Sociology Commons^™

Letter From The Editor

New and Dangerous Ideas

A summary of the second issue of New and Dangerous Ideas.

Front Cover

New and Dangerous Ideas

Page Image of New and Dangerous Ideas Front Cover.

Two Cents, Sam Avila

New and Dangerous Ideas

I took a Literature class a couple of years ago where we read different poems and short stories that focused on the Civil Rights Movement as well as social justice as a broader theme. I remember reading the poem “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall, which magnified the emotions of African-American families in a powerful piece of literature. When I read that piece, I fell in love with writing again and I wanted to share stories through literature.

I wrote this piece because it was a way for me to reflect on a society that can act so hateful towards …

That Is So Gay, Daniel Nemec

New and Dangerous Ideas

The piece I created shows the complex and varied subject that is identity, specifically pertaining to the queer community.

The United States Healthcare System Keeps Failing Black Women, Vanessa Malkia

New and Dangerous Ideas

Writing this piece, I was pushed by the anger I constantly feel anytime I am reminded of the state of black women’s health in our country. As a black woman in a world that constantly reminds black people that we do not matter, hearing about the negative experiences black women face at the hands of healthcare professionals is incredibly frightening. It begs this question to be asked: Where are we safe? Racism (racist beliefs and acts) has real repercussions that sometimes put minoritized groups in deadly situations.

Due to a combination of implicit bias and structural inequalities, black women have …

This Is Not A Woman's Body, Av Binns

New and Dangerous Ideas

I was inspired to create this drawing while learning about the AIDS crisis, and the use of human bodies in acts of civil disobedience calling for government recognition and medical support of people living with AIDS. The queer community, with limited financial and political support, used their bodies for tools of resistance and visibility. Queer bodies were not only tools for marching and blocking streets; they were evidence of the severity of the issue at hand. AIDS was hard to ignore when it was gathered in the streets. Decades later, queer bodies remain an essential tool of advocacy for the …

David Wojnarowicz By Peter Hujar (1981), Kieran Binney

New and Dangerous Ideas

The poem is an ekphrastic piece, meaning it was inspired by a work of art — in this case, a portrait of David Wojnarowicz, photographed by Peter Hujar in 1981. Both Wojnarowicz and Hujar were prominent artists and gay activists in the 1970s and 80s, during the height of the AIDS crisis, and both died of AIDS-related illnesses.

I originally picked this portrait to write about for a class assignment simply because it was a striking image, but as I looked into Wojnarowicz’s background I grew more interested in both his life and the time in which he lived, and …

Like Mother, Like Daughter, Savannah Fox-Tree Mcgrath

New and Dangerous Ideas

My motivation for this piece was to shed light on what it is like growing up with a heritage, knowing it from your experience and family, and yet, having people challenge you your whole life to prove it. No one questions my German, Irish, or Finnish ethnicity, but, since I don’t match the stereotype of a Native American, I am constantly challenged.The image on my painting depicts my twin sister, Indigo, the only one of us five kids to have blonde hair and blue eyes, from my mother’s mother and my father’s mother and father. Having a mother who was …

Would You Be Comfortable Living With Someone Who Identifies As Homophobic?

New and Dangerous Ideas

Entering college for the first time is a very exciting time. You are starting a new chapter of your life, meeting new people, and living independently. While I had the same anxieties that many have over making friends and adjusting to college life, I could not have been prepared for the experience of my freshman year. My first semester at Roger Williams was a very dark time. I cannot express how harmful it is to be excluded and disliked in your living space because of a part of yourself which you cannot change. I was fortunate that I was able …

Artist Statements

New and Dangerous Ideas

Statements of artistic creations and ideas.

What Is The Opportunity Cost And Burden Of Confronting Oppression In And Out Of Classroom?, Beza Tadess

New and Dangerous Ideas

I was inspired to write this piece because at many points in my college career, I have felt exploited by the hands of white patriarchy that deemed the issues that I faced in and out of the classroom as my own to solve. This piece is my heart and intellect in order for me to leave this institution feeling like someone with power will be forced to hear it. I did not write this piece with the intention of inciting pity but rather to start a conversation with the larger university and higher education community about the ways in which …

New And Dangerous Ideas Back Cover

New and Dangerous Ideas

Page Image of New and Dangerous Ideas Back Cover.

