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2024-2025 Student Fellows

Brigid Carlin

“Religious Anthropology and Women’s Narratives within the Context of Reproductive Healthcare: Comparative Analysis of the United States and Ireland”

Women’s reproductive rights remain a key component of women’s movements targeting gender inequity globally. This project’s goal is to examine the Republic of Ireland and the United States comparatively, with special emphasis on the historical religious influences on political culture that have seemingly shaped political debates and decisions about reproductive health and rights in both countries, albeit with different outcomes presently. The historically powerful Catholic Church in Ireland has exerted influence both on Irish society and the government, including questions concerning gender roles generally and women’s reproductive rights specifically. Similarly, American political culture has experienced religious influences, even though a constitutional separation of church and state forbids an official state religion. Nonetheless, religious beliefs have always affected internal American debates about reproductive rights, even if these influences are more indirect than the direct influence one recognizes in Ireland. An important piece of this study will be the ongoing and ever-evolving impact these religious influences may have on women themselves. Women are fundamentally impacted by national-level decisions concerning gender equity, reproductive health, and reproductive rights, with broader implications for women’s rights as human rights worldwide.
Faculty Mentor: Gretchen Van Dyke, Ph.D.

* Brigid is a political science and economics major, class of 2025

Aryan Chandavarkar  

“The Qur’an as Muhaymin [How the Qur’an References Extra-Islamic Material]”
Through my project, I intend on exploring how the Qur’an, the holy book for Muslims, interacts with other texts and beliefs at the time of its revelation. The goal of this project will be to document every single reference to extraislamic sources that the Qur’an makes in its 114 chapters. By reference, I mean implicit and explicit references including through allusion, wordplay, and parallelisms. The goal will be to collect the occurrence of these references along with a description of how the Qur’an is addressing each text. Thus, the end format of the project will be in the form of a book, with each chapter including a Qur’anic reference along with my commentary on what the Qur’an is doing.

Faculty Mentor: Christian Krokus, Ph.D. 

* Aryan is an electrical engineering and philosophy major, class of 2026

Philip Gelso

“Media Influence on Voter Decision-Making: Past and Present”
The goal of this project is to investigate the influence of media on voter decision-making, using the 1960 and 2016 Presidential Elections as case studies. By analyzing one historic election and one contemporary election, this study aims to determine the extent to which media has impacted and continues to impact voter decision-making processes. By examining the changing role of media in politics, this research seeks to provide insight into the evolving relationship between media and democracy.

Faculty Mentor: Jean Harris, Ph.D.

* Phil is a philosophy and political science major, class of 2025

Mary Krichbaum

“Gödel’s Ontological Proof: A Mathematical Analysis”
Although this project is multifaceted, it is ultimately oriented towards one main goal, that is, to study Gödel’s Ontological proof from a rigorous, logical, mathematical standpoint while contextualizing it within the broader scheme of other arguments for the existence of God. This would begin with the interpretation of Gödel’s proof line-by-line, which involves understanding and elaborating on his notational style and additional quantifiers. Furthermore, this project would involve research into the format of ontological arguments, how Gödel’s argument fits this framework, and how it is both an expansion on and culmination of prior ideas such as those of Saint Anselm of Canterbury in his book Prosologian, René Descartes, and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Finally, there would be a mathematical expansion upon Gödel’ argument, which is the part of the project that most clearly demonstrates the interwoven nature of pure mathematics and the humanities.

Faculty Mentor: Steven Dougherty, Ph.D.

*Mary is a mathematics and philosophy major, class of 2025

Serena Martin

“To The Boy Who Sought Freedom: The Philosophy of Freedom & Social Contract Theory in Attack on Titan”
My project explores the philosophical themes of freedom and the social contract theory as depicted within the popular manga and anime series Attack on Titan. It delves into how the characters' actions and the societal structures within the narrative reflect and challenge these philosophical concepts. Through analysis of key events, character motivations, and societal dynamics, the project aims to elucidate the nuanced relationship between freedom and obligation in a dystopian world besieged by giant humanoid creatures. The format includes textual analysis, character studies, and comparisons with philosophical texts to deepen understanding and draw parallels between the fictional universe and real-world philosophical discourse. 

Faculty Mentor: Duane Armitage, Ph.D.

* Serena is a Political Science major, class of 2025

Gabriella Palmer

“Legal Theatrics”
“It's all a circus, kid. A three-ring circus. This trial - the whole world - all show business.” This quote, taken from the musical Chicago, illuminates an important aspect of the legal profession: effective representation requires lawyers to “perform” as they wield not only the law, but also employ theatrical technique in order to produce a favorable outcome. The professions have a shared past and much of the development of modern advocacy can be traced back to the concurrent development of law and theater in ancient times, as ancient lawyers, known as orators, were often actors or playwrights. In the centuries that have followed, lawyers’ performance in a courtroom, or advocacy, has become more of a necessity in today’s world, where thanks to the media, trials are more public than ever. It is a good “performance,” or powerful speech that can change the hearts and minds of a judge, jury, or the public, and becomes the difference between an innocent or guilty verdict. Therefore, valuable insight can be gained by studying theatrical performance in the context of the practice of law, as it provides an important path to learning tools for effective advocacy in our justice system. Through this project, I aim to study, analyze, and articulate the impact of the presence and usage of theatrical technique in the legal profession, both the past and present. To conduct my research, I will study legal advocacy through a theatrical lens by tracing the history of the legal profession and early theater, and comparing theatrical and legal advocacy techniques. My research will be supplemented by both primary and secondary sources, including readings about theater and law, famed cases, and interview-style conversation with lawyers. Using my research, I will develop a cohesive thesis, and produce a research paper along with an original one-act play to be performed by the ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ of ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ Players reflecting my findings.

Faculty Advisor: Prof. Richard Larsen

* Gabriella is an English and theatre major, class of 2026