Sociology

Session I

Camille Batts, "Displaced from the Birthplace of America" 

The Village Initiative developed the idea of producing a documentary film that tells a new story of Williamsburg. A community-faculty-student team has been working on a documentary film entitled “Displaced from the Birthplace of America.” The film focuses on the Black business hub known as the Triangle Block and the surrounding community in Williamsburg, Virginia that was displaced under the auspices of “urban renewal” in the 1970s. This removal was the culmination of a 50-year process of displacing Black communities to construct an inviting college town and Colonial Williamsburg, the world’s largest living history museum. This project reveals the transformations wrought by displacement in a city that brands itself the “birthplace of the nation.” It delves into the loss of tightly knit communities, the dismantling of generational wealth, and the deepening of segregation as Black residents were pushed to the economic, political, and social margins of the city. It tells the story of community activists—especially Black women—who pushed back against the city elite and claimed a place in Williamsburg. In doing so, it pushes audiences to rethink what it means to belong not just in the city, but in the nation.

Student Major(s): Sociology & History

Advisor: Dr. Amy Quark

Josie Koster, "A House Divided: Navigating Political Divisions Within Families"

In an increasingly divided political environment, fraying relationships are becoming more commonplace, particularly among younger generations. Affective polarization - the tendency to view members of the same party positively and members of opposing parties negatively - places strain on cross-party relationships. Sociologists, social psychologists, and political scientists alike have established the importance of cross-party interactions for maintaining a healthy democracy. Through interviews with college students who have disagreeing family members, this study explores how young adults navigate conversations. This includes what motivates them to have these conversations, the choices they make during these conversations, and how these conversations influence their political behavior outside of the family. I have found that students are motivated to have political conversations when they expect them to be productive on the basis of mutual understanding rather than persuasion. This enhanced understanding of opposing views can translate to a more balanced view of political issues and members of the opposing party, reducing the effects of affective polarization.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Sociology Major, Mathematics Minor

Advisor: Dr. Thomas Linneman

Joanne Jung, Kara P., "Visit Them in Chandler Hall: Finding the First Vietnamese and Cambodian Students at William and Mary"

As part of the Asian Pacific Islander Middle Eastern American (APM) research project, our research seeks to uncover the history of the first Asian ancestry students at William and Mary. Through archival research and historical analysis we investigated the lives of some of the first Vietnamese and Cambodian ancestry students, the campus culture surrounding the Vietnam War, and the original Vietnamese Student Association founded in 1988. In the process of our archival research analyzing Colonial Echo Yearbooks, Flat Hat newspapers, and other material we rediscovered the Khmer Student Association and found that many of the first Cambodian and Vietnamese students were not refugees. Our research finds that while the Vietnam war and conflict in Southeast Asia was an important topic to the W&M community during this time period, there was less interest in the Vietnamese and Cambodian student voices who were treated as foreign objects rather than student subjects. 

Student Major(s)/Minor: Joanne: Biology

Advisor: Dr. Deenesh Sohoni 

Session II

Samantha Koranteng, "Reclaiming Unity: A Sociological Study of Black Student Leadership and Institutional Memory at William & Mary"

This project will explore the relationship between Black students their perception on the importance of Black student organizations for their own success and well-being as well as of the broader community of Black students at William & Mary. I will explore why Black students choose to create new organizations for themselves with the community opposed to joining existing ones. I will use a multi-method approach to explore these issues. First, I will conduct a content analysis of the archival records of Black student organizations and coverage of Black student organizations in the Flat Hat. I will code these data using theoretical codes derived from the literature. Second, I will conduct qualitative, semi-structured interviews with past and present leaders of Black student organizations to explore their perceptions of the importance of these groups and the possible benefits or tensions created through the proliferation of such groups. This project is important in order to develop public understanding of these students and subsequently bringing attention to minority students who may be feeling a sense of isolation or might not just be aware of the valuable resources that are made to cater to students who are disadvantaged within both academia and everyday life. 

Student Major(s): Public Policy and Sociology

Advisor: Dr. Amy Quark

Selah Watkins, "Displaced from the Birthplace of America"

In the 1970s, the Triangle Block district – a Black business hub and surrounding community in Williamsburg, Virginia – was displaced under the guise of ‘urban renewal’. This removal was the culmination of a 50-year effort to systematically displace Black communities and make way for the construction of Colonial Williamsburg, the largest living history museum in the world. However, the history of these communities and their displacement has been excluded from the story of Colonial Williamsburg, and the nation, perpetuating a white-washed version of history. To address this crucial missing piece in the narrative of Williamsburg history, a community project founded by The Villiage Initiative in collaboration with the Local Black Histories Project is working to produce a documentary film, rooted in extensive archival research and community oral histories, to reveal the destructive transformations wrought on the black communties over the 50-year period of displacement.

Student Major(s): History & Government

Advisor: Dr. Amy Quark