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