Zine Team Advisors And Members Of Faculty Selection Committee

New and Dangerous Ideas

Page image of Zine Team Advisors and Members of Faculty Selection Committee.

A Poem For A Small Town Queer Kid, Indigo Martin

New and Dangerous Ideas

I wrote this piece originally for myself. It was a healing piece about coming to terms with my past and embracing it. Embracing my past is important to me because being discriminated against, being put in violent situations, experiencing microaggressions, and being made to feel like less than a human being has made me stronger. Minoritized people who do social justice work have often experienced some deep trauma. It is important to focus on healing and take care of one’s mental health in order to be able to be activists for social justice.

This piece opens with my experiences being …

“Don’T Touch My Hair Or But You Don’T Seem Gay!: Microaggressions In The Library Workplace”, Lori Thompson, Lindsey M. Harper

Librarian Research

This presentation broadly focuses on microaggressions, implicit bias, and communication strategies to address these statements. This presentation provides the history and background of microaggressions research and lists some relevant terms to better understand the literature. Next, this presentation examines the overall impact that microaggressions have on individuals on the receiving end of the comments, as well as how it affects those in the LIS profession specifically. Then, this presentation suggests how to respond to microaggressions, including communication strategies for both bystanders and those on the receiving end. Finally, this presentation examines how to best address microaggressions, and notes the importance …

A Gateway To The East: An Exploration Of St. Louis’ Mexican History Through The Built Environment, Daniel Gonzales

The Confluence (2009-2020)

St. Louis had a relationship with Mexico dating to trade along the Santa Fe Trail starting in the 1820s. It came to include commerce, marketing, and migration starting in the late nineteenth century, as Daniel Gonzales details here.

So Much To Learn: Dye Tracing The Current River Landscape, Part Iii, Quinta Scott

The Confluence (2009-2020)

In this third installment of her work on the Current River, Quinta Scott looks at environmental change in the iconic Missouri Waterway

Spring/Summer 2019, Full Issue

The Confluence (2009-2020)

No abstract provided.

Therapeutic Massage To Enhance Family Caregivers’ Well-Being In A Rehabilitation Hospital, Natalie A. Williams, Judith M. Burnfield, Paul Springer, Kayla Wolf, Thad Buster

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Background and purpose: A massage therapy program was implemented to address the psychological well-being of family caregivers to patients in a rehabilitation hospital. The impact of massage “dosage” on caregiver stress and psychological well-being was examined in this study. Participants’ perspectives on the program were also explored. Materials and methods: Thirty-eight family caregivers were randomized to receive either one massage per week or three massages per week for two weeks. Caregivers reported psychological symptoms and stress pre- and postprogram. Program acceptability was assessed via responses on an exit survey. Results: Overall, 79% of massages were received (89% among program completers). …

Very Low Power Cockcroft-Walton Voltage Multiplier For Rf Energy Harvesting Applications, Trace Langdon

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A device was required that could harvest the electromagnetic energy present in ambient radio frequency (RF) signals. A part of this device must convert the AC RF signal received by the antenna into a DC signal that can be used in an embedded application. Since the RF signal amplitude is small, it must first be amplified and rectified to become a usable signal. The Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier is a subsystem of the design which ideally converts a 100 mV AC signal coming from the antenna to a 350 mV DC signal. The output of the voltage multiplier is used to …

More Than Just A Myth: How Shapeshifter Rhetoric Relates To Esl Students 2019, Amber Kent

Master's Theses

The academic analysis surrounding the shapeshifter, or shapeshifter mythologies has, so far, been related to modern issues of violence, militarization, feminism, gender studies, or studies simply focusing on the compilation of shapeshifter myths themselves. This essay will map out the current discussion surrounding shapeshifter mythology to illustrate that it has often fallen into two forms of analysis: that of an anthropological or sociological analysis, where shapeshifter myths were analyzed as a method for understanding different cultures and their development, and that of a poststructural analysis, where shapeshifter myths are analyzed as a means of deconstructing binaries such as good/bad and …

Posthuman And Alien Breeding: The Implications Of Cybersex In Octavia Butler’S Dawn 2019., Elizabeth Rutkowski

