A Journey Through a Mind

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

"A Journey Through a Mind (an interactive labyrinth game)" is an exploration of my personal experiences as someone with bipolar. It will take you through the daily choices and struggles a person may go through as they are experiencing hypomania or depression. The point is for the viewer to get lost in the labyrinth and for them to struggle to find a suitable solution. It also expresses my frustration with the medical/mental health system.

A Separation of Women and Rights: the Reproductive Equality Fight

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Through focusing specifically on the relevance of spatial organization of territory and women’s rights concerning reproduction, a case that can exemplify the age-old struggle of the belief of the majority governing the private lives of all would be the Texas case of Roe v. Wade. The political and geographic results of this monumental court decision centered around abortion may be seen in the torrent of other similar cases that deal with women’s rights in relation to reproductive care across the U.S When more scrutiny is applied to this singularly defining case, it becomes more than a few fast facts. Through the ages, Roe v. Wade has been the political foundation upon which women’s reproduc

A Symbol of Hope: An Ethnographic Analysis of Religion and Disaster following the Camp Fire

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

What support do survivors turn to after environmental disasters? This research examines how survivors of the Camp Fire, one of the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in California’s history, draw upon religion in the aftermath of disaster. Specifically, this research asks: What role does religion play in rebuilding a community post-disaster? During the summer of 2019, I conducted ethnographic observations, interviews and surveys with individuals affected by the Camp Fire. I documented material, social and spiritual forms of support that religions organizations offered to residents of Paradise and consider how these factors relate to building the town.

A Waste of Time: Courtly Entertainments, Adiaphora, and Economy of Time in Halle Pietism and in King Frederick William I's Prussia, c. 1713-1740.

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Most scholars, following the analysis of Max Weber, agree that the modern notions of "using time wisely" emerged in the eighteenth century. This "economy of time" came out of a cultural milieu that was strongly influenced by both the Enlightenment and ascetic religious movements (English Puritanism, German Pietism, French Jansenism). This project closely studies the discourse surrounding the courtly entertainments (hunting, the theater, gambling) as a way to better understanding the emergence of this "economy of time." While both the early Enlightenment and ascetic religious groups argued that courtly entertainments were problematic, they did so for quite different reasons.

Abstinence-Centered Comprehensive Sexual Education

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Within the United States, especially with California's new sexual education model, parents are pushing back due beliefs of abstinence. While these believes should be honored, most abstinence only sexual education curriculums are rooted in misinformation and can harm a child's development. Within this project, I will be exploring the possibility of a comprehensive sexual education program that can be abstinence centered.

Abstraction

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Logline: An unknowing beachcomber begins to transform into an extraterrestrial being after discovering an otherworldly skeleton beneath the sand. Synopsis: Tourist season has come to an end in the sleepy coastal town of Breaker’s Bay. The beaches are empty, but beneath the sand are treasures to be had. Items lost, forgotten by the past visitors of the sandy beaches of the North Coast, a beachcomber’s paradise. Molly Faye, a local beachcomber is about to wrap up her day of scanning the miles of endless beaches when she receives a faint signal on her metal detector. What she unearths at first appears to be a delicate piece of jewelry, but what it is attached to proves to be problematic...

Activating Creativity in Elementary EFL Writing

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

I served 27 months as an elementary EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher on the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia and found that rote memorization was the dominant teaching strategy. Pohnpeian teachers wanted interactive classrooms that engaged students creatively, but they often lacked the resources or training to create such an environment. The presented activities are the product of collaborative efforts with 4th-through 8th-grade Pohnpeian teachers over a two-year period. Activities could be modified for a range of second-language learning contexts and environments.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Mitigating Resources among Humboldt State University Students.

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

The goals of this project is to assess adverse childhood experiences(ACEs)among students who attend Humboldt State University, & to explore campus resources students use to sustain their academic success, despite these challenges. I conducted a survey on HSU students (n=133), scoring their ACEs using the Kaiser Permanente study of childhood experiences, & asking a series of questions about their childhood, adult & HSU experiences. I found various resources & attachments that students reported as supporting their success in college. This research can help bring attention adverse childhood experiences on campus, & can provide a useful insight on resources needed to serve this population.

Advocacy Through Art

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

In this service learning experience I worked along side the students at the Eel River Community School in Fortuna. Here, I led students in creating murals throughout their facility. When I began most had admitted to never having engaged in some sort of arts and crafts activity. I observed how impactful artistic expression is to the youth and helps aid in stages of development. Having an interdisciplinary education I was able to consider a variety of lenses that play into the importance of creative outlets in the youth. Knowing this, I focused my attention to point out that at risk youth do not receive these crucial oppurtunities and how that perpetuates inequality issues from a young age.

African Presence in the Ancient New World

Garrett Spruiell, Anthropology Undergraduate Student

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Within this research project, I’ll be presenting a controversial topic that many today deem as unchallengeable due to the influence from the history books the colonizers of our country wrote to indoctrinate us with. From this investigation, I intend to analyze conflicting theories so as to narrow down the plausibility of pre-Columbian transoceanic travel between Africa and the America’s. My goal with this project is to elevate African voices and perspectives, to show the public the possibility of alternative truths, as well as spread a sense of skepticism towards our Western history books. ​