Journal of Undergraduate Research

Catherine Hollingsworth and Rick Duerden, English Department Introduction The Merchant of Venice poses problems concerning the representation—a social and cultural construction—of gender and Judaism. Some critics wonder whether or not this play should be performed now: could and should modern audiences experience The Merchant of Venice? This study argues that this play should be performed […]

Colleen McQuay and Dawan Coombs, English Introduction The Common Core State Standards call for students to be better able to comprehend and close read literature when it states that students will be able to “read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it.”1 However, even though this is […]

Victoria Fox and Brandie Siegfried, English Introduction The purpose of this project was to recover source documents regarding the life of a significant 16th-century woman who has been otherwise largely left out of history. Barbara d’Austria, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, was an intensely religious and ambitious […]

Ashley Brocious and Dr. Leslee Thorne-Murphy, English Department Introduction Studies in masculinity have grown significantly in the last decades as conversations concerning gender have become more conscious of the meanings and constructions of gender in men’s experiences. Masculinity studies at its core questions the assumption that men have already achieved gender equality. Rather than blanketing […]

Jenna Carson and Patrick Madden, English Department Introduction I wrote creative non-fiction essays about my experiences with Mexican migrant workers living in Florida. Originally, I planned to focus primarily on their stories of survival in order to increase awareness among U.S. citizens; I wanted readers to understand many of the complications of illegal immigration, and […]

Lauren Fine and Brian Jackson, English Introduction We’ve all experienced moments where we walk in and feel the tension in the room. Even before our minds can process what’s happening, we start to mirror the emotions of the people we’re around. Instances like this, where the emotion (or affect) one person is feeling subconsciously triggers […]

Sara Guggisberg and Dr. Frank Christianson, BYU English Department Most of Mark Twain’s novels, full of sharp wit and relevant social commentary, suggest his strong ability to read people and create characters that endure through decades, while still concealing his own opinion on society beneath layers of sardonic criticism or feigned admiration. But A Horse’s […]

Caroline Howard and Dawan Coombs, English Introduction Recently, studies have been conducted to measure the effects of mentored writing experiences on people struggling with low self-efficacy. Some studies intervene in high security prisons, where people with low self-perception reside. Writing has proven to help restore a sense of dignity in prison inmates because of its […]

Brittany Strobelt, Kylan Rice, Dr. Matthew Wickman, and Dr. Billy Hall, English Department The continual digitalization of society has not only permeated research in the Humanities, but is constantly revealing just how crucial it is to the Humanities’ future. Whereas research in the Humanities is normally limited to a very narrow dataset, digital humanities tools […]

Kylan Rice and Conner Bassett with Dr. Susan Howe, English In a socially mediated age marked by competing identity politics, fractured and proliferating interests, and streamlined global connectivity, networking and community-building have become invaluable components of any venture /career goal. This is as true for lawyers or politicians as it is for poets and artists. […]