The European witch-hunt of 1450-1750 CE resulted in the executions of thousands of accused witches and also transformed the psychological, social and cultural landscape of Europe. One significant change is the decline of female midwives in the late 17th century. The ties between midwifery and witchcraft, though clealy highlighted in anti-witch literature and beliefs, have not been sufficiently explored by historians as a factor contributing to the decline of female midwifery and the subsequent rise of the man-midwife. Rather, historians have dismissed this connection, citing the low number of midwives tried for witchcraft, especially in England, the country studied here. Thus, historians have ignored the impact of internalized cultural beliefs that manifested in distrust and fear of female midwives. This slideshow presentation explains how expectations of midwives, witchcraft beliefs, and the practice of man-midwives interacted to ultimately undermine women’s role as midwives, leading to their replacement with male doctors.

This past year has provided me with a new perspective on global awareness. Specifically dealing with China and its culture, my goal is to enlighten others about what I have experienced and researched about the eastern identity. Last summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Jiaozhou, China and teach English to people of a variety of ages. Upon returning home, the Honors Program gave me the chance to work with our Chinese students as one of their Conversation Partners. After working so closely with the culture, I decided to create a magazine to showcase how western and eastern identities compare. Highlighting my personal experience, my work with the international students, interviews with current professors and external research, I want to focus on how our cultures are more similar than society makes them to be.

Suicide is highly prevalent among youth, and it is a topic that needs to be publicly addressed. Suicide is an unfortunate occurrence in the United States. My 20 minute oral presentation will discuss using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to prevent suicide in youth, particularly in adolescents with depressive symptoms. CBT is a research-based psychotherapy that works on taking negative thoughts and behaviors and turning them into positive ones. By changing thoughts, it is possible to change behaviors. I will address what CBT is and three different studies that show the effectiveness of CBT. Each study uses CBT in different ways; by showing different techniques, it allows comparing and contrasting of the different methods. The presentation will also discuss why teenagers attempt suicide and statistics about suicide in adolescents. Warning signs of suicidal thoughts will also be presented because it is important to recognize the signs before it is too late.

During the Civil Rights Movement, Thelonious Monk became an active advocate for rights while also reaching peak popularity in his jazz career. Not only did he use his career platform to help advocate for change, but he also became well known for his views within the movement. However, historical discussions often stop at stating the actions jazz musicians did to help the movement rather than ever measuring and analyzing the impact that they had. Because Monk did so much for the movement and its culture, it is possible to analyze his actions and measure the impact that they had on Civil Rights culture. Explaining the impact which Monk had can help others to form hypotheses on the link between social movements and artistic expression.

The main problem is that most histories regarding musicians like Monk is that they tend to shy away from commenting on any measurable impact that they may have had on the culture, population, and finances of the Civil Rights Movement. Instead, most histories only focus on the actions themselves and do not analyze much further. Due to an abundance of secondary sources, data and interviews with Monk himself, it is now possible to make inferences regarding a tangible influence he had over the movement.

Using quotes from Monk, it is possible to measure his intentions and how he envisioned his role in the battle for Civil Rights. In addition, Ingrid Monson’s article “Monk Meets SNCC” is rich in primary and secondary sources as well as conclusive data measuring certain outcomes of rallies that Monk played. These measurements include categories like voter registration numbers and money raised at benefit concerts played by Monk. In order to measure the impact from the evidence provided, one must also look at the correlation between Monk’s popularity or the state of his career and the rising involvement of the masses in the Civil Rights Movement.

Once taken into consideration, it is possible to see that Monk’s growing popularity peaks during key moments in the Civil Rights Movement. Likewise, at times of peak tension in the movement, Monk uses his elevated platform for charity to the cause resulting. By being one of many spokesmen for black musicians during the Civil Rights Movement and providing favors in the form of benefit concerts for Civil Rights groups, Monk was able to solidify his position as a Civil Rights activist. Not only did he solidify his position, but he made it possible to measure and argue the impact that his position had on the culture and finances of the Civil Rights Movement.

The “thirty-five new guys”, affectionately known as TFNG, was the 1978 class of trainees for NASA’s space program. TFNG were the first class of Astronauts since 1969 and a ground-breaking class for multiple reasons. It was the first group to include African American astronauts, Asian American astronauts, and the first official class of astronauts to include women. Of the 35 astronauts in TFNG, six of them were women, namely Dr. Judith Resnik, Dr. Sally Ride, Dr. Rhea Seddon, Sr. Kathryn Sullivan, Dr. Shannon Lucid, and Dr. Anna Fisher.

