Senior Brittany Angelini has been working with Dr. Wendy Pojmann
researching the competing expressions of female sexuality and the sexual
liberation of women in Italy during the unification period. The ideas they
explored through this research is aiding Dr. Pojmann in the writing of a book.
This research has grown Brittany’s interest in the subject matter and she is
considering continuing working on research on her own and presenting
information she finds to Dr. Pojmann.
During the research process, Brittany
came across many dead ends in her research. When she felt she could really be
onto something she either couldn't find more information or there was a
language barrier. But in the end, Brittany found out that the benefits of the
research outweighed any of the challenges she had to face. Through the research
she began to see and use all the skills she has acquired at Siena the past
three and a half years. According to Brittany, “It was honestly remarkable to
realize how much [she] was capable of and how interesting research can be”.
Doing undergraduate research can
completely change your college experience. To Brittany it was something that
helped her broaden her knowledge, and it forced her to think as a historian
opposed to a student aspiring to be a historian. The work required helps show
the lengths it takes to answer your research questions to the best of your
ability. Working with Dr. Pojmann helped Brittany discover this. Brittany
describes Dr. Pojmann as, “not only an amazing mentor, but a brilliant woman
who serves as a major source of inspiration and motivation”. Undergraduate
research is an awarding experience that she would absolutely do again.
Brittany Angelini
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This summer Francis Butler assisted Dr. Bruce Eelman, Associate Professor of History, on his book project concerning mob violence in response to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. After Lincoln was assassinated, riots occurred throughout the nation as supporters of Lincoln sought to punish those who spoke out against the former President during the war or those who celebrated his assassination. The team researched where they happened, who was involved, and what other reasons provoked the riots. Francis hopes to continue his research with Dr. Eelman during the school year and thinks they could have a paper written in time for the New York State Historical Association (NYSHA) conference in 2014. Francis finds the research process to be rewarding because it allows him to explore and ask and answer his own questions about the American Civil War in a hands-on way. In his research he was able to deeply investigate the lives of the people in which he was studying. Francis discovered that finding a reliable source is a challenge while completing historical research. He occasionally had to research the author of the newspaper article he was reading to decipher the bias behind the article. Francis recently presented in the 2013 NYSHA Conference with his paper titled “To Bleed for a Higher Cause: The Excelsior Brigade and the Civil War.”