THI Announces 2024-2025 Undergraduate Research Fellows
The Humanities Institute (THI) is thrilled to support ten THI Undergraduate Research Fellows during the 2024-2025 academic year.
Research Fellows come from a range of majors, including Linguistics, History, Politics, and Sociology, and are pursuing a diverse set of projects – from examining the social construction of housing insecurity and homelessness to the meanings of freedom in the Roman Empire. THI fellowships encourage undergraduate students to pursue original projects that build on the research and writing skills they gain during their humanities coursework at UC Santa Cruz. The experience enriches students’ learning and prepares them for future opportunities as they work closely with faculty mentors on projects of interest. As part of our THI Research Fellows Program, we help undergraduate fellows prepare posters to share their research findings at the Humanities Division end of the year event.
This year, awardees received $1,000 each to further support their research pursuits. Elliot-Elyjah Mcwhinnie, a Linguistics major, was awarded the Bertha N. Melkonian prize for the top proposal and will receive an additional $1,000 award. Look for more information soon about this year’s Humanities Division end of the year event, where all ten THI Undergraduate Research Fellows will be recognized.
See the fellows’ projects below and check our website for student profiles in the months ahead. You can learn more about how THI supports undergraduate students here.
Congratulations to our newest cohort of THI Undergraduate Research Fellows!
THI Undergraduate Research Fellows
Katherine Arnold, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics & Multilingualism
“Nonnative Perception of Italian Consonant Length Contrast”
Katherine’s project investigates the phonological systems of English listeners when perceiving Italian geminate consonants in order to understand the primary cues they use to discriminate between consonant length. To do this, Katherine asks English listeners with varied proficiencies in Italian to discriminate between short and long consonants in fake Italian VCV and VCCV words.
Sam Beatty, Linguistics
“Gendered voices and Transgender bodies: Where are we? What are we doing? And who are we talking to?”
Sam is interested in whether social environment informs variation in vocal pitch for transgender speakers, hoping to provide insight into the relationships between self-perception, gender performance, and gender-motivated vocal change. Their project involves recording conversations between cisgender and transgender individuals and analyzing changes in pitch.
Julian Crown, Sociology and Linguistics
“Language, Media, and the Social Construction of Homelessness”
Julian’s project examines how language, media, and public discourse shape perceptions of homelessness, with focus on the ways in which it is framed as an intrinsic and immutable trait. The project makes use of variety of sources, including legislative reports, policy proposals, both local and statewide news coverage, and online discourse on public forums.
Joshua Lieberstein, Linguistics
“Verbless Clauses in Mayan K’ iche’: A non-copular approach”
Joshua studies the syntax of verbless clauses in K’ iche’, a Mayan language spoken in the highlands of Guatemala. As part of his project, Joshua has spent extended time in Guatemala collecting linguistic samples and learning more about the cultural landscape informing K’ iche’.
Elliot-Elyjah Mcwhinnie, Linguistics
“Zooming in on the regional differences of African American Language in California”
Elliot-Elyjah’s project investigates whether African American Language (AAL) in California differs by region and the ways in which it has been influenced by the California Vowel Shift, a sound change largely associated with younger White speakers. In doing so, he hopes to address the underrepresentation of regional variations in AAL, often wrongly portrayed as monolithic.
Sabrina Nguyen, Classical Studies and Literature
“Does Freedom Mean Free? Manumission, Marriage, and Public Perception in the Roman Empire”
Sabrina’s project examines marriages between enslaved women and their male owners in the Roman Empire, which at the time was one of the few pathways to manumission for the enslaved, and ultimately offered a limited form of freedom. As part of the project, Sabrina analyzed funerary inscriptions and consider what they convey about the experiences of women subjected to this form of marriage.
Jacqueline Nowak, History and Anthropology
“For a Bountiful Harvest: Women’s Roles in Animal Sacrifice to the Goddesses Demeter and Persephone”
Jacqueline’s project investigates the role of women in ritual practices and animal sacrifice to the goddesses Demeter and Persephone in ancient Greece. For her project, Jacqueline is conducting analyses of three different sites of worship to Demeter and Persephone, along with other primary source documents.
Adelina Rocha, Sociology
“Benefits and Barriers of Radical Collaboration in Performance Arts”
Adelina is interested in the role of performing arts in community building and how radical organizing enhances personal experience. Their Sociology Senior Thesis aims to shine a light on the creative collaboration process necessary to sustaining a supportive community, centered around care and self-expression. As part of their project, Adelina is documenting their experience as a facilitator of the lip sync collective, “Supernova Sync,” as well as observing the experience of other members.
Ruby Seckinger, Politics and Philosophy
“Guardrails for AI: Defining Ethics and Regulation in a World of Imperfect Data”
Ruby’s project investigates how law might serve as a solution to the harmful effects caused by the use of problematic data in generative AI model training. For her project, she is conducting a comparative analysis of the current policy frameworks around AI in the United States and the European Union, evaluating the successes, potentials, and pitfalls existing in the emerging field of AI ethics and governance.
Pilar Zapien, Literature and Spanish Studies
“Gossip: Power, Profit, and Patriarchy: An Academic Zine Series
Pilar’s project examines the ways in which gossip, historically employed by women to share narratives, foster community, and challenge patriarchal power, has evolved from a tool of resistance to commodified currency in digital spaces. As part of her project, Pilar is working on a zine that will present a multi-disciplinary and multi-media analysis of gossip’s evolution.