Arts & Humanities

In this research project, we examine China’s expansive activities in the South China Sea and its investment in development projects in the Philippines between 2013 and 2017. Using a historical analysis and mixed-method approach, we reviewed existing literature on the South China Sea’s strategic value and disputes in the region. Additionally, we used the AidData Global Chinese Development Finance (GCFD 3.0) database to examine how the economic activity in the Sino-Philippine relation underscores the tensions in the maritime disputes. The analysis includes a review of the relationship between China’s rising political and economic influence in the Philippines. The key findings of evaluating the literature and data suggest that shifting geopolitical power and increased tensions in the South China Sea region can have implications for the extent of international financial and development support a country receives from China.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Government

Advisor: Narayani Sritharan, Economics

The West is a highly mythologized landscape in the American mind that includes popular images of men as gunslingers, outlaws, sheriffs, and cowboys, among others. These images have been and continue to be reproduced today through films, novels, and verse pieces. This project will explore the extent to which Western verse meaningfully reflects on constructions of manhood, both mythical and realistic, in the American West. Histories and scholarship concerning the changing American West along with works of Western verse, such as traditional songs and contemporary poetry, will all be considered and result in a collection of unique, carefully crafted verse pieces reflecting the insights gained through the conducted research and the researcher’s experiences growing up in the American West. The project will expand on the existing body of Western verse by focusing on highly relevant issues of gender and sexuality in an often conservative space like the American West.

Student Major(s)/Minor: English

Advisor: Melanie Dawson, English

Lady Hester Stanhope, a nineteenth-century female traveler, has been widely researched by historians. The predominant source material are six memoirs published by Lady Hester's physician and companion Dr. Charles Meryon, yet no historian has analyzed the potential biases present in these sources. By considering omitted statements in the memoirs’ rough drafts, letters by Dr. Meryon to associates, and his statements and behavior in the memoirs themselves, this paper will show how far from being an accurate account of Lady Hester’s travels in Syria, they were artfully constructed to reflect Dr. Meryon’s personal feelings towards Lady Hester and to discredit contemporary descriptions of her. This project is the first to question the intentions and accuracy of Dr. Meryon’s memoirs, as well as the first to explore new source material such as the drafts of an unpublished, seventh memoir, in United Kingdom archives. 

Student Major(s)/Minor: History and Economics 

Advisor: Paul Mapp, History 

Having the vague idea for a story in mind is one thing, but writing out a first draft of the story is another. Despite knowing the intended direction of their story, authors can suffer from the notorious phenomenon known as writer’s block, particularly if the environment in which they write is not conducive to productivity. To discover which methods might be most helpful in overcoming this common hurdle for creative writers, the writing practices of three prominent authors were first examined and then implemented in drafting an original short story. By writing with pen and paper like Neil Gaiman, later writing in nature like D.H. Lawrence, and finally writing in a hotel room like Maya Angelou, the pros and cons of each method were weighed to determine that, ultimately, the level of creativity and productivity wrought from each method depends heavily on the individual writer.

Student Major(s)/Minor: English and Creative Writing

Advisor: Addie Tsai, English 

This project, will examine the writings of Tacitus, an ancient Roman historian who wrote histories of Rome before and during his own life in the first and second centuries CE, and see how Tacitus portrays historical figures through mentioning their ancestry. By examining both Tacitus’ treatment of historical figures of low birth and aristocrats, this project can begin to see where bias against lower classes seeps in or where Tacitus defies expectations to portray commoners or foreigners approvingly (and whether or not he would also praise their ancestors). This project would then provide a better understanding of Tacitus’ and Roman attitudes towards the ancestries of different groups in society and how far they view an individual to be defined by their ancestry and how far a family was defined by the actions of an individual.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Classical Studies

Advisor: Jessica Stephens, Classical Studies 

Since time immemorial, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation have fished at their “usual and accustomed” spots within the Columbia River Basin. Following an asymmetrical 1855 treaty of dispossession, Washington and Oregon began to illegaly restrict treaty-protected tribal fishing rights; sanctioned by the judiciary on unfounded legal principles, state police and game wardens prohibited Columbia River Indians from taking fish they needed to survive for over 100 years. The 1960s Red Power movement empowered tribal activists to hold ‘fish-ins’ that reasserted tribal sovereignty over fisheries and focused national attention on the states’ disregard of Indian rights, which precipitated the landmark Belloni and Boldt decisions affirming treaty tribes’ right to 50% of harvestable fish. Despite modern challenges presented by an extensive hydropower system and climate change, Northwest tribal-state cooperative management serves as a model for tribes around the country seeking to reassert sovereignty over environmental and cultural resources.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Public Policy, Data Science minor

