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How To Teach History: What lessons the international community can learn from post-1949 Taiwanese educational policy
Get PDFThis project began with a personal question: what was the story behind the Chinese textbooks my mother used to teach me as a child? Unlike my peers, I learned Mandarin using Taiwanese textbooks that were passed down from my grandparents. These books—written under martial law and Kuomintang (KMT) rule—contained passages glorifying Chiang Kai-shek and vilifying Communists. As I entered Pomona College, my past questions sparked a deeper investigation into the educational policy of Taiwan. With mentorship from Pomona faculty and librarians, I began archival research using historical Taiwanese teaching guidelines owned by the Claremont Colleges’ Special Collections. I then pursued my research by traveling to Taiwan over the summer, accessing archives at the National Academy for Educational Research and Academia Sinica. There, I examined the evolution of state-sponsored history across decades and uncovered public debates around textbook reforms during Taiwan’s democratization in the late 1990s. These findings became central to my digital exhibit for the Asian Library and inspired an upcoming research panel on the politicization of history. This project, which highlighted the narratives of history that nations use to construct collective memory and identity, shows the ways in which historicizing education can actually reveal what people want for their futures
BRIDGING THE GREEN DIVIDE: Sustainable Community Development and Climate Resilience in Altadena, CA
Get PDFSustainable Community Development (SCD) is widely debated as a climate mitigation strategy, with recognized benefits such as reducing carbon footprints, enhancing public health, and fostering economic resilience. However, a major critique is its limited accessibility to marginalized communities. In particular, the resilience embedded in rebuilding plans does not necessarily translate to real access for those whose insurance coverage may not be sufficient to afford conventional design services or reconstruction costs. This thesis argues that while SCD is an effective tool for climate mitigation, its success depends on equitable access—not just in principle, but in the material capacity to participate in and benefit from rebuilding efforts. Using Altadena, CA, as a model, this research applies resilient urban planning principles — incorporating SCD and LEED certification — to mitigate the effects of the Eaton wildfire disaster and enhance long-term climate resilience. The methodology includes mapping, site visits, stakeholder interviews, and a neighborhood redesign within Altadena. The final deliverable proposes a sustainable, walkable community redesign along Morada Place, El Molino Avenue, Mendocino Avenue, and Lake Avenue. Ultimately, this study demonstrates that SCD can be a powerful climate resilience strategy, but its impact depends on equitable implementation
The Solar Maya: Resilience and Strength in the Face of Climate Change
Get PDFThe solar maya of Yucatán, Mexico is an example of a sustainable agroecosystem that holds the potential to embed resilience in the livelihoods of those who utilize it. However, this traditional and indigenous system of agriculture is threatened by the immense forces of urbanization and modernization imposed on the area. I conducted research that included 14 different in-person and online interviews of academic and local personnel in Mérida and in nearby Yucatecan municipalities as well as visited seven different solares mayas, documenting my findings through audio recordings and photographs. With this collection of qualitative data, I found trends in the strengths of the solar maya in resistance to undesirable weather conditions as well as providing a buffer for those who utilize this system to sudden market shifts. However, there are several challenges that the solar maya faces, such as privatization of land, migration from rural areas to urban centers, and increased reliance on modern products and technology. The solar maya is slowly diminishing in younger generations, which could possibly extinguish this form of indigenous knowledge altogether. Despite these threats to its survival, the solar maya is a powerful example of an agroforestry system that can be resilient to moderately harsh climatic conditions and resistant to neoliberal expansions of the market
Swimming in Sh*t: Quantifying Lagoon Flushing Impacts on Fecal Indicator Bacteria in Surf Zones of Three Beaches on the East End of Long Island, NY
Get PDFThis thesis investigates how lagoon flushing influences fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) concentrations—specifically enterococcus bacteria—in the surf zones of East Hampton and Southampton, New York. Focusing on the coastal lagoons of Georgica Pond, Sagg Pond, and Mecox Bay, the study analyzes how episodic inlet openings and environmental conditions affect enterococcus levels at adjacent recreational beaches. Using over 700 observations from the Surfrider Foundation’s Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) database, I construct a series of statistical models ranging from ordinary least squares to mixed effects frameworks; this thesis shows my process in developing this model. My analysis reveals that open inlets between lagoons and the ocean significantly increase surf zone enterococcus concentrations by approximately 35–44%, with lagoon bacteria levels also exhibiting a persistent, positive relationship with beach bacteria levels. Although environmental factors such as wave height and tide had insignificant impacts on surf-zone enterococcus concentrations, their incorporation modestly improves model explanatory power. My findings underscore the critical role of coastal hydrodynamics in water quality management and suggest that targeted monitoring during inlet openings and storm events could improve public health outcomes. This study demonstrates the utility—and limitations—of community science data and statistical modeling in advancing local water quality assessments in under-monitored regions
