Hideyasu Kurose
Tragically, fascism has re-appeared in many forms and permutations throughout modern history. Although Japan and Argentina represent only two nations which have suffered this political epidemic, through studying these nations perhaps deeper deductions can ultimately be drawn about a contemporary political phenomenon which Albert Camus rightfully labeled an epidemic. Accordingly, my research will focus upon the literature of Japan and Argentina with the aim of discovering key commonalities which suggest vulnerabilities to what Emilio Gentile categorized as a political religion. Socio-historical theorists ranging from Hannah Arendt to Robert O. Paxton […]
Deisy Garcia
Jehovahs Witnesses, a small Christian religion, are discouraged from conducting outside research on their religious organization. JW.ORG, their online website, is their recommended source of information. Today, social media platforms are ubiquitous, and Jehovahs Witnesses are constantly exposed to apostate websites; Youtube, Reddit, and Facebook discuss the religious organization from a different perspective which may challenge a members beliefs. Thousands of Jehovahs Witness members exit the religious organization each year, losing their social ties during the process. Taken together, this raises the question: What role does exposure to social media […]
Louise Curtis
Between 1789 and 1799, the French Revolution shook the firm order of French politics, marking a new era in France and the world. The consequences of the Revolution cut across all aspects of French life. Ideological changes were rapid and ambitious, yet many were not immediately successful. My research will focus on the French Revolution as a benchmark in the development of public education. Leaders of the Revolution saw primary and secondary schools as essential instruments in the formation of a national identity, the diffusion of republican values, and the […]
Aaron Solorio
I intend to produce a comparative study between first-generation, low-income, Latino and African-American males attending continuation high schools and those attending traditional high schools. I will conduct twenty qualitative interviews consisting of ten participants who have attended continuation high school and ten participants who have attended traditional high school- all of whom have attended their respective school within the last ten years. Although there is literature on the school environment and the challenges that students face, I aim to explore the factors that lead students to either continue into higher […]
Sonnet Phelps
Research in conceptual metaphor has established that, far from being a decorative flourish, metaphor is integral to human reasoning: we extrapolate from our immediate experience to make sense of abstract objects and processes. Climate change is such a process, happening on spatial and temporal scales far beyond our perceptual horizons. While metaphor is indispensable in every genre of climate discourse think greenhouse gas, carbon footprint, and tipping points poetry is a particularly rich generator of innovative metaphoric framings. In this project, I will put insights from cognitive linguistics in conversation […]
Amaris Blasgen Morningstar
The world we live in today is shaped by globalism. There is more exchange of ideas, artwork, and technology than ever before. We travel, inspire each other and use symbolism to transcend language and cultural barriers. However, is this really a new phenomena? Archaeological research constantly uncovers more evidence that humanity has been doing this for millennia. The Eastern Mediterranean Basin had an extensive network for the movement of goods, people and ideas between the civilizations of the Near East since before the Bronze Age. My research investigates the affect […]
Teela Huff
My research involves the collection and analysis of linguistic data on the Central Je language Xavante, an Amazonian language of central Brazil. Like many Amazonian languages, Xavante is under-documented and undergoing major changes due to increasing contact with Brazilian government and society. It contains unique qualities that are of special interest to the research community, such as a lack of velar consonants (e.g. [g, k]) and the presence of glottal consonant clusters (e.g. [p]). Documentation of these characteristics is key to expanding the field’s understanding of what is possible within […]
Audrey Phan
Impulsivity as an individual behavioral trait is a hallmark of externalizing disorders including ADHD, oppositional defiant, and conduct disorders. Impulsive individuals are thought to lack cognitive control (i.e., the ability to behave according to ones goals), which has been found to operate via two distinct modes: reactive control (i.e., goal information is triggered by a stimulus) and proactive control (i.e., goal information is sustained over time). While many studies have indicated that dysfunction of the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) is implicated in poor cognitive control, the temporal dynamics of LPFC […]
Samba Kane
My research concerns the cultural identity of the Fula people in Mauritania and Senegal, West Africa. What does it mean to be Fula in this particular region of the world? To answer this question, I will explore two volumes of poetry, written in the Fula language by Ibrahima Moctar Sarr, a Mauritanian journalist by formation who became a civil rights leader and an advocate for the preservation of the Fula language. We have much to learn from the Fula history and culture. The Fula are rarely the dominant group in […]
Romeo Connors
According to the Pell Institute, in 2012, only 25% of first-generation students attended four-year institutions. For my research project, I want to examine why this rate is so low. The existing literature focuses primarily on barriers to first-generation students once they attend college. Consequently, I want to examine barriers first generation students face when choosing to attend college in the first place. My research question for this project is: what factors dissuade first-generation students from transitioning from high school to four-year universities and how can high schools support these students […]