Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Non:Wa: Navigating Indigenous Modernity Through Female Artists' Perspectives, Nicole Bussey

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This article examines the relationship between tradition and modern elements of Indigenous music through a cyclical perspective, and challenges colonial concepts of Indigenous modernity. Indigenous culture is often portrayed in mainstream culture as a relic of the past, which renders it incompatible with modernity. With a special focus on Indigenous female artists’ perspectives, I examine the ways in which women placed in this unique intersection challenge the binaries of past/present and tradition/modern.

Mapping Governmental Engagement With Community Engaged Learning In Canadian Higher Education: An Environmental Scan Of Key Trends, Hannah R. Argiloff

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This is an environmental survey my supervisor and I conducted pertaining to the landscape of government engagement with Community Engaged Learning in Canadian Universities.

Community Engaged Learning (CEL) is a valuable type of experiential learning characterized by collaboration between student and community partner/ stakeholder for the creation of a mutual outcome.

Given the relations between provincial governments and their influence over publicly funded universities, compounded by a recent uptick in CEL programs across Canada, we wanted to survey government rhetoric, policy, and legislation across the country to create a picture of the interactions between provincial governments and CEL in the …

Modernizing And Diversifying Western's Audio Engineering Curriculum: First Stage, Kyle Haddad

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This was the first stage in a much larger study designed to update the audio engineering curriculum at Western University, to reflect modern trends and to diversify beyond the UK 1970s prog rock bias of traditional curriculum. An undergraduate student was hired from within the Popular Music Studies program here at Western University to work in the studio for the summer, and to provide recommendations for change in studio design at the end fo the summer based on that work. The student worked on his own material, and engineered record sessions for a PhD candidate currently at work on a …

The Myth Of Fanfiction: An Examination Of Two Deeply Connected Traditions Of Storytelling, Fionntan I. Ferris Mr.

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Fanfiction is an often dismissed medium of storytelling, however our investigation shows that it is deeply linked to the storytelling tradition of Classical mythology. Through the lens of classical reception studies we will examine the shared structures of these mediums as well as the deeper meaning they have and had to their audience in order to establish this deep connection. This paper will conclude with an investigation of why, despite their deep similarities, copyright law has led to fanfiction becoming derided while myth is placed on a pedestal.

Classical Reception In The Pre-Revolutionary Art Of Jacques Louis David, Christopher Neibert

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

No abstract provided.

"A Gesture Of Solidarity Through Music": Local And International Community In Canadian Benefit Concerts For Ukraine, Charlotte M. Lilley

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

In the months following Russia's February 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the Canadian music community responded by hosting a number of benefit concerts. In contrast to the precedents set by well-known, large-scale benefit concerts such as 1985's "Live Aid", these concerts were strongly rooted in the local context of the events' hosts and centred the voices and experiences of members of their beneficiary community. Combined with the potential of these events to allow individuals and groups to combat feelings of helplessness and to serve as forms of resistance against the Russian regime, this has allowed these concerts to create and …

Investigating Six Nations Day School Records From 1879 To 1953, Sarah Stavridis

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

From the 1860s to the 1990s, approximately 700 Indian Day Schools operated across Canada, with twelve being in Six Nations of the Grand River. Day schools were intended to assimilate Indigenous children, to erase Indigenous cultures and languages. Children experienced physical, verbal, and sexual abuse.

Library and Archives Canada have digitized, publicly accessible microfilm reels containing files from residential schools and day schools. To make the information regarding the Six Nations and New Credit Day Schools more accessible, I catalogued the content in the files into a searchable database and summarized the notable findings in a poster.