Advisor: Andrew Fisher, History 

My question is thus: what can we learn from an examination of North Atlantic islands (particularly the Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, Cabo Verde, Santo Tomé, and Bermuda) in the early modern period and their role in launching Atlantic colonial empires? Imbedded in the answer are the successes and failures of how empires expanded and colonized Africa and the Americas; the impacts upon natural environments of these islands, including the species introduced, their welfare and import to the New World; the nodes of trade; and how colonization of these islands impacted contemporary Europeans’ expansion of knowledge and science. My research includes close readings of primary and secondary sources, not only on the eastern Atlantic islands, but from around the Atlantic world. I sought to fully understand historiography of the environmental approach to the early modern Atlantic world before seeking more detailed answers. My findings demonstrate how relatively small parcels of land greatly impacted the history of vast continents. This research also provides important insight into the rise of a European imperial ethos and the creation of modern era empires. Specifically, I discovered the factors in place leading to the creation of early capitalist and plantation-based economies. 

Student Major(s)/Minor: History, ENSP Humanities 

Advisor: Fabricio Prado, History 

Jewish thought lacks an adequate conception of how present claims about the interpretation and application of Jewish law, halakha, relate to the interpretations and practices of past communities. Jewish reflections about halakha and social norms are thus frequently authoritarian, irrelevant to the lives of practitioners, or preclude communal verification. I argue that moral philosopher Alasdair Macintyre’s conception of tradition—an argument about the best way to live, embodied within the given social structures of a community and extended through time—would allow Jewish thinkers to make relevant, justified claims about halakha and its relationship to social norms. At the same time, I contend that Jewish law is a better catalyst for moral reflection than the social structures prescribed by Macintyre. I demonstrate my approach by applying elements of Macintyre’s method of intellectual history to Jewish thinkers past and present.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Philosophy 

Advisor: Randi Rashkover, Religious Studies 

For centuries, the literary works of Julius Caesar have been rigidly interpreted as subversive misinformation, fundamentally distorting understandings of Caesar’s art and authorial aims. Caesar’s “Bellum Civile,” an account of the civil war Caesar waged against Pompey Magnus and the Roman Senate, has, in particular, suffered from an undue interpretative separation of style and substance, a misleading reduction of the work to artless propaganda. Caesar’s account is far more nuanced, and his calculated words often endeavor to reframe the civil war in the reader’s mind. This research project will explore and interpret the ways in which Caesar presents accounts of his clemency (clementia) and the cruelty (crudelitas) of his enemies in the first book of the “Bellum Civile,” the ways in which these accounts serve to reinforce a distinction between a quintessentially Roman Caesar and a barbarized enemy faction, and the ways in which this fabricated division is indicative of Caesar’s broader weaponization of social values to justify his position in instigating a civil war and his ability to reunify the Roman state in its aftermath. This research will offer new interpretations of the rationales behind Caesar’s portrayals of self and enemy in the “Bellum Civile” and, more broadly, will examine the essence of Roman identity in the late Republic, the goals entailed in weaponizing this identity, and the fundamental power dynamics of politicized cultural values.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Classical Studies 

Advisor: Jessica Stephens, Classical Studies 

During the summer of 2024, I researched institutions of servitude and slavery in the eighteenth-century Maryland and South Carolina colonies for the digital humanities project, Charting Freedom. I compiled laws and newspaper advertisements for runaway enslaved Africans, indentured servants, and convicts. I asked - how did unfree laborers escape from and interact with institutions of bondage? How did these institutions interact with the public? In the legislative sources, I tracked the changes and impact of major historical events, such as the 1739 Stono Rebellion and the Revolutionary War, on unfree laborers. Using the Maryland Gazette and South Carolina Gazette, I transcribed ads for runaways and cataloged identifying variables, like race, gender, geographies, and collusion amongst servants and the enslaved. I compiled this research for the project’s website. The data collected allows for students and scholars to better understand the development of race, coercion, and freedom in the colonial Atlantic world. 

Student Major(s)/Minor: History and Linguistics

Advisor: Nicole Dressler, History 

This project aims to explore how King Arthur develops as an example of nation building propaganda in early modern England through the lens of Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene. It seeks to examine how and why Spenser uses King Arthur to help construct an English national myth and narrative. The project includes a deep textual analysis of The Faerie Queene as well as a multidisciplinary analysis of the history and politics of the British Isles during this period. When combined with the surrounding context, one of the core reasons behind King Arthur’s inclusion in the narrative becomes clear, as he allows for a multilayered allegory about “proper roles” in early modern English society. He is positioned as noble and righteous by the text, but also as naturally subservient to the true monarch. This positioning is significant because it reflects a desired hierarchy among much of the English nobility, where traditionally Celtic figures are subservient to the cause of the English national identity. 

