Instructor: Michael Hicks
Presenters: Alania Bartie, Cambry Bates, Isabelle Dominguez, Tristen Gatson, Olivia Gningone Billy, Coby Harris, Caymen Hawkins, Maddie Schonberg, Siobahn Stanley

Our class, Doing Race, has been in discussion of the many ways we “do race” in the United States through the past and present. Though there are some who say that we as a society are beyond race, many feel that the ways we do race today are more prevalent than ever. Throughout the semester, we’ve discussed ways we do race in institutionalized settings – such as the census –, the way we do race in media, the way we do race in education, etc. The one thing that we were able to tie together with these ways we do race in the United States is the concept of implicit bias.

Implicit bias is the idea of one having a usually inadvertent affinity towards a certain group of people. This bias can be based on gender, class, and – in this case – race, and usually stems from stereotypes portrayed by society and the media. This bias, however, does not mean someone is a racist, it merely means that someone has a subconscious bias towards one race or another. This implicit bias has many implications, from as mild as micro-aggressions to as severe as the crime association and police brutality of African Americans. There are several tools that are useful to determine and display this implicit bias, specifically the Implicit Association Test. In this presentation, we will allot time for the viewers to take this brief test and analyze their own biases.

Identifying bias in oneself and others can lead to finding ways to combat it. For many, implicit bias goes mostly unknown. Being able to call out this bias can potentially allow for someone and others to be able to recognize this bias and work to eliminate it. The ultimate goal is to help people confront and eliminate their implicit bias.

Instructor: Kathrine Weeks

Presenters: Colt Hamilton, Mackenzie Clark, Aurora Allen, Selena Edris, Addy Tremie, Auriel Jones-Webb, Ian McDonald, Andew Bautista, Jaiden Chretien, Kenan Cooper, Amari Joulevette, Mary Claire Malloy, Zachary Clark, Mackenzie Languirand, Macie Meshell, Jackson Ossman

What distinguishes truth from nonsense, and why are people so easily tricked by misinformation? Why are scientific studies something we can trust, and how can we fight the phenomenon of post-truth? What are our responsibilities as students, citizens, and consumers when we encounter misinformation, conspiracy theories, and fake news? Throughout the semester, students have learned about cognitive biases, science denialism, the decline of traditional media, and the rise of social media. Being savvy consumers of information involves embracing uncertainty and slowing down to think critically. Students will present on topics relevant to our cultural climate to help us all consider why we believe the things we do, how to evaluate and find reputable sources, how to best promote information, and how to stop the spread of misinformation in our communities.

Instructor: Jessica Alexander

Presenters: Kayla Smith, Courtney Tripp, Jacob Vidrine, Eli Watkins, Olivia Naron, William Ross, Jennifer Salana, Stanton Sisk, Braeden Board, Lilli Breaux, Jessi Daigle, Tori Ligman, Mali Simmons and Christopher Willie

What distinguishes truth from nonsense, and why are people so easily tricked by misinformation? Why are scientific studies something we can trust, and how can we fight the phenomenon of post-truth? What are our responsibilities as students, citizens, and consumers when we encounter misinformation, conspiracy theories, and fake news? Throughout the semester, students have learned about cognitive biases, science denialism, the decline of traditional media, and the rise of social media. Being savvy consumers of information involves embracing uncertainty and slowing down to think critically. Students will present on topics relevant to our cultural climate to help us all consider why we believe the things we do, how to evaluate and find reputable sources, how to best promote information, and how to stop the spread of misinformation in our communities.

