Reiya Baht
Six students from the Political Science Department presented their work at the 2018 Student Research and Creative Activity Expo on April 12. Five hailed from the Honors Tutorial Program, the sixth from the M.A. program in Political Science. Four of the six presenters received awards.
HTC student Reiya Bhat received first prize in the undergraduate political science session for her thesis research on women’s experiences during the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan. Titled “Gender and Politics in and after India’s 1947 Partition,” Bhat’s research involved interviews conducted in India during the summer break between junior and senior years. Bhat’s tutor for the project was Dr. Jennifer Fredette.
Cassidy Cleland
Cassidy Cleland, also in the HTC program, received first prize in the HTC-Office of Multicultural Student Access and Retention session and second prize in the library session for her research on disappointment and distrust among African American communities. Her thesis, “Raising Expectations and Failing to Deliver: The Effects of Collective Disappointment and Distrust within the African American Community,” looks at four case studies—the Emancipation Proclamation and Reconstruction Amendments, Brown vs. Board of Education, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Presidency of Barack Obama—to assess the impact of unfulfilled expectations among black Americans. Cleland’s tutor was Dr. Julie White.
Annalycia Liston-Beck
Another HTC student, Annalycia Liston-Beck, received first prize in a University International Council session for a presentation on social movements organized around the symbolic power of women as mothers. Her thesis on “Mobilizing Motherhood: The Symbolic Politics of Motherhood in Comparative Perspective” investigated efforts by women to leverage their status as mothers to amplify their political voice. Liston-Beck’s research extended to two case studies, one on Egypt and one on Argentina, her interest in the latter stemming from a study abroad experience during junior year. Liston-Beck’s tutor for the project was Dr. Andrew Ross.
Zakary Frank
Also presenting their HTC theses were Evan Cooper and Zakary Frank. Cooper’s thesis on “Got Skills? Improving U.S. Vocational Training and Growing Demand for Advanced Vocational Skills” used case studies of programs in Germany and the U.S. to assess government strategies for promoting vocational training. His tutor and mentor was Dr. James Mosher. Frank presented his thesis on “Terrorism, Boundaries, and Belonging in American and British Cinema” investigated the impact of depictions of terrorism in film on the experience of citizenship and belonging among groups portrayed as extremists. Frank’s tutor was Dr. Nukhet Sandal.
Fatma Jabbari
Fatma Jabbari won first prize in the regular session for her presentation of an M.A. thesis on “Arab Uprisings, Transitional Societies, and Religious Discrimination: The Case of Tunisia.” Jabbari’s project used mixed methods to examine the relationship between government policies and societal religious discrimination in Tunisia. Jabbari also recently presented her work at the Annual Convention of the International Studies Association. Sandal was Jabbari’s supervisor for the project.
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