Story by Hannah Everman
Photos by Jaclyn Morris
Are you a first year student who isn’t sure what to major in? For those that fit that description, Supernova tries to help by offering University of Oregon students a way to connect with faculty research.
Started in 2005 and supported by University Housing and First-Year Programs, Supernova is a student-run organization open to anybody. The group mainly consists of FIG assistants who work year-round to plan various presentations by the UO’s faculty and GTFs.
UO faculty member Amy Hughes-Giard has been the director of Supernova since it began in 2005. “The students do all the work in the group,” she says. “I’m their ship leader, I’m the guide that turns the wheel if they get stuck or need a little bit of help.”
The most recent Supernova event was last Wednesday, May 11, when adjunct instructor Melissa Baird spoke about her research at UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Baird teaches in the anthropology department. Her presentation, hosted in the Many Nations Longhouse, covered why heritage matters to environmental and social sciences.
“Heritage is a process,” she says. “Visiting, managing, interpreting, conserving, negotiating, and reporting. It is a social construct.” During the presentation, Baird described indigenous politics as well as the conflicts about heritage. An example of this, she says, is how heritage is exploited by tourist industries, states, and local governments for economic gain and development at places like Yosemite National Park and Tongariro National Park in New Zealand. However, when asked if she herself supports tourism, Baird says, “Well, I go to places too, but I kind of go in a different way. I think we should start addressing the real histories of these places and the relationships.”
UO sophomore Sara Marcotte contacted Baird about giving a presentation for Supernova on her research. Marcotte took Ethnic Studies 101 with Baird, which is how she first learned of the professor’s work.
“I’m really happy with how the event turned out,” says Marcotte, who is a FIG assistant. “There were forty-three people here, which is a good turnout for our events. Unfortunately, there is a huge apathy associated with coming to faculty research projects.”
When asked what she’s looking for students to take away from this event, Hughes-Giard says, “We’re hoping they’ll be inspired by the research that Baird’s done, and maybe they’ll want to get involved in finding opportunities that would allow them to explore that topic. Supernova’s goal is really just to get people interested and learning about what everybody does here and hopefully they’ll take some interest in those topics.”