Untangling the Classification of Surfaces: an Accessibility-Centered Perspective on Topology
Get PDFMathematics has clear benefits in education, from preparing students for future careers to teaching them how to problem-solve. While mathematics achievement has been falling in recent decades, students claim that the problem is not the mathematics itself, but the ‘boring’ classroom material that feels removed from real life. More advanced mathematics topics, such as topology, could offer a solution, as their applications lie in countless fields. However, topology has been restricted to upper-level mathematics, disregarding the potential benefits of making this material broadly reachable for a junior high-school audience. In this paper, we analyze five different proofs of the theorem concerning the Classification of Surfaces with this goal of accessibility in mind. Based on these findings, we will generate a more accessible, holistic proof of the Classification of Surfaces that is both rigorous and approachable for students experienced with single-variable calculus. Through this project, we aim to increase engagement in mathematics and place it into the real world
ARGUING SEDUCTION: THE EROTIC INVITATION AND THE TEXTURE OF SUBJECT IN EARLY MODERN POETIC TRADITION
No full textThis thesis conducts a survey of the device of the erotic invitation poem in early modern literature in an analysis of Katherine Philips\u27 poem, Friendship\u27s Mystery, William Shakespeare\u27s narrative poem, Venus and Adonis, and Aphra Behn\u27s play, The City Heiress. This thesis considers the relationship between speaker and subject within the invitation poem and the development of autonomy for the erotic subject across literary mediums, from poetry to drama
SEX, SPECTACLE, AND SUICIDE: CLEOPATRA AND LUCRETIA IN THE RENAISSANCE
No full textI illuminate how fusing together page and portrait renders that while Shakespeare’s texts reveal why Cleopatra and Lucretia commit suicide and the biases placed against them, Gentileschi’s paintings allow both women to exist in their own context, such that they are defined not by their relations to men but are allowed to be autonomous in how they commit suicide
Rooted in Neutrality: Cassava, Colonial Histories, and the Evolution of Cultural Identity
No full textThis thesis examines cassava\u27s evolving cultural, historical, and political meanings, a crop marked by its neutrality in taste yet deeply entangled in global histories of colonialism, survival, and identity-making. Chapter 1 traces cassava’s complex journey from Indigenous cultivation in Brazil to its role in sustaining colonial economies and local communities across West Africa and Southeast Asia, highlighting its dual function as both a tool of imperial exploitation and a vital resource for resilience. Chapters 2 and 3 present contemporary case studies that explore cassava’s continued evolution in diasporic spaces: among Malayali communities in the United States, where cassava-based dishes anchor communal identity, and in Singapore, where cassava transforms into a national symbol through the reinvention of tradition. Through historical analysis, ethnographic research, and self-anthropological work, this study demonstrates how cassava’s meanings have been continuously reinterpreted across time and place, serving as both a witness to histories of violence and a living medium for cultural continuity and reinvention
Effects of Early-Life Social Status on Vasopressin Signaling in A. burtoni
No full textThe neuropeptide vasopressin (AVP) is associated with a variety of social behaviors in vertebrates, including aggression. In fish, AVP is found in the preoptic area of the hypothalamus (POA). AVP’s relationship with aggression is variable, but previous research shows that AVP is correlated with adult male aggression. AVP’s enmeshment with aggression suggests a possible effect of AVP on juvenile dominance, but this effect is not well-understood. In this study, the link between juvenile social status, aggression, and AVP expression in the POA is investigated. A. burtoni were used in this study as fish that readily form size-based status relationships as juveniles. Juveniles were paired, habituated in order to form a dominance hierarchy based on size, and then small fish were isolated. Small fish were either placed back in their home tank, or introduced to a new tank with an unfamiliar large fish. Agonistic behaviors between fish pairs were quantified. Brains were collected 1 hour after reintroduction of small fish, and an RNAscope in situ hybridization assay was performed in order to map AVP mRNA expression. Results showed that large fish exhibited more aggressive behaviors than did small fish, affirming a size-based dominance hierarchy, but there was no significant effect of treatment on behavior. AVP expression was treatment-dependent: stable groups had higher AVP levels than did switch groups, but expression was not significantly impacted by social status. These results may contradict research that supports AVP’s association with aggression, but underlies the importance of the relationship between AVP and juvenile A. burtoni