Creating Knowledge is the journal of undergraduate scholarship and creative activity published annually by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. First published in 2008, Creating Knowledge provides a venue to showcase the best student work produced across all our programs of study.
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Creating Knowledge, volume 10, 2017
Dear Students, Colleagues, Alumni and Friends, This may sound like an act of contrition, but it is not. When I meet administrators of other institutions of higher education, it is predictable that the first few minutes of interaction will be devoted to a vigorous display of institutional pride. In that context, my practice has been to let them deliver along traditional marketing lines including glossy brochures with abundant well-staged pictures of buildings, faculty, and diverse students. Once they are done, I kindly commend them and in return, I present to them our latest issue of Creating Knowledge. I know that their first reaction will be to tell me that they also publish the outstanding research work of their faculty, which I will acknowledge at the same time that I clarify that Creating Knowledge, is not the product of faculty research but student scholarship. They are clearly impressed, but will further point out that they also publish the work of their most talented graduate students, which I will again acknowledge and finally clarify that Creating Knowledge is a formal publication of “undergraduate scholarship”. Their surprise is priceless and triggers in me a sense of pride that I have truly come to enjoy very much. Creating Knowledge makes tangible our extraordinary commitment, not only to the dissemination of knowledge, but also its creation across all ranks in our academic community.
Creating Knowledge: The LAS Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship, was the product of a 2008 initiative aimed towards the goal of promoting research and creative endeavors among our undergraduate students. With this volume, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of this wonderful publication and the establishment of a rich culture of scholarship. In this issue, you will find a selection of 18 essays and 13 art works, representing advanced coursework produced in programs of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences during the 2016-2017 academic year. All the work hereby presented has been selected by department-based faculty committees as the best of the year’s student creative work and all have been revised for submission under the mentorship of faculty. Most of the work has already been the subject of recognition through department awards and supported by undergraduate research and creative grants. The first footnote to each essay provides information about the class in which it was written and the processes of selection and revision. This body of work celebrates the intellectual rigor, sophistication, and diversity for which our college is equitably recognized.
The evident academic rigor displayed by Creating Knowledge is largely dependent on the intellect and enthusiasm of our faculty and staff. I would like to express my profound gratitude to the more than 60 faculty who supported, reviewed, selected, and helped to edit this remarkable collection of student work. Thanks are also due to the three Department of Art, Media and Design faculty who served as jurors of the artwork and the three masters in writing and publication students who proofread the volume. In particular, I would like to thank Warren Schultz, Executive Associate Dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, who serves as editor of the volume, putting out the call for submissions, supporting the faculty work of reviewing, selecting, and editing the student essays, and coordinating the production of the print and digital editions.
I am sure that you will experience the same sense of pride in the work of our students that I feel. I encourage our students to see the work of their more advanced colleagues as a challenge soon to be transformed into the opportunity to build on the accomplishments of their predecessors. I hope that our alumni and friends of the college will take this opportunity to re-engage in the life of our college and renew their support of our students through the establishment of additional scholarships and the inclusion of our graduating students in their recruitment and hiring plans.
We are a group of life-long learners who find great joy in creating knowledge. It is my pleasure to invite you to enjoy this tenth issue of Creating Knowledge: The LAS Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship.
Sincerely,
Guillermo Vásquez de Velasco, PhD
Dean -
Creating Knowledge, volume 9, 2016
Dear Students, Colleagues, Alumni and Friends,
Throughout my career as faculty and administrator in higher education I have been honored with the opportunity to introduce and celebrate the publication of scholarly work by colleagues and graduate students in many disciplines and institutions around the world. After more than three decades of doing so, this is the first time that I have the pleasure of introducing a formal publication of work created by a talented group of undergraduate scholars. This honor is further magnified by the fact that beyond its formal format, this is a reviewed publication of extraordinary rigor and evident intellectual sophistication. This publication makes palpable the exceptional commitment of our community to not only consume knowledge but also be fully engaged, at all levels, in its creation and dissemination. In this ninth volume of Creating Knowledge: The LAS Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship, we celebrate 19 essays and 13 art works, representing advanced coursework produced in twenty different departments during the 2015-2016 academic year. Most of the work hereby presented has already been subject of recognition through department awards and supported by undergraduate research and creative grants. All have been selected by department-based faculty committees as the best of the year’s student creative work and all have been revised for submission under the supervision of faculty. The first footnote to each essay provides information about the class in which it was written and the processes of selection and revision. Together they represent the intellectual diversity for which our college is rightfully renowned.
