Undergraduate Research

The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters congratulates the achievements of undergraduate students who received recognition for their research, scholarship, artistic expression and creative discovery during the 2014-2015 school year.

Cate Brecht (English) had a poem, "Burnt Sugar," published in the spring 2015 issue of Coastlines, FAU's literary journal.

Chaunesey Clemmons (Anthropology) won first place in the Behavioral and Social Sciences section of FAU's Undergraduate Research Symposium's poster session for her project "The Impact of Fragmentation in Determining Number of Individuals."

Deniz Dolun (Political Science) was named the College of Arts and Letters' Undergraduate Researcher of the Year. His faculty mentor was Mirya Holman.

Jessica Frank (Philosophy) was invited to read her paper "The Racial Contract: Deconstructing the Logic of Racial Domination" at the Florida Undergraduate Philosophy Conference, sponsored by the University of Florida (March 20-21, 2015). She was also awarded first prize for her essay "Sexual Harassment: The Ramifications of an Absolutized Conception of Free Speech" in the Constitution Day 2014 Essay Contest, sponsored by the Department of Political Science as part of the Jack Miller Forum Constitution Day activities.

Avery Godwin (English) had a poem, "Dear Doctor," published in the spring 2015 issue of Coastlines, FAU's literary journal.

Claudia Kisielewicz (English) had a piece of flash fiction, "Leaving," published in the spring 2015 issue of Coastlines, FAU's literary journal.

Maurice Leone (English) had a poem, "A Short Story," published in the spring 2015 issue of Coastlines, FAU's literary journal.

Brandy McElroy-Wright (Languages, Linguistics and Comparative Literature) was awarded a 2015 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) to work on investigating how speakers of Spanish perceive the difference between voiced and voiceless speech sounds (e.g., the p~b contrast in 'pet' vs. 'bet'). The title of her project is "Perception of Consonantal Voicing by Bilingual English-Spanish Speakers." Her faculty mentor was Viktor Kharlamov.

Aleksandar Vuk Nikolic (Philosophy) was invited to read his paper "Human Consciousness, Where It Comes From and How It Relates to the Body" at the 19th Annual Southwestern Conference for Undergraduate Philosophers (Feb. 21, 2015). He was also awarded first place at FAU's Undergraduate Research Symposium for his paper "Reality: A Subjective Empirical Illusion." His faculty mentor was Simon Glynn.

Ashley Ostroot (Sociology) was awarded a 2015 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) for "Constructing Adulthood in Contemporary Societies." Her faculty mentor was Ann Branaman.

Justin Piesco (English) had a piece of fiction, "Jacob's Mirror," published in the spring 2015 issue of Coastlines, FAU's literary journal.

Arcangelo Quintaneiro (Philosophy) had a paper, "Against the Aristotelian Method Concerning Scientific Knowledge," published in Athene Noctua: Undergraduate Philosophy Journal , issue no. 3 (spring 2015).

Edward Rankin (Philosophy) had a paper, "Aristotle's Magnanimity and Nietzsche's Nobility," published in Athene Noctua: Undergraduate Philosophy Journal , issue no. 3 (spring 2015). 

Alonso Romero (English) had a poem, "Soccer Practice," and a short story, "Dinner," published in the spring 2015 issue of Coastlines, FAU's literary journal.

Craig Ryan  (English) had a short story, "King Zero," published in the spring 2015 issue of Coastlines, FAU's literary journal.

Jennifer St. Sume (School of Communication and Multimedia Studies) won second place in FAU's Undergraduate Research Symposium for her oral presentation "'L' is for Licentious: A Literature Review on Identity, Rhetoric, and the LGBTQ Counterpublic."

Philip Scire (English) had a poem, "Misfit Girls and Boys," published in the spring 2015 issue of  Coastlines, FAU's literary journal.

Trevor Selph (Philosophy) had a paper, "Compassion or Murder? An Aristotelian Look a the Case of George and Lester Zygmaniak," published in Athene Noctua: Undergraduate Philosophy Journal , issue no. 3 (spring 2015).

Sonja Smith (School of Communication and Multimedia Studies) won second place in FAU's Undergraduate Research Symposium's poster session for "Multiculturalism in America's Workplace."

Ashley Spring (Anthropology) presented a paper, "The Unknown of Addiction: an Analysis of the Subculture of a Recovery Community," to the Southern Anthropological Society, Athens, Georgia, spring 2015. Her paper won Honorable Mention (second place in the undergraduate paper competition). Her faculty mentor was Michael Harris.

Christopher Staves (Philosophy) had a paper, "Is Aristotle a Misogynist?," published in Athene Noctua: Undergraduate Philosophy Journal , issue no. 3 (spring 2015).

Jonathan Sullivan (English) had a short story, "Silent Faces," published in the spring 2015 issue of Coastlines, FAU's literary journal.

Bridget Sweet (English) represented FAU as a HASTAC Scholar and participated in a research forum on the topic of self-expression on the Internet. Her contribution, "Gender on the Web: Selfies as Feminist Strategy," is available on the HASTAC website. Her faculty mentor was Lisa Swanstrom.

Michelle Trujillo (School of Communication and Multimedia Studies) won first place in FAU's Undergraduate Research Symposium's poster session for her project "See Her: Women's Representation in Contemporary Hollywood Film Culture." Her faculty mentor was Gerald Sim.

Kelsey Willis (Anthropology) is studying ceramics previously excavated in Nicaragua. Earlier this year, she went to the Middle American Research Institute in New Orleans and studied comparative collections to help her identify the pottery types that she would find in the Nicaraguan collections. She is currently in Nicaragua getting ready to start her work on her project "Ceramics of Chinandega, Nicaragua." Her faculty mentor is Clifford T. Brown.

Additionally, several talented students from throughout the College of Arts and Letters presented their research at FAU's Undergraduate Research Symposium, sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry. A complete list of their projects is available here.

Interested in learning more about opportunities for creative discovery and research?   Visit the Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry (OURI) to find out more information!