University of Denver Undergraduate Research Journal

Buddhist Nationalism: Rising Religious Violence in South Asia

Eva Chappus — Wed, 10 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Buddhist nationalism has contributed to expanding religious violence in many South Asian countries. The roots of this violent form of nationalism are complex and multi-faceted, making a clear solution difficult to achieve. Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Burma are some of the most pressing and violent case studies in South Asia today and can illustrate the reliance of Buddhist nationalists on ethnoreligious identities to relegate non-Buddhists to second-class status, to the point of massive acts of violence and aggression. This paper seeks to illuminate the complex social history driving the rise of Buddhist nationalism in these countries, particularly strong military-religion relationships, histories of colonial oppression, long-standing cultural tensions, and Western rhetoric regarding Buddhist values. In the modern period, Buddhism has become increasingly politicized for the benefit of nationalist movements. Buddhist extremism is largely derived from the political contexts of increased ethnic nationalism and the influence of monks in Buddhist communities. Buddhist extremism often has more to do with ethnic tensions than religious tensions, though religious motivations are still substantial in many of the conflicts involving Buddhist extremists. In South Asian countries, the most substantial Buddhist nationalist movements tend to practice Theravada Buddhism. This Buddhist practice differs from other forms of Buddhism on the topic of non-violence and peace, aligning more closely with nationalist values and the connections between religion and state power; some Theravada sects view non-Buddhists as subhuman or second-class.

Asymptotic Behavior of Random Defective Parking Functions

John Mann, Zecheng You — Wed, 10 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Suppose that m drivers each choose a preferred parking space in a linear car park with n spots. In order, each driver goes to their desired spot and parks there if possible. If the spot is already occupied then the car parks in the first available spot after that; if no such spot is available then the car leaves the street without parking. When m > n, there will always be defects–cars that are not able to park. Building upon the work in Cameron et al. "Counting defective parking functions," we introduce a multi-shuffle construction to defective parking functions and investigate parking statistics of a defective parking function chosen uniformly at random.

Seed Aid: The Importance of Local Decision-making

Eva Chappus — Wed, 10 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This policy paper focuses on the disconnect between donor and recipient states regarding seed aid and the implications of seed aid on local agricultural sovereignty and sustainability; it proposes that a reevaluation of international seed aid policies is needed. International food security organizations and food aid donors should prioritize local seeds for seed aid purposes to support local biodiversity and food sovereignty, and the stability and sustainability of local agricultural systems in the long term. Making adequate and accurate assessments of situations is crucial, and sourcing locally is an integral aspect of supporting local seed systems. The fundamental problem with the seed distribution system today is the limited availability of local seeds. Responding to food crises with an influx of seeds from donor countries poses a serious risk of undermining the livelihood security of farmers by disrupting local seed systems, risking local biodiversity, and resulting in genetic erosion. Therefore, efforts to increase food security in crisis situations should focus on supporting local seed production in the region or country whenever possible rather than bringing seeds in from outside or abroad.

2017 Charlottesville Riots – Media Coverage Paper

Abran Bartlett-Miller — Wed, 10 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This paper intended to dissect the similarities and differences of media coverage for a very significant recent event--the 2017 Charlottesville "Unite the Right" riots and anti-racism protests. A focal moment within this series of events is the car attack by perpetrator James Alex Fields Jr., a white-supremacist responsible for the death of one woman and countless other injuries. The analysis reflects the coverage of this event through the lens of MSNBC and Fox News, two politically contrasting domestic news sources. An emphasis on media framing, which is loosely how media is manipulated to make the consumer think about a certain topic in one way, helped categorize and describe the differences of these two sources. This discussion of multiple framing variables ultimately showed that these two sources captured a single event in very different ways. These discrepancies illuminate a significant contrast in perspectives of this violent and hateful event.

Dr. Debak Das

Elijah Kruger — Wed, 10 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

An interview of Dr. Debak Das by our Editor at Large, Elijah Kruger.

DU Undergraduate Showcase Abstracts: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works

Various Authors — Wed, 10 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

DU Undergraduate Showcase Abstracts: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works