2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

The project will entail econometric analysis of a few new datasets from experiments I have recently run. The experiments include a project on our ability to detect deception in a simple game, the impact of giving on our attachment to material things, and how the value of favors appreciate or depreciate over time.

Anticipated Project Activities 

Every part of a research project, from hypothesis generation to literature review to experimental design to execution to statistical analysis, to publication and presentation. The first round of data will be collected, but the data analysis will likely necessitate follow-up experiments which will require new hypotheses, literature reviews, and new experiments.

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

• Ability to run a regression in Stata (maybe also Python, understanding Stata loops and macros and graphing a plus)
• Able to learn basic programming (e.g. using Python to analyze text data and/or web design, experience using GPT for data and programming a plus)
• An ability to read and consolidate diverse literatures (psychology, philosophy, political science, anthropology, computer science, etc.)
• An interest in continuing behavioral econ research as a senior thesis

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

Typically I work with interested students to find a spinoff for the summer project into a co-authored paper to be submitted to an academic journal. Past Ford scholars have presented their work at national conferences (e.g. at Harvard and at Miami) and published both in professional journals and undergraduate-focused research journals

Project Location 

Hybrid - meet on campus once a week, otherwise remote, but fully remote also ok.

Project Duration 

Eight weeks

Project Start Date 

05/28/2024

Project End Date 

07/19/2024

2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

The purpose of this project is to assess if (and how) business cycle fluctuations affect labor market outcomes of immigrants differently than those of natives. The project fits within a growing strand of literature that emphasizes that macroeconomic events and policies can have important distributional consequences.

It is well documented that immigrants and natives differ on labor market outcomes such as wages and employment opportunities—the so-called nativity gaps. Although there is a vast literature that tries to uncover the factors behind these gaps, little empirical evidence has been provided about the effect of business cycle fluctuations and macroeconomic policy (fiscal, monetary, etc.) on them. This project is one of several in my current research agenda that tries to address this limitation in the literature.

Anticipated Project Activities 

Students will help with data collection, cleaning, visualization, and analysis. I already have the data for the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) for the period 1996–2020, but I need to (i) extend the sample period of the SIPP data—at least back to the 80s, and (ii) get the monthly data from the Current Population Survey (CPS). After collecting and cleaning the data, we will conduct an informal analysis (summary statistics and basic visualization) to familiarize ourselves with the dataset. We will then use regression analysis to formally document the effect of business cycles on the income (wage income, interest income, profits) and employment (unemployment rate, job finding rates, separation rates) nativity gaps.

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

Students must be willing to learn (or have some prior experience with) basic programing in Python and/or Stata. Additional required qualifications include mathematical maturity, interest in economic modeling, aptitude for critical thinking, and ability to work independently. Having some background in Statistics, econometrics, or economic modeling is not necessary, but it would be beneficial.

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

The student will present the findings at the Ford symposium in the 2024 fall semester. Depending on the progress from the summer, the student might be invited to continue working on the project as a research assistant. It is also possible for the student to buildup on this experience to develop their own related research project for a course or senior thesis. The opportunity to collect, clean, and analyze data provides valuable experience for internships, full-time jobs, and a great introduction to research for those considering graduate school in any field.

Project Location 

I am flexible to accommodate the student’s needs. I do believe, however, that an in-person project is more beneficial as it would allow the student to benefit from interactions with other faculty and students in the Economics department who are also part of the Ford Scholars program.

Project Duration 

Eight weeks

Project Start Date 

05/28/2024

Project End Date 

07/23/2024

2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

Illness in childhood can adversely impact human capital accumulation and labor market outcomes. Prior to the approval of the measles vaccination in the United States in 1963, 95 percent of individuals in the United States contracted measles before the age of 16. Measles causes immune amnesia, meaning individuals are more susceptible to all illnesses in the years after contracting the measles. Therefore, children that receive the measles vaccine have a healthier childhood than if they did not receive the vaccine. My previous US-based research finds that long-term follow-up of adults indicates an increase in income of 1.3 percent for adults that coincides with exposure to the measles vaccine. This increase in income is not from an increase in hours worked, but rather from greater productivity. I seek to replicate these results in other settings. My Ford Scholar project this summer will involve findings and gathering data on historical measles vaccination policies and uptake at the time the measles vaccine was licensed for use (1963).

Anticipated Project Activities 

• Clean the data on measles vaccinations and adult outcomes and link the two data sources.
• Describe the merged data in figures and tables.
• Estimate causal models for the impact of measles vaccination.

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

• A willingness to question
• Stata will be used for this project—I have a presence for someone with some pre-existing programming ability (R, stata, SAS, python, etc.) but it not required
• Strong attention to detail

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

Throughout the summer the Economics Department hosts a weekly Brown Bag Seminar for summer students. They are each expected to present during the seminar on their project. This is done to foster community, provide support for each other, and gain insight and hands-on experience in the full research process. Faculty participate in the seminar as well.

I would like those that work on my project to come and speak about their experience to my ECON 102 course to show to an intro class some of the real-world policy evaluation work that economists are doing.

If we get to the point of producing causal estates this summer the student(s) will be asked if they would like to be co-authors on the eventual paper that will result from this preliminary work. This could also mean presenting the work at a conference in the future.

