Fall 2014

BSE Fall 2014 V ol. 26, N o. 2

The University of New Mexico’s

Best Student Essays Vol. 26 - No. 2 Fall 2014

Correspondence may be addressed to: Best Student Essays UNM Student Publications Marron Hall 107, University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131-0001 (505) 277-5656 bse@unm.edu www.beststudentessays.org Copyright 2014 by the University of New Mexico Student Publications Board.

Best Student Essays is published biannually by the University of New Mexico Student Publications Board.

All opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the UNM Student Publications Board or the Best Student Essays staff.

This issue of Best Student Essays was printed by: LithExcel 2408 Alamo Ave SE, Albuquerque NM 87106

Editor-In-Chief Melissa Rinkenberger * Assistant Editor Anna Adams * Copy/Research Editor Kendra Williams

Business Manager Jim Fisher * Special Thanks Leslie Donovan Daven Quelle Carolyn Souther

Special Thanks ASUNM GPSA The Daily Lobo Staff The English Department Faculty and Staff

A Word from the Editor Melissa Rinkenberger

Being the Editor-In-Chief of Best Student Essays is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences I have ever had. I was on the BSE staff last year, first as Design Editor last fall, and then as Assistant Editor in the spring. I was so excited when I found out I would be Editor-InChief this year. Last year’s Editor-in-Chief, Anna Adams, made it look so easy. It was definitely not easy; it was hard work, and I don’t think I could have made it through this semester without having Anna as my Assistant Editor. Thank you, Anna. I also couldn’t have made it without the rest of my amazing staff. They supported me through this whole process, and I am really proud of how this magazine turned out.

I also want to thank the contributors and nominators. We got some amazing submissions this semester, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading each and every one of them. We had two submissions from students in Dr. Michael Thomas’s “People and Animals” course in the Honors College. These pieces, “The Land Snail” and “Barnacles: Hermaphrodite Butterflies of the Sea,” were my favorite submissions, and both of them made it into the magazine. “The Land Snail” also won our “Best Essay” prize. I learned quite a bit from both of those essays. “The Only Place Left to Go is Up” was a very personal, moving piece, and I loved hearing about the author’s cats as I have cats of my own and could relate to things such as the “cat sigh.” “Examining the Effects of Higher Education on Hispanic Group Identity” was an interesting insight into Hispanic and Latino culture in the university setting and is very relevant to today and to UNM in particular.

“Napoleon’s Interest in Egypt” and “Swedes, Slavs, and Silver: Viking Actions and Impact in Early Medieval Russia” were both very informative looks into the past, and I found them both very interesting and thorough. And finally, ““All Is for the Best”?: Men’s and Women’s Oppression in Voltaire’s Candide” made me really think about Candide in a different way than I had in the past, and I think I will be re-reading it over the winter break. I would also like to thank our cover artist, Laura Pasekoff. The photos she submitted are stunning and provided a theme for our magazine this semester.

And finally, I’d like to thank the UNM publication board members for being there when I had questions. Together, the staff, the publication board, the contributors, and the nominators make up an amazing collection of people, without whom this magazine would not exist. However, there is one more, very important piece to the puzzle, and that is you, the reader. Thank you so much for reading this letter, and I hope you enjoy the Fall 2014 issue of Best Student Essays!

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Contents

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“All Is for the Best”?: Men’s and Women’s Oppression in Voltaire’s Candide Written by: Olivia Carpenter Nominated by: Carolyn Woodward

Barnacles: Hermaphrodite Butterflies of the Sea Written by: Sarah Lynasbest Nominated by: Dr. Michael Thomas

Examining the Effects of Higher Education on Hispanic Group Identity Written by: Victoria Velarde Nominated by: Dr. Gabriel R. Sanchez

Napoleon’s Interest in Egypt Written by: Sally Story Nominated by: Dr. Charlie Steen

Only Place Left to Go is Up Written by: Lissa Baca Nominated by: Kathryne Lim

Swedes, Slavs, and Silver: Viking Actions and Impact in Early Medieval Russia Written by: Bryna Milligan Nominated by: Erika Monahan

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The Land Snail

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Cover Art

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Do You Want to be in Next Semester’s Issue of Best Student Essays?

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Submission Guidelines

Written by: Janette Duran Nominated by: Dr. Michael Thomas

Submitted by: Laura Pasekoff

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“All Is for the Best”?

Men’s and Women’s Oppression in Voltaire’s Candide Written by: Olivia Carpenter, Nominated by: Carolyn Woodward

For Voltaire scholar, Johnson Kent Wright, Candide, with its alternative title of Optimism, is indeed an optimistic novel. Its happy ending overrides the darkness of its depictions of love and sexuality for characters of both genders, even its disproportionately victimized women.

However, these assertions seem doubtful. Do women really suffer more than men in the novel? Do strong community ties make up for complete disillusionment with respect to love and sexuality? Is the ending truly free from bitterness? Such questions surely deserve further consideration and exploration, which is the aim of this essay.

Wright asserts that “violation at the hands of men is the fate of every female character in Candide,” a fate which he claims is shared by the eponymous protagonist who is “exiled from a happy home for a sexual slip” and whose “dogged pursuit of his lost love object across three continents ends in what might be thought of as the bitterest ironic reversal of all” (Wright xxiii). Wright’s assertion here paints a bleak picture of sex, sexuality, and eroticism in Candide. However, he quickly turns the tables on this argument by claiming “the ending of Candide is not at all bitter, […] owing to its other narrative thread, which more than compensates for this bleak depiction of sexuality and erotic love,” referring to the novella’s culmination in a thriving existence for the protagonist in a healthy, productive community (Wright xxiii) .

In Candide, the philosopher Pangloss asserts again and again that, “All is for the best” (Voltaire 19), yet Voltaire quickly satirizes this idea in the novel as the characters experience degradation, exploitation, and suffering.

Although it is undeniably true that Candide’s main female characters receive some of the

worst treatment in the novel, particularly at the hands of men, further exploration finds that, via brutality, torture, and violence, male characters suffer in equal measure. This is particularly apparent when Voltaire satirizes the eighteenthcentury war atrocity narrative, in which both men and women experience suffering and there is an emphasis on individual responsibility for brutality. While females experience a more severe form of sexual exploitation in the form of rape, male characters also experience sexual exploitation when women, whose bodies eighteenth-century authors loved to discuss and explore in literature, themselves become desiring subjects. While the novel’s horrific detailing of violent suffering makes it seem unlikely, the novel actually includes a happy ending. However, even at the novel’s closing scene, Voltaire never relinquishes the bleak depiction of sexuality and erotic love that fails to present readers with the optimistic ending Wright claims for the novel. While Candide ultimately offers readers a happy ending, the painful, unresolved fact that erotic love represents exploitation and unhappiness for both sexes throughout the entire novel makes an ending free from bitterness impossible.

It is undeniably true that the female characters in Candide suffer much violation at the hands of men. Regardless of their class and socioeconomic background, the women in Candide all experience some form of exploitation. On the rich end of the socioeconomic spectrum, Lady Cunégonde, the main female character in the novel, is “disemboweled by Bulgar soldiers after being ravished as much as a poor woman could bear” while her mother is “cut into small pieces” (Voltaire 29). It is significant that Lady Cunégonde experiences torture and rape.

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She is not immune from such violation, even though she occupies one of the highest places in the novel in terms of wealth and importance.

Women’s suffering in the novel transcends status. Suffering is also the fate of the nameless “old woman” who works as Lady Cunégonde’s servant, a woman who even had one of her buttocks cut off to provide “a delicious meal” for Turkish soldiers that held her prisoner (Voltaire 56). She recounts firsthand how she was once “a Pope’s daughter, fifteen years old, who in the space of three months had suffered poverty, slavery, had been ravished almost every day, seen her mother quartered, [and] endured the horrors of famine and battle” (Voltaire 58).

As a servant, the old woman occupies as low a socioeconomic station as Lady Cunégonde occupies a high one. However, she experiences at least as much suffering as Cunégonde does and probably more. Her fate, like Cunégonde’s, is indifferent to her socioeconomic “She loses everything because status. She loses of the cruel, exploitative everything because nature of the men...” of the cruel, exploitative nature of the men she comes in contact with, including her bodily integrity, her health, her wealth, and her family. She even seems to lose her identity in some way because readers never learn her name. No woman in Candide escapes violation at the hands of men, whether she is a wealthy, young lady or an old servant.

While it is true that female characters in the novel suffer atrocious violation at the hands of men, male characters in the novel suffer as well. For example, Candide witnesses the horrors of war in which a village becomes “no more than a smoking ruin, for the Bulgars had burned it to the ground in accordance with the terms of international law. Old men, crippled with wounds watched helplessly the death throes of their butchered women-folk who still clasped their children to their bloodstained breasts” (Voltaire 25-26). It is difficult to argue who suffers more in this scene, men or women. The villagers suffer en masse with male victims suffering just as much as female victims. This parallels the way male characters such as Candide and Pangloss experience equal suffering to female characters like Lady Cunégonde and the old woman. Candide at one point experiences “four thousand strokes [of a whip], which exposed every nerve and muscle 6

from the nape of his neck to his backside” and eventually begs his torturers to “do him the kindness of beheading him instead” (Voltaire 24). Additionally, Pangloss is “hanged, dissected, and beaten unmercifully” at various points throughout the novel (Voltaire 136). Men experience their fair share of torture and abject suffering in Candide. Candide and Pangloss, as male characters, are no more immune from suffering than are Lady Cunégonde and the old woman. Furthermore, as in the case of female characters, suffering for male characters transcends personal background when foundlings, philosophers, soldiers, and villagers all seem destined to experience pain and atrocity.

To understand suffering in Candide, it is important to examine the way Voltaire frames the novel’s war atrocity narrative. In addition to the description cited above, Candide witnesses how “[girls] who had satisfied the appetites of several heroes lay disemboweled in their last agonies. Others, whose bodies were badly scorched, begged to be put out of their misery. Whichever way he looked, the ground was strewn with the legs, arms, and brains of dead villagers” (Voltaire 26). Here, both sexes suffer alike at the hands of a specific ruthless enemy. Voltaire describes their wounds and suffering with graphic detail that incites both horror and compassion in the reader. John Richardson defines the eighteenth-century war atrocity narrative as having “the essential elements of innocent civilian victims, culpable perpetrators, and gratuitous cruelty, and the details of infanticide, rape, and forced spectatorship” (Richardson 93). He goes on to explain that in the eighteenth century, “the attempt to generate sentiments of pity and outrage in depicting atrocities in imaginative war writing was of relatively recent birth” (Richardson 93). Such narratives “imply that individuals are responsible for the worst of war. […] Brutality is not just something that happens because human beings are fallen or because kings are ambitious and wicked, but because individual enemy soldiers choose to enact it” (Richardson 109). In his satirized depictions of atrocity, Voltaire taps into the emerging ideas of the mid-eighteenth century about atrocity narratives by emphasizing the affective qualities of the scene through descriptions of suffering in grueling detail. His narrative also serves to highlight another key theme

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in the novel: the ties between suffering and individual responsibility. Suffering in the novel happens because certain specific people choose to exploit, hurt, torture, or otherwise degrade other people. Just as the mid-eighteenth century atrocity narrative emphasizes that individual soldiers are responsible for choosing to enact unnecessary brutality, Candide emphasizes the fact that individual characters are responsible for exploiting other characters, evils that transcend and even disregard gender as much as they do race, class, culture, and other factors.

The biggest distinction between male and female suffering in Candide occurs in the fact that female characters experience sexual exploitation at the hands of male characters in the form of rape. However, it is important to note that male characters experience sexual exploitation at the hands of female characters as well. It is extremely significant that Candide is expelled from his original home for a sexual slip because it marks a moment in the novel in which a woman sexually exploits a man.

After the young Cunégonde experiences a sexual awakening, she, “in a disturbed and thoughtful state of mind, returned home filled with a desire for learning and fancied that she could reason equally well with young Candide and he with her” (Voltaire 21). Cunégonde is an overtly sexual being. It is her decision that her relationship with Candide will take on a sexual aspect, a decision that does not consider Candide’s feelings or desires. Furthermore, it is this decision, which presents Cunégonde as a sexual subject and Candide as a semi-passive sexual object, that leads to Candide’s expulsion from his home. In addition to Cunégonde, the Marchioness of Doublestakesworthy exploits a passive and even reluctant Candide later in the novel, both financially and sexually. She enjoys playing a flirtatious game with Candide, telling him that his reluctance to seduce her is due to his Westphalian roots, and that if he were a Frenchman he would say, “it is true that I once loved Lady Cunégonde; but on seeing you, madam, I find I love her no more.” As the encounter progresses, she “notice[s] two enormous diamonds on the young stranger’s two hands and praise[s] them so earnestly that from Candide’s fingers they pass to the fingers of the Marchioness” (Voltaire 105). The Marchioness is not content merely to make Candide a financial conquest by convincing

him to give her his diamond rings; she must also make him a sexual conquest. She is an aggressive, overt sexual subject who enjoys playing an elaborate game to overcome Candide’s reluctance, and she delights in seemingly supplanting Cunégonde in Candide’s affections. As you can see, female characters are not “... she must also make him the only characters a sexual conquest ...” to experience sexual exploitation in the novel, although they experience it in a much more severe way.

By presenting female characters as sexual subjects, Voltaire explores a significant eighteenth-century literary trend that allows him simultaneously to explore women’s role in society. Beth Kowaleski-Wallace explains that “the female as an object of male desire became, over the course of the long eighteenth century, the female as desiring subject” (KowaleskiWallace 155; her italics). This representation of the female is definitely present in Candide in the cases of Cunégonde and the Marchioness.

In characteristic fashion, Voltaire both satirizes and twists this idea. Not only are females sexual subjects, but when they are given power as subjects, they use it to exploit others. This paints the bleak picture of sexuality and erotic love to which Wright refers. Both men and women act as sexual subjects in the novel, and both men and women use that status to exploit the opposite sex. When Sally O’Driscoll argues that “[the] eighteenth century’s concern with the female body is made manifest through a willingness to interrogate the material reality of the female body, its uses and functions, its social meaning” (O’Driscoll 360), she might be describing Candide, in which Voltaire describes the female body in vivid, almost jarring detail in order to present a female role in society as both one who exploits and one who is exploited. As one who exploits, the Marchioness is aggressive with her body, asking Candide to replace her garter (Voltaire 105). As one who is exploited, the old woman is raped many times and even loses a buttock to a male exploiter who uses it for sustenance.

The vivid details of what her body undergoes as the result of exploitation show readers that she is treated much like a piece of livestock and in that way occupies a similar place in society.

By tapping into eighteenth-century literary

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traditions regarding women, Voltaire explores the dark side of erotic love as well as the role of women in society.

