Andrew Kaplan (1959–2006): remembering a friend and a colleague

A remembrance of Andy Kaplan as a colleague, a friend, and a member of our community

Americanism, Christianity, and Anti-Communism

Address to the Seattle Pacific College Student Body by Professor Roy Swanstrom, Department of History on July 5, 196

Three Phases of the Digital in SF / Three Faces in SF in DH

Well before the formation of the Digital Humanities as a field, science fiction as a literary genre was interested in—and preoccupied with—the potential of digital technology. From the 1960s to the early 1980s, in particular, many works about computing emerged in the SF landscape. In 1969, for example, Philip K. Dick’s “Electric Ant” details a man who realizes he’s an “organic robot,” controlled by punch-tape reel encased above his heart. In 1971, Stanislaw Lem’s “handbag computers” take over the tedious task of making small talk. In 1984, William Gibson’s Neuromancer imagines synthetic flesh on “digital display.” As critics such as Veronica Hollinger, Sherryl Vint, and N. Katherine Hayles have noted, much of this work expresses anxieties about human body—its materiality, its affordances, its vulnerabilities. Such analyses have been vital for making sense of the way writers of speculative fiction imagine digital technology in conversation with three distinct areas of inquiry: information theory, cybernetics, and virtuality. What has been less explored, however, is the extent to which these three broad preoccupations in SF might be in conversation with the emergence of the field of the Digital Humanities. Inspired by a superb essay published in the 2016 issue of DHQ, “The Stuff of Science Fiction: An Experiment in Literary History” (Stefania Forlini, Uta Hinrichs, and Bridget Moynihan), I aim in this presentation to make the connection between SF and DH, as fields, explicit. By using natural language processing with Python and topic modelling with Mallet, I trace the evolution of “the digital” in the past 44 years of SF scholarship in Science Fiction Studies, from the journal’s first issue in 1973 to the present day. It is my sense that the emergence of DH can be fruitfully mapped against tendencies in SF scholarship to focus on information theory, cybernetics, and virtuality

No Room at the Inn: Housing Policy and the Homeless

My argument can be advanced through a syllogism that I hope to prove in succeeding sections: 1. Homelessness is primarily caused not by personal deficiencies, but by structural problems in metropolitan housing markets. 2. As a housing market problem, it is primarily a matter of inadequate supply, not inadequate economic demand. 3. A major cause of the inadequate supply of low income rental housing in large metropolitan areas with expanding service economies is the unintended effects of government policies. 4. Q.E.D.: to solve the problem of homelessness, it is not enough simply to spend more money on shelters; instead, housing policies, at all levels of government, must be redirected

Promoting Healthy Strategies to Reduce Obesity

Sandpoint is a rural community in Northern Idaho with a population of 9,000 in the city limits and 46,000 within the county. Sandpoint is the largest town and the primary source for all services within Bonner County. There is an abundance of outdoor activities to enjoy with the largest and deepest lake in Idaho and many mountains nearby. Even though Sandpoint residents have many options to stay physically active and maintain a healthy weight, a continual rise in obesity within the community and across America has become a trend (County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, 2018). Likewise, the lack of affordable healthy food options has influenced obesity trends in Bonner County. Over the past 20 years, we have seen an increase in information and campaigns to encourage healthy body weights and lifestyles. However, Americans are considered to be heavier and more sedentary than ever. There is still a disconnect. The information is there, but it does not reach those who need it most, rural communities and communities with higher poverty rates

Three Phases of the Digital in SF / Three Faces in SF in DH

Well before the formation of the Digital Humanities as a field, science fiction as a literary genre was interested in—and preoccupied with—the potential of digital technology. From the 1960s to the early 1980s, in particular, many works about computing emerged in the SF landscape. In 1969, for example, Philip K. Dick’s “Electric Ant” details a man who realizes he’s an “organic robot,” controlled by punch-tape reel encased above his heart. In 1971, Stanislaw Lem’s “handbag computers” take over the tedious task of making small talk. In 1984, William Gibson’s Neuromancer imagines synthetic flesh on “digital display.” As critics such as Veronica Hollinger, Sherryl Vint, and N. Katherine Hayles have noted, much of this work expresses anxieties about human body—its materiality, its affordances, its vulnerabilities. Such analyses have been vital for making sense of the way writers of speculative fiction imagine digital technology in conversation with three distinct areas of inquiry: information theory, cybernetics, and virtuality. What has been less explored, however, is the extent to which these three broad preoccupations in SF might be in conversation with the emergence of the field of the Digital Humanities. Inspired by a superb essay published in the 2016 issue of DHQ, “The Stuff of Science Fiction: An Experiment in Literary History” (Stefania Forlini, Uta Hinrichs, and Bridget Moynihan), I aim in this presentation to make the connection between SF and DH, as fields, explicit. By using natural language processing with Python and topic modelling with Mallet, I trace the evolution of “the digital” in the past 44 years of SF scholarship in Science Fiction Studies, from the journal’s first issue in 1973 to the present day. It is my sense that the emergence of DH can be fruitfully mapped against tendencies in SF scholarship to focus on information theory, cybernetics, and virtuality

Justice from the Perspective of the Poor and Homeless

Justice from the Perspective of the Poor and Homeless is a report that reflects both an academic review of homelessness and qualitative reporting on how the Columbia homeless and poor populations interact with society. The aim of the thesis is to provide a wider look of just what homeless people face as they move through life in Columbia. To do this, I look through the lens of “rule of law” and use qualitative interviewing of homeless/poor and provide the conversations as a foundation to explain how homeless people interact with medical rights, employment rights and other areas of interest. As a resident of Columbia, this thesis serves to educate the reader and local population of the pertinent issues that many in the city currently face thereby informing how we react individually and collectively towards homelessness. Knowing this, the thesis does not serve to find as much as tell

Determining How Campus Food Environment Influences Eating Behaviors Utilizing Focus Groups

This study set out to explore what factors in a campus environment influence students’ eating behaviors through qualitative methods. The student researcher developed questions based on a similar study and with the help of the faculty advisors. Researchers conducted focus groups and asked 9 open-ended questions. This study utilized a qualitative focus group approach along with a demographic survey that yielded quantitative data. Findings in the present study suggest that students eat unhealthier options when healthier options are available because of time, convenience, and cost. Students would like to cook in the dorm kitchens to eat healthier, however, most participants stated the kitchens were riddled with dirty dishes, filled with people, or they were unable to get supplies needed to cook. Recent changes in student meal plans require a minimum number of meals at the dining hall. Students report this change caused them to want to eat larger portions and resort to stealing in the form of bringing storage containers and hiding fruit under their shirts. Overpriced healthy food persuades students from eating those options, resulting in students buying unhealthy food choices. Students in this study noted several other concerns regarding the campus food service and health. Several struggled with finding nutrition information about campus food and others felt that the current food service was not flexible for students with special dietary needs. This study contributes some baseline information about what factors influence student choices and student insights on how the campus environment can influence food choices