Independent Study: Students’ share insight

Clementine Bondor: The U.S. War in Afghanistan and Teaching Contemporary History

Throughout this year, I studied the United States’ war in Afghanistan, as well as the ways in which contemporary history is taught in the US. My research began in the mid-eighteenth century; I sought to find and trace the roots of ethnic/tribal and geopolitical systems and divisions, so that I could better understand obstacles faced by the Afghan government centuries later. Then, I examined the initial criteria of the War on Terror laid out by the Bush administration, and traced the evolution of the goals set by the United States: the novelty of a counterinsurgency mission, the reshaping of the Afghan political and military systems, and, ultimately, the balance between losses and benefits for both nations. My research ended with Joe Biden’s 2021 declaration that “the US counterterrorism mission [was] complete,” as I inquired into what, exactly, the completion of a counterterrorism mission entails, or whether that goal can ever truly be fulfilled. For my semester projects with the help of Mr. McNally, I constructed two week-long, high-school level curricula that covered the twenty-year US presence in Afghanistan, with the hope that the war can be more frequently and productively discussed in classrooms. Throughout my study, I also explored the components of strategic thinking and risk management—the experience of decision-making in situations of bureaucratic or ethical uncertainty—in the hopes of becoming a more effective leader myself.

Louise Kim: French-Algerian and Korean-American Postcolonial Literatures

My Independent Study project explores connections between (post)colonialism and exile in three literary texts by French-Algerian writer Albert Camus (Exile and the Kingdom) and Korean-American writers Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (DICTEE) and Richard E. Kim (The Martyred). Conducted in French and English, and culminating in visual and creative pieces and performances, my project is not only a way to satisfy my intellectual curiosity and better understand the role of literature in processing trauma and violence, but doubles as a channel through which I can explore my statehood, my history, and my place in a generation that is still reckoning with its colonial past.

Bailey Hecht: Producing and Directing a Play - “Proof”

For my independent study I examined what goes into producing a play from proposal to strike. I learned more about various roles across the theater and how to negotiate the needs of a production.

Jiyon Chatterjee: COVID and Labor: The Great Resignation

I investigated the long-term impact of the pandemic on labor, using statistical analysis and interviews to dive into the reasons behind worker shortages in the service sector. I’ve learned that alternatives that arose during the pandemic, like remote work, as well as savings from gov ernment transfer programs during the pandemic have made workers more willing to seek jobs in sectors that afford them more flexibility. I’ve also learned more about the close link between childcare and workers’ ability, particularly for female parents, to return to their jobs. I’ve learned that economic policy can’t just be about wages and service affordability; it also has to consider more intangible aspects, like public health anxieties and psychological shifts.

A special thank you to the faculty mentors for this year’s Independent Study class:

Fred Levy

John McNally

Melissa Morales

Dr. Liz Westphal

Isaac Brooks

Dr. Lisa Rosenblum

Caitie Miller

Caroline Dolan

Sam Gruen

Mary Wang: Political and Economic Policies in China and the Soviet Union from 1950 to 1990

During the period from 1950 to 1990, both China and the Soviet Union underwent significant reforms in an attempt to modernize their political and economic policies. In China, despite the initial failures of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, more pragmatic policies were introduced under Deng Xiaoping’s leadership. These policies involved decentralizing political and economic power, delegating authority, and opening up to foreign investment. These reforms aimed to integrate China into the global market and stimulate economic growth. In the Soviet Union, the 1965 Economic Reform and Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) were implemented to revitalize the Soviet economy in the post-Stalin era. However, the execution of these reforms faced challenges and ultimately contributed to the eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union. Despite similarities in the ideologies behind the reforms in both countries, their actual implementation led them on contrasting paths.

Harper Rosenberg: Mad Women in Modern Music

This year I analyzed the perception of women in the music industry as “crazy,” and how it reveals our sexist biases. I compared the media’s perception of modern musicians like Fiona Apple and Nina Simone to literary theory on female hysteria by writers like Virginia Woolf and Shoshana Felman. Over the year I have completed an array of projects, such as re-recording songs in the studio at school and writing analytical essays.

Emily Salzhauer: Jewish resistance during the Holocaust

For my independent study this year, I studied many different examples and roles of resistance that Jewish people took on during the Holocaust. I studied armed resistance and cultural resistance, using the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Warsaw Ghetto Archive as examples. To humanize this important historical event and share my research with the community, I organized the UD-wide Holocaust assembly, bringing in survivor Samuel Marder to speak.

Bela Tinaj: How Albanian Mythology, Folklore, and Art Defined Albanian National Identity

For my independent study I analyzed multiple forms of Albanian folklore, mythology, and art to better understand the roles they all have played in defining the Albanian national identity throughout Albania’s history. Albania is a country with a long history of foreign occupation and as an Albanian American myself I wanted to further explore the role that these storytelling mediums played in maintaining and strengthening this strong sense of an Albanian national identity present both in Albania and within the Albanian diaspora. What I learned is that all of these mediums especially, Albanian folklore told orally and through song for multiple generations,

Avery Feingold

Kristen Flatto

Dr. Jason Gaines

Carmen Keels

Dr. Deborah Kassel

Dr. Tom Kelly

George Epstein

Dr. Daniel Link

Dr Susan Groppi