By Kellie Britch, College of Arts and Sciences
Ten USF students traveled to Baltimore, Md., in March, to present their research at the Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium at Johns Hopkins University. The trip was an opportunity for the students to make connections, advance their research and hone their presentation skills.
After their presentation, USF CAS students Hannah Rice, Emelia Brzakala, Anna Alieva and Joshua Valdez explored the Johns Hopkins University Homewood Museum. (Photo courtesy of Anna Alieva)
During the three-day symposium, roughly 150 students were grouped into panels of four based on their research topics. Each student received 10 minutes to present their research. The floor was then open for audience questions.
The USF students and panels included:
- Anna Alieva, School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies: Activism and Advocacy
- Stephen Akin, Department of English and School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies: Defining Masculinity
- Emelia Brzakala, Department of History: Histories of Medicine
- Nicholas Geller, Department of Women鈥檚, Gender and Sexuality Studies: U.S. Politics
- Preston Kifer, Judy Genshaft Honors College, School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies and School of Theater & Dance: Art as Activism
- Hannah Rice, Department of History: Stories of War
- Tanveer Sandhu, Department of Integrative Biology: Studies in Healthcare
- Avani Sanghvi, Judy Genshaft Honors College, Departments of English and Anthropology: Literary Examinations of Identity
- Leila Sujanani, Departments of Integrative Biology and World Languages: Contemporary Literature Connecting to Historical Texts
- Joshua Valdez, Department of History: U.S. Politics
Of the 10 students from USF, six of them had presented at USF鈥檚 Undergraduate Humanities Conference in January and were sponsored by the Humanities Institute. Both USF鈥檚 Undergraduate Humanities Conference and the Richard Macksey National
Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium at Johns Hopkins University are testaments
to just how interdisciplinary and impactful research in the humanities can be.
鈥淚 was fascinated by the scope of topics and interests exhibited by other students,鈥�
Alieva, who presented on environmental rights in the U.S. and Canadian Arctic, said.
鈥淭oday, the humanities are more overlooked than ever, and it was both comforting and
inspiring to know that they're appreciated and used to advance meaningful research
across multiple disciplines.鈥�
Students were encouraged to apply to the symposium after submitting their research
for the USF Undergraduate Humanities Conference.
鈥淚 never would have known about or applied to the symposium without Dr. Kicak鈥檚 encouragement,鈥�
Alieva said of Elizabeth Kicak, director for the USF Humanities Institute.
The experience at Johns Hopkins University inspired Alieva and her peers to conduct
further research and expand their goals.