Tag: Poster 163

Environmental Justice Timeline in the Global South

Presenter(s): Jason John − Environmental Science

Faculty Mentor(s): Sarah Wald

Poster 163

Research Area: Humanities

This project focuses on key events in the environmental justice timeline in relations to the Global North and the Global South. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Does actions of the Global North affect environmental justice in the Global South? This is important because a lot of the countries in the Global South are often overlooked because they are classified as either Developing or Third World. These countries are often rich in natural resources but are mismanaged and exploited by some countries in the Global North. I decided to focus on the Global South because it is home to me. In addition, this project is to inform Bark, an environmental organization about Global environmental justice. I used peer-reviewed articles and books for this research. What I think I will find is that Environmental Justice in the Global South is largely dependent on countries in the Global North. Living in a developed country, one can easily forget about other countries and the problems that they encounter regularly. This project will start conversations and will enlighten others about the environmental injustice that’s been happening in the Global South.

Define and Defend: Expressing Opposition to the Rajneesh Settlement Through Construction of an In-Group Identity in Antelope Oregon 

Presenter(s):  Alexandra Jansky

Faculty Mentor(s): Judith Raiskin

Poster 163

Session: Social Sciences & Humanities

In the early 1980s, hundreds of members of an East Indian cult called the “Rajneesh” settled in Eastern Oregon, establishing therein a sprawling community of young, wealthy, and sexually liberated followers of their leader, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. The cult members were met with swift opposition from the citizens of Antelope, Oregon, a neighboring retirement community of less than 60. This archival research project, developed from the University of Oregon Special Collections, seeks to uncover how the Antelope citizens defended their way of life against the so- called Rajneesh invasion. Through a sociological analysis of the Antelope citizens’ complaint letters to both federal and local entities, as well as examination of the city’s publicized anti- Rajneesh propaganda, I explore how the Antelope citizens’ rejection of the Rajneesh served as a fundamental departure from common xenophobic patterns of social elitism, racism, or religious discrimination. This work aims to explain how the Antelope citizens constructed and implemented an “in-group” identity based on traditional, rural principles, which they used as a tool to successfully resist the influence and assimilation of the Rajneesh. This case study offers a parallel between the Antelope citizens’ response to outside pressure, and that of otherwise insular and conservative communities challenged by the “other.”