STRATA
STRATA, the STudent Research, Academic, and Talent Archive, is a collection of selected Fort Lewis College student work, including undergraduate research, senior seminar papers, published works, conference presentations, and other creative and artistic projects. Search by name, subject, title, or academic department.
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- Hole in the Mountain
- Short story by Graham Tredwell, published in the Fall 2013-Winter 2014 issue of Images
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- Holy Gender Stereotypes Batman!: A Linguistic and Visual Study of Gender Stereotyping in Graphic Novels
- Graphic novels and comic books are known to promote sexist stereotypes when it comes to the female bodies drawn in their pages, yet less attention has been paid to what female characters do and say in these novels. This study examines the roles and dialogue given to male and female characters in four popular graphic novels in order to understand which gendered behaviors are being promoted or vilified by the authors. Cynthia Wolff's research on stereotypical gender roles in modern fiction provides a framework for analyzing male and female character roles within these graphic novels, while Robin Lakoff's research on linguistic expressions of submission and dominance is employed in the analysis of the dialogue. These analyses of character roles and dialogue clearly indicate that the dominance of male characters over female characters is firmly established through the use of lexical keys and stereotyped gender roles.
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- Homo in Quaestio: Discussion of the Taxonomic Placement of the Dmanisi Hominins
- With the discovery of the five nearly complete hominin crania at the Dmanisi site in the Republic of Georgia, the discoverers have caused some controversy by aligning them with the middle Pleistocene Homo erectus based on facial and cranial morphology. This classification is used to imply that both H. habilis and H. erectus belong as a single highly variable species; a classification which ignores the presence of important primitive characteristics and earlier origin date that set Homo habilis apart from their descendants. There is even enough evidence for some anthropologists to consider splitting these two populations into still more classifications. In an attempt to clear up the confusion of this issue, both the stature and cranial capacity of the Dmanisi sample was compared to both available H. habilis and H. erectus data. When considered as two separate taxa, these tests strongly support the idea that the Georgian hominins in question should be considered Homo habilis, which in itself should remain apart from the H. erectus hypodigm.
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- Horse Gulch Assessment Report
- For the Fall 2008 semester, the ENVS 495 project centered on production of a comprehensive, multidisciplinary (e.g., historical, socioeconomic, political, ecological) inventory of the Horse Gulch area. What follows is the end product from the collaborative effort of ENVS 495 students (Jerome Bernard, Kim Hardwick, Annie Henderson-Selle, Meghan Scully) and Assistant Professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies Brad Clark (who taught the course during Fall 2008).
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- How Can Hantaviruses Kill Humans but Leave Mice Unaffected: An Evaluation of the Immune Response of Deer Mice to Sin Nombre Virus
- Sin Nombre Virus (SNV) is a hantavirus that causes high mortality (>38%) in humans. Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) are the primary host of SNV, and unlike humans, deer mice infected with SNV have few outward signs or symptoms of disease. The reasons for such asymptomatic infection in deer mice of have not been well studied; however, this information may be useful in uncovering therapies that could reduce human SNV mortality. Therefore, the objective of our study was to evaluate the pathology of SNV infection in deer mice by examining their patterns of white blood cell production. We quantified the number of lymphocytes, eosinophils, basophils, neutrophils, and monocytes produced by wild deer mice in both the early and late stages of SNV infection. Deer mice captured in the early season had greater basophil, lymphocyte, and eosinophil levels compared to deer mice captured in the late season. Conversely, monocyte levels were greater in deer mice captured in the late season. SNV infection status appeared to influence production of both neutrophils and monocytes, with SNV-infected mice having greater neutrophil levels but lower monocyte levels than uninfected mice. Collectively, our results seem to support the notion that immune stressors faced by wild deer mice shift from early to late season, and these differences are reflected by differential leukocyte production that occurs across seasons. Furthermore, our results suggest that wild deer mice may have a more similar immune response to SNV infection to humans, albeit a substantially more tempered response, than previous studies have recognized.