Project Location 

Open to all

Project Duration 

Eight weeks

Project Start Date 

06/03/2024

Project End Date 

07/26/2024

2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

Since the Great Recession, which began in 2008, migration from Mexico to the U.S. has declined an estimated 80%. This decline has been ahistoric and far from temporary, as more than 15 later migration has yet to return to previous levels. The decline in flows marks a dramatic shift for both Mexico and the U.S., and it is important to explore the implications in both countries. This project will investigate the ways in which labor markets in the U.S. and Mexico have adjusted to this large shift of workers from one country to the other. In essence, we want to understand how labor markets in the U.S. have adjusted to having a relative shortage of workers while labor markets in Mexico now have a relative abundance. Since these effects were not uniform across each country, key to this analysis is understanding where migrants came from in Mexico and where they went to in the U.S. An extension of this is looking at any changes in these patterns over time.

Anticipated Project Activities 

The project has a data, literature review, writing and presentation component. The data component will involve looking at datasets on migration from Mexico and on U.S. and Mexican labor markets. Through this work the student will become familiar with some of the key datasets used by policymakers and researchers to analyze migration and labor markets. The student also will learn how to present data in an interesting and meaningful way using tables and graphs.

From the U.S. perspective, the literature review will involve finding papers on changes in migration flows to the U.S., and changes to the total number of workers and wages in particular areas and/or industries. From the Mexico perspective, the literature review will involve finding papers on changes in migration flows and patterns and their implications (for example, the impact of fewer remittances). The writing component will involve writing up commentary on the datasets analyzed, the summary statistics created from them, and a literature review. The goal is for students to gain experience writing in economics and to end the project with a written document that synthesizes the work they did during the summer.

Finally, the student will present preliminary results of the literature review and data analysis in a brown bag held in the Economics department over the summer. We have done this over the past several years, and participants include professors in Economics and their Ford Scholars. The environment is very collegial, and this is a good way to practice workshopping ideas in front of an audience.

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

The student needs to have taken Introduction to Econometrics (at Vassar or elsewhere). It is important that the student have some exposure to analyzing data in a statistical package like STATA.

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

Through the project the student will learn how to work with economics data and how to use those data to answer questions about individual outcomes. These skills are beneficial as data analysis is a key part of many jobs, both within and outside of academia. By gaining a better understanding of how data sets are constructed and how they can be used, the student will better see the link between economic theory, data and policy-making.

The student will use STATA, a widely used statistical package. Knowledge of STATA is beneficial if the student is interested in pursuing graduate study or a career within Economics and Public Policy. Many excellent jobs for undergraduates within both fields require a good understanding of statistical programs.

Finally, a key goal of this project is for students to gain a better understanding of what research in economics entails, and potential career paths that involve economic research. Past Ford scholars have gone on to write theses in economics, to work as research assistants after graduation, and go on to graduate school.

Project Location 

In-person

Project Duration 

Eight weeks

Project Start Date 

05/28/2024

Project End Date 

07/19/2024

2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

“From the courtroom to the classroom: Developing a course on litigation economics,” aims to create an engaging college-level course on the role of economic analysis in legal disputes. Through a combination of case studies drawn from actual lawsuits and readings drawn from economics textbooks and academic journal articles, this course will provide students with a deep understanding of how economic analysis is used in the U.S. legal system to inform court decisions and settlements between litigants.

To develop the course, the Ford Scholar will play a crucial role in collecting material for the case studies, including data if available. They will start by conducting a thorough review of news articles to identify lawsuits where economic issues played a significant role. This initial research will provide a strong foundation for the course, helping to identify the most relevant and current examples to be used as case studies. Once initial cases have been identified, the student will then obtain the public versions of the lawsuits’ filings, including the complaint, expert witness reports, and court decisions. This process will involve extensive research and analysis, as well as collaborating with the professor to select the most relevant and informative materials for the course. After obtaining the legal filings, the Ford Scholar will help identify the appropriate textbook and journal article readings that explain the economics at play in the litigants’ allegations and defenses.

Throughout the project, the Ford Scholar will have the opportunity to work closely with the professor, gaining valuable insights and knowledge about the intersection of economics and law. This project will give them the chance to develop important research and analytical skills, as well as gain experience in curriculum development and course design. By the end of the project, the student and the professor will have created a 300-level seminar course on litigation economics that will be offered in the following semester.

Professor Lemon is well-qualified to lead this project and teach a litigation economics course. He brings 18+ years of experience advising clients involved in legal and regulatory proceedings. Notably, the Government of Canada used his economic analysis in an international trade dispute adjudicated before the World Trade Organization. Having written many expert witness reports and having testified in federal court about his economic analyses, Professor Lemon is intimately familiar with the kinds of materials the Ford Scholar will be researching. More importantly, throughout his career, Professor Lemon has trained newly hired college graduates in the work of economic consulting. He is well-positioned to guide the Ford Scholar to successfully complete this project.

Anticipated Project Activities 

1. Review relevant sections of the Federal Judicial Center’s Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence to better understand how judges handle economic evidence in U.S. courts.
2. Conduct thorough review of news articles (using Law360) to identify lawsuits where economic issues played a significant role.
3. Compile list of potential case studies based on initial research, including a description of the economic issues at work in the legal dispute. This will involve:
   • Obtaining public versions of lawsuits’ filings, including complaints, expert witness reports, and court decisions (most likely via Law360, if not the government’s PACER platform).
   • Gathering public data that can be analyzed to shed light on the economics involved in the lawsuits (if applicable).
   • Analyzing and synthesizing the collected materials to identify the most relevant and current examples to be used as case studies (this may involve finding textbook or academic articles that explain the relevant economics at issue in the lawsuits).
4. Collaborate with professor to select the most appropriate lawsuits for use as case studies.
5. Work closely with professor to develop a course outline and syllabus.
6. Help write course materials, including discussion questions, handouts, and assignments.

