Spatial and Climate Justice in Architecture and Design
We invite motivated undergraduate students from architecture, design, urban studies, visual studies, and other Arts and Sciences majors to join an exciting research initiative at the intersection of spatial and climate justice. Students will collaborate on projects that address pressing environmental and social issues. Opportunities include engaging with local community groups and activists, conducting archival research, contributing to writing projects, and assisting in the planning and execution of design workshops and events.
Lauren Cho
My research interests primarily involve psychoanalysis, gender, and memory, which I synthesize with creative writing. Currently, I’m working on a short story collection in conversation with these themes, as well as class. For the upcoming year with University Scholars, I intend to support the project’s new stories, by researching thought processes and bodily disalienation. Previously, I’ve conducted a study on the effect of humor on learning and student engagement. In my free time, I enjoy coaching Speech for the Bronx High School of Science, producing theatre on campus, and acting as a cast member and Co-Head Writer of Mask and Wig, a musical sketch comedy group.
History of immigration, law, legal status, and family
Delve into the powerful history of immigration!
Norah Rami
My research interests focus on the political implication of storytelling. I study English with a Concentration in Critical Theory and Political Science with a Concentration in Political Theory. I have previously worked for the Computational Social Science Lab Penn Media Accountability Project as a research assistant. I have also previously worked for the Penn Digital Humanities lab as a research assistant on Dr. Brent Cebul's project regarding mortgage equity distribution post World War II. In 2023, I received the Universe in Verse prize from the Kelly Writers House to do research on visually representing spoken word poetry through linguistic analysis. My current field research on the literary market of College Street in Kolkata, India is funded by the Center for Advanced Study of India, Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, Penn South Asian Center, and Vitale Digital Media Lab. My previous work experience includes interning as a Fox Fellow at CHILD USA as well as teaching poetry at Writers in the Schools. I currently work at the Marks Writing Center as a Penn Writing Fellow. I am the digital managing editor of Penn's Arts and Culture Magazine 34th Street. During the school year, I also write obituaries for homicide victims in Philadelphia through The Philly Obituary Project. My writing can be found in The New York Times, Teen Vogue, and the Philadelphia Citizen.
- Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting Fellow
- Penn Computational Social Science Lab Research Assistant
- Universe in Verse Prize Winner
Nishanth Bhargava
My research interests lie in 20th century political and intellectual history, particularly with respect to the radical politics of postwar Europe and Asia. I'm especially interested in how radical thinkers and activists forged networks of solidarity and worked beyond national borders to struggle for a more just and equitable world. With the support of the University Scholars program, I spent last summer working with archival materials from members of the Situationist International at Yale University and writing a paper on the actions of radical student groups during the events of May 1968 in France, with a particular focus on how left wing student groups expressed and acted upon their solidarity with workers and revolutionaries in the postcolonial world. At Penn, I'm also involved with 34th Street Magazine, Penn Mock Trial and the Philomathean Society. In my free time, you can find me reading, playing guitar or walking around without purpose.
- Wolf Humanities Center Undergraduate Fellow
- Research Assistant for Dr. Siarhei Biareishyk
- PMG Group Lead
See also: Finding France at the Beinecke Library
Research Assistant(s) for Primate Video Data Collection
Dr. Jones is looking for 1-2 reliable, collaborative, and organized students to assist with a project examining gorilla tool use. Students will learn to identify individual gorillas housed (or previously housed) at Zoo Atlanta, and use behavioral coding software (Noldus Observer) and will collect data from video footage of gorillas using tools for a few hours a week. In addition, students will attend regular meetings with Dr. Jones, and may be asked to read related articles, and complete related tasks/assignments.
Research Opportunity in Jewish Studies
Work with a professor of Religious Studies/Jewish Studies (and director of Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies) to support research related to Jewish Studies. Exact focus depends on student's interest and background, but possible topics include biblical studies, Jewish Studies, the study of antisemitism, and Israel studies
Growing Up Queer: Coming of Age in Contemporary Literature
This project examines the explosion in contemporary coming-of-age literature, film, and television that depicts the lives of diverse queer people. It's not limited to the German-speaking world.
Europeans, Remembrance of the American Civil War, and Black Art Today
How did nineteenth-century Europeans shape how Americans commemorate the Civil War? Whose story was told in art and performance, whose was excluded from these narratives? How have contemporary Black artists today in America reflected on this moment of transatlantic memory work in their artistic practice?
Architectural History, Historic Preservation, African American Cultural Studies
Wiley's research covers African American and African diasporic cultural heritage, architectural and urban history, museum studies, school design, urban renewal, and preservation policy.