Indeed, since Voltaire establishes suffering, exploitation, and misery as the lot of men and women alike in Candide, it is hard to imagine how the novel can possibly offer a happy ending. However, in many ways it does. By the end of the novel each character attains a certain degree of personal fulfillment. Once the characters decide to come together to “work without arguing,” each [began] to exercise his talents […].

There was no denying Cunégonde was decidedly ugly, but she soon made excellent pastry. Pacquette was clever at embroidery and the old woman took care of the linen.

No one refused to work, not even Brother Giroflée, who was a good carpenter, and thus became an honest man (Voltaire 144).

Suddenly the characters have a new communitybased place in society in which they are happy to use their personal talents for the common good. It is when they become a community, rather than separate individuals who exploit and are exploited, that they experience progress and a certain level of personal fulfillment and happiness.

However, while the ending is ultimately a happy one, it is not necessarily free from bitterness. While it is no longer “By the end of the novel each the focus of character attains a certain the characters’ degree of personal fulfillment.” lives, Voltaire’s “bleak depiction of sexuality and erotic love” still looms in the background. Candide spends the entire novel seeking fulfillment in erotic love with Cunégonde, but at the novel’s conclusion, “at the bottom of his heart, Candide had no wish to marry [her].” After they are married Cunégonde “daily grew uglier, and became more cantankerous and insufferable” (Voltaire 138). Cunégonde’s fulfillment and happiness are juxtaposed with her ugliness and equally unappealing personality. Conversely, Candide’s happiness and fulfillment are juxtaposed with his entrapment in a disharmonious marriage.

Erotic love and sexuality, formerly a source of exploitation, are, at the end of the novel, merely a source of general unhappiness. While this marks a slight improvement in the novel’s depiction of love and sexuality, it certainly does 8

not leave the ending free from bitterness. The ending still remains somewhat bitter.

Ultimately, suffering is the lot of both sexes in Candide. Both men and women exploit and are exploited by other men and women.

Voltaire emphasizes the fact that individuals are responsible for the choices they make to exploit one another, which is in keeping with a strong eighteenth-century literary trend in war atrocity narratives. When the individuals in Candide choose to form a community and reject exploitative behavior in favor of working together, they finally achieve a sense of personal fulfillment and a place in society.

While this newfound contentment ultimately gives the novel a happy ending, it is not free of bitterness. The novel’s bleak depiction of erotic love prevails even at the last. From beginning to end, Candide is a complex, nuanced exploration of exploitation and suffering that doles out hardships equally to both sexes and allows them both some successes and some failures in achieving their ultimate goal of happiness and fulfillment.

Works Cited Kowaleski-Wallace, Beth. “Women, China, and Consumer Culture in Eighteenth Century England.” EighteenthCentury Studies 29.2 (1996): 153-167. Web. 13 March 2014.

O’Driscoll, Sally. “The Pirate’s Breasts: Criminal Women and the Meanings of the Body.” The Eighteenth Century 53.3 (2012): 357-379. Web. 13 March 2014.

Richardson, John. “Atrocity in Eighteenth Century War Literature.” Eighteenth Century Life 33.2 (2009): 92-114. Web. 13 March 2014.

Voltaire. Candide. New York: Penguin, 1947. Print.

Wright, Johnson Kent. Introduction. Candide. By Voltaire. Trans. Burton Raffel. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005. xiii-xxv. Print.

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Barnacles:

Hermaphrodite Butterflies of the Sea Written by: Sarah Lynasbest, Nominated by: Dr. Michael Thomas

INTRODUCTION Barnacles are crustacean arthropods, related to crabs, lobster, and shrimp. Generally, there are two categories of barnacles, acorn barnacles and gooseneck barnacles.

Acorn barnacles are the most abundant variety of barnacles. They are the conical protrusions that are frequently seen encrusting rocks and the bottoms of boats and piers at the beach. Their adaptations allow them to live in tidal areas, withstanding beating waves and water deprivation (Rainbow, 2).

Gooseneck barnacles are named for their similarity to the shape of a goose’s neck and head. Unlike acorn barnacles, gooseneck barnacles are anchored at their bases by a stalk, which is part of their body (“Gooseneck Barnacle”). It attaches itself to a base, like a ship, and its shell-encased body dangles downward from the stalk. This barnacle is adapted for life in the ocean. Unlike the acorn barnacle, gooseneck barnacles cannot withstand wave forces or water deprivation (Rainbow, 2).

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EVOLUTION Barnacles were originally thought to be mollusks because they have a hard shell (Rainbow, 1). Scientists, including Darwin, studied barnacles extensively and found that they were most similar to shrimp in their physiology.

Evolutionarily, gooseneck barnacles evolved before acorn barnacles. According to Professor Phil Rainbow, head of the Life Sciences Department at the London Natural History Museum, a gooseneck barnacle’s anatomy has clear markers of its relationship to shrimp: A few adjustments to the basic shrimp design—the loss of the abdomen and an extension of the head—give the goose barnacle its structure. The stalk is developed from the head, and traces of the antennae can be seen at the end. The body part encased within the shell plates consists of the rest of the head and the thorax, with the thoracic legs “In fact, though sperm whales for filter-feeding have the largest penis of poking through.

The shell plates any animal, barnacles have encase the soft a much larger penis body. Essentially relative to their body size.” the goose barnacle is a crustacean that loses the abdomen and accentuates the head.

The gooseneck barnacle’s stalk adaptation allows it to reach out further to collect food.

The acorn barnacle evolved with no stalk.

It instead has a hard shell encasing its entire body. This adaptation makes the barnacles strong enough to withstand living in shore environments. The shell protects barnacles from waves and prevents them from drying when the tide goes out (Rainbow, 2).

ANATOMY The barnacle’s anatomy is made up of a chitin exoskeleton and hard shell secreted by the barnacle itself. Chitin is a polysaccharide that also makes up the exoskeleton of insects and the cell walls of fungi (“Chitin”). The hard shell is the familiar volcano-shaped exterior of acorn barnacles. The shell is called the test, and the operculum is the opening at the top of the shell (Lohse, 61). In gooseneck barnacles the test is broken up into plates that surround the body (Rainbow, 2). The number and arrangement of the plates vary depending on the species of barnacle. Gooseneck barnacles have a stalk that is attached to the test. The stalk can be up 10

to three inches long (“Gooseneck Barnacle”).

Because barnacles are sessile, they do not use their legs for locomotion. The barnacle is attached to the base of the test by its head. Its specialized legs, called cirri, extend out from the operculum. The legs are fan-like and used for filtering food out of the water as well as for breathing. The cirri are covered with a fine mesh of stiff bristles called setae, which trap the zooplankton that barnacles eat (Rainbow, 4).

When food is caught in the legs, the barnacle curls its legs back into the test to put the food into its mouth.

REPRODUCTION Barnacles are hermaphroditic, having both male and female reproductive organs. In fact, though sperm whales have the largest penis of any animal, barnacles have a much larger penis relative to their body size. A barnacle’s penis can reach as far as eight times the length of the barnacle’s body (Yong). Because the barnacles are sessile they must reproduce with their direct neighbors. The barnacle uses its elongated penis to reach over to a neighboring barnacle that contains eggs. If no suitable partner is nearby, the barnacle can fertilize itself (Barazandeh).

The eggs are fertilized within the barnacle and then brooded within the female barnacle’s shell until they are released as larvae. Fertilization typically takes place in November and then larvae are released in March when there is enough phytoplankton present for the larvae to feed on (Rainbow, 5).

Because barnacles must be near each other in order to reproduce, they live in large colonies.

These colonies provide ample reproductive opportunity. This makes finding a location to settle crucial to a barnacle’s survival. In order to find an ideal location to settle, barnacles use chemoreceptors and neuroreceptors to recognize sites with the greatest potential to survive and reproduce (Lohse, 62). This means that barnacles can use chemical signals given off by other barnacles to locate colonies of the same species. They can also use touch to recognize these colonies, as well as to identify a surface area suitable for attachment (Davey).

A recent study found that barnacles are capable of a third method of reproduction: sperm casting (Barazandeh). This is similar to a technique used by animals like jellyfish and frogs. Jellyfish and frogs release both sperm and eggs into the water, where they

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are fertilized. In the case of barnacles, sperm is released and then captured by egg-bearing barnacles. This phenomenon was discovered after evidence emerged of genetic markers from parents outside of the penis range in barnacle embryos (Barazandeh). This finding is significant because it makes barnacles the only crustacean capable of sperm casting as a means of reproduction.

LIFE STAGES Barnacles have a two-stage life cycle. During the first stage of their lives, the barnacles are mobile. This stage is similar to the caterpillar stage of butterflies; the larvae feed, building up fat reserves as they prepare for metamorphosis into their final sessile stage. Darwin likened this metamorphosis to that of butterflies (Rainbow, 5). After being brooded inside the parent barnacle’s test, the larvae are released into the open water. These larvae are called nauplius larvae. The larvae then go through six distinct nauplius stages (Rainbow, 5).

These nauplius stages are also referred to as the “feeding stages” because the barnacle is continuously building up its energy stores to survive its transition to the final sessile phase.

Following the nauplius stages, the barnacles enter the cyprid phase. During this phase, the barnacles can no longer feed (Davey). They survive by using the fat stores they accumulate during their nauplius phase. The cyprid larvae are contained in a carapace and have developed legs for locomotion and antennae that secrete the concrete to adhere the barnacle to its final location. The cyprid larvae also have an eyespot, which helps them to detect light (Lohse, 62).

While looking for a permanent location to adhere to, the cyprid larva can secrete a glue to adhere to a location only temporarily. When the final location is chosen, the barnacle secretes permanent cement (Rainbow, 5). The larva then secretes its outer shell around its cyprid carapace (Davey). After this metamorphosis the barnacle is in its final sessile stage.

THREATS Barnacles face numerous predators and threats in their sedentary life. According to the Encyclopedia of Tidepools and Rocky Shores, Barnacles are attacked by a myriad of predators including sea stars, flatworms, nemerteans, predatory snails, and, in the case of gooseneck barnacles, even

shore birds. Most predatory snails attack barnacles by drilling through the barnacle’s test. The time needed to drill through the test can take many hours and increases with the size of the barnacle. Beyond a certain size the time needed to successfully attack becomes so great that “During the first stage of the predator their lives, the barnacles are would have to continue mobile. This stage is similar to the caterpillar stage drilling even of butterflies ...” while exposed during low tides. Since doing so would increase the snails’ risk of desiccation, they usually do not attack barnacles beyond a certain size. Thus, one way barnacles can protect themselves from predation is by growing rapidly enough to reach this size.

In addition to predators, barnacles are also threatened by other species of barnacles and environmental factors. In a study done

by Joseph Connell in the mid 1950s, Connell discovered that distinct distributions of barnacle species were caused by different growth rates between species. The barnacle species that grow fastest are a threat to slower growing barnacles because they crush the slowgrowing barnacles.

SYMBIOTIC & PARASITIC RELATIONSHIPS Barnacles are sometimes referred to as marine “hitchhikers” because they often attach themselves to whales and turtles. Not all barnacles do this, only specific species.

Often, these barnacles make their home only on certain species of animals. For example, Coronula diadema lives only on humpback whale skin (Grunbaum). The whale skin itself attracts the barnacles. If they never come in contact with whale skin, the barnacles will float until they die. One whale can house as much as 1000 pounds of barnacles (Grunbaum).

Barnacles attach themselves to host animals and embed themselves in the animal’s skin with specialized prongs that form from their shell. This is not harmful to the animals, but neither is it beneficial. The relationship between a barnacle and its host animal is a specific type of symbiotic relationship: obligate commensalism. In this relationship one animal is benefited and the other is unaffected

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(“Symbiosis”). The barnacles attach themselves to areas of the whale that have consistent water flow in order to maximize the availability of food (Grunbaum).

There are some specific species of barnacle that are parasitic. One species in particular, Sacculina carcini (Jeng), can have dramatic effects on its host. According to Rainbow, This barnacle actually grows inside a crab, and puts a network of roots through the crab to draw on nutrients…The effect on the host crab is dramatic. Where male crabs normally display a pointed abdomen as opposed to the flatter female shape, a male crab that has been parasitized by a Sacculina suffers interference with its hormonal balance system, which has the effect of turning it into a female (parasitic castration).

PEOPLE AND BARNACLES Despite their minuscule size and sessile existence, barnacles have managed to cause problems for humans for hundreds of years.

These problems continue on today, though new research and technology have also made barnacles into a resource for people.

BIOFOULING The longest and most prominent relationship that barnacles have with people is as a nautical pest. They encrust the bottoms of ships, greatly increasing the friction of the ship in the water.

This friction causes a great decrease in the speed of a ship as well as an increase in the amount of fuel that is needed to maintain speeds.

Going back as far as the eighteenth century, barnacles were such a problem that British ships used copper plates on the bases of their ships to stop barnacles “Until new methods are from attaching discovered, barnacle removal t h e m s e l v e s will remain a labor-intensive to the ships process, requiring both (“Reducing”).

The difference in time and strength. ” speed this gave the British ships offered a tactical advantage, helping the British to defeat France. However, this came at a price, as the copper plates slowly dissolved, polluting the ocean. Today naval forces are less important than they were in the eighteenth century. However, it has been estimated that barnacles can cause as much as a 40% increase in fuel to maintain a constant 12

speed (“Reducing”). Today the Navy spends over $1 billion per year to combat barnacle biofouling (Khandeparker, 3). Copper is still used as a solution to the barnacle problem.

Copper paints are used on the bottoms of ships to deter barnacles. But this is still a problem for the health of marine ecosystems. Alternative solutions to the barnacle problem are highly sought after.

Currently, there are a number of experimental solutions. One of these solutions is a chemical product that, like copper, can be painted onto the bottom of ships.

These chemicals are called “avermectins” (“Reducing”). They are typically used against other parasitic organisms like fleas and gut worms. These chemicals have been found to prevent biofouling by stunting the growth of the barnacles. Because the chemicals are effective at extremely low concentrations, pollution is less of an issue.

Another experimental solution to the barnacle problem is to coat the bottoms of ships in a material similar to Teflon called fluoropolymers (“Reducing”). Doing this would prevent the barnacles from adhering to the ship bottoms at high speeds. While this would work for commercial ships traveling at higher speeds, it would not be practical for smaller, slower ships.

Though both alternatives are plausible, they are still in research phases and have not been commercialized. Research is also being done to find ways to dissolve barnacle cement (Khandeparker, 7).

Until new methods are discovered, barnacle removal will remain a labor-intensive process, requiring both time and strength.

Most processes for clearing barnacles from boats simply make use of a scraping tool to pry up the barnacles. This process is very time consuming. Alternately, power washing can be implemented, but is most effective only after barnacles have been left to dry for three or more weeks (“How to”). Lifting the entire bottom of a ship from the water can be a potential obstacle to this procedure.

