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Levitt Scholars

Spring 2006


Descriptions of the Spring 2006 Scholars' presentations are found below, arranged by topic area. Several presentations fall under more than one category, and you may certainly choose speakers whose topics do not clearly "fit" into your class subject.

Art/Film/Theatre:

Conflict of Interpretation: the Numerous Ways to Interpret Art.
William Andersen discusses the different philosophies of interpreting art, focusing specifically on the importance of the artist, the artist's intentions and the context of the piece. William poses the question: should these factors be considered when we look at a piece of art, or should our interpretation of art be based purely on our initial visual experience?

Taking Comedy Seriously
Will Flanagan examines how authors use comedy and humor as a device to explore, present and critique social conditions. Through his presentation, and by citing numerous sources, Will shows how war, class, race, and social changes are all explored through comedy, and how authors use humor as a filter to examine tragedy.

What is Performance?
"Theatre is life and life is theatre" -- Augusto Boal, leading community theatre activist. Sarah Schol's presentation provides an in-depth look at avant-garde and political theatre based out of performance studies and the radical theatre movements of New York City. This is a wonderful introduction to different forms of theatre for high school students interested in theatre, performance or social justice. Sarah discusses the semester she spent studying in New York City, where she worked at the experimental theatre company La MaMa and performed with the political artist Reverend Billy. Sarah hopes to open up students to different ideas of what "performance" can mean, with the end goal of having each student create a short piece of theatre to perform at the end of the class.

Communications:

Behind the Scenes: Exposing the Complexities of an Advertising Campaign
Katharine Riposta

Economics/Business:

American Farm Support: How Our Domestic Policies Hurt the Developing World
David Turchin

Behind the Scenes: Exposing the Complexities of an Advertising Campaign
In her presentation, Katharine Riposta relates her experience as an intern in the account management department of the HumanCare Division of McCann Erickson. During her time with McCann Erickson, the company launched its innovative new sleep drug Lunesta, the only sleep aid approved for long-term use. Through first-hand experience, Katharine learned what the various, progressing phases of an advertising campaign entail and the complex details that are fundamental in execution. Because consumers only see the finished product, they aren't fully aware of the challenges that define an ad campaign. Katharine provides students with insight into the process of working on the Lunestra lauch, and also an opportunity to view and hear the various commercial spots and get a sense of the role that regulation/legislation plays in the process.

Economics and Governmental Decisions
Nathan Vandergrift provides a simple discussion of a few basic elements essential to understanding economics: scarcity, choice and opportunity cost. His discussion will focus on how each person uses these elements in every day life and ultimately how essential economics is to passing effective governmental policy. The students will participate in an in-class exercise designed to generate discussion around tough economic decisions concerning mock school budget. Part of the presentation will tie in examples from a summer internship in which economics was used in public policy decisions. Nathan seeks to present economics as a tangible and practical discipline.

Health Care Policy and Rising Health Care Costs
Lorraine Sperling's presentation will focus on key players in the health care policy debate: the health care provider, business, and insurance company; with particular emphasis on the effects of rising health care costs on business and entrepreneurs. The presentation will also explore possible and/or currently proposed legislative and non-legislative solutions to these problems.

English/Creative Writing:

Taking Comedy Seriously
Will Flanagan examines how authors use comedy and humor as a device to explore, present and critique social conditions. Through his presentation, and by citing numerous sources, Will shows how war, class, race, and social changes are all explored through comedy, and how authors use humor as a filter to examine tragedy.

Global Studies/World History:

Hugo Chavez and Asymmetrical Threats to American Security
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many American international relations experts suggested that the U.S. no longer faced any serious ideological foes and that ideals of liberal democracy had triumphed once and for all. In the post-9/11 era, however, notions of global consensus regarding the legitimacy of a liberal democratic system of governance are increasingly in doubt. Venezuela's shift towards a socialist, semi-authoritarian path in the last few years signals the dissatisfaction many people have with the American economic and political order. Furthermore, the challenge Venezuela represents for U.S. security interests is particularly problematic because of its non-military, asymmetrical nature. Justin Young's presentation explores how worried the U.S. government should be about Venezuela and whether Venezuela fits into a broader pattern of countries attempting to balance American power through asymmetrical means.

Lessons from a World Traveler
Jessica Djilani's presentation explains the importance of learning about the diverse cultures in the world. This presentation encourages high school students to explore other societies around the world by studying abroad and joining culture-related clubs in college, or simply by reading books and listening to the news. In addition, it introduces students to the opportunities that they might have to travel and/or study in another country after high school and during college.  In her presentation, Jessica relates four lessons that she learned while traveling in the summer of 2005 through Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway, from Mongolia and the Gobi Desert, and down the coast of China from Beijing to Hong Kong. Her presentation consists of a slide show and a brief explanation of the history of these countries along with the lessons, ranging from a promotion of tolerance and acceptance of others cultures' traditions to a recognition of one's place in the world as a Westerner, that she learned along the way.

Of the Faith: Identity Politics in Northern Ireland.
Ann Horwitz's presentation seeks to paint a picture of life in Northern Ireland, where one's religion --Catholic or Protestant --is one's primary, if not sole, identity. Students will gain insight into what it is like to live in a religiously segregated society.

U.S. vs. China
Patrick Randolph will begin his presentation with a famous teenage T.V. show "Family Guy" and show how the relationship between Brian and Stewie in that show is similar to the relationship between China and the United States. In his presentation, Patrick talks about not only the past history of China, but also compares the pasts of the U.S. and China. His main focus is to talk about the future of U.S.-China relations as well as give students an idea of how the U.S. is seen from a world perspective.

