nationals presently …

Analysis Of The Moroccan Government & Ngos Responses To Migrant Health Crisis, Jepchirchir Mutwol

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Healthcare access in Morocco for migrants has been a topic of growing interest. With the implementation of migration reforms in response to Morocco becoming a destination for migrants, it is important to assess the effectiveness of government policies in aiding migrant health. Additionally, assessing other political actors' influence in government policies is equally important. Through research of existing scholarship, I theorize that the biggest issue impacting migrant access to health is the illegalization of migrants. Without being a legal resident, let alone in asylum or a refugee, migrants cannot access public health services without the fear of deportation. Local and …

Constructed Memories: A Study Of How The Arts And The National Museum Operate Within Power Structures And State Interests In Postcolonial Morocco, Evan Antonakes

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Moroccan national museum as an institution has a long and complicated history. A product of colonialism, the state has historically used the museum, and the art housed within it, to construct narratives of progress and images of modernization. Doing so is largely at the expense of contemporary artists who have long been neglected by the state and failed by the museum. This paper will communicate how museums, art, and the state intersect in postcolonial Morocco. The paper will examine the inner workings of the Mohammed VI National Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat, attempting to contextualize the …

Alienation Of Labor Or Alienation Of Self: Perceptions Of Hospitality Labor And Economic Development In Morocco, Julian Madera

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This work explores the relationship between a nation’s economic shift to hospitality labor and a lower standard of living among the working class in said country. Specifically, the Moroccan economy’s gradual increased reliance on service labor, particularly within the tourism industry. Standard of living in this work will be centered around wellbeing understood through vocational fulfillment and perceptions of hospitality labor among service workers. In order to evaluate the standard of living among the working class, this work will utilize a comparative assessment of key interviews from three key sectors of the hospitality labor force: autonomist, alienated, and hospitality adjacent …

Discontinuity Between Religion, Law, And Society Through Animal Treatment In Morocco, Michael Altman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Animal treatment is a topic which is covered by many facets of what helps create the guiding principles for humans, yet all in different ways; there is some overlap, and there is some distinction. From my three months of study in Rabat, Morocco, seeing how each person approaches the homeless animal differently, I write on how three important overarching areas: religious, legal, and societal, discuss how animals should be treated.

In this paper, I will be analyzing religious texts, legal writings both in place and in draft, and will rely on external works written animal markets and on the school …