State University College at Brockport
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Item An Examination of the Geochemistry of the Thermopolis Shale, Central WY(2016) Adams, Dominique; Massare, Judy, Dr.The Thermopolis Formation was deposited in an inland sea on the east side of the Rocky Mountains approximately 105 million years ago. The formation is divided into three members; a lower black shale, a middle sandstone, and an upper black shale. Because the lower and upper shale members appear nearly identical lithologically, this project investigated geochemical attributes in order to understand similarities and differences between the shales that could indicate differences in paleoenvironment. Sixteen shale samples were collected from localities in Thermopolis, Wyoming. They were analyzed for TOM using loss on ignition, and for trace metal concentrations using x-ray fluorescence. Calculated sedimentation rates for the lower and upper shales indicated that the lower member has a lower sedimentation rate than the upper. Therefore, the lower member should have higher TOM values than the upper member. Loss on ignition did not show a significant difference in TOM between members. Literature suggests the lower member was deposited during rising sea level indicating a negative Ce/Ce* and the upper member was deposited during falling sea level indicating a positive Ce/Ce*. Both the lower and upper members measured a negative Ce/Ce* indicating that both members were deposited during rising sea level in an anoxic environment. TM concentrations tend to correlate with TOM levels, therefore TM should be higher in the lower member. V was significantly higher in the lower than the upper but U and Ni values were not significantly higher. Al, Ti, and Si are indicators of source area change. Al, and Ti values were significantly not equal between members but Si values were not. The two shale members showed some geochemical difference with each other, which indicated that they were deposited in different environments.Item Working Girl: Feminine mischief as labor in Elizabeth Stuart Phelp’s The Silent Partner(2016) Maxwell, Danielle; Garvey, Gregory; Oyer, Jules; Garvey, GregoryItem The War in Heaven and the Trojan War: Technological Progress as a Product of Evil(2016) Reisinger, Richard; Busch, AustinIn describing the war between Satan and the angels in Heaven, Milton revises Vergil's account of the end of the Trojan War in Book 2 of The Aeneid in order to link Satan with mechanical progression and violence. What intrigues me here is how both epics portray technology as a product of evil, and how Milton's revision modifies Vergil's ideas on the matter. Milton links Satan with mechanization/progress throughout the epic. In perhaps the most straightforward demonstration of this concept, Satan tears up Heaven's ground and uses the materials from underneath to construct cannons. Furthermore, he uses trickery to conceal the weapons until the opportune moment. Satan is characterized as a beacon of progress, with "progress" being linked to deception and destruction. This idea is revisited in books 11 and 12, where original sin enables man to progress in terms of technology and violence; thus, technology is a product of evil created for evil's use. Instead of creating their own weapons of warfare, the angels tear up mountains and trees and use these to their advantage. In a sense, they are doing what Satan did; they're using what has already been made as weapons of warfare. However, the angels use these items in their natural state. Additionally, the angels do not need to rely on trickery and deceit in their attack. Milton explores these concepts in a large-scale revision of book 2 of the Aeneid, particularly the style of fighting that each side in Virgil's sack of Troy displays. For example, the Greeks use advanced technology and trickery (the "Trojan horse") to infiltrate the walls of Troy, much like Satan's use of cannons to gain advantage against the angels in his own war. Also, like Satan, the Greeks are characterized as vicious and morally offensive (Pyrrhus especially). The Trojans, on the other hand, tear up their own city and throw it against the invading Greeks, which links them to Milton's representation of the angels. Moreover, we find that, as the plot progresses, Aeneas steadily moves away from a world of technology and progress towards the natural Italian landscape.Item Imagery in the Congo: Provocative and Emotional Elements Forward the Movement(2016) Hutchings, Meredith; Thompsell, AngelaThe brutal exploitation of people and resources carried out in the Congo Free State (1885-1908) led to the Congo Reform Movement, a broadly successful international humanitarian movement. The success of this movement owed much to the haunting imagery, including photographs, oil paintings, and drawings, produced by the reformers. In this oral presentation, I use art history techniques to examine what specifically made these images so provocative. Historians have already analyzed how the content of these images, which often featured severed hands, evoked the sympathy of audiences. I add to this understanding by arguing that the formal elements of these pieces, such as color contrast, positioning, and mannerisms also made these images extremely effective. In particular, I use Molly Bang's theories featured in her book, Picture This: Perception & Composition, alongside Theodor Lipp's Theory of Einfühlung, or sympathy, to analyze the formal elements of three photographs and two drawings chosen from among the significant pieces used by the Reform Movement. For example, I analyze the oft-reproduced photo of a Congolese father, Nsala, gazing at the horror of the severed hand of his deceased daughter. In addition to the emotionally charged content of the photo, the man's curved back and positioning, I argue, evoke more sympathy and understanding from the audience than an angular and rigid posture would have evoked. In addition, I compare and contrast pieces to show how seemingly dissimilar images are employing similar elements to elicit viewers' pity. This argument contributes to the history of the Congo Reform Movement by showing how the images themselves, and not just their content, channeled audiences' sympathy and impacted Western perspectives on the Congo.