This Is About Scholarship
(and not about bringing your professor coffee)
Every year Smith students get to show off—giving
a one-day glimpse into an impressive range of research projects and unique scholarship
that takes shape over the academic year. The culmination of the shared work between
the next generation of biologists, dancers and sociologists and their professors
was on display in April at Smith's Celebrating Collaborations: Students and Faculty
This year, the scholarly collaborative work garnering
so much attention involved some 250 students and 100 Smith professors. Their presentations
spanned the breadth of the curricula—the arts, history, social sciences, language
studies, education, science and engineering. For some, the work began as a research
idea in the science lab. For others, the projects were honors theses or independent
study evolving from an interest piqued by a year spent abroad, an internship or a
Among those on hand to discuss their work at the event
were first-year students Carina Ahuja and Samantha Hinds. They both said they were
surprised to be able to immerse themselves in scientific investigation almost as
soon as they set foot on campus. They had teamed up with two renowned psychology
professors who are studying whether storytelling can increase literacy among high-risk
"We had no idea we would be able to work on a research
project this significant in our first year," says Ahuja.
"I thought we would be bringing the professor coffee,
or something, and not actually doing data analysis right away," notes Hinds
of Syracuse, New York.
Ahuja and Hinds are participants in the AEMES (Achieving
Excellence in Mathematics, Engineering and Sciences) program. It matches students
in their first two years at Smith with a faculty member and an upper-level peer to
answer questions about coursework and mentor them about their academic decisions.
They have been conducting research with Peter de Villiers, Sophia and Austin Smith
Professor of Psychology, and Jill de Villiers, professor of philosophy and Sophia
and Austin Smith Professor of Psychology. The research is part of a National Institutes
of Health program grant being carried out in Houston and Tallahassee, Florida, by
a consortium of universities. Smith is responsible for studying several aspects of
the data continuing into 2010.
Seniors Erin Molloy and Alyssa Pluss said they wanted
to investigate cultural feminism in the wider context of women's history after
taking classes in the study of women and gender program. They used the Sophia Smith
Collection extensively, where they uncovered significant materials on women activists
and, much to their surprise, female musicians of the 1970s. Molloy, who had a double
major in history and the study of women and gender, focused on filmmaker and photographer
Joan E. Biren. Pluss researched Olivia Records, the first women's music label,
which eventually evolved from a grassroots label to a travel company and cruise line.
They collaborated with Susan Van Dyne, professor of the study of women and gender,
and Nancy Whittier, sociology professor.
As their research delved deep, both students grew familiar
with the richness of the archives. "The collection is huge, and its resources
are available to anyone who wants to do the research," says Molloy.
"In fact," adds Pluss, who also majored in
the study of women and gender, "there is so much here, you can't get to
For her presentation, American studies and dance major
Lila Dodge '09 danced her way across campus—literally—while demonstrating
the subject of her honors thesis project: site-specific dance. Her research produced
both a final paper chronicling the evolution of site-specific dance performances
and an original dance, titled "Ply and Grain," performed by four dancers—Meleta
Buckstaff '09, Christa Whitney '09, Abby Wilkins '10 and Dodge.
Explaining her choreography, Dodge says the live performance
reflects the discovery of the dancers as they compare "being 'in place' with
travel through and between places, and investigates the stream of sundry environmental
textures that underpin both experiences." The 60-minute dance performance began
at the reference desk of Neilson Library, then progressed outside and across campus.
Sliding across edifices and springing over sidewalks,
the dancers followed a route that led to a street in downtown Northampton where the
dance came to a conclusion before surprised onlookers.
Her thesis advisers were dance professors Susan Waltner
and Rodger Blum, who also mentored Dodge this spring as she applied for a post-graduation
fellowship for further study in Africa. Not long after her Celebrating Collaborations
performance, Dodge was notified that she was a recipient of a Fulbright fellowship.
She will spend next year researching the traditions and innovations of contemporary
African dance in Burkina Faso in West Africa.