Friday, May 1, 2015

Research Blog #10: Final Abstract, Bibliography, and Link to Paper

Abstract. Mainly using the Emma Sulkowicz case at Columbia University, this paper does not try to resolve the issue of consent but it does explore the blurred lines between consensual and nonconsensual activity as well as the questions it raises and the social, emotional, and legal repercussions of sexual violence on college campuses. Rape culture is examined and analyzed in this paper as the cultural and social implications potentially placed on the Sulkowicz case as well as how it affects young men and women everywhere outside of Columbia University. Hookup culture is another social and cultural theory that is put into the context of sexual violence in this paper. The manner in which authority figures on college campuses handle sexual assault reports is finally criticized to demonstrate that the issue of consent in sexual violence on campus is influenced by many aspects of society and humanity and that it remains a misunderstood but dire issue that should receive more investigation to take place in university settings and beyond.

 Bibliography

Link to paper: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1spKK0yA_gI4iWjGKezsXQVcC98sQyZ-fxIHpM4WtpBY/edit?usp=sharing
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Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Literature Review Blog #5

1. Visual:
Pictured is John F. Decker, one of the authors of this source.
























2. Citation:
Decker, John F., and Peter G. Baroni. ""No" Still Means "YES": The Failure of the "Non-Consent" Reform Movement in American Rape and Sexual Assault Law." The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 101.4 (2011): 1081-169. Print.

3. Summary: This article from The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology focuses on the failure of the "non-consent" reform movement in rape and sexual assault law in America. John F. Decker and Peter G. Baroni both begin with a brief introduction mentioning the Yale fraternity sexist chant, "no means yes, yes means anal," pointing to the fact that there is an issue with consent related to sexual violence in criminal law. This article explores the various definitions of consent depending on the state and how some of the laws and provisions are contradictory; it also gives head to what exactly constitutes a valid rape case as well as where and how the necessary role of consent takes place. The belief that it is proper to touch another person in a sexual manner unless there is a violent response has prompted Decker and Baroni to develop this article. The findings and conclusions are the results of an extensive review of rape and sexual assault laws in our 50 states.

4. Authors: John F. Decker is a professor of law at DePaul University among other schools. He received his BA at the University of Iowa, his JD degree at Creighton, and his JSD at New York University. He has been recognized as Outstanding Teacher by both the College of Law and university. Peter G. Baroni graduated from DePaul University with a BA in history and a minor in English Literature. He then graduated from the Howard University of Law. During law school he acted as summer research interns for law firms, was an assitant state's attorney, and began a law practice among a pile of other impressive law-related things. He is now an adjunct professor at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

5. Key terms:
  • Consent: a concurrence of wills. Express consent is that directly given, either lira voce or in writing. Implied consent is that manifested by signs, actions, or facts, or by inaction or silence, which raise a presumption that the consent has been given. Consent in an act of reason, accompanied with deliberation, the mind weighing as in a balance the good or evil on each side. (http://thelawdictionary.org/consent/)
  • Sexist: relating to, involving, or fostering sexism, or attitudes and behavior toward someone based on the person's gender. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sexist)
  • Forcible compulsion: in relation to sexual offences it means to compel by use of physical force or by threat. Forcible compulsion places a person in fear of immediate or future death, or physical injury to one's self or another person or in fear that the person or another person will immediately or in future be kidnapped.(http://definitions.uslegal.com/f/forcible-compulsion/)

6. Quotes:
  • "'No means yes' was the clarion call that these bright Elis thought totally acceptable until confronted by outraged individuals within the university. Sadly, this event represented only too well the attitude of many American males when it comes to what standards of conduct should govern sexual relations with another" (1082).
  • "The statute defines consent as 'words or overt actions by a person who is competent to give informed consent indicating a freely given agreement to have sexual intercourse or sexual contact.' Some states provide more detailed explanations of what constitutes consent" (1088). 

