Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

Samma Ishaq (2008)

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Samma Ishaq will evaluate the economic status of women living in Jammu and Kashmir (India-administered Kashmir). It is estimated that the livelihood of at least 50,000 workers, 74 percent of them women, was impacted when the local government banned the manufacture and sale of shahtoosh (a fine grade of shawl derived from the Tibetan antelope) in October 2000. Investigating this claim, Ishaq will assess the effect of the shahtoosh ban on the local economy, particularly on displaced female weavers. Her report will take into account the painful consequences of militarization […]

Jeffrey Martin (2008)

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Jeffrey Martin will conduct a detailed study of the Gila River Indian Community Water Settlement Act of 2004, one of the largest and longest-coming Indian water rights settlements in the history of the United States. Representing deeply entrenched battles over water rights and Indian sovereignty in the West, the Act settled nearly 30 years of litigation involving thousands of actors who fought to quantify and define rights on the Gila River. Jeff will examine the origin, voices, and impact of this historic legislation and its implications for future water disputes. […]

Olivia Rosaldo-Pratt (2008)

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Olivia Rosaldo-Pratt will seek to develop a new way of teaching drama that is both accessible and empowering for young people of color. Although drama is an effective pedagogical tool, it is often unavailable to students of color or offered in ways that can make it feel unappealing. To remedy this situation, Olivia plans to research socially conscious drama methods in preparation to design a new curriculum that she will bring to several East Bay middle schools. She will teach her students a wide range of skills, including performance techniques, […]

Yoram Savion-Royant (2008)

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Yoram Savion-Royant will work to create a new narrative of crime and punishment that promotes restorative justice. Tapping into the creative and healing power of youth, he will develop and lead a sustainable employment program in media literacy at the Youth UpRising community center in East Oakland. His young trainees will produce professional multimedia articles for the Oakland Tribune, the Alameda County Behavioral Health Services, and other public interest websites. Focused on increased policing, widespread institutional failures, and mass incarceration, their stories will document the lived experience of urban youth, […]

Michael Uy (2008)

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Michael Uy will investigate Venezuelas music education system, Fundacin del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de las Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela (FESNOJIV), more commonly known as El Sistema. Conductor Simon Rattle and other luminaries in classical music have lavished praise on El Sistemashigh musical standards and social vision. Offering free instruction, the Venezuelan government currently trains more than 250,000 youths in the instrumental and choral traditions of classical music. Uy will document the organizational, pedagogical and financial structures of this program, taking note of both successes and challenges […]