Author: Nathaniel Dowd

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Environmental Free-Fall

Dr. Loren McClenachan’s lecture was in part something that I have put thought into and researched myself in affiliation with Colby College. Marine decline, in specifically coral decline has been something I have researched last summer, and something that is one of the chief problems facing marine communities across the world. In particular, the Great Barrier reef, one of the world’s beacons of marine diversity has been greatly affected by coral bleaching, which additionally causes trophic cascades affecting the population levels of many species that live in the area. Almost a third of the Great Barrier reef corals have died since 2016, which is an astonishing number and one that makes me wonder if the reef can ever recover from this downward spiral.

Another aspect of the talk discussed the physiological effects that our past actions have had on animals. In fish in particular, it has been shown that over time, the size of many fish species have decreased in size, due likely to a decrease in the quality of life that many of them struggle with. In relation to the general theme of this lecture series, it gives a physical relationship between the present and the past, and it paints the image of deterioration over time. Studies have shown some fish have lost up to 50% in length. And while this is not a direct example of fish dying as a result of human activity, it is an example of the decline of the quality of resources that many of these animals are experiencing. The fact that in a few decades cause this drastic of a change is an incredibly profound image and one that reverts back to a theme of a few talks of this series, which is a feeling of hopelessness.

While there is no way to know for certain as to whether or not human activity has driven the natural world to a point of no return, there is a prevailing attitude with people who care deeply about these environmental issues that there is irreversible damage being done. The great barrier reef example is one that lends credence to this way of thinking. Coral bleaching, the act of the pigment cells leaving coral, makes it near impossible for the coral bodies to continue to survive. Because of this, vast fields of white dead coral bodies take up a large amount of ocean floor area where life used to occupy the area. To reverse something like this would take a large amount of action from many countries acting to help rectify this. But the prevailing thought, and the continued ignorance surrounding this subject suggests that this moment of epiphany and subsequent action will never come.

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The Chill Before the Cold War

In Dr. Streets-Salter’s lecture, she discussed the origins of the testy relationship that defined the post world war II conflict between the United States and Russia. I found this talk to be really interesting because although I am a STEM major, history is one of my side interests, and I have tried to take at least one history class per year during my time at Colby. The scope of this talk focused on events that transpired in Shanghai, China in 1931, and how these events led to the spread of communism in east Asia long before the end of World War II. In the 1930’s the Shanghai police discovered communist links between China and Russia, with a vast network of communications between these countries and made 276 arrests. These arrests became well known news internationally, and introduced communism as a legitimate threat to certain developed nations.

This talk gives a slight critique on how we study history, and how teachers or professors teach it. The study of history treats historical events often as singular bullet points in time, which makes it hard to study the overlap of certain events, and how different historical events interact with each other over time. There are countless examples of this in history, and usually when discussing wars, this is where this train of thought is most egregious. Oftentimes, the history behind a war starts years behind its officially listed beginning, and the Cold War is no different. Additionally, events in the first world war set into motion what occurred in the Cold War, for example the designation of clear sides to the conflict that lasted through the second world war as well, which introduced a dichotomy of powerful nations. As countries began to become more interconnected, this complicates viewing history as a list of events as well. For example, the correspondence that China had with Russia would have never been as developed in years past, and that made it easier to study countries as individual entities. Nowadays, studying a specific country is impossible without going into its relationships with others, whether it be politically, militarily, commercially or otherwise.

Overall, this talk was an illuminating way to look at events that go unnoticed throughout history. It is obviously very difficult to bring attention to every single event that contributed to the cold war, but it was certainly an interesting way to look at just how far back this conflict did span, as well as how communism made its way through international eyes and ears.