In this paper, we will explore the roles of NASA’s first official women to join the space program. We will do so not only by looking at NASA’s history with women and the history of the six astronauts, but by looking at multiple factors. Why were these women chosen? Were they chosen for their education or for their job potential? How did having women in the space program change NASA? We will also explore the relationships between the male and female astronauts. How did they get along? How did the social structures (such as sexism and attitudes towards women on the job) of the late 1970s contribute to the relationships? How were the relationships between the class of TFNG - between the six women and the 29 men?

By exploring these questions, we will better understand the trials and tribulations women have overcome on the road to gender equality, and have the chance to learn about a moment of women’s history that certainly deserves to have its day in the sun.

This paper will focus on summarizing the threats of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) by critically analyzing the problems associated with them in our food industry. The problems associated with genetically modified foods, such as patents created by corporations, toxins, increased cancer risks and environmental hazards, outweigh the benefits of them in our food industry. This paper discusses these arguments and the effects GMOs have on humans and the environment. Moreover, biotechnology companies create patents on genetically modified crops, which harms local farmers with the threats of litigation for inadvertently using patented seeds. Health risks such as toxins and increased risks of cancer also threaten humans who consume genetically engineered crops. The implications surrounding these health risks have caused other countries like the European Union and Canada to ban GMOs. Environmental hazards contribute to a decrease in insect and plant populations. This paper expands on the importance of individual actions to help deter GMOs from threatening our world.

The present paper will discuss the“North American Free Trade Agreement," widely known as NAFTA. It will first talk about the history of NAFTA, why it was created, and who was affected by its creation. Then the presentation will describe how NAFTA works and what the rules and regulations are for the agreement and how it is used in today's world. My presentation will further highlight the criticisms of this free trade as pointed out by a section of economists. In conclusion, the future of the NAFTA will be delineated. Specifically how things may end up changing and the effects of potential new policy changes on NAFTA.

There were many figures that the Scandinavian people looked to for religious purposes. One of those figures was Freya, the goddess of the Valkyries, known for fertility and beauty. She seems to be much unknown and still widely depicted in paintings. She provided dual purposes for the Norse people of both life and death. For many cultures those representations belonged to two separate deities. Fascination with her purpose and tales of her beauty were the source of paintings years later. Concepts of beauty have long been used as propaganda and debated for health reasons, but those ideas came from somewhere. In order to find the source of the Viking influence on beauty, we need to examine their ideal figure of beauty, the goddess Freya, and the fascination that non-Viking Europeans had with her. What cultural concepts of beauty did the Vikings bring with them to the British Isles during the Viking age? Why, or why not, have those ideas and concepts continued and spread? Analyzing imagery long after the Viking age will decipher the answers, and provide some explanations.

Who is the final girl? This presentation takes a look at the progression of one of the horror genre's most timeless tropes and the changes it has gone through over the span of film history. It takes look at the archetypal journey of the final girl, as she is evolving from being a character who is the virgin into one that takes on traits of the amazon. A more feminist attitude will be seen as one observes the increase of final girls in modern slasher films who don't need a male figure to come save them in the end. Examples of final girls shown will include older characters such as Laurie Strode from John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) as well as more modern final girls, such as Sidney Prescott from Scream (1996) and Erin from You're Next (2011). This presentation will explore what this says about our society and what progress we've made and what progress we still need to make in terms of feminism.

The female reproductive system is a rather sensitive region compared to other parts of the body, and the vagina itself contains lactobacilli, which regulate the pH and overall vaginal ecosystem. The balance maintained by these microbes is easily disoriented, which can lead to vaginal infection due to pathogenic microbes prevailing over beneficial ones. The purpose of this research was to discover if the use of feminine hygiene products and beauty products leads to the increase in vaginal infections and that these infections do not solely arise based on the vaginal ecosystem itself. A large range of scientific and medical literature was examined for information on the correlation between product use and likelihood of infection, as well as risks associated with the ingredients in products used. A list of ingredients from some common products was also gathered and compared to information found in the literature. It was found that with only some instances of benefits of some female products, there is a strong correlation between the use of several different products and the increase in vaginal infection, which can then lead to more major complications. There are alternatives that can be used in place of harmful products, but an overall increase and improvement on information available and education seems to be a key factor in decreasing these potential problems.