Faculty Colloquium: Peter Harmer

Please join us on Thursday, February 25, at 4:10 p.m. at this URL:

https://willametteuniversity.zoom.us/j/96150671636

for our fourth Faculty Colloquium of the semester.

Title: Medicine as political camouflage in Islamic-Israeli sports confrontations: The Federation Internationale d’Escrime – A case study.

Presenter: Peter Harmer, Professor of Exercise and Health Science Peter Harmer

Abstract:  The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and sports International Federations (IF) are predicated on inclusiveness and have non-discrimination regulations built into their constitutions and by-laws. However, three Islamic countries have used international sports competitions as extensions of their national policy of non-recognition of Israel by prohibiting their athletes from competing against those from Israel. Despite the clear contravention of the regulations of non-discrimination, these countries have effectively utilized exculpatory explanations, particularly medical conditions, to avoid sanctions. Using a basic epidemiological analytical technique, I have developed data from international fencing events that dismantles this defense and provides a foundation for the IOC and IF to hold these countries accountable for violating this important norm of sports competition.

Bill Kelm and Kathryn Nyman
Faculty Colloquium Coordinators


Faculty Colloquium: Vincent Pham

Please join us on Thursday, February 11, at 4:10 p.m. at this URL:

https://willametteuniversity.zoom.us/j/99097527632

for our third Faculty Colloquium of the semester.

Title: Community Rhetorics of COVID-19

Presenter: Vincent Pham,  Associate Professor, Department of Civic Communication and Media

Pham

 

Abstract:  The COVID-19 global pandemic has intermeshed itself in our daily lives, (re)shaping our relations with each other and with our institutions. Yet, in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,  a search for the origins of the disease is often conducted in order to understand the disease, from where it came, and how the first transmission to humans might have occurred. News coverage, political discourse, and science talk sought to manage uncertainty and allocate blame. While there have been other scapegoats for the origination of a given disease historically and globally, Asians and Asian Americans have become one of the most recognizable objects of blame and derision in United States rhetoric.  In this talk, I examine public discourse in news coverage that construct Asians and Asian Americans as “diseased” themselves and its replication of longstanding tropes about Asians and Asian Americans. I conclude with some future avenues of research related to COVID-19 and its impact on Asian American communities, particularly health workers.

Bill Kelm and Kathryn Nyman
Faculty Colloquium Coordinators

 


Faculty Colloquium: Meredy Goldberg Edelson

Please join us on Thursday, February 4, at 4:10 p.m. at this URL:

https://willametteuniversity.zoom.us/j/99786322494

for our second Faculty Colloquium of the semester.

Title: Sexual abuse and child maltreatment: The role of Child Abuse Assessment Centers on legal outcomes, biases that may limit their effects, and their role in a coordinated community response
Presenter: Meredy Goldberg Edelson, Professor of PsychologyMeredy Edelson

 

Abstract:  When there are cases of sexual abuse or child maltreatment broadly that come to the attention of the authorities, it is important to understand what the legal and systemic responses might be. With regard to sexual abuse specifically, research suggests that the use of child abuse assessment centers (CAACs) result in positive legal outcomes for children. However, even with the use of CAACs, not all children have the same legal advantage. I will present my research that shows that the use of CAACs results in better legal outcomes for sexual abuse cases with female victims than male victims. I will then discuss my research examining potential biases that might account for why the CAAC advantage in legal outcomes seems to only hold for females. Finally, I will discuss my current research examining the role of a CAAC as part of a broad community response to child maltreatment.

Bill Kelm and Kathryn Nyman
Faculty Colloquium Coordinators

 


Faculty Colloquium: Richard Ellis

Please join us on Thursday, January 28, at 4:10 p.m. at this URL:

https://willametteuniversity.zoom.us/j/99786322494

for our first Faculty Colloquium of the semester.

