Innocence or Ignorance: The Clash Over Ethnic Studies
Student: Xavier Alva
Faculty: Ronni Gura Sadovsky
Instruction on race and racism in schools has been a topic of intense public debate in recent years. This project examines arguments against Ethnic Studies courses and programs in legislation, journalism, and advocacy from a variety of perspectives. It focuses on four distinct cases: Tucson Unified School District’s ban on the Mexican American Studies program in 2010 (which was found unconstitutional in 2017), Florida’s Department of Education’s rejection of the College Board’s AP African American Studies pilot course in 2023, Denver Public School’s Introduction to Ethnic Studies course, and the work of NorthShore School District’s Ethnic Studies pilot team. In each case, I expose and critique arguments that claim these educational materials and programs threaten children’s innocence by teaching them to (a) identify with and find solidarity within an ethnic group and (b) understand themselves and those around them through the lens of the oppressed or victim and the oppressor or perpetrator. I trace the notion that these ideas corrupt children’s innocence to Rousseau’s (1762) characterization of the child as a pre-social being whose innate goodness is corrupted by contact with power structures and relationships. Having identified the Rousseauvian assumptions about innocence and corruption that influence arguments against Ethnic Studies, I challenge them by proposing an alternative way of evaluating this method of education, replacing the notion of innocence versus corruption with ignorance versus competence.
Tracing the Origins and Connections of Trinity University's Gradual Manuscript to the Dominican Order in Spain and Mexico
Student: Jake Cipolla
Faculty: Kimberlyn Montford
Trinity University’s Special Collections was given an early Renaissance gradual manuscript by Authur and Jane Stieren from the estate of Elizabeth Huth Coates. There is no other information regarding the bequest. The manuscript lacked archival tags and bibliographic records which limited any study of the gradual. In the summer of 2017, Dr. Kimberlyn Montford and Kristina Kummerer, through the Mellon Initiative, examined the manuscript working on categorizing the chants, and analyzing the contents, marginalia, physical condition, treatment, and liturgical associations of the gradual. Their research dated the gradual to 1480-1520s with a period of its existence in Spain, finding connections to the Dominican Order. The new research will work on expanding the knowledge about this gradual including the usage of the chants, transcription of more chants, and information about the physical location and religious praxes of the gradual through research of the unique tradition and rituals of the Dominican Order.
Conmemorando a la Comunidad: the Latinx Experience at Trinity University - Voices of Identity: Exploring the Technical Dimensions of Latinx Oral Histories at Trinity University
Student: Lee Denney
Faculty: Dania Abreu-Torres and Abra Schnur
For this summer, I aim to continue the project I started last year and continue documenting Latinx experiences at Trinity through oral histories and archival research. More tangibly, I want to focus on gathering archival materials pertaining to the creation of the Mexico, Americas, and Spain program as well as record more oral histories examining the queer Latinx story at Trinity. In addition to the interviews, I will also conduct some exploratory research on queer Latinx experiences. Moreover, the documents and materials gathered will serve to expand the current exhibit on interdisciplinary programs. Additionally, under the guidance of University Archivist Abra Schnur and Dr. Dania Abreu-Torres and with student Marina Oquendo, I will expand the digital exhibit to include snippets from the oral histories recorded thus far– in particular the section displaying the Border Research Institute. Overall, this project seeks to expand and further develop the digital exhibit(s) created and to continue conducting oral history interviews.
The Making of West Side Story: An Analysis of the Collaboration Between Arthur Laurents, Jerome Robbins, Leonard Berstein, and Stephen Sondheim
Student: Cam Kenefick
Faculty: Nathan Stith
This research will delve into the development of West Side Story concerning the contributions of Jerome Robbins, the director and choreographer; Arthur Laurents, the librettist; Leonard Bernstein, the composer; and Stephen Sondheim, the lyricist of the original production. All four of these men had strained relationships with one or both of their parents. All four were Jewish. All four were closeted homosexuals during a time in which homosexuality was written off as a “mental illness” and sodomy was illegal in the United States. Further, all four were extremely left-wing and involved in liberal political organizations which would later cause some discourse amongst the group. Dr. Stith’s Master Thesis synthesized the different narratives of these four men, the research we will be conducting this summer will build from the similarities Dr. Stith found between these men’s life experiences. We will investigate the similarities of these men’s life experiences and how they affected the development of their musical. Specifically, I will be reading autobiographical accounts of these men during the pre-production and production stages. Together, we will develop a better understanding of what made this collaboration so successful and why the story was shaped the way it was.
