24Th Stacy Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings 2016
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24th Annual Clement S. Stacy Memorial Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings Hammond April 15-16, 2016 CHESS College of Humanities, Education & Social Sciences The Clement S. Stacy Undergraduate Research Conference, sponsored by the School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Purdue University Calumet, was convened for the 24th consecutive year on April 15th- 16th, 2016. This year 58 presentations were selected for the conference. Students from 18 institutions presented their research on a wide range of topics in literature, history, political science, gender studies, film, religion, psychology, philosophy, and health. Research is an essential part of the mission of higher education, and Purdue Calumet places great emphasis on affording undergraduate students the opportunity to engage in research and disseminate their findings. At the conference in April, the students were presenters; they had to hone their skills in public speaking, PowerPoint presentation, and responding to vigorous questioning from session attendees. In the proceedings, the students become authors, polishing research writing skills such as analysis, synthesis, and proper citation of evidence. I am extremely pleased that the work of these students is published in these electronic proceedings, and I hope you will enjoy reviewing the outstanding papers contained herein. To the faculty mentors, friends and family of the students, I send my sincere thanks for your support of the students and their important work. I would also like to publically acknowledge Purdue Calumet’s Nicole Blakely, who was the principal conference organizer, and Rachel Pollack for their coordination of the events. Valuable assistance was also provided by Ms. Kathryn Hejmej, Administrative Assistant to the Dean. I would also like to thank moderators Laneah Ravn, Claudia Jaramillo, Jessica Groen, Paula Zaja, Robert Hallock, Shannon Keating, Emiliano Aguilar, Maria Luisa Garcia- Verdugo, and George Hong for helping make the conference a success. Again, congratulations to the authors of these papers. I very much hope to see you continue your excellent work in the liberal arts and social sciences. Sincerely yours, Ronald Corthell, Dean College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Purdue University Calumet 2200 169th Street Hammond, IN 46323-2094 phone: (219) 989-2401 fax: (219) 989-8343 www.purduecal.edu/lass/ 24th Annual Clement S. Stacy Memorial Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings Volume I – Table of Contents Stefany Barba, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor………………………………………………………….1 Fry bread: A Recipe for Reconciliation Mairin Cahill, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi………………………………………………………12 Increasing Hospital Patient Mortality and the Role of Public Relations Firms in Halting Nurses Union Safety Efforts. Mairin Cahill, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi………………………………………………………27 The Effect of Foreign Aid on the Political and Humanitarian Crisis in Burundi: The West’s Legacy and China's Post at the Helm of a Failing Democracy Tatiana Claudy, Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne………………………………57 Class Performance in the Nineteenth Century France Presented in Short Stories of the Nineteenth Century French Writers Kendall Cosley, Marquette University……………………………………………………………………………75 Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King’s Achievements in American Military History Whitney J. Dumas, Purdue University Calumet…………………………………………………………….87 The Paradox of Medical Marijuana: An Exploration of the Legalities and Therapeutics of Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol Jaquelin Estrada, University of Illinois-Chicago………………………………………………………….108 The Role of OSHA in Preventing Workplace Accidents among Vulnerable Populations in Metropolitan Areas Melissa Gressman, University of Toledo………………………………………………………………………126 Performing Sincerity: The Use of Spontaneous Language and Letter Writing in Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese Emily Grubbs, University of Toledo…………………………………………………………………………….151 The Benefits of Community Art Intervention: Women’s Issues and Mental Health Sarah Kerrn, Indiana Wesleyan University………………………….………………………………………161 Kilgore Trout as a Reflection of Kurt Vonnegut’s Postmodern Humanism Andrew Krantz, University of Toledo………………………………………………………………………….186 When Legal Precedent Supports the 'Medical Model' Bias: Tarasoff, AIDS, and the ADA Jenna Christine Petsche, Clarke University…………………………………………………………………199 The Speech of Aristophanes: The Naturalness of Love i 24th Annual Clement S. Stacy Memorial Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings Joshua Pretzer, Alma College…………………………………………………………………………………….224 The Power of The Cherokee Lobby: How Did The Cherokee Lobby Successfully Influence The Supreme Court and American Government? Brenda Schilling, Clarke University……………………………………………………………………….