Tag: Poster 153

Gender, Inclusion, and Communication in the Environmental Movement: The Case of Organization Bark

Presenter(s): Arnaud Gonzalez – Environmental Science

Faculty Mentor(s): Sarah Wald

Poster 153

Research Area: Social Science

I am part of a project to audit the online resources of environmental organization Bark, which is dedicated to “defending and restoring Mt. Hood National Forest”, and to make a protocol for the use of inclusive language in their communication. I personally focus on gender-inclusiveness: how to avoid representations that demonstrate misogyny (oppression against women), heteronormativity (assumption that everyone is or should be straight), cissexism (assumption that everyone is or should be cisgender – vs. transgender) and dyadism (assumption that everyone is dyadic – vs. intersex); and how to use, instead, gender-neutral and LGBT+-inclusive language. I analyze both the terms used and the visuals shared on the organization’s website and Facebook page in recent publications. Based on academic and activist resources, I suggest changes and goals to the organization. The environmental movement traditionally reproduces oppressions against women and sexual and gender minorities. It often shows prejudice against them and gives unfair power to men and cisgender, straight and/or dyadic individuals, especially through a predominant visibility and a larger credibility given to them. This protocol is meant
to inspire environmental organizations to offer inclusive information and spaces where people who face oppression feel safe, accepted, respected and welcome.

Starting a Taphonomic Research Facility in the Willamette Valley of Oregon: a joint project between Lane Community College (LCC) and the University of Oregon (UO)

Presenter(s): Cheyenne Collins

Faculty Mentor(s): Jeanne McLaughlin

Oral Session 4 C

Poster 153

Session: Social Sciences & Humanities

Taphonomy is the study of events and processes that affect remains of an organism after death. It is an essential component of medico-legal death investigations and can aid in reconstructing events leading up to the death as well as time since death. The creation of the Anthropological Research Facility, aka “the body farm” in Tennessee changed how taphonomy was perceived and boosted taphonomic study into the field of forensic science through its focus on human decomposition. Recent research has called for more regional studies in order to test widely accepted methodologies in differing environments. The creation of this facility in the Willamette Valley has involved a multi-year effort gaining various institutional approvals, securing grant funding, and planning a pilot project that is the first of its kind in the region. This facility is one of less than ten facilities in the United States and the only one west of the Rocky Mountains. The conclusion of the facilities’ first project has secured a plethora of data on decomposition from this region, as well as yielded new data on animal scavenging, insect activity, and microorganisms. Multiple undergraduate research projects including both LCC and UO students have also stemmed from the pilot study. The incoming data has already demonstrated that additional regional studies are needed in the Willamette Valley, which is a taphonomically unique environment. This presentation will discuss the opening of this unique local outdoor research site, share a variety of the initial outcomes of the pilot project(s), and discuss future plans.