Sewanee: The University of the South
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Gender and Power in Kahlo’s Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair (1940)
Get PDFObserving the popular media of our present day, the phenomenon of “breakup haircut” emerges as a cliché ingrained in our culture. While this trend traces back to the world of celebrities and the fashion industry, it also bears deep layers of psychological meaning. Altering one’s hair after transformative events in life is often a therapeutic act of resistance, self-redefinition, and identity exploration. Such is the case in the 1940 oil painting of Frida Kahlo, titled Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair. Produced after a traumatic divorce from her partner, Diego Rivera, Kahlo depicted herself in a strikingly different way from her usual Tehuana femininity. In the canvas, Kahlo gazes outward from among the litter of her cut hair, wearing a male suit and female accessories. The quotation of a popular song signed above the austere interior promotes discourses on beauty standards and gender binaries - “Look, if I loved you, it was because of your hair. Now that you are without hair, I don’t love you anymore.”
Based on gender and queer theory, I aim to reclaim this work of art from its traditionally associated connotation of post-marital vengeance. To do so, I observe the historical and social circumstances of post-revolutionary Mexico that defined the expectations for female appearance and behavior. In the era, a white male intellectual fantasy dictated indigenous maternity that was thought to stabilize the country. However, many women (among them Kahlo) overcame this stereotype with the flapper-like la chica moderna style that allowed them the liberty of choice regarding their dressing and demeanor. Combining this knowledge with my further exploration of myths surrounding Kahlo’s identity, I unravel the deeper layers of her carefully curated artistic persona she performed for the public. My findings regarding Kahlo’s sexual orientation and interest in hermaphrodites will help support the argument that the Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair is not a unique occasion of genderbending but a deliberate act of self-expression that challenges patriarchal authority
ComBATing Ecological Challenges
No full textBats are a vital part of ecosystems serving as pollinators, pest control, and seed dispersers for important crops. Some bat populations have been declining due to one of the worst wildlife diseases in modern history, Pseudogymnoascus destructans - more commonly known as white-nose syndrome. Dr. Amy Turner and the Sewanee Bat Study group have collected years of data on the behavior and habitats of local bat species. The goals of this project include: analyzing the trends in frequencies in bat activity across time and management areas to see which locations are crucial for bats, what land management practices are harmful or helpful, and what species seem to be thriving or not.Amy Turner, Kevin Fouts, Eric Kee
Purifying Wastewater for Rural Communities Videos
No full textPopulation growth and climate change continue to pose ever-increasing challenges to water treatment facilities. Constructed wetlands, designed and built to mimic natural wetlands, are a more sustainable and cost effective alternative to purify wastewater. The Sewanee Wetlands Project has been collecting data over the past several years to determine the effectiveness of its constructed wetlands, and we are analyzing this data to determine if constructed wetlands function efficiently on a small scale in rural communities. We are also creating a community accessible dashboard which will educate the public further on wetlands and climate change.In 2016, Dr. McGrath, Professor of Biology at Sewanee, lobbied for the construction of three wetland basins at the Sewanee Utility District (SUD) in order to research the efficacy of wetland treatment for a small community setting. For the past few years, water quality measurements have been taken at the SUD's wetlands to better determine the outcomes of wetland treatment in rural communities like Sewanee. Our team's goal was to set up visualizations that allow our community partner, Dr. McGrath, to understand the water quality trends of the wetlands over time to push for sustainable development in the community.Deborah McGrath, Kevin Fouts, Catherine Cavagnar
Exploring the Exploitation of Sustainable Fashion
Get PDFThere is a misconception that the fashion industry is flirty and fun, but in reality it is a business that severely harms both its employees and the environment. Consumers are unaware of where and how products are made, what fast fashion is, and what the terms “ecofriendly” and “sustainable” mean. In the last decade, consumers have become increasingly aware of the need for sustainability in the fashion industry. Because of this, fashion brands have begun to use green branding as a way to market themselves. For many of these companies, however, their sustainable marketing strategies do not align with their actual means of production. This disconnect creates confusion among consumers. Because green advertising can be extremely persuasive, it is difficult for consumers to know the truth. To aid in such understanding, it is necessary to assess the degree of greenwashing, or the process of conveying false impressions of environmental soundness, among various companies. After scoring various companies on their sustainable marketing and actual sustainability practices, I used a linear model to formulate a predicted sustainability score for each company based on their branding score. Then, I calculated each company’s degree of greenwashing or under-branding in sustainability. The majority of companies in the study engaged