ASRA Past Recipients
The Black Panther Newspaper: Examining the Work of Emory Douglas
Ahona (Raka) Sarkar
About the project: This semester, I have been examining the changes in Emory Douglas’ artistic production for The Black Panther Newspaper over time, and identifying how he used his art as a vehicle to promote the ideals of the party. My work will hopefully be put toward helping create a LibGuide for Hillman Special Collections, as well as creating a didactic activity for Dr. Bender’s World Art Class next semester.
Year: 2017
Faculty Mentor: Gretchen Bender
Librarian / Archivist: Jennifer Needham, Arif Jamal
Deliverables: Poster
The Depiction of Black Characters in Children’s Literature During Black Arts (1965-1975): A Movement to Education Children on the New Found Importance of Blacks
Corina Andriescu
About the project: The number of educated black youths has vastly grown since the end of slavery. With this increase in education comes an increase in the black child’s exposure to literature. As black children read in the early twentieth century, they found few books that depicted characters in a positive light. When the Black Arts movement grew during the Civil Rights era, which is only a cross section of history that differs in significant ways from what has come before and after, many authors sought to write and illustrate more books that were depictive of the rising black minority population. Some of these books were targeted specifically at children in hopes that the children will start learning about the importance of the black race early. These children’s book authors focused on three main points, which mirrored those that were being preached to adults during Civil Rights, and most importantly, the depiction of black people succeeding in society by dreaming, working hard, not being discouraged, and caring for one another. The children reading these works would not only be educated but also be instilled with a yearning to aim for a brighter future for themselves and for the black race.
Year: 2016
Faculty Mentor: Courtney Weikle-Mills
Faculty Department: English
Librarian / Archivist: Clare Withers
Deliverables: Tumblr Post, Contributed LibGuide content
The Elisabeth Lloyd Papers and Feminist Philosophy of Biology
Ann Sippel
About the project:
My project will utilize the correspondences of Elisabeth Lloyd in order to investigate how working as a woman in science and philosophy effected the way that she did research and how it was received. I will also be contacting Ms. Lloyd to hopefully speak with her about her experiences.
Year: 2020
Faculty Mentor: Marian Gilton
Faculty Department: History and Philosophy of Science
Librarian / Archivist: Jon Klosinski , Lance Lugar, David Grinnell
The Establishment of Technical Roles in Pittsburgh Theatre Production
Kristen West
About the project: Kristen has examined the history of technical theatre in Pittsburgh and its relationship to the profession of stage management.
Year: 2017
Faculty Mentor: Annmarie Duggan
Faculty Department: Theatre Arts
Librarian / Archivist: William Daw, Jeanann Haas
Deliverables: Poster
The Evolution and Rhetoric of Sexual Harassment Policies at the University of Pittsburgh
Jordan March
About the project:
: Policies governing sexual harassment on college campuses are a recurring topic of national attention and concern. The #MeToo movement led to public discussion and critique of policies and procedures for handling sexual harassment at institutions of higher education, which led to action in several cases. The University of Pittsburgh became the site of one investigation after a blog post was released critiquing the university’s handling of faculty sexual harassment claims. My research explores the rhetoric and evolution of sexual harassment policy and procedure at the University of Pittsburgh through analysis of the cultural contexts surrounding sexual harassment policy changes. I have been able to explore cultural contexts through both paper archival records and web archives. Through paper archival records, I have had the chance to look at administrative files from relevant offices, internal correspondences between faculty, staff, and those affiliated with the university, and external correspondences with the university community and general public. Through web archives, I have been able to look at relevant news stories and track public discussion of issues concerning sexual harassment, the University of Pittsburgh, policy and procedural change, and the intersection of those conversations.
Year: 2023
Faculty Mentor: Emily Herrington
Faculty Department: Department of Communication
Librarian / Archivist: Zachary Brodt
The Evolution of Birth Control Information from 1930-1980 as told through Historical Books and Manuals
Bethany Dubick
About the project:
Sexual and reproductive health issues before the institutionalization of sex education.
Year: 2019
Faculty Mentor: Laura Lovett
Faculty Department: History
Librarian / Archivist: David Grinnell
The Evolution of Representation of Girlhood in Popular Media
Madhumita Mahesh
About the project:
Childhood as gendered, raced, and classed in media.
Year: 2019
Faculty Mentor: Julie Beaulieu
Faculty Department: Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies
Librarian / Archivist: Clare Withers
Deliverables: Research Paper
The Hand We Are Dealt: a Poetic Guide to Playing Cards
Lucas Grasha
About the project: Lucas has studied the works titled, Die Tarocchi (Kristeller) and Les cartes àjour (Allemagne) to gain insight into playing card history and the historical and social value of the artwork of playing cards. He aims to write a book of poetry based upon his research.
Year: 2017
Faculty Mentor: Benjamin Miller
Faculty Department: English
Librarian / Archivist: James Cassaro, Marnie Hampton
Deliverables: Poster
The Music of the Middle Ages
Madeline Fox
About the project:
This project will begin with a translation of Gregorian chants from Latin to English, focusing on the neumes below repeated words and phrases. This will begin my study of the importance of melodic repetition. This will then lead me to a cultural and philosophical study of the importance Gregorian chant ritual had throughout the Middle Ages in not only the Catholic church, but in medieval society as a whole.
Year: 2020
Faculty Mentor: James Cassaro
Faculty Department: Finney Music Library
Librarian / Archivist: James Cassaro
Deliverables: Poster, Research Paper
The Possibility of Socialist Feminism: Here and There, 1970s – 1990s
Alexandria Greenhold
About the project: Socialist movements traditionally focus on means of production and distribution of wealth. The accomplishment of these tasks, however, relies on the deconstruction of hierarchical relationships, the abolition of the class system, and acknowledgement of the value of paid and unpaid labor by all members of society. Therefore, socialism and feminism can go hand in hand in many ways, as feminists seek to dismantle hierarchies of class, race, gender, and sexuality in order to create an equal and just society. In this study, I conducted a rhetorical analysis of literature (meeting minutes, newsletters, pamphlets, fliers, and booklets) written by various local and national socialist and feminist organizations in order to critique their strategies for political reform and disruption. For a comparative analysis, I looked at Sweden – another capitalist country with a notably different political system – to see how women and feminists played a part in the Social Democratic Party and to analyze the success of their welfare reforms. Through this research, one can understand how the past influences the present and hopefully, how the future can progress in the right direction.
Year: 2016
Faculty Mentor: Marie Skoczylas
Librarian / Archivist: Edward Galloway, David Grinnell
