The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) Program is the centerpiece of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s initiatives to increase diversity in the faculty ranks of institutions of higher learning. Established in 1988, the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship works to achieve its mission by identifying and supporting students of great promise and helping them to become scholars of the highest distinction who will go on to transform the academy.
Attend the MMUF Info Session on February 4th from 4-5 p.m. at the Lecture Hall in English House.
Jasmine Marshall
Anthropology and Classical Languages double major, Co-Coordinator of Black at Bryn Mawr, Supervisor at Erdman Dining Hall
Mentor: Visit. Asst. Prof. of Classics Miriam Kamil, Visit. Asst. Prof. of Classics Carman Romano, Assoc. Prof. of Anthropology Susanna Fioratta
My research aims to uncover how race and ethnic "othering" were understood in antiquity, specifically in Ancient Rome during the Late Republic Period. To answer my research questions, I am looking at both literary sources (such as Livy’s historical work, Ab Urbe Condita) and material culture from this period.
My research has benefitted me because I believe it allows me to engage with anthropology and classics in more meaningful and personal ways. As I conduct my own research outside of the classroom, I’m able to think about these subjects more critically and in a way that truly interests me. My research has also benefited my academics because I am able to apply many of the things I learn in my own research to my classes and vice versa. I love being able to explore these multidisciplinary connections, which is one of the reasons why I love my research in the first place! This fellowship has also helped prepare me for post-graduation because it reassures me that this is the area of academia in which I’m interested in working. Especially with the support of MMUF, I now know that I want to go to graduate school with a focus on these topics and will hopefully pursue a career in them in the future as well.
Daniella Jacob
Religion major, Anthropology minor, Co-Coordinator of Black at Bryn Mawr, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, SGA
Mentor: Associate Professor of Religion Molly Farneth (Haverford College)
My research focuses on how immigrants practice rest in their homelands and how those rest practices change in submission to American capitalism. My methods include archival research from the early waves of immigration, such as diary entries, religious commentaries, and stories of (un)employment. I also delve into colonial impositions of time and forms of "peasant resistance" to those unfamiliar conceptions of time. My current cultures of interest are Indian, South African, and Chilean.
My research topic arose from my experiences in and among the Indian immigrant community. I have personally seen how the impact of rest, the lack thereof, and remaining iterations of native forms of rest can radiate out in waves within a community. A personal benefit arises because I'm constantly attentive to rest and the consequences that can arise from not valuing it.
In other ways, my research has been discouraging. The context of my research makes it clear that the doctrines of Christianity have been proselytized as a form of oppression by colonizers. This was damaging in such a way that it blighted so many parts of cultural and cognitive diversity. However, seeing how cultures have reclaimed Scripture and realized its liberatory potential has shown me the persistence of both truth and humankind.
Esénia Bañuelos
Linguistics & English double major, Education Studies minor, President of Enable, Representative for the Students for Disability Justice Committee, and VP of Mujeres*
Mentor: Assoc. Prof. of Linguistics Brooke Danielle Lillehaugen (Haverford College)
My research is focused on the retention of multilingualism and the acquisition of multiple languages by Indigenous youth in the United States and México, with a focus on the reclamation of Mesoamerican Indigenous languages such as Zapotec and Huichol. I study language shift and reclamation technologies performed by educators in primary institutions in Oaxaca.
My research has been incredibly eye-opening as I am a reconnecting academic of Wixárika descent seeking to publish further and realize additional opportunities for linguistic justice through the creation of online talking dictionaries, textbooks, and pedagogical materials. My research would not have been possible without the extensive planning and privilege that the Mellon Mays program afforded me in my opportunity to conduct fieldwork, including recording, performing linguistic analyses of, and being in dialogue with Central Valley Zapotec languages and their speakers, educators, artists, artisans. Further, I am incredibly indebted to the Teotitlán del Valle, San Lucas Quiaviní, and San Jeronimó Tlacochahuaya pueblos with whom I am collaborating on this work. I have presented my work in social justice-oriented academic spaces such as the Mellon Mays Mid-Atlantic conference in Philadelphia, PA. I will also be returning to Oaxaca this year to present my work. I intend to pursue a Ph.D. in Linguistics with a focus on Critical Indigenous studies. Through the MMUF, I have been connected to several incredible professors from universities across the United States doing insider research on Indigenous languages.
Jackie Araujo
Political Science and Sociology major, Latin American, Iberian, & Latina/o Studies minor, Posse Scholar
Mentors: Assoc. Prof. of Poli. Sci. Marissa Golden, Assoc. Prof. of Sociology Veronica Montes, Asst. Prof of Spanish Juan Suárez Ontaneda
My Mellon Mays research revolves around the role of music in the Latinx Community, where I use ethnomusicology as a method of understanding. I want to investigate the following research questions:
- How is music used as a political tool to mobilize the Latinx Migrant Community?
- To what extent is music also used as a tool to appeal to our emotions?
- To what extent is music used to cope and deal with experiences in our lives?
Specifically, I am interested in how the history and presence of Nortena Music in the 21st century mobilized Mexican migrants. For this question, I focus on Los Tigres del Norte, a Norteno group known as la voz del pueblo or “the voice of the people,” which addresses different issues directly affecting the Latinx Community in the US.
My research has benefited me throughout my time at Bryn Mawr College, both academically and personally. I have been able to gain a deeper understanding of a topic that hits so close to home and that has aligned with my interest in music. In addition, this topic has allowed me to immerse myself in an environment with a cohort with different research topics that still provide support for each other to grow in our distinct fields of study. Working with my mentors has been an amazing experience where I am not only guided in my research topic as we exchange ideas and knowledge, but also in my future plans of attending graduate school. As a first-generation student, navigating post-grad plans has been challenging, but MMUF has provided me with the support and guidance to explore the field of Academia.
Nyla McNeil
Anthropology major, Africana Studies minor, Peer Tutor in the Writing Center
As a Black academic, Nyla is invested in facilitating decolonial practices in educational spaces. Her Mellon Mays research project focuses on Black history education in public high schools and will examine how local factors, such as the political atmosphere and cultural makeup of individual regions, influence this curriculum. Furthermore, she will analyze the school curriculums' usage or nonuse of Afrocentric perspectives in class materials and the framing of Black narratives. In addition, she will evaluate the integration of diasporic perspectives into discussions of Black history. Further, she will conduct this research through ethical anthropological research methods such as interviews and observations of classroom conversations. Nyla's passion for educational reform stems from her love for teaching. For instance, this summer, she has an internship at Sitar Arts in Washington, D.C., mentoring BIPOC teens through their internships in creative industries and providing guidance and resources about career readiness and college preparation.
MMUF at Bryn Mawr
Bryn Mawr College has participated in the MMUF program since its inception in 1988. In any given year, there are ten MMUF students at the College: five seniors and five juniors. The application process is open primarily to sophomores and takes place every spring. The program accepts applications from:
-Underrepresented minority students interested in pursuing a research project in one of the Mellon designated fields of study (see below).
-Any student, regardless of race or ethnicity, who has a demonstrated commitment to eradicating racial disparities in academia and who wishes to pursue research in one of the designated areas.