Welcome to the blog for the 2015 winners of the Dean’s Award for Summer Research (DASR). It’s time for another exciting year of engaging projects that span the globe as well as academic disciplines.
The DASR was created to encourage advanced Gallatin undergraduates to pursue an original research or creative project related to their concentration during the summer months. Over the past few years our scholars have produced work that has led them to complete superb senior projects, fellowships, and PhD programs. The 2014 winners were allowed to opportunity to participate in the first DASR Conference, a day-long event where they presented their findings from their research projects. This year’s winners will go on to present the culmination of their findings to the Gallatin community at the next DASR Conference on November 20th, 2015.
This summer we’ll follow 20 rising juniors and seniors as they embark on research journeys from Bali to Greece to Mexico to our very own backyard. Some of our scholars will study dance while others engage with 20th century art and the current racial climate in our country. They will work on films, documentaries, and photo essays. They will collect narratives from communities across Europe to archives in Washington D.C. They will explore the concept of food and cultural communities, ancestry, music, theater, and alternative housing. Whether they embark on road trips, travel the globe, or make waves here at home, it’s sure to be an amazing and enlightening journey. I am truly excited to see where their research takes them over the next few months.