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

1. Knowledge of economics: The student should have a sound understanding of economic principles and concepts, as this will be the main focus of the course. Having successfully completed Econ 201 (Microeconomic Theory) is required.
2. Analytical skills: The ability to think critically about data and information is crucial for this project. The student will be responsible for identifying the most relevant and informative materials for the course.
3. Writing skills: Strong writing skills are essential for compiling case studies and presenting information in a clear and concise manner.
4. Attention to detail: The student should possess strong attention to detail in order to accurately collect and organize materials for the course.
5. Collaboration and communication skills: The student will be working closely with the professor throughout the project, so strong collaboration and communication skills are necessary.
6. Time management skills: This project will involve extensive research and analysis, therefore the student should be able to effectively manage their time and meet deadlines.
7. Initiative and self-motivation: The student should have a strong work ethic and be able to take initiative in conducting research and identifying materials for the course.
8. Interest in the intersection of economics and law: A genuine interest in the subject matter will make the project more enjoyable and increase the likelihood of success.

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

Guest-teaching a class session: The Ford Scholar can be given the opportunity to guest-teach one class session of the litigation economics course alongside the professor. This will allow them to share their knowledge and experience with other students and gain teaching experience themselves. They can use their insights from guest-teaching to further enhance materials for later iterations of the course.

Project Location 

Hybrid. Much of the Ford Scholar’s work will be performed independently. I am planning to meet with them each weekday morning throughout the project’s duration to review the fruits of their research efforts and provide feedback as appropriate. I intend to meet with them in person at least three days per week and by Zoom at most two days per week.

Project Duration 

Eight weeks

Project Start Date 

05/28/2024

Project End Date 

07/22/2024

2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

I am looking for research assistance for my ongoing textbook project entitled Industrial Organization: Theory and Practice, 6th Edition. The project aims to enhance the previous edition by expanding and updating theory discussions, applications, industry landscapes, and antitrust policies and cases. Examples of specific topics include:

1. theory and applications of two-sided markets; 
2. current development in advertising such as social media/influencer economy; 
3. global supply chain disruptions due to COVID and geopolitical tensions; 
4. international perspectives on antitrust regulations; 
5. introduction to empirical industrial organization;
6. behavioral industrial organization. 

I will work with the scholar to find a good match between the topics and the student’s interest/background.

Anticipated Project Activities 

The scholar’s primary responsibility will be to conduct due diligence research on specific industries, antitrust cases, and current events. The tasks may also include literature reviews and data collection.

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

Prior coursework and strong performance in ECON 201 Microeconomic Theory; knowledge of statistics and game theory is a plus; excellent time management skills and ability to multitask; outstanding presentation skills; attention to detail.

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

The scholar will share their summer research experience in my ECON 355 Industrial Organization class. The summer collaboration may also lead to future research assistant opportunities for my other industrial organization projects.

Project Location 

In-person

Project Duration 

Eight weeks

Project Start Date 

06/10/2024

Project End Date 

08/02/2024

2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

Since the end of the U.S. mandatory military draft in 1973, the U.S. has significantly increased its military recruiting efforts to ensure that its All-Volunteer Force (AVF) is sufficiently staffed with military servicemembers. A large amount of those recruits come directly out of high school and are recruited while they are still in high school. Some have called this “The School-to-Military Pipeline”, which is defined as the intentional recruitment of high school students into the U.S. Military by the U.S. Department of Defense. This pipeline is facilitated by the cooperation of K-12 schools that receive federal funds and that must adhere to federal policy like NCLB (No Child Left Behind) Act and ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) which, notwithstanding special exemptions, requires schools receiving federal funding to “provide, on a request made by military recruiters or an institution of higher education, access to secondary school students names, addresses, and telephone listings.” [§9528(a)(1), NCLB] [§8528, ESEA].

This project will have the Ford scholar work directly with a faculty member, who is a professor of education and U.S. Army combat veteran, in advancing his book project under the same title, “The School-to-Military Pipeline”. In addition to finalizing a comprehensive lit review, the Ford scholar will do an extensive search for the most current governmental data regarding high school recruitment, military service member profiles, and DOD (Department of Defense) data.

Anticipated Project Activities 

1. Regular weekly meetings between Ford scholar and faculty member
2. Research training by faculty member and with Vassar Research Librarian at Vassar Library
3. Substantial time searching, reviewing, and annotating governmental statistical data
4. Substantial time reviewing and/or editing various sections of the faculty’s book titled, The School-to-Military Pipeline
5. Trips to the United States Military Academy, West Point located about 35 miles from Vassar College
6. Developing and submitting proposals for conferences and/or journals.

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

1. Upper-division students (Juniors and Seniors)
2. Some knowledge of and/or experience with the U.S. military
3. Willingness to share and edit rough drafts with others
4. Timeliness on writing deadlines and meeting times
5. Responds succinctly, accurately, and timely to emails, texts, and phone calls
6. Open to study and dialogue about sensitive topics from different points of view
7. Quantitative analysis skills and/or open to learn new ones
8. Strong literature search skills and/or open to learn new ones

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

Presentations at conferences, events, and/or classes such as:

• New York State Foundations of Education Association Annual Meeting
• Veterans Day Events in Poughkeepsie Community
• EDUC 365 - The School-to-Military Pipeline at Vassar College

Project Location 

In-Person

Project Duration 

Six weeks

Project Start Date 

06/17/2024

Project End Date 

07/26/2024

2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

This research project focuses on the research questions: How do early childhood educators teaching in universal pre-k program and trained in the ‘best practices’ derived from psychological research implement these ideas in their classrooms? What tensions do these educators experience when preparing children to transfer to kindergarten programs that may operate with different philosophies of learning? How do these educators explain the differences in these approaches to parents? How do educators’ own histories with regard to race, place, disability, religion and gender play a role in their experiences in this setting?