Instructor: David Bieler

Presenters: Brian Bihler, Haley Bordelon, Cameron Cason, Mia Cespedes, Riley Chase, Zane Harper, Bryn Jenkins, Barrett Keene, Hailee Leger, Rylie Molina, Aiden Peterkin, Michael Smith, Edgar Zaragoza

Alternative energy sources have been touted as a way to solve some of the world’s pressing problems. But what can they realistically do to help? Almost every part of the United States has some potential alternative energy source, although what that resource is varies from region to region. Some of our mountainous regions have rich hydropower resources; coastal areas and the Great Plains have high potential for capturing wind energy; agricultural regions have a high potential for using crop and wood waste as fuel resources. Nuclear power can also be developed safely in the eastern parts of the country. All these resources have certain benefits that accrue, but they are not without drawbacks. Reduction of the carbon footprint is one benefit to the global environment, but some may view the damage done to other parts of the local ecosystem as offsetting that benefit. For example, both nuclear facilities and hydroelectric dams have thermal impacts on the local water supply by changing its temperature, the former releasing water that is too warm into the environment and the latter making water that is too cold when compared to the original conditions. Both can have negative impacts on wildlife in already fragile ecosystems. We present information about both the positives and the negatives associated with these four alternative energy resources to make a case for their development as a component of the energy infrastructure in the United States. But the regional differences also leave us with a question: Should we be discussing these as parts of national or regional energy policies?

Instructor: Jeanne Hamming

Presenters: Carson Alvarez, Cherokee Corbin, Mallory Credeur, Mathew Lamoreaux, Audry Laper, Stanley Melton, Mackenzie Newlan, Angelo Ortiz, Nyla Pierce, Visar Rraci, Sabrina Scott, Keegan Tunstall, Andrew Turner, Benjamin Vazquez, Lauren Warren

In our presentation, we will discuss issues of diversity as they are presented in science fiction. As a genre, science fiction allows writers and readers to explore topics such as otherness, race, gender, postcolonial oppression, and disability. Through a literary technique known as “defamiliarization,” science fiction often produces a feeling of “cognitive estrangement” (Darko Suvin). We will consider popular texts such as Avatar, District 9, Sleep Dealer, and Dirty Computer as well as more canonical works such as Octavia Butler’s “Blood Child” and Parable of the Sower, and Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness.

Instructor: Loren Demerath

Presenters: Matthew Hern, Reece Maquire, William Bradford, Jordyn Ambrose, Brittnie Huester, Eva Vega, Melissa Krzywanski, Monica Percino, Thomas Rogers, Jaspen Charles, Rhys Dio, Ricky Blair, Jacob Colby

With roots in physics, ecology, neuroscience, economics, sociology, and philosophy, many believe the interdisciplinary field of complexity science will soon unite academic disciplines by providing a single overarching account of how all kinds of complex systems emerge and evolve according to universal principles of energy and information processing. After learning those principles, students in this class have used them to describe change in a range of different social phenomena. Each student has researched a phenomenon of their choice, and applied complexity concepts to explain how it has evolved. Among the common insights provided by such an approach are how systems evolve in unexpected ways, and not always for the better, as well as how energy dispersal and information decay provide new information that leads systems to exist at “points of criticality” between order and chaos. Students will give the following presentations based on their own research:

• “The Evolution of Air Travel” by Matthew Hern
• “Time to Be Creative, Your Career Could Depend on It” by Reece Maguire
• “Price at the Pump: Change and Stability in Gasoline Prices” by William Bradford
• “Where Did You Get That Diet?: The Emergence and Evolution of Diet Trends” by Jordyn Ambrose
• “We Don’t Do That Anymore: The Evolution of Medical Treatments” By Brittnie Huester
• “From Submarines to Baby Machines: The Evolution of Ultrasonography” by Eva Vega
• “The Evolution of the Clinical Lab and Its Influence on Medical Diagnostics” by Melissa Krzywanski
• “Chewing the Fat: The Evolution of Biofuel Technology” by Monica Percino
• “Formalized Complexity Theory: The Math of Information Processing” Thomas Rogers
• “A Hemorrhaging Church, or One That’s Adapting?” by Jaspen Charles
• “Evolution and Dialectics in Societal Change” by Rhys Dio
• “Tiger Woods Got Bank: Applying the Network Hub Concept to Golf Industry” by Ricky Blair
• “Getting to a Better Place: Contexts of Mental Health” by Cassia Grant
• “Pitching and Hitting with Information” by Jacob Colby