I hope that our readers will experience the same sense of pride on the work of our students that I feel. I also hope that our students see the work of their more advanced colleagues as a challenge soon to be transformed into the opportunity to build on the accomplishments of their predecessors. Last, but certainly not least, I hope that our alumni and friends of the college will take this opportunity to renew their support of our students through the establishment of additional scholarships and the inclusion of our graduating students in their recruitment and hiring plans.
In closing I would like to express my profound gratitude to the more than 60 faculty who supported, reviewed, selected, and helped to edit this remarkable collection of student work. Thanks are also due to the three Department of Art, Media and Design faculty who served as jurors of the art work and the three masters in writing and publication students who proofread the volume. In particular, I would like to thank Warren Schultz, associate dean of undergraduate studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, who serves as editor of the volume, putting out the call for submissions, supporting the faculty work of reviewing, selecting, and editing the student essays, and coordinating the production of the print and digital editions.
We are a collective of perpetual learners that finds great joy in creating knowledge. It is my pleasure to invite you to enjoy this new issue of Creating Knowledge: The LAS Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship.
Sincerely,
Guillermo Vásquez de Velasco, PhD
Dean -
Creating Knowledge, volume 8, 2015
Dear reader,
I am delighted to introduce this eighth volume of Creating Knowledge: The LAS Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship. This volume features 19 essays and 14 art works, representing advanced coursework produced in twenty different departments and programs during the 2014-2015 academic year. Several of the essays have been honored with department awards and several draw on research supported by undergraduate research grants. Many were originally written in senior capstone seminars, research-intensive seminars, and independent studies, and many were presented in some form at one of the numerous conferences and showcases sponsored by departments and programs throughout the year. All have been selected by department-based faculty committees as the best of the year’s student research writing and all have been revised for submission under the supervision of faculty. (The first footnote to each essay provides information about the class in which it was written and the processes of selection and revision.) Together they represent the rich variety of research questions, methods and materials used in the arts, humanities, social sciences and interdisciplinary studies.
The readers of this volume are also many and various. They include the faculty who taught the classes in which this work was produced and encouraged their students to submit it for publication, the faculty who reviewed and selected the work and those who assisted with the editing, the proud parents, siblings, and classmates, and, of course, the featured students themselves. The volume’s readers also include alumni and supporters of the college and, perhaps most important of all, future student scholars—prospective students and recently admitted students who are curious about what advanced work in this or that field looks like: What does a sociology, Latino and Latin American studies, or philosophy major do? What are the key research questions and ways of thinking or writing or knowing in history of art and architecture or Italian or women’s and gender studies? For these students, this volume provides a vivid and inspiring illustration of what they have to look forward to as they embark upon their chosen courses of study.
Many thanks and hearty congratulations are due to the student scholars for their contributions to this volume and also to the more than 60 faculty who supported, reviewed, selected, and helped to edit these students’ work. Thanks are also due to the three Department of Art, Media and Design faculty who served as jurors of the art work and the three masters in writing and publication students who proofread the volume. Most of all, thanks are due to Warren Schultz, associate dean of undergraduate studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, who serves as editor of the volume, putting out the call for submissions, supporting the faculty work of reviewing, selecting, and editing the student essays, and coordinating the production of the print and digital editions. To all, congratulations! And to you, dear reader, enjoy.
