Tag: Corbett Upton

Undocumented Workers in Agriculture: How States can Protect Them

Presenter: Alexis Stinnett – Public Relations

Faculty Mentor(s): Corbett Upton

Session: (In-Person) Oral Panel—Rights of Humans

Agriculture has been and still is the foundation of our economy, and we rely on it to keep our country running. Even in today’s industrialized agriculture system we still see the need for labor in the fields for the backbreaking jobs that cannot yet be done by machines. It is not uncommon that these physically and mentally demanding jobs are typically occupied by undocumented immigrants, who make up about 50% of our work force. Researchers and historians have spent years looking at the history of farm labor in our country, and it is no surprise that in almost every instance it leads back to undocumented labor. Despite our society and economy’s dependence on undocumented workers, there are little to no regulations in place to protect or guarantee them the basic rights that other employees in different fields of work enjoy. The lack of rights and policy around agricultural labor allows for undocumented immigrants to be put in dangerous situations in the workplace as well as making it increasingly easy for them to be exploited. As our system has progressed, our policies and laws have not. There are a variety of social, economic, and political factors that prevent the federal government from passing the legislation that is needed to protect undocumented workers. Because of these factors that prevent the federal government from making the necessary changes, state governments must take initiative and prioritize passing policies to protect undocumented agricultural workers.

Sportswashing: The Expensive Image Laundering Conspiracy Sullying Sport and Foreign Relations

Presenter: Christian Sardar – Business Administration

Faculty Mentor(s): Corbett Upton

Session: (In-Person) Oral Panel—The More You Know (in depth looks and prevention)

Sportswashing refers to a sovereign entity such as a nation buying a sports team in another country and using it to improve their image. In my research paper I posit that sportswashing, specifically that done by the countries of the Persian Gulf, is not only damaging from a foreign policy perspective but also from a sporting perspective. Most of the teams being bought as soccer teams from Western European nations and their governments seem ambivalent towards the situation. By looking at the exact level of investment by countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE I found a whole lot of money being poured into teams which yielded little to no money for the nations that bought them. It also took next to no research in order to discover the vast number of heinous human rights violations being committed in these wealthy countries, yet they are able through sportswashing to redirect public opinion off of themselves. Simultaneously, their name remains untouched or in many cases elevated. Manchester City is right now one of the best soccer teams ever seen and its name is nearly synonymous with the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Similarly the upcoming World Cup is taking place in Qatar in stadiums mostly built by migrant workers living in conditions akin to slavery. This issue is immensely pressing for our current sporting climate and world as this topic really speaks to how nations are trying to spread their soft power across the globe. This research assesses the damage done so far.

Stopping Gun Violence Starts With Analyzing the Link Between Victims and Perpetrators

Presenter: Emmi Morton – Marine Biology

Faculty Mentor(s): Corbett Upton

Session: (In-Person) Oral Panel—The More You Know (in depth looks and prevention)

In this paper, I analyze how different childhood traumas will affect children as they grow older, and how this can affect their relationship with guns and the community around them. After secondary exposure to the trauma that gun violence can have, I became curious as to how it will affect those who did experience it firsthand. Throughout this essay, I explore how traumatic events(specifically those relating to gun violence) in childhood during the formative years of one’s psyche, affect the way that they interact with society as they age and gain independence. I decided to go even deeper, to explore how whether being a victim of violence firsthand or just exposed to it, impacted the chances for these people to become either a victim or a perpetrator when it comes to violent crimes such as gun violence. In a world with increasing gun violence and rapidly declining mental health, the risk for tragedies of this nature is higher than ever.

Research done by C.S. Widom in 1989 regarding the cycle of violence was absolutely crucial and remains a central root in the research that I’ve conducted. This cycle of violence reveals the keys to at least implementing some sort of intervention or crisis outreach programs to really make a difference. In this paper I argue that gun violence, which is usually done by mentally disturbed individuals with relations to childhood trauma, passes it on to the next generation of children which in turn creates a loop of violence that must be stopped.