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- How College Hook-Up Culture Both Challenges and Upholds Oppressive Ideologies of Gender and Sexuality
- In this project I interpret how the ideas of gender performativity and compulsory heterosexuality can inform our understanding of college hook-up culture. I focus on the following questions: How do we use these hetero-gendered roles to make meaning of our experiences in hook-up culture? To what extent does the dominance of this script limit our ability to imagine alternatives to the hook-up? Through this analysis we can begin to address the problematic realities visible in hook-up culture, as well as recognizing the increased agency provided through these new social scripts. I utilize an untapped academic resource, analyzing posts from a "FLC Confessions" a website allowing students to write anonymously about their experiences within hook-up culture. I code all posts describing sexual encounters for terms and concepts relating directly to gender, heterosexuality and the dominance of the hook-up script. I organize data into groups reflecting the three most prevalent types of relationship referenced: long-term monogamous partners, long-term non-monogamous partners, and short-term non-monogamous partners. I find these encounters to provide a wide diversity of experiences both challenging and upholding hegemonic ideologies of gender and sexuality. I argue that the hook-up script has in many ways increased sexual agency, but its dominance veils alternative scripts, severely limiting the choices of participants.
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- How Men and Women Became Leopards: Comparing the Textiles and Artwork of Çatalhöyök, Turkey
- The Neolithic village of Çatalhöyök has provided significant insight into the daily life of early Eurasia. Çatalhöyök has provided archaeologists with textile artifacts dated from 6000-7400 B.C.E. Textiles were used as an everyday item in households for clothing, matting for floors, and even to wrap the dead before being buried. Even though textiles have been excavated in the houses and burials, it is not depicted as much in artwork at Çatalhöyök. The depictions of people at Çatalhöyök shows men and women wearing leopard skins as clothing in lieu of the textiles. Leopards lived in the same area as Çatalhöyök, but almost no leopard faunal remains are found in the excavations. Strange that an animal that is depicted so much in art would barely be found at a village as large as Çatalhöyök. None of the excavations at Çatalhöyök have even found a leopard skin. The disparity between the textiles that have been found and leopard skins that have not indicates a relationship with the leopard skins, or the idea of the skin, that was not seen in the textiles. The depiction of people using leopard skins as clothing, when compared to the physical evidence of leopards, shows a record of social relationships and familial identity. Furthermore, the depictions of leopards at the village compared to the physical evidence shows a special relationship with the leopard not seen with the other animals present in the area of Çatalhöyök during this same time period. I will show this through comparisons between textiles and the depictions of leopard skins, with additional references to artwork and burials at the village.
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- How can you change this world for the better?
- Extreme sports such as mountain and rock climbing, kayaking, mountain biking, flying small airplanes, off-road vehicles, white water rafting and sky surfing are often perceived as outlets beneficial to citizens of first world countries where risk is not a habitual part of everyday life. It is a common perception that the participation in these extreme sports is valuable for physical, spiritual, emotional, and cultural reasons. However, the perspective of local/native people and wildlife is one that has not been taken into account when considering the implications of extreme sports. It is a perspective that will affect the lives of all humans and all wildlife if not fully discussed. This paper will address the environmental impact of extreme sports, risk-taking, and adventure racing, and the growing encroachment upon wilderness areas in relation to fuel use, erosion, pollution, and waste disposal.
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- How to "Do" Philosophy: A Practical Guide to Understanding How to "Do" Philosophy"
- There is a general misunderstanding on how one "does" or "commits" philosophy. What I intend to provide is a step by step process that generally represents what it is exactly that philosophers "do." I will show how philosophers use different lenses to make sense of some very perplexing problems. For example, what, if anything, does justice demand from the left libertarian when it comes to preserving natural resources? The purpose of this presentation is to inform on the process a philosopher uses to come to a clearer understanding of any theory. In so doing the reader will also be exposed to the left libertarian position and a general discussion on rights and duties.
