Tag: English

Volunteering at GrassRoots Garden: How to Grow Individual and Community Food Literacy

Presenter: Gabrielle Wille – English

Co-Presenter(s): Frida Graumann

Faculty Mentor(s): Emily Simnitt

Session: (In-Person) Data Stories—Data and more Data

Most college students are often disconnected from their food sources and are unaware of the positive effects that gardening has on their physical, mental, and emotional health. This project reports our personal experiences of volunteering at Food For Lane County’s GrassRoots Garden, a community-funded garden that primarily grows produce for donation and strives to educate its volunteers. We have detailed the evolution of our understanding of gardening’s role in food insecurity and community food literacy. Inspired by Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, our research reveals the reciprocal relationship between individuals or communities and gardening. As much as we can do for a garden, a garden can do for us. Our intention for this project is to inspire more college students to get involved in a community garden to increase their food literacy, as well as raise awareness of the benefits that working in the soil has on all aspects of one’s health.

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.

Reforming the Self and Re-Forming the Other: Revisiting the Political Potential of Baldwin’s Fiction

Presenter: Kyra Lauersdorf – English, Sociology

Faculty Mentor(s): Katherine Kelp-Stebbins, Matthew Norton

Session: (Virtual) Oral Panel—Read, Speak and Act

The existing scholarship pertaining to James Baldwin tends to examine either his nonfiction essays or his fiction novels, but it rarely places the two alongside each other. This project aims to bridge the schism between the two bodies of work, using the political theory that Baldwin outlines in his nonfiction as a lens through which to analyze his literary fiction. Such an analysis reveals how, in many ways, Baldwin utilized his fiction as a space in which to engage and examine his own political theory. As such, the fiction that Baldwin produced during his lifetime contains as much if not more political ideation than his nonfiction –– and warrants just as much consideration from scholars for its political potential. This project seeks to contribute to existing scholarship on James Baldwin through its interdisciplinary analysis of the author’s works. Ultimately, it argues that Baldwin’s literary fiction possesses significant potential to effect political belief changes among its readers and ought to be valued accordingly.

Legal Reasonability and The ‘Gay Panic’ Defense

Presenter: Kelly Keith − English

Faculty Mentor(s): Dr. José Cortez, Dr. Faith Barter

Session: (In-Person) Oral Panel—HURF

On May 13th, 2021, Senate Bill 704 was passed in Oregon. The bill banned the use of the ‘Gay Panic’ defense, an affirmative defense that could reduce a murder charge to manslaughter if the defendant was found to commit murder under “extreme emotional disturbance” onset by the victim’s perceived homosexuality. The Gay Panic defense reinforces anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric that those who identify as LGBTQ+ deserve less legal and social protection than those who identify as heterosexual. The defense is still permitted in 33 states.

In criminal proceedings, a defendant’s culpability is assessed by a legal fiction known as the Reasonable Person Standard (RPS) which establishes a supposedly objective standard of behavior based upon how a hypothetical person would exercise conduct in a given situation. Thus, if the RPS is founded on a fictive approach to reasonability, how does reasonability itself, as a discursive practice exemplified in the RPS, produce legal practices that affect LGBTQ+ in Oregon? I explore State v. Hayse through archival, ethnographic, and historiographic research methods in order to consider how the RPS functions within the case. I propose a full abolition of the ‘Gay Panic’ defense federally, a reassessment of the RPS through patterned jury instruction, and the necessity of revealing previously hidden narratives to provide the framework of how the law has historically understood the dignity, legal personhood, and liberty of People of Color, Women, and LGBTQ+ folk.

