Faculty Research Presentations
Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Vassar’s faculty members will be presenting informal talks on their current research. Experience the breadth of a liberal arts education and explore subjects you have not studied before.
Three 45-minute sessions start at 9:00, 10:00, and 11:00,
each with a diverse range of presentations.
Group 1: 9:00–9:45 a.m.
- Not that Type of Geologist: An Exploration of Water, Land and People in Coastal Communities
Deon Knights (Earth Science and Environmental Studies), Ely Hall 204 - Vampires, Monks, and Holy Fools: The Mystical in Russia and Eastern Europe
Charles Arndt III (Russian Studies), Rockefeller Hall 200 - Building Robots to Understand How Animals Behave and Evolve
John Long (Cognitive Science and Biology), Olmsted Hall 266 - Solving the Climate Crisis with Renewable Energy: Lessons from Copenhagen?
Mary Ann Cunningham (Earth Science and Geography), Ely Hall 200 - Uniform Fetishism and Queer Emancipation in Imperial Germany
Jeffrey Schneider (German Studies, Global Nineteenth-Century Studies, Women, Feminist, and Queer Studies), Rockefeller Hall 203 - Online Ghosts, UFO Videos, and other Supernatural Media
Christopher White (Religion), Rockefeller Hall 210 - Litigation Economics
Andrew Lemon (Economics), Taylor Hall 203 - Spaghetti with a Chance of Meatballs: Investigating Italian Identity through Food Media
Simona Bondavalli (Italian), Chicago Hall 102 - Oedipus Around the World: Making Transnational Theater with One Year Lease
Amanda Culp (Drama, Asian Studies), Rockefeller Hall 310
Group 2: 10:00–10:45 a.m.
- Critique as a Form of Solidarity: Lessons from Muslim Paris
Kirsten Wesselhoeft (Religion, International Studies, Women, Feminist, and Queer Studies, Africana Studies), Blodgett Hall 201 - Algerian Islamists, Jews, and the Question of Palestine, 1929–1934
Joshua Schreier (History), Rockefeller Hall 201 - Social Fabric: Quilts and American Studies
Lisa Gail Collins (American Studies), Old Laundry Building 205 - Doing Justice to the Classics: Greco-Roman Antiquity and White Nationalism
Curtis Dozier (Greek and Roman Studies), Rockefeller Hall 310 - The Making of Photography as Data: Engaging with the Loeb’s Photography Collection
Anna Mayer (German Studies, Media Studies), Jessica Brier (Curator of Photography, The Loeb), The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Project Gallery - Unchaining Women: Feminism and Jewish Law
Agnes Veto (Jewish Studies), Blodgett Hall 101 - The Cognitive Science of Metaphor
Stephen Flusberg (Cognitive Science), Rockefeller Hall 210 - The Banana Republic’s Capital: Boston, the United Fruit Company, and the Landscape of Empire
Joseph Nevins (Geography), Ely Hall 200 - Collaborative GIS/Mapping Projects Showcase
Neil Curri (Geography), Ely Hall 204 - Someone Old, Someone New, Someone Red, Someone Blue: How Redistricting Decisions about Constituency Intactness and Partisanship Affected the 2022 Congressional Election Outcomes
Richard Born (Political Science), Rockefeller Hall 203 - You Are Who You Know: Social Networks and Personality at Vassar
Allan Clifton (Psychological Science), New England Building 206
Group 3: 11:00–11:45 a.m.
- Climate Change, Justice, and Moral Responsibility
Jeffrey Seidman (Philosophy, Environmental Studies), Rockefeller Hall 310 - Ritual, Brain, and Belief: The Cognitive Science of Religious Experience
Kenneth Livingston (Cognitive Science), Rockefeller Hall 200 - Stories Scientists Tell: Myth-History in Science
Jose Perillan (Science, Technology, and Society, Physics and Astronomy), Sanders Physics 105 - Mushy Rocks and Big Blasts: What Drives Explosive Volcanic Eruptions?
John Zayac (Earth Science and Geography), Ely Hall 204/Ely Lawn - Monstrosities! Art, Culture, Women, Jews, Others
Marc Michael Epstein (Religion, Jewish Studies), Taylor Hall 203 - Driving or Dividing Poughkeepsie? Urban Renewal, Arterial Expressways, and Insurgent Roundabouts
Brian Godfrey (Geography, Urban Studies), Ely Hall 200 - Filming Property, Filming Crime
Erica Stein (Film), Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film 109 / Rosenwald Screening Room - Women In Russian Arts: The Power & The Glory
Farida Tcherkassova (Russian Studies), Rockefeller Hall 203 - From Crusades to “Europe”: Early Concepts of Western Identity
Nancy Bisaha (History), Swift Hall 101 - Dancing to Connect: Dance for Social Impact
Miriam Mahdaviani (Dance), Robin Cantrell (Battery Dance), Rockefeller Hall 201 - Water in Fiji and Singapore: Culture/Advertising/Postcoloniality
Martha Kaplan (Anthropology, Asian Studies), Blodgett Hall 105