Oregon Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 18 No. 1 (2021)
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Cover art by Sophia Salter
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Item Open Access Understanding Native Hawaiian Land Relations Through Kānaka Maoli Literature(University of Oregon, 2021-01) Harden, Jordan KalaniWithin a hegemonic Western discourse, Hawai‘i is largely considered an aesthetic tourist destination. It is perceived to be a vacation haven, bountiful in opportunities for real estate, commodification, and gentrification. While endeavors such as these have indeed proven to be economically prolific for the state, the profits do not directly, if even remotely, benefit the Native Hawaiians whose land continues to be seized and commodified in the name of said profits. Therefore, that dominant discourse which paints Hawai‘i as a tourist destination of great economic potential is in fact a colonialist notion, denoting Hawaiian land as public property to be seized, altered, and owned. In reality, the land that is used for expansive capitalist ventures is often seized from Native people, as has been the trend since settlers first invaded Hawai‘i. This truth is further troubling when one considers Native Hawaiian land relations and the spiritual connection that many Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) have to that land. In light of the spiritual ties that many Kānaka Maoli have to land, or 'āina, its seizure and alteration by non-Native persons is an act of colonialism against not only Kānaka Maoli homes, but also against our bodies and spirits. This spiritual and emotional connection between Kānaka Maoli and our land is deeply rooted, and it is an idea commonly expressed in contemporary Kanaka culture by the term aloha ʻāina. In understanding this sentiment, it is essential that one first understands that aloha carries a much deeper meaning than the Hawaiian “hello” and “goodbye.” Aloha connotes one’s deep love for and connection to Kanaka culture. It also signifies love for one’s neighbors, friends, and ancestors. In essence, aloha ʻāina is an expression of one’s identification with and commitment to Hawaiian land and its connected historical and cultural significance. By close reading Kanaka texts and terminology such as this, one can begin to understand the sanctity of Kanaka land relations, thereby lending to an understanding of one of the ways by which colonialism against Kānaka Maoli continues in perpetuity. In this thesis, I will investigate and discuss relationships between Kanaka bodies and ‘āina. I will do this by close reading Kanaka literature, including the Hawaiian creation mele known as the Kumulipo, the narrative and performative device that is hula, and my Auntie Betty's stories that have been passed down to me through oral storytelling. I will contextualize my findings in both historical and contemporary frames. Ultimately, I am conducting this research with the aim of contributing to existing scholarship which aims to dismantle the dominant narrative which suggests that we live in a post-colonial era. The idea that colonialism is an extinguished historical event is a dangerous and false misconception that allows for the perpetuation of the discriminatory maltreatment of marginalized Indigenous communities and cultures. This discrimination is enacted in countless ways, including but in no way limited to the seizure of Kānaka Maoli lands. It is my hope that this research will encourage any and all readers to continue to learn about Kanaka Maoli and other Native cultures, and that this endeavor for further knowledge will lead to advocacy on behalf of, and greater reverence toward Native people, narratives, and knowledge.Item Open Access “You Shall Not Oppress a Resident Alien”: The Conception of Immigrants in the Hebrew Bible(University of Oregon, 2021-01) Thielman, MiriamAn increase in global immigration has resulted in humanitarian crises across the world as countries struggle to respond to the growing number of refugees and asylum seekers arriving at their borders. Understanding the specific messages within the Hebrew Bible regarding immigrants is important for developing faith-informed responses to immigrants and refugees. Religion often influences people’s beliefs, actions, and even the policy decisions for which they advocate, and the various forms of Christianity practiced in the United States frequently use the Hebrew Bible and New Testament as their sacred instructive texts. A detailed study of relevant portions of the Hebrew Bible, coupled with analysis of biblical commentaries and scholarly criticism, suggests that the Bible underscores the imperative to care for the most vulnerable members of society, as well as to include immigrants in the community. Arguably, people of faith should take this overarching message into account when considering how to respond to immigrants’ arrival in the United States. Note to the Reader: The books of the Bible were originally written in biblical Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek, depending on the time period in which each book was redacted. Because I do not read biblical Hebrew, all biblical passages quoted in this thesis are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Hebrew Bible. The NRSV is regarded as one of the most accurate and reputable recent English translations of the Bible because it was completed by a committee of biblical scholars. My thesis advisor, Professor Deborah Green, checked the verses cited herein for accuracy against the original biblical Hebrew text and provided corrections to the translation where necessary. Verses that have been corrected from the original NRSV translation are footnoted. Unless otherwise noted, all other verses are from the NRSV translation.Item Open Access Hunting for Prions: Propagating Putative Prion States in Budding Yeast(University of Oregon, 2021-01) Evarts, Jacob; Capage, MikalaPrions have been closely associated with fatal neurodegenerative diseases. Recent evidence, however, suggests that prions also represent an additional class of epigenetic mechanism that is biologically beneficial. From an evolutionary standpoint, the ability to change phenotypes without requiring changes to the genome, as prions do, would be hugely beneficial in fluctuating environments. Through overexpressing proteins and introducing environmental stressors, two techniques known to increase de novo prion formation, we performed a large-scale screen of many RNA-modifying enzymes in budding yeast to test if they harbor beneficial prionogenic behavior. From this screen, six induced prion-like states were found to be mitotically stable and infectious. We show that many of these putative prions are dominant and are dependent on chaperone proteins, which is consistent with a prion-based epigenetic mechanism. Prion-based inheritance is expanding on the central dogma of biology, contributing to the belief that prions work as an epigenetic mechanism for passing on heritable traits.Item Open Access The Nuclear Family and Gender Roles in Oregon’s Venereal Disease Campaign: 1911-1918(University of Oregon, 2021-01) Fellman, DimitraThe Social Hygiene Society of Portland, Oregon (later renamed the Oregon Social Hygiene Society - or OSHS) was founded in 1911 in order to combat venereal disease in the city and eventually across the state. Oregon’s efforts were part of the broader social hygiene movement taking place across America during the second decade of the twentieth century, which most notably advocated for an equal standard of chastity for men and women. Despite this single standard, promiscuous women (women engaged in premarital sex or sexual relations with multiple sexual partners) were systematically persecuted and punished while men were not. While a large amount of existing scholarship focuses on how the social hygiene movement targeted prostitutes and not the men seeking their services, little work has been done to investigate how the movement viewed husbands and wives within the nuclear family and whether partnerships were equal when it came to combating venereal disease. This paper investigates how the social hygiene campaign in Oregon from 1911 to 1918 viewed the nuclear family and conceptualized parental duties in combating venereal disease. It also analyzes how those duties equalized husbands and wives while simultaneously reflecting social gender norms of the time that relegated women to the home.Item Open Access Silent Slaves: Reconstructing Slave Perspectives on the Grave Stele of Hegeso(University of Oregon, 2021-01) Garcia, AlexisThe Grave Stele of Hegeso (400 BCE) depicts a ‘mistress and maid’ scene and preserves valuable insights into elite iconography. The stele also explores the experiences of wealthy Athenian women in their social roles and domestic spaces. The slave attendant, if discussed at length, primarily functions as a method of contrast and comparison to her elite master. While the comparison between elite and non-elite women is a valuable interpretation for studies of gender and class in classical Athens, more can be done in regard to examining the slave attendant on the stele, and as a result, examining slave figures in Greek art. Slaves made up a sizeable portion of classical Athenian society and were present in both elite and poor households. However, due to a lack of material and written evidence, the field of classics has not explored the concept of Greek slavery to its full extent. In addition, what little does remain to modern scholars was commissioned or written by elite voices, who were biased against slaves. The remaining elite perspective does provide insight into the role of slaves in classical Athenian households and can be reexamined to find subversive interpretations. This paper explores potential reconstructions for slave perspectives and narratives on the Grave Stele of Hegeso by drawing upon the Attic funerary practices and literary tropes of the Good Slave and Bad Slave in Athenian theater and Homeric epic. This paper also discusses the relationships between masters and slaves, household slave dynamics, and what constitutes the idealized Athenian slave. While the majority of remaining classical material and literary evidence relates to the elite, subversive ideals can be picked out from elite narratives and used to better understand the perspectives of the enslaved, construct frameworks that give voices to disenfranchised groups, and further enrich the study of surviving elite perspectives.Item Open Access Meet the Editorial Board(University of Oregon, 2021-01)Editorial board for Volume 18 Issue 1 Winter 2021 of Oregon Undergraduate Research JournalItem Open Access Art Feature—“Material Trail”(University of Oregon, 2021-01) Lawrence, IsaisThe illustration is focused around “emergy,” which is a word created from the term “embodied energy.” Emergy is the total energy used in the life cycle of a product; it is the energy required both directly and indirectly to make a product or service. It takes a lot of energy to build; building involves mining, shipping, manufacturing, processing, and construction, which all require energy. As I enter my terminal architecture studio, I have been asked to look at how the building process and buildings themselves can become more efficient. Understanding the systems involved in creating a finished building can help us track a material trail of goods, which in turn can help us understand today's environmental crises, like climate change and the destruction of ecosystems. As designers, we should investigate where our materials are coming from so we can limit landscape damage and shrink the trail of carbon emissions that are released from transportation and production.Item Open Access Guest Editorial—“The Lure of the Lab”(University of Oregon, 2021-01) Fisher, ScottMy undergraduate research experiences completely changed my life and career trajectory! I credit my early research work to leading me to become a Staff Scientist at the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii, build camera systems used on the largest telescopes in the world, and share my expertise and love of astronomy with students at the UO Pine Mountain Observatory.Item Open Access Letter from the Editor(University of Oregon, 2021-01) Chambrose, StarlaI know I’m not the only one who is more than a little glad that 2020 is finally behind us. Yet while I was reflecting on all the tumult of the last year, I wondered if I should be so quick to try and wipe it all from my mind; perhaps that would be throwing out the baby with the bathwater, so to speak. 2020 brought us wildfires, (publicized) racial injustice, arguably the most contentious presidential election in living memory, and, of course, a pandemic that has claimed countless lives around the world. However, the year was also filled with acts of kindness, heroism, and inspiration. When one of the many fires in the Willamette Valley last summer burned down a friend’s home while she was away, in a sick twist of irony, fighting fires elsewhere in Oregon, donations came pouring in to help her land back on her feet. Across the country, people participated in peaceful protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, proving that there is still hope for systemic change. More people than ever voted in the U.S. presidential election. Finally, companies developed vaccines for COVID-19 at unprecedented speeds, an incredible feat and a major win for scientific research. It was a rewarding year for research at the UO as well. I am proud to present five articles from undergraduates who, despite the challenges of the previous year, adapted and found ways to continue their research remotely.Item Open Access Cover Art—“Hope”(University of Oregon, 2021-01) Salter, SophiaThis piece is the last in my series that explores how people respond to grief and trauma. The two people holding hands represent the hope and healing that come after the acceptance of a traumatic experience and the need for connecting with others in this process. The strong brush strokes and bold colors are my own style I have developed throughout my years as a painter. Although the piece was conceived before the transition to social distancing, its subject is especially relevant now amidst the coronavirus pandemic as we all struggle to stay connected; we must stay strong together despite our inability to be together physically. We look forward to hope and healing in 2021. The entire series and more of my work can be viewed at artbysophia.com.