Jennifer Stover

My research focuses on CAYA Coven, an eclectic Pagan organization in San Franciscos East Bay that is dedicated to providing public rituals such as annual Sabbats and Full Moon Circles that honor seasonal and lunar cycles. CAYA means Come As You Are and emphasizes the incorporation of a diversity of Pagan traditions as well as deities from all over the world. I am interested in understanding how spiritual aptitudes and capacities are cultivated in the course of rituals and other coven related activities. Through participant observation and interviews, I will […]

Adam Storer

Social theorist Andr Gorz explores the irrationality of a society dominated by distinctly economic motives in his book Critique of Economic Reason. A practical philosopher, Gorz ends his theoretical work with suggestions on limiting the sphere of economics, expanding the role of leisure, and allowing individuals to pursue work they actually enjoy, instead of simply pursuing a wage by limiting the amount of time a person can work. My research focuses on France’s highly contested 35-hour work week legislation, which limits the amount of time an employer can demand from […]

Sarah Covington

From Homers Odyssey to Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment, the average American high school graduate has at least encountered a work of foreign literature in translation. Yet those students have not likely read the same translations of the works. Where the original language text is fixed, translations can differ wildly. Whats more, there are both British and American versions of Harry Potter; because of cultural differences from one English speaking country to another, there are translations of a book from one language to the same language. How much then, does culture […]

Ariella Megory

I am studying the Israeli perspective of the Israeli-Palsestinian Conflict as a case study to understand how personal perspectives shift in directions contrary to the dominant national discourse. I will be interviewing individuals who have shifted their perspective from the right-wing ideology common in Israel today to a more liberal (pro-Palestinian/anti-Zionist) viewpoint. My research will shed light on the types of life-histories which promote ideological resilience and curiosity, by identifying common life experiences, interpersonal interactions, and historical contexts which this small group of Israelis share.

Ann Parker

In Classical Athens, many children died before adulthood. For a culture that practiced the exposure, or infanticide, of unwanted newborns, the value of the sub-adult life has been difficult to define. What did a child mean to the Athenian family and state? Once a child had been chosen to rear, its life must have been quite valuable, since the family spent lavish sums on the erection of grave markers for deceased children. These gravestones, carved in relief with images of children, provide iconographic information that may help to fill in […]

Adriana SanchezPillot

The federal program Cruzada Nacional Contra el Hambre was launched by the new Mexican president Enrique Pea Nieto at the beginning of this year. In a very symbolic act, the program was inaugurated in the community of Las Margaritas, Chiapas, an area near the home of the Zapatistas and a milestone in the history of their struggle. Mostly based in the community of San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, my research will evaluate, analyze and compare the discourse deployed by government officials and members of the local community to describe […]

Delane Sims

My summer research will take place in Washington D.C. the hub of senior based organizations such as AARP and the Department of Health and Human Services. My research will consist of examining specific health disparities that exist among African American elders that can cause them to fall into social isolation. While in a socially isolated state, many of these seniors can succumb to depression and even suicide. As more research is conducted on ways to identify specific health conditions among African American elders that lead to isolation, preventive measures can […]

Justine Parkin

I am researching Gandhi’s nonviolent movement in India, particularly the importance that Gandhi subscribed to language and his belief that language too can be violent. If language does not merely describe the world as it is but is an active part of creating that very world and thus the possibilities for action, then how we choose and use our words is not trivial in the least but significantly influences the success of any political action. Moreover, as an extension upon language in general, I am exploring the narrative function in […]

Zhengyun Sun

Astonishing development that China has achieved for the past 30 years following the Open and Reform in 1978 is unquestionable. What behind, however, is notable disparity of growth between coastal and inland regions. While previous studies focus on preferential policies, the crux of my project centers on answering the question: how geographic features and construction of transportation networks on top of policies explain economic growth of Chinese regions in the last three decades? My analysis will assess the relative importance of geographic features, transportation networks and preferential policies during each […]

Robyn Taylor

What does it mean to find oneself “On the Road?” What is the significance of traveling east to west? By traveling across the United States and examining the rhythm, kinetics, and visual movement of particular locations, I can try on the philosophical lenses of three American writers who were greatly influenced by place. Jack Kerouac, Henry David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman were not only affected by their surroundings, they made a presence in American literature by promoting self participation in life. They did so each in their own unique rhythm […]