The Undergraduate Research Symposium is an annual event designed to provide undergraduate students from the University of Pittsburgh and other colleges and universities in the region with advanced research experiences and opportunities to develop presentation skills. The event is open to undergraduates from all majors and institutions who have written a research paper from a social science, humanities, or business perspective focusing on the study of Eastern, Western, or Central Europe, the European Union, Russia, or other countries of the former Soviet Union.
Nancy Ries is Professor of Anthropology and Peace and Conflict Studies at Colgate University, Director of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program there, and a member of Colgate's Russian and Eurasian Studies faculty. She has done anthropological fieldwork in Russia since the 1980s, and is the author of Russian Talk: Culture and Conversation during Perestroika. Ries has published essays on Russian mafia, gender relations, and on the everyday violence of war and social conflict.
Learning Chinese characters has frequently been referred to as the "greatest challenge" for learners. Xu reports results from an empirical experiment that tries to bridge the gap between reading theories and the changing realities of learning and teaching. We specifically compared the effectiveness of three encoding methods, i.e., Reading, Writing, and stroke sequence Animation, in developing learners' receptive orthographical knowledge and productive skills. It was found that learners can recognize visual symbols as Chinese characters better when they learned by Writing and Animation.
Light refreshments will be served. For more information please contact: Dr. Mi-Hyun Kim at kimmh@pitt.edu or 412-624-5562
In music and words, two Germans from different generations reflect on the Holocaust, German history, and what it means to be German in the 21st century.
*A discussion/question and answer period will follow the talk*
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
Documentary screening of “Hool”, the story of the oppression of the Adivasis (tribals) in East India and their fight for their rights. In solidarity for Soni Sori, imprisoned Adivasi activist. Come to learn about the cost of development on the human rights of indigenous communities in India, the fate of Soni Sori, and ways to support Adivasi communities and fight violence against women.
A discussion of anthropological research and the Can't Go Native multi-film project, with excerpts from More About Mizusawa.
Panelists:
David Plath
Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Illinois
L. Keith Brown
Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh
John W. Traphagan
Faculty Research Associate and Associate Professor of Religious Studies, The University of Texas at Austin
In recent years, various influential voices in Japan have proposed that the country open itself to immigration as a partial solution to revitalize the economy, to prop up the demographic decline, and in recognition of already present streams of migration who enter through “side” or “back” doors. Where will Japan go from here? In this presentation, Roberts traces connections among developments in migration policy in recent years.