Lucy Rinehart, PhD
Interim Dean -
Creating Knowledge, volume 7, 2014
Dear Students, Faculty Colleagues and Friends, It is my great pleasure to introduce the seventh volume of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences’ Creating Knowledge—our undergraduate student scholarship and research journal. First published in 2008, the journal is the outcome of an initiative to enhance and enrich the academic quality of the student experience within the college. Through this publication, the college seeks to encourage students to become actively engaged in creating scholarship and research and gives them a venue for the publication of their essays.
Beginning with the sixth volume of the journal, we instituted a major change in the manner in which the papers for the journal were selected for inclusion and a decision about the best way to more fully represent the considerable breadth of subject matter that reflect the many different departments and programs that we have in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. Each major undergraduate department and program was challenged to develop a system whereby the single best scholarly essay written by a student during the academic year would be decided by faculty within that academic unit and awarded a publication slot in the current annual issue. This necessitated the cooperation and hard work of many within the undergraduate units in our college. The resulting collection of papers representing the efforts of our best students and the collaboration of faculty reviewers in 20 of our programs is certainly ample testimony to not only the creativity, hard work and sophistication of our undergraduate scholars, but of the dedication of our programs to the quality of the educational experiences and opportunities offered by them to students. It is through the continuing annual publication of this undergraduate student journal that we aim to underscore that leadership within their disciplines requires students to not only be familiar with the knowledge base of the discipline, but also to have the experience of being actively engaged in sustaining an intellectual community—understanding how their creative work and the work of others also depends on its dissemination and on the sharing of that knowledge within a community of scholars.
I want to congratulate, first and foremost, the many student scholars whose work is featured in this seventh volume of the journal. They truly represent the best of the best. I also want to thank the faculty who served to make this publication possible—those who served on the editorial committees in each department and program that had the difficult task of selecting the best submissions their respective programs could make for this edition of the journal. I want to particularly thank Warren Schultz, PhD, associate dean for Undergraduate Studies, who spearheaded this year’s efforts—no small undertaking. To the students who are featured in this edition, it is my fondest hope that this will lead you to make similar contributions beyond the department and program, the college and DePaul University. To one and all, I extend my most sincere congratulations and gratitude.
Chuck Suchar
Dean -
Creating Knowledge, volume 6, 2013
It is my great pleasure to introduce the sixth volume of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences’ “Creating Knowledge,” our undergraduate student scholarship and research journal. First published in 2008, the journal is the outcome of an initiative to enhance and enrich the academic quality of the student experience within the college. Through this publication, the college seeks to encourage students to become actively engaged in creating scholarship and research and gives them a venue for the publication of their essays.
This sixth volume is, however, unlike the previous ones in one major respect: the papers in this volume reflect a decision to alter the very method by which papers were selected for inclusion and a decision about the best way to more fully represent the considerable breadth of subject matter that reflect the many different departments and programs that we have in the college of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. Each major undergraduate department and program was challenged to develop a system whereby the single best scholarly essay written by a student during the academic year would be decided by faculty within that academic unit and awarded a publication slot in the current annual issue. This necessitated the cooperation and hard work of many within the undergraduate units in our college. The resulting collection of papers representing the efforts of our best students and the collaboration of faculty reviewers in 20 of our programs is certainly ample testimony to not only the creativity, hard work, and sophistication of our undergraduate scholars, but of the dedication of our programs to the quality of the educational experiences and opportunities offered by them to students. It is through the continuing annual publication of this undergraduate student journal that we aim to underscore that leadership within their disciplines requires students to not only be familiar with the knowledge base of the discipline, but to have the experience of being actively engaged in sustaining an intellectual community. Students must understand how their creative work and the work of others also depends on its dissemination and on the sharing of that knowledge within a community of scholars.
I want to congratulate, first and foremost, the many student scholars whose work is featured in this sixth volume of the journal. They truly represent the best of the best. I also want to thank the faculty who served to make this publication possible—those who served on the editorial committees in each department and program who had the difficult task of selecting the best submissions their respective programs could make for this edition of the journal. I want to particularly thank Warren Schultz, Ph.D., associate dean for undergraduate studies, who spearheaded this year’s efforts and coordinated the implementation of the new paper selection process —no small undertaking. To the students who are featured in this edition, it is my fondest hope that this will lead you to make similar contributions beyond the department and program, the college and DePaul University. To one and all, I extend my most sincere congratulations and gratitude.