This project is guided by institutional ethnography and uses qualitative research methods. We will use case study research methodology to look at each classroom as its own bounded systems and textual analysis to examine the philosophy/curriculum of the school. We will conduct semi-structured interviews with the teachers and possibly parents.

Anticipated Project Activities 

Data collection has already begun and we will continue to collect data through mid-June. We will conduct observations in classrooms and hold individual and group interviews. We will analyze and code previous data and data that we collect. We will also review the literature in this area and begin to draft our first manuscript.

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

The Ford Scholar should have an interest in early childhood and teacher education. They should be interested in learning about how to conduct qualitative case study research and be interested in gaining experience with collecting field notes and conducting interviews. They should have some understanding of crafting a literature review. The Scholar should have excellent attention to detail and a willingness to learn new skills.

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

The Ford Scholar will be invited to join me when I present this research at local, state and national conferences. This research will also be submitted to journals and the Scholar would be encouraged to sign on as a co-author.

Project Location 

hybrid

Project Duration 

Eight weeks

Project Start Date 

05/28/2024

Project End Date 

07/19/2024

2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

This summer presents exciting opportunities for collaborative research opportunities for a Ford Scholar at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. The main focus would be on ‘curatorial practice’ and getting hands-on experience with various facets of museum roles and operations. The Loeb-based project would provide a unique opportunity to bridge the gallery and the classroom, introducing the Ford Scholar to object-based research in both a museum and teaching context.

Anticipated Project Activities 

The Ford Scholar would play an active role in conducting research on recent gifts and the upcoming exhibition, tentatively titled City and Country: New York and the Hudson Valley. The exhibition will explore how printed matter (prints, photographs, posters, etc.) has shaped an image of the Hudson Valley as a place both proximate to the city and its opposite: an idyllic site of preindustrial labor and pristine landscapes.

The Ford Scholar would have the opportunity to develop a small display in the main galleries of the Loeb related to the city and country theme, seeing the curatorial process through from concept to execution. The first half of the eight-week project would be dedicated to research in the collection, generating a list of possible works for display, and conducting research. The second half of the scholarship would involve honing the selection, drafting labels, and collaborating with Loeb staff on possible programs.

As part of the project, the Ford Scholar would have the chance to propose a print for acquisition by the Loeb related to the theme. This would give the Ford Scholar insight into a key part of museum practice: how works are selected to become part of a museum’s permanent collection. The Scholar would identify possible candidates, conduct extensive research, develop a proposal, and present it to the Loeb’s curatorial team. A successful proposal would argue convincingly for the work’s relevance to the collection, how it could meet interdisciplinary curricular needs, and possible uses in future exhibitions.

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

Interest in museums and curating; coursework in art and/or art history; skills in research, writing, and verbal communication; organization, self-motivation, and initiative; ability to work collaboratively with a variety of constituents; commitment to DEAI goals/values

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

The Ford Scholar would have the option to develop a public program related to their display in Fall 2024. (For example, previous Ford Scholar Carissa Kolcun hosted a gallery conversation with the director of the Women’s Studio Workshop.) Time allowing, the Ford Scholar might also assist with developing material related to a Spring 2025 six-week intensive course corresponding to the City and Country> exhibition. The course would benefit immensely from a Ford Scholar to assist with researching relevant works in the Loeb’s collection, selecting course readings, and suggesting frameworks for discussion. I would invite the Ford Scholar to lead a classroom discussion on a topic of their choosing along with assigned readings.

Project Location 

in-person

Project Duration 

Eight weeks

Project Start Date 

05/28/2024

Project End Date 

07/19/2024

2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

‘Photo-Design: Making the World New’ is the tentative title of a scholarly exhibition-in-development, which will explore how photography is used to create design, including graphics, architecture, urban design, and product design. While photography is typically understood as a medium that preserves existing designs through documentation, as in architectural or product photography, it has often been used in experimental ways to generate and envision new ideas. Playing on our expectation that photography preserves images of the world as it is, it is an equally compelling tool for showing us the world as it could be. Global and transhistorical in scope, this exhibition will be organized around a set of case studies in which “photo-design” has been employed to imagine and invent modern ways of living, especially in the wake of destruction or marginalization. Potential case studies may include: collective housing developments in Central Europe between the World Wars; Japanese rebuilding after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; the design of architecture and objects as a form of disability rights advocacy; creating queer spaces; imagining new futures after decolonization; and design strategies for coping with climate catastrophe. Techniques and tools including photomontage, cameraless photography, digital manipulation, and AI-generated images will be explored. The project’s driving questions include: Why has photography been a compelling tool for designers to imagine possible futures? How does design shape our ideas about what photography can do? How do experiences of destruction, loss, and marginalization inspire utopian thinking? This will be planned as a major public exhibition at the Loeb Art Center, occupying approximately 1,200 square feet of gallery space with a scholarly publication.

