Research

2004 Summer Research Fellows

Carolyn Audet (Anthropology)—Carolyn conducted archaeological fieldwork at several shrine temples in an ancient Maya settlement in Belize. The temples are well known archaeologically for housing the remains of rulers, elite family members, priests, and sacrificial victims. This project, in part, focuses on the interaction between rituals, political organization, worldview, and religion.

Katherine Haynes (Peabody)—Katherine conducted field research in Nashville among the Latino population. The goal of her project was to understand better the role of Latino networks in religious organizations in shaping parental involvement in education and school choice.

Brian McInnis (German and Slavic Languages)—Brian conducted research in Halle in support of his project on the evolution of the moral individual in 18th century Germany. This notion of the self emerges at the intersection of Pietist theology and philosophy.

Steven Miller (History)—Steven conducted research on, “Billy Graham, Evangelicalism, and the Political Culture of the Postwar South.” This project considers Graham’s relationship to socio-political change in the U.S. South by focusing on his behavior and rhetoric regarding the salient matters of race and politics.

James Newell (GDR)—James conducted field research on qawwali music in South Asia. Qawwali music is an integral aspect of South Asian Islamic mystical rituals supporting individual and communal ecstatic trance and the veneration of saints.

Ikwo Oboho (Medicine)—“Breaking the Silence: Religion and Culture in Attitudes Toward HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.” Ikwo traveled to Abuja, Nigeria, and interviewed leaders in Christian, Islamic, and African traditional sects to learn about prevalent attitudes toward HIV/AIDS.

Elizabeth Sponheim (History)—Elizabeth traveled, researched, and worked on her dissertation project, “Ann Davidson: An Antislavery Pilgrim in Antebellum New Orleans.” This project focuses on dissent in the antebellum South in the person of Ann Davidson (1783-1871), who felt the “whole of the spirit of the New Testament is dramatically opposed to slavery.”

Charles Trumbull (Law)—Charles traveled in the Middle East while conducting research for a project involving Islamic cultural practices, democratic forms of government, and operative notions of justice.