Title: Reimagining Democracy: The Socialist Origins of the Initiative and Referendum in the United States
Presenter: Richard Ellis, Mark O. Hatfield Professor of Politics, Policy, Law and Ethics Richard Ellis

 

Abstract:  The initiative and referendum are commonly characterized as quintessentially Populist or Progressive reforms, but transatlantic socialism deserves pride of place in the intellectual history of direct legislation in the United States. A decade and a half before the People’s Party famously commended the idea of direct legislation at its 1892 nominating convention in Omaha, Nebraska, the Socialist Labor Party (SLP) made the demand for direct legislation a plank in its first party platform. That demand was in turn shaped by the 1875 Gotha Program formulated by the Socialist Workers Party of Germany and informed by socialist debates during the First International and the pioneering work of Moritz Rittinghausen. The diffusion of these ideas among Gilded Age labor radicals is a crucial and underappreciated part of the story of the origins of the initiative and referendum in the US.

Bill Kelm and Kathryn Nyman
Faculty Colloquium Coordinators

 


Faculty Colloquium: Rebecca Dobkins

Please join us on Thursday, November 19, at 4:10 p.m. at this URL:

https://willametteuniversity.zoom.us/j/94681700772

for our sixth Faculty Colloquium of this semester.

Title: Truth and Reconciliation: A Residency Program for Transformation
Presenter: Rebecca Dobkins, Professor of Anthropology and American Ethnic Studies

Santa Fe Art Institute Participants

Abstract:  The Santa Fe Art Institute is an independent arts organization that hosts annual thematic residencies for critical inquiry and cultural exchange amongst artists and arts practitioners around issues of social justice. In fall 2019, I was honored to be invited as one of many artists, content experts, and innovative thinkers to be in residency to explore how revealing and acknowledging truths can be used to seek healing, change, and redress for communities around the world. In this presentation, I will describe my own project and those of a selected few of my more than 30 co-residents. Prepare to be inspired!

Bill Kelm and Kathryn Nyman
Faculty Colloquium Coordinators


Faculty Colloquium: Xijuan Zhou

Please join us on Thursday, November 12, at 4:10 p.m. at this URL:

https://willametteuniversity.zoom.us/j/99528980805

for our fifth Faculty Colloquium of this semester.

Title: Rituals and Beliefs Reflected in Pre-Historic Burials in Xinjiang
Presenter: Xijuan Zhou, Associate Professor of Religious Studies

Xijuan Zhou

Abstract:  In recent years, archeologists in Xinjiang, China, excavated a prehistoric burial site Xiaohe. Rich relics, including well-preserved mummies were found from this site. The present project tries to examine both cultural and textual information from this region and tries to interpret some of the burial practices from this site from the perspectives of early shamanic beliefs and practices.

Come join the discussion!

Bill Kelm and Kathryn Nyman
Faculty Colloquium Coordinators


Faculty Colloquium: Sexual Citizenship and New Conceptions of Sex Ed at Willamette and Beyond

Please join us on Thursday, November 5, at 4:10 p.m. at this URL:

https://willametteuniversity.zoom.us/j/99851761064

for our fourth Faculty Colloquium of this semester.

Title: Sexual Citizenship and New Conceptions of Sex Ed at Willamette and Beyond
Faculty Presenters: Joyce Millen (Anthropology and Public Health), Omari Weekes (English, African American Studies, and Queer Studies)
Omari WeekesJoyce Millen

Student Presenters: Sophie Bunch (English and PPLE), Lily Clancy (Biochemistry), Claire Johnson (Public Health and Biology), Rose Linville (Environmental Science), Surya Lee (Environmental Science and Public Health), Mo Stein (Archeology)

Abstract:  This special faculty colloquium will be presented by the eight members of the 2020 Liberal Arts Research Collaborative (LARC) devoted to exploring new conceptions of sexual citizenship and collegiate level sex education.

The LARC team worked throughout summer and into fall to explore how Willamette and other colleges and universities in the United States are responding to the needs and demands of their students and the ever changing requirements mandated by federal statute. The presentation will highlight key findings from the research collaboration along with nine recommendations for concrete ways Willamette can improve efforts to prevent sexual assault, enhance interpersonal relations, and promote sexual health.

