An AfroPessimist’s View on Asian American Feminities & White Proximity Olene’ Togiailua † Project Mentor(s): Sarah Sillin, PhD This paper examines C. Pam Zhang's novel "A Land of Milk and Honey" through the intersecting lenses of genre, race, and gender. Zhang's work subverts conventional literary categories by blending dystopian fiction, speculative narrative, and the migrant experience, all set against the backdrop of a climate crisis where food scarcity drives the plot. Drawing on Anne Anlin Cheng's theory of "Ornamentalism" and the framework of Afro-pessimism, this analysis explores how the novel exposes the unique forms of fetishization and objectification experienced by Asian women under the White supremacist gaze. The paper further situates the text within broader conversations about solidarity and antagonism between marginalized groups, ultimately arguing that Zhang's novel both recuperates and resists dominant narratives of race and gender in speculative fiction. Presentation Type: Oral Presentation (May 20, 9:30am–5:00pm) Keywords : Critical Race Studies, Feminism, Afro Pessimism, Literary Studies SOURCE Form ID: 59 History The Origins and Expansion of the Soviet Military-Industrial Complex Noah Heminger * Project Mentor(s): Roxanne Easley, PhD The Soviet Union was notable for its intense ideological foundation, its Cold War rivalry with the United States, and its relatively short life span. All of these factors influenced its internal growth, development, and decline. Of particular significance was the enormous growth of the Soviet military industry. By the time of its collapse, the USSR possessed the largest military industry in the world in estimation of value, in percentage of state military spending, and in absolute amount of military production. This military- industrial dominance emerged from an ideological belief that the Soviet Union was in constant existential peril and that the capitalist world would inevitably attempt to destroy the proletarian state. Further, the recent experience of World War I fueled a belief that all future wars would be wars of attrition, with titanic material and human costs. Stalin’s destruction of political opposition and subsequent centralization of power allowed the adoption of the first Five Year Plan, which favored heavy industry, particularly military production. Finally, World War II pushed the Soviet Union to the breaking point. A major factor in its survival was the sacrifice of nearly all civilian economic production in favor of increased military production. By 1945 the Soviet economy was defined by its military industry. Presentation Type: Oral Presentation (May 20, 9:30am–5:00pm) Keywords: Economic History, Soviet Union, Military, World War Two, Militarism SOURCE Form ID: 160
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