“A Content And Thematic Analysis Of #Instagramvsreality Images And Captions On Instagram” (Powerpoint), Meaghan Furlano, Kaitlynn Mendes

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

A couple of years ago, the “Instagram vs. reality” trend sprung from Instagram’s body positivity movement. The trend encourages Instagram users to post side-by-side images of themselves — one side being the highly curated “Instagram” depiction and the other being a more ‘real’ depiction. One study has explored the trend academically, and it found that engaging with “Instagram vs reality” and “reality” images decreased body dissatisfaction amongst its participants relative to viewing idealized “Instagram” images. In an effort to understand who is participating in the trend, what they are contributing to the trend, and why they are engaging with it, …

English Translations Of Two German All-Souls’-Day Pieces, Taro Omori

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Since the early eighteenth century the Don Juan legend was a popular subject in Austrian theatres on All Souls' Day (November 2); a peculiar custom, given that the main character is a libertine who indulges in excesses without any fear of divine retribution. One such work was Anton Cremeri's Der steinerne Gast (The Stone Guest) published in 1787; coincidentally Mozart's Don Giovanni premiered in the same year.

In the nineteenth century Don Juan gradually disappeared from the stage, but the custom of performing plays on All Souls' Day did not. Ernst Raupach's 1835 piece Der Müller und sein Kind (The …

A Qualitative Look Into Repair Practices, Jumana Labib

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This research poster is based on a working research paper which moves beyond the traditional scope of repair and examines the Right to Repair movement from a smaller, more personal lens by detailing the 6 categorical impediments as dubbed by Dr. Alissa Centivany (design, law, economic/business strategy, material asymmetry, informational asymmetry, and social impediments) have continuously inhibited repair and affected repair practices, which has consequently had larger implications (environmental, economic, social, etc.) on ourselves, our objects, and our world. The poster builds upon my research from last year (see "The Right to Repair: (Re)building a better future"), this time pulling …

Creating A Commercial Classical Music Recording, Winnie Zheng

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

An outline of the process to create a classical music recording for commercial use in the style of a “how-to” guide. The guide aims to present the three main steps of creating a commercial classical music recording, which includes recording, editing, and creating post-mastering materials such as an album cover. The purpose of this guide is to make classical music-making more accessible to a variety of audiences and provide a behind the scenes view on how classical music recordings are created.

Cold Turkey: A Mass Smoking Cessation Event Induced By A Film, Elsie E. Sheppard

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Popular culture can influence how people act in real life. The film Cold Turkey, directed by Norman Lear, provides an example of how people can take inspiration from a film's plot and recreate it to an extent. The people of Greenfield, Iowa, where Cold Turkey was filmed, decided to quit smoking for 30 days, similar to the movie's events. As a result, tobacco companies, such as Philip Morris International, became interested in how and why these people quit smoking for a prolonged period.

My project aimed to compile documents, interviews, and other content about Cold Turkey, Norman Lear, and the …

Philosophy Of Technology: The Creation Of A New Course, Anthony Tannous

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Technology has become such an enormous part of our daily lives that we often forget how much we rely on it. Although we may appreciate how technology has made our lives easier, we also realize the detriments that come with it. The purpose of this project was to create a syllabus for a new course being taught at Western called Philosophy of Technology. The course is designed to provide students with several philosophical points of view on technology to create and encourage the discussion of common questions in the Philosophy of Technology.

Doris Mccarthy: Life And Work, Sydney T. Mcarthur

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This project involved research for Prof. John Hatch’s monograph on the Canadian landscape artist Doris McCarthy, with the objective of completing all preliminary research by the end of the internship period. The resulting book will be published by the Art Canada Institute with an expected publication date of Fall 2023.

Attached includes a powerpoint/video summary of my research and what I learned. As well as an essay, and proposed sub-section of the book, titled McCarthy as a Woman Artist, which goes into detail on how McCarthy's life and career corresponds with social issues at the time.