Anticipated Project Activities 

The Ford Scholar would work closely with the Loeb’s curator of photography, playing an integral role in helping to define the parameters and goals of the project, choosing one case study to focus on for the summer term. Their work will include gathering research, both online and at the Vassar Library, and potentially in local collections and archives in the Hudson Valley and/or New York City. They will be asked to create an annotated bibliography and to help identify possible objects to include in the exhibition. The Ford Scholar will learn how an exhibition is conceived as both a scholarly project with a thesis, and as a physical and visual experience in architectural space, in which that thesis is demonstrated through the accessible display of objects. They will learn about the components of exhibition planning and how a curator works with an exhibition team to research, conceive, plan, market, and install a show. The Ford Scholar’s own research will be showcased as part of the final exhibition. Ideally, they will contribute a piece of writing to be published in an exhibition catalog as well as object labels included on the walls of the exhibition.

Overview of student work schedule and progress:

• Week 1: Student becomes familiar with project topic and preferred research methodologies
• Weeks 2–3: Student creates an annotated bibliography of sources related to the project topic and to existing scholarship on possible case studies; chooses one case study on which to focus their research
• Weeks 4–5: Student becomes familiar with existing scholarship on their case study; builds research file and continues working on annotated bibliography; identifies local archives to visit, if relevant
• Week 6: Student continues case study researching, focusing on objects that might be of interest for the exhibition; visit(s) to archives, if possible
• Weeks 7–8: Student drafts and revises object descriptions for wall labels and publication

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

The ideal candidate will have excellent research, writing, and communication skills and an ability to work independently. These skills will also be refined during the summer term, with the goal of learning how a scholarly project is developed conceptually and then translated into a display of objects and texts for a general audience. Applicants should enjoy interdisciplinary and creative thinking, collaborative work, and should be open to receiving constructive feedback on their research and writing. Applicants should be comfortable with Library and online search tools, preferably with experience using JSTOR. This project might appeal to an art history or studio art major, but equally to students in media studies, environmental studies, STS, urban studies, and history, among other disciplines.

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

Research for this project could potentially overlap with, or develop into, a longer-term project such as a senior thesis. There is also the potential for the Ford Scholar to continue to work on the exhibition beyond the summer of 2024 as a curatorial intern, or to be involved with the exhibition installation, giving a public gallery talk, or otherwise being involved with public programming during the run of the exhibition.

Project Location 

Fully in-person preferred; will also consider hybrid.

Project Duration 

Eight weeks

Project Start Date 

06/10/2024

Project End Date 

08/02/2024

2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

Poets in New York: Lorca, Bishop and Rukeyser

On Tuesday, January 21, 1930, Elizabeth Bishop and Muriel Rukeyser were first-year students in the Vassar class of 1934.

That afternoon, at Assembly Hall [ now Vogelstein Center ], a Vassar audience saw and heard Federico Garcia Lorca read, recite, play and sing folk cradle songs from all regions of Spain. He was 31 years old, a poet and playwright from Granada in a class of his own.

Lorca’s only visit to the US was brief, 262 days. All but the last day were spent in New York and Vermont, from June 25, 1929 to March 5, 1930. On March 6, he traveled by train to Miami and from there to Havana, Cuba.

During his US stay, Lorca worked on and completed five plays and at least 25 poems. Many of these poems give shape to a pivotal and posthumous collection, Poeta en Nueva York (1940).

In the very early days of the Spanish Civil War, on the orders of rightwing military authorities in Granada, Federico García Lorca was arrested and killed on July 18, 1936. He was 38 years old.

Lorca’s oral presentations, as often reported, skirted conventions, favored the relationship between the presenter and the audience, showed touches of art vivant.

The Vassar Miscellany News of February 8, 1930 [ Vol. XIV, No. 27, pp.1 and 2 ] registered none of that in its published digest of Lorca’s visit: SPAIN”S VARIED SONGS, paraphrased the content of a lecture titled “The Folk Songs of Spain”. Perhaps the poet had not wondrously turned the ambience of Assembly Hall into Cabaret Voltaire.

What were the impetus and the circumstances of Lorca’s visit to the College? How informed would the audience have been about his poetry and plays? Did Bishop and Rukeyser attend Lorca’s Vassar presentation that cold afternoon? Had they read any of Lorca’s poems or plays? Does Lorca’s poetry resonate with, or inform, Bishop’s or Rukeyser’s own poems?

Anticipated Project Activities 

Those are questions that now come to mind easily. You and I will come up with more questions in our Ford Scholar project this summer as we research Vassar’s archives, as we review Bishop’s and Rukeyser personal libraries, and as we read their scribbled notes, drafts, correspondence. Copies of some manuscripts will be available to us. The questions would then become more restricted, or deep and daunting. Count on that.

So far, my initial review of their archival records and their published and their unpublished work suggest that Elizabeth Bishop and Muriel Rukeyser became studious readers, keen commentators, and thoughtful translators of Lorca’s work. You and I will aim to ascertain, validate and assay our joint finds. And with good fortune, we may come across additional sources.

We will research in the Thompson Library Archives, and perhaps reach out to other archives. We will set up a separate space, preferably in the library, as our home base for reference books, interlibrary book-loans, and other material pertinent to our project. There we will review, read, read, discuss, ponder, write.

At the end of our eight weeks of work, we will prepare a digest of our work, which will inform your presentation of project results at the fall Ford Scholars Symposium.

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

Expressions of interest from all disciplines are welcome.

Ideally, my collaborator would be careful reader and writer, proficient in English and versed in Spanish, minimally at the high end of an intermediate level of proficiency in reading and writing.