7. Value: This article from The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology is valuable because it gives this argument legal framework to apply, critique, compare, and/or contrast. It gives us unbiased information about what consent means as well as the idea of force in sexual violence. It is a good academic source because it is purely factual but reveals much about how our legal system works and how sometimes it is not just when it comes to sexual violence and the issue of consent and how that affects the way cases are criminalized if at all.
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Research Blog #9: Argument and Counter-Argument

My paper states that the lines between consensual and nonconsensual sexual activity are blurred and more complex than universities and law enforcement treat them. I argue that sexual violence is the foundation for rape culture and rape culture normalizes sexual violence. More specifically, I point to how rape culture has probably shaped Nungesser's actions in the Emma Sulkowicz case at Columbia University as well as men everywhere. I also argue that perhaps unwanted sex is perpetuated by the hookup culture that is also so normalized among college students.

One counter-argument could be that the rape culture theory is not real (http://time.com/30545/its-time-to-end-rape-culture-hysteria/) and that, while rape does exist as a problem, the theory does not help victims and instead leads to women creating hostile environments for innocent men. This could also help disprove the idea that Nungesser did commit the nonconsensual sexual act, blaming it on the idea that rape culture theory poisons women's mind, in this case Sulkowicz. There is also the counter-argument that hookup culture does not necessarily lead to sexual violence but does condone sexual freedom and help with gaining and maintaining sexual confidence (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/fashion/sex-on-campus-she-can-play-that-game-too.html?pagewanted=all), and that Sulkowicz succumbing to the hookup culture actually freed her from entering what could have been a monogamous but potentially abusive, trapping relationship had he continued his alleged habit of forcible sexual assault.
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Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Literature Review Blog #4

1. Visual: 
























2. Citation: 
Smith, Merril D. Sex without Consent: Rape and Sexual Coercion in America. New York: New York UP, 2001. Print.

 3. Summary: This book explores the meaning of rape as well as the experience and prosecution related. Through this exploration of what rape meant in particular times and places in American history, from interracial encounters due to colonization and slavery to rape on contemporary college campuses, the contributors to this book help us understand the crime and punishment as well as gender roles and sexual politics.

 4. Author: Merril D. Smith is the editor of this collection of essays. She is an independent scholar, author, and editor. Merril has a PhD in American History from Temple University and extensive experience in American history with a focus on early American women’s lives and sex and sexuality.

 5. Key terms:
  • Sexual coercion: the act of using subtle pressure, drugs, alcohol, or force to have sexual contact with someone against their will. Sexual coercion is ongoing attempts to have sexual contact of some kind with another person who has already made it clear that he or she does not want to have sexual contact. Sexual coercion is the act of being persuaded to have sex (or engage in other sexual activities) when you don't want to. (http://bandbacktogether.com/sexual-coercion-resources/)
  • Sex crimes: criminal offenses of a sexual nature. Commonly known sex crimes include, rape, child molestation, sexual battery, lewd conduct, possession and distribution of child pornography, possession and distribution of obscene material, prostitution, solicitation of prostitution, pimping, pandering, indecent exposure, lewd act with a child, and penetration of the genital or anal region by a foreign Object. (http://definitions.uslegal.com/s/sex-crime/)
6. Quotes:

  • "The perception of women's and men's natures and ideas about their proper roles differs and changes throughout the centuries and places studied here. Women were variously considered "lustful daughters of Eve," pure or asexual creatures, and demure but willing temptresses. Sometimes these notions coexisted at a particular time or depended upon the race, ethnicity, or class of the women involved. Similarly, men might be considered the "protectors" of women, hapless victims caught in their snare, or lust-filled beasts. These ideas about women and men, in turn, colored the perception of rape throughout American history and the formulation of rape laws and prosecutorial procedures" (Introduction)
  • "Besides examining who commits rapes and who is raped, these essays look at where rapes occur... College campuses, whether urban or not, are also the site of many rapes. As Campbell-Ruggaard and Van Ryswyk have documented, the number of campus rapes is greatly under-reported. For one thing, methods of collecting statistics and reporting crimes vary from school to school. In addition, some students feel that the assault was not really a 'crime,' so they do not report it to authorities. As Campbell-Ruggaard and Van Ryswyck note, many college rapists do not even consider themselves to be rapists. They do not believe that they really forced their partners into having sex" (Introduction).