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The Importance of Visual Learning

This talk provided yet another link between the arts and the sciences, something that has become something of a theme in this seminar series. Professor Carlin Berkowitz discussed how the field of anatomy and art have been strongly connected throughout history, citing a prominent scientist as an example. Charles Bell was a professor in anatomy before it was officially recognized as a field, so he used a variety of different teaching techniques to get his message across to students. Some of these learning styles included wax models, sketches, and models, which made room for art to enter the classroom.  When looking at a field such as anatomy, it is virtually impossible to teach a course in anatomy without using visual aids. And in order for these visual aids to be lifelike and to be viable teaching models, biologists need artists to recreate accurate human bodies for study. This way of learning can be applied to not just fields like anatomy, but to many different scientific fields of study.

While art and the humanities may not play a role in necessarily enhancing the knowledge base available to scientists, it can assist scientific learning in other ways than simply the pursuit of new knowledge. Some fields of study favor a specific learning style over others, and in the case of scientific study, oftentimes it is very helpful to learn new material visually. As a biology major, I can certainly attest to this, as gaining a better knowledge of the various biological systems that are studied is made much easier by having a visual basis that accompanies them. In my classes at Colby, I have had to learn about the inner workings of a cell, the relationship between various organisms, as well as life cycles of both plants and animals. This information is incredibly difficult to be relayed through only text or written information. Additionally, topic such as chemistry need a solid visual basis when looking at models of molecules, and diagramming reactions. While these are less based in reality or lifelike, they serve valuable purposes in the classroom.

Overall, this talk hit on points that I agree with as a visual learner, and as someone who can now see that the art behind many scientific models and diagrams goes unnoticed. Many classes I have taken in science have involved art in some way, and in one of my biology classes, we spent a class in the art museum and were taught how to sketch various organisms scientifically. To conclude, art is found all over science, and helps create a solid learning base for students, anywhere from textbooks to museums.

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How evolution dictates the future

In this discussion, Professor Suegene Noh outlined how microbial function can be related to social function in human groups. She outlined how selective pressures in an amoeba species can create cellular aggregations that improve the fitness of the individual amoeba cells. This talk is an interesting divergence from the general tone of these speakers’ topics, where the subject matter is much more rooted in anthropology, and topics less grounded in science. As a biology major, I obviously appreciated the topic compared to others, because it combines my foremost academic interest and some interesting commentary on social dynamics. Adaptation is biology’s interpretation of the past dictating the future, and when looking at microbial evolution, professor Noh was able to parallel this small scale evolution to themes of human advancement through conflict.

This talk proved how the phrase “strength in numbers” applies to all levels of life, and a phrase that has applied to all levels of conflict as well. Looking through human history, it has been consistently advantageous for humans to form groups, societies, among other forms of aggregation, and this has helped various societies improve their fitness and continue to move forward generationally. This aggregation and subsequent conflict not only aids in genetic evolution, but in addition, can go toward helping towards psychologically bettering humanity through adapting through these conflicts. By learning from previous experiences and conflicts, humans can apply adaptation to the way their societies are run.

Additionally, the theme of symbiosis is one that is incredibly important not only for our bodily function, but in a more macro sense, human community organization. Relationships between the human micro biome ensure that our bodies remain healthy and certain bodily functions can remain as efficient as possible. When looking at community organization, most societies are optimized with its people occupying different niche roles, and bettering the aggregate (the community in this example).

As someone who is more trained in STEM, the way I look at some anthropological and philosophical issues is through a scientific lens, which is why this talk was an important one for me to further understand the theme of the seminar. In terms of human advancement, there is no better concrete example than genetic advancement and evolution. Furthermore, as organisms have advanced over millions of years, social evolution has been a very important part of the development of life, not just human life. Phenomena such as mutualism, commensalism, and altruism to name a few are all social evolutionary developments that are found in organisms such as gut microbes as well as animals much larger.

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How powerful is the effect of A Priori?

The speaker in this talk emphasized how a priori knowledge, or the lack thereof has led to major problems in society, particularly in the realm of environmental activism.  A priori knowledge is the knowledge gained from previous experiences, and is something that has been able to drive various efforts of change across the world. Having a personal connection with something, or having a personal experience with a particular issue does make it easier for someone to be affected enough to take action. But is a priori knowledge such a powerful force that without this knowledge in a certain issue, people are left to lethargy? While the power of a priori remains to be completely seen in the environmentalist movement, we can look throughout history and see that this is not entirely the case with all issues.