POLLUTION LITMUS Although barnacles have been the source of pollution to marine environments, they have also recently been used as a way to measure the pollution of an environment. By measuring pollution levels in different areas, pollution

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patterns can be studied and pollution sources can be identified. Barnacles are particularly useful as pollution markers or as a “sentinel species” because they are sessile (Ramos, 318).

Pollution exposure is prolonged and colonies are always in the same place so direct comparisons between various pollution measurements are easily achieved.

In one particular study, gooseneck barnacles were collected from three different areas of the same region off the coast of Portugal (Ramos, 318). The barnacles were killed via dissection in a lab and tests were run on the animal’s tissue to assess the accumulation of toxins. These measurements were then used to establish a pattern of pollution levels in the region over the course of a year. Pollution levels were found to be the highest during the spring and summer.

In Hong Kong, barnacles are currently used to identify areas of high pollution or illegal dumping of pollutants into water systems.

High concentrations of pollutants like lead were found in colonies of barnacles (Rainbow, 6). Based on the locations and concentration of pollution found in various colonies, authorities were then able to pinpoint the location of an industry dumping waste from car battery breakdown.

BARNACLE CEMENT Despite the many problems that barnacles create, the ultra strong cement that barnacles secrete to attach themselves to objects is also studied for the benefits it could provide to people. Barnacle cement is made up of 99% protein and is resistant to enzymatic and chemical breakdown (Khandeparker, 12).

The cement is also able to adhere in aqueous environments. These properties are the primary reasons for the cement’s appeal for use in human applications.

Research has been conducted on barnacle cement’s potential as a dental adhesive and to repair blood vessels and nerves. Barnacle cement is particularly appealing as a dental adhesive because it could potentially form a self-repairing filling that does not require the tooth to be drilled first. Additionally, the barnacle cement does not cause the production of antibodies (Hatcher, 270).

Because of these appeals, numerous studies on dental applications of barnacle cement have been conducted. According to one study, barnacle cement, while promising, does

not have the ability to withstand prolonged exposure to acidity found in certain foods (Joseph, 2). In the study, barnacle cement on a tooth was submerged in Coca-Cola for 72 hours and subsequently analyzed.

Despite its vulnerability to acidity, barnacle cement was shown to blend “Barnacle cement is into the color particularly appealing as a of tooth enamel dental adhesive because it well, making it an aesthetically viable could potentially form a option (Joseph, 6). self-repairing filling that Thus far barnacle does not require the cement has not tooth to be drilled first.” been shown to be toxic to humans.

This indicates that the cement is a potentially biocompatible substance for use in medical applications. Interestingly, barnacle cement was observed to polymerize faster under infrared light as opposed to the UV radiation used for current dental adhesives (Joseph, 9).

However, the barnacle cement does not set up as quickly as current dental adhesives overall.

Despite being susceptible to acidity, barnacle cement is still considered a viable dental adhesive because the acid-tolerance of the cement could potentially be enhanced with further research (Joseph, 2).

IN A GOOD LIGHT In spite of their reputation as pests, barnacles have also earned a positive reputation with people for their good looks and delicate flavor.

Barnacles are an aesthetically beautiful and interesting animal. Many National Geographic photos depict barnacles (“What the”).

Barnacles have a variety of colors and shapes, and barnacle colonies can be massive in size, making them a spectacle to behold.

Barnacles are never given a leading role in pop culture, but they have managed to make themselves a permanent fixture in any nautical backdrop. Barnacles can be seen in animated films like The Little Mermaid or Finding Nemo. In these movies barnacles are especially colorful. And interestingly, the motion of the barnacle’s moving legs is included in both movies. Even in live action films, barnacles are enough of an aquatic icon that they are included as part of sets and even costumes. This is seen in the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise.

Specifically, in the second film Dead Man’s

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Chest one of the crewmembers of the “Flying Dutchman” actually has barnacles growing on his body.

In addition to being visually appealing, barnacles are also enjoyed by humans as a delicacy. The stalks of gooseneck barnacles are consumed by people in countries including the United States, Spain, and France (Loomis).

ANTHROPOMORPHIZING While barnacles are first and foremost thought of as pests, especially by those in the maritime world, barnacles also fascinate people. As it is a strange creature with a strange sessile existence, it is difficult to anthropomorphize a barnacle. Barnacles are more like plants or fungus than animals. Barnacles are discussed in a very technical, scientific manner regarding their negative and positive consequences for humans. Interactions between barnacles and humans are seldom classified as being two-way.

This attitude toward barnacles possibly stems from their primitive anatomy. Because they are not considered an intelligent or sophisticated organism, their capacity for pain, suffering or thought processes is minimal. This in turn places barnacles low on the hierarchy of animals as they relate to humans in intelligence, or even anthropomorphically.

Works Cited 1.

“”What the Barnacles?!” - National Geographic Photo Contest 2011.” National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ ngm/photo- contest/2011/entries/123383/view/>.

2. Barazandeh, Marjan.

“Pollicipes (gooseneck barnacle) spermcast mating.” Spermcast Mating by the Pacific Gooseneck Barnacle Pollicipes polymerus. University of Alberta , n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/palmer/ pubs/13PRSL/13PRSL.htm#Story>.

3. “Chitin.” Biology-Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http://www.biology- online.org/dictionary/ Chitin>.

4. Davey, Keith. “Barnacles.” Life on Australian Seashores. MESA, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http:// www.mesa.edu.au/friends/seashores/barnacles. html>.

5. “Gooseneck Barnacle.” Marine Animal Encyclopedia.

Oceana, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http://oceana.org/ en/explore/marine-wildlife/gooseneck-barnacle>.

6. Grunbaum, Mara. “How Do Barnacles Attach to Whales?.” Scienceline. N.p., 21 Mar. 2010. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http://scienceline.org/2010/03/how-

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do-barnacles-attach-to-whales/>.

7. Hatcher, Paul, and N. H. Battey. “Biofouling and the Barnacle.” Biological diversity: exploiters and exploited. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2011. 270. Print.

8. “How to Remove Hardened Barnacles from Boats and Stainless Propellers.” How To Clean Stuff. net. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http://www. howtocleanstuff.net/how-to-remove-hardenedbarnacles- from-boats-and-stainless-propellers/>.

9. Jeng, Winnie. “Sacculina carcini.” Animal Diversity Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http:// animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/ Sacculina_carcini/>.

10. Joseph, Ang Qianbo, Lee Jian Xing Clement, and Sng Jie Han Timothy. “Potential of Barnacle Cement in Dentistry.” Hwa Chong Institution (College Section) 1 (2009): 1-14. Print.

11. Khandeparker, Lidita, and Arga Chandrashekhar Anil. “Underwater adhesion: The barnacle way.”

International Journal of Adhesion and Adhesives 27.2 (2007): 165-172. Print.

12. Lohse, David, and Peter Raimondi. “Barnacles.”

Encyclopedia of tidepools and rocky shores.

Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007. 61-64.

Print.

13. Loomis, Susan Herrmann. “A Delicacy Scraped From Pacific Rocks.” New York Times 30 Sept. 1987: n. pag. nytimes.com. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.

14. Rainbow, Phil. The Secret Life of Barnacles. London: Natural History Museum of London, 2010. Print.

15. Ramos, A. S., S. C. Antunes, F. Gonc ̧alves, and B. Nunes. “The Gooseneck Barnacle (Pollicipes pollicipes) as a Candidate Sentinel Species for Coastal Contamination.” Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 66 (2014): 317–326. Print.

16. “Symbiosis.” Department of Biology . University of Miami, 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http:// www.bio.miami.edu/dana/dox/symbiosis.html>.

17. Yong, Ed. “Poorly-endowed barnacles overthrow 150-year-old belief.” National Geograhpic. National Geographic, 15 Jan. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http:// phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/15/ poorly-endowed-barnacles- spermcasting/>.

18. “Reducing the barnacle bill.(Anti-fouling technology) (ship fouling reduction).” The Economist 3 Sept.2011: n. pag.economist.com. Web. 29 Mar. 201

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Examining the Effects of Higher Education on Hispanic Group Identity Written by: Victoria Velarde, Nominated by: Dr. Gabriel R. Sanchez

Although plenty of data exist to suggest that group identity among college-educated Latinos tends to be low, the inherent slipperiness of the term “group identity” itself deserves to be taken into consideration. “Over the past four decades, the number of Hispanics graduating with either an associate or a bachelor’s degree has increased seven-fold,” according to Richard Fry and Mark Hugo Lopez in the report, Hispanic Student Enrollments Reach New Highs in 2011. So, how does this impact the lens through which Latinos understand and think about political issues? In other words, does higher education have any effect on Hispanic group identity?

In Latinos and Education: Explaining the Attainment Gap, a report about the disparity in educational attainment between Latinos and the general population, Mark Hugo Lopez breaks down the numbers. In 2009 for instance, only 12% of Latinos between the ages of 25 and 29 had obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher, versus 31% of the overall population (Lopez, 2009). Even more interesting, however, is the finding that “Among native-born Latinos ages 16-25, six-in-ten (60%) say they want to obtain a bachelor’s degree or more, matching the share of all youths who say the same (60%).” In comparison, “Among foreign-born young Latinos ages 16-25, nearly three-inten (29%) say they plan to obtain a bachelor’s degree or more. However, higher shares (36%) of foreign-born young Latinos say they do not want to continue their education.”

The stark contrast between native-born young Latinos and foreign-born young Latinos on the subject of higher education is absolutely pertinent to the study of group identity among educated Hispanics as a whole. Time and time again, foreign-born Latinos demonstrate

greater signs of allegiance to their places of ancestry than native-born Latinos. To put it into perspective, “among all Hispanics, twothirds of immigrants often use the name of their family’s origin term to describe themselves.”

This is according to the study, Three-Fourths of Hispanics Say Their Community Needs a Leader by Mark Hugo Lopez. The study further reveals that, “Half (48%) of second-generation Hispanics most often describe themselves by their family’s Hispanic origin name. Among third-generation Hispanics, that share is just 20% while six-in-ten (59%) usually use the term ‘American’ to describe themselves.” Taken together, these statistics indicate that the majority of Latinos receiving college degrees are likely native-born, and tend to associate less so with their ethnic roots than foreignborn Latinos, signaling a diminished feeling of group identity.

The perception that group identity wanes as Latinos acquire more education is boosted by other findings as well. Not only does the report, When Labels Don’t Fit: Hispanics and Their Views of Identity, by Mark Hugo Lopez et al. make plain the lack of cohesion among Hispanics when it comes to labeling themselves, but it also exposes a slight difference between college-educated Latinos and Latinos with less education. When faced with a choice between the terms Hispanic or Latino, apparently The expression of ‘no preference’ is high among Latinos who have at least some college education (59%) and among English-dominant Latinos (58%).

Meanwhile, expression of ‘no preference’ is lowest among Spanish-dominant Latinos (47%) and those who have less than a high school education (44%).

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Since there is little perceived difference between “Hispanic” and “Latino” in the world of higher education, perhaps college-educated Latinos are simply more comfortable using the two terms interchangeably. However, these statistics can similarly be used to show a decline in strong group identity as education increases.

In the same vein, research on Latino voting trends can also offer insight into correlations between education and group identity. In the study, Take One for the Team: Ethnic Identity, Candidate Qualification and Co-Ethnic Voting, about the link between ethnicity and voting behavior, Sylvia Manzano and Gabriel R. Sanchez find that “Higher levels of education significantly depress support for less-qualified co-ethnics.” The analysis goes on to claim that “This is intuitive, as those with advanced education and associated sophistication would probably have strong reservations “Linked fate is the notion about supporting underqualified that individual life chances candidates.” are related to the success of Conversely, “Those everyone in a group.” with strong ethnic attachments are more likely to vote for a coethnic even when less qualified than the nonLatino on the ballot.” Once more, the simplest explanation is that college-educated Latinos must just have a weaker sense of group identity than less-educated Latinos. Then again, the reason some Hispanics prefer voting for coethnics, regardless of their qualifications, is because they believe it benefits the Latino community as a whole to have one of their own in office.

There is an undeniable difference between the attitudes of highly educated Hispanics and Hispanics with less education, but for college graduates earning decent wages, the idea that their individual success is dependent on the success of their ethnic group can be a challenge to relate to. With that in mind, it can also be argued that what collegeeducated Latinos truly lack is a sense of linked fate, at least more than they lack group identity.

In social sciences, the ideas of linked fate and group identity as they pertain to minority groups are undoubtedly intertwined. However, there remains a fine line between the two.

Linked fate is the notion that individual life chances are related to the success of everyone in a group. Similarly, group identity is simply 16

the sense of belonging to a larger group and identifying strongly with them.

Still, it remains possible for an individual to experience feelings of group identity without deep feelings of linked fate, which appears to be the case with college-educated Latinos in particular. This concept is discussed by Natalie Masouka and Gabriel R. Sanchez in the study, Brown Utility Heuristic?: The Presence and Contributing Factors of Latino Linked Fate.

In the study, Masouka and Sanchez analyze how Latino adults view their personal fates in relation to their national origin groups and the larger Hispanic community. Based on the results of the Latino National Survey, Masouka and Sanchez find that “Income is negatively correlated with pan-ethnic linked fate, suggesting that Latinos with lower levels of income are more likely to believe that their status is tied to that of other Latinos.” Therefore, college-educated Latinos should relate to the idea of group identity less than other Latinos, since education and income are frequently correlated. Surprisingly though, Masouka and Sanchez also find that “Alternatively, in direct contrast to the trends with income, education is positively correlated with linked fate at the individual-level. This suggests that Latinos with higher educational levels are more likely to believe that their individual fate is tied to that of other Latinos.”

The conflicting discoveries made by Masouka and Sanchez paint an interesting picture of college-educated Latinos. As expected, the relationship between greater income and linked fate is negative, yet, the relationship between higher education and linked fate is undeniably positive (Masouka and Sanchez, 2010). It makes sense for collegeeducated Latinos with higher than average incomes to view linked fate as less of an issue for Hispanics, because their lives are proof that individual success is possible outside of group success. Conversely, well-educated Latinos also tend to be more aware of how their Hispanic ethnicity distinguishes them from non-Latinos.

Hence, high-achieving Latinos are generally inclined to identify with the idea of linked fate only at the individual level—a concept that is arguably more synonymous with the term “group identity” than actual “linked fate,” depending on the interpretation.

Group identity is sometimes strong among college-educated Latinos for several

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reasons, the most obvious of which involves exposure to situations where few Hispanics are present, making cultural differences more apparent as a consequence. In effect, the experience of being the only Latino in the room often gives Latinos a greater sense of purpose in terms of their ethnic identity. Although it may seem counterintuitive for Hispanics to feel increased group identity when isolated from other members of their ethnic group, it is an occurrence that holds true across numerous studies. The Connections between Latino Ethnic Identity and Adult Experiences, by Ebelia Hernandez et al. is one such study. In their research, Hernandez et al. examine how Latino ethnic identity is influenced by various life experiences. Notably, college, graduate school, etc. are cited by multiple participants as having helped shape their personal identities.

