2008 Research Seminar
Topics
Winter
2008
Research Seminar 01
Mass reading phenomena – Would you give
a Harry Potter book to your parents for Christmas?
Lynette Hunter
HNR 94-01 (4 Units) TR 2:10-4:00pm 125
Wellman
Writing
J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books have been a worldwide
phenomenon. They seem to appeal to young and old, and people
around the globe. What kind of impact are they having? Are
they part of the larger revolution in reading habits that
is happening at the moment, with more and more people taking
part in reading groups, joining Oprah’s Book Club,
becoming part of community events such as our own ‘Campus
Book Project’? This search for social groups through
books that’s been sweeping the country from urban
youth libraries to radio programs for rural areas, is even
more surprising given the new generation of techno-wizards,
or is that technology one of the causes? People say that
the book is dying out, yet sales have never been higher.
Are the Harry Potter books part of this new revolution or
are they in a class of their own?
Research Seminar 02
The Googlization of Identity
Peter Lichtenfels
HNR 94-02 (4 Units) MW 4:10-6:00pm Firehouse
Writing
As soon as we are born our body gains a data twin. Who collects
this information, and what do they want to know about us?
Is it purely for commercial purposes? Or security purposes?
How has gathering information changed since 9/11? Or is
it simply technology driven? What is the role of CTV in
this? Will it make 'discretionary policing' easier? Does
it matter what we say on Facebook or MySpace? This course
looks at how data is collected, what is gathered, and what
we give away voluntarily. What does your 'twin' look like?
Research Seminar 03
How do I look?
Della Davidson
HNR 94-03 (4 Units) MW 12:10-2:00pm University
Club
Writing
This seminar is a repeat of a popular
topic from last year. If you were enrolled in that seminar,
you cannot repeat it this year.
How do I look? Am I too thin? Too fat? Not tall enough or
too tall? Should my eyes be blue? Or my hair blonde? We
all are concerned with body image. Much of the focus in
our culture is on the images of women, images that force
women to continually evaluate their sense of what is desirable
and perfect. Men, however, are also being pressured to be
"perfect". This is evidenced in the growing number
of men seeking cosmetic surgery from botox injections to
calf implants. What is this notion of some perfect form?
How do other cultures look at body image and the idea of
physical perfection? How does this
obsession with external physical perfection affect our internal
growth as people? How are women and men represented in contemporary
culture and how can that be changed to embrace a larger
population? How do we accept difference? How do we accept
ourselves? This seminar will explore these issues from the
perspective of American culture and other cultures in the
pursuit of understanding the place of the body within contemporary
thought.
Research Seminar 04
Is Britney Spears hotter than global warming?
Rance LeFebvre
HNR 94-04 (4 Units) TR 1:10-3:00pm 4402
Vet Med 3A
Writing
America seems to be more interested in what J. Lo is doing,
than Global warming. More interested in American Idol, Tyra
Banks and our next top model, and the tabloid newspapers
and magazines, than the national deficit, the war in Iraq,
immigration, and health care for all citizens. Nobel Prize
winners and medical breakthroughs receive less attention
than the MTV or Emmy awards. Genocide, and human rights
issues often take a back seat to who is pregnant, whose
dating or breaking up with whom, and Botox.
Is this a trend that we, as a country, should be concerned
about, or is it a harmless diversion from the grind of daily
living? Why are we so fascinated with the lives of mere
mortals just because they are famous? Who made them famous?
Why do we care? How is it that some celebrities escape the
ever watchful eye of the Paparazzi?
This seminar will address this American mindset in the contexts
of its origins, its history, its psychology, and its ramifications.
Research Seminar 05
Uncle Sam Wants You: An
Army of One
Lisa Pruitt
HNR 94-05 (4 Units) TR
10:00-11:50am 129 Wellman
Writing
The average age of a person enlisting in the U.S.
military since 9/11 is 21. The average age of a soldier
who has died in Iraq or Afghanistan is 24.
Who are these soldiers, these young men and women who are
dying in our wars? This seminar will explore why young men
and women choose to join the armed services when doing so
means almost certain deployment to a war zone. We will investigate,
for example, the representations that military recruiters
make to them in the context of considering how U.S. military
recruitment strategies have changed over the years. We will
also consider whether recruiters should be able to target
high school students by coming onto high school campuses,
given that the vast majority of students there are under
the age of 18. The seminar will take up these questions,
along with other legal and policy considerations, in relation
to who is fighting our wars and how they come to do so.
Research Seminar 06
Eroding Freedoms? The Bill of Rights Then and
Now.
Jack Goldberg
HNR 94-06 (4 Units) TR 12:10-2:00pm 148
Env. Hort.