Student Major(s)/Minor: Government 

Advisor: Erin Webster, English 

This project aims to explore how students of the African diaspora at William and Mary connect to their American and their potential ethnic identity. The African diaspora is a complex, but beautifully diverse concept that provides a global community for people of African descent. By delving into their experiences, upbringings, and cultural affiliations, this study seeks to clarify topics of identity formation within this W&M’s black population. Understanding how these students navigate their dual identities can offer valuable insights into the broader discourse on multiculturalism and belonging in American society. The findings from this research have the potential to inform educational institutions, policymakers, and community leaders about the diverse experiences of African diaspora students, contributing to the creation of more inclusive and supportive environments. Ultimately, this project seeks to foster a deeper understanding of the intersections between race, culture, and identity, promoting empathy, tolerance, and unity within diverse communities.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Government 

Advisor: Adrienne Petty, History 

Washington D.C. has long been home to a significant Black population, whose contributions to the city’s cultural and political history are well-documented. However, as gentrification reshapes the city's demographics, the legacy of local African-American entrepreneurs is at risk of disappearing. This study identifies Black businesses in Northeast D.C., an understudied area for this topic, during the 1950s -1960s, contextualizes these communities within D.C.’s changing socio-political landscape, and provides context and contrasts between the thriving Black Broadway on U Street. Methodologies included archival research and oral histories of long-standing Black businesses on U Street. The results of this study identified 42 Black-owned businesses, the majority being brick-and-mortar establishments, with a smaller number being home-based operations, in Northeast DC. Future research will aim to continue identifying black businesses and entrepreneurs and create a map of these businesses to track changes in black business ownership throughout the city visually.

Student Major(s)/Minor: History and Government 

Advisor: Adrienne Petty, History 

The mobile vendors of Mexico City have great relevance to its culture and sense of community. Dating back to indigenous empires, ambulantes sell everything from common tamales to colorful plastic toys, on street corners, in turn lanes, and through parks. This paper focuses specifically on ambulantes that vend food, in an attempt to hone in on the impact of a common and accessible source of both nutrition and human connection in one of the most populated metropolitan areas in the world. Through interviews with vendors, rigorous observation, and textual research, I conclude that Mexico City’s culture allows for a uniquely humanitarian experience surrounding its cuisine, and that community is built on small, often anonymous interactions that foster security and promote rapport between individuals that otherwise may not interact. In an effort to competently describe this culture, I reference popular literature by Ruben Gallo and Carlos Monsiváis, who know the city intimately and whose essays reflect its beauty and customs. I also cite texts by scholars such as Benedict Anderson to classify street vendors themselves as a distinctive Othered group: one that is indeed restricted from the political sphere, but at the same time included, accepted, and even welcomed by social actors in a way that simultaneously forms and reaffirms a strong sense of horizontal comradeship in the city.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Hispanic Studies and Data Science 

Advisor: Teresa Longo, Hispanic Studies 

The Sack of Constantinople by Crusader armies in 1204 CE dramatically altered the political, economic, and military fortunes of the Eastern Roman Empire. The loss of their capital forced the Byzantines to engage in a religious reckoning, and this project examines this theological trauma-response. This research focuses on the question of theodicy, or the explanations for why bad things happen to good people. In the case of the Orthodox Christian Byzantines, this means answering the question of why their self-proclaimed “God-favored empire” had been subjected to violent disaster. This project consists of an analysis of the Late Byzantine period, including the literary, architectural, and iconographic changes that occurred across a scattered and decentralized culture. By comparing the works of the Middle and Late Byzantine periods, conclusions can be drawn about the specific theological response to the 1204 sacking of Constantinople.

Student Major(s)/Minor: History

Advisor: Alexander Angelov, Religious Studies 

The APM Research Project focused on two major research points. First, Rachel Kwon researched the Anglo-Saxon club at William & Mary to determine the racial atmosphere of the campus. Due to the lack of historical records, much of Kwon's findings relied on internal records, tracing future careers or written works of members, and external policies in Virginia that impacted the legitimacy of Anglo-Saxon organizations. Second, Diana Kim worked to improve the KAASE Initiative platform, ruminating on the different methods to enhance accessibility for curriculum users with diverse histories. Kim worked to ensure website screen-reader accessibility and used the Virginian Standards of Learning (SOL) to organize materials that best suited public educator needs. 

Student Major(s)/Minor: Diana Kim, APIA Studies and Government; Rachel Kwon, Linguistics

Advisor: Deenesh Sohoni, Sociology/APIA Studies 

What is Earl Gregg Swem's legacy in relation to Virginia History, specifically relating to the College of WM? This project examined Swem's time at W&M as librarian and librarian emeritus, focusing on his work building the W&M library. The major pool of sources was pulled from the Special Collections Archives at the Earl Gregg Swem Library. The archival research included Swem's own personal papers, as well as professional correspondence and library reports. The research demonstrated Swem's mixed personal and political legacy, as well as his overwhelming dedication to Virginia history as well as the library at W&M which now bears his name.