Decolonizing Toronto Theatre, Hanna Shore

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This research project, “Decolonizing Toronto Theatre,” examines how Soulpepper, a mainstream Toronto theatre company, and their collaboration with Native Earth Performing Arts are contributing to the equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization of Toronto theatre through their recent Indigenous productions: Kamloopa and Where the Blood Mixes. We watched, read, and analyzed both plays to explore how these two productions transform and redefine the intellectual, political, and artistic conventions of Anglo-Canadian theatre. Our analyses of these plays are informed by the various texts centred around Canadian Indigenous history and Indigenous theatre. We also used an ethnographic approach by talking to people …

Collection Of Violin Technique Fundamentals, Patricio Flores Esquivel

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This book provides a sampling of exercises and studies for violin playing. It serves as both a collection of useful materials and a reference to other studies and exercises aimed at the playing level of an average incoming violin student at Western University. This compilation of exercises is sorted according to the fundamental aspect of violin technique that each exercise addresses.

Much of the book is made up of patterns and variations on studies and exercises that are sorted by skill and designed to be reusable and useful for other studies beyond this book, as well as violin repertoire. It …

The Black Artiste: Politization As Racialization, Matthew Dawkins

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The idea that the personal doubles as the political is a modern analysis of socio- political regimes, popularized by second-wave feminism in the 1960s. However, this understanding has become increasingly relevant for a number of ideologies due to the ways in which modern political frameworks (ie. campaigns, policies, legislation, etc.) continue to target marginalized groups while the global social consciousness demands that political leaders rectify social issues in political arenas.

In this research project, I challenge the relationship between the personal and the political for Black artists in order to examine the extent to which Black art is inherently political. …

Forest City Memories: A Comprehensive Look At Black History In London Ontario, Isaac Edward Mapp

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The way we record history and reflect on the events of the past often shows the present foundation a community stands on to be socially sustainable and to look toward the future with better clarity. The city of London’s history is some of the richest in Ontario, and the heroism surrounding this history is proudly planted throughout the nooks and crannies of London and beyond. Anyone walking through Victoria Park will notice the Holy Roller tank which fought on D-Day and beyond, or the war memorial featuring a proud and rigid soldier and canons to celebrate Victoria Park and London’s …

Community-Engaged Learning: The National Response Within Institutions, Sarena Akhter

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Community-engaged learning (CEL) has become a relevant part of the current experiential and community culture, with more than 30 universities in Canada (and likely more) partaking in some form of CEL at their institution. However, how does each institution implement CEL, and how accessible are digital media and resources for students and communities who want to learn more about CEL at these institutions? Our research primarily focuses on data collection from digital media (e.g., websites, articles, Google searches) and draws conclusions based on our findings. Our team focuses on rating the overall culture of CEL in Canada based on the …

The Nature Of Well-Being, Shai L. Butler

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This research project focuses on the nature and causes of well-being. Though the study of well-being has proliferated in recent years, the nature and causes of well-being are difficult to discern. This research aims to gain clarity by appealing to the disciplines of philosophy and psychology.

Well-being is a multi-dimensional construct and has been philosophized and theorized by many scholars and thought leaders throughout history. This research aggregates a multitude of theories, approaches, and philosophies to explain the nature of well-being. Psychologists created SWPP, SWB, lifespan research, emotional regulation and mindfulness theory, PWB, and WBT to understand well-being. Additionally, they …

The Growing Discipline Of African Diasporic & Black Studies In Canadian Post-Secondary Institutions, Xie Xin Lin

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Broadly defined as the survey of African diasporas, Black studies aims to think critically about both the histories and contemporary social climates of Black cultures.
It is moreover a subject that recognizes, celebrates and most importantly learns from the diversity of Black worlds.

This project aims to highlight the prevalence of Black studies programs in Canadian post-secondary institutions. It also seeks to discuss and emphasize the importance of Black studies in pedagogy, especially in the traditional academia but also beyond classrooms.

The Necessity Of Public Humanities, Matthew Dawkins

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Post-secondary institutions have, for decades, had little to no relationship with local communities and their projects/programming, However, recently as the university has begun to take seriously the benefits of practices such as 'experiential learning', 'community engagement, 'knowledge mobilization', and 'civic duty', public humanities as an emerging field has begun to present itself as a priority for many in the academy. In this research, the feasibility of the public humanities as an avenue for the academe and the community to meaningfully collaborate is discussed and tested.

