The Case of Charity Lamb (2017)
Arts and Humanities in Action, or AHA!, was originally envisioned as a three-year program to establish an interdisciplinary program of activities to increase the number of students actively engaged in arts and humanities learning activities while at Linfield College and to connect the values learned and skills developed from these activities to their future careers. Continuing the theme from its inaugural year, AHA! considered the case of Charity Lamb, who was the first convicted female murderer in the newly established Oregon Territory. Students considered the case from a number of disciplinary perspectives: history, creative writing, music, philosophy, and visual arts. As part of the experience, students produced their own creative works on the theme and presented their work on the final day of the pre-orientation week.
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Charity Lamb: A Comic
Samuel Hannigan and C. J. Turley
This short comic depicts Charity Lamb and her decision to kill her husband in order to protect her children. It includes scenes of her husband's abuse and the moments after the killing when she ran away. Illustrations were done by C.J. Turley, and the text was written by Sam Hannigan.
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Shooting Star
Kristen Huth
This original song inspired by the case of Charity Lamb is a modern take on alcoholism and how it affects families. The song also incorporates relevant political issues.
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Violence in the Household
Rosario Rucoba
In this performance of the original poem Violence in the Household, author Rosario Rucoba incorporates the violent aspect of the Charity Lamb case in a more recent example of domestic violence between two parents and explores the effect of that on the people around them. Rucoba explains: "Unlike in Lamb's time, it is a bit more acceptable for both men and women to reach out for help in times of domestic violence. But I would argue that discrepancies still exist within lower income minority groups."
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Which Infamous Nineteenth-Century Murderer Are You?
Peyton Smith
This short piece, written in the style of a Buzzfeed quiz, asks a most important question: “Which infamous nineteenth-century murderer are you?”
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Fingerless
Gretel Valdes
This reflective poem about the self and being in a new area is based on the total solar eclipse (dubbed the Great American Eclipse) that occurred on August 21, 2017. It explores themes similar to those raised in discussions about the case of Charity Lamb.
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Charity
Mara Youngren-Brown
This original song about Charity Lamb was inspired by the songwriter's own experiences with domestic and partner abuse, elaborating on the idea that sometimes there is more to a story or relationship than meets the eye.