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Together Apart: Freshman Colloquium

Panel 8: Text, Knowledge, Power: Confronting Cultural and Political Belief(s)

To what extent are certain traditions worth preserving? Which historical structures of belief and explanation must give way to new, evolving forms of thinking? How is cultural and political knowledge generated, circulated, and interrogated? In papers ranging from conspiracy theories to Confucian ethics to the experiences of international students and upper-income Black Americans, these authors explore human thought and action in their complex, historically and culturally embedded motions. --R. B.

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By Leslie (Chien) Huang

Being an international student, everything I’ve known about American criminal law has come from TV shows like Criminal Minds or How to Get Away with Murder. However, I took the opportunity to learn more about criminal law in the United States through the GE seminar “Language, Law, and Literature.” We responded to the 2008 Ainsworth article on the invocation of one’s Miranda rights, which I initially wrongly assumed to be a simple matter. In fact, there are very specific linguistic requirements that have to be met for arrestees to properly invoke their rights. However, these specific requirements and the power imbalance between law enforcement personnel and the citizen make it difficult for arrestees to actually invoke their rights. Meanwhile, there are a vast amount of ways for an arrestee to waive their Miranda rights. The exposure to this new knowledge has pushed me to reconsider everything I’ve learned through entertainment media and question how the current legal system can be made more just.
By Matilda Jarvis

An unusual ode to the Kebab, my writing project is a deep analysis of the Turkish delicacy, its appealing traits and its ever-changing symbolism. I begin by outlining an authentic Kebab experience, highlighting how integral it is to British society. I then go onto explain the three main "appeals" of the dish: it is an amplification of the British palate, its individualistic creation that rejects class hierarchies by bringing power to the minority, and the community it fosters. Throughout, I deeply examine the other debates surrounding this seemingly obstinate dish - Is the Kebab even Turkish? What the deeper implication of cultural culinary adaptation? Has the Kebab evolved into a sinister symbol of Islamisation?
By Jake Stemmons

My work looks into what could have happened if Japan had decided to help Germany in their attack of Russia instead of attacking Pearl Harbor. A lot would have changed, and the reason for Japan deciding to attack Russia: Secretary of State Hull does not fall ill. This piece of work analyzes how easily history could have played out so differently and in doing so, investigates what could have happened and why it could have happened.
By Danling Zhou

Chinese international students have wrong image in their home country due to media misrepresentation: they are sometimes depicted as rich, lazy kids who study abroad to dodge Gaokao (Chinese college entrance examination). This wrong image leads to unwise decisions of higher education destinations among new students, disrespect to efforts of current students, and mass insult online during the pandemic. This paper analyzes this media misrepresentation, its causes and consequences, and what is hoped to change.