In the words of Priscilla, a partaker in the study, Graduate school has really made me appreciate and further evaluate my identity… I suppose the lack of Latino awareness and exposure to the culture in my program has inspired me to raise awareness and provide exposure in my projects. This experience has brought on a deeper, stronger, more endearing appreciation for my Latino culture.

Furthermore, Latinos in similar situations are known to give similar testimonies. Rather than conforming to the largely homogeneous environments of which they are a part, highly educated Latinos are liable to develop greater affection for their culture. Granted, different people express their commitment to their culture in different ways, something made apparent by Darris R. Means and Kimberly B. Pyne in their case study of Ana, a low-income, first-generation college freshman in Underrepresented and in/ visible: A Hispanic first-generation student’s narratives of college.

During her first year at a decidedly elite, private university, Ana reports down-playing her underprivileged status while around her wealthy peers. “Invisibility became a deliberate shield, a protective wall erected between her intellectual self and a sense of not belonging in this advanced (and highly privileged) space” (Means and Pyne, 2013). Then again, Ana also describes taking solace in the company of friends from similar backgrounds: “These friends tended to be international students,

Hispanic students, or first-generation students from her scholarship program, all of whom shared some sense of ethnic, racial, or economic displacement” (Means and Pyne, 2013). In addition, Ana credits her family as the driving force behind her desire to succeed in school, signifying a certain commitment to her ethnic roots.

By and large, Ana continues to demonstrate signs of strong group identity in her own quiet way.

Ana may act casual “As the number of Hispanics when her roommate earning college degrees mentions her E u r o p e a n continues its rapid increase, the topic of how education adventures in an attempt to avoid a affects Latino group identity potentially awkward is more relevant now conversation, than ever before. ” nevertheless, her loyalty to her Hispanic culture and “la familia” are repeatedly reaffirmed by her experiences away from home (Means and Pyne 2013).

Moreover, the stories of Ana and Priscilla only represent two cases of which there are hundreds more. Stories of Hispanics who are both committed to their heritage while simultaneously bent on forging a new status quo. Obviously, gauging group identity among college-educated Latinos is especially tricky because their adult experiences are often vastly different from Latinos with less education. In some aspects, the college environment might be presumed to erode the sense of group identity among minority students, but individuals like Priscilla and Ana stand as living evidence to the contrary.

As the number of Hispanics earning college degrees continues its rapid increase, the topic of how education affects Latino group identity is more relevant now than ever before.

There are data to suggest that foreign-born Latinos feel more strongly about the wellbeing of other Hispanics than their native-born counterparts, who are statistically more likely to earn college degrees. On the other hand, while the evidence does point to the idea that college-educated Latinos experience less group identity, there is strong contrasting evidence to suggest that higher education can actually increase group identity among individual Latinos. All things considered, what collegeeducated Latinos appear to lack far more than a sense of strong group identity is a strong

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sense of linked fate. The terms are similar, but not identical, and the distinction between them is indisputably critical to understanding college-educated Latinos as a growing Hispanic subgroup.

Works Cited Fry, Richard and Mark Hugo Lopez. (August 20, 2012).

“Hispanic Student Enrollments Reach New Highs in 2011.” Pew Hispanic Center, Washington, D.C. http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/08/20/ivcollege-graduation-and-hispanics/ Lopez, Mark Hugo. (October 7, 2009) “Latinos and Education: Explaining the Attainment Gap.” Pew Hispanic Center, Washington, D.C. http:// www.pewhispanic.org/2009/10/07/latinos-andeducation-explaining-the-attainment-gap/ Lopez, Mark Hugo. (October 22, 2013) “Three-Fourths of Hispanics Say Their Community Needs a Leader.” Pew Hispanic Center, Washington, D.C. http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/10/22/threefourths-of-hispanics-say-their-community-needs-aleader/ Lopez, Mark Hugo, Jessica Martinez, Paul Taylor and Gabriel Velasco. (April 4, 2012). “When L a b e l s Don’t Fit: Hispanics and Their Views of Identity.”

Pew Hispanic Center, W a s h i n g t o n , D.C. http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/04/04/ when-labels-dont-fit hispanics-and-their-views-ofidentity/ Manzano, Sylvia, and Gabriel R. Sanchez. (2010). “Take One for the Team: Ethnic Identity, Candidate Qualification and Co-Ethnic Voting.” Political Research Quarterly, 63.3, 568-580.

Masouka, Natalie, and Gabriel R. Sanchez. (2010).

“Brown Utility Heuristic?: The p r e s e n c e a n d Contributing Factors of Latino Linked Fate.” The Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 32.3, 519-531.

Hernandez, Ebelia, Andrea L. Robledo, Christianne I. Medrano, Lisa D. Wallace, Sylvia Martinez and Vasti Torres. (2012). “The Connections between Latino Ethnic Identity and Adult Experiences.” Adult Education Quarterly, 62.1, 3-18.

Means, Darris R., and Kimberly B. Pyne. (2013).

“Underrepresented and in/visible: A Hispanic first-generation student’s narratives of college.”

Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 6.3, 186-198.

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Napoleon’s Interest in Egypt

Written by: Sally Story, Nominated by: Dr. Charlie Steen

Napoleon proposed a campaign idea to the French government to take over Egypt. He used persuasion tactics that appealed to the French government by discussing the advantages that would come from the campaign.1 First, the campaign would allow the French to undermine the British by attacking in Egypt and would produce much fewer casualties than facing the British head on. He also argued that it would protect the trade interest of France while gaining more territory. Egypt was the perfect location for trade as it was centrally located between the east and west, which would provide a direct trading route to India, giving the French major power and advantage. By conquering Egypt, the French would gain access to the construction of the Suez Canal,2 which would assist the French as it would continue to assist with trade. Fortunately for Napoleon, his tactics worked. The French not only wanted to colonize Egypt and gain more territory, but the French also believed that Egypt was the cradle of westernization and enlightenment ideas would thrive there.3 Napoleon may have had some alternative motives as he wished to walk in the footsteps of Alexander the Great while also discovering the history within Egypt.

Napoleon’s fascination with Egypt would

continue throughout his campaign.

Napoleon Bonaparte had many reasons for invading Egypt. One major motive was to westernize the country. He thought that Egypt had a plethora of history and it was adaptable to the modern western world.4 Egypt was said to be the birthplace of European wisdom and had been surveyed in the past; however, much of the research was considered to be romanticized as seen in Mozart’s The Magic Flute.5 Egypt was known to have a very ancient history and for that reason needed to be explored by the French. Napoleon argued that the French rediscovered and restored a great ancient culture. During the time that Napoleon invaded Egypt, France was involved extensively in the Enlightenment. By being able to bring those ideas and capturing Egypt, France would then gain power and control in Europe.6 Napoleon faced many battles under the Egyptian Campaign. One of the most important battles was that of the Battle of the Pyramids, named by Napoleon himself, as the pyramids could be seen on the horizon. During the march to battle, Napoleon uttered his famous phrase, “Soldiers, forty centuries look down upon you.”7 That saying shows Napoleon’s fascination with Egyptian history, as he knew the historical

Russell, The Napoleonic survey of Egypt. 18-19. And Strathern, Napoleon in Egypt. 14-15.

Strathern, Napoleon in Egypt. 14.

3 Russell, Terence M. The Napoleonic Survey of Egypt : Description de l’Égypte : the monuments and customs of Egypt : selected engravings and texts. Vol. 1. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2001. 18.

4 Strathern, Paul. Napoleon in Egypt. Bantam hardcover ed. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 2007. 14. And Russell, The Napoleonic survey of Egypt. 16-17.

5 Byrd, Melanie. “INS Scholarship 1998: The Napoleonic Institute of Egypt.” INS Scholarship 1998: The Napoleonic Institute of Egypt. http://www.napoleon-series.org/ins/scholarship98/c_institute.html 6 Strathern, Napoleon in Egypt. 13-17 7 Byrd, “INS Scholarship 1998: The Napoleonic Institute of Egypt” 1

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aspect of the pyramids and shared his expertise with his army in order for them to reflect on the importance of Egypt. This battle helped with Napoleon’s occupation of Lower Egypt, as he conquered the Malmeluke army multiple times on his way to Cairo. The battle was bloody, but it would establish the French power in Egypt, as they would loot those they killed, gaining many riches. In addition, the battle would also provide Napoleon’s scholars with the necessary means to explore the boundaries of Egypt.

Napoleon knew the history and significance of the pyramids and did not disregard it, but he told his soldiers to acknowledge the importance of what lay ahead. Over many years, Hyksos, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, and Turks had all conquered Egypt, and Napoleon believed it was now France’s opportunity.8 Napoleon’s interest in Egypt extended past the battlefields.

Napoleon, first felt inclined to understand the importance of the Egyptian culture of the past, as it would help him understand the people of the country, which would ultimately help him defeat those he had to fight. Napoleon’s campaign helped his scientists unravel the secrets and mysteries of the pyramids, and Egyptology would only grow from there.

Another major conquest for Napoleon in Egypt was that of the Suez Canal. Napoleon had learned of an ancient canal that connected the Gulf of the Suez to the Red Sea. Napoleon had his own ideas about the construction of the canal, and wanted to locate the old one despite it having been filled in.9 He believed that construction of the old canal would still be visible, and it would able to help with the rebuilding of it, which would provide France with an extreme advantage over other European countries regarding trade in Egypt and India.10 He trusted his chief civil engineer, Jacques-Marie Le Pére, to make a topographical map of the canal in order to use it for future construction. The Suez Canal would create a more easily accessible route for trading with Egypt and other eastern parts of the world.11 Napoleon’s interest in the Suez Canal was strictly for the advancement of France.

If Napoleon had the means to construct the canal, France would gain immense power and

wealth, as well as becoming a major player in world trade as the French colonies in Egypt would be a major contributor of imports and exports. Although this did not go as the French had hoped, the quest to build the canal would continue in France and other countries. Even though the canal would not be built until 1869, the maps and drawings of the old canal provided excellent blueprints to the future builders. Because of Napoleon’s interest in the Suez Canal, he helped find, draw, and build one of the most useful trade routes still in effect today. The Suez Canal was not the only interest Napoleon had in Egypt, as he was also attracted to the ancient pyramids.

Byrd, “INS Scholarship 1998: The Napoleonic Institute of Egypt” Barthelemy Saint-Hiraire, Jules. Egypt and the Great Suez Canal. A narrative of Travels. London: R. Bentley, 1857.

10 Denon, Travels in Upper and Lower Egypt. And Barthelemy, Egypt and the Great Suez Canal.

11 Barthelemy, Egypt and the Great Suez Canal.

8 9

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Another of Napoleon’s scientific endeavors was to lead an expedition to the pyramids. On this journey, in 1798, Napoleon took 200 men on his travels. Napoleon and his scientists (from the Institution of France) climbed the Great Pyramid. Napoleon had special archeological interests in Egyptian pyramids and, at one point in the expedition, Napoleon asked the soldiers to leave him alone as he examined rooms of the pyramid by himself, believing it would reveal some mystery. Napoleon neither spoke, nor wrote about what he witnessed, but instead carried on with the excursion,12 which fathered rumors about Napoleon’s findings. In addition to the pyramids, the Great Sphinx was also excavated, despite the fact that the Sphinx was buried in sand up to its neck; it would not be fully cleared until 1818.13 Other voyages, like the Expedition of the Pyramids, were common throughout much of Egypt. Napoleon wanted to learn as much as he could about Egypt and had numerous scholars working on extracting and recording anything and everything found in Egypt.14 The expedition of the Pyramids was one of many scientific trips throughout Egypt. Every discovery was recorded and documented with precision. Rocks were drawn multiple times and close attention was paid to detail and the layers within. In Description de l’Egypt, there are numerous pages dedicated to the different types of dirt, sand, rocks, and plants found within Egypt. Each picture is drawn to scale, providing accurate descriptions and details that are still useful in modern times. This attention to detail was significant as it was one of the first accurate depictions of Egypt. The drawings and descriptions that were recorded by many scientists were not only the top notch of the day, but provided accurate maps that can still be used today.15 There are also many other buildings and sites that were exhumed, and Napoleon took his team of scientists to help him unearth Egypt, and because of this, one of the

most precise drawings and descriptions came from this time, from lunar charts, to drawings, to topographical maps, and everything in between. Maps were drawn to scale with many of them being comparable to today’s drawings, while buildings were measured to the exact length.

T o p o g r a p h i c a l “Napoleon asked the soldiers to leave him alone as he maps helped to define the examined rooms of the geographical area, pyramid by himself, believing as was the case of it would reveal some mystery.” the Suez Canal.

Without these drawings and findings, much of the world would not have known the types of animals or plant species that lived in Egypt for many years. The discoveries were recorded and sent to the Institute of Egypt to be documented and preserved.

The Institute of Egypt was an essential part of Napoleon’s plan for overtaking Egypt.

It operated on a twenty-six part document that helped bring enlightened ideas to Egypt.

It was at the institute that scholars reported findings about Egypt’s past and present and referred them back to the French Republic.16 The institute, like the National Institute, had different sections according to subject matter: mathematics, physics, political economy and literature, and arts. Each section had twelve members. Both members and non-members could submit research, which would then be considered for publication.17 It was at the Institute of Egypt that soldiers and scholars would report their findings.18 The goal of the institute was to spread knowledge. It summarized research and findings in its own journal, La Decade Egyptienne, in addition to printing the newspaper, the Courrier d’Egypte.

These articles informed readers about the French occupation in Egypt while also sharing details about the scientific proceedings. The French government also published articles and papers from the Institute in the Mémoires sur

Russell, Terence M. The Napoleonic Survey of Egypt. 27.

Denon, Travels in Upper and Lower Egypt.

14 Strathern, Napoleon in Egypt. 69. And Adams, Andrew Leith. Notes of a Naturalist I the Nile Valley and Mala, a Narrative of Exploration and Research in Connection with the Natural History, Geology, and Archaeology of the Lower Nile and Maltese islands. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, 1870.

15 Desctiption de l’Égypte 16 Correspondance de Napoléon, Bonaparte to Caffarelli. 22 August 1798, IV. 383-86.

17 Russell, The Napoleonic Survey of Egypt. 16.

18 Russell, The Napoleonic Survey of Egypt. 11-12 12 13

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l’Egypte. The Institute of Egypt was important, as it helped to create the Description de l’Egypt, a multivolume description of the findings in Egypt. This production took many years to complete and appeared between the years of 1809 – 1821.19 Napoleon initiated the Institute as a way for his men to report their findings. The Institute was important as it reported the findings back to France and documented every species, plant, animal, building, geographic feature, and rock found. As Napoleon wanted to learn the history of Egypt, the institution provided a place where he would be able to go back and search through old records while using anything that might be an advantage. Soldiers were able to compile information into databases, which would be used in the future to compile the multiple volumes of Description de l’Egypt.