in greenwashing to some degree. The company with the largest degree of greenwashing was Gap. Additionally, the companies with the highest sustainability scores in the study tend to under-brand themselves when it comes to their sustainability practices. The company with the largest degree of under-branding was Mayamiko. These results demonstrate that green branding on a company’s website does not necessarily reflect its sustainability practices. Further, companies which were built upon a mission of sustainability incorporate their values into every part of the company, so it is difficult for them to close the gap between their sustainability and branding scores. Until there are further restrictions on green branding, it will be challenging for consumers to decipher the reality of brands’ sustainability efforts. Future research on this topic should encompass a larger sample size. It is important for consumers to know the reality of where they are shopping. To do so, more brands need to be exposed for their degree of greenwashing.Dr. Eric Keen
Dr. Keri Watson
Professor Kimberly Guthri
The Christian Right and State Legislatures: The New Battleground for ‘Family Values’
Get PDFThe Christian Right has recently re-emerged on the federal level with the election of President Donald Trump and the prioritization of culture war issues, in particular LGBTQ Rights. This re-emergence has been especially apparent on the state level, where state legislatures are increasingly becoming more and more active in policymaking (Langehennig et al. 2019). A gap in the literature exists in deciphering whether the influence of Evangelical Christianity, specifically in the South, contributes to the success of the Christian Right Movement in getting legislation on its anti-LGBTQ policy agenda passed through state legislatures. The Christian Right has long maintained anti-LGBTQ policy positions, but recently there has been a new focus on anti-trans policies (Wilcox & Larson 2006; Levy 2014; Stulberg 2018). This study employs a legislative success scale to measure the success of Bathroom Bills and Healthcare Limitations in state legislatures in all 50 states from 2018-2021. Data was drawn from the ACLU’s tracking of legislation affecting LGBTQ rights across the country and cross-referenced with state legislatures' records. Through this analysis, preliminary conclusions can be drawn about the success of the Christian Right in pushing culture war issues in state legislatures and the level of influence on different regions of the US. The Christian Right’s recent success at capturing media attention and re-invigorating classic Culture War issues such as LGBTQ rights shows their success at making noise and starting debates. But does this controversy translate into legislative success? Has the influence of the Christian Right has led to legislative policy success in Southern Legislatures as opposed to other regions of the US? I hypothesize that Evangelical influence may no longer be a geographical phenomenon and that these bills are increasing in success in regions across the US.Academic Advisor: Dr. Hatche
Basquiat’s Fame: How Style and Warhol Helped Mask Race
Get PDFMy project is about Jean-Michel Basquiat’s artwork and the collaboration between Andy Warhol and Basquiat in the mid-1980s. Jean-Michel Basquiat was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 22, 1960, to a Puerto Rican mother and a Haitian father who sparked his creativity at an early age. His mother introduced him to museums and his father often played music in his home. In 1976, Basquiat’s SAMO persona was born and he expressed his influential graffitied poetry and dark drawings on the streets of New York that left a mark on society by speaking out against racism. Once SAMO died, Basquiat had dropped out of school and ran away from “home” at the age of eighteen, searching for independence and kick-starting his career in art. He created the postcards with the assistance of Jennifer Stein in 1978 that were collaged to display political and everyday issues. As Basquiat’s career developed, he shifted towards sketches and painting on paper and canvas. His work resembled his previous graffiti style, continuing to represent his hardships and racial identity.
In 1982, Bruno Bichofberger, a Swiss art dealer, introduced Basquiat to Warhol and encouraged them to collaborate with Clemente. Warhol and Basquiat became more familiar with each other and one another's artistic abilities so they decided to part with Clemente to further develop their work. Basquiat and Warhol soon worked on artwork together and by the end had composed over 200 pieces of artwork. Warhol magnified Basquiat's fame as he overlooked Basquiat’s race, as he shared and admired his work throughout the art world. Warhol also connected him with his people which allowed him to be further known. Since Warhol was gay and Basquiat identified as black they both felt like outsiders in their own way which made their connection stronger. Warhol died in 1987 due to surgery complications and Basquiat died the following year because of an overdose, both leaving a permanent mark on society. Since 2020, Basquiat’s artwork has had a legacy with popular fashion brands since they have used his paintings for design purposes, such as Doc Martins, Converse, Coach, and Tiffany & Co
Air pollution may exacerbate neurodegenerative disease risk by enhancing proteostasis decline in Caenorhabditis elegans