Writing
Nothing is more important to Americans than our individual
freedom from oppression of any kind from our government
or from one another. These freedoms have been guaranteed
by the Constitution and, in particularly, by the first 10
amendments “The Bill of Rights.” Over the years
the Supreme Court of the Judicial Branch has made determinations
whether a persons Rights have be violated. Important social
changes have resulted from these decisions by the Supreme
Court. There is not general agreement whether changes in
our cultural environment should have any effect on the Supreme
Court’s interpretation of the Bill of Rights. The
first amendment states that Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion. This led to a general acceptance
that church and state should be separated, but that is not
what the first amendment actually says. For another example,
the second amendment guarantees the right of the individual
to keep and bear arms, which at the time were muskets and
swords. What kinds of arms should the people be able to
keep and bear now? It is one thing to consider what our
Founding Fathers had in mind for the cultural and technological
environment in which they lived. It is quite another to
consider what they would think now in the environment of
the emerging 21st century. What would happen if the Supreme
Court decided that the Bill of Rights is “out of date”
and must be replaced by a more relevant, 21st Century version?
The purpose of this seminar is to consider whether such
a new Bill of Rights would differ in any way from the old
Bill of Rights. Should the cultural environment of the 21st
Century have any bearing on our personal Bill of Rights?
Research Seminar 07
Transnational Adoption:
Altruism or Exploitation?
Anna Kuhn
HNR 94-07 (4 Units) TR 3:10-5:00pm 693
Kerr Hall
Writing
Transnational adoption has been on the rise in the US since
the 1960s and has gained a certain cache of late with Hollywood
celebrities like Madonna adopting a child from Africa and
Angela Jolie in the headlines with her adopted children
from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Currently most transnational
adoptions involve children from so-called Third World nations,
often from countries which have experienced war and famine.
Transnational adoption by affluent white Americans is clearly
a boon to orphaned children from abjectly poor areas. Yet,
one can argue that there is a dark side to transnational
adoption. Among the questions we will raise in this seminar
are: Why are Americans who seek to adopt a child going abroad
for those children? What are the psychological and sociological
implications of uprooting children from their national cultures?
What are the legal ramifications of transnational adoption?
What happens when transnational adoption results in transracial
families?
Research Seminar 08
Spreading Democracy: what is the score?
Mani Tripathi
HNR 94-08 (4 Units) MW 11:00-1:00pm 565
Kerr Hall
Writing
The US has a penchant for instigating regime changes around
the world that are advertised as attempts at introducing
a democratic system of governance in societies that have
mostly only seen autocracies, dictatorships or monarchies.
This policy has found acceptance among the American people
as a legitimate tool in foreign affairs. How successful
has this been? Does it even pass the superficial test of
legitimacy? How does one reconcile this effort simultaneously
with support for dictators, sheikhs and other monarchs who
are deemed as “friendly” autocrats? How is it
viewed around the world? Does it matter? Does moral high
ground take a back seat to diplomatic expediency? Are a
small number of corporations, which stand to profit, dictating
the national agenda?
We will examine these questions in the context of regimes
that have been a target of attack and, more importantly,
those that have received a wink and a nod. Have we descended
from our lofty ideals and become a nation that promotes
duplicity? This seminar will involve frank exchanges and
incisive debates. Students will be expected to back up their
assertions with examples and references, while putting forth
original analyses. Critical thinking, followed by rounds
of critical re-think will be the challenge
Spring
2008
Research Seminar 01
Welcome to your Second Life
Milmon Harrison
HNR 94-01 (4 Units) TR 10:00-11:50am 2215
Hart
Writing
In this seminar we will critically examine the world of
Internet social gaming by engaging in the 3-D virtual world
known as “Second Life.” Since 2003, the growth
of Second Life has been phenomenal. The inhabitants of this
mass mediated, virtual world participate from all over the
real world. Players create online identities that are represented
by their own personal figure (or “avatar”).
With real money they may purchase clothing, property, and
other items. Players actually own these items and retain
the right to will, trade, or sell them should they choose
to do so. Some questions we will seek to answer include:
who are the people most attracted to this type of activity,
how does social gaming influence face-to-face interaction,
and what effect has the transfer of money in a virtual environment
had on the U.S. economy as well as those of other countries?
The primary objective of the seminar is to gain greater
understanding of the multiple meanings of such an explosively
emergent social trend as Second Life.
Research Seminar 02
The Truth and Consequences of Documentary-style
Independent Films
Isabel Montañez
HNR 94-02 (4Units) TR 11:00-12:50pm 565
Kerr
Writing
Movies have long influenced pop culture in the U.S. and
western Europe through their impact on fashion, lifestyles
and social attitudes. This ‘sphere of influence’
has rapidly increased with globalization and the expansion
of the entertainment industry outside of Hollywood. Fact-based
documentary films, however, have rarely penetrated this
sphere of social influence. The past few years have witnessed
a new generation of documentary-style independent films
that are gaining significant popularity – films such
as ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, ‘Farenhiet
911’, ‘Supersize Me’, and ‘The Great
Warming’ are contributing significantly to the public
perception of current environmental and political issues.
The awarding of the ‘triple crown’ of an Emmy,
Oscar and Nobel Prize to Al Gore and his movie ‘An
Inconvenient Truth’ would appear to firmly establish
the place of such independent films in the movie entertainment’s
sphere of public influence.
Yet despite the perceived influence of this form of media,
the measurable social and political consequences of such
films are less well defined. How can we best evaluate to
what degree these high profile independent films are providing
vehicles for social and political change both in the U.S.
and abroad, and by what means? What historical moments have
occurred over the past decade that make us so receptive
to the messages offered by such politically charged documentaries?
