Tag: Oral Session 2CS

The Sum of My Parts: A Genetic Inquiry with 23andMe

Presenter(s): Seth Temple − Mathematics

Faculty Mentor(s): Amy Connolly

Oral Session 2CS

Research Area: Natural/Physical Science

Direct-to-consumer genetic tests provide an accessible way for individuals to learn about their genome. This creative project is an outlet for me to talk about personal genomics and what I learned from taking 23andMe’s genetic test. I write to a hypothetical child, explaining how genes affect biological processes and analyzing the results of my genetic tests. Specifically, I investigate male-pattern baldness, a gene encoding for fast-twitch muscle fibers, hereditary fructose intolerance, a genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and ancestry reports. I reflect on how I respond emotionally to these results and on how these genes impact my life. This analysis draws on 23andMe’s reports and the current scientific literature. Controversial topics such as the epigenetics of homosexuality and genetic discrimination in insurance are discussed as well.

The Structure and Culture of Greek Life and Its Impacts on Identity

Presenter(s): Leanne Johnson − Sociology

Faculty Mentor(s): CJ Pascoe

Oral Session 2CS

Research Area: Social Science

The prevalence of greek life and its integration on college campuses throughout time contributed to the emergence of a culture specific to those communities, guided by values that are reflective of and enforced by the structure of fraternities and sororities. This research aims to identify the ways in which the structure and culture of greek life impacts the identities of members. Utilizing a qualitative approach, this study employs techniques of both participant observation and 30-60 minute in-depth qualitative interviews, using an open-ended interview guide as a means of distinguishing commonality amongst interviews but recognizing new trends produced by respondent follow-up and probing. I have found that fraternities and sororities are demanding in terms of expectations and time, leading members to spend a significant amount of personal time and commitment to meet those demands. I argue that due to the regulation of behavior through various mechanism such as mandatory attendance of events, expectations of presentation, and constraints on individual action; individuals in the greek community compromise aspects of personal identity to gain membership to a fraternity or sorority. Understanding the ways in which joining this form of community can impact individual experiences is important in evaluating their placement on college campuses. Being able to recognize these patterns serve as a framework for looking into the culture and structure of other demanding organizations that can similarly impact the ways individuals cultivate and understand their own identities.

Finding Self in Key West and a Red Wheelbarrow

Presenter(s): Tucker Engle − English

Faculty Mentor(s): Devin Fitzpatrick

Oral Session 2CS

Research Area: Humanities

The modern poetry of William Carlos Williams and Wallace Stevens evokes the postmodern idea of blurring the subject/object dichotomy. Their poetry brings to the forefront the cruciality of the environment (and its individual artifacts) to the formation of an image, an experience, and the self. Key to this project is that third component: how the natural world and distinct components of that world play a role in the construction of selfhood. Utilizing Heidegger’s notions of reflection and poiesis, along with modern environmentalism, I take an ecophenomenologist approach to navigate the relationship between the individual and the environment. My project aims to demonstrate how the juncture of the two disciplines of phenomenology and ecology points to self formation existing as a process inextricable from the environment in which it occurs, then show how this phenomenon works in the poetry of Stevens and Williams.