The drawings and descriptions were so accurately and precisely recorded that many of them can still be used today.20 One such drawing done was that of the plant Buphthalmum Pratense. There is not only one drawing of the plant but multiple, as the drawing is broken down into many different parts. The main sketch shows the plant as a whole with all of the flowers, blossoms, leaves, thorns, stems, and everything else visible on the plant. The subsequent drawing has broken down the plant by sections. One drawing is devoted to the leaves on the plant. The drawing has every vein, thorn, and hair seen by the naked eye.

The next sketches of the plant show the buds in addition to the flower petals, stems, and even the root of the plant. In addition, the drawings also show the profile, frontal, and aerial view. The observer was so meticulous with drawing that there are a total of seven successive drawings devoted to one plant.21 Napoleon believed that in order to invade and conquer a territory, one must know everything about it from the past, present, economic situation, environment, and much more.22 Because of this, he took anyone and everyone on his quest including chemists, mathematicians, engineers, zoologists, mineralogists, illustrators, and historians. One of the biggest and probably most significant findings Russell, The Napoleonic Survey of Egypt. 13-15 Russell, The Napoleonic Survey of Egypt. 13 21 Description de l’Egypt. (Pl. 48, Vol. II. Botanique, par Alire Raffeneau-Delile,) 22 Denon, Vivant, and Edward Augustus Kendall. Travels in Upper and Lower Egypt: During the Campaigns of General Bonaparte. Second corrected ed. London: Cundee, 1803.

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during the invasion of Egypt was that of the Rosetta Stone. Scholars immediately saw that this stone was the key to deciphering the ancient Egyptian language and possibly two more.23 In the summer of 1799, Napoleon’s soldiers went into the town of Rosetta, where one of the soldiers uncovered a shiny stone and took it back to the Institute. There, scholars recognized that the stone could be used to decipher the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.24 They spent fortnights making copies of the engravings on the stone, which would become helpful after the British would eventually seize the stone. Although the stone would not be interpreted for many years, the Rosetta Stone was one of the biggest, if not most important, discovery found under Napoleon in Egypt.25 The Rosetta Stone did not capture the attention of Napoleon, but it was nevertheless one of the biggest discoveries found under his rule. The stone is a direct outcome of Napoleon Bonaparte’s Egyptian Campaign, and would eventually help scholars decipher the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.26 If Napoleon had not had a fascination with Egypt and had not brought his corps of scientists, it would have been many more years until the Rosetta Stone would have been discovered. Ultimately, it was Napoleon’s decision to examine Egypt that allowed for the finding of the Rosetta Stone.

The finding of this stone directly affected the Western World’s understanding of Egyptian culture.

Despite Napoleon’s military disaster in Egypt, he was able to uncover and show the Western World the culture and mysteries within Egypt. Napoleon used his campaign as a way for his army of scientists to unearth Egypt and record their findings. Egypt was uncovered and every miniscule encounter was drawn and recorded accurately for further use. Napoleon also believed that learning about the Egyptian culture would benefit him and his soldiers in battle. Unfortunately, this was not the case, but regardless of the military failure, Napoleon’s interest in Egypt led to many scientific benefits,

such as the Rosetta Stone. In addition, the escapade helped to build the foundations of Egyptology. Napoleon’s excursion allowed for the western world to learn about the unique culture of Egypt.

Works Cited Andrews, Carol. The Rosetta Stone. London: British Museum Press, 1981.

Adams, Andrew Leith. Notes of a Naturalist: the Nile Valley and Mala, a Narrative of Exploration and Research in Connection with the Natural History, Geology, and Archaeology of the Lower Nile and Maltese islands. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, 1870.

Antes, John. Observations on the Manners and Customs of the Egyptians, the Overflowing of the Nile and Its Effects; with Remarks on the Plague, and Other Subjects. London: J. Stockdale, 1800.

Barthelemy Saint-Hiraire, Jules. Egypt and the Great Suez Canal. A narrative of Travels. London: R. Bentley, 1857.

Burleigh, Nina. Mirage: Napoleon’s scientists and the unveiling of Egypt. New York: Harper, 2007.

Byrd, Melanie. “INS Scholarship 1998: The Napoleonic Institute of Egypt.” INS Scholarship 1998: The Napoleonic Institute of Egypt. http://www. napoleon-series.org/ins/scholarship98/c_institute. html (accessed March 7, 2014).

Correspondance de Napoléon, Bonaparte to Caffarelli, 22 August 1798, IV. Denon, Vivant, and Edward Augustus Kendall. Travels in Upper and Lower Egypt: During the Campaigns of General Bonaparte. Second corrected ed. London: Cundee, 1803.

Description de l’Égypte. Paris: Institute de Orient, 1808.

Russell, Terence M. The Napoleonic survey of Egypt: Description de l’Égypte: the monuments and customs of Egypt: selected engravings and texts.

Vol. 1. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2001.

Strathern, Paul. Napoleon in Egypt. Bantam hardcover ed. New York: Bantam Books, 2007.

Andrews, Carol. The Rosetta Stone. British Museum Press: London, 1981. 10.

Adams, Andrew Leith. Notes of a Naturalist I the Nile Valley and Mala, a Narrative of Exploration and Research in Connection with the Natural History, Geology, and Archaeology of the Lower Nile and Maltese islands. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, 1870. And Denon, Travels in Upper and Lower Egypt.

25 Andrews, Carol. The Rosetta Stone. British Museum Press: London, 1981. 35.

26 Andrews, The Rosetta Stone. 4-6, 54.

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Only Place Left to Go is Up Written by: Lissa Baca, Nominated by: Kathryne Lim

I remember the day I got my kitten. It had been a week since my suicide attempt, and I had stopped cutting. Somehow, I was able to convince my mother that a kitten would keep me happy. I wasn’t lying. I just didn’t think she’d believe me.

I played with three female kittens before I found the one I wanted. There was a little boy kitten that caught my eye, but my mother told me three tomcats in one house was too much, so I had to get a girl.

The first kitten was too busy exploring the playroom to actually play with me. The second, which I distinctly remember being named Squirrel, was way too hyperactive and spent the entire time bouncing off the walls. The third kitten, named Milly, climbed into my lap and fell asleep on my thigh. And that was the kitten I took home.

I renamed her Pippinpadalopsacopalous because it was the most ridiculous name I had ever heard. My family couldn’t pronounce it, so everyone just called her Pip, which was fine with me. Pip was the size of a pea compared to the titan cats we had at home. There was Furby, the old fart, and Batman, the fat and happy middle child. Furby took one look at Pip and sighed a cat sigh. He was too old to deal with another kitten.

Batman was intrigued. He sniffed the little ball of fluff and decided he was going to take her under his wing. They’ve been best friends ever since.

One year, eleven months, and nineteen days since my suicide attempt and Pip no longer sleeps on my thigh. When I pick her up she cries and screams until I put her down again.

She doesn’t sit with me when I’m working. If she spends any time with me, it’s while I’m watching TV; I sit on one side of the couch and 24

she sits on the other. My mother says she’ll mellow out as she gets older and then she’ll start sitting with me again. I hope that’s true. * One of my favorite quotes for the longest time was from the Disney movie Atlantis. One of the characters said, “Once you’ve hit rock bottom, the only place left to go is up.” While I was trying to get better, I thought this meant that recovery was going to be an easy climb straight out of the pit. No one told me that I would never be sure where rock bottom was. I’ve been buried underneath the Earth’s crust before and it seemed like that would be the deepest bottom I would ever reach, back when I was cutting, purging, dreaming of killing myself, and actually attempting to.

I thought that once I decided to climb up from rock bottom, then it would be an easy climb. I thought someone would drop me a rope and hoist me up with the simplest of ease. That’s what the brochures outside the therapists’ offices said.

What no one ever told me was once you’ve hit rock bottom, the only place left to go is up, but sometimes your hand is going to slip or you’re going to lose your footing and fall. When I slipped, I didn’t always fall all the way back down to rock bottom, but sometimes I got close.

Most of the time, those falls left permanent scars.

On September 23, 2012, I sat in the bathroom with the x-acto knife I stole from my stagecraft class, cutting away at my wrists. It wasn’t until my best friend got my goodbye text that my mother started banging on the door.

I didn’t open it, and when she asked if I was okay, I lied and said everything was fine. She didn’t believe me.

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She stood outside the door for some time, trying to draw me out. When I remained where I was, she called my father who then called an ambulance. My father got to me before the paramedics did. He was still in his sergeant’s uniform, after getting off the graveyard shift.

When he got home, he found my mother and me fighting over the knife, and he yelled at me to knock it off. I dropped the knife and sank into the tub, defeated.

The paramedics came and bound my wrists in gauze while I stared, blank faced, at my palms. I walked out barefoot to the ambulance, passing my siblings who were hiding in my room, peeking out of the doorway. I didn’t look at them.

Sometime between that early fall night and Christmas, after I had gotten Pip and after I been clean for a few weeks, I started cutting again. I don’t remember the exact reason why, but I picked up the razor and ended up with a one inch deep gash across the top of my arm. My mind went fuzzy, and I fell to my knees, blood gushing out of my arm. I’d never experienced anything like that before. I waited until my mother got home and quietly pulled her aside. I showed her my arm, and she nearly screamed. We drove to the hospital with me drifting in and out of consciousness.

When we walked into the ER, I thought the worst part was over. I thought that the actual cut would be the worst pain of the night. I never expected the numbing shots would hurt more than anything I had ever experienced. I shook and I cried and I tried to focus on my mother’s hand squeezing mine, hoping this would distract me from the pain, but it was no use. I had to suffer through it. As I lay there, praying for the pain to stop, I knew then that this was rock bottom. This was the point where I could sink no further. My wrists were still healing from September and I now had eleven stitches holding my upper arm together. I was a sobbing mess, holding onto my mother’s hand for dear life.

I swore then that I would climb out of this hole. I swore that there, laying on the hospital bed, getting my arm sewn back together, would be my lowest point. I decided it was time to make a change. * When I was first admitted to the hospital, my mother visited me every day. She brought me nail polish once and sat and talked with me

as she painted my nails. It was the first time during my stay that I felt calm and sane. We talked about random stuff, like my dog trying peanut butter for the first time, and reminisced about our trip to Hawaii the summer after my brother was born. It was nice, just having some time alone to talk with my mom. I hadn’t had much of that before.

The next morning, one of the nurses noticed the new nail polish on my hand. She asked where I got it and I proudly told her my mother painted them during her visit. The nurse gave me a look and told me that was “completely against the rules.” I didn’t see how it was a bad thing for a mother to spend a little girl time with her daughter during her incarceration.

I hid my hands in my sweater pockets for the remainder of my stay.

Ever since my release, my mother and I have been spending a lot more time together.

Every now and then, we’ll leave the other two children at home with Dad and go out to see a new art gallery or try a new sushi place. Our time together was nice and something I didn’t get very much before.

Being the oldest of three, my parents and I don’t really get a lot of alone time together. For a while, when it was just my sister and me, it was easier for each of us to spend some one-onone time with each of our parents. For example, every year before Christmas, our parents would take us shopping. We’d split up into two teams, my father and I on one team and my mom and sister on the other.

Each “As I lay there, praying for team would have to look the pain to stop, I knew then that this was rock bottom.” for presents for the members of the other team. For whatever reason, this was always one of the more fun traditions we had. I think it was because we had to be sneaky to avoid the other team.

Things changed when we had my brother.

He was the surprise baby, given that my sister and I were nine and eleven and my parents thought they were done with kids. Ever since the baby came, I didn’t get as much attention as I used to. I’ve heard about middle child syndrome, but since my sister was always a bit of a handful, I was the one that ended up being forgotten.

That all changed after my hospital stay. I wasn’t given my parents undivided attention,

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but I did get to spend more time with them.

Truth be told, that was all I wanted. * There were a few things I learned about myself during my stay in the hospital. The most important being that I discovered I wanted to be a writer. During my stay, I had one book with me that I spent all my time reading. It was The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, the book I had been assigned to read in my English class.

I’d seen the movie before but had forgotten almost everything that happened throughout the story. As I was reading it, I became engrossed in the plot, falling in between the lines, as if I were actually being transported out from the white hospital walls to someplace different. Reading had become my anchor, keeping me here on Earth instead of floating away into insanity.

There was a girl, Roxanne, “This was when I decided I who spent her wanted to write. I wanted to be days either curled that author or poet that changes up in a ball in someone’s life or touches their the Day Room or hiding in her heart in some way.” room and crying.

Sometimes I wonder how her stay would have changed if she had a book to escape into.

That was when I realized how thankful I was to my English teacher and Mrs. Sue Monk Kidd, for inadvertently giving me a way to keep calm during my stay. This was when I decided I wanted to write. I wanted to be that author or poet that changes someone’s life or touches their heart in some way.

When I got home, I had half-filled sheets of paper strewn across the floor, forgotten and abandoned stories that I had started when I was bored in class. I read them through and tried to decide which ideas I should keep and which I should trash. To my dismay, several of the stories made no sense since I had given up on them before getting down to the real plot line. I decided to trash them all and start over.

I started buying notebooks and journals and giving them each a different purpose.

Sometimes the lines get blurred, and I just grab the first journal I see and start writing in that.

That’s all right with me, as long as I get the words down.

I’ve been working on my writing ever since, 26

and through my writings I have found a coping mechanism that works best for me. I have been able to find the thing that keeps me going when times get rough again. I’ve been focused on trying to better my writing by taking creative writing classes, reading, and learning about different writers’ processes online. I decided I wanted to go to college and write. I want to spend the rest of my days writing.

When things look like they are getting bad again, I write. When inspiration comes hard and fast like heavy rain during a windy day, I write. When I have no cause or reason to write, I write anyway. Writing has become a part of my life that has kept my depression at bay.

When I’m sad, I no longer go for the razor blades first. Instead, I reach into my bag and pull out my pen or pencil and just write.

Sometimes I can’t get the words out, because my sadness is too deep and it’s like I’m choking on the words, but I write anyway. Sometimes those pages get torn out, thrown away, and I never see them again, but I keep on writing.

Not every page is meant to stay in a notebook. * Sometimes, things don’t look like they’re getting better, and sometimes it feels like I’m heading down to rock bottom again. Sometimes Pip yells and screams when I pick her up, but she’ll still curl up by my feet when I’m reading in my bed. Sometimes I get thrown into the shadows because my younger siblings demand more attention, but my mother still makes sure to call me every now and then to see how I’m doing. Sometimes I sit for days, unable to write a single word, but I still don’t give up.