……240 Hobbes’ ‘State of Nature’ and The Leviathan: Concluding Anarchy Through Inquiry Jessica Elzinga Streeter, Purdue University North Central……………………….……….………253 From Private to Public: Munro and Plath Teela Sucacin, Purdue University Calumet………………………………………………………………..262 Debate Forum: Is the 21st Century the Asian Century? An Analysis of China’s Political System and the Idea of an Asian Century Erica White, University of Indianapolis……………………………………………………………………….272 Whose Science is it Anyway?: Aimé Césaire’s A Tempest and The Importance of Viewing Science as Multidimensional ii 24th Annual Clement S. Stacy Memorial Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings Fry bread: A Recipe for Reconciliation Stefany Barba University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Fry bread: A Recipe for Reconciliation Stefany Barba University of Michigan, Ann Arbor [email protected] 1 | P a g e 24th Annual Clement S. Stacy Memorial Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings Mix all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and tap water in a bowl. Stretch and shape the dough before frying it to golden brown perfection—and there you have it— fry bread. That simple recipe can draw you into a complex history of colonialism and relocation of the Native American people, as well into the rhythmic hands of generations of laboring Native American women. To better understand fry bread as a symbol in Native American culture, I analyze scenes where Native American screenwriter, author, and poet Sherman Alexie places fry bread in his films Smoke Signals and The Business of Fancydancing. While Alexie recognizes the critique that fry bread is an unhealthy vice, this is contrasted with a heavier threat of alcohol abuse. Scenes with alcohol are deathly violent, dangerous, and masculine through connection to the father, while fry bread brings warm conversations, advice, and the embrace of maternal love. Alexie uses these qualities of fry bread to lead the protagonist in Smoke Signals to understand and forgive his father who leaves the reservation, and briefly connect two brothers with differing views of the reservation in The Business of Fancydancing. By thinking critically about the unifying magic of fry bread in Native American culture, we can see how Native women reclaim traditions through fry bread despite the gendered brutalities of colonialism, and how this cross-cultural recipe is hope for reconciliation today. To be able to analyze Alexie’s use of fry bread in his films and the significance of fry bread in Native American society, we first have to identify its origin in the context of settler colonialism. The ingredients in fry bread’s recipe were as foreign as the colonists that brought them, and were allotted to Native Americans in rations during relocation (Vantrease). Native American tribes relied on these ingredients for nutrition, as their usual foods, maize, beans, squash, fish, and berries, were no longer accessible after losing their lands (Vantrease). A sentimental image of the sharing and exchange of food brought by 2 | P a g e 24th Annual Clement S. Stacy Memorial Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings colonialism is expressed in the classic painting of the first thanksgiving, with Natives and colonists equally around the table, and a Native woman and Colonial wife mingling in the background. The peace and prosperity in this imagined scene follows the myth of U.S. colonialism, that the U.S. was established “on the just and noble principles of freedom, equality, and democracy, and it continues to spread those principles around the world,” (Kazanjian, 2014). While today the brutal reality behind this façade is better understood, ironically, Alexie still uses one of colonialism’s outcomes, fry bread, to bring those in opposition around the same table. Alexie’s themes of femininity and masculinity are first demonstrated in the two protagonists of Smoke Signals. In this film we follow two young Native American men with differing personalities. The main protagonist, Victor, is very masculine and bitter towards his alcoholic father who beat both him and his mom and ultimately left the reservation over guilt of his drunken rampage that killed Thomas’ parents. Thomas, a childhood friend who talks too much and vexes Victor, was thus raised by his grandma without a father, and is more feminine than Victor. Thomas wears two braids lying over his chest like his grandma, and is shown in the kitchen making fry bread, taking on the typical woman’s role. While Thomas is not biologically female, his character performs femininity. It is Thomas who seems to understand some truth about why Victor’s dad left, and when news comes that Victor’s dad has died, he offers to provide Victor with the money to travel to Phoenix,