Eight Alfred University undergraduate students presented research papers based on original research at the recent Phi Alpha Theta Regional conference hosted by Nazareth College, in Rochester.
Phi Alpha Theta is a professional society dedicated to promoting the study of history through the encouragement of research, teaching, publication and the exchange of learning and ideas among historians.
The conference featured a broad range of historical subjects ranging from social justice and civil rights to revisionist histories of the United Kingdom.
"The number of Alfred students presenting at PAT each year is steadily growing,” said Mallory Szymanski, associate professor history and chairperson of the Division of Human Studies. “This is a testament to students' interest in developing research and communication skills that can set them apart. In the age of AI, a firm command of these skills is crucial to being competitive in the job market."
Szymanski co-chaperoned the trip to Rochester with Eben Levey, assistant professor of history. According to Levey, the conference was “an excellent opportunity for students to showcase their innovative original research. ... We are so proud of these students.”
Alfred students joined groups of other students in presenting individual research papers organized around the following subjects:
Social Justice and Civil Rights
Zachary Laury, “Rochester drama: How Newspapers and Cinema Pushed for Integration”
Diplomats and Dictators: US and Latin America
Riley “Séadhna” Byrne, “Partido Colorado: The Tragedy of Free Paraguay”
(Mis)Representing History in Sports and Film
Sophia McSmith, “How the AIDS Crisis Impacted Queer Representation in Film and Television During the 1980s and 1990s”
Labor and Activism in the Cold War
Alejandro Archila Martinez, “The Legacies of Sacerdotes para el Pueblo: Cold War Mexico and Religious Activism”
The Pro- and Anti-Reform Catholic Church
Johnny Molyneaux, “The Indonesian Occupation of Catholic Timor Leste”
Sean Blakley, “A Shifting Stance: The Catholic Church and Liberation Theology”
Opportunity and Peril Across the Twentieth Century
Gabriel Halabi, “Palestinian Liberation Theology: Responses, Resistance, and the Role of Key Figures in Shaping Concepts of Liberation” (Opportunity and Peril Across the Twentieth Century)
Problems and Politics of Public Health
Hunter C. Heck, “The Rise of the United States Military Veterans Healthcare”
Chair: Eben Levey
Shaping, Framing, and Narrating History,
Chair: Mallory Szymanski, Alfred University Professor of History