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- How to Transform Your Green Lawn into a Green Thumb: A Model for Animas Valley, Colorado
- Residents of the biologically rich area of the Animas Valley, located in the high desert region of southwest Colorado, have replaced native plants with turf grass, specifically Kentucky bluegrass. Green lawns can be traced back to the English garden, and they were fully developed with extensive fertilizer and pesticide use after the Civil War. The upkeep involved in nourishing a beautiful, well maintained, green lawn proves to have significant environmental and social problems. American homeowners spend forty billion dollars and use 30% of their water every year caring for and feeding this exotic crop that is not adapted to North American climates. Turf grass is the largest irrigated crop in the US, where 21 million acres of land is devoted specifically to home lawns. The gas used and emissions created from lawn mowers contribute to air pollution and over one hundred million pounds of herbicides and pesticides are used on keeping the grass green and presentable. The problems addressed can be reduced by making a switch towards gardening native plants that thrive in local climates. By researching sustainable alternatives to Kentucky bluegrass, a model for the Animas Valley was created. Since this area only receives about nineteen inches of precipitation yearly, water is an important factor to consider. A list of drought-resistant native plants is provided for xeriscaping, where the plan and design of the landscape is dedicated to conservation by minimizing the amount of water applied and maximizing the use of natural precipitation. By incorporating perennial plants -- a plant that lives year after year through a form of vegetative reproduction rather than seeding -- and native heirlooms, one can make the best use of the lawn. An heirloom is identified as something old and loved. They are natural hybrids that can self-fertilize with zero human help. These special plants will allow homeowners to regain control of their food system and learn to better work with nature rather than against it. A list of heirlooms that are native to this area and herbaceous perennials, bunchgrass, herbs and flowers is provided along with a selection of native, edible, garden plants that include beans, chilies, corn/maize, greens, herbs, squash, and root crop varieties.
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- Human Encroachment on Elk Winter Ranges in the La Plata Mountain Region of Southwestern, Colorado Where Migration is Obligatory
- Migratory ungulates, such as Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus elaphus) occupy a "keystone" ecosystem role, often defining terrestrial processes (Houston 1982; Sinclair 2003). Because of their critical ecosystem role, concern for the changing behavior in the elk's migratory habits is mounting (Schaller 1988; Berger 2004; Johnson et al. 2005). Often this change in behavior can be attributed to human encroachment. Human development and activities have caused the natural migration travel corridors to become reduced and limited in certain areas, as well as the winter ranges that these ungulates utilize. Using digital aerial photographs from the years 1993 and 2007 as well as migration information from the National Diversity Information Source (NDIS), I was be able to overlay the elk migration and winter range data on top of the aerial photos. This allowed me to calculate the difference in human development within the elk wintering grounds over the 14 year span. Upon calculating the difference in development in 2007 and compared it to 1993, I was able to determine that there has been a significant amount of development that has occurred within the elk wintering grounds over the past 14 years within these particular study areas. From the year 1993 to 2007 there was an 83.31% increase in the amount of buildings/structures and a 150.10% increase in total road length within the Lightner Creek and Durango West study areas. Being that my results showed that there has been a significant amount of human development within elk wintering grounds and that this is just one small case among a much larger scale, it is imperative that we monitor human development on crucial wintering grounds for both elk and other migratory ungulates.
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- Human Sacrifice Among the Celts
- Although it is commonly agreed that the ancient Celts practiced human sacrifice, we know relatively little about how and why they engaged in this practice. The Celts did not have a written language to record their practices, so our understanding of how they performed human sacrifice comes from historical accounts provided by Greek and Roman contemporaries and from archaeological evidence of these ritual practices. A cross-cultural comparison of ritual human sacrifice in other societies is conducted in order to provide a framework for understanding the purpose of this practice in Celtic society.