Mai-Ling Garcia
The family is often considered a primary source of emotional support and an institutional constant amidst every day challenges. For military personnel, the circumstances of every day life are more unpredictable, more dangerous, and further complicated by the intensive debate surrounding military duties and functions. Military families are intimately intertwined with the institution, but are not bound to the military in the same fashion as its personnel. What is the role of families in the military? This summer, Mai-Ling will conduct ethnographic research at the Marine Corps Base in Twentynine […]
Muska Fazilat
Every thirty minutes an Afghan woman dies due to birth complications. Skilled providers attend only 5% of births. My research compares traditional cultural practices of midwifery with Western medical practices. I will explore the role that the cultural practice of Purdah separation of women from men plays in shaping maternal health. Since the U.S. occupation, USAID has funded midwifery schools. However, current political tension between the Taliban and the U.S. military generates a concern for the future of maternal health care. I will investigate how midwifery practices have evolved from […]
Alexandra Saba
The neurodiversity movement has gained much traction with the proliferation of the internet. It is based on the premise that neurological differences such as autism are normal variations of functioning and the human genome. Alexandra Saba will explore the impact of the neurodiversity movement on the formation of identity within autistic individuals through interviews of users of online neurodiversity forums and groups, as well as analysis of current research on neurodiversity. She will consider the following questions: Can autism be seen as a form of identity rather than a disorder? […]
Raven Deverux
Research suggests collective bargaining improves the unionized worker’s wages and working conditions, in addition to those of non-union status in the same field. Despite the organizing successes of San Francisco’s Lusty Lady, neither working conditions nor take home earnings for Bay Area strippers improved overall. How do these particular workers secure a better working environment and basic labor rights? This ethnographic study will utilize mixed-methods to analyze possibilities for collective action within this industry. Utilizing a comparative analysis of two cases labor organization, Raven will travel to New York to […]
Nicole Rankin
With the rise of political controversy, it is vital to explore what shapes our strong convictions. Moral ideologies are often the foundation of political arguments, and gender differences within morality have been widely disputed. To grasp the complex intersection of gender, morality, and politics, Nicole seeks to examine how gender and political affiliation affect moral choices about gendered politics. Controversial political statements will be morally reframed to align with liberal and conservative ideologies, seeking to find common ground on contemporary social issues. With the intention of swaying men and women, […]
Minda Bautista
The colonial relationship between the Philippines and the United States has shaped both migration patterns from the Philippines and Filipino community formation in the U.S. since the start of the 20th century. Minda’s research will examine this ongoing legacy through the case study of Project Manong, a 1970s housing and services project for elderly Filipino laborers initiated by youth and students in Oakland, California. Minda will use ethnographic interviews and primary sources to interrogate the role of race, space, gender, and age in shaping the need for Project Manong, and […]
Hannah Raslan
In 2018, thousands of Central American migrants, mostly from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, fled their home countries to seek a better life in Mexico or the US. This exodus of migrants has been met both at the US/Mexico and the Mexico/Guatemala border with hostility, violence and discrimination. Hannah Marias research will examine the motives of this migration, specifically focusing on the link between neoliberal economic reforms in Central America and economic migration. She will travel throughout Mexico to conduct interviews with migrants in all phases of their journeys. She […]
Celene Bolaños
The recent economic recession and political turmoil in Brazil has driven over half of Brazil’s Haitian migrant population northbound towards the United States. This wave of over 50,000 Haitians has been met by tightening immigration policies from both the United States and Mexico, making the journey more difficult and dangerous and transforming Mexico into a country of destination. This flow of Haitian refugees is overwhelmingly male, despite the fact that women account for nearly half of the global migrant and refugee population. I hypothesize that gender and race are fundamental […]
Julian Ponce
Current Bio: Julian is currently living in NYC and pursuing a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in the department of Population and Family Health with a certificate in research methods. Julin has been working on a childhood asthma community based participatory project in San Juan, Puerto Rico and a study on depression and loneliness among retired adults in Santiago, Chile. Haas Scholars Project: Drinking potable tap water has been associated with decreased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). However, more than one […]
Rhonda Armstrong
It should not be surprising to hear that people respond to rejection in various ways. Additionally, there are several different pathways to achieving power, and people in powerful positions consistently have more adaptive responses to rejection. Rather than rejection resiliency being a product of power, Rhonda’s research seeks to show that it is actually a predictor of power attainment. By manipulating rejection resiliency, she intends to find differences across participants such that those who are primed with high rejection resiliency will achieve more power in a paired task than those […]