And can we predict how long-lived their influence will be
and whether it can be sustained sufficiently long to impart
permanent change? In this seminar, we will examine such
issues and attempt to chart the path via which the independent
film industry influences public perception, grass root efforts
and public policy.
Research Seminar 03
Credit Card Culture: Power or Bondage
Krishnan Nambiar
HNR 94-10 (4 Units) TR 10:00-11:50am 211
Wellman
Writing
Students are frequently bombarded with offers of easy credit
from various credit card companies.
Students most of whom are living on their own for the first
time when they enter the University are
easily tempted by such offers and get carried away in their
spending habits. Such unchecked spending could lead to catastrophic
outcomes such as bankruptcy or even suicide. In this seminar
we will explore the underlying motives and tactics used
by credit card companies and collection agencies, student
vulnerability and how credit spending habits carry on into
adult life. We will also investigate the economic, social,
political, peer pressure, and cultural religious factors
that influence human behavior and try to develop possible
ways to help students cope with such pressures.
Research Seminar 04
"I'm not paranoid. They are out to get
me!"
Ann Orel
HNR 94-03 (4 Units) MW 12:10-2:00pm 565
Kerr
Writing
The CIA and Lyndon Johnson arranged the assassination of
JFK. Princess Diana was killed by the British royal family.
The government is hiding aliens from UFOs that crashed at
Roswell. No plane hit the Pentagon - 9/11 was a plot by
the government so they could invade the Middle East. Conspiracy
theories abound! Where is the truth? What is truth? How
can we tell? This seminar will focus on conspiracy theories.
Why are they prevalent? What do you believe? How can the
public distinguish fact from fiction?
Research Seminar 05
“Does the universe have a purpose?”
and other perplexing questions: exploring the relationship,
or lack thereof, between religion and science
Dan Potter
HNR 94-04 (4 Units) MW 3:10-5:00pm
70 SocSci
Writing
Which of the following best describes the appropriate relationship
between science and religion? 1) They are distinct and incompatible
views of the universe; individuals, and ultimately society,
must choose one of them over the other. 2) They are distinct
views of the universe that address distinct human needs;
they are both necessary but no attempt should be made to
unite them. 3) They are distinct and complementary views
of the universe and efforts should be made to find areas
of compatibility and synergy between them. 4) They are parts
of the same whole that should be combined into a unified
view; only then can a true understanding of the universe
be achieved. If you subscribe to the first view and you
favor religion over science, how do you account for the
evidence that supports some well-established scientific
theories that are apparently incompatible with some religious
traditions? If you subscribe to the first view and you favor
science over religion, does that mean the universe, and
by extension human lives, are without purpose and, if so,
does that bother you? If you subscribe to the second view,
are you not consigning yourself to maintaining two disconnected
and sometimes conflicting views of life? If you subscribe
to the third view, do you have to compromise the principles
of both science and religion? If you subscribe to the fourth
view, how do you reconcile the sometimes dramatic differences
between particular religious traditions? People have been
asking themselves these questions, and numerous others like
these, for centuries, but recently there has been renewed
attention to them from scientists, theologians, philosophers,
and even politicians. What are the potential consequences
of these debates, and can they ever be resolved?
Research Seminar 06
A World Without Sea Food?
Matt Traxler
HNR 94-05 (4 Units) MW 10:00-11:50am 565
Kerr
Writing
From the Grand Banks of Nova Scotia to the Mediterranean
to the Indian Ocean, fish are in trouble. At current catch
rates, all species of fish that are currently taken commercially
will be wiped out within our lifetimes (Worm et al., Science,
2006). Such a collapse will have substantial negative effects
on millions of people worldwide who depend on seafood as
a primary source of protein. Our seminar will assess how
quickly fish populations are declining, what factors are
contributing to the collapse, and what can be done to reverse
the trend.
Research Seminar 07
Is Britney Spears Hotter then Global Warming?
Rance LeFebvre
HNR 94-06 (4 Units) TR 1:10-3:00pm
4402 Vet Med 3A
Writing
This seminar is a repeat
of a popular topic from last quarter. If you were enrolled
in that seminar, you cannot repeat it this quarter.
America seems to be more interested in what J. Lo
is doing, than Global warming. More interested in American
Idol, Tyra Banks and our next top model, and the tabloid
newspapers and magazines, than the national deficit, the
war in Iraq, immigration, and health care for all citizens.
Nobel Prize winners and medical breakthroughs receive less
attention than the MTV or Emmy awards. Genocide, and human
rights issues often take a back seat to who is pregnant,
whose dating or breaking up with whom, and Botox.
Is this a trend that we, as a country, should be concerned
about, or is it a harmless diversion from the grind of daily
living? Why are we so fascinated with the lives of mere
mortals just because they are famous? Who made them famous?
Why do we care? How is it that some celebrities escape the
ever watchful eye of the Paparazzi?
This seminar will address this American mindset in the contexts
of its origins, its history, its psychology, and its ramifications.
DHC Home
Back to the top