Master's Theses

Speculative science fiction affords new ways for authors to represent social problems of the modern day in an apocalyptic manner. Authors such as Octavia Butler use science fiction to analyze social injustices revolving around race, gender, and sexuality. Throughout her novel Dawn, Butler uses the posthuman to represent minority groups in the late twentieth century. The posthuman represents those who have moved from humanity towards a new opportunity that is mixed with the potential for struggle. 1 As demonstrated through Butler’s work posthumanism blurs the lines between binaries such as male / female, straight / gay, and consensual / nonconsensual …

The Unrecognized Role Of Parental Incarceration On In-School Suspension Rates, Meg Hinson

Sociology Honors Projects

Due to the rise of mass incarceration in the United States, a large number of children now have incarcerated parents. While research shows an array of compounding disadvantages of parental incarceration that reverberate through children’s lives, little discussion has gone into how the incarceration of a parent might feedback to how students experience school discipline. My research addresses this gap by analyzing a statewide Minnesota student survey to examine possible explanations for why students who experience parental incarceration also experience higher rates of in-school suspension. High in-school suspension rates persist through expected controls and intervention techniques, showing a unique effect …

Coastal Plastics Abatement On Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island: Stakeholder Perspectives And Lessons Learned, Paige Myatt

Sustainability and Social Justice

This practitioner research focuses on the stakeholder perspectives and lessons learned about mitigating plastic pollution in the marine environment of Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island. It uses a mixed method approach of surveys, interviews, focus groups, and active participation in mitigation strategies to answer four main research questions. These questions aim to gather perspectives on the problem from multiple stakeholders in the community, including the general public, the restaurant industry, and local and state governments. This research also investigates what factors make this community a leader in igniting social change and reducing plastic pollution. The active involvement of the researcher via …

An Extraordinary Odyssey: One Man’S Fight To Stay Free During World War Ii, Diane Everman

The Confluence (2009-2020)

The Schweich family fled Nazi Germany in 1941 and landed in St. Louis. This is the story of their journey during World War II.

Identifying Fake News Using Emotion Analysis, Brady Gilleran

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper presents research applying Emotional Analysis to “Fake News” and “Real News” articles to investigate whether or not there is a difference in the emotion used in these two types of news articles. The paper reports on a dataset for Fake and Real News that we created, and the natural language processing techniques employed to process the collected text. We use a lexicon that includes predefined words for eight emotions (anger, anticipation, disgust, fear, surprise, sadness, joy, trust) to measure the emotional impact in each of these eight dimensions. The results of the emotion analysis are used as features …

Applications Of Fog Computing In Video Streaming, Kyle Smith

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this paper is to show the viability of fog computing in the area of video streaming in vehicles. With the rise of autonomous vehicles, there needs to be a viable entertainment option for users. The cloud fails to address these options due to latency problems experienced during high internet traffic. To improve video streaming speeds, fog computing seems to be the best option. Fog computing brings the cloud closer to the user through the use of intermediary devices known as fog nodes. It does not attempt to replace the cloud but improve the cloud by allowing faster …

Prototyping A Capacitive Sensing Device For Gesture Recognition, Chenglong Lin

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Capacitive sensing is a technology that can detect proximity and touch. It can also be utilized to measure position and acceleration of gesture motions. This technology has many applications, such as replacing mechanical buttons in a gaming device interface, detecting respiration rate without direct contact with the skin, and providing gesture sensing capability for rehabilitation devices. In this thesis, an approach to prototype a capacitive gesture sensing device using the Eagle PCB design software is demonstrated. In addition, this paper tested and evaluated the resulting prototype device, validating the effectiveness of the approach.

“Greening” Worcester: Municipal Best Practices For Sustainability, Erin Mckeon, Charline Kirongozi, Jared Duval, Antannia Greene, Qianshu Sun, Zewei Yao

School of Professional Studies

In response to the urgent threat posed by climate change, more and more cities, including Worcester, are attempting to become more environmentally responsible and sustainable. Worcester is attempting to develop ways to become more sustainable; both to strengthen their communities and to protect the planet. The Green Worcester Working Group (GWWG) tasked the Clark Capstone Team with researching best practices for municipal sustainability. The GWWG has set the following priorities: climate change mitigation, resilience, open spaces, sustainable resource management, education and awareness. Taking these into account, the Clark Capstone Team researched the sustainability practices of cities in New England, across …

Community Engagement E-News - May 2019, Parkland College

Service Learning Newsletter

No abstract provided.