Arts - Buffalo State College

86
Humanities
I m teh Awes0mx0r: Gamer Speak and
Establishing Hierarchies Online
Jeffrey Gumkowski, HON 400: All College Honors Colloquium
Faculty Mentors: Professor A. Michael Vermy, Modern and Classical
Languages and Professor Andrea Guiati, Director, All College
Honors Program
Language has often been used as a means to separate people
into one category or another, or to establish identities and even rank
in a social order, as can be seen historically in the Catholic Church’s
use of Latin as a means to separate clergymen from the public. This
practice continues today, though in a vastly different venue. The
rise of online gaming has created a new social environment for this
generation, and as a result it has also created the space for new
identities, categories and ranks to be established in this environment.
The language used to fill these spaces is surprisingly different from
everyday English, in orthography, structure and even use. It is an
amalgamation of abbreviations, pictograph-like emoticons, freshly
minted neologisms and deliberate mistakes. For all this, there is
still at least one similar element. Just like the orators of old, verbally
duking it out in the Senate Hall of Rome, write makes might.
Whoever has the best command of the language in a demonstration
of the language can use it to determine where others stand on the
social spectrum, from respected to mocked and outcast. As a result of
a great deal of immersive personal research in environments where
this sort of speech is common, and in the findings of scholars more
established than myself, I would like to demonstrate what can define
“Gamer Speak” and how it is used to create or determine one’s place
in an online social hierarchy.
Presentation Type and Session: Oral – Humanities III
The Impact of Social Media On the Field
of Journalism
Eric LaClair, COM 450: Communication and Society
Faculty Mentor: Professor Michael Niman, Communication
In an age where digital media supersedes legacy media outlets
such as newspapers and magazines, more people have easy access
to news, advertising, and other forms of media. While social media
websites and blogs have allowed for quick and easy dissemination
of information, how have they impacted traditional forms of media
and journalism, and has this impact been positive or negative? The
sixty percent of the population with high speed Internet access can
create a blog, or share their views or ideas on websites like Facebook,
Twitter, and Yelp, but does this make them journalists? Some critics
argue that these newer forms of media have undermined the
integrity of traditional journalists, and that the people writing these
articles, reviews, or stories hold no credibility themselves. However,
there are instances where social media websites break news stories
before media outlets. For example, according to ABC’s Maggy
Patrick, information was originally released on Twitter during the
recent uprisings in Egypt before major media outlets “broke the
news.” I argue that while social media has had both negative and
positive impacts on traditional journalism, it is very clear that the
line between these two forms of media is quickly becoming blurred.
Presentation Type and Session: Oral – Social Sciences
The Integration of Consequentialism and
Deontology
Ryan Harvey, PHI 401W: Respect Seminar
Faculty Mentor: Professor John Draeger, Philosophy
Normative moral theories often fall into one of two broad
categories, consequentialist and deontological. Roughly speaking,
the former contends that morality demands that we work to promote
general welfare, while the latter requires us to follow universal
moral rules. These two theories have been at odds historically.
Consequentialists are traditionally criticized for the willingness to
sacrifice moral rules for the greater good, while deontologists are
criticized for being rule obsessed and unwilling to bend in the face
of negative consequences. There are major difficulties associated
with extreme forms of both views, which have led authors in both
traditions to attempt resolution both internally and by arguing that
parts of the opposing theory can be incorporated successfully. I will
argue that this trend toward integration and moderation is the result
of collective acknowledgment that neither theory can sufficiently
capture the reality of our moral lives, but that both indicate
important components. I will then examine the extent to which such
integration is possible, if at all.
Presentation Type and Session: Oral – Humanities II
Is Captain America Required To Save
the World? An Examination Into
What Morality Requires of Us On an
International Foreground
Nadeen Bawab, PHI 401: Respect Seminar
Faculty Mentor: Professor John Draeger, Philosophy
Does the United States have a moral duty to use force to
protect the human rights of individuals other than their own?
Should the needs of strangers weigh as much as the needs of
family and fellow citizens? What does morality require of us on an
international foreground and what role does proximity play in all
of this? This project will consider two perspectives. Inegalitarians
take intervention to be an imperfect duty, one that is not required
of us. They place the well-being of their own citizens ahead of the
well-being of a nameless person across the world, and believe that
intervention involves putting our own citizen’s life at stake in order
to prevent the deaths of individuals from other countries. On the
contrary, Egalitarians believe that that all human beings deserve
respect for the fact that they are human beings, and therefore they
have a right to life and liberty, and we have a duty to help those
rights prosper. Examining these two viewpoints will help us decide