7. Value: This collections of essays would be valuable to my research paper because it gives us a very historical perspective on nonconsensual sex. I believe that in order to understand things, one must look at the history of it. These essays will help get down to the bottom of sexual coercion as well as the politics and punishment of it in order to then look at the cases.
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Literature Review Blog #3

1. Visual: 
A collaged photograph called, "Las Animas" by Kiki Smith from 1997, pictured at the top of the web article, "Why Men Rape."























2. Citation: 
Thornhill, Randy, and Craig T. Palmer. "Why Men Rape." The New York Academy of Sciences 40.1 (2000): 30-36. Why Men Rape. The New York Academy of Sciences, Jan. 2000. Web. 09 Mar. 2015. <http://iranscope.ghandchi.com/Anthology/Women/rape.htm>.

 3. Summary: In this scholarly article, adapted by The Sciences from their book A Natural History of Rape: Biological Bases of Sexual Coercion, biologist Randy Thornhill and anthropologist Craig T. Palmer argue that rape is a "natural, biological phenomenon and a product of our evolutionary heritage." They regard rape as an act of sex, not violence. They state that this does not justify rape. They compare rape to natural disasters, claiming that just because something is "natural" does not make it right.

4. Authors: Randy Thornhill is a biologist and distinguished professor at University of Mexico. He has his B.S. in Zoology from Auburn University, M.S. in Entomology from Auburn University, and a Ph.D in Zoology from the University of Michigan. His research interests include human behavioral ecology and evolutionary psychology among other things. His Curriculum Vitae indicates that some of his research-in-progress has to do with the evolution of female sexuality. I really hate the sound of this man, to be honest, but I am sure he is intelligent enough... Craig T. Palmer is an anthropologist and professor at University of Missouri. He earned his PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Arizona State University.  His research focuses on incorporating cultural traditions into evolutionary explanations of human behavior. His publications include co-authored books on religion (The Supernatural and Natural Selection), sexual aggression (The Natural History of Rape), the ecological collapse of the Canadian cod fishery (When the Fish are Gone), and altruism (Kindness, Kinship and Tradition in Newfoundland/Alberta Migration).