Chuck Suchar
Dean -
Creating Knowledge, volume 5, 2012
It is my great pleasure to introduce the fifth volume of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences’ Creating Knowledge, our undergraduate student scholarship and research journal. First published in 2008, the journal is the outcome of an initiative to enhance and enrich the academic quality of the student experience within the college. Through this publication, the college seeks to encourage students to become actively engaged in creating scholarship and research and give them a venue for the publication of their essays. This fifth volume, like the ones that preceded it, gives considerable testimony to the creativity, hard work and sophistication of our undergraduate scholars. It is through the continuing annual publication of this undergraduate student journal that we aim to underscore that leadership within their disciplines requires students to not only be familiar with the knowledge base of the discipline, but to have the experience of being actively engaged in sustaining an intellectual community—understanding how their creative work and the work of others also depends on its dissemination and on the sharing of that knowledge within a community of scholars.
I want to congratulate, first and foremost, the many student scholars whose work is featured in this fifth volume of the journal. I also want to thank the students and faculty who served to make this publication possible—those who served on the editorial board that shaped this edition of the journal and reviewed the submissions of student work. I want to particularly thank Warren Schultz, Ph.D., associate dean for undergraduate studies, who spearheaded this year’s efforts. To the students who are featured in this edition, it is my fondest hope that this will lead you to make similar contributions beyond the college and DePaul University. To one and all, my most sincere congratulations and gratitude.
Chuck Suchar
Dean -
Creating Knowledge, volume 4, 2011
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, through the deliberations and efforts of its task force on “Students Creating Knowledge”, chaired by Professor Ralph Erber, associate dean for research in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, committed itself to a number of new strategic initiatives that would enhance and enrich the academic quality of the student experience within the college. Chief among these initiatives was one that would encourage students to become actively engaged in creating scholarship and research and give them a venue for the publication of their essays. The first volume of “Creating Knowledge: The LA&S Student Research Journal” was published in 2008. I am now extremely pleased to be able to introduce the fourth volume of Creating Knowledge. This year’s publication, like the ones that preceded it, gives considerable testimony to the creativity, hard work and sophistication of our undergraduate scholars. It is through the continuing, annual publication of this undergraduate student journal that we aim to encourage students across the college and the university to understand that leadership within their disciplines requires them to not only be familiar with the knowledge base of the discipline, but to have the experience of being actively engaged in understanding how creative work and/or scientific discoveries are created through research, scholarship and the dissemination and sharing of knowledge.
I want to congratulate, first and foremost, the many student scholars whose work is featured in this fourth volume of the journal. I also want to thank the students and faculty who served to make this publication possible—those who served on the editorial board that shaped this journal and who reviewed the many submissions of student work. In accomplishing this task all of you have participated in what is the heart of scholarship—the contributions to enabling and sustaining an intellectual community—one which we hope will lead you to make similar contributions beyond the college and DePaul University. To one and all, my most sincere congratulations and gratitude.
Chuck Suchar
Dean -
Creating Knowledge, volume 3, 2010
CREATING KNOWLEDGE 5 Dear Students, Faculty Colleagues, and Friends,
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, through the deliberations and efforts of its Task Force on “Creating Knowledge,” chaired by Professor Ralph Erber, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, committed itself to a number of new strategic initiatives that would enhance and enrich the academic quality of the student experience within the college. Chief among these initiatives was one that would encourage students to become actively engaged in creating scholarship and research and give them a venue for the publication of their essays. The first volume of Creating Knowledge: The LA&S Student Research Journal was published in 2008 followed by the second volume in 2009.
I am now extremely pleased to be able to introduce the third volume of Creating Knowledge. It is through the continuing, annual publication of this undergraduate student journal that we aim to encourage students across the college and the university to understand that leadership within their disciplines requires them to not only be familiar with the knowledge base of the discipline, but to have the experience of being actively engaged in understanding how creative work and/or scientific discoveries are created through research, scholarship and the dissemination and sharing of knowledge.
