2007-08
Life on the Edge! Further explorations into molluscan life-histories in extreme habitats
Stereotype or New Emerging Identity?: Representation of Non-Standard Japanese in Anime
The selection committee made awards to two research teams.
Anna Dutke ’08 (Biology) and Eric Cole (biology) received an award to support their project “Life on the Edge! Further explorations into molluscan life-histories in extreme habitats.” Dutke and Cole will explore how hurricane trauma affects the sexual development of the Scaly Pearl oyster and evaluate the causes and trajectory of salination of inland ponds on San Salvador Island.
Heather D’Evelyn ’09 (Art, Asian Studies), Dain Thompson ’09 (Asian Studies, Chemistry) and Rika Ito (Asian Studies) received an award to support their project “Stereotype of New Emerging Identity?: Representation of Non-Standard Japanese in Anime." D’Evelyn, Thompson, and Ito will explore the use of Japanese dialects and linguistic nuances in the characterization of Japanese anime.
2006-07
Battle Plan for Medieval Pedagogy
Emelie Heltsley ’07 (English, Latin, and Medieval Studies) and Timothy Howe (History) received an award to support their project, “Battle Plan for Medieval Pedagogy”. Heltsley and Howe will look extensively at resources on medieval conflict in an effort to better explain the information to students. The project will study the strong influence of the Medieval era and warfare on the development of societies.
“. . . I found myself more and more intrigued with the finer details of medieval battles themselves; how they were planned, who planned the conflicts, who fought in them, and how long the battles lasted. While studying the general mechanics of warfare, I realized that I was unintentionally ignoring the important interactions between war and society. While the technical questions relating to warfare still pique my interest, the social impact of war poses equally fascinating issues: the mixing of social classes on the battlefield, various technologies that were invented and perfected for the purposes of war, and the influence of religious institutions on medieval conflicts.”
2005-06
Life on the Edge! Two studies explore life histories of marine creatures in extreme habitats
Listening In: Digital Inter(personal)activity
Mary Sidney Herbert's Literary Legacy
From a field of splendid proposals, the selection committee this year made awards to three pairs of recipients.
April Graves '05 (Biology) and Eric Cole (Biology) and Nicole Hoft-London (Mathematics) received an award to support their project "Life on the Edge! Two studies explore life histories of marine creatures in extreme habitats."
Chris Schommer '06 (Asian Studies, Art) and Patrick Kelley (Art and Art History) received an award to support their project "Listening In: Digital Inter(personal)activity."
Nancy Simpson '06 (English, Individual Major-Renaissance Studies) and Mary Trull (English) received an award to support their project "Mary Sidney Herbert's Literary Legacy."
2004-05
Taming the Yangtze: Sustainable Development Along the Yangtze River
The American Dream Uncovered: An Examination of Materialism as a Central Value
From a field of excellent proposals, the selection committee this year made awards to two pairs of recipients.
Xun Pomponio (Economics) and Brendan Mrosak '06 (Economics, Mathematics, and Asian Studies) received an award to support their project, "Taming the Yangtze: Sustainable Development Along the Yangtze River." They will travel to China in the summer of 2004.
Donna McMillan (Psychology) and Caitlin Mosman '05 (Psychology, Women's Studies) received an award to support their project, "The American Dream Uncovered: An Examination of Materialism as a Central Value."
2003-04
Environment As Impulse: Dance Improvisation in the Rainforest
The first winners of the Magnus the Good Award were Sherry Saterstrom (Dance) and Allison Lorenzen '04 (Dance). The selection committee also received excellent proposals from faculty and students in the natural sciences, social and applied sciences, fine arts, and humanities, that testify to the creativity and excellence of collaborations between students and faculty across the campus.
Saterstrom and Lorenzen's project, "Environment As Impulse: Dance Improvisation in the Rainforest," continues their work in collaborative dance and extends this collaboration to La Suerte Biological Station in the rainforest in Costa Rica. In bestowing the award, the selection committee acknowledged Saterstrom and Lorenzen's commitment to building a relationship with La Suerte, their commitment to exploring the environment through art, and their innovative use of improvisation as a way of learning.
"One of the ongoing challenges of working artistically in improvisation is stimulating a freshness of approach. The best improvisation often is sparked by the unfamiliar, the unexpected. By locating ourselves in an environment which is completely foreign to both of us, by moving outside our familiar boundaries, we hope to discover patterns and assumptions that have become a part of our improvisational process which may be worth questioning and challenging. We also imagine that the realities of this particular place with its unfamiliar landscape, language, culture, and rhythm can open us to new possibilities within dance/ movement improvisation which we have not discovered."