This is an archival project: we will work in person, on campus and, possibly, at archives off campus. The final report of our work will be available in hard copy and on line. Accordingly, appropriate presentation skills are necessary. For models, please view online presentations of prior projects.

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

This project offers the student a particular and uncommon opportunity to experience the creative process and research itself.

It makes practicable a rare and close view of the relationship and the creative processes of three remarkable poets. The student handles, reads and deciphers in manuscript form the personal and private notes and communications between different creative worlds and minds. Through study and reflective reading regarding those exchanges, the student considers, surmises and assays a variety of documents, some in Spanish and some in English.

The student should gain from this project a deeper appreciation of the scholarly resources offered by our Libraries, sharpened skills with research tools and textual analysis, a more nuanced understanding of the creative process across time and cultures, and possible strategies for adapting that process for their own goals and prospects.

Project Location 

Project Location in person.; Project Duration eight weeks; Project Start Date 05 / 20 / 2024; Project End Date 07 /12 / 2024

Project Duration 

Eight weeks

Project Start Date 

05/20/2024

Project End Date 

07/12/2024

2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

The Oviedo Project @ Vassar College is a collaborative digital humanities/scholarly publication undertaking whose aim is the first complete translation into English of Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo’s 16th-century Historia general y natural de las Indias, islas, y tierra firme del mar océano (General and Natural History of the Indies, Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea). Written between 1524 and 1548, the brief iterations of the text published in 1526, 1535, and 1547 were translated into English, Italian, French, German, and Latin; its fifteen editions in the 16th-century marked the text as a classic of Renaissance ethnographic and natural history. The full text, however, was not transcribed and published in Spanish until 1851–1855 in a 4-volume, nearly 3,000-page edition sponsored by the Royal Academy of History.

Oviedo’s signal contributions to early Latin American political, environmental, economic, and cultural history were substantially eclipsed by his death while he was engaged in the process of editing his work for publication. The four volume-edition opened new vistas into the world of the 16th century Caribbean for readers able to access the material in Spanish, but it did little to make this extensive new text available to readers in any other language. In fact, there is no translation of the four-volume work—a work that simply defies characterization—available in any language other than the original Spanish.

This is where both the challenge and significant contribution of our translation project lies. We are engaged in the translation, already in process, of the four-volume 19th-century edition of the text working in collaboration with a team of Vassar’s students in time for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the publication of Oviedo’s Sumario in 2026. The incorporation of a pedagogical component in our project responds to various pressures, realities, and opportunities of 21st-century academia. First, it is not feasible to expect one single scholar to dedicate a career to the translation and publication of a text as extensive as Oviedo’s Historia. In the face of this practical reality, the digital humanities in the form of an ongoing online translation of Oviedo’s Historia present new opportunities for collaboration, experiential learning, accessibility, and archiving of a comprehensive translation.

Our model for collaborative engagement of scholars and students in the production of a translation of this length and significance is one that we hope will serve as a model for similar projects aimed at the revitalizing of translation as an essential component of foreign language acquisition.

Designed as a closely-mentored multi-leveled engagement with the text—as a form of apprenticeship in the endangered art of scholarly translation and interpretation—the project aims to bridge the gap between seemingly inaccessible “old” texts and evolving contemporary concepts of history, indigeneity, race and ethnicity, and natural and environmental history by tapping into the possibilities of scholarly mentorship opened by a liberal arts education. Conceived as a team effort through which they can contribute to making an important primary source available to a broad reading public, the project has been built on the students’ enthusiasm for a text they have come to understand through its relevance to contemporary questions about the impact of colonization on the environments of colonized societies, the evolution of racial categories and discrimination, the history of extractivist capitalism, or the textual intricacies of describing a new world in a language that requires reinvention.

Anticipated Project Activities 

We have now completed the translation of volumes one and two of the work and we will expect our Ford Scholar to help us prepare the second volume for publication and to help us update the project's website (https://pages.vassar.edu/oviedo/) by loading the chapters from Volume Two. We are awaiting a publication decision on Volume One from Brill Publishers and we would expect the student to help us with the drafting and editing of the annotations for Volumes One and Two in preparation to submitting a final copy of the manuscript to the publisher. We expect the students to joining the editorial team for discussions and project decisions and to help us research and draft scholarly and explanatory notes for the text. This work may take us to specialized libraries in New York City and the John Carter Brown Library.

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

A knowledge of Spanish—at least at the intermediate level—would be preferred, as well as an interest in translation and scholarly research. We work with WordPress and Scalar on our site, but we can train the student in these skills quite quickly.

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

In addition to participating in the Ford Scholars Symposium, we would like the student to participate in the orientation and training of the translators that will join the project in the fall and spring semesters of the 2022-2023 academic year through the sharing of their experiences and skills.

Project Location 

hybrid

Project Duration 

Eight weeks

Project Start Date 

05/28/2024

Project End Date 

07/23/2024

2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

“Somos Vecinos” comes from the premise that Latin American immigrants and their families are vital to the Poughkeepsie community, and the purpose is to create a space to listen and share as they narrate their unique stories, journeys, memories and perspectives. Grounded in this premise, the first objective of the project involves collecting these stories through conducting interviews with adults, and the second is to create a space to share these stories by recording, transcribing and making these interviews available through a digital platform. Accordingly, Participants will first be interviewed and recorded with general questions about their life history and experiences in Poughkeepsie. Researchers will then edit, transcribe, and translate the recordings before uploading them so that the wider community can engage in these stories and strengthen the bonds of our community. In this, I am already consulting with the Vassar library about creating a digital archive which will house audio recordings of the interviews along with transcriptions and translations. The project already has IRB exemption, as well as startup funding from Vassar’s Migration and Displacement Studies Program.

