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CCSRE Life Stories Project: Erin Fuller

Learn more about the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity  at Middlebury College.

“Life Stories of Middlebury College” is a multi-phase initiative intended to gather people’s experiences while at the college, particularly reflections that highlight issues of diversity. In her interview, Erin Fuller discusses attending college close to home, being a personal care assistant to a boy with autism, being a ski instructor for people with disabilities, pursuing her academic interest in disability studies, the differences in dorm life between boarding school and college, and how she plans to integrate these experiences in a medical profession.

People

Erin Fuller
Middlebury Class of 2011

Susan Burch
Associate Professor of American Studies; Director, CCSRE; Head of Life Stories project

Related Links

Camphill – Social Renewal Through Community Building

Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sport

AMST 0120 – Disability in American Culture

EDST 0115 – Education in America

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Interview Transcript

 

A MiddLab Project

CCSRE Life Stories Project: Arthur Choo

Learn more about the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity  at Middlebury College.

“Life Stories of Middlebury College” is a multi-phase initiative intended to gather people’s experiences while at the college, particularly reflections that highlight issues of diversity. In his interview, Arthur Choo talks about the “global community” ideal in higher education, the experience of activism while being an ethnic minority, how an individual’s idea of race affects their perception of self, the effect of political correctness on classroom discussions, the humor of stereotypes, the difference between the ideal of diversity and the reality in the dining halls, combating the feeling of exclusivity in the Korean American Student Association, and the paradox of the success of minority students.

People

Arthur Choo
Sociology Major at Middlebury College

Susan Burch
Associate Professor of American Studies; Director, CCSRE; Head of Life Stories project

Related Links

SOAN 0105 Society and the Individual

SOAN 0356 ignificance of Race in the US

Korean American Student Association

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Interview Transcript

 

A MiddLab Project

CCSRE Life Stories Project: Claudia Cooper

Learn more about the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity at Middlebury College.

“Life Stories of Middlebury College” is a multi-phase initiative intended to gather people’s experiences while at the college, particularly reflections that highlight issues of diversity. In her interview, Claudia Cooper talk about teaching literature with Middlebury College students in Africa, her work in advocacy for community building to overcome AIDS, adopting a foreign-born child, and the feeling of difference at home and abroad.

People

Claudia Cooper
Visiting Assistant Professor of English & American Literature & Education Studies

Susan Burch
Associate Professor of American Studies; Director, CCSRE; Head of Life Stories project

Related Links

Betasab – Building Families, Building Communities

Ethiopia Reads

FYSE 1290 – Images of Africa

ENAM 0211 / TEDU 2011 – Global Literature for Youth

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Interview Transcript

 

A MiddLab Project

Framing and Blaming: The Role of Media in the 2005 Parisian Riots

Learn more about Political Science and Media Culture at Middlebury College.

The media played a significant role in the riots of Paris in 2005. This study examines the French and American media’s role in the formation of the identity of the rioters. The study draws on media content analysis based on news sources from the political right and left in each country. The results suggest two things. First, media on the political left, in both France and the United States, tends to frame the cause of the riots as a structural issue of exclusion while the political right tends to characterize the source of conflict as an agency issue of integration based on social differences. This can be explained by differences in political influences and underlying goals. Second, American media uses national and religious terms to describe the rioters’ identity while French media portrays them as a frustrated suburban youth. This reflects the respective historical contexts and political traditions.

People

Zoe Hamilton
Researcher

Erik Bleich
Sponsor & Associate Professor of Political Science

Related Links

Downloads

Symposium Presentation Slides

A MiddLab Project

Between Traditional Practice and Secular Law: Examining Honor Killings in Modern Turkey

Learn more about International Studies and Middle East Studies at Middlebury College.

Turkey maintains the image of a country bridging the divide between the Middle East and Europe; however, the continued prevalence of honor killings testifies to the difficulty in uprooting traditional patriarchal practices that remain widespread throughout the country. Although the Turkish government has enacted legal reforms – for instance, in 2002 and 2004 – aimed at eradicating the practice, new laws have been mostly ineffective and evidence indicates that both honor killings and the practice of “honor suicides” are actually increasing. My research explores this tension between secular government laws banning honor crimes and the continuation of honor killings within traditional and tribal communities. I argue that despite government efforts to educate the Turkish populace and institute legal reforms, the complex relationship between the cultural, patriarchal, and religious bases of honor killings makes it challenging to eradicate this practice in modern Turkish society.

People

Clara Rubin
Researcher

Related Links

How to Avoid Honor Killing in Turkey? Honor Suicide.

Bliss: A Novel by O. Z. Livaneli.

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Symposium Presentation Slides

Essay; Between Traditional Practice and Secular Law: Examining Honor Killings in Modern Turkey

A MiddLab Project

Poverty Alleviation North and South of the Himalayas: Why has China Alleviated More Poverty than India?

Learn more about Political Science and South Asian Studies at Middlebury College.

