Volu m e I - Purdue University Calumet

SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
The 2011 Clement S. Stacy Undergraduate Research Conference was perhaps the most
successful in the 19-year series of these wonderful events. Held for the first time at Purdue
Calumet’s Academic Learning Center in Merrillville, Indiana, the conference consisted of
presentations that were insightful, well-researched and thought-provoking. The setting and the
impressive quality of the presentations made this year’s conference a truly marvelous experience.
I am extremely pleased that the work of these students is published in these electronic
proceedings, and I hope you will enjoy reviewing the outstanding papers contained herein.
Research is important in its own right, and there is great value in affording undergraduate
students the opportunity to engage in research and disseminate their findings. At the conference
in April, the students were presenters; here in the proceedings, the students are authors. Their
topics include areas of literature, film studies, philosophy, communication studies, political
science, history, religious studies, psychology, gender studies, sociology, and more.
To the faculty mentors, friends and family of the students, I send my sincere thanks for your
support of the students and their important work. I would also like to publically acknowledge
Purdue Calumet’s Ruby d’Azevedo, who this year was the principal conference organizer and
sole editor of these proceedings. Her efforts, though not always obvious, were absolutely crucial
to the success of this year’s event and this subsequent publication.
Again, congratulations to the student authors. I very much hope to see you continue your
excellent work in the liberal arts and social sciences.
John Rowan
Dr. John Rowan, Interim Dean
School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Purdue University Calumet