5. Key terms:
  • Darwinism: a theory of the origin and perpetuation of new species of animals and plants that offspring of a given organism vary, that natural selection favors the survival of some of these variations over others, that new species have arisen and may continue to arise by these processes, and that widely divergent groups of plants and animals have arisen from the same ancestors. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/darwinism)
  • Natural: existing in nature and not made or caused by people; coming from nature; usual or expected. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/natural)
6. Quotes:
  • "Why do men rape? The quest for the answer to that question has occupied the two of us collectively for more than forty years. As a purely scientific puzzle, the problem is hard enough. But it is further roiled by strong ideological currents. Many social theorists view rape not only as an ugly crime but as a symptom of an unhealthy society, in which men fear and disrespect women. In 1975 the feminist writer Susan Brownmiller asserted that rape is motivated not by lust but by the urge to control and dominate. In the twenty-five years since, Brownmiller. s view has become mainstream. All men feel sexual desire, the theory goes, but not all men rape. Rape is viewed as an unnatural behavior that has nothing to do with sex, and one that has no corollary in the animal world... But social scientists have not convincingly demonstrated that rapists are not at least partly motivated by sexual desire as well. Indeed, how could a rape take place at all without sexual motivation on the part of the rapist? Isn't sexual arousal of the rapist the one common factor in all rapes, including date rapes, rapes of children, rapes of women under anesthetic and even gang rapes committed by soldiers during war?"
  • "As everyone knows all too well, however, sex and the social behaviors that go with it are endlessly complicated. Their mysterious and tangled permutations have inspired flights of literary genius throughout the ages, from Oedipus Rex to Portnoy's Complaint. And a quick perusal of the personal-growth section of any bookstore- past such titles as Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus and You Just Don't Understand- is enough to show that one reason sex is so complicated is that men and women perceive it so differently. Is that the case only because boys and girls receive different messages during their upbringing? Or, as we believe, do those differences between the sexes go deeper? Over vast periods of evolutionary time, men and women have confronted quite different reproductive challenges. Whereas fathers can share the responsibilities of child rearing, they do not have to."
  • "Like most of their male counterparts in the rest of the animal kingdom, human males can reproduce successfully with a minimal expenditure of time and energy; once the brief act of sexual intercourse is completed, their contribution can cease. By contrast, the minimum effort required for a woman to reproduce successfully includes nine months of pregnancy and a painful childbirth. Typically, ancestral females also had to devote themselves to prolonged breast-feeding and many years of child care if they were to ensure the survival of their genes. In short, a man can have many children, with little inconvenience to himself; a woman can have only a few, and with great effort. That difference is the key to understanding the origins of certain important adaptations. features that persist because they were favored by natural selection in the past. Given the low cost in time and energy that mating entails for the male, selection favored males who mated frequently. By contrast, selection favored females who gave careful consideration to their choice of a mate; that way, the high costs of mating for the female would be undertaken under circumstances that were most likely to produce healthy offspring. The result is that men show greater interest than women do in having a variety of sexual partners and in having casual sex without investment or commitment."
7. Value: I do not in any way agree with the theories that Thornhill and Palmer suggest-- in fact, I am quite appalled by their thoughts on the subject. With that said, however, it might contribute to a counter argument or different viewpoint and for that I believe it could be a good reference. I might also disprove some of what they say using my cases and other sources, depending on how deep I want to take this paper.
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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Research Blog #7: Your Case

I am exploring Emma Sulkowicz's sexual assault case which took place at Columbia University and ensued in a mattress performance art protest. This case will act as a prime example for the issue of consent that exists in sexual violence at American universities. It will also demonstrate the effects rape culture and hookup culture may have had on this particular case as well as the sexual violence that occurs daily, and will also act as an example of the poor and/or insufficient manner in which universities handle sexual assault cases.
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Research Blog #6: Visual

























This visual is a good demonstration of the uprising that occurred after Emma Sulkowicz made her endurance performance art statement, which is the case I have chosen to examine in my paper as it relates to the issue of consent in sexual violence at universities. This image illustrates that in everyone's hands are signs with anti-rape chants and phrases written upon them, but most importantly are the mattresses on which some of these chants and phrases are written. The significance of the "mattress signs" stands for the mattress that Sulkowicz claimed she was raped on and that she carried around in protest against rape and the school's unjustifiable response to her case and Nungesser. This piece of performance art was the beginning of a set of protests across the nation. Here at Rutgers University there was a commemorative protest where students would carry around pillows to signify the rape, with words stitched into the fabric, or mattresses like Sulkowicz's.
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Monday, March 9, 2015

Research Blog #5: Bibliography with Five Scholarly Sources

  • Ottens, Allen J. and Kathy Hotelling. Sexual Violence on Campus: Policies, Programs, and Perspectives. New York: Springer, 2001. Print.
  • Smith, Merril D. Sex without Consent: Rape and Sexual Coercion in America. New York: New York UP, 2001. Print.
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Research Blog #4: Research Proposal

Topic
Using the Emma Sulkowicz case based at Columbia University in the fall of 2014 and linked to several other readings, I intend to explore the blurred lines between consensual and non-consensual activity as well as the social, emotional, and legal repercussions of sexual violence on college campuses. This paper will especially touch on how gender plays a role in rape culture and the way college campuses might handle non-consensual sexual activity. Connecting this topic to privatization is delving deeper in the way universities handle such scandals, whether it is self-serving or in the interest of the victims.

 Research Question
Where is the line drawn between consensual and non-consensual sexual activity in social situations, specifically on college campuses, and what are the repercussions of such when those lines are blurred or manipulated?

