Day 1, Breakout Room 1
- The Bracero Program: Race, Mexican Modernity, and Workers’ Resistance
The Bracero Program began on August 4, 1942 when the United States and Mexico signed the Mexican Farm Labor Agreement. During this time, there was a shortage of agricultural workers in the United States because of World War II. Thus began the largest guest worker program in U.S. history. While it is easy to regard the Bracero Program as a history of exploitation, bracero testimonies demonstrate that workers found ways to navigate and resist a system that sought to create a docile exploitable workforce knowing very well that protest carried the threat of deportation.
Presentation deriving from a special studies with Jennifer Guglielmo, associate professor of history.
Mary Luna Robledo ‘21
- Machiavelli’s Virtue
Harvey Mansfield says that Machiavelli’s recognition of the effectual truth makes him the author of modernity. Whether this is an overstatement, Machiavelli does present a groundbreaking concept of “virtù” that distinguishes his theory from the classical ethics of Aristotle and from the ethical teachings of the Church. Because Machiavelli offers no specific definition of virtù, this presentation attempts to summarize Machiavelli’s use of the concept from his discussion of states and princes. Based on the virtuous qualities that Machiavelli praises in states and princes, this presentation concludes that Machiavelli’s virtù refers to the republican virtue of the state and the many; and the princely virtù of the few.
Presentation deriving from senior honors thesis with Patrick Coby, Esther Booth Wiley 1934 professor of government.
Irene Li ‘21
- Our Great Curse: Negative Partisanship & Social Polarization in the United States
Over the past ten years, an increasingly wide partisan divide in the United States has developed. Many scholars refer to the phenomenon as negative partisanship; the increased disdain that individuals hold towards members of the opposite party. The 2016 election of President Donald Trump seemed to solidify the growing disdain and separation between the two major political parties in the country. The rampant increase and prevalence of negative partisanship has contributed to an increased occurrence and presence of social polarization. This increased partisanship is obvious in areas outside of politics. How does this deep partisan divide impact relationships? Are the staunch differences between Democrats and Republicans impacting interactions outside of the political arena? In this thesis I investigate how partisan bias and social polarization permeate throughout the Smith community, and contextualize my findings within the larger context of negative partisanship in an increasingly divisive country.
Presentation deriving from senior honors thesis with Howard Gold, professor of government.
Molly Aber ‘21
- Environmental Inequity in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region of China
This thesis project focuses on the drivers of the disproportionate distribution of air pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region (BTH) of China. Through analysis of Chinese sources, data, and existing literature, this thesis analyzes the socio-economic and political causes of environmental inequity in the BTH region.
Presentation deriving from senior honors thesis with Gregory White, Mary Huggins Gamble professor of government.
Moran Peirce ‘21
- Irish American Fragility: A Study in Culture, Politics and its Evolution
Frederick Douglass once said: “The Irish, who, at home, readily sympathize with the oppressed everywhere, are instantly taught when they step upon our soil to hate and despise the Negro…Sir, the Irish-American will one day find out his mistake.” Douglass touched on the historical tension between Ireland and the diaspora in the United States. In this investigation, this tension will be explored in the context of the move of Irish American politics to the right. More specifically, I analyze the political power of the Irish American voting bloc over the last thirty years. A once persecuted immigrant community became a formidable ethnic community finding its way to positions of power through a “white identity.” I analyze how the adoption of “white identity” and its position in an American racial hierarchy, as defined by American racial and social politics, shifted the political affiliations of the Irish American voting bloc. And currently, the trend of Irish Americans seeking to reclaim Irish identity, while also remaining white and American identities, has shifted this community’s politics.
Although this community is not a monolith, there are noticeable yet subtle trends in voting behavior. Irish Americans have strong roots in the Democractic Party, union affiliations, and still tend to hold a working- or lower-middle class identity; although I note in this study that many have successfully manipulated American capitalism and ascended to the middle and upper classes as well. However, the most recent political trend of this ethnic group is towards the Republican Party, with some even finding themselves among the far right.
Presentation deriving from senior honors thesis and Global FLEX trip (Overcoming Divided Histories in Ireland) with Gregory White, Mary Huggins Gamble professor of government.
Maeve Conway ‘21
- Exploring the Political Agency of Hazara Women in Afghanistan
This manuscript represents the first extensive documentation of the political and personal experiences of Hazara women in the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, with a particular focus on the impact of donor funding in conditioning minority women’s agency and social importance. The Hazara are a uniquely vulnerable community due to their Shiite and Mongolian background, making them distinct from the dominant Pashtun, and an ethnicity that is more often than not likely to suffer in the ethnic fall-out from any peace process. Consequently, a deeper exploration of the intersectional identities of Hazara women is an important contribution to the study of the efficacy and substance of any attempts at gender empowerment by local officials and foreign donors. This paper embraces a multi-method approach in investigating this topic, including an auto-ethnographic narrative complemented by structured focused interviews with 40 male and female Hazara elites in both diasporic and local communities, probing their understanding of women’s current vs. historical status. In particular, I use content analysis to systematically track how concepts related to gender, pluralism, and women’s rights intersect across male and female elite subjects and compare these data to the current discourse on women across the Afghan constitution, local news, and social media, as well as donor reports.