The Roles of Theatre and Drama in the Criminal Justice System

Presenter: Hannah Joel − English, Sociology

Faculty Mentor(s): Aryn Bartley, Ce Rosenow

Session: (Virtual) Oral Panel—Read, Speak and Act

Prisons deter the public from engaging in criminal behavior and reform the incarcerated. Despite the goal of deterrence, however, statistics reveal flaws within current U.S. rehabilitation practices. According to a Bureau of Justice Statistics study that followed 404,638 incarcerated individuals upon their release from prison, 67.8% were rearrested within three years of release. 76.6% were rearrested within five years. The alarming recidivism rates suggest that the criminal justice system is failing to properly rehabilitate incarcerated individuals and that they are not given a chance to transform their lives. The criminal justice system is overlooking a critical aspect: the importance of prison education. Theatre and drama programs are examples of prison education that can be highly effective in transforming an incarcerated individual. To analyze the roles these programs play in the criminal justice system, I researched the benefits such programs bring to the lives of incarcerated individuals. Since this is a preliminary study, I relied on the testimonies from incarcerated individuals and articles on prison education programs. These sources demonstrate that theatre and drama programs helped change incarcerated individuals’ lives by developing empathy and reflection on their deviant behavior. Recognizing the role that such programs play in the prison system is crucial in terms of understanding and considering what we can do to mitigate the chances of recidivism in the future.

Volunteering at GrassRoots Garden: How to Grow Individual and Community Food Literacy

Presenter(s): Frida Graumann – English

Co-Presenter(s): Gabrielle Wille

Faculty Mentor(s): Emily Simnitt

Session: (In-Person) Data Stories—Data and more Data

Most college students are often disconnected from their food sources and are unaware of the positive effects that gardening has on their physical, mental, and emotional health. This project reports our personal experiences of volunteering at Food For Lane County’s GrassRoots Garden, a community-funded garden that primarily grows produce for donation and strives to educate its volunteers. We have detailed the evolution of our understanding of gardening’s role in food insecurity and community food literacy. Inspired by Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, our research reveals the reciprocal relationship between individuals or communities and gardening. As much as we can do for a garden, a garden can do for us. Our intention for this project is to inspire more college students to get involved in a community garden to increase their food literacy, as well as raise awareness of the benefits that working in the soil has on all aspects of one’s health.

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.

Exploring Manifestations of Consent in the 19th Century American South

Presenter: Casper Byrne − English

Faculty Mentor(s): Dr. Yvette Saavedra

(In-Person) Oral Panel—Herstory Rediscovered

Since the introduction of Affirmative Consent in the early 1990s, the conversation around consent has focused on empowering sexual agency. However, despite the advancements institutions have made in teaching affirmative consent, a culture of sexualised violence persists across most American institutions. This dissonance can be traced to the nineteenth century, when many contemporary notions about sexuality and gender originated. This paper explores the synthesis of modern sexuality to conceptualise the act of consent in an age where it was all but impossible. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs and Awakening by Kate Chopin both explore the experiences of women grappling for control of their lives. One, an enslaved woman, attempts to save herself and her family from slavery, while the other, a wealthy wife, struggles with the rigid expectations of white womanhood . Comparing these narratives reveals that 19th century consent was an act of rebellion and a negation of men’s ownership over women’s bodies. The contrasting narratives also highlight the relative inaccessibility of rebellion to Black women, who were marginalised at the intersection of race and gender. Understanding the subversive origins of contemporary sexual agency helps contextualise the contemporary cultural response to consent. Expressions of women’s agency through the act of consent undermine men’s unimpeded sexuality, which places consent in tension with heteronormative sexual practices.

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.

Mickey Mouse and the Creation of an Animated Star

Presenter: Brandon Rains

Mentor: Priscilla Ovalle, English

Poster: 54

Majors: Digital Arts and Cinema Studies 

Mickey Mouse is one of the most well-known and influential animated cartoon characters in modern society. All of his mannerisms, voice, personality and characteristics have been created by a team at the Walt Disney Animation Studio in order to achieve success and major stardom. Mickey’s large eyes, rounded shape, inviting smile, energetic and exaggerated actions, versatility and simplicity are all important factors decided by his creators. Other possible influences on his success include technological innovations: synchronized sound, storyboard techniques, and multi-plane cameras. He is a completely fabricated character. I am interested in establishing my own animation and character design techniques based off of the work done with Mickey Mouse. Much of my research will be gathered from extensive analysis of the design, personality and actions of Mickey Mouse in short films from the 1930s. I plan to take all the research I have gathered on Mickey Mouse and alter different processes and techniques in order to fulfill my own goals as an animator. I will also become fully engaged in the creative process and deconstruct drawings and clips by physically drawing Mickey Mouse. My goal is to successfully create an animation that is capable of reaching and influencing a mass audience. As I begin to create my own animated works and star characters it will be crucial for me to understand the sacrifices I am willing to make in order to succeed.