Anticipated Project Activities 

The project schedule is to begin conducting the first interviews during the Spring 2024 semester with contacts at a local Honduran restaurant who are already familiar with the project and have agreed to participate. I will then use these archetypes in order to design what the final product will look and sound like on the digital platform. With this basis then established, the plan is to expand the project over the summer by conducting additional interviews using a “snowball” method of word-of-mouth recommendations. During the summer, I will be working on all phases at the same time, and the plan is to have a Ford Scholar assist in each step. Accordingly, the activities will include:

Following up on contacts to schedule interviews,

conducting interviews,

Transcribing interviews,

Translating interviews,

Editing interview recordings,

Uploading the entire product to a digital platform

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

Native or near-native Spanish fluency

Translation experience

Audio editing competency (preferably with the software Audacity)

Cultural competency in Latin American immigrant spaces (ex. Having worked a job where most coworkers primarily speak Spanish or have immigrant backgrounds; Having close family members come from Latin American immigrant backgrounds)

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

The student will come away from the experience with detailed knowledge of the Somos Vecinos archive itself, as well as tangible skills for conducting, compiling, and presenting oral history projects. Academically, the student would be able to apply these skills directly to a future thesis/capstone project at Vassar, or in a graduate program. These skills would also translate well into a range of professional fields related to public history, archives, libraries, and museums.

Project Location 

In-person is the preference since we would be conducting interviews in Poughkeepsie, though most of the work will be compiling the interviews, which could be done remotely. So hybrid could work as well.

Project Duration 

Six weeks

Project Start Date 

06/10/2024

Project End Date 

07/19/2024

2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

This project is designed around Bachfest, an annual musical event bringing together community singers and professional musicians for two performances in late June. The Ford Scholar would participate in preparing for rehearsals and sectionals, and would sing in the ensemble. The student would also research information on the music for this program and future programs.

Anticipated Project Activities 

As listed above, the Ford Scholar would participate in preparing for rehearsals and sectionals, and would sing in the ensemble. The student would also research information on the music for this program and future programs. Other activities might include marketing and social media help for the concert. In addition to the musical aspect of the project, the student will gain experience in being a “producer”: creating and editing programs and posters, helping to organize logistical details, and helping to oversee the project from rehearsals to the final performances.

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

• a student who loves to sing
• a student who has participated in choral music
• a student with strong musical skills
• ideally, the student would have taken 105/106 and some music history
• a student pursuing a music major or correlate (but not necessary)
• strong writing skills
• a student who believes in the importance of community participation in the arts.

These are all ‘preferred skills.’ I encourage anyone who is interested in this project to contact me for more information.

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

I am on sabbatical in the fall, but it could result in more opportunities for the student to participate as an assistant conductor for the choirs next year with whoever replaces me.

Project Location 

In-person for four weeks, remote for two weeks

Project Duration 

Six weeks

Project Start Date 

05/28/2024

Project End Date 

07/08/2024

2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

Mesoamerican thought is understudied and underrepresented in professional philosophy. I understand “Mesoamerican thought” to be a collection of materials and writings joined by geography, historical accident, and the diasporic movement of peoples through and from the region that is Mesoamerica, spanning from the southern United States through northern Colombia. Importantly, it includes and centers indigenous thought from pre-conquest, colonial, and contemporary sources.

There are several problems facing this small subfield, one of which is methodological. Some scholars in philosophy do not regard our primary sources as legitimate philosophy (either due to genre, ex., poetry, mythological narrative, ethnography, etc; due to incomplete sources; or, others believe that philosophy is a specific tradition centered in European thought, and that other kinds of thought). I am interested in exploring with a student what they think makes for the boundaries of philosophy, if any, and how we can navigate a creative accounting of sources for philosophical use.

Another problem facing this small subfield is archeological. How can we responsibly use sources that are often inevitably stripped from their original context? What do we do when we as readers and interpreters do not share cultural origins with our texts?

The goal of this 6-week engagement is to situate a student scholar in the extant literature, navigate our resources to find new and exciting sources for philosophical engagement, and help them elaborate a short essay or paper that draws on existing scholarship. Should they choose to engage in a different form of expression, such as producing a podcast, art piece, zine, or other creative product, I am prepared to mentor that activity as well.

My interest is in part to learn from a student what topics or sources in this subfield most capture their attention. I eventually plan to develop a course centered on Mesoamerican thought. (I currently teach a class in Latin American philosophy which is necessarily more broad, but a course spanning Mesoamerican indigenous thought, Mexican philosophy, and Chicanx thought is possible in the future).

Anticipated Project Activities 

Our time together will mostly consist of shared reading, database searches and contemporary digital archival work, discussion, writing, and editing.

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

Given the nature of the primary sources, students who have proficient knowledge of a Hispanic language or an indigenous Mesoamerican language are preferred. Latin may also be workable.

Students may have training in any of: philosophy, hispanic studies, anthropology, Latin American and latinx studies, sociology.

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

Although I will not be teaching myself in AY 24-25, I anticipate being able to help the student submit their essay or paper to an undergraduate student conference or an undergraduate journal, depending on their interest. Should they choose to engage in a different form of expression, such as producing a podcast, art piece, zine, or other creative product, I am prepared to mentor that activity as well: I can put them in touch with professionals who may be able to make use of their work, or help them display their work on campus.

