How/Why Research? My main research experience has been my ENGL 105i course with Dr. Lithgow. In this course, we have formulated research questions, reviews of literature, and written SURF grant proposals and projects. In addition to this course, I have also written a paper exploring the results of different methods of secularization on norm-setting in Russia and Netherlands for HIST 159, and a paper that explores the Homeric Poet’s use of weaving technique and its implications in the Odyssey for CMPL 120.
Research Experiences: I have written a review of literature on the successes and failures of site-specific art installations and interventions to foster productive intercultural dialogue. I wrote a SURF grant proposal to investigate current perspectives on the effects of the Interstate Highway System as related by citizens and urban planners in the St. Louis Metro area. Additionally, I have presented my research on postcolonial customs of arranged marriage and feminist texts in South Asia at the 2019 JASP Symposium. These experiences taught me that a research project is constantly evolving. Sometimes, in order to make your projects feasible, you need to change directions, or consider looking at your project from a different perspective. I have also learned that the University has many resources to help my projects along the way. Likewise, the willingness of faculty members to discuss their own research and inform that of students is an amazing asset that I think students sometimes overlook.