 Theoretical Frame
Coined in the 1970's by second-wave feminists was the theoretical term Rape Culture, in which rape is normalized due to societal attitudes about gender and sexuality. Commonly associated with rape culture are victim blaming, sexual objectification, denial of rape, refusing to acknowledge the harm and consequences of sexual violence, and trivializing rape. In the article "Why Men Rape," published by The New York Academy of Sciences, evolutionary psychologists Thornhill and Palmer wrote that "rape is viewed as a natural, biological phenomenon that is a product of the human evolutionary heritage." They go on to make comparisons to natural disasters, like tornadoes, to claim that not all things found in nature are good. Another theory that feminists claim is the “control theory,” the idea that rape is something that happens not as a sexual matter but as an expression of control. I think these theories can be useful in examining and analyzing both the specific case I have chosen to look at as well as my research question, specifically pointing to the way sexual violence is viewed on college campuses by students and faculty members or authority figures.

 Case
As I mentioned, I will be attempting to use the Emma Sulkowicz case and examining all components of it: the claims of what happened, the reactions from the alleged victim and perpetrator, the media response, the way it was handled, and the effect of the performance art on Columbia University as well as college campuses nationwide.

 Working Bibliography

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Monday, March 2, 2015

Literature Review Blog #2

1. Visual: 
Pictured above is the book cover of this source.

























2. Citation:
Ottens, Allen J. and Kathy Hotelling. Sexual Violence on Campus: Policies, Programs, and Perspectives. New York: Springer, 2001. Print.

 3. Summary:
This book is a reminder that rape, sexual aggression, and violence are serious and constant issues on college campuses today. This volume is proposing different ways in which the violence can be stopped while examining the role of alcohol, club drugs, and even touches on the issues having to do with gay, lesbian, and transgender violence. This source also addresses the rape culture within and fostered by Greek life as well as some sports teams, and has a chapter on feminist approaches to addressing violence against women.

 4. Authors:
Allen J. Ottens received his doctorate from the University of Illinois-Urbana. He is an Associate Professor of Counseling at Northern Illinois University. He has worked as a psychologist on college campuses. One of his areas of interest professionally is crisis intervention on college campuses. Kathy Hotelling is board-certified in Counseling Psychology. She received her doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia and is now the Director of the Counseling and Student Development Center at Northern Illinois University. She researches women's mental health issue and has published, consulted, and presented extensively on these issues.

 5. Key terms:

6. Quotes:
  • "Several praiseworthy examples have been gleaned from the guide and are presented below. They illustrate how the entire campus community- faculty, Greeks, athletes, women's groups, and others- can be mobilized to address acquaintance rape. 
    • In the Fall of 1990, a number of students at Brown University, frustrated with the lack of effective disciplinary system for sexual assault cases, began writing the names of men on bathroom walls who they claimed had assaulted or sexually harassed them. The rape list gained national attention after students invited the New York Times to send a reporter to the campus. The result was a tremendous controversy and embarrassment for the school's administration" (ix-x).
  • "It is possible to understand Nick's motivation to initiate acquaintance rape as the result of an intersection of a multitude of factors. Let's examine several. One factor could have been Nick's appraising the situation in such a way ('she was asking for it') as to minimize his degree of culpability. Another factor could be something within Nick's psychological make-up; that is, once he understood that Amanda had shown him a vulnerable facet of herself, he aggressively worked to take advantage of it. It is also likely that Nick was emboldened by the ease with which he could take advantage of the ambiguity of the social situation that presented itself. Given Nick's personality tendency to exploit opportunities to his own advantage, his motivation to rape was further abetted by myths about women and rape and by the ambiguity of the situation" (3). 
  • "'True' prevention, she averred, must target the perpetrators; or, in the case of rape, it means addressing 'men's motivation to rape' (p. 232, italics preserved). It is our contention that significantly impacting the motivation to abuse and rape requires: (a) identifying where in the campus social context windows of opportunity exist for the exploitation of intimates; (b) an understanding of the psychological factors of the perpetrators; and (c) the implementation of interventions that reduce the perpetrators' opportunity to exploit and to get away with it" (3).
Value:
This book source is a good reference to a variety of perspectives concerning rape and how to deal with it and so on. I especially appreciate the touching on acquaintance rape, as this is something that relates directly to the Sulkowicz case I am planning on focusing on. If I choose to continue to include a feminist/gender perspective in my research, this source also touches on and supports that context of sexual violence.
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Monday, February 23, 2015