Come join the discussion!

Bill Kelm and Kathryn Nyman
Faculty Colloquium Coordinators


Faculty Colloquium: Katherine Skovira

Please join us on Thursday, October 29, at 4:10 p.m. at this URL:

https://willametteuniversity.zoom.us/j/99828523083

for our third Faculty Colloquium of this semester.

Title: Social Justice, Mindset and Design: Arts and Advocacy
Presenter: Katherine Skovira, Zeller Chair in Opera Studies, Director of Voice Studies, Director of Dramatic Vocal Arts

Katherine Skovira

Abstract:  This event looks at ways we may begin to address current social issues and challenges that lie ahead in the classical contemporary music industry, and looks forward toward advocacy in the upcoming 11/5 Hub New Music performance and a Spring 2021 campus appearance by artist-activist Nicole Paris. Katherine Skovira will detail recent and upcoming projects and key developments in the contemporary classical music industry.

Bill Kelm and Kathryn Nyman
Faculty Colloquium Coordinators


Faculty Colloquium: Melissa Marks

Please join us on Thursday, October 8, at 4:10 p.m. at this URL:

https://willametteuniversity.zoom.us/j/93049348010

for our second Faculty Colloquium of this semester.

Title: Functional Annotation of TonB Dependent Receptors Involved in Stress Resistance – Results and Reflections from a Cross-Institutional Collaboration

Presenter: Melissa Marks, Associate Professor of Biology

Melissa Marks

Abstract:  Vitamins and minerals are critical for proper functioning of all living organisms. Maintaining the proper balance of minerals, or metal ions, is critical for resistance to stress caused by normal metabolic processes. In Gram negative bacteria, metal transport across the outer membrane is often facilitated by members of a diverse and poorly understood family of surface proteins known as TonB-Dependent Receptors/Transporters (TBDRs). In the aquatic bacterium Caulobacter crescentus, multiple lines of evidence suggest that several predicted, but uncharacterized, TBDRs are important for metal ion homeostasis. In collaboration Lisa Bowers, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Biology, St. Olaf College) and our students, we are in the process of functionally annotating this group of TBDRs by characterizing their substrates, physiological roles, and genetic regulation. In this presentation, I will provide a big picture overview of our scientific endeavors. I’ll also share my reflections on establishing a new cross-institution collaboration and some of the unexpected benefits of doing collaborative science in an undergraduate research environment.

Bill Kelm and Kathryn Nyman
Faculty Colloquium Coordinators


Faculty Colloquium: Rosa León Zayas

Please join us on Thursday, October 1, at 4:10 p.m. at this URL:

https://willametteuniversity.zoom.us/j/95698064708

for our first Faculty Colloquium of this semester.

Title: Going Deeper: Microbial Diversity and Metabolic Potential in the Marine Deep Biosphere

Presenter: Rosa León Zayas, Assistant Professor of Biology

Rosa Zayas

Abstract:  Exploration of the deep ocean has expanded our understanding of oceanic ecosystems, including continental margins and mid-ocean ridges, and yet still little is known about these deep sites on Earth. Some of the most poorly understood ecosystems are subsurface environments, particularly as it pertains to the distribution of archaea and their associated metabolic abilities. In this presentation, I will share an overview of some of the work I conducted during my junior research leave, which includes the discussion of a recently published analysis of the archaeal community structure and their potential ecological roles, and preliminary results on our most recently NSF funded work on PET Plastic degrading bacteria. Overall, this research seeks to reveal the metabolic potential of novel archaeal lineages, which significantly contributes to our overall understanding of the ecosystem function of subsurface sedimentary environments.Additionally, by studying the metabolic capacity of microorganisms that degrade PET Plastic, we can better understand their mechanisms for degrading one of the largest sources of pollutants, single use plastics, with the ultimate goal of building upon that potential to generate a more efficient degradation process in order to eventually assist with the reduction of this man made environmental pollutant.

Bill Kelm and Kathryn Nyman
Faculty Colloquium Coordinators