Presentation deriving from special studies with Bozena Welborne, assistant professor of government.
Tamana Attai ‘22
- The future of Space: How international legislation and corporate interests are reshaping shared use of space
There is a lack of regulation in the outer space industry when it comes to commercial use of space and private companies’ exploitation of space resources. In the 1960s and ‘70s, the United Nations created a series of treaties governing international use of outer space. Over the subsequent years, many countries have passed their own laws that establish regulatory frameworks for space use. This project aims to identify the extent to which those laws and treaties address commercial exploration and exploitation of space resources (including enterprises such as moon mining, satellite launches, and Earth observation devices). Specifically, this project conducts a text-as-data tone analysis on 59 of these documents, looking for language surrounding commercial interests and permissions. This text analysis yielded two main results. First, almost all countries with space laws had regulations on registration and quality-control of space launches and manufacturing. However, the intention and effect of many of these laws is to protect non-commercial interests: national security, human safety, and promote scientific advancement. Second, the analysis revealed that only two documents govern or institute regulations for commercial use of space. However, both of these legal frameworks are worded with pro-business sentiments and tone. As more and more companies and corporate actors venture into space, this regulatory vacuum poses serious risk. Without clear regulatory frameworks concerning the exploration and exploitation of space, problems about use of space resources will only grow.
Presentation deriving from STRIDE and summer Praxis research assistantship with Bozena Welborne, assistant professor of government.
Fiona Ward Shaw ‘23
Day 1, Breakout Room 2
- Laterna Magika’s Philosophy and Approach to Theatre: A Technical Proving Ground in Multimedia Performance
This research probes Laterna Magika–a leading-edge multimedia performance company–from the perspective of Czech artistic director and scenographer of Laterna Magika, Josef Svoboda. Through comprehension of Svoboda’s relation to experimentation and technicality, I will convey how strong of a mark a single person can leave on contemporary visual culture and how his principles can be applied not only to theatre space but through film. Additionally, to make sense of his ability to envision technologies that were not yet available at the time, and to consider the source of imagination from the absolute innovation type during the socialist era locally and internationally. I recognize how Laterna Magika’s theatrical synthesis of projected images and synchronized acting, dancing, and staging allowed an impression of space which could be enlarged in many ways. I explore the ways in which I could potentially create an impression of the space of the camera frame and how it could be enlarged–I am creating a dancefilm for my senior thesis due to working remotely this spring semester. I designed a version of my own ideal theatre space that could potentially function as a technical proving ground for my film. There is potential for attempting to compose an individual, separate, and distinctive visual perception into a new total image that is according to a theme. In other words, to convey a given particular intention by a composition of images, their inter-relationships, their temporal and spatial rhythms within a technical proving ground. This way of understanding the technical and experimental requires one to think about more than one means of expression. I explore the possibilities to create something that evolves, that has movement, not necessarily physical movement, but a space that is dynamic, capable of expressing changing relationships, feelings, moods, perhaps by lighting, during the course of the action in a performance. This “technical proving ground” is where I have been cultivating all of my creative and choreographic ideas for the past year and will be showcased in a final dancefilm.
Presentation deriving from senior honors thesis with Angie Hauser and Chris Aiken, associate professors of dance.
Talia Preis ‘21
- Seeing the Seeing: Audience & Choreographer Collaboration through Eye-tracking
The purpose of this project is to create a feedback loop between audience, dancer, and choreographer through the use of a portable eye-tracker. I used the eye-tracker to record the watching patterns of an audience member during a dance. Then, I use what they saw to inform the re-choreographing ideas of that piece and to learn more about how people watch dance.
Presentation deriving from senior honors thesis with Chris Aiken, associate professor of dance.
Mayeline Peña ‘21
- The Book of Imaginary Beings: An Experiment in Digital Printmaking and Typography
Over the course of the semester and under the guidance of Barry Moser, Barbara Garrison and Isabel Ruiz have been collaborating to re-imagine a selection of Jorge Luis Borges’s 1957 collection of short stories “The Book of Imaginary Beings.” Inspired by classic tabletop gaming and woodcut engraving, they’ve created a booklet and playing cards that depict fantastic creatures with innovative layout design and surprising illustrations.
Presentation deriving from studio art collaborative work with Barry Moser, Irwin and Pauline Alper Glass professor of art.
