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  Save our Languages: Cultural Tourism to the Rescue

  Florentina Berns

  Florentina Berns , HTR318: Cultural Tourism
  Faculty Mentor(s): Professor Kathleen O'Brien, Hospitality and Tourism

  
  Language defines culture, strengthens the bonds of people between speakers, and provides history and value that shape the identity of places. It is also important to note that language is the centerpiece of a cultural tourist's experience in a foreign country. The diversity of languages still in use to today and those trying to be preserved are irreplaceable. UNESCO states that every two weeks a language becomes extinct. Why? There are over seven thousand languages but only twenty-three account for more than half the world's population. English surpassed Mandarin Chinese with Hindi, Spanish and French. Why are languages disappearing and why does it matter? This qualitative research study examines reasons for language extinction on a global scale and seeks to understand implications for cultural travel experiences. Linguists work tirelessly with communities who are trying to salvage their language. These linguists, after conferences, workshops and language immersion classes, travel far and wide to distant places to teach across the globe or publish their findings. I will prove that language shapes the identity of a destination and adds value to travelers' experiences. It is my goal with this research to make a case that diversity of languages can be preserved with initiatives undertaken by the global tourism industry. I believe in my heart that cultural identity is worth saving.

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  The Acceptance of Non-Binary Pronouns

  Lily Buck and Ezra LaForme

  Lily Buck, Ezra LaForme, CWP102: Argumentation and Research
  Faculty Mentor(s): Professor Jane Sullivan, College Writing Program, Professor Susan Mary Paige, Academic Success

  
  Non-binary pronouns have become a part of our modern-day daily vernacular, whether we realize that we are using them or not. Yet many seem to have trouble using and understanding these pronouns. Why is it that so many people find non-binary pronouns difficult to incorporate into their speech, especially when requested to do so by a non-binary individual? The objective of this project was to identify and understand why older generations, in particular, are unable to properly use and fully understand pronouns like “they/them.” The hope is to help bridge the gap in communication. The project began with a literature review to examine the complicated linguistics issues regarding the connection between language and learning. The goal was to ascertain what connections there are to alter learned vocabulary and grammar rules. With prior IRB approval, using a sample of convenience, we interviewed two randomly selected groups of students and faculty at a four-year urban college. We collected data to identify the different strategies used by the participants to pick up the ability to use non-binary pronouns.

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  Injustice in the Justice System: Using Ancient Philosophy as a Tool for Criminal Justice Reform

  Thomas Carr

  Thomas Carr, Philosophy and Criminal Justice
  Faculty Mentor(s): Professor Leigh Duffy, Philosophy

  
  The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Criminal justice reform “particularly concerning mass incarceration “has been one of the most widely discussed political topics over the past forty years. Our current justice system seems to operate under the philosophy of “you get what you deserve”, which likely plays a large part in driving mass incarceration. Society would be better served to address problems within the criminal justice system if we abandoned this outlook and adopted a theory of justice that is more compatible to Plato's outlook in his Republic. Plato argues that a just society is one that cares for the well-being of the whole community, as opposed to any one individual or group. In my view, our criminal justice system ought to ground our reform and legislative initiatives in this notion of justice. By using Plato's model of a just society, we can gain a better understanding of the shortcomings of our criminal justice system, and how we can address failures. I believe that the failures are a result of society, but most specifically the criminal justice system, not being built around the well-being of all citizens. In this paper, I argue for three specific changes to make to our criminal justice system to make it more just in Plato's sense of the word.

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  Let's Talk It Out: An Argument for Civil Discourse

  Teddi Hastreiter

  Teddi Hastreiter , PHI401: Problems In Philosophy Seminar
  Faculty Mentor(s): Professor John Draeger, Philosophy

  
  How do we respond to those with whom we deeply disagree? This presentation explores the moral belief that all human beings are worthy of respect in a disagreement where both individuals have conflicting values. To better conceptualize this idea, I offer the disagreement between Person A and Person B over whether or not doctor assisted suicide is a morally permissible choice for a family member diagnosed with an illness that is painful, debilitating, and without a known cure. Both Person A and Person B have taken time to think about and form an argument in support of their views. Because they've thought through these issues, both individuals should be treated with integrity and respect. Thomas E. Hill argues that because we share the same humanity, we're morally obligated to treat each other with respect. For Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson, respect for another's humanity requires treating their argument with a certain amount of seriousness. It requires putting aside individual self-interests, an ability to accept when one is mistaken, and a willingness to revise individual views. Civil discourse is not only a way of talking through these issues and directing better discussions, but a way to show respect for fellow human beings.