A Rhetoric of Friendship in the Works of Aristotle and Quintilian

Presenter: Elijah Leutwyler – English, Philosophy

Faculty Mentor(s): Corbett Upton

Session: (In-Person) Oral Panel—Comics, Classics and Analysis

The philosophy of friendship has recently returned to academic conversations with scholars such as Paul W. Ludwig or Alexander Nehamas engaging the subject from any number of historical lenses. But what does it mean to speak as a friend or persuade amicably? While it is a commonly held belief that one’s friends have your best interests in mind, this paper argues that a traditionally classical view of rhetoric inherently incorporates the virtue of friendship in any communication between people by close-reading moments of Aristotle’s On Rhetoric and Quintillian’s Institutes of Oratory. Indeed, Aristotle grounds rhetorical exposition in a distinctly moral register and Quintillian enacts that idea in his pedagogical style as a Roman educator. In essence, this paper sees Aristotle and Quintilian as champions to the idea that rhetoric is grounded in an appreciation for intrapersonal intimacy, interpersonal connection, and a pedagogical structure that allows for such values to flourish. Empathizing with one’s audience and entering speaking engagements with relationship development as a top priority not only guards a person’s speech from becoming manipulative as the two classical rhetor-philophers explain, it also fosters an environment where rhetorical speech can operate in the way it was always meant to: for the good of the people.

Examining the Effect of Fate within “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt

Presenter(s): Ashley Fale-Olsen — English

Faculty Mentor(s): Corbett Upton

Session: (In-Person) Oral Panel—Herstory Rediscovered

In the first novel by Donna Tartt, published in 1992, titled “The Secret History,” the author uses fate as if it has agency over the characters. Although the novel is set in America during the 1980s, the fatalistic tone of the novel and the usage of the prologue, which divulges the crime and the guilty parties, serve to create a sense of fate that mirrors that of a Greek Tragedy rather than an American novel. This paper will serve to closely examine the book alongside traditional themes of Greek Tragedy, instead of the American view of fate, which places the individual in control of their own fate. This subversion is important within the context of American novels, and to understand the writing style and concepts of Tartt’s literary work.

Social Media Use: Worsening Anxiety and Depression

Presenter: Brooke Beaton − Political Science

Faculty Mentor(s): Corbett Upton

(In-Person) Oral Panel—Sex, Drugs, & Music

Mobile devices, along with social media and the Internet, have become a dominant presence in today’s world, especially among younger generations. Most of us rely on them to function in our daily lives. Alongside the frequent use of mobile devices, there has been an increase in mental health issues worldwide. The Internet opens many new doors and provides unlimited information, which has its benefits but can cause other negative issues. Behavioral changes from interacting with social media are noticeable, but research today has suggested that the use of social media may be rewiring our brain’s neural networks and its regular functions, such as the dopamine reward system and our ability to focus. This study investigates the correlation between this rewiring of the brain and worsening mental health outcomes, especially anxiety and depression. To investigate this issue, I explore persuasive design, mobile device dependency, and digitally influenced mental health issues. The results of this study are important for predicting the future of mental health treatment. By studying the consequences of social media use and dependency, I hope to raise awareness of the issue and help users make better decisions about their engagement with these products and minimize or prevent their negative effects.

The Deadly Suppression of Homosexuality in A Shropshire Lad

Presenter: Lorra Jones

Mentor: Corbett Upton

Oral Presentation

Major: English 

A. E. Housman alludes to his personal frustrations as a closeted gay man in his poetic collection A Shropshire Lad by writing about the tragedies of other “lads,” many of whom I will read as homosexual; in this manner, he transforms A Shropshire Lad into a social statement about the treatment of homosexuals during the Victorian era. I will look at two poems in depth which I believe address homosexuality: poems XV “Look not in my eyes, for fear” and XLIV “Shot? So quick so clean an ending?” Housman lived during a time when being homosexual was both illegal and frowned upon, impacting his personal angst concerning his homosexuality. I do not believe Housman’s poems were intended to be an obvious political statement concerning homosexuality. Many allusions and references are buried within poems addressing young soldiers. However, the use of ballad form, easily remembered and often put to music, combined with Housman’s determination to self-publish these poems after several editorial rejections, speaks for the importance that the author felt they carried. It is known that Housman sent a copy of A Shropshire Lad to Oscar Wilde when he was in prison. Thus, I argue that what appears to be a collection of traditional pastoral lyrics can be read as a radical political statement.