I have decided what I want in life, and I have decided never to hit rock bottom again.

Disney was right; once you’ve hit rock bottom, the only place left to go is up.

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Swedes, Slavs, and Silver:

Viking Actions and Impact in Early Medieval Russia Written by: Bryna Milligan, Nominated by: Erika Monahan

The presence of Vikings in Russia and their influence on its history have been hotly debated, especially in the past century. Soviet scholars in particular have long denied that Swedish Vikings established the first Russian state, while sources like the Primary Chronicle strongly suggest that they did. While the Rurikid Dynasty bore an obvious Nordic influence in the names of some of its rulers, many of them also intermarried with Slavs; its most famous member, Vladimir of Kiev, seems to have had little in common with his Swedish ancestors. Furthermore, Viking presence died out by the year 1000, and modern Russia exhibits no cultural connections to Sweden.

While the fact that Vikings were present in the Russian landscape is undeniable, their influence is unclear. It seems equally likely that the Vikings were more apt to assimilate into the existing Slavic culture than dominate it.

These questions form the basis of the so-called Normanist Controversy, and they contain serious implications for the Russian historical legacy.

The question of why the Vikings entered Russia must be answered first. The scholar Thomas Noonan wryly noted that “The lands of northwestern Russia did not exactly play the role of Circe luring the Vikings into Russia”1—the Russian interior was relatively poor, sparsely

populated and largely inaccessible. While all of Scandinavia experienced a population boom in the early ninth century, Sweden had enough arable land to allow for these people to expand and settle within its borders.2 At first, this information makes the question of Viking motivations more confusing, but in fact, the island of Gotland, located between Sweden and Latvia, was the first to produce colonial expeditions to the east. By the middle of the eighth century,3 the entire island served as a massive trading post, shuttling goods between Scandinavia and the east.4 Today, Gotland provides the richest archaeological record of Viking trade, and it reveals how sophisticated this network was. Gotland has produced some 50,000 silver Arabic coins, the most of any Viking-age settlement, and it boasts graves with stone-ship outlines up to 3,000 years old.5 Gotlandic graves and artifacts reveal that colonies were established in Latvia as early as the year 650,6 and existed for about 200 years before they apparently assimilated into the surrounding culture. The archaeologist Birger Nerman excavated Viking graves near Grobin, Latvia in 1929-1930, and concluded that Gotlanders and Svears (from middle Sweden) had settled the area around 650. The Svears were primarily warriors and established a fort, until the native Kurs expelled them around the

Thomas S. Noonan, “Why the Vikings First Came to Russia.” Jarhbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas, Bd. 34, H. 3 (1986): 322.

JSTOR (http://www.jstor.org/stable/41047750) 2 Magnus Magnusson. Vikings! (New York: Elsevier-Dutton Publishing co.), 95.

3 Wladyslaw Duczko, Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe. (Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2004), 62. Permalink: http://libproxy.unm.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login. aspx?direct=true&db=cat00503a&AN=unm.b7885304&site=eds-live&scope=site 4 Magnusson, Vikings!, 94.

5 Magnusson, Vikings!, 92.

6 Noonan, “Why the Vikings First Came to Russia,” 327.

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year 800, while the Gotlandic settlement lasted another 50 years.7 A ship burial discovered in 2008 on the island of Saaremaa, near Estonia, also supports the idea of Swedish warriors in the eastern Baltic. The ship contained the remains of 33 men, all warriors, who were apparently killed in battle in the early eighth century, stacked in rows of four and buried with their weapons.8 Some archaeologists have been tempted to tie this find to Ynglinga Saga, in which King Yngvar of Sweden was killed during a revenge raid on “Estland,”9 but the ship cannot corroborate the legend based on one coincidence. While it is impossible to tell if they were Svears or Ynglings, the ship burial reveals that Swedes were active in the region, and their interactions were not always peaceful. The Gotlandic colonists continued trade with the east, as revealed “The Abbasid caliphate was by the presence of coins from the the wealthiest region in the area south of the known world, and their coin Caspian Sea, and industry was unparalleled may have been the in the eighth century.” first Scandinavians to learn of the fabulous wealth of the Islamic world.

The Abbasid caliphate was the wealthiest region in the known world, and their coin industry was unparalleled in the eighth century. By 850, the caliphate had twelve major mints, which spread from Africa to northern Khurasan.10 By this time, Islamic dirhams were the standard currency, which Carolingian denarii attempted to imitate.11 In the late ninth

century, the Samanids—a client dynasty to the Abbasids—were minting silver coins for use almost exclusively in foreign trade, and many of these coins worked their way into the Volga Bulgars’ trade system by the early tenth century.12 It was the Bulgars who helped circulate Islamic dirhams even farther to the north and west, where Swedish merchants could find them.

Persian silver first reached the Kama river basin in the sixth century,13 and by 800, these coins had worked their way to the Russian heartland through trade between Arabs and Khazars.14 Swedish merchants wanted a foothold on the trade, but establishing a network would not be easy. In the year 800, Staraja Ladoga was the only town of note near the Volga, and the surrounding terrain was marshy and nearly impossible to navigate.15 Nonetheless, the Vikings were determined to expand their influence to the Caspian Sea, and Viking traders eventually sailed up the Volga and into Bulgar territory. Abbasids and Khazarians alike paid large quantities of silver dirhams for furs and slaves from the north.16 The presence of coiled silver bands, used as currency, called “Permian rings,” in fur-producing areas further indicates that these areas saw extensive trade, likely facilitated by Vikings.17 The hoards of Islamic silver in Viking settlements indicate that they penetrated Russia’s interior specifically to engage in trade with the Abbasid caliphate. Nearly 200,000 dirhams have been recovered from European Russia and the Baltic, and almost 500 hoards

Noonan, “Why the Vikings First Came to Russia,” 327-328.

Andrew Curry, “The First Vikings,” Archaeology Magazine (July/Aug 2013): Published June 10, 2013. http://www.archaeology. org/issues/95-1307/features/941-vikings-saaremaa-estonia-salme-vendel-oseberg#art_page5 9 Ynglinga Saga, 36. http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/heim/02ynglga.htm 10 Thomas S. Noonan, “Early Abbasid Mint Output.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 29, No. 2(June 1986): 124. JSTOR (http://www.jstor.org/stable/3631784) 11 http://mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu/cowen/~gel115/115ch7.html 12 Wladyslaw Duczko, Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe. 119. Permalink: http://libproxy. unm.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat00503a&AN=unm.b7885304&site=edslive&scope=site 13 Birgitta Hardh, “Oriental-Scandinavian Contacts on the Volga, as Manifested by Silver Rings and Weight Systems,” in Silver Economy in the Viking Age, edited by James Graham-Campbell and Gareth Williams (Walnut Creek: Left Coast Publishers, 2007), Ch. 8. UNMLibrary Database (http://libros.unm.edu/record=b7915091~S7) 14 Noonan, “Why the Vikings First Came to Russia,” 340.

15 Noonan, “Why the Vikings First Came to Russia.” 322.

16 Duczko, Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe, 63.

17 Hardh, “Oriental-Scandinavian Contacts on the Volga, as Manifested by Silver Rings and Weight Systems,” Ch. 8.

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were discovered in Sweden alone.18 The number of dirhams recovered from the Baltic indicates that Gotlandic settlers were the most active in tenth century eastern trade.19 Although difficult and dangerous to navigate, the Volga River provided a direct artery to Abbasid merchants.

Accounts from Muslim historians further indicate that Vikings were navigating the Volga, trading furs and slaves for silver dirhams.

The 922 account of Rus traders on the Volga by Achmad ibn Fadlan remains the best eyewitness testimony of their mannerisms.

Ibn Fadlan described brooches and neck-rings matching those found in numerous Viking graves in Sweden and Russia and explained their system of buying neck-rings for their wives as they gained more dirhams.20 Ibn Fadlan described the Rus’s form of worship: each one of them goes ashore with bread, meat, onions, milk, and mead, and betakes himself to a tall wooden pole set upright, that has a face like a man. [ . . . ] He gathers a number of sheep and oxen . . . and casts it before that great wooden image . . . He hangs the heads of the cattle, or those of the sheep, on the poles . . .21 This pole may have been an idol of Thor, Odin, or even the Slavic thunder god Perun. These gods were traditionally worshiped in forests, so the pole may have been substituted for a tree, which would obviously be lacking in the steppe.

The offerings of food are also typical of many pagan worship practices, and Adam of Bremen listed animal sacrifice among the rituals of Uppsala in Sweden.22 However, the most striking section of ibn Fadlan’s account is the burial of the Rus chieftain.

The dead man was placed in a ship with clothes, food, weapons, and a slave girl to serve as his wife in the afterlife. The ship was cremated to release the dead man into paradise,23 a belief

that was also mentioned in Ynglinga Saga: “It was their faith that the higher the smoke arose in the air, the higher he would be raised whose pile it was; and the richer he would be, the more property that was consumed with him.”24 The practice of sacrificing a slave girl bears some similarity to the funeral of “This practice of sacrificing Sigurd, in which a bride may have been Brynhild stabbed herself to join him acquired from a different in the afterlife.25 tribe with which the However, only Rus were in steady contact.” very few shipburials of couples have been found. This practice of sacrificing a bride may have been acquired from a different tribe with which the Rus were in steady contact.

Ibn Fadlan’s account shows that the Rus were involved in trade within the borders of the Bulgar Empire, and he corroborates the theory that they traded slaves and furs for Islamic dirhams.26 His account is also one of the only surviving eyewitness accounts of a pagan Rus community. Sadly, some of the details, such as the deity worshiped at the Rus camp, are impossible to clarify, but ibn Fadlan provided an extremely valuable source for understanding the nature of Rus traders in the Volga-Kama region.

The Viking traders needed to establish colonies to maintain their control of the Volga trade routes. Swedish families, primarily from Svealand, began settling in Staraja Ladoga in the early ninth century. By the year 900, Swedish immigrants had settled at Gnezdovo on the upper Dnieper, which became one of the most important Viking cities in the tenth century. Other settlements formed in Yaroslavl and Vladimir, near the Volga and Oka headwaters.27 At the end of the ninth century,

“Medieval Silver and Gold,” last modified April 1999, http://mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu/cowen/~gel115/115ch7.html 19 Duczko, Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe, 119.

20 Achmad ibn Fadlan, Ibn Fadlan’s Journey to Russia: a Tenth-Century Traveler from Baghdad to the Volga River, trans.

Richard Frye (Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2005), 63.

21 Ibn Fadlan, 66.

22 Magnusson, Vikings!, 101.

23 Ibn Fadlan, 70.

24 Ynglinga saga, ch. 10. http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/heim/02ynglga.htm 25 The Saga of the Volsungs, trans. Jesse L. Byock (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990), Ch. 33.

26 Ibn Fadlan, 65.

27 S.H. Cross, “The Scandinavian Infiltration Into Early Russia,” Speculum, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Oct 1946): 505. JSTOR (http://www. jstor.org/stable/2856771) 18

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Swedes migrated farther down the Dnieper, eventually settling in Kiev.28 These colonies were unique from western Viking settlements in their preservation of the Norse language and culture, which, as in the Gotlandic settlements of the Baltic, was largely due to the presence of Swedish women. Norse women were charged with the care and education of children, and it was their sole responsibility to pass on family histories and genealogy.29 Therefore, the women were the providers of cultural transmission.

The existence of Swedish women is proven by the discoveries of female jewelry in some of the graves at Gnezdovo, and the majority of Norse ornaments in Russia are female.30 About 200 animal-motif brooches have been found in Russia, a quantity second only to Sweden itself.31 By the year 1000, Swedish people, especially women, had stopped immigrating to Russia, and “Norse women were charged these communities with the care and education of assimilated into children, and it was their sole the older Finnoresponsibility to pass on family Ugrian and Slavic societies.32 The histories and genealogy.” scholar S.H. Cross pointed out that the Viking settlers didn’t actually found any new towns, but simply overpowered existing urban centers and made themselves the ruling elite,33 an observation that should comfort the opponents of the Normanist version of Russian history.

Russia’s terrain did not allow for the quick, opportunistic raids characteristic of Vikings in Western Europe, so the Swedish merchants had to make alliances with the region’s political leaders. The Soviet historian B.A. Rybyakov believed that Vikings were attracted by the “glamour” of the Kievan state, as well as its connections to wealthy Byzantium, and they needed the approval of the Kievan princes to trade with the Greeks.34 While this view bears a

heavy pro-Slavic bias, Rybyakov’s theory does explain why Swedish traders may have felt the need to participate in Kievan politics. The Primary Chronicle also credits the Rurikid Oleg (Helgi in Old Norse) with staging an assault on Constantinople, which ended with the Greeks paying tribute to the Rus and agreeing to give them trading privileges in Byzantium.

This included access to markets, entry visas, reduced customs duties, and most amusingly, unlimited baths.35 While strong-arm tactics and forced tribute were typical Viking behaviors in Western Europe, the Chronicle depicts the initial entry into Russian politics as somewhat less forceful.

The annals for 860-862 state: the tributaries of the Varangians drove them back beyond the sea and, refusing them further tribute, set out to govern themselves . . . But tribe rose against tribe.

They said to themselves, ‘Let us seek a prince who may rule over us and judge us according to the Law.’ They accordingly went overseas to the Varangian Rus’. . . the oldest, Rurik, located himself in Novgorod . . . The present inhabitants of Novgorod are descended from the Varangian race, but aforetime they were Slavs.36 This image of unruly Slavs inviting Swedes to rule over them has provoked inflammatory responses among countless Russian scholars, but it also clearly states that Varangians and Slavs were intermingling—and therefore exchanging cultures. The date of the Varangians’ arrival also disagrees with the archaeological evidence. The excavated settlements predate the alleged arrival of Rurik’s clan by at least a century, but perhaps this is how long it took the Swedish settlers to get involved in Russian affairs of government. Nonetheless, whether by invitation or subjugation, the Scandinavians had risen to the highest levels of Russian authority by the middle of the ninth century.

Duczko, Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe, 116.

Peter G. Foote, The Viking Achievement (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970), 108.

30 Duczko, Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe, 128.

31 Duczko, Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe, 129.

32 Duczko, Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe, 258.

33 Cross, “The Scandinavian Infiltration Into Early Russia,” 514.

34 Magnusson, Vikings!, 111-112.

35 Magnusson, Vikings!, 120.

36 The Russian Primary Chronicle, Laurentian Text, trans. Samuel Hazzard Cross and Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor (Cambridge, MA: The Medieval Academy of America, 1953), 6-7. Accessed on UNM EReserves.

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The surviving sagas depict the Rurikids as having regular contact with the Swedish kings.