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  La société du l'Abonnement (The Society of the Subscription)

  Alexander J. Hellert

  Alexander J. Hellert , HON400: All College Honors Colloquium
  Faculty Mentor(s): Professor David N. Ben-Merre, English

  
  My presentation uses French Situationist philosopher Guy Debord's concept of “spectacle” to describe an emerging form of Capitalism Without Private Property. The spectacle was defined as “not a collection of images, but a social relation among people, mediated by images.” Whilst the Situationists of Debord's time argued authentic social life devolved into accumulating wealth, later just the appearance of wealth, today the system is removing private ownership entirely. Non-perishable commodities will be owned in common by corporations rather than by their users. This is expressed in ride-sharing services replacing car ownership, the Internet of Things connecting rented appliances together, the end of DVDs or CDs and the rise of streaming services, cloud computing replacing software ownership and so much more. Solutions to this all-encompassing problem are difficult since Debord rightly argues that the system sterilizes and commodifies radical ideas into safe ones that don't challenge power. I further argue that Debord's 1968 rebellious ideology fails to solve the problem of bourgeois dominance but rather entrenches it. Situationist concepts like Detournement (a kind of plagiarism of system approved image used against itself) and Psychogeography (effects of physical environment on mental well-being) themselves are commodified by capitalism just in the way Debord should have predicted they would. I paint a bleak picture of overcoming the spectacle and its accompanied commodity fetishization. I must inform you I don't own a copy of Société du Spectacle, instead relying on my Google Play eBook, subject to the whims of Google's terms of service.

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  Race and Gender Portrayal on MTV Reality Shows

  Magdalene Manuel

  Magdalene Manuel, COM450: Communication and Society
  Faculty Mentor(s): Professor Ann Liao, Communication

  
  MTV has been producing reality shows since the early 1990s, and the network continues to create different reality shows today. The purpose of this study was to investigate how cast members were portrayed on MTV reality shows, in terms of their race and gender. Cultivation theory was used to examine how the people on these reality shows were depicted when it comes to race and gender, to the viewers that were watching at home. Cultivation theory helps to relate what's shown on reality television with what's true in the real world. To better understand how different races and genders were portrayed on MTV reality shows, I plan to do a content analysis on five different MTV reality shows “The Real World, The Challenge, Are You the One?, Jersey Shore, and Floribama Shore. I viewed the first season of each of the shows to record the ways in which the different cast members were depicted. My initial goal was to observe how visible the members were in terms of their race and gender. Next, I noted how visible races and genders were in individual confessionals/interviews. My viewing observations concluded by predicting how likely cast members were to start fights, both physical and verbal.

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  Hardwired: An Analysis of Television Advertising and Children

  Angelina Miconi

  Angelina Miconi, COM450: Communication and Society
  Faculty Mentor(s): Professor Michael Niman, Communication

  
  This project examines the complex relationship between children and television. My research provides insight into the ways television advertising influences the behavior, emotions, interests, values, morals, mental health, and learning processes of children. This study focuses on the United States of America specifically because consumerism plays a central and unique role in its culture. There are many reasons why United States consumer culture is so central to its culture. By analyzing children, who are the seeds of the future, we gain insight about the future thought process of adult consumers. My work focuses on how advertising that targets children through television influences their self-esteem and social position. For example, it details how a child's understanding of sex and gender are developed through toy commercials. It argues that television advertising and product placement trains children to relate certain brands to their understanding of social classes, and subcultures. Similarly, it explains how these consumerist ideologies are perpetuated by school systems. Finally, my research reveals how advertising culture promotes the values of hedonistic capitalism hidden under a veil of fun, entertainment, and instant gratification. Children's use of television constructs their understanding of the world around them. The purpose of this research is to reflect on who children are as consumers, and why.

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  Romance Without Sex: Is It Still Romance?