Literature Review Blog #1

1. Visual:
Pictured above is Elizabeth A. Armstrong, one author of this essay source as well as a Sociology and Organizational studies professor at the University of Michigan. She is coincidentally also the author of Paying for the Party which we've read some of.

2. Citation: 
Armstrong, Elizabeth and Laura Hamilton and Brian Sweeney. "Sexual Assault On Campus: A Multilevel, Integrative Approach to Party Rape." Social Problems, Vol. 53, Issue 4, pp. 483–499. Web. 23 February 2015. <http://www-personal.umich.edu/~elarmstr/publications/Armstrong%20Hamilton%20and%20Sweeney%202006.pdf>

 3. Summary:
This paper explores the ways in which sexual assault remains a common issue occurring at high rates on college campuses. Much of the data that Armstrong, Hamilton, and Sweeney are analyzing (drawn from studies conducted at a large, Midwestern university) is gendered while other portions of it are seemingly gender-neutral. The authors explain how factors-- including dorm living and college nightlife-- intersect with gendered expectations, differences, and so on. 

 4. Authors: 
As I mentioned above, Elizabeth Armstrong is a professor in the Sociology and Organizational Studies department at University of Michigan. She received a B.A. in Sociology and Computer Science at the University of Michigan, and her M.A. and Ph.D in Sociology from the University of California-Berkeley. Her research interests include sexuality and gender, culture, and higher education, which are actually the three main things I am choosing to explore in this research paper. Laura Hamilton, a co-author, is a Sociology professor at the University of California-Merced. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from Indiana University and her B.A. in sociology from DePauw University. Her research explores gender, sexuality, education, social class, and so on. Lastly, Brian Sweeney is also a professor of Sociology but at Long Island University. He received a B.A. at Ohio Wesleyan University, and both an M.A. and Ph.D at Indiana University. His focus in his research is also gender, sexuality, youth, and education. All three of these professors are educated, well-acclaimed, published, and dedicate their research to the topics I am choosing to examine in my paper.

 5. Key terms:

  • Sexual assault- any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape. (http://www.justice.gov/ovw/sexual-assault)
  • Gender inequality- the differences in the status, power and prestige women and men have in groups, collectivities and societies.(http://www.encyclo.co.uk/local/20212)


 6. Quotes:

  • "The women found that men were more interested than they were in having sex. These clashes in sexual expectations are not surprising: men derived status from securing sex (from high-status women), while women derived status from getting attention (from high-status men). These agendas are both complementary and adversarial: men give attention to women en route to getting sex, and women are unlikely to become interested in sex without getting attention first" (488).
  • "...gender is not only embedded in individual selves, but also in cultural rules, social interaction, and organizational arrangements. This integrative perspective identifies mechanisms at each level that contribute to the reproduction of gender inequality (Risman 2004). Socialization processes influence gendered selves, while cultural expectations reproduce gender inequality in interaction. At the institutional level, organizational practices, rules, resource distributions, and ideologies reproduce gender inequality. Applying this integrative perspective enabled us to identify gendered processes at individual, interactional, and organizational levels that contribute to college sexual assault" (485).
  • "The second perspective, the 'rape culture' approach, grew out of second wave feminism (Brownmiller 1975; Buchward, Fletcher, and Roth 1993; Lottes 1997; Russell 1975; Schwartz and DeKeseredy 1997). In this perspective, sexual assault is seen as a consequence of widespread belief in 'rape myths,' or ideas about the nature of men, women, sexuality, and consent that create an environment conducive to rape. For example, men’s disrespectful treatment of women is normalized by the idea that men are naturally sexually aggressive. Similarly, the belief that women 'ask for it' shifts responsibility from predators to victims (Herman 1989; O’Sullivan 1993). This perspective initiated an important shift away from individual beliefs toward the broader context. However, rape supportive beliefs alone cannot explain the prevalence of sexual assault, which requires not only an inclination on the part of assailants but also physical proximity to victims (Adams-Curtis and Forbes 2004:103)" (485).
7. Value:
I think that Armstrong, Hamilton, and Sweeney do a great job of connecting rape issues to gender issues, as I might be looking to ask the question of what gender's role in sexual assault on campus is. 
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Research Blog #3: Privatization