The Saga of Yngvar the Traveler describes a marriage between a Swedish princess and a son of Vladimir of Kiev: King Jarizleif [Yaroslav of Novgorod] of Russia asked to marry Ingigerd. She was given to him, and she went east with him.

And when Eymund heard these tidings, he goes east to Russia, and King Jarizleif receives him well, as does Ingigerd, for there was at this time a serious conflict in Russia, because Burizleif, the brother of King Jarizleif, was making attacks on the kingdom.37 The historian Peter G. Foote estimated that this marriage took place sometime before King Olaf’s death in 1022.38 In the same chapter, Eymund, Ingigerd’s childhood friend and the father of the saga’s titular hero, “won immense wealth” working, in typical Varangian fashion, as a mercenary for Jarizleif. This account suggests that Swedes were traveling between Russia and Sweden quite freely and most likely bringing aspects of each culture to the other.

By the eleventh century, Scandinavian culture had all but died out in Russia. By the time Vladimir of Kiev was born in the mid-tenth century, all the Rurikids had Slavic names, and Vladimir’s mother, Malusha, was very possibly a Slav herself.39 However, Yaroslav’s dealings with the Scandinavian kings remained friendly.

He hosted the Norwegian King Olaf during his exile, and his daughter, Yelizaveta, married another king of Norway, Harold.40 These alliances indicate that while Scandinavian culture may have petered out within Russia, the Rurikid elite continued cultural exchange with their ancestor’s homeland.

Whether trade, colonization, or military subjugation, the actions of the Vikings in Russia carry enormous implications for Russia’s historical and cultural heritage. The debate over the role of the Scandinavians in Russia’s earliest years has resulted in the Normanist Controversy, in which Russia’s identity as the greatest Slavic

nation hangs in the balance. If Kievan Rus, the first recognizable Russian state, was in fact organized by Swedes, this identity would be shattered. However, the blending of Nordic and Slavic elements within the Rurikid family is undeniable. The Normanist Controversy can only be resolved through careful “The debate over the role of definitions of what the Scandinavians in Russia’s it meant to be Rus, earliest years has resulted in the and what cultural Normanist Controversy, elements really comprised the in which Russia’s identity as the greatest Slavic nation Kievan Rus state.

The oldest hangs in the balance.” record of the term comes from the Frankish Annales Bertiani, which records a Byzantine embassy of “Rhos” paying a visit to Louis the Pious in 839. Louis questioned them and learned that they were ethnically Svear-Swedes but were living outside of Sweden.41 The fact that Swedes were serving in the Byzantine emperor’s employ twenty years before the 860 raid on Constantinople is especially evocative. It is possible that these men, known as the Varangian Guard, were hired to protect the emperor from other Viking groups—it was precisely such an arrangement that established the duchy of Normandy in 911. Islamic sources also use the term arRus when describing a strange tribe from the north. Ubaidallah ibn Khurdabeh, a postal worker for the Baghdad caliphate, described them as a tribe that traded furs and swords along the Itil (Volga), and he also mentioned that they traded within Khazar territory and used Slavic interpreters.42 One interesting point of ibn Khurdabeh’s account is that the men he described identified as Christian, in sharp contrast to the Rus of ibn Fadlan’s account. This could indicate that they were well connected with Byzantium and had converted at the emperor’s bidding. At any rate, these two earliest accounts show that the word “Rus” was being used to describe Swedish people living in Eastern Europe in the mid-ninth century.

The Saga of Yngvar the Traveler, trans. Peter Tunstall (www.northvegr.org: 2005), Ch. 3 Foote, The Viking Achievement, 32.

39 Vladimir Volkoff, Vladimir: the Russian Viking (New York: the Overlook Press, 1984). 338.

40 Grekov, Kiev Rus, 653.

41 Duczko, Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe, 19.

42 Duczko, Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe, 22.

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However, at some point “Rus” shifted from an ethnic term to a socioeconomic one. In the 880s, the Rurikids had gained control of Kiev and in the following decades began “the building by the non-Slav Rus of a new power structure among the Slavs.”43 This new power structure also involved joining Novgorod with the Kievan state.44 Despite their obvious political savviness, the Rurikids’ success also required lasting alliances with the existing elites. The Primary Chronicle names these elites as “Elites quickly began to P o l y a n i a n s , 45 intermarry with Slavs, and it claims that which led to the extinction this particular of Norse language and Slavic tribe was culture in the region.” exceptionally noble and refined and was thusly able to intermingle with the Scandinavian Rus, eventually claiming the name.46 As the title of Rus became an increasingly multiethnic label, it was apparently used to distinguish the ruling class from their more culturally homogeneous subjects.

As it became a social title instead of an ethnic distinction, the Rus themselves must have become increasingly slavicized. The Primary Chronicle claims that the Swedish Rurikids were the first to be called Rus, but it also confirms that Slavs were considered Rus, too. This information renders the Normanist Controversy null and void, and proves that the Kievan state was a heterogeneous and cosmopolitan one, formed from a unique mix of cultures. It is impossible to determine if the Rurikid princes personally identified with their Scandinavian heritage more or less than their Slavic heritage, but it is equally impossible to claim that they belonged unambiguously to one ethnic group or the other. Therefore, Rus and Rurikid alike must be recognized as a product of Swedish and Slavic elements blending together.

The questions of what brought the Vikings to Russia, what they did there, and how they impacted the history and culture of the region are intertwined with ideas of wealth, power, and exchange. Their desire for Islamic silver led to exploration of the Volga River

and brought more wealth into northwestern Russia. The need to secure their place in this trade system prompted Svear-Swedes and Gotlanders to establish colonies along their major trade routes, but they also needed the approval of local princes to secure passage.

They established friendly trade relations with the Bulgars and Khazars, but they only rose to political power in western Russia. Swedish immigrants quickly became the elites of existing towns, and the Rurikids emerged as a royal dynasty in Novgorod. However, the Swedes did not stay purely Swedish for very long. Elites quickly began to intermarry with Slavs, which led to the extinction of Norse language and culture in the region. Like all colonial societies, the Viking Rus needed steady contact with their ancestral homeland to retain its culture, and when this contact ceased, they ceased to be purely Swedish. The Normanist Controversy is based, not in archaeological discoveries or medieval sources, but in ethnocentric rhetoric and Pro-Slavic bias. In fact, the question of whether Swedes or Slavs established Kievan Rus is the wrong question. The correct one is the question of how and when these two cultures combined to form the first Russian elite.

The Normanist Controversy undermines the exceptional diversity that was present in early medieval Russia, and it denies the importance of cultural exchange and assimilation.

Duczko, Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe, 206.

Grekov, Kiev Rus, 593.

45 Cross, Primary Chronicle, pg. 3.

46 Cross, Primary Chronicle, pg. 9.

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The Land Snail

Written by: Janette Duran, Nominated by: Dr. Michael Thomas

Introduction to Land Snails The term terrestrial snail encompasses a large variety of terrestrial mollusks that have spread across the globe both in prehistoric times and more recently as invasive species. Snail physiology is not only extremely different from that of humans and other vertebrates, but also rather different than that of other mollusks, which are mostly water-dwelling. One of the things humans find most alien about snails is their reproduction habits, as snails are hermaphroditic and lay eggs. Perhaps because land snails are alien in appearance, but common in distribution, humans have a very complicated relationship with them. In most of American culture, snails are viewed as garden pests. It is certainly true that snails can cause significant damage, not only to household gardens, but also to industrial agriculture. The occupants of other countries, such as France, Spain, and Nigeria, are more likely to think of the land snail as a possible food source, even a rare delicacy. There is even an increasing trend of keeping snails as pets, usually for small children, as they are easy to care for and fairly hardy. People’s multifaceted view of the land snail makes for rather varied interactions and attitudes during the common occurrence of these two species coming into contact with one another.

Snail Physiology The snail body is defined in three parts: a foot, a head, and the coiled mass located inside the shell that contains most of the snail’s vital organs. These organs include a lung in the form of a pulmonary cavity, a heart, which unlike the human heart, is not connected to veins but rather an open circulatory system, a digestive track, and both male and female

genitalia (Brosi, 2010). Half of a snail’s respiration is done directly through its skin while the rest is through a breathing hole called a pneumostome, which leads to the pulmonary cavity (Bailey, 2010). A snail’s shell is spiraled, attached to the mantel, and grows along with the snail (Brosi, 2010). Most snails are dextral, meaning that their shells open on the right.

However, there are minorities of snails that are sinistral, with left-opening shells. Many languages name snails for their spiraled shell, including English, which is derived from Schnecke, meaning spiral in German (Bailey, 2010). Most of the romance languages derive their names for snails from the Latin word for spiral, coclea (Gunn 2012).

Snails detect the world through the sensors on their stalks. The eyes of a snail are on the upper stalks and can retract back into the head.

However, vision is not the major way that snails detect the world; in fact, their eyes are less like human eyes and more like primitive light detectors. Instead, snails’ primary senses are taste, feel, and smell, the detectors for which are also located on the stalks (Bailey, 2010).

When the snail finds something it thinks is a likely food source, it takes a bite out of it with its thousands of teeth. Snail teeth are located on a ribbon-like structure called a radula, with around 33 teeth per row and over 2600 teeth in total, all facing backwards and when dragged across the snail’s snack, create the irregular, torn-looking holes that so bother backyard gardeners (Bailey, 2010). The diet of most land snail species consists of foliage both of living plants and decaying leaf litter, along with soil, which contains calcium. However, there are snails that have less docile feeding habits. Carnivorous snails are typically also cannibalistic, either eating through another

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snail’s shell or sticking its head into the other snail’s shell opening and consuming it from there (Bailey, 2010). Of course, snails cannot maintain their vegetable-rich diet during winter, so it is during this time of the year that snails go into a deep hibernation.

Hibernation is an impressive adaptation that may have helped early snails move across the world. During the fall, snails that live in cold climates will burrow into the ground or find a crevasse that fits them well and cover up the opening in their shell with a plug of mucus called an epiphragm. The design and thickness of these walls of mucus varies between species and habitats (Bailey, 2010). Snails can survive for impressive amounts of time in a state of hibernation; Bailey recounts reports of a snail trapped in a pillbox reanimating after two and a half years and another of a snail from a museum that revived after an impressive four years when introduced “Snails have been found to be to water (Bailey, able to lift at least nine times 2010). Snails may also engage in a their own weight vertically sort of temporary and an amazing fifty-one hibernation times their own weight...” during bad times outside of their normal hibernation routine called estivation, during which they usually attach themselves to surfaces from which weather changes can be detected and create a much thinner epiphragm (Bailey, 2010). This amazing survival tactic is made possible by another unique aspect of snail biology that is extremely important to their survival: mucus.

Snails are almost completely coated in mucus, which aids in keeping the snail’s body moist. Each snail species produces multiple kinds of mucus for specific purposes. For instance, snails move on a type of mucus called pedal mucus. Another kind of mucus is created if a snail’s shell is injured, which aids in its reparation. There is also the epiphragm, which is made of a different type of mucus from either of those (Bailey, 2010). As anyone who has ever picked up a garden snail knows, pedal mucus is not only very hard to get off but also very adhesive. This lends a hand to the snail’s incredible feats of strength. Snails have been found to be able to lift at least nine times their own weight vertically and an amazing fiftyone times their own weight along a flat surface (Sandford, 1886). Around one-third of a snail’s energy goes into slime production, so it is 34

understandable that snails will seek to conserve mucus whenever possible. Despite the fact that snails spend their lives in an area of few square yards that is occupied by their colony, snails are fairly solitary. However, when they do come across another snail trail, they will reuse it to save on pedal mucus (Bailey, 2010). Mucus is also important to mating.

Snail Reproduction Depending on the species, snails mate in the fall, late spring, or early summer. Snail mating begins with a courtship process during which the snails seem to get to know each other by touching stalks and circling. Less than a third of snails have the particularly peculiar courtship component called love darts. These darts are small shards of calcium carbonate that the snails inject into each other prior to mating. Depending on the species, a snail may have multiple darts, or a single dart it retracts and uses for multiple mating encounters. These darts are believed to transmit mucus that has pheromones to improve the storage of the partner’s sperm. Snails, being hermaphrodites, may exchange sperm simultaneously or mate multiple times and reverse roles (Bailey, 2010).

There is some evidence that large snails will invest more heavily in egg production since it is the more costly process while smaller snails focus on sperm production (Dillen et al, 2010).

The snail has the ability to store its partner’s sperm for between several months and several years, depending on the species, so it can wait for optimal conditions in which to fertilize and lay its eggs. As hermaphrodites, land snails do have the ability to self-fertilize. However, they do not usually do so in the wild (Bailey, 2010).

Due to these factors, snails have a control over what conditions their offspring will be born into that is unimaginable amongst mammals.

When conditions are right for snails to lay their eggs, they usually bury them, except in cases of high moisture in the soil, which could cause the eggs to burst due to osmosis (Bailey, 2010). Bailey was likely the first person to observe a snail returning to care for its eggs.

Before that, snails returning to their eggs had been presumed to be eating them. “On several occasions, the snail appeared to hold each egg in its mouth for a little while to ‘slime’ it… thereby keeping it at the right moisture for hatching” (Bailey, 2010). This sort of parental care is not usually associated with creepy-

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crawly garden pest creatures and is especially interesting given how much snails invest in quantity of offspring. Snails lay clutches of eggs that have a mean number of around 300 with a hatch rate of about 80% (Dillen et al, 2010). Of course, this can vary depending on environment, species, and health of the egglaying snail. When the eggs are finally ready to hatch, the young snails eat their eggshells, and sometimes the eggs of their unborn siblings, to gain calcium that will be needed to support the growth of their shells (Bailey, 2010). The fact that snails seem to care for their young, along with their ability to choose the best time to lay eggs, amazing healing abilities, strength, and versatility, clearly displays a creature that has evolved beautifully to survive and pass on their genes.

Snail Evolution Snails evolved from ocean-dwelling ancestors that looked similar to the modern limpet and whose direct descendants still exist in salt marshes and coastal waters. Mollusks are the second largest phylum, with over 100,000 species, most of which still live in aquatic environments. Modern land snails evolved from the family Endodontidae and are now classified along with terrestrial slugs in the order Stylommatophora, a different one from their aquatic cousins (“Molluscs-Phylum Mollusca”, 2010). Slugs, despite common perception, did not branch off earlier than snails on the evolutionary tree, but rather evolved from an early snail ancestor (Bailey, 2010). They are most certainly not snails that have managed to detach their shells from their mantels and crawl off without them, no matter what popular opinion seems to believe. Even though it cannot spontaneously change species, the terrestrial snail is a very adaptive animal. Studies on snails living in unstable habitats with nonconstant human occupation show that within a span of ten years, a pattern emerges of the majority snail shell color within the community changing to a formerly less common color to better blend in with the new level of shade in the habitat (Ozgo, 2011). It is not surprising that such an animal has managed to spread to nearly every habitat on Earth. There are over 35,000 living terrestrial snail species (Bailey, 2010), ranging in size from the 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) Giant African Snail at the largest end (“Molluscs-Phylum Mollusca”, 2010), to

the various species of minuscule microscopic snails (Bailey, 2010). This sort of variety is enabled by the multitude of different habitats and locations that terrestrial snails survive in all over the planet.