Project Location 

Full remote; hybrid possible, I will be abroad much of the summer

Project Duration 

Six weeks

Project Start Date 

06/01/2024

Project End Date 

07/15/2024

2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

In mathematics and science, there are often many ways of expressing the same collection of facts. In 1959, the Polish logician Alfred Tarski formalized Euclidean geometry solely in terms of the concept of point. Subsequently, in 1975, Tarski's students Wolfram Schwabhauser and Leslaw Szczerba formalized Euclidean geometry solely in terms of the concept of line. Are these two ways of theorizing about geometry different or are the same? Similar questions arise in the empirical sciences. In 1932, the mathematician and physicist John Von Neumann argued that Schrodinger and Heisenberg advanced equivalent approaches to quantum mechanics. But what makes it the case that these two physical theories are equivalent?

The purpose of this project is to make progress on the nature of theoretical equivalence by exploring different notions of theoretical equivalence that are prominent within mathematical logic. Of special interest to this project are notions such as definitional equivalence and bi-interpretability both of which play a central role in mathematical practice today. In fact, there is widespread agreement among philosophers and logicians that both these notions provide a sense in which two theories should be regarded as the same. This project seeks to examine the extent to which the consensus is philosophically and mathematically justified.

Furthermore, this project aims to assess how formal notions of equivalence can assist in adjudicating between various foundations of mathematics. Typically, a foundation for mathematics is given by a mathematical theory which tells us what the basic concepts and principles of mathematics are. Questions concerning the basic concepts and principles of mathematics have been of utmost importance since Euclid's Elements. Today, these questions remain central as philosophers and mathematicians debate whether mathematics should be grounded in set theory, category theory, or type theory. However, might not these theories turn out to be in some sense equivalent? Is there just one foundation for mathematics or can there be many? The purpose of this project is to evaluate notions of equivalence in formal logic in order to apply them to questions concerning our choice of a foundation for mathematics.

Beyond mathematics and logic, this project seeks to apply its findings to debates concerning what it means for two empirical theories to be theoretically equivalent. More generally, this project aims to illustrate how philosophy and the mathematical sciences can only benefit from exploring points of interdisciplinary contact.

This project builds on my own research on theoretical equivalence. In previous work, I demonstrated that Morita equivalence--a notion of theoretical equivalence gaining currency among philosophers of science--violates a necessary condition on what it means for two theories to be equivalent. My current work on theoretical equivalence evaluates the virtues and limits of bi-interpretability as a notion of theoretical equivalence.

Anticipated Project Activities 

1. To work through a reading list of historical and contemporary essays on theoretical equivalence.
2. To compile an annotated bibliography on the subject.
3. To assist with the writing of an encyclopedia-style essay on the subject.
4. To help the student formulate a research project of their own in the area of philosophy of mathematics, logic, language and/or science.

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

1. An ability and enthusiasm to engage in interdisciplinary research.
2. Some coursework in or comfort with logic, mathematics, and/or science.
3. Some background in philosophical argumentation, writing, and analysis.
4. Willingness to read and discuss difficult texts.

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

As part of the project, the student will formulate a research topic of their own. I will help student find ways of developing this research, presenting this research at conferences, and submitting this research to undergraduate journals.

Project Location 

This project will be conducted at Vassar College. I can accommodate hybrid, full-remote, or in-person. I am happy to discuss possibilities with the student.

Project Duration 

Six weeks

Project Start Date 

05/28/2024

Project End Date 

07/09/2024

2024 Ford Scholars Program Proposal 

The project seeks to investigate how victims of extreme events like cyclones, floods, and heatwaves attributed to climate change are approaching the courts to seek monetary compensation. There is a rise in such cases across multiple jurisdictions namely, Germany, Switzerland, The United States, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. This project will systematically assess the challenges and opportunities that climate litigation provides for climate victims in their quest for legal remedies. Through interviews with lead litigators, petitioners, scholars, and climate scientists the project will aim to provide a socio-legal understanding of the challenges associated with climate litigation in these contexts and the future trajectory of these cases.

Anticipated Project Activities 

1. Case Law Research: This activity will entail research on case law and jurisprudence globally on climate compensation cases. It will involve a two-pronged approach, firstly creation of a database of such cases from across multiple jurisdictions and secondly, an analysis of the judgments and decisions on these cases.
2. Qualitative Interviews: Interviews with lawyers, litigants, climate scientists, and scholars who have worked on some of these landmark cases globally on the challenges, opportunities, and future trajectory of these cases.
3. Fieldwork: Fieldwork in the county of Multnomah which brought a landmark case against fossil fuel companies for the heatwave experienced in the county in 2023. Fieldwork will entail meeting with the county officials who supported this case and the law firm that has worked on this case.
4. Analysis, Research, and Writing: To analyze the data collected and write up a short paper on the preliminary findings of the project.

Preferred Student Qualifications and Skills 

The following are the preferred student qualifications:

1. Keen interest in legal research and writing.
2. Demonstrated ability and interest in gathering and analysis of qualitative data.
3. Eagerness to learn about the pressing issues of climate justice globally.
4. Curiosity about the role of law and the judicial system in addressing climate change.
5. Good research and writing skills.

Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for Student 

To assist me as I write up a research article emerging from this project. This will entail creating tables from the database, transcription of some interviews, and more granular case law research which the paper will refer to.

Project Location 

Hybrid

Project Duration 

Eight weeks

Project Start Date 

05/28/2024

Project End Date 

07/19/2024