The Humanities Center hosted its annual Undergraduate Research Symposium on Friday, November 7 at 3:00 PM in the EIZ Theater (B192 JFSB). The symposium highlighted student research conducted through the Humanities Undergraduate Mentoring (HUM) Grant.
This year’s presenters included:
Hazel Mattson Lindsay (Linguistics) — “Stop Speaking Like You’re from the Mountains”: Attitudes toward Albanian Dialects
Lindsay presented findings from fieldwork in Albania and Kosovo examining attitudes toward Tosk, Gheg, and the standardized Gjuha Letrare. Rather than viewing these as fixed categories, speakers expressed preferences based on perceived authenticity: linguistic features seen as more “Albanian” were viewed positively, while those perceived as imposed were viewed negatively. Her research suggests a link between attitudes toward language standardization and a sense of cultural autonomy.
Brendan Murphy (English & Philosophy) — Poetic Self-Formation and the Victorian Preface
Murphy explored how 19th-century poetic prefaces functioned as sites of philosophical reflection and self-definition. Analyzing works by Matthew Arnold and Elizabeth Barrett Browning alongside critic David Masson, he examined debates about poetic identity and argued that the “poetic spirit” present in prose prefaces played an integral role in shaping how poets understood themselves and their work.
Faith Murri (English) — “Sensation Rubbish” Redeemed: Etta W. Pierce’s Gothic Critique of Patriarchal Constraint in the Gilded Age
Murri revived the largely forgotten writer Etta W. Pierce, arguing that Pierce’s blending of sentimental, sensation, and gothic genres advanced a nuanced feminist critique of patriarchal society. Through close readings of Prince Lucifer and other works, Murri demonstrated how Pierce used genre conventions to explore women’s autonomy, social constraints, and complex forms of agency across class and cultural divides.
Mathilde Oscarson (Art History & French) — Centering and De-Centering Paris: A Cultural History of the Pont Neuf
Oscarson traced the evolving cultural significance of the Pont Neuf through artistic representations from early modern prints to contemporary installations. She demonstrated how the bridge—once a politically motivated symbol of royal power—became a dynamic site of public life and artistic reinterpretation, reflecting shifting ideas about community, modernity, and public space over time.
Regan Presley (Art History) — The Divine Union: Understanding the Syncretism of Isis and Hathor in Ancient Egyptian Art
Presley presented research on an understudied relief portrait from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, arguing that it depicts a syncretic fusion of Isis and Hathor, with Harpocrates as the child figure. Drawing on firsthand study in Egypt and consultations with leading Egyptologists, she highlighted how the work’s Greco-Roman context reveals the layered nature of identity and religious expression in Roman Egypt. Her research has since been submitted to The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology.
Emma Shobe (English) — From Pasternak to the Present: Feminist Critical Theory and the Western Reframing of Doctor Zhivago
Shobe examined how portrayals of Lara Antipova in adaptations of Doctor Zhivago reflect evolving feminist discourse. Comparing the 1965 film and the 2002 miniseries, she showed how shifting depictions of Lara’s agency illuminate broader cultural conversations about consent, power, and the psychological complexity of abuse, underscoring the character’s continued relevance.