I want to congratulate, first and foremost, the many student scholars whose work is featured in this third volume of the journal. I also want to thank the students and faculty who served to make this publication possible—those who served on the editorial board that shaped this journal and who reviewed the many submissions of student work. In ac- complishing this task all of you have participated in what is the heart of scholarship—the contributions to enabling and sustaining an intellectual community—one which we hope will lead you to make similar contributions beyond the college and DePaul University. To one and all, my most sincere congratulations and gratitude.
Chuck Suchar
Dean -
Creating Knowledge, volume 2, 2009
Dear Students, Faculty Colleagues, and Friends,
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, through the deliberations and efforts of its Task Force on “Students Creating Knowledge”, chaired by Professor Ralph Erber, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, committed itself to a number of new strategic initiatives that would enhance and enrich the academic quality of the student experience within the College. Chief among these initiatives was one that would encourage students to become actively engaged in creating scholarship and research and give them a venue for the publication of their essays. Last year, this eventuated in the publication of the very first volume of Creating Knowledge: The LA&S Student Research Journal. Of course, it might be argued that a tradition of such student scholarship and accomplishment can only be truly started if there are follow-up volumes to the “premiere” edition of the journal. And so, I am extremely pleased to be able to introduce the second volume of Creating Knowledge. It is through the continuing, annual publication of this undergraduate student journal that we aim to encourage students across the College and the University to understand that leadership within their disciplines requires them to not only be familiar with the knowledge base of the discipline, but to have the experience of being actively engaged in understanding how creative work and/or scientific discoveries are created through research, scholarship, and the dissemination and sharing of knowledge.
I want to congratulate, first and foremost, the many student scholars whose work is featured in this second volume of the journal. I also want to thank the students and faculty who served to make this publication possible—those who served on the editorial board that shaped this journal and who reviewed the many submissions of student work. In accomplishing this task all of you have participated in what is the heart of scholarship—the contributions to enabling and sustaining an intellectual community—one which we hope will lead you to make similar contributions beyond the College and DePaul University. To one and all, my most sincere congratulations and gratitude.
Chuck Suchar
Dean -
Creating Knowledge, volume 1, 2008
A little over a year ago, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences committed itself to a number of new strategic initiatives that would reflect our commitment to enhance and enrich the academic quality of the student experience within the College. In league with the University’s Vision Twenty12 Strategic Plan, these initiatives were particularly aimed at improving upon the existing programs in the College and augmenting the opportunities for students to reach the very highest academic and career goals that they were capable of achieving.
Chief among those was the initiative that we labeled “Students Creating Knowledge” – a set of strategies that would encourage students to become actively engaged in creating scholarship and research. Our goal was to empower students from all academic fields and disciplines to be better prepared to consider future careers that reflect the highest pursuits of a knowledgeable, experienced, and creative mind. The College charged a task force – aptly called the Task Force on “Students Creating Knowledge” – to find various means and methods of realizing these important aims and objectives.
I am extremely pleased that the Task Force, led by Professor Ralph Erber, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has brought to fruition a most worthy embodiment of our goals, aims and commitments – this student journal of scholarship and research. By sponsoring the publication of what we hope will be an annual showcase of student work, we aim to encourage students across the College and the University to understand that leadership within their disciplines requires them to not only be familiar with the knowledge base of the discipline, but to have the experience of being actively engaged in understanding how knowledge, creative work, and/or scientific discoveries are created through scholarship.
I want to congratulate, first and foremost, the many student scholars whose work is featured in this journal. I also want to thank the students and faculty who helped make this publication possible – those who served on the editorial board that shaped this journal and who reviewed the many submissions of student work. In accomplishing this task all of you have participated in what is the heart of scholarship – the contributions to enabling and sustaining an intellectual community – one which we hope will lead you to make similar contributions beyond the College and DePaul University. To one and all, my most sincere congratulations and gratitude.
Chuck Suchar
Dean