Student Major(s)/Minor: History 

Advisor: Andrew Fisher, History 

This research project explores how and why cannibalism in literature has evolved over time. It looks at various forms of media from different time periods that depict cannibalism, including poetry, music, and film in addition to traditional written literature, and examines what about those depictions are similar and different. It also analyzes the social, political, and historical backgrounds of these pieces of media to determine why these changes have occurred and what they reflect about the cultures that they represent. This analysis will provide great insight into how cannibalism, and by extension other taboo practices, are perceived and utilized by artists to convey certain ideas or themes. Research has been conducted using a number of primary and secondary sources related to the subject. 

Student Major(s)/Minor: English

Advisor: Keith Johnson, English 

This project examines the transcultural “concept” (kaenyŏm or k'onsept'ŭ in Korean; the latter is an English transliteration) analysis discourse about South Korean popular music (often known as "K-pop"). The most common definition of a concept is a theme that sets the tone for an album and determines various significant aspects, including the lyrics’ motifs, choreography’s highlights, costume styles, music video content, etc. Many agencies decide on a broad concept for specific idol groups before their debut and incorporate subtler sub-subjects as the groups evolve. Hence, concepts are often interrelated across different productions by the same artist or even by multiple K-pop artists of one agency. Such a practice provides continuity for K-pop music and its related visual productions, which intrigues the fans and motivates them to actively engage in concept analysis on diverse media platforms, such as Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, WeiBo, and Bilibili. Some fans believe that certain K-pop music videos can express social criticism; some argue that the videos visualize theories by renowned intellectuals; and the two groups overlap frequently. In my research, I trace the history of this concept discourse, discovering how the agencies initiated a niche awareness of concept analysis and investigating the reasons behind K-pop fans’ passionate participation in the online dialogues. I also study the effects of the concept theory. My tentative argument is that the analyses have more to do with the internet culture and social context of the fans' own backgrounds than with the source texts per se. Through practicing such analyses online, common fans acquire academic, interpretive skills. In this way, the concept discourse provides the long-stigmatized K-pop audiences with a utopian space where complex intellectual theories and serious social critiques become accessible. Meanwhile, it problematically reinforces the intelligence-prioritizing hierarchy.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Film and Media; AMES 

Advisor: Daniel Johnson, Japanese 

In this essay, I gave moral intuitionists a new challenge by attacking moral overridingness, the idea that moral norms or principles should always take priority over other types of norms. In looking to answer the question as to whether moral overridingness is plausible under moral intuitionism or not, I first started with a hypothetical scenario. In this scenario, it is unclear why the moral considerations of humans should be seen as more important than those of the theoretical Species X. I then explain how the logic of moral intuitionism is contradictory to the idea of moral overridingness, as moral overridingness implies morality has special characteristics, which the intuitionist argument denies. This contradiction places the burden of proof here squarely on the intuitionist. Finally, I finish with an idea I think is more plausible than moral overridingness—intuitive normative pluralism, which claims we already understand when morality should and shouldn’t take priority over other norms in our behavior.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Economics and Philosophy 

Advisor: Aaron Griffith, Philosophy 

This project aims to explore the Holocaust history in the Zhytomyr region, highlighting the perspectives of Jews and witnesses to genocide. While existing scholarship has predominantly focused on perpetrator viewpoints, this research seeks to amplify the voices of Jews and witnesses, whose experiences have often been overlooked or disregarded. Relying on oral testimonies from the USC Shoah Foundation, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, AHEYM, and the Fortunoff Video Archives, this project seeks to provide a counter-memory of the Holocaust from a social historical and individual-based lens. Ultimately, it advocates for more extensive research on the Holocaust in Eastern Europe, underscores the importance of integrating this history into Holocaust education, and emphasizes the value of oral histories in Holocaust research.

Student Major(s)/Minor: History and Judaic Studies

Advisor: Frederick C. Corney, History 

The awesomeness of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s expansive oeuvre is indisputable. His novels have been praised by many notable figures including Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, and… Willy Wonka? Yes, Timothee Chalamet, the newest Willy Wonka actor, has recommended Crime and Punishment to his fans. The connection between Willy Wonka and Fyodor Dostoevsky represents a more meaningful idea, the idea of contemporary American fanaticism for Fyodor Dostoevsky’s oeuvre. In the age of social media and short content creation, #fyodordostoevsky has nearly 200,000 posts associated with it on TikTok. Why? How has a 19th-century Russian author managed to capture the attention of a generation with his over 500-page-long novels? The #fyodordostoevsky project aims to break down how Dostoevsky’s oeuvre is trending amongst Americans, what American readers of Fyodor Dostoevsky love so much about him, and why Dostoevsky’s novels have captured the attention of American readers in the age of social media.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Russian Studies and Computer Science 

Advisor: Elena Prokhorova, Russian Studies