Hackworth Research Grant Winners Spring 2003

Hackworth Research Grant Winners Spring 2003

The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics is pleased to announce the following recipients of Hackworth Grants in Applied Ethics. Grants were awarded to four faculty and two students. The recipients are:

Faculty

Bridget Cooks, Assistant Professor, Art and Art History and Ethnic Studies Departments - Professor Cooks won a $1,000 award to support research on the representation of African Americans in the exhibits of the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. This research is part of a larger project she is planning to publish as a book and that is presently called, "The Ethics of Identity: Black Representation and Self-Representation in Art Exhibitions in the U.S., 1893-1998."

Michael Kevane, Associate Professor, Economics Department - Professor Kevane won a $1,500 award to support research for a project called "The Ethics of Village Libraries in Sub-Saharan Africa." The grant will support the evaluation of such issues as the role of books in cultures with rich oral traditions and the existence of well-appointed libraries amid a surrounding world of poverty.

Kristin Kusanovich, Laboratory Instructor, Theater and Dance Department and Liberal Studies Program - Professor Kusanovich was awarded a $3,500 grant for the development of a teaching module called, "Ethics and Esthetics: A Stance in Dance." She plans to conduct a literature review of work on the role of character in the performing art of dance. She then plans to incorporate this research into a module for a new dance pedagogy course.
→ Kristin Kusanovich of the SCU Theater and Dance Department will have her paper, "Ethics and Aesthetics: A Stance in Dance," presented at the "Making a Difference in Dance" conference in Helsinki, Finland, in December 2004. Ms. Kusanovich, who teaches dance, was a Hackworth Grant recipient in Spring 2003.

Scott LaBarge, Assistant Professor, Philosophy Department - Professor LaBarge was awarded a $3,000 grant to pursue research in a project called, "Heroism: Classical Reflections on a Modern Problem." The aftermath of 9-11 left a welter of images of heroism. Professor LaBarge plans to assess these contemporary images of heroism in light of ancient Greek, Roman, and Christian writing on what a hero is.

Students

Sonia Mungal, '04 - Ms. Mungal won a $700 award in support of research for a project called, "A Practical Option for Restoring Dignity: Utilizing Elections for Empowerment in El Salvador." She will be investigating why in El Salvador high levels of participation in community activities are not correlated with similarly high levels of voting. Ms. Mungal will be working with Professor Jane Curry in the Political Science Department.
→ Read Ms. Mungal's senior thesis "When Social Capital doesn't Impact Political Participation: A Case Study in Social Capital Theory in El Salvador."

Jennifer Re, '04 - Ms. Re won a $700 award for research on a senior, non-fiction project called "Porous Borders: Migration Narratives and the Nature of 'Other.'" She plans to interview recent immigrants from El Salvador to the U.S. as well as U.S.-born citizens who now live in El Salvador. Ms. Re is also the recipient of a Canterbury Fellowship from the English Department. She will be working with Professors Juan Velasco and Simone Billings.

The faculty committee reviewing grant applications includes Kirk Hanson, executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics; Helen Popper of the economics department; and Mike Meyer, chair of the philosophy department.

Hackworth Grants are awarded twice a year - at the close of the Fall and Spring Quarters.

The Hackworth Grants are supported by a gift from Michael and Joan Hackworth, longtime supporters of Santa Clara.