Four Canadian Faculties Of Music: A Preliminary Investigation Into Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, And De-Colonization In Post Secondary Education, Cynthia Lê, Sara Shifaw

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This study, conducted through the lens of two Asian and African Canadian students and their lived experiences, examines four institutions, the University of British Columbia, the University of Toronto, McGill University, Western University, and the ways in which each addresses Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization (EDI-D). Accessing public documents such as syllabi, course descriptions, event calendars, published articles, strategic plans, released statements from students and faculty, and their online social media platforms, data was analyzed using qualitative document analysis (Altheide, Coyle, DeVriese, & Schneider, 2008). Overall themes were uncovered and examined (Cousins & Bourgeois, 2014; Khan & VanWynsberghe, 2008) including …

Creation Of The Database For The Don Wright Faculty Of Music's Opera Costume Collection, Ashley Carpenter

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Over the course of my USRI, I created a database to organize and display the costume collection from the Don Wright Faculty of Music Opera Program at Western University. This process consisted of a series of phases with a focus on digitizing the costume collection so that it is accessible and sustainable. Extraction, sorting, creation, development, photograph, organization, and consultation constituted the progression of the new costume database. The extraction phase featured the removal and assessment of the costumes. This provided a visualization of the costume collection in its entirety and thus, guided the creation of the database. The sorting …

Researching The Occupations And Lives Of Women In 19th Century Baltimore, Michaela N. Yarmol-Matusiak

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This blog post focuses on the process and output of the 3 research projects I completed this summer; 2 of which focused on compiling historical data on the occupations and lives of women in 19th century Baltimore. In the document, I walk through the multi-faceted process of sorting an 1858 scanned archival document into an organized Excel spreadsheet that solely represents women. As well, I describe the process of using, compiling, and presenting historic American census data from the 1800s from the Social Explorer Database. In both of these cases, I show how the forces of race, class, and gender …

Excavations At North Field Poster, Sydney G. Durham

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Ongoing excavations of the North Field,Vindolanda site reveal fascinating results about the military occupation of early Roman-Britain. Features of the industrial complex (kiln and dryers), ash and smoke pits, ditch cuts, and artifacts of tools, ceramics and everyday objects help archaeologists contextualize military life and production here at the North Field. The excavation of three early shallow cut ditches between 2010-2014 reinforce that the site hadprolonged occupation and use of the fort pre-dated the main site’s earliest date of 85 AD, possibly for construction and/or defensive purposes. The excavation of the later small and large kiln/dryer reveal continued production of …

Mozart And Genius: Music And Philosophy, Aidan Witvoet

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This output poster serves as an overview to my efforts and responsibilities throughout the duration of the internship. Here I also showcase a brief sample of the concepts and areas of exploration within which I have been immersed, both in regards to the the content of the book I am helping to prepare for publishing as well as accompanying readings and discussions.

Assessing Reading Comprehension And Memory Recall Of Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Jasmeen Mander

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This project examined the influence of background knowledge on reading comprehension and memory recall of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in comparison to typically developing children. Furthermore, the true or false scores and average story recalls of the two groups of children, ADHD and without ADHD were also compared. The participants varied in ages 9-14 years old and were assigned a self-paced reading task followed by 24 true or false questions and two memory recall questions. For both groups of children, the amount of background knowledge an individual conveyed did not correlate to their reading comprehension and memory recall. …

Ten 'Thorny' Data Collection Practices Of Research Use, Proshat Nouri

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

When conducting research, there are various ethical dilemmas associated with the practices researchers engage in and with. Once the notion of data privacy and collection are integrated into research, the ambiguity surrounding ethics and whether a practice is deemed ethical heightens. This research output presents ten scenarios of research use that demonstrate thorny data collection practices.

Problems Of Portrayal: Archaeology, Viktoria Bodo

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Survey of the accurate and inaccurate portrayal of archaeology in the media