Faculty in the Department of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures, and Cultures are active in their areas of specialization. LLLC is committed to fostering an environment where research and creative activity thrive; research takes our students and faculty across the globe in the pursuit of scholarly engagement.
International Studies undergraduate students engage in research topics related to their specific interests in global topics and issues. Student research is mentored by faculty in International Studies and faculty with global interests in a range of academic disciplines. Students may receive credit for their research through enrolling in one of the following: honors thesis, senior project, or independent study in International Studies.
Honors theses and senior projects
Spring 2023
Three International Studies Seniors (Ryann Hubbart, Lauren Philips, and Shannon Wallace) presented their research posters at the Spring Undergraduate Research Festival on March 29, 2023.
Imagining Settler Colonial Decolonization: Debates Between African Nationalism and Non-Racialism in the Anti-Apartheid Movements 1940-1980
Student: Ryann Hubbart
Mentor: Ari Ariel, Associate Professor of Instruction, History and International Studies
The Instrumentalization of Soft Power: Qatar’s Use of Aljazeera as a Public Diplomacy
Platform in the Case of Yemen
Student: Lauren Philips
Mentor: Ahmed Souaiaia, Associate Professor, Religious Studies
Beyond the Corn Belt: A Re/Turn to Reciprocity
Student: Claire Player
Mentor: E. Cram, Associate Professor of Communication Studies & Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies
Investigating Internal Colonialism in Contemporary Mexican Development and Implications for Indigenous Breastfeeding Practices
Student: Shannon Walsh
Mentor: Carly Nichols, Assistant Professor, Geographical and Sustainability Sciences
Spring 2022
Women's Resilience and State Reconstruction in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Student: Abigail Jordahl
Mentor: Michael Zmolek, Lecturer in International Studies
Analysis of the Intergenerational Cultural Perceptions of Well-Being between Vietnamese Refugee Migrants and Children of Vietnamese Refugee Migrants
Student: Michelle Tran-Doung
Mentor: Cynthia Chou, Professor in Anthropology
Fall 2021
An Analysis of Community Communication: A Case of Sehgal Foundation during COVID-19
Student: Yechan Charles Lee
Mentor: Sujatha Sosale, Associate Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication
Spring 2021
The Construction and Distribution of Turkey's National Brand in the Arab World
Student: Isabelle Davis
Mentor: Dr. Aron Aji, Associate Professor of Instruction in Literary Translation
"It Came From Japan": Changing Perceptions of J-Horror and J-Splatter Cinema in the West
Student: Mikayla Walker
Mentor: Kendall Heitzman, Associate Professor of Japanese
Feminist Activism and the Legalization of Abortion in Argentina
Student: Alexis Winecke
Mentor: Kathleen Newman, Associate Professor of Spanish
Spring 2020
The Color Hierarchy in the Filipino Skin Whitening Industry though the Lens of Contemporary Media
Student: Angel Trachta
Mentor: Jiyeon Kang, Associate Professor of Communication Studies
Multilingual Education: English as a Second Language and its Greater Community Impact
Student: Mitchell McCarthy
Mentor: Mitchell Kelly, Clinical Professor in the College of Education
Spring 2019
How Asylum Policy in France Contributes to a Gap in Perceptions between French Nationals and Asylees
Student: Caitlin Chenus
Mentor: Amy Weismann, Assistant Director for UI Center for Human Rights
Kenyan Financial History and the Rise of M-Pesa
Student: Channon Greer
Mentor: Theodore Powers, Associate Professor of Anthropology
Women and Art in 19th Century France
Student: Melanie Meierotto
Mentor: Dorothy Johnson, Professor of Art History
International studies faculty
Ari Ariel, PhD