Instructor: Emily Leithauser

Presenters: Amanda Hensley, Alexa Hinojosa, Christian McGahan, Jace Stout, Rene Escobar, Grayson Gulley, Robin Lemelle, Tori Reich, Logan Rhynard, Jordan Danzell, Christian Dennis, Anacelia Galeano-Balam, Coleman Guidry, Gaines, Regan Griffin, Caroline Swoboda, Savannah Weatherford

What distinguishes truth from nonsense, and why are people so easily tricked by misinformation? Why are scientific studies something we can trust, and how can we fight the phenomenon of post-truth? What are our responsibilities as students, citizens, and consumers when we encounter misinformation, conspiracy theories, and fake news? Throughout the semester, students have learned about cognitive biases, science denialism, the decline of traditional media, and the rise of social media. Being savvy consumers of information involves embracing uncertainty and slowing down to think critically. Students will present on topics relevant to our cultural climate to help us all consider why we believe the things we do, how to evaluate and find reputable sources, how to best promote information, and how to stop the spread of misinformation in our communities.

All presenters are free to attend other sessions

Instructor: Michelle Glaros

Presenters: Mary Caruthers, Chase Dittman, Sofia Euceda, Jordan Fong, Madison Holden, Theresa Johnson, L. Catherine Moffitt, Elise Quebedeaux

Centenary’s Campus holds a plethora of folk communities that exist under the radar of the average student’s recognition. From sports culture to sororities to clubs and even entire academic departments, a rich underground culture thrives and develops with each passing year. To name a few groups that have been analyzed, we will be discussing Chi Omega, Red River Poetry Society, Chemistry Club, French majors, and many more! In hopes of raising awareness about the existing folk communities on campus, despite the severe effects on socialization caused by COVID-19, our class decided to reach out to these groups and create the Centenary Story Project. Through the practices of ethnography, the study of cultures and customs within groups, and the study of folklore, stories, or customs that vary over time, we hope to gain knowledge of these groups and a deeper understanding of their cultures. Collaboratively, our class will create an ethnographic podcast comprising a series of episodes. For this project, our class has received permission from specific individuals from various folk groups to research their community's shared culture and discover as much as possible about them. By giving voice to each folk group on campus, we hope to help keep the tradition alive and invite people to join our chosen groups and discover more about the campus community around us.

Instructor: Michael Laffey

Presenters: Trinity Coker, Mackenzie Cox, DeVanté Jack, April Jones, Noah Katz, Jacie Landry, Matthew Lulich, Sarah Murphy, Gracie Napier, Kelsie Noble, Caroline Richmond, Ana Rojas, Shelby Roy, Peyton Scroggins, and Madison Wing

Question: Do our best ideas come in a flash? Does a light bulb suddenly pop on and illuminate the darkness? Answer: Not so fast.

Our course has spent the semester engaging with the argumentative strategies and tactics deployed in two 21st century books by Steven Johnson. Johnson is an American popular science author and media theorist whose work explores, examines, and explains the fundamental characteristics and roles that innovation plays both in natural history and in human cultural development. In the first of these texts, Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation, students were challenged to think differently about many of the “common sense” and “commonly accepted” everyday descriptions and explanations about creativity and invention. With Johnson’s second text, How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World, students were presented with unfamiliar stories behind six things we take for granted in our everyday lives: glass, cold, sound, clean, time, and light. Students were assigned to conduct further research and produce arguments concerning the unexpected and unfamiliar roles played by that which we often overlook. These students’ research has been presented throughout the semester in written essays, oral presentations, and now, in audio documentary recordings that have been assembled in the form of a podcast meant to provide a complementary supplement to Steven Johnson’s publications. This audio project is designed to be broadcast on KSCL-FM 91.5 FM, the Centenary College radio station

All presenters are free to attend other sessions