What do the Rising Far Right and Populist Movements Look Like?

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

I am working with a Political Science research fellowship to map the incipient far right and Alt-Right. Finding points of opposition, commonality, and differences between the various groups.

What Frames A Life?

Marti "McFly" Smith, Other Undergraduate Student

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

My dad Ricky Wayne Fischer died on September 8th, 2024, after a lifetime struggle with addiction. An estimated 28.9 million Americans had an Alcohol Use Disorder in 2024 (NIAAA, 2024). Families who have a parent with a Substance Abuse Disorder are “characterized by an environment of secrecy, loss, conflict, violence or abuse, emotional chaos, role reversal, and fear.” (Lander, 2013). To tackle the wicked problem of addiction, this paper focuses on the psychological, biological, sociological, economic disciplines, and my own primary source of having a parent with a Substance Abuse Disorder. Additionally explored, are the creative disciplines of photography and writing to honor his life.

What They Aren't Saying: Nonverbal Behaviors and Stereotypes

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Our group is exploring the link between vocalics and nonverbal communication by examining four different popular television characters and analyzing their individual character nonverbals. We selected popular characters and examined their vocalics (pitch, speech rate, etc) and nonverbals (gestures) in relation to audience and character perception. The characters selected are Ron from Parks and Rec, Jack from Will and Grace, Captain Holt from Brooklyn Nine Nine, and Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory. Often nonverbal behaviors, specifically speech illustrators, are used to accompany the characters respective idiosyncrasies in an amusing or humorous way that we examine in our project.

What We Think, We Are

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Self-talk is the inner dialogue we use to talk to ourselves. My research project addresses the significance that self-talk has on you both mentally and physically. I emphasize that we should be mindful of how we talk to ourselves because we are always doing it. I also explain the importance of positive self-talk and how to do it. My goal is that this research project motivates individuals to use self-talk in ways that let them live happier and more positive lives.

What were the Religious Belies of the Neolithic Irish?

Joseph Walsh, Anthropology Undergraduate Student

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Research on the studies and methods of understanding what the religious practices in Neolithic Age Ireland were.

Where Kitsch Meets Custom: Recent Native American Architecture in Northern California

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

A wave of new construction projects sponsored by Native American tribes is currently sweeping across Northern California. Federal recognition and Indian gaming have brought with them a flurry of development opportunities, particularly for casinos and tribal services buildings. An overview of such structures illustrates significant differences between the buildings tribes build for the general public, versus those that they construct for their own use. Such analysis helps demonstrate both the vision the general public has of Indian tribes, as well as the vision tribes have of themselves.

Who Tells Your Story: Why #RepresentationMatters

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

#RepresentationMatters is a social media campaign to educate the world on why representation matters in literature, education, and entertainment media. For those who began the hashtag, it means that the storytellers are people of color, women, LGBTQ+, disabled, neurodivergent, or any combination thereof. The stories by these artists do not center on being a member of these communities, but do not erase the character’s experience of belonging to them, either. The artists hope to show the world the impact of being heard and seen, and to draw attention to how literature, education, and the entertainment industry currently depict their experiences.

Why It's the Thought That Counts: A Rhetorical Study of Greeting Cards

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Is it true that “It’s the thought that counts”? When we give and receive greeting cards in a variety of situations, we are not only documenting our thoughts towards a person or event but also enacting an internalized sense of human connection and care. This project explores the exigence for greeting cards, especially the pushback against digital versions of cards as impersonal and not as meaningful as handwritten notes, as well as, the different ways that greeting cards embody thoughts and intentions.

Why What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

"What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas" is much more than a catchy saying. An economic tool, this slogan has shaped the city. Through the use of billboards, casinos and shows Vegas offers anything one could need to fulfill their wildest fantasies. Drugs, sex and entertain are readily available. Vegas is much more than a destination it is a state of mind, one that is often detrimental. Exploiting the worst of human desire, Vegas earns the name "Sin City".

Within the Inundation Zone: Spatial Analysis of Cultural Resources Vulnerable to Sea Level Rise and Tsunami Impacts in Humboldt Bay, Northern California

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

The threat of sea level rise and tsunamis make the future of the Humboldt Bay in Northern California an uncertain situation. Modifications to the landscape of the bay have made many cultural resources more vulnerable to climate change and hazard events, based on their location, due to crumbling infrastructure that is likely to fail in holding back the tide. Protection of these resources can be expanded once an inventory of vulnerable resources is collected. Data has been collected from projections of future coastal inundation and from inventories of cultural resources.