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Karla Sales Gonzalez
Hometown: Compton, CA
Major(s): English Literature
Graduate Interests: Women Studies, Chicana/o Studies, Poetry, TESL
Scholarships and Academic Awards: Leo F. and Margaret B. Cain Emeritus Faculty Association Scholarship, First Place at CSUDH Student Research Day 2024
MMUF Mentor: Dr. Helen Oesterheld
Research Project Title: Class, Gender, and Female Agency in Fantomina: An Analysis of Eliza Haywood and 18th-Century Popular Culture
Research Project Abstract: This exploratory essay delves into the literary world of the eighteenth century and its insights into popular culture, gender, and sexuality. Eliza Haywood (1693-1756?) was a notable author who created the first periodical for women, which quickly gained the attention of many young women. Her amatory fiction depicted the realities and consequences of female agency. Fantomina: or, Love in a Maze, one of the texts often discussed in college classrooms, reflects and challenges societal norms during Haywood's lifetime, while creating conversations amongst contemporary audiences about enduring issues of class, gender, and sex. The heroine of this text asserts her agency by indulging in fantasies that are brought upon by her restraints of class and gender. This narrative shows how ideologies can shape, create, and even question our realities and experiences. Additionally, this research aims to highlight the enduring relevance of Fantomina in the twenty-first century and, more importantly, to better understand eighteenth-century society and culture.
Michael Gonzalez
Hometown: Stanton, CA
Major(s): History
Minor: Chicano Studies
Graduate Interests: Medical history, gender studies, digital history, video game history
Scholarships and Academic Awards: MMUF
MMUF Mentor: Dr. Daniel Santana
Research Project Title: Exploring the Message: Weimar Republic’s Ban on Anderes Als Die Andern Advocacy for Homosexual Relations
Research Project Abstract: This study dives into the complicated historical and cultural conditions behind the censorship of Richard Oswald's seminal 1919 silent picture, Anders Als Die Andern, during the Weimar Republic. In the aftermath of World War I, Germany's Weimar Republic emerged as a hub for artistic and cultural innovation, but it also struggled with economic insecurity, political upheaval, and societal biases. In 1920, the film, a bold investigation of homosexuality, was censored under Section 175 of the German penal code, which criminalized male-to-male relationships. This study looks into the intertwined impacts of politics, societal standards, and medical perspectives that led to the film's censorship, as well as the broader consequences for the queer community and the long-term impact on German queer rights. The research draws on prior studies, particularly Ervin Malakaj's work on gay cinema mourning, to incorporate the Weimar Republic's broader sociopolitical and medical environment. This research intends to provide a thorough picture of the queer community's problems throughout this important period by weaving together legal, medical, political, and societal elements, demonstrating their tenacity in the face of legal, medical, societal, and political obstacles. The legacy of discriminatory laws, particularly Paragraph 175, shaped the landscape of male-to-male relationships in following periods of German history, underlining the continuous need for knowledge, empathy, and activism for queer rights. Anders Als Die Andern is a historical document that reflects the struggles of the queer community, with its explicit engagement with medical ideas placing it as an enduring artifact. The impact of the film on queer representation, its role as a cinematic advocacy tool, and the lasting legacy of discriminatory laws highlight the need of remembering and correcting historical injustices in order to promote inclusivity, equality, and justice in modern society.
Jose M. Dominguez
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Major(s): Anthropology
Graduate Interests: Migration, Kinship Studies, Gender Studies, Film Studies
Scholarships and Academic Awards: McNair Scholar, Dean's Honor Roll
MMUF Mentor: Dr. Sarah R. Taylor
Research Project Title: Unaccompanied & Undocumented: Depictions of Fictive Kinship & Unaccompanied Minors in Film
Research Project Abstract: Migrating from Central America, through Mexico, to the U.S. is an arduous and dangerous quest. Yet, thousands of Central American and Mexican migrants, of all ages, embark on this journey yearly with no guarantee of whether they will ever reach their desired destinations. Although the plight of unaccompanied migrant children has become a highly debated topic within modern American politics, a less discussed aspect of unaccompanied minor migration is that of fictive kinship bonds that are formed between unaccompanied migrant children and other migrants. In Patricia Riggen’s drama film, Under the Same Moon, and Rebecca Cammisa’s documentary film, Which Way Home, we get a glimpse into the experiences of unaccompanied migrant children who form unique bonds with friends, and with other strangers, that reinforce their migration prospects. While the friends and acquaintances that our main characters, Carlitos from Under the Same Moon and Kevin from Which Way Home, meet along their journeys are denoted as nothing more than secondary and tertiary characters in their respective films, the assistance and the support that they provide produce tangible evidence that fictive kin relationships are present, constant, and greatly important in transnational migration experiences. In this project, I argue that the visualizations of the extended family and of fictive kinship practices found in both films juxtapose Talcott Parsons’ theory of the diminishing importance of fictive kin and the extended family in modern industrialized societies. In line with David Schneider’s critique of kinship studies, I also propose that kinship studies within anthropology must look beyond genealogical connections and biological relationships derived from reproduction, to fully understand what kinship looks like cross-culturally.
Diana Chavez
Hometown: Long Beach, CA
Major(s): Anthropology
Minor: History of Indigenous People
Graduate Interests: Archaeology, Biological Anthropology
Scholarships and Academic Awards: MMUF and McNair
MMUF Mentor: Dr. Kenneth Seligson
Research Project Title: Stars, Sanctuaries and Platforms: Investigating Spatial Orientation in the Maya Lowlands
Research Project Abstract: At the heart of Maya culture are sacred spaces. Sacred spaces are found and were used throughout Mesoamerica, designed for devotion and communion with the gods. Beyond their intended spiritual usage, these sacred spaces were a powerful tool for the legitimization of political leaders and communal gatherings. This research project aims to investigate the spatial orientation and possible uses of buildings and platforms at Xanab Chak, a small-scale pre-Hispanic Maya archaeological site in the Puuc region of the northern lowlands of Yucatan. One of the main goals of the study is to explore the possible cosmological, ritual, or socio-political reasons behind the fourteen to seventeen-degree east of north alignment. The analysis will focus on identifying patterns and anomalies in the orientations of buildings and platforms while exploring connections between the orientations and other aspects of pre-Hispanic Maya culture. The goal of this analysis is to gain a better understanding of ancient life through material culture, investigating possible trade networks, and ritual sites, and how this affects the social organization of the ancient Maya civilization.
Efrain Contreras
Hometown: Norwalk, CA
Major(s): History
Graduate Interests: American Studies
Scholarships and Academic Awards: SCR Award secession and College Award; McNair
MMUF Mentor: Dr. Kerry Shannon
Research Project Title: Joseph Conrad’s Criticism of Imperialism and Colonialism Through Literature
Research Project Abstract: This paper looks into the early criticism of imperialism and colonialism through literature, mainly through Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness. The paper goes into detail about how in Heart of Darkness Conrad paints the dark reality of the rule of King Leopold II of Belgium through his characters. These characters criticized not only King Leopold but other colonial powers of the time. For example, the character Kertz symbolizes the British Empire. The book is also used by Conrad to share his personal experience in the Congo and to spread awareness to the world to show the hypocrisy of nationalism and imperialism. The paper also shows the influence of the book and how it inspires other works, and how it contributes to the global agenda to end King Leopold’s rule of the Congo. The book's popularity over time has contributed to the growing condemnation of imperialism.