One way that privatization connects to my topic is through the ways that universities handle reports of sexual assault. It can be speculated that the motives behind the handling of sexual assault cases are self-serving. Because public universities are being privatized and because they need to appeal to students and the guardians of those students, the image or brand of the school is becoming increasingly important to protect. The way universities take on this subject differs quite a bit from the way the law handles it. A lot of the time, the sexual assault cases in university setting are handled by authority figures who have biases, are prone to corruption related to money, or are even downplayed and/or kept quiet.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Research Blog #2: Scouting the Territory

I've taken your comments into consideration in refining my topic which has not changed. I'm interested in the case of Emma Sulkowicz from Columbia, so I believe I'm going to focus on that. The story appeals to me from a performance art perspective, so I intend to explore the effects of that in the media as well as discussing consensual and non-consensual activity. If there is a way to dig deeper and beyond this particular case, the privatization perspective that you have brought up might be interesting to explore. Specifically how schools handle these sexual assault scandals, and whether or not it's something that is self-serving considering the fact that universities have their "image" or "brand" to care after and consider. To tie both points together I'm thinking about discussing how the Emma Sulkowicz case has been dealt with in a media perspective, from the school's perspective, and from the individuals involved in the case (Sulkowicz herself, perhaps her friends and family, and her rapist).

I chose to begin Googling using a more general term, "sexual violence on campus," which is broadly what I want to look at and research. There's a great deal of coverage from all stances. One link caught my eye that might be worth looking deeper into; the headline for The Tennessean was, "UT's handling of sexual assault report devastates woman." I think the way universities deal with sexual reports are not always beneficial for the victim because they are worried about heightened scrutiny of their institution. I'm also interested in what gender and social status has to do with the way universities go about dealing with such issues. I then Googled "Emma Sulkowicz" and found a plethora of articles from a variety of sources focusing on the impact that Emma's performance art has had on campuses across the nation.

The line between what is consensual and non-consensual is very blurred. I really want to research and analyze this issue, as it is something that is often misunderstood by women and men involved as well as authority figures called upon to resolve such instances.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/03/columbia-student-i-didn-t-rape-her.html
This article is weighing in on the rapist's understanding of the situation. I think this link is important to prove the differences between consensual and non-consensual sexual activity...the rapist's argument and his proof in messages only proves to us that a victim's struggling in dealing with rape can look like a lot of things and isn't black and white.

The Daily Beast has an article in which the rapist is claiming he did not rape Emma Sulkowicz. It might be interesting to analyze his viewpoint and the ethics behind it and so on. There are also arguments of whether or not environment and personal circumstances "negate" the rape situation.

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Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Research Blog #1: Topic Idea

For my culminating research paper I've been thinking about exploring the issue of sexual violence on campus. I think it's a pressing issue that a lot of students experience, encourage, or take part in somehow, but perhaps they aren't very informed about it. It's important to me that I raise awareness on the relevance and significance of it, and it might be interesting to raise questions regarding why and how it happens and/or how it affects students socially, emotionally, mentally, and physically. Perhaps it might be interesting to touch on the role of gender within the issue of sexual violence or sexual violence associated with Greek life. 

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