Get PDFAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-dependent neurodegenerative disease that degrades cognitive function resulting in memory loss, difficulty in completing daily tasks and dementia. Both endogenous and external factors can significantly impact risk, such that development of AD has become one of the most common progressive diseases in the United States. Unfortunately, the causal mechanism of this complex disease is still unknown. One hypothesis, the amyloid cascade hypothesis, posits that AD is caused by accumulation of Aβ plaques due to misfolded proteins. The proteostasis network works to maintain protein folding and a healthy proteome through regulating protein synthesis, degradation, and folding. As AD progresses, amyloid beta (Aβ) and tau proteins aggregate and misfold exemplifying proteostasis collapse. In mice, exposure to nano-particulate matter (nPM) from traffic-derived air pollution increases Aβ aggregation. The mechanism by which this occurs is also still unknown, but we hypothesize that it does so by contributing to proteostasis collapse. To test this hypothesis, we used the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans expressing the neurodegenerative disease-associated proteins polyglutamine (polyQ) and Aβ as aggregation-prone sensors of proteostasis decline. In animals expressing polyQ in body wall muscle cells, protein aggregation increased and mobility decreased upon exposure to nPM compared to control animals which were not exposed to nPM. Similarly, animals expressing polyQ in intestinal cells showed increased aggregation upon nPM exposure compared to controls. In animals expressing Aβ in body wall muscle cells, Aβ protein aggregate formation into large visible proteins increased upon exposure to nPM when compared to controls. Protein aggregation and decreased mobility signify proteostasis decline. Together, these findings support our hypothesis that nPM acts, at least in part, by disrupting proteostasis.Dr. Elise A. Kikis, Department of Biolog
Charles Cheston and the King Farm: An Individual's Impact on Ecosystem Change
Get PDFHuman beings are altering landscapes at high rates. When we think of who is causing these irreversible and enduring changes to the environment, we think of large scale industrial decision makers in agriculture and real estate. Rarely do we consider the impact that individuals have on ecosystems. I studied the land use history of the “King Farm” tract on the campus of the University of the South. I focused on the time period between 1951 and 1977 when Charles Cheston was responsible for the activity there as University Forester. The decisions that Cheston made during that time frame are reflected today in the landscape and tell the story of a man and his aspirations within the historical and institutional context. This man’s story highlights the fact that ecosystem change is not just a result of the collective decision making of large corporate entities; individuals have the power to leave ecological legacies on the land
Synthesis and Characterization of Modified Carbon Dots to Investigate Fluorescence Sensing Properties
Get PDFCarbon-based nanoparticles, or carbon dots (CDs), were synthesized and modified using various starting materials. The CDs were characterized using UV-Vis, fluorescence, IR, and NMR spectroscopy to consider their structural and functional properties. These adjustments were analyzed to determine the effects on stability and fluorescence for future applications as biological and chemical sensors. pH studies were performed, and it was noted that the wavelength of absorption and intensity of fluorescence was stable in, and well beyond, the physiological pH range. Additionally, CDs synthesized from different carbon sources containing thiol functional groups were studied and cross-linked with catechol, 2-butyne-1,4-diol (BDL), and phloroglucinol dihydrate (PGL). CDs made from mercaptosuccinic acid (MSA) were most stable in solution and showed strong absorption and fluorescent properties after synthesis and cross linking modification. Studies comparing the cross-linking behavior of MSA and citric acid carbon dots were also carried out
Ruby Fluorescence Spectroscopy
No full textThe interiors of terrestrial planets, satellites, and other celestial bodies may provide essential clues to a better understanding of the formation and evolution of our Solar System and other planetary systems throughout the galaxy. Mineral physics is a scientific discipline that probes the physical and chemical properties of planet-forming materials at the extreme pressure and temperature conditions of planetary interiors. For example, the pressure at the center of the Earth is 3.6 million times atmospheric pressure and the temperature of the Earth’s core is approximately the same temperature as the surface of our sun. The pressures and temperatures inside larger or denser planets and exoplanets are even more extreme. In order to constrain the formation, composition, and evolution of planetary interiors, we must first understand what happens to planet-forming materials at the pressure and temperature conditions where we expect them to exist. Mineral physicists can reproduce the high pressures of planetary interiors using diamond anvil cells (DACs), which can be combined with lasers or external resistive heating to recreate the extreme temperatures of planetary interiors. To measure and monitor the pressure of samples that are pressurized within a DAC, an in situ pressure standard is required. Ruby (chromium-doped Al2O3 or Cr:Al2O3) is used as an in situ pressure standard because of two important properties: (1) it fluoresces at a well-defined wavelength of light when excited by a laser, and (2) the wavelength of the ruby fluorescence increases as the ruby is pressurized in a way that has been well-calibrated. In the summer of 2021, Mate Garai, Alaa Adel Abdelhamid, and Vincent DiNella worked under the supervision of Dr. Lily Thompson to design and construct a ruby fluorescence spectrometer that allows the in situ measurement of pressurized mineral physics experiments by exciting ruby fluorescence and measuring the resultant fluorescence spectra