Despite unbelievable economic growth rates averaging between 8-10% in 2009 and bright economic prospects, China and India have become two of the largest contributors to world poverty. However, China has been able to alleviate more poverty than India. I believe that there are lessons to be learnt from China’s success. Thus, I will compare both nations and examine the impact of provincial politics (decentralization) on poverty alleviation to determine why China has been able to alleviate more poverty than India. Since China and India are populous, large countries, there is a strong presence of state-level political institutions, which guide policy implementation. I will, thus, examine the cases of Sichuan and Anhui in China and Kerala andBihar in India. The contrast between the success of Sichuan and Kerala and failures of Anhui and Bihar will provide insight on the impact of decentralization and effectiveness of policy implementation towards poverty alleviation.

People

Ruchi Singh
Researcher

Jessica Teets
Sponsor & Assistant Professor of Political Science

Related Links

Undergraduate Research Office

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Symposium Presentation Slides

A MiddLab Project

Creating a National Ideal: How Baseball Drove Bushido in 20th Century Japan

Learn more about History and Japanese at Middlebury College

Baseball is certainly Japan’s most popular sport, in part because players there are said to embody bushido, an ancient set of values said to have described samurai gentlemen of old. However, bushido is far from timeless and unchanging. Instead, it is a dynamic term that has changed, especially in the 20th Century, as Japanese society has struggled to maintain its unique identity despite the homogenizing pressures of globalization. I argue that baseball players bring about this change by setting examples for the rest of society, and that as the behavior of players has evolved, the popular perception of bushido and the way Japanese citizens idealize their own history has evolved right with them.

People

Adam Lee
Researcher

Neil Waters
Sponsor & Kawashima Professor of Japanese Studies

Related Links

The Samurai Way of Baseball and the National Character Debate

Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame

Shoriki: Miracle Man of Japan. A Biography.

Japan: A Documentary History

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Symposium Presentation Slides

Thesis Title Page

Thesis Paper

A MiddLab Project

“Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!”: The American Social Order through the Lens of the Jerry Springer Show

Learn more about American Studies and Media Culture at Middlebury College.

This project examines the continued success of The Jerry Springer Show. Does the show promote the inclusion of the “other” in the American social order or is it a profit-seeking mechanism that proves only to further uphold a hierarchal American social structure in which some are excluded? By viewing scholarly articles on the talk show format, footage from The Jerry Springer Show, and other critical works in American Studies, I set out to prove that The Jerry Springer Show uses coded mechanisms to create the illusion of a democratic forum which promotes oppositional culture and challenges social norms. This, in turn creates a “participatory illusion” that veils the underlying profit-based motivations of the show. The goal is engaged viewers that question the motives of a seemingly un-refined format, “cheap amusements.” What is the show telling us about American society, and how is its shaping of perspective relevant to how we function as a society?

People

Carl Culicchia
Researcher

Michael Newbury
Sponsor & Professor of American Studies and English and American Literatures

Related Links

The Jerry Springer Show

The Jerry Springer Show as an Emotional Public Sphere.

‘It’s  a Circus’ Is Jerry Springer’s No-Holds-Barred Talk Show Harmles Populist Escapism, The End of Civilization As We Know It or Both?

Jerry Springer an Appalling Diversion.

Undergraduate Research Office

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Symposium Presentation Slides

Essay Report

A MiddLab Project

American Poverty in Context: Housing Issues, Homelessness and Community Action in Vermont

Learn more about Service Learning at Middlebury College.

Ingrid Pixley is a long-time Vermont resident, working as a Property Manager for Addison County Community Trust,  a local non-profit organization that provides affordable housing to the low- and middle-income people of Addison County. Doug Sinclair’s the co-founder of the Middlebury Community Care Coalition (MCCC), which since 2004 has since grown to 600 members who contribute over 18,000 volunteer hours per year supporting the housing and food needs of families and individuals who need a helping hand.

People

Doug Sinclair

Co-Founder of Middlebury Community Care Coalition

Ingrid Pixley

Property Manager for Addison County Community Trust

Yuan Lim

Student Organizer

Veronica Muoio

Student Organizer

Dan Murphy

Student Organizer

Related Links

To Learn More and Take Action, check out these links

First Stop:

Alliance for Civic Engagement (ACE)

Fall 2010 Student Symposium: American Poverty in Context

Housing Issues:

National Coalition for the Homeless

Vermont Committee for Temporary Shelter (COTS)

Middlebury Community Care Coalition (MCCC)

Helping Overcome Poverty’s Effects (HOPE)

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Full Symposium Schedule

Ingrid Pixley and Doug Sinclair

A MiddLab Project

American Poverty in Context: Poverty 101

Learn more about Service Learning at Middlebury College.

In 1997, Dr. Beckley helped to create and became the first Director of the Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability, which integrates sustained rigorous academic study and focused direct service to disadvantaged communities and persons. In 1999, Dr. Beckley was named the Fletcher Otey Thomas Professor of Religion and in 2002 he received the state of Virginia’s highest award for excellence in education, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Award.

People

Harlan Beckley

Director of the Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability at Washington and Lee University

Yuan Lim

Student Organizer

Veronica Muoio

Student Organizer

Dan Murphy

Student Organizer

Related Links

To Learn More and Take Action, check out these links

First Stop:

Alliance for Civic Engagement (ACE)

Fall 2010 Student Symposium: American Poverty in Context

Shepherd Program

Downloads

Full Symposium Schedule

Harlan Beckley
Sites DOT Middlebury: the Middlebury site network.