Second Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium
Publishing since 2009, Constellations is the longest running, student-run, student-written, and student-reviewed undergraduate journal at the University of Alberta.
Since 2019, to celebrate our ten-year anniversary, Constellations has begun a new tradition of an annual Undergraduate Research Symposium in order to provide undergraduate scholars a platform to share their unique research. Unfortuately, due to the outbreak of the COVID 19 virus last year, our 2020 conference had to be cancelled.
Thankfully, this year Constellations is proud to announce that despite recent circumstances we are back in a completely online form.
Thus, we are able to continue our goal in providing young historians and classicists a place to showcase their research and share their passion for the dicipline.
We hope you will enjoy Constellations' second annual Undergraduate Research Symposium!
Detailed Schedule
Tuesday March 23, 2021
10:20-10:30: Introduction by the editors and Dr. Jaymie Heilman, Associate Chair (Undergraduate)
10:30-11:00: "Americanization:" The Canadian Book Industry as Case Study by Chloe Simmons
With a particular attention to the discipline of Book History, this paper engages with the concept of ‘Americanization’ and its effects on Canadian cultural production. It seeks to evaluate the notion that reliance on foreign culture is inevitably debilitating, not only to the financial wellbeing of the individuals invested in the Canadian publishing industry but also to the Canadian public, because of the ensuing lack of strong domestic culture. After situating this debate, this paper evaluates whether the true severity of the problem is reflected in the scholarly discourse on this topic. Next, it discusses the governmental response to these concerns of American influence on the Canadian book industry, and their relative effectiveness. Finally, the paper takes a step back to consider the validity of this discussion in a highly globalized environment.
Break (10 minutes)
11:10-11:40: Asserting Control Over [A]Historical Consciousness: How the Settler State Perpetuates Indigenous Homelessness by Heather Mark
The following historiographic analysis briefly traces the history of representation by Indigenous encampments on the Aboriginal Burial Ground in Rossdale Flats to document the grassroots activism of the prayer camp pekiwewin over the summer and fall of 2020 in what is now known as Edmonton, Alberta. Beginning with a brief overview of the encampment space, the research analysis endeavours to critique the ongoing colonialism of urban settler spheres of influence that define the relations different groups can have with urban spaces. The methodologies used by the state explored herein pertain to the production of public history, ongoing settler colonial oppression, and the criminalization of homelessness as facets of the technologies that produce cycles of inequality in the contemporary period.
12:50-1:20: Failure to Recover: a Discussion of the Failures of R.B. Bennett to Recover from the Great Depression by Julia-Rose Miller
R.B. Bennett is often used as a scape goat by the Canadian public, someone who represents the indulgence of capitalism and a rich business man who cares little for the middle class. In actuality personal accounts of Bennett show his deeply compassionate personality, and further research of his policies reveal that he did everything theoretically right but still failed to recover. His policies-unlike Herbert Hoover of America who he is frequently compared to-sought to recover through government intervention and public work projects by establishing camps and providing funding to provincial governments. Bennett also shifted Canadian trade to focus more on the stable British Empire rather than with America who had pulled Canada into the Depression. Ultimately, the main reason for R.B. Bennett's failures were not his own policies but rather Canada's dependence on the American economy.
Wednesday March 24, 2021
10:30-11:00: Domestic Violence and Maras in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Guatemala by Alyssa Fraser
Gangs (maras) in Guatemala are amongst some of the deadliest and most brutal criminal organizations in the world. Gang violence has increasingly become a part of daily life for many Guatemalans and especially for Guatemalan women: currently, Guatemala has the highest rate of femicide in the world. Between 2000-2012, more than 6500 women were victims of violent killings and thousands more were raped and battered. Femicide, a now-recognized criminal act amongst many Latin American countries, is the act of physical, sexual, economic, and/or emotional violence against women. One of the most prominent acts of femicide comes in the form of domestic violence. Victims of domestic violence often struggle with the trauma that shapes and reforms the way they view the world, the way they react to the events, and even the way they process current and future trauma. This is the same for children who either witness and/or face domestic violence within the home. Using a combination of ethnographic accounts from abuse victims (both children and adult) and gang members (mareros), as well as statistical data, research and studies on the psychological impacts of domestic violence on adults and children, and academic articles and books on maras and the political climate in Guatemala, my paper aims to show the link between mara’s recruitment of child soldiers, and particularly the recruitment of previously or currently abused children. My paper focuses on Guatemala maras between the years of 1996 to the present day.
Break (10 minutes)
11:10 - 11:40: Sherman’s March to the Sea: A March in Brilliance by Anthony Gallipoli
In November 1864, Union General William Sherman launched his "March to the Sea" campaign in order to destroy the Confederate forces. Even though his plan was considered to be risky by others during his time, the march would come to symbolize an evolution in the history of warfare as Sherman willingly broke numerous entrenched 'military principles' and ushered in 'hard war' tactics, which preceded the 'total war' tactics of the twentieth century. Sherman's March was a key campaign in the development of modern warfare.
Break (30 minutes)
12:10 - 12:40: Chivalry and Knighthood in the Past and Present; Contrasting “Gawain” and Fire Emblem Three Houses by Karen Vuong
In my paper, I delve into the socio-political dimensions of knighthood and chivalry during the Medieval era of Europe through a comparison between the Medieval English poem, "Gawain and the Green Knight," and the video game, Fire Emblem Three Houses, which was published in 2019 by Nintendo. Within both texts, I address chivalry as a specific social code and knighthood as an institution of power, both of which are complex interconnected constructs beneath its veneer of idealism and romanticism. More prominently however, I discuss the interplay between chivalry as a system of power and one's humanity. I argue that Three Houses compellingly demonstrates this dynamic through its characters and their interactions together, and shines a light on the reality of individuals beholden to institutional power. Although modern narratives may tend to misconstrue the past for dramatic effect, I believe there is value in examining them, because they may conversely reveal aspects of historical concepts that have been overlooked due to the biases and values of its time.
12:50-1:00: Closing remarks by editors
