Category: College of Arts & Sciences
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Benevolence or Branding? Understanding the Motivations and Public Reception Behind Major Museum Donations, 1900-2020.
By Eric Hummer Faculty Mentor: Dr. Andrea Smith Abstract Museums secure funding through a diverse variety of channels, a substantial portion can be attributed to large donations from individuals or corporations, often manifesting in the form of large-scale exhibitions or building expansions named after the donor. In the United States specifically, numerous renowned museums owe…
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Effectiveness of the (AVANT) UMW Spanish Language Placement Exam for Heritage Speakers of Spanish
By Lucy Schraff Faculty Mentor: Marisa Martinez Mira Abstract The purpose of this research paper is to analyze the effectiveness of the UMW Spanish Language Placement exam in evaluating Heritage speakers’ level of Spanish. To create a context for the effectiveness of this placement exam, the paper will analyze the population of Heritage Spanish speakers…
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From Yearning to Eroticism: Radical Queer Works from Cuban Writers
By Norah Walsh Faculty Mentor: Ana Chichester Abstract During Fidel Castro’s homophobic regime—especially within the UMAPs camps that were utilized to convert Cuban homosexuals through experiments and forced labor—queer writers were forced to the margins of society due to their identity, and they worked to bring their experience to light through literature because to do…
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Comparing the Legislative Process for Protections Against Gender Based Violence in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan
By Aleksandra Poletes Faculty Mentor: Surupa Gupta Abstract Gender equality in Uzbekistan has seen both progress and regression since the country gained independence in 1991. Both scholars and public opinion agree that women enjoyed more freedom under Soviet rule, largely through workers’ rights and welfare programs, which disappeared in the turmoil of the USSR’s collapse.…
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Intraparty Factions in the 2024 Republican Primary
By Amede Karina-Plun Faculty Mentor: Rosalyn Cooperman Abstract Amidst heightened polarization between the two major parties, the continued dominance of former president Donald Trump, and an uncertain future for the Republican Party, how do ascendant and descendant groups within the Republican Party compete for attention and resources? Recent scholarship demonstrates how competing groups of policy-demanders…
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China’s AI Technology Growth: Implications for U.S. Policy
By Hennry Paredes Faculty Mentor: Jason Davidson Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly become more important to countries today for its great potential. This includes the US and China, the top two competitors in AI. China’s AI technology has rapidly been growing in recent years due to its unique advantages in big data, implementation, increasing…
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Securities and Sovereign Bond Spread Measures as Federal Funds Rate Change Predicters
By Jarad Ponce Faculty Mentor: Dr. Don Lee Abstract The dynamics of Federal Funds Rate changes stand as a pivotal concern within economic discourse, shaping monetary policy decisions and influencing financial market behavior on a global scale. While conventional wisdom has long emphasized variables such as the inflation rate, GDP per capita (or GDP growth…
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Analyzing Healthcare Disparities in Rural Areas and for Hispanic Populations
By Kaitlin Saal Faculty Mentor: Professor Marisa Martinez-Mira Abstract My Capstone Project is a thorough literary review that explains and analyzes issues with healthcare quality and accessibility in rural areas as well as within the Hispanic community. Specifically, I discuss each topic independently andinclude information and statistics on geographical locations with a high rural Hispanic…
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How Cistercian theology influenced the Nicaraguan Revolution
By Isabella Micallef Faculty Mentor: Jeremy Larochelle Abstract For my project I first researched the life of a famous Trappist monk and poet, Thomas Merton, who mentored and inspired a key figure in the Nicaraguan Revolution, poet priest Ernesto Cardenal. Cardenal was also a mentor himself, and inspired many citizens of Nicaragua to write revolutionary…
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Exploring the Impact of Social Media Usage on Misinformation Beliefs
By Corbin Poyer Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jared McDonald Abstract Does diminishing access to print news have an impact on people’s propensity to believe misinformation? What if this misinformation emanates from an online source as opposed to a print source? The focus of recent research on misinformation has been narrow: (1) recognizing its existence and acknowledging…
