Carnegie Mellon University

Undergraduate Student Research

The broad analytic, research, and writing skills cultivated by the majors in SPH and Global Studies prepare students for success in a wide variety of graduate and professional schools, and for exercising leadership in careers in business, law, government, education, journalism, public policy, social work, the armed services, Foreign Service, media, museums and libraries. All majors take a capstone research seminar, where they conduct individualized research projects using archival and other primary sources with one-on-one guidance and supervision from faculty. Students are encouraged to consider expanding their research projects either through receiving funding for summer research or through the Dietrich College's Senior Honors Program.

 

Global Studies Capstone Research Papers

Fall 2020: Course Instructor, Noah Theriault

  • Lena Banchero: "Troubled Waters: The River Foyle and Segregation in Derry/Londonderry"
  • Yu Jiang: "Enduring Patriarchy: On the ‘Empowerment’ of Rural Women in Bangladesh and China"
  • Rachael Johnson: "Gender, Art, and Identity in the French First Republic"
  • Sue Lee: "A Pacific Paradox: Increasing Acceptance of Intermarriage amid Persistent Geopolitical Tensions between Korea and Japan"
  • Victoria Lugo: "The Surge: Pro-Independence Support and Ideals in Puerto Rico"
  • Jenna McKinley: "Maltese and the Struggle for Cultural Hegemony at the Edge of Europe"
  • Rebecca Polanzke: "The Rockefellers, The Met, and the Colonial Ties between Them"
  • Grace Sells: "Birthing Colonialism: US Interventions into Philippine Maternity Care"

Fall 2019: Course Instructor, John Soluri
  • Haider Nazir: "Building a Democracy: A Case-Study of Taiwan"
  • Anna Telmer: "Cross Cultural Perspectives on Trauma: Struggles for Alternative Therapies for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder"
  • Theresa Abalos: "Embodying Social Memory Through Performance: Staged Recollections of Violence in Peru and Cambodia"
  • V Reiter: "Crossing Over: Reggaeton’s Path from Underground to Global Pop" 
  • Lizzy Ma:  "Web Celebrities’ Role in the Booming Chinese E-commerce"
  • Michelle Madlansacay: "Returning to Palestine: Palestinian Authors’ Perceptions on the Right of Return"
  • Christopher Vielot: "Politicizing History: Transnational Debates over Ukrainian Nationalism"
  • Zachary Rapaport: "Taking Back the City through Art: Visual Testimony and Shifting Visions of Artistic Intervention in Oaxaca, Mexico"
  • Julia Scherb: "Spaces in Suspension: Exploring the Historical and Ethical Complexities of Doctors Without Borders"

Spring 2018: Course Instructor, Ema Grama

  • Grace Huddleston: "The Role of Language in the #MeToo Movement"
  • Ian Asenjo, "Discourse and Discrimination: Public Discussions of Muslim American Female Identity"
  • Guannan Liu, "The Kids Are Alt-Right: Trump, Satire, and the Search for Truth"
  • Amal Nanavati, "Overcoming Racial Inequalities in K-12 Computer Science Education: A Case Study of Pittsburgh"
  • Kelly Li, "Vulnerable Infrastructures: An Analysis of Accountability Through the Flint Water Crisis"
  • Mikaela Wolf-Sorokin, "Exclusions and Limitations: the Particular Social Group Concept and Honduran Women's Asylum Claims"
  • Maria Navarro, "Youth Migrant in a Global Context"
  • Ella Hepner, "Exploring Alternative Modalities Through the Politics of Magical Realism"
  • Emily Stewart, "Improving the Human Condition: A Historical and Cultural Analysis of Dalcroze Eurhythmics"
  • Rachel Gomez, "Sociality, Food, and Belonging: Living with Type 1 Diabetes in Today's Spain"

Senior Honors Theses

2020:

  • Haider Nazir, “The Five Acts of the Chinese Dream”, Benno Weiner.
  • Zachary Rapaport, “A Book of the Lawn the Size of the Lawn”, Paul Eiss.
  • Julia Scherb, “Fragile Norms, Fragile Bodies: Ethical Vulnerabilities in Extremity,” Chris Phillips.
  • Ah Jin Youn, “Solving the Women Question through Patriarchal Legislation: The Soviet Union and North Korea”, Wendy Goldman.

2019:

  • Vera Schulz, “Follow the Leader: Innovation in the Chemical Engineering Industry: The Case of Germany and the United States”, Donna Harsch.
  • Sahana Thirumazhusai, “Conflict and Commemoration: The Role of Tourism in a Post-Conflict Northern Ireland”, Jennifer Keating.

2018:

  • Rachel Gomez, “Sociality, Food, and Belonging: Living with Type 1 Diabetes in Today’s Spain”, John Soluri.
  • Jenna Houston, “A Scale of 1 to 10: Examining Vulvodynia through Non-Traditional Video Documentary” Lisa Tetrault.
  • Maria Navarro-Gutierrez, “Uncommon Courage: Refugee Students Persisting in Higher Education”, Necia Werner.

2017:

  • Madhumita Govindaswamy: “An Exploratory Study on South Asian Parent-Child Dynamics”, Tim Haggerty.
  • Dhruva Krishna, “Building a Better Venue-Creating The Glass Onion for the Oakland Community”, Scott Sandage
  • Robert Reynolds, “The Intransigence of Canada during Prohibition: Implementing the 18th Amendment along America’s Northern Border, Steve Schlossman.

Read all Honors Theses Here