2021 - 2022 Student Fellows

Caroline Cirella 

This project is titled, “Individual Freedom and American Racism.”  It will examine philosophical texts including Annelien De Dijn’s Freedom: An Unruly History, as well as additional historical texts, to investigate how a particular conception of freedom that emphasizes freedom of the individual in the private sphere has been used to resist the full realization of civil rights in the United States.

Sarah Hickey

This project is titled, "False Memories: The History of Racism in the Women's Suffrage Movement." Examining speeches, voting records, and the evolution of laws surrounding women's right to vote, this project aims to demonstrate how racism affected both the women's suffrage movement itself and the historiography of the movement in later years. 

Maggie Kowalewski

This project titled, “How should we Understand and Relate to our Fellow Animals? A Theological Investigation with Implications from Factory Farming,"  will examine essays and personal communication in an effort to trace how the world has shifted from small agricultural farming to large industrial farming.

Kyra Krzywicki 

This project will explore the role of Catholic Social Teaching on sexual morality in combatting issues such as human trafficking in the United States. It will draw extensively on Saint Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body in my research.  

Isaiah Livelsberger 

This project - titled, "The Immigrant Scapegoat: Girardian Mimesis in Contemporary Political Discourse and Decision-Making" - will analyze news media, extremist social media, and Girardian literature, to gain a better understanding of  the scapegoating of immigrants by the far-right in the 21st century United States.

Nia Long 

This project is titled, “An Examination of the Disagreement Between Libertarianism and the 1950’s-1960’s Civil Rights Movement Based on their Similar Foundations in Existential Philosophy.” Drawing on  the literature of existential philosophers, such as Sartre, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Beauvoir, it will examine the root ideas that influenced both movements. Other papers and essays, speeches, legal documents, and an examination of major events will help trace how each movement utilized existential philosophy to diverge in two dramatically different ways in terms of beliefs, ideas, and policy decisions.

Ashley Mullan 

This project is titled, “Musical Feature Classification: Using Techniques of Machine Learning to Detect Genre.”  This project will utilize audio features, such as zero crossing rate, and musical attributes, including tempo and time signature.

Adrianna Smith

This project - titled,  "An Examination of Descartes’ Meditations through a Catholic Lens" -  will examine Descartes' work in the "Meditations on First Philosophy." Drawing on related work and responses to the "Meditations," this project will study the important link between Descartes' strong dedication to his Catholic faith and his philosophy in a newly scientific world.

Sofia Zingone

This project is titled,  “The Theological and Historical Significance of Christian Pilgrimages to the Holy Land.” Through personal experience, research, and interviews, I will propose an ideal itinerary for those wishing to experience a 10-14 day Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land.