Eleven CCS students presented their research at the spring 2024 NAU Undergraduate Symposium on Friday April 26!
Laura Barclay (B.A. in Anthropology with minors in Humanities and Museum Studies) presented the poster The First Women Archaeologists: How to Dig Your Way through Sexism, Homophobia & Exclusion. Laura created a digital exhibit on the history of women archaeologists for HUM 395 Digital Humanities with Dr. Becky Pratt-Sturges in fall 2023. Her research included conducting archival research, creating a digital collection of archival resources and objects, and then design of an engaging exhibit in Omeka-S. Explore the exhibit here.
Mel Boatright (B.S. Environmental and Sustainability Studies and Honors College with a minor in Spanish) presented their environmental humanities project created in HON 195 with Dr. Gioia Woods), Human Nature. The project explored the connections between humanity and nature and expressed in art.
Ella Conner (B.A. in Comparative Cultural Studies with a focus in Art History and Honors College with minors in Museum Studies and Italian) gave the oral presentation “Intersecting Art and Identity: Postcolonial and Post-Soul Aesthetics in Contemporary African and African American Art,” a paper researched in ARH 351 Art of the United States in fall 2023 and supervised by Dr. George Speer. Her research explored connections between the works of several artists including Kehinde Wiley and Yinka Shonibare as part of postcolonial expression of identities.
Kailey Cooper (B.A. in Comparative Cultural Studies with a focus in the Comparative Study of Religions and a minor in Health and Wellness Coaching) and Colin Grosvenor (B.S. in Biomedical Sciences with minors in Philosophy and Humanities) presented the poster Mapping Religious Communities in Flagstaff. They worked with Dr. Diana Coleman in CCS on this digital humanities project to create an interactive website which maps the religious communities in Flagstaff over time.
Graduating senior Joce Dolezal (B.A. in Comparative Cultural Studies with a focus in Public Humanities with minors in Art History and Museum Studies) presented their research from an independent study with Dr. Becky Pratt-Sturges on Early Christian and Byzantine art in fall 2023 in the poster Coptic Tunics and Accessing God: The Historical Context and Significance of Dressing the Self with Christ in Byzantine Egypt. Their paper examined sixth-eighth century decorated tunics in Coptic Egypt and how they were a powerful religious medium for connecting the faithful with God. Joce also presented at the symposium as part of the digital curation team for an exhibit about the artist Gino Parin for the Martin-Springer Institute at NAU. They served as an intern on the project during spring 2024.
Shaelyn Fett (B.A. in History with a minor in Museum Studies) presented the poster The Evolution of Lilith: A Digital Exploration of the Demonization of Female Divinity, Power, and Sexuality from HUM 395 with Dr. Becky Pratt-Sturges in fall 2023. She designed a digital exhibit with a corresponding digital collection of art which explored the downfall of female divinity and the fracture of femininity into patriarchal moral archetypes within Abrahamic religious doctrines in Omeka-S. Explore the exhibit here.
Graduating senior Elliot Foran (B.A. English with a Linguistics focus and a minor in Museum Studies) shared his poster Backyard Birds: North American Ornithology Through the Eyes of John James Audubon for his comprehensive digital collection and exhibit about Audubon and his work “Birds of America.” The exhibit included seventy objects and provides an overview of the birds feature and information about the life of the famous ornithologist. He completed the Omeka-S project in HUM 395 Digital Humanities in fall 2023 with Dr. Becky Pratt-Sturges. Explore the exhibit here.
Graduating senior Mckenzi Monical (B.A. in Comparative Cultural Studies with a focus in Art History with minors in Comparative Study of Religions and Museum Studies) presented her research from the CCS junior writing class in fall 2023 with Dr. Linthicum in the poster The Power of Sexuality: Representations in Renaissance Humanist Paintings. Mckenzi examined the influence of humanism in the representation of women in art of the Italian Renaissance.
Rylee Ressler (B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with a minor in Classical Studies and a certificate in Wildlife Ecology and Management), Caitlyn Clark (B.S. Criminology and Criminal Justice with a minor in Tribal Public Administration) and Cloui De Luna (B.S. in Public Health) presented the poster Importance of Representation of Indigenous People in Children’s Literature, about their collaborative project in HUM 291 Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Expression with Dr. Gioia Woods in fall 2023. They researched in depth the systemic lack of Indigenous literary representation in the United States in children’s literature, especially in K-12 education, and the resulting negative impacts.
Max Schrader (B.A. in Anthropology with a minor in Museum Studies) presented This Home is not a House: A Sense of Queer Place, a digital exhibit in Omeka-S completed in HUM 395 during fall 2023 with Dr. Becky Pratt-Sturges, which explored how “home” is conceptualized by the queer community through analysis of archival photography and artworks by queer artists. The digital collection featured works of art and archival resources and the exhibit contextualized the objects within the contexts of home as community, identity, and place. Explore the exhibit here. Max also presented a poster for his Digital Archaeology class with Dr. Kayeleigh Sharp.
Julia Toma (B.A. in Comparative Cultural Studies with focus in Asian Studies with a minor in Studio Art) researched Nabeshima ware from Kyushu, Japan during the Edo period for CCS 490C, the senior capstone with Dr. Kent Linthicum in spring 2024. She presented the poster Samurai Sponsorship and Japanese Nabeshima Style Porcelain Development from the 17th-21st Century. The project explored the history and features of the porcelain works.