Rhetorical Genre Theory and Whiteness

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Whiteness is the foundation on which academia is built. It shapes the institutions and methods of knowledge making that form what we call education. If we hope to make radical, meaningful change to our systems of learning and knowledge, a critical step will be decentering whiteness. This project uses the work of James Baldwin to conceptualize whiteness and examines rhetorical genre theory as an example of the ways academia's systems of knowledge making are based in the assumptions of whiteness.

Sacramento Pike Minnow in the Eel River

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

In our presentation, we will be researching and presenting the historical, and current effects in the Eel River regarding the invasive Sacramento Pike Minnow. This fish was introduced into the Eel River watershed in 1962 and has been an issue for people who depend on the river for the past 45 years. The pike minnow is a species that eats juvenile salmonids (salmon, trout, steelhead). Salmonids are extremely important to the eco-system as well as the people who rely on it. The Wiyot people depend on healthy salmon runs each and every year as a source of food, and more importantly in today's day and age, a source of income.

Save the Bison

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

For ideafest we plan to enlighten our fellow Humboldtians on how Native tribes are helping to save the bison from extinction. Bison have played a key role in Native culture especially in the great plains . Their bison are like our salmon. The Sioux and Assiniboine tribes of Fork pecks currently have the largest restoration herd, with up to 340 bison living and thriving on their lands. We major in zoology and we decided to focus in on this subject because it is a clear bridge on how Indigenous people make connections between animals and their culture. Thereby, a connection between NAS and Zoology is born and recognized :) .

Self-Harming Practices from the Perspective of Forensics: An Interdisciplinary Approach for Anthropologists.

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

This paper explores the ways in which forensic anthropology can utilize other forensic disciplines (psychiatry and medicine) when analyzing remains for medico-legal purposes, specifically when determining manner of death. Forensic anthropologists need not just extensive knowledge on the trauma’s morphological differences, but also the reasons behind the actions that lead to suicide or homicide. Death prevalence, the physical differences between suicide and homicide, and the psychology of those actions is extensively looked at. The author finds that there are distinct patterns in the physical remains that can be corroborated with psychological evaluations and documented prior behavior.

Should Democracy be Constrained to Address Climate Change?

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

My research analyzes the implications that climate change has for democracy. Recognizing that climate change presents unique challenges to our political system, I search for a healthy balance between democratic means and necessary, urgent ends. To do so, I compare the advantages and disadvantages of different forms of democracy, i.e., representative versus deliberative, ultimately concluding with the need for more research and collaboration.

Snake River Basin Adjudication

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

This poster will display the process and implications between the Nez Perce Tribe, state and federal government agencies in dealing with the settlement process of the Snake River Basin Adjudication (SRBA). The SRBA can serve as an opening to discussing the relationship between the Nez Perce with the state and federal governments, particularly the U.S. serving as a trustee for the tribe and is suppose to protect the Nez Perce tribal treaty-based fishing rights. We will discuss the basis for their claims is within the fact that in stream flow is necessary for the salmon survival. Based within the treaties with the U.S., the Nez Perce holds the exclusive right to fish within the streams.

Social Status and Gender: Burial Reflection in Viking Culture

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Burials excavated at the Birka, Sweden archaeological site, which was under Viking occupation from 750 to 950 CE, provides a cultural snapshot of gender and social status. Previous studies make inaccurate assumptions of gender based on types of tools found. In addition, there has been limited research linking osteological analyses with artifact analysis, which has also led to inaccurate assumptions regarding gender and social status. This work, which expanded and revised our understanding of gender expectations and social differences in Viking society from this time period, can be used to also further our knowledge of other societies.

Society’s Way of Making Women Fade

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

The Giving Tree is a children’s story where a personified tree gives away pieces of herself to a boy whom she loves. She gives him her apples and branches as a means of further his prosperity, never taking into account her own happiness. In this project, I analyze it as a reflection of society’s view of women’s bodies. The tree in the story needs to be seen as their own character; she is a woman is a state of suffering and abuse.

Stayin' Alive! How black Grama and Soil Stability Respond to Desert Stressors

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Global climate models predict a more variable climate in the future through increased frequency of extreme wet and dry years. Since water is the most limiting resource in the Chihuahuan desert, investigating how semi-arid plants respond to precipitation extremes is pertinent to understanding how desert ecosystems will be altered in the future. To study these responses, I experimentally applied an extreme precipitation treatment to black grama, a dominant desert grass, during June and July 2018 in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge before the monsoon season. This experiment supports black grama's ability to survive in the desert with few precipitation events due to its growth response.

Stop Daming Native Lands

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

The effects on local Native Tribes from the construction of thw Shasta Dam.