Grounding Lynda Barry’s One Hundred Demons: Proving Her Book’s Original Common People Audience

Presenter: Grace Shum

Mentors: Ben Saunders and Corbett Upton, English

Oral Presentation

Majors: English, Digital Arts and Advertising

Lynda Barry’s graphic novel, One Hundred Demons, has been touted as high art by critics – a major feat for a graphic novel; yet, critics applaud the book as an art book and not a graphic novel. In my research, I try to show that while Barry’s work may be considered “high art” her original intention for the graphic novel, like for all comics, is for the general populace’s enjoyment; it is not an elaborate collage, it is a scrapbook. Research was conducted through a primary analysis of the book as well as some analyses of critical essays concerning Barry’s book and work. Through a careful analysis of her book and her use of what she terms “Autobiofictionalography”, my essay proves the low-art or the common art quality of her book. I argue that comics do not need to be relabeled as high art or an artist book in order to have critical acclaim be acceptable. Instead, comics should be lauded in the literary world for what they are even if their genesis comes from the cheap five-cent paperbacks.

Aestheticism: A Curious Crucible of Pain and Pleasure

Presenter: Sean Pebler

Mentors: Forrest Pyle and Corbett Upton, English

Oral Presentation

Major: English 

Walter Pater’s “The School of Giorgione” appealed to me because it addressed a concern I had with aesthetic texts. Most texts largely ignore the sensory training it requires to behold an aesthetic experience. I refuse to believe that art can attack just the senses alone. This theory would necessarily mean that each person is as capable of experiencing extraordinary aesthetics as the next. While this idea- utilitarian in concept- is appealing, I believe it takes some previous ability to apprehend notions of Beauty. I was struck by this realization while walking away from class a few days ago. It came after we had discussed Pater’s essay, specifically the notion that all art aspires towards musical qualities. While walking and listening to Beethoven: Piano Concerto #1, I began to view objects as if music were emanating from them. Not only did I view plants and buildings this way, but human interaction as well. It was this synesthesia, this mixing of the aural and visual that prompted goose bumps in me. What could possibly be wrong with such unexpected, tingling joy?

Putting the Human Back in the Humanities: Studying Shakespeare Inside Prison

Presenter: Eve Hirschman

Mentors: Corbett Upton and Steven Shankman, English

Oral Presentation

Major: English 

Hamlet: Denmark’s a prison.
Rosencrantz: Then is the world one.
Hamlet: A goodly one, in which there are many confines, wards, and dungeons…for there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. To me, it is a prison.
-Hamlet, II.ii.261-70

Elizabethan England and Oregon State Correctional Institution, two places separated by substantial amounts of time and space, come together to provide new insight into the human condition in today’s world. After studying Shakespeare in a classroom environment consisting of equal parts UO students and Adults in Custody, it is clear that the benefits of a humanities education reach far beyond the world of Academia. Incorporating the ethical and moral implications that arise from engaging in literature and theory should be a cornerstone in how modern society approaches correctional institutions. Whether outside or inside prison, close proximity to the study of the humanities, especially works as psychologically and emotionally complex as Shakespeare’s, provides an important and unique opportunity to understand one’s relationship with society. A humanities education enhances one’s conception of their own humanity while unavoidably acknowledging that of the other. Not only do we need the human element in academic studies of the humanities, but also the incorporation of the humanities into institutions which play a part in defining what it is to be human.