Conmemorando a la Comunidad: the Latinx Experience at Trinity University - Creating Our Own Spaces: Chicanx and Latinx Artists' Experiences at Trinity University
Student: Marina Oquendo
Faculty: Dania Abreu-Torres/Abra Schnur
The overall objective of this research program is to continue the work on the Conmemorando a la Comunidad: Latinx Experiences at Trinity digital humanities project started in the Summer of 2023 through a collaboration with the Mexico, Americas, and Spain (MAS) program and the University Archives. The purpose of the project is to design a space to share archival research and personal narratives with current Latinx students, faculty, and staff, as well as present histories and discoveries with which they can identify. Our work this summer will be to expand on work University Archivist Abra Schnur has started with her digital exhibit about the Chicano Movement at Trinity. We are proposing to continue this project by focusing on the visual arts. We will expand on research on the Con Safo art collective, Latinx artists, and the work of Trinity University art professors who also taught in public high schools on the Westside of San Antonio. We will be conducting most of our research by consulting archive materials and using our findings to guide our questions in our oral interviews. Additionally, we will be continuing work from last summer with transcribing and revising transcripts from previous oral histories.
Aged Golden Boy vs. Retired Dragon Slayer: Comparing Models of Masculinity in Survivor: South Pacific
Student: Caroline Parish
Faculty: Lauren Wilks
After 20 seasons of success, the CBS television show Survivor, entered what is known as the “dark ages.” Throughout the 23rd season, religion is used to manipulate contestants and dominate the game. Returning contestant Benjamin ‘Coach’ Wade establishes himself as the leader of his alliance, which is unified by a cult-like version of Christianity. This project will look at how Survivor narrativizes religion and the unique emphasis this season places on Christianity, ethics, and honor. The role of gender and gender expression will also be analyzed, specifically in the ways Coach uses his masculinity to gain power within his alliance. Research will examine Survivor’s casting and editing choices as producers try to retain their audience. The goal of this project is to have a submission ready for the annual Society for Media and Cinema Studies Conference.
Winning Hearts, Minds, and Security: The Politics of Foreign Aid in Twentieth Century America
Student: Madeleine Seabolt
Faculty: Lauren Turek
As the United States rose to global prominence in the twentieth century, foreign aid became integral to its foreign policy, ensuring national security, political stability, and overseas economic development. Despite its perceived benefits and reasonable costs, the allocation of U.S. foreign assistance ignited significant and persistent debate within Congress. This research delves into how congressional leadership shapes U.S. foreign policy, focusing on lawmakers' pivotal roles in advocating for or opposing foreign aid spending. Each chapter scrutinizes the political advocacy and legislative efforts of key congressional figures involved in the contentious deliberations surrounding landmark legislation such as the Mutual Security Act and the Foreign Assistance Act. Led by Dr. Turek, this research aims to offer a comprehensive account accessible to readers from diverse backgrounds. By synthesizing historical documents, including primary sources such as congressional hearings, official policy papers, and private communications of key legislators, the book provides a vivid narrative of the fiery debates that underscored the evolution of U.S. foreign aid policies. Ultimately, this scholarly work seeks to enhance our understanding of how congressional leadership influences America's engagement with the world, making it an invaluable resource for scholars, policymakers, and the general public alike.
Sentimentalist Stitching: A Tactile Analysis of Women & Bookbinding in the 19th Century
Student: Vivian Spinks
Faculty: Claudia Stokes
This summer, I will be researching the gendered history and practice of book production in the United States. I’m hoping to bring light to the unrecognized impact of women in nineteenth-century bookbinding techniques, and how binderies provided an impactful entry point for many women into the workforce. Because binderies relied heavily on stitching and craft techniques uniquely affirmed in women’s domestic skillsets, these institutions created room for women in the field of scholarship and the workforce via the craft of needlework. Results of this research will contribute to scholarship’s understanding of women’s beginnings in the workplace, as well as the innate femininity and domesticity of such a respected craft as bookbinding. My end goal is not only to develop a research essay of this gateway paved for women through the knowledge of needlepoint, but to explore this understanding through the tactile development of a book, using 19th century bookbinding techniques. My research will be synthesized into an essay analysis and letter-pressed into this book, giving me the opportunity to understand the labor of women binders to a depth that scholarship currently lacks.
An Entanglement of Discourses: Analyzing Islamophobia and Europhobia
Student: Beyza Yildirim
Faculty: Peter O’Brien
Negative, demonizing images of Muslims are a mainstay of Islamophobia worldwide, including Germany with its 4 million, predominantly Turkish, Muslim immigrants. Islamophobia is the assertion that Islam poses a grave threat to the West, while Europhobia asserts the opposite. This study will examine the power of Islamophobic discourse by exploring resistance to it in the form of “Europhobic” dissent. Our hypothesis is that Islamophobes and Europhobes use remarkably similar strategies in producing and disseminating their hateful propaganda despite their mutually expressed antipathy for one another. While Islamophobic discourse employs the strategy of “othering,” Europhobes engage in what we refer to as “reverse othering.” For instance, Islamophobes claim that Muslims seek to Islamize the West, whereas Europhobes claim that the West continues to harbor (neo)imperialist ambitions towards the Muslim world. Our study aims to show that Europhobic resistance is largely informed, or confined, by the us-versus-them logic of Islamophobia, thus, paradoxically reinforcing it and simultaneously opposing it. I will be conducting a content analysis of Europhobic publications in the Turkish media, as well as in-person interviews with Turkish youth in Germany.