  Charlie Rowe

  Charlie Rowe, PHI401: Problems in Philosophy Seminar
  Faculty Mentor(s): Professor John Draeger, Philosophy

  
  Can romantic love exist without sex, sexual desire, or even sexual attraction? The average person is inclined to say, “No." If there is no sex, then the romance must be fading. When romance seems to fade, partners often feel like they've done something wrong. This sense of wrongness is directly related to fears that they aren't attractive enough or arousing enough to their partner and often the relationship will fail. This paper explores whether sex is a necessary requirement for a romantic relationship. While the most common accounts of romance are heavily linked to sex as an exclusive activity between partners, there are cases where a romantic relationship is founded in some other exclusive activity. Through Delaney's account of romantic love and loving commitments, we can clarify a definition of romance. Additionally, McKeever's accounts of sexual exclusivity can help to expand the roles that sex has in relation to romance, and why it is not exclusively required for romance. To further elaborate on the concept of romance without sex, we can explore the concept of asexuality. Looking into the accounts of asexuality we can further identify what a strong foundation for a romantic relationship looks like without sex as a necessary condition.

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  Maximum Sociability: Foucault and the Technological Imprisonment of our Future

  James Speaker

  James Speaker, ENG390: Literary Criticism and Theory
  Faculty Mentor(s): Professor Macy Todd, English, Professor Allison Siehnel, English, Professor Gregg Biglieri, English

  
  The growth of authoritarianism in the eighteenth century had a daunting impact on the psychology of those exposed to it. Philosophers such as Michel Foucault explored this impact, and how it altered the societal structures of the world. Long after Foucault's death, authoritarianism has a new vehicle for its means. While the structures which Foucault criticized still thrive, vast expansions in technology have captivated the psychology of the human race. The growth of the internet has given birth to social media, an idea intended as a platform of expression for the self. However, recent decades have soured the goodwill of social media and allowed the platform to grow into a far more insidious, destructive system of power. Even as Foucault wrote Discipline and Punish decades before the founding of Facebook or Twitter, these platforms for expression have mutated into authoritarian systems of control, corruption, and suffering. Foucault's writing is a warning which doesn't stop at criticism of authoritarian systems of government, but one which explores our future. Social media platforms are the new prisons--their authoritarian natures destroying the core concepts of the human experience in exchange for a world of instant gratification and redefined reality. By exploring the literature of Foucault and similar thinkers, we can understand the future which these technological advancements have led us to and the possibility, or lack thereof, that we can alter it.

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  The King of Mental Manipulation: Effects of Media on Women's Mental Health

  Terra Tonellato

  Terra Tonellato, COM450: Communication and Society
  Faculty Mentor(s): Professor Michael Niman, Communication

  
  The goal of this presentation is to provide an overview of adverse effects media has on women's mental health. Media has continuously fueled issues ranging from body image dissatisfaction, sexual assault, depression, anxiety, and antiquated gender roles, causing long term effects on the men and women who are exposed to them. This is a direct result of inaccurate representations of women, including increased sexualization, photoshopping imperfections, and emotionally manipulating women and men into thinking they need such qualities to feel wanted in society. The lack of diversity in advertisements demonstrates the corrupt goals of advertising and media, highlighting how the lack of advertising regulations have allowed the issue of mental manipulation to spiral out of control. Many studies documented in academic journals conclude that the media enforces toxic consumption habits, purposely manipulating women's self-esteem while simultaneously lifting men's expectations of gender privilege to new heights, increasing rape, sexual assault and harassment. The studies call for extreme and immediate change in order to spare future generations from this dangerous misogynistic advertising culture. The information in my presentation is supported by images of past and present ads and visual representations of statistics.

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  Expectations of Romantic Relationships in Society

  Paulina Vargas

  Paulina Vargas, PHI401: Problems in Philosophy Seminar
  Faculty Mentor(s): Professor John Draeger, Philosophy

  
  This research explores some of the social expectations surrounding romantic love. In particular, society tells us that we should make a long-lasting commitment to our marriage partners and stay monogamous along the way. But does romantic love require a long-lasting commitment? People are more likely to favor monogamy and sexual exclusivity because society has made these expectations part of the social norms for a romantic relationship. When being part of a romantic relationship, many will expect to have love, commitment, and sexual exclusivity. Though sexual exclusivity can have a positive impact on relationships, it should be determined if it is indispensable for romantic love. Neil Delaney offers an account of both romantic love and loving commitment. According to Delany, romantic love involves the desire to create a new entity (a “we”) that represents a shared union. We should love and be loved for the right reasons. These are related to our shared union. In contrast, a loving commitment is based on an enduring interpersonal commitment that our partner will continue acting on our behalf. In my research, I use Delaney's concepts of romantic love and commitment as well as other resources from PHI 401 in order to understand the role that expectations such as a lasting commitment and sexual exclusivity have in a romantic relationship.