In many cases, people in positions of power (as a result of this power, positions of privilege) have made actions towards social progress that belie their lack of a priori knowledge on the subject. An example of this playing out in history is during the time of slavery, as well as the harmful aftermath that many African Americans experienced. In this example, the people with a priori knowledge about the damaging effects of racism were slaves. Slaves obviously had no way to generate any kind of influence, yet slavery was eventually abolished, against some strong opposition from southern states. White men, in positions of power, were the people who passed legislation to free slaves, and a war was fought, in part because of the persistence of the practice of slavery. Thousands of lives who had never experienced the effects that racism had on African American people were lost during this war, which wound up achieving vast social progress.

Some issues do exemplify the influence that having a priori knowledge has on meaningful change. For example, the water crisis in Flint, Michigan is an example where a priori knowledge or experience could potentially be having an impact on the rate of assistance being provided to the people of Flint. A priori knowledge coincides with privilege in this example, as people who are well off do not know the health effects of water that is not drinkable. However, this does not delegitimize a priori knowledge as an influence here, especially since poor water quality is such a foreign concept to many people who live in the United States, or any other first world country. However, to conclude that a priori knowledge is needed to produce widespread social change is too much of a general statement. Factors such as the specific issue being dealt with, as well as the people in positions of power are things that need to be taken into account when discussing social change.

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The Link Between Science and the Humanities

My overall impressions of this talk was that it was somewhat similar to the talk linking themes from Alice in Wonderland to some issues of the current state of the environment. There are similar calls for science and the humanities to join forces, with science providing empirical evidence and data, while humanities can bring more nuance to the problems that need to be solved. However, like some of the points made in the previous talk, some of these connections are strained, and causes me to question the validity of using a humanities perspective to tackle issues such as global warming. While there are natural pairings between disciplines, such as biology and psychology, anthropology and history, some are simply not compatible, and would not be able to help each other in the grand scheme of things.

The speaker used examples from William Blake, and used his opinions on global warming among other issues to show a merging of two disciplines. And while of course poets like Blake are free to discuss any subject of their choosing, this does not represent a merging of disciplines as I personally view them, where knowledge from one discipline goes toward solving problems in another. What humanities can do towards the sciences is provide more nuance to the data being presented, and allow the public to have more of an improved understanding of the subject matter referenced in the scientific work. However, science is done with a spectrum of complex language, and many scientific papers are done with a understanding that the public needs additional awareness on this topic. For example, in the field of epidemiology, it is imperative that the public have a solid understanding of diseases and how they spread, along with any new developments surrounding the spread and natural history of disease.  These findings are written in a purely scientific manner, and humanities does not play a clear role in facilitating these findings into improved public understanding.

To conclude, while it may be intriguing to suggest a new angle of studying science, the rate at which science is advancing suggests that they way things have been going recently has led to some phenomenal breakthroughs and discoveries. The realm of humanities has seen some themes of science pop up in writing or art, but in terms of a full integration between fields, both need to be able to help each other solve problems or accomplish significant things. When this speaker, along with others, continue to emphasize the need for the humanities and the sciences to be linked, it does not seem to me as pressing of an issue as these speakers (of a more anthropological background rather than scientific) are making it.

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The Difficulty of Defining Race

In this discussion, the general topic of discussion was talking about the elements that constitute what makes a race of people. And the takeaway message, revealed mainly in the questions and answer section, is that too much stock is often put into genetics when determining the race of people, and that often times genetics are treated like the “end all be all” when it comes to racial construction. When looking at the definition behind race, this idea becomes rather murky, due to the nebulous nature of the definition. Over the years there have been various definitions, some referring heavily to phylogenetics and DNA evidence, while others take an almost entirely social and anthropologic view, where DNA evidence is eschewed almost entirely. This is the central issue surrounding this topic, not that DNA evidence reigns supreme, it is the completely different use of definitions across disciplines.