Barbara Garrison ‘21, Isabel Ruiz ‘21
- COVID-19 and the Educators of America
Through this research I aim to document and archive the experiences of Educators throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. I am an education and psychology major at Smith, and have been increasingly concerned as to how this pandemic is going to impact children of all ages, especially those who are younger. Through this work, I interviewed educators across the United States asking them about various aspects of COVID-19 and teaching. Some of these topics included lack of resources, accessibility for students, social-emotional well being, death/grief, and personal safety. I aimed to do this through both data collection as well as through creative storytelling. This has been a devastating and challenging time for so many, and I feel that there is a need for this radical change in education to be documented.
Presentation deriving from special studies with Sam Intrator, Elizabeth A. Woodson 1922 professor of education & child study.
Eliza Mankin ‘22
- The Art of Teaching Poetry
In our special study, we examined the art of teaching poetry within the classroom. Our framing questions for this project were why poetry? Why does this matter? And why do children need to learn about it? We researched, discussed with each other, interviewed people we admired, and even taught a workshop to the children participating in Project Coach. Our goal throughout this process was to develop our own opinions on the importance of teaching poetry, as well as pedagogy that we can take into our future classrooms.
Presentation deriving from special studies with Sam Intrator, Elizabeth A. Woodson 1922 professor of education & child study.
Amelia Bertaska ‘22, Nicole Lussier ‘22
- The Art of the Angel Wing
This multimedia project examines visual depictions of angels’ wings in the context of the medieval concept of “supernaturalis”––the representation of the “otherworldly” through the hyper-natural world. It traces the influence that biblical descriptions of angels and the philosophy of angelic nature and bodies had on the Christian imagination, and on artists’ renderings of angels and their wings in particular. The project discusses the function of angelic “form” as a means of accessing a perceived “otherworldly” realm through embodied metaphor. Tapping Christian artwork from the early Byzantine period to contemporary times, the presentation will offer a visual exploration of the artistic use of the natural and unnatural to represent the supernatural in Christian depictions of what has come to be widely seen as the characteristic feature of angels—their wings.
Presentation deriving from special studies with Vera Shevzov, professor of religion, russian, east european and eurasian studies.
Phoebe Rendon-Nissenbaum ’22
Day 1, Breakout Room 3
- Virtue and Talent: Can Women in Late Imperial China Have Both?
In my literature classes I got to learn about how women in Late Imperial China were challenging the social norms and becoming famous writers. There was a statement that came up in many articles — “a woman is virtuous only if she is untalented,” and many women who were talented were told that they had “abilities of men.” In addition to that, the two concepts – virtue and talent – kept coming up in the scholarships related to the women of that time. It appears to be that women could only be allowed to have “virtue” but not “talent.” Yet, some women challenged these norms by doing what was considered “men’s business.” Hence, my thesis focuses on three representative women (Chen Yun, Xi Peilan, Liu Shi) and argues that women in Late Imperial China had the ability to develop both – virtue and talent.
Presentation deriving from senior honors thesis with Sujane Wu, professor of chinese language & literature.
Bella Tseeva ‘21
- Depicting Concubines in the Boudoir: The Portrayal of Marginalized Womanhood in Southern Song China
By analyzing the represented women of concubinage in paintings, this thesis will exhibit the visualization of social echelons and uncover a Southern Song picture of a marginalized woman in an upper-class household.
Presentation deriving from senior honors thesis with Barbara Kellum, professor of art.
Doris Yixuan Tang ‘21
- Multilingual Dreams and Exophonic Realities: Lessons from Tawada Yōko’s Essay “Capetown” in Her Story “Cinema of the Night”
As a part of the EALC Thesis Panel “Imagining Women in East Asian Literature and Art” Kerry Walker will present on her thesis “Multilingual Dreams and Exophonic Realities: Lessons from Tawada Yōko’s Essay ‘Capetown’ in Her Story ‘Cinema of the Night,’” an integrative analysis of a Japanese and a German language text from the exophonic author Tawada Yōko. This thesis aims to isolate major themes regarding multilingualism present in her Japanese essay “Capetown,” and consequently highlight how they function in her German short story “Cinema of the Night.” Professor Kimberly Kono is the faculty advisor for this project, and Professor Yuri Kumagai is the second reader.
Presentation deriving from senior honors thesis with Kim Kono, professor of Japanese language & literature.
Kerry Walker ‘21
- At the Intersection of Patriarchy, Poverty, and Empire: Mothers and Daughters in Salt and Document of Flames.
This thesis studies a comparison of themes found in Korean author Kang Kyŏng-ae’s Salt (Sogeum) and Japanese writer Yuasa Katsuei’s Document of Flames (Hono’o no Kiroku).
Presentation deriving from senior honors thesis with Kim Kono, professor of japanese language & literature.
Quinn Bulkeley ‘21