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Faculty Meeting Minutes - March 23, 2023
No full textMinutes of the Gettysburg College Faculty Business Meeting, March 23, 2023
One Man’s Trash: Duke Riley’s Archive and the Social Construction of Garbage
Get PDFIn a post-industrial society, Americans have to grapple with the result of seemingly endless production: trash. The amount of trash produced every day is a rising threat to the planet and its inhabitants; every decision made for the future must also take into account waste, rubbish, and refuse that will never break down or be fully removed from our waterways. Some artists, such as contemporary artist Duke Riley, have embraced the use of trash in their art as a critique of capitalism and consumerism. One of his most notable works is the Poly S. Tyrene Memorial Maritime Museum series, a collection of scrimshaw made from discarded plastic found in local waterways. This project analyzes the connection that Riley is drawing between scrimshaw, a product of the whaling industry, with the environmental overconsumption and destruction currently present in a post-industrial American society. He also links together the labor exploitation experienced by whalers and the exploitation we experience now as influential politicians and CEOs deny the impact of pollution on our environment. Another aspect of Riley’s work that this project highlights is the concept of trash as an archive. As a material that can take hundreds of years to decompose, plastic will serve as a physical memory of the human experience for centuries. Riley takes plastic trash and frames it in the context of the fictional Poly S. Tyrene Memorial Maritime Museum, creating an archive that serves as a historical narrative of our current culture of production and consumption. This fictional museum is then legitimized by placing the works in real museum to be preserved, admired, and learned from
Up in Smoke: Wildfires and Economic Growth
Get PDFDo wildfires have a causal effect on economic development? Using satellite data, I analyze every country\u27s exposure to wildfire exposure from 1982-2018. I use synthetic controls to model the impact of wildfire exposure on GDP per capita having controlled for population density, trade, agriculture, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and polity score. I find that the impacts of wildfires are fairly localized, impacting parts of Africa that both experience high numbers of wildfires and are developing
Intrinsic Unrealism: The Ineffectiveness of Neoclassical Economic Models
Get PDFThe idea of equilibrium and the usefulness of the neoclassical models that employ it are questionable due to the unrealistic built-in assumptions that they utilize, which have androcentric biases and fail to consider the open-endedness of human choice. This essay will replace the idea that neoclassical economic models are effective and that realism does not matter in the field of economics. It will rely on historical and contemporary sources in the areas of Philosophy, Sociology, Politics, and of course, Economics to explain why these unrealistic and androcentric assumptions nullify the usefulness of the neoclassical models that employ them. The essay will also present and reject counterarguments made against my claims by renowned neoclassical economist Milton Friedman. Research on this topic matters because neoclassical models are seen as the mainstream when it comes to the entire field of economics when a lot of their theory and their overarching reliance on mathematics are questionable
Adornment and Artisanal Artistry: Renaissance Necklace Jewelry
No full textJewelry in the Renaissance became a highly regarded art form, with intricate detailing and meticulous particularity. Jewelry has been an integral part of various cultures throughout history, depicting religious imagery, illustrating social status, and more. Made of a variety of materials specific to different regions, jewelry is a model of the heavy trade and exchange of ideas that occurred throughout the Global Renaissance. Ivory and gemstones traveling from various sources around the world make up beautiful pendants worn only by those who could afford such luxuries (Evans). Alongside this, production of these pieces was a massive and experimental industry of developing styles and symbolic themes. The Renaissance age boomed with varied production through different methods of trade, casting, and transportation to create unique and intricate pieces of jewelry and art ( Renaissance Jewelry ). Renaissance styling consisted of brooch-like use in pendants, typically paired with a gold chain to hang from, then decoratively pinned to the clothing. Other cultures, like the Aztecs and the Islamic world, took a particularly symbolic route, gravitating more towards beads and details than large pendants
Regime Type, Censorship, and Trust in Government With a Special Look at China
Get PDFThis research stems from a fascination with the unique social media censorship efforts in China. In order to determine if such heavy social media restrictions are unique to China this study uses data from the World Values Survey to investigate the relationship between regime type and social media censorship. The paper then examines the relationship between government censorship effort and citizens’ trust in government. Ultimately, I find that while regime type is a predictor of censorship, censorship does not have a substantial effect on citizens’ confidence in government overall. However, the data does seem to suggest that censorship may be important to autocracies and that censorship may actually be effective in China
Labor and Democracy: What\u27s at Stake?
No full textAmerica has a long history of elevating the voices of frontline workers through collective bargaining. By addressing inequities and the needs of workers and their families, the labor movement helped build a strong middle class - the foundation of our democracy. As a longtime labor leader and former president of the United Auto Workers, Bob King is a leading voice on the importance of unions. In the 21st Annual Blavatt lecture, Bob will discuss how strong unions benefit everyone in society. His lecture and interactive discussion will explore how empowering workers is key to preserving democracy and how progressive unions and progressive employers can work together for the benefit of the employer, the employees, and the overall community
The Carbon Footprint of Tourist Transportation in Gettysburg National Military Park
Get PDFNational Parks have a contradictory mandate to preserve the environment while providing resources for recreation. We studied the emissions of Gettysburg National Military Park (GNMP), specifically: What are the annual and per capita emissions caused by the various forms of transportation within the park? How does the annual and per capita emissions of GNMP compare with other national parks? To study this we compiled visitor statistics from the National Parks Service of vehicle and visitor count. We then observed 165 vehicles at Pickett’s Charge to find a breakdown of tourist vehicle types. These proportions were then used to find the amount of a specific vehicle type GNMP sees annually. Gas mileage was found using national averages for each vehicle type, and an average 13.4 mile tour distance. Using an EPA table, total gallons consumed was converted to kilograms of CO2. This study found cars emit the most CO2 annually and EVs emit the least annually with motorcycles being the second to lowest. Trucks/SUVs emit the most per capita, and EV’s emit the least per capita with buses emitting the second to lowest. GNMP is 5th to smallest in mobile combustion, and 9th to smallest in per capita emissions when compared to 18 other parks from Steuer (2010). GNMP’s mid-level CO2 output as a smaller sized park shows potential environmental benefits from a more widespread bus tour system, bus capacity minimums, carpooling emphasis, and an increase in EV infrastructure to reduce CO2 output from tourist transportation
Analysis of “A Forest Under The Sea”- Studying Giant Kelp’s Benefits to Ecosystems, and Evaluating Kelp Restoration
Get PDFI wrote a research paper on how Giant Kelp needs to be restored due to the rising ocean temperatures. There are two methods that I specifically focused on and learned about which are Super Kelp and Green Gravel. Giant Kelp is critical to our ecosystem and marine life specifically due to all the benefits that it supplies. For example, kelp forests can sequester up to 20 times more carbon than a land forest. Unfortunately, the kelp is dying off rapidly now because of climate change; specifically the rising temperatures and increased ocean acidification. In order to save the kelp, action must be taken now, and it is critical to the Earth\u27s biodiversity that kelp remains as part of the ecosystem, or else it could be lost forever