For example, when looking on webster’s online dictionary, two different definitions of race appear. The first one reads: “a class or kind of people unified by shared interests, habits, or characteristics.” This is clearly the anthropological approach that emphasizes commonality of interests and social behaviors, while not referencing skin color, genetics, or any other visual evidence that typically biologists tend to use. The second definition reads: “an actually or potentially interbreeding group within a species also : a taxonomic category (such as a subspecies) representing such a group.” While this definition has its issues of its own, the general theme of it is to rely exclusively on phylogenetic evidence, as well as evidence of interbreeding. These two definitions listed right next to each other, defining the same word, represents a problem for biologists and anthropologists alike. While these two disciplines align on some issues, this is one that has yet to be solved in a meaningful way, and no real compromises have been made as far as marrying the two fields.

In conclusion, there really is no conclusion in many senses regarding this issue, and in the current climate surrounding race, this sort of debate could definitely ratchet up in the near future. The speaker today decided to take more of an anthropological perspective, based on the examples he used in the talk, and the responses that he gave in the question and answer section. His opinion, while not fully encompassing of both definitions, still cannot be considered right or wrong, because of the lack of progress associated with coming up with a concise and unifying definition of the term ‘race’.

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A Gloomy and Pessimistic view on the Natural World

This talk covered a range of contemporary topics, and made a connection to the very current and pressing issue of climate change, through the power of literature.  The speaker related themes of catastrophe and world change in Alice in Wonderland to the post natural world that we exist in today. However, the speaker did seem to emphasize this point, about how there seemed to be no point of return, and cast a dark light on the current state of the environment. While this may be the case in some areas of the world, the awareness and action surrounding global warming has never been higher, and as a result, there is reasonable evidence to believe that we are not in what the speaker referred to as a “environmental holocaust.”

In higher levels of education, and even into some levels of government, climate change awareness is making its way into the heads of people in power, and it is something that many people have found that they cannot ignore. Up until very recently, climate change was billed as a ‘hoax’, and was dismissed as the natural pattern of the world’s climate. Science on this issue was so poor and underfunded, and while urbanization was not at the level it is today, the consciousness of the environment was something that did not even register with many people. While concept of ‘affirmative sabotage’ was introduced to us during the talk, this process has been going on for quite some time, and the public opinion is been able to shift for quite some time now.

In addition, the term ‘post natural aftermath’ is a term that is something that is not true, and not something that can be said as a generality. As the United States was growing in size, and more and more people were flocking to the cities to find work, the government realized this and instituted national parks. These parks cannot be developed on, and to this day exist to remind people of the country’s natural beauty. Natural wonders like these exist not just in America but all over the world, and people everywhere can find a secluded spot, away from the hustle and bustle of urban life to enjoy a natural refuge. Not only are areas of land being preserved, but also efforts to restore areas are constantly being administered.

The speaker mentioned in his talk that there is a train of thought that hopes a new world will be built on the wreckage of the old one. This statement implies that currently our natural world is at a point of no return, hence the use of the word ‘wreckage’ which is a great oversimplification of the world’s current state.

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Angela Merkel’s Use of Shame in Her Memory Politics

The talk about Angela Merkel centered around her use of memory politics, and how this was able to separate her from previous German leaders when they discussed the events that occurred in World War 2. The talk was very informative for me as I did not have much prior knowledge of Merkel, or what she had done in her many years as Chancellor. However, a question from a student after the talk raised an important question that had been a theme of the talk from the beginning. He referenced how Merkel’s constant use of the words guilt and shame would eventually cast her as someone who was anti German, an interesting paradox for someone who has led the country for so long. This style of memory politics is something that obviously has its positives and negatives, and involves walking a tight line between empathy, and self loathing.

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