On first inspection, it is a bit of a puzzle how such a small “When the eggs are finally and slow creature could spread all ready to hatch, the young across the world. snails eat their eggshells, and This question sometimes the eggs of their even puzzled unborn siblings, to gain Darwin, according calcium that will be needed to Baily. “This to support the growth was one problem of their shells.” that greatly vexed Charles Darwin… he wrote… The means of transport… of land Mollusca utterly puzzle me” (Bailey, 2010).

The ultimate answer to Darwin’s question is probably twofold. First, ancient snails likely hitched unintentional rides on larger animals, either getting stuck on them as they walked past or being carried away as a potential meal in something’s talons. The second possible migration method hinges on the snail’s ability to hibernate through almost anything; it is possible that ancient snails accidentally hibernated in driftwood that carried them to foreign lands over ocean currents (Bailey, 2010). However it was accomplished, snails managed to cover the world before humans had the idea of conquering countries. It is therefore not the least bit surprising that humans have many different ideas on how best to interact with this strange little creature.

Snails as Pests and Agricultural Menaces The most common view of snails in the English-speaking world is that of the common garden pest. As a result of how common they are all over the world and because of their diet of fresh leafy greens, they are probably one of the best-known garden pests, along with slugs.

In Australia alone, over 9 million USD (10 million AUD) is spent per year on the chemical control of terrestrial snails in domestic gardens (Herbert and Sirgel, 2001). Snails primarily cause distress to gardeners by eating irregular holes in plant tissues on multiple levels and leaving slime trails throughout the garden (“Snails”, 2011). There are, of course, more environmentally friendly ways suggested for controlling a snail problem in the household

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garden. These methods include growing seedlings in pots before placing them in the garden, encouraging natural snail predators, creating traps of overturned grapefruit rinds or jam jars filled with beer, creating barriers or crushed rocks, gels, or copper, and handpicking the snails. Some of these methods are designed to actively kill the snails, such as the beer traps, which lure snails by smell and then cause them to drown, and the diatomaceous earth, which can cut through even a snail’s mucus protection (“Snails”, 2011). If none of these methods cure a gardener’s snail problem, there are always molluscicides. ‘Slug pellets’ are the most common form of snail-and-slug killer.

However, as the Royal Horticultural Society warns, “These pellets can harm other wildlife, pets, and young children if eaten in quantity” (“Snails”, 2011).

“Snail has in fact become so Despite the length popular in these regions that gardeners go to in there are entire farms dedicated order to get rid of to the commercial production snails, the worst damage snails do of snails for eating.” is not to private gardens, but rather to large-scale agricultural production.

Snails cause almost 47 million USD (50million AUD) in damages to Australian agricultural products annually, a cost that is increased by the damage caused to the nutrient cycle by removal methods like burning and tilling (Herbert and Sirgel, 2001). Most largescale agricultural damage is done by invasive species that, like their ancestors before them, move from continent to continent by catching rides on larger transport. In modern times they are mostly moved about in the shipping of food products. This is a more serious problem than one might expect from the modern mechanized food industry; for example, the USDA intercepts “an average of 1,000 potential introductions of non-marine mollusks at U.S. ports of entry each year” (Herbert and Sirgel, 2001). This surprising number of mollusk immigrants is a testament to the endurance of their kind, as is the difficulty in removing an invasive snail when it makes landing. For instance, a successful campaign in Florida to remove Achatina fulica cost over one million dollars and took six years.

Another campaign in South Africa to remove O. punctate took only two years but extensively used molluscicides and flame-throwers along with hand-picking. Most attempts to remove 36

invasive snail species are simply unsuccessful (Herbert and Sirgel, 2001). An intense dislike is perhaps a natural response to a creature that causes extensive damage to something humans need to eat. It is therefore understandable that people have formed such distaste for the land snail in gardening and farming circles.

However, some cultures have decided to turn the tables on the little gastropod and use it as a food source.

Snails as Food and Livestock To most of the English-speaking world, eating snails is not a pleasant thought. However, they actually contain significant nutritional value.

Not only do snails have a low fat and sodium content, something most westerners could use in their diet today, they are also high in iron, calcium, vitamins A and B, and the amino acid lysine (Ogogo et al, 2011). The place most famous for eating snails is France. The typical escargot most people think of eating in French restaurants is called escargots au beurre vert, or Roman snails with parsley and garlic butter.

However, this classic recipe is far from the only way to eat snails. French recipes mostly involve stuffing and sauces, but they also eat them fried and coated in breadcrumbs. It is a lesserknown fact that the Spanish also eat snail; they lean towards spicy snail stews and roasts, often combining the snail with other types of meat like pork or rabbit (Gunn 2012). Of course, land-snail eating is not solely a southern European phenomenon, the Ibo-speaking people of southeastern Nigeria consider snail a delicacy. Yoruba-speaking people of southwestern Nigeria use snails in traditional medicine, using their slime to treat a newborn’s umbilical cord, and they believe snails, in general, enhance youthfulness (Ogogo et al, 2011). All of these people have certainly found a tasty and beneficial way to keep the number of snails in their crop fields down. Snail has in fact become so popular in these regions that there are entire farms dedicated to the commercial production of snails for eating.

Although snails may not be what most people think of when someone says ‘farm animal,’ snail farms are actually an increasing occurrence in Europe and Africa. Snails can be farmed even in countries that do not eat snails, given that they have the right climate. Polish snail farms have seen great success, despite the fact that their countrymen are not very keen on

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eating their product. One farm shipped up to 100 tons of snails to France, Italy, and Spain per year and had an annual company turnover of a quarter of a million Euros, which is more than 300,000 USD (APF News Agency, 2013).

Company success is not the only reason snail farming is beneficial. In Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, the young snail-farming enterprise provides opportunities for economic growth in rural areas, a solution to protein deficiency, and a potential way to end unchecked wild snail collection, which endangers the wild snail population. In addition to this, snail farming is safer, more dependable, and more profitable than wild snail collection and cleaner than farming animals like pigs (Ogogo et al, 2011).

Eating snails is by no means a new phenomenon.

It is believed that Cepaea nemoralis was brought to Ireland more than eight thousand years ago by the first humans arriving in the country as a source of food (“Ecology: Escargot on the Go”, 2013). An additional benefit for snail eaters everywhere is that farmed snails take much less time to mature. A wild roman snail can take up to three years to mature enough to become edible, but it only takes six months for them to mature to this size when raised on a Polish snail farm (APF News Agency, 2013).

Such statistics shine a favorable light on the future of snails as farm animals, and perhaps predict a better view of them even in non-snail eating countries, like Poland. Of course, there are other trends that seem to be leading the snail to be viewed in a more positive manner.

One of the biggest trends towards humans seeing the snail as a friendly animal instead of a pest is the movement towards snails as pets.

Snails as Pets and Entertainment Snails are usually advertised as pets for young children. This is because they are fairly hardy, quiet, and easy to care for. One or two pet snails are often simply taken out of the garden and transplanted into a medium-sized terrarium with about an inch of garden dirt at the bottom and garden fauna for decoration. They can even be fed salad scraps, making their care very inexpensive (Whitehouse, 2013). The minimal care snails need gives them an advantage to more traditional pets like hamsters and dogs.

Early elementary school age children may want to have pets, but may not be responsible enough to care for most things at that age, and a durable snail has been one solution parents have found.

These pets are not only in private households; schools too are using snails as classroom pets and even as aids in science classes (Turner, 2004). Of course, having snails as something they cared for in early life is going to change the way children look at the little creatures. Children start this process by anthropomorphizing the mollusks. The children in Charles Turner’s class swapped their view from that of snails as disgusting to that of snails as tiny odd-looking people. These children declared their snails to have binary genders, despite knowing snails are hermaphrodites, and decided their friend’s snails were the friends of their snails (Turner, 2004). This sort of empathy with “These children declared their snails changes the snails to have binary genders, acceptability of despite knowing snails are killing or eating them. It humanizes hermaphrodites, and decided them and makes their friend’s snails were the them seem worthy friends of their snails” of protecting, because to these children, the snails are just like them.

Taking advantage of children’s desire to connect with these animals, the movieindustry has increasingly included snails in children’s media. In the movie Epic, a snail and a slug play the comic-relief characters. Turbo is another movie aimed at the elementary school demographic, and it has mostly snail characters. The snails in Turbo are portrayed in a very anthropomorphic manner; they have binary genders, they work at unfulfilling day jobs, and they even watch television. The movie has a clear message about how one can “Take a chance and risk it all or play it safe and suffer defeat” (Turbo, 2013). Snails make ideal candidates for the protagonists of movies with morals about not listening to people who are naysaying one’s dreams and hopes.

They are smaller and slower than almost any other creature that children will still accept as an animal. This makes them good animal representations for young children because children feel smaller and slower than their older siblings and parents who can participate in a much wider world that they must one day enter into but are for now barred from. All the snail representation in children’s media is tied in with the idea of snails as pets. For both keeping snails as pets and using them as protagonists in children’s media requires

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children to accept snails as something likable, and once they do accept the snails as something friendly, this increases their empathy towards the creature. Of course Turbo and its kind are not very good at teaching children about snail biology; for one thing, garden snails certainly do not come in all those popping colors as seen in Turbo, but when snails are being used as a metaphor for children, this is not surprising.

The important influence of these movies, to the land snail at least, is how they may cause the children who watched them to treat snails with more empathy than their parents would have.

Conclusion to Land Snails Land snails are an animal that presents an odd dichotomy to humans. On one hand, everything from their body, to their mating habits, to their method of motion seems very strange and different from our own. On the other hand, they are almost everywhere on the planet. No matter where humans go, snails are soon found. It is not surprising then that people have a slightly confused relationship with the animal. Humans both blame it for eating our food and eat it for food. They are despised in gardens but loved in homes. The complication of this relationship is not one likely to go away soon, between the rising popularity of snail farms and the increase of snails in children’s media, the feelings between people and snails are likely only to get more complicated with time.

Works Cited

Management Practices: An Eradication And A Colonization.” South African Journal Of Science 97.7/8 (2001): 301.

“Molluscs-Phylum Mollusca.” Online Encyclopedia. blogspot. Aug. 16, 2010. Web April 15, 2014.

Ogogo, A. U., H. M. Ijeomah, and K. M. Effiong. “A Survey of Snail Farming in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.”

Electronic Journal of Environmental, Agricultural & Food Chemistry 10.2 (2011): 1935-1942.

Ozgo Małgorzata. “Rapid Evolution In Unstable Habitats: A Success Story Of The Polymorphic Land Snail Cepaea Nemoralis (Gastropoda: Pulmonata).”

Biological Journal Of The Linnean Society 102.2 (2011): 251-262.

Sandford, E. “Experiment to Test the Strength of Snails.”

Notes and Queries. Zoologist: A Monthly Journal of Natrural History 10, no. 120, Third Series (December 1886).

“Snails.” Rhs.org.uk Royal Horticultural Society. 2011. web April 16, 2014.

Turbo, dir. David Soren. Dreamworks. 2013.

Turner, Charles. “Snails in the Classroom.” Encounter 17.3 (2004) 5-9.

Whitehouse, Penny. “Keeping Garden Snails as Pets” Wildlife Fun 4 Kids. May 8, 2013. Web. April 10, 2014.

APF News Agency. “Polish Snail Farms Inch Toward Huge Potential” AFP News Agency. Jun 11, 2013.

Bailey, Elisabeth Tova. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating.

Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 2010. Print.

Brosi, Arno. “Biology of Snails.” arnobrosi.com. Arno Brosi, 9 Oct. 2010. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.

Dillen, Lobke, et al. “Fecundity In The Hermaphroditic Land Snail Succinea Putris (Pulmonata: Succineidae): Does Body Size Matter?” Journal Of Molluscan Studies 76.4 (2010): 376-383.

“Ecology: Escargot On The Go.” Nature 498.7455 (2013): 410. Web. Gunn, Walter. The Snail Cookbook. San Bernardino: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013. Print.

Herbert, D. G., and W. F. Siegel. “The Recent Introduction Of Two Potentially Pestiferous Alien Snails Into South Africa And The Outcomes Of Different Pest

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Volume 26 - Fall 2014 - N0. 2

Cover Art

Submitted by: Laura Pasekoff

I took these images during a trip to China. I thought they were a beautiful representation of the culture I saw there. One is of a bicycle in an alleyway of an old, small Chinese town. The other is a beautiful image of a temple, in the middle of the city.

Best Student Essays

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Do You Want to be in Next Semester’s Issue of Best Student Essays?

We’re more than just essays!

We accept ANY nonfiction piece, including... memoirs, personal essays, academic essays, photo essays, research papers, foreign language pieces … and much more We are also seeking Cover Art Submissions Our spring deadline is March 1st GET PUBLISHED! WIN MONEY! 40

Volume 26 - Fall 2014 - N0. 2

Submission Guidelines

Best Student Essays only accepts electronic submissions.

Students may submit written essays, photo essays, and cover art online at beststudentessays.submittable.com/submit. Details and instructions are below and on our website: www.beststudentessays.org. All forms are available on our website.

Directions

1. Carefully read the full submission guidelines on our website.

2. Have a UNM faculty member or instructor nominate your work by filling out the electronic faculty nomination form. (Cover art does not require a faculty nomination.)

3. Go to beststudentessays.submittable.com/submit to create a free account and submit your electronic submission. Our staff will then be notified of your submission.

General Guidelines for Submission

All submissions, excluding submissions for cover art consideration, must be accompanied by a faculty nomination. Nomination forms must be filled out and emailed to bse@unm.edu by the nominating faculty member or instructor.

Submissions without faculty nominations will not be considered for publication.

Each student is limited to two submissions in each category per semester. Essays may be edited to accommodate space limitations. Upload your electronic submission to beststudentessays.submittable.com/submit. All documents must be .doc, .docx, .rtf, or .pdf format.

Nonfiction Submissions

A complete submission consists of an electronic copy of the essay as well as the faculty nomination form.

Photography/Art Submissions

A completed submission consists of the photo essay or cover art image files (JPEG format) and an electronic copy of an artist statement. Artist statements may not exceed 300 words. Photo essays submitted for publication within the magazine must have a faculty nomination. Photography and artwork submitted strictly for cover art consideration do not need a faculty nomination.

For questions, concerns, or for more information contact BSE at: bse@unm.edu Best Student Essays

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The University of New Mexicoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Best Student Essays