Waging War: Understanding the Franco-American Conflict (2003).
Alex Field's presentation broadly presents the concepts of war, foreign policy and national interest. Specifically, she examines the nature of the French opposition to U.S.-led Operation Iraqi Freedom. Alex's presentation explains how conflicting French and American objectives created a trans-Atlantic conflict that threatened to alter the nature of U.S.-European relations.

Government/Current Affairs:

American Farm Support: How Our Domestic Policies Hurt the Developing World
David Turchin will discuss the history and original intentions of our agricultural support policies (i.e. subsidies, tariffs, quotas) and then highlight how the persistence of these policies --policies which are clearly outdated in today?s global economy --harms the developing world. Working off of his Levitt Fellowship/senior thesis research, David will focus on the role of cotton and the effect on the markets/people of Western Africa. The primary goal of this presentation is to highlight how our domestic policies, and not just our foreign policy, can adversely affect other countries around the world. Many college and high school level government and economics classes discuss the effect of our global military and economic presence around the world, but often overlook the effect(s) of our domestic policies. As a student of American government/American policy, it is important to scrutinize both of these more overt foreign policies and the collateral, if not direct, effects of our domestic policies.

Asian Exclusion (1882-1943): How Much has the U.S. Changed?
Laura Oman
Balancing Liberty with National Security. The great Roman statesman Marcus Cicero once declared, "In times of war the laws are silent." Throughout American history, protecting national security has often conflicted with fundamental civil liberties. Is it sometimes necessary to suspend Constitutional rights in the name of security? Or would it be more detrimental to sacrifice our most sacred freedoms for a little temporary safety? After providing a historical overview of the debate, Adam Gordon will examine Cicero's words in the context of 9/11. He will then discuss how the fight against terrorism has raised civil liberties concerns and ask the students to debate the political and moral implications of restricting liberty for security.

Congressional Offices
Alex Richman's presentation takes an inside look at the workings of a Congressional Office, from the standpoint of a presenter who has worked as an intern both at the federal and district level of a Congressional District. Alex provides insight into how issues, which students have seen on the news and in other forms of media, come to being. Students will come away with a better understanding not only of congressional offices, but the government as a whole; and hopefully find themselves more interested in getting involved at some level.

Economics and Governmental Decisions
Nathan Vandergrift

Health Care Policy and Rising Health Care Costs
Lorraine Sperling

Hugo Chavez and Asymmetrical Threats to American Security
Justin Young

Legal and Ethical Issues in the Treatment of a Mentally Ill Population
Tyler Zink
The Perils of Preemptive War. John Cooper's presentation is a discussion of the foreign strategy of preemptive war. Various moments from America's history are used to demonstrate the failure of this foreign policy. The benefits of preemptive war are refuted and the detriments are stated with examples. The presentation includes a discussion of the Iraq war and how our foreign policy in dealing with Sadaam Hussein and Iraq has hurt America more than helped.

The Politics of the Supreme Court
Matthew Colman discusses some of the political controversies adjudicated by the Supreme Court in the 20th Century. He examines legal controversies like Roe v. Wade and President Bush's recent nominations to the Supreme Court and focuses on the Court's role as a political force in American government. The presentation concludes by fostering a discussion regarding the nature of democracy and the benefits and harms of having the Supreme Court decide the most important political issues of the 21st Century.

Waging War: Understanding the Franco-American Conflict (2003)
Alex Field
What Can Your Senator Do for You? Steve Sallan's presentation is designed to give young voters and potential voters a better understanding of the relationship between U.S. Senators and their constituents, based on personal experience interning for Senator Kennedy (MA), doing constituent casework. This is not a pitch for becoming an intern, but rather a way to give new voters some information to think about when deciding who they want representing them in the Senate.

Health/Physical Education:

The Complete Student-Athlete: Succeeding in Academics and Athletics
In her presentation, Erin Daugherty stresses the importance of academic commitment in student-athletes through the use of time management and prioritization. Erin is a collegiate varsity athlete, and her presentation reflects tips for balancing athletics and academic commitments in high school as well as in college.

Global AIDS
Wangechi Thuo

Health Care Policy and Rising Health Care Costs
Lorraine Sperling

Legal and Ethical Issues in the Treatment of a Mentally Ill Population
Tyler Zink

Modern Soul Food: Dangerously Delicious.
Soul Food is a group of traditional, cultural foods cooked by most Southern African-Americans. Commonly found in the diets of former slaves who had to simply "make do" with the scraps and leftovers they received from their masters, these foods tend to be high in grease, saturated fats, sodium, and sugar. Many of the ingredients commonly used originate from cheap, low-quality animal products that contribute to poor health and disease. In her presentation, Ghiane Jones seeks answers to the following questions: how are modern African American diets a product of former slave diets? How has modern soul food evolved into an unhealthy way of eating? Why do African Americans choose to hold onto these traditions while being fully aware of the damaging effects they have upon health? What, if anything, is being done to hold on to the traditional soul food recipes, while substituting healthier ingredients? What is the future of soul food in our new, health-conscious society?

My experience as an AIDS activist
Katie Spencer

History (US):

Asian Exclusion (1882-1943): How Much has the U.S. Changed?
In her presentation, Laura Oman discusses the period of Asian Exclusion (1882-1943) to raise awareness of the United States? controversial past in which race entered legislature and jurisprudence. She provides a brief history of Asian Exclusion and goes on to point out particularly racist laws, court decisions and government activities. After providing this historical matter, Laura discusses more recent events to show students that race is still an important and controversial issue in U.S. legislature and the judicial system.

Social Studies/Sociology/Philosophy:

A Comparative Study of the Assimilation process between African Immigrants and African Refugees
Tigisty Reda's presentation will focus on the rising number of immigrants and refugees in the United States, specifically, immigrants and refugees of African descent, and their assimilation process. Her presentation strives to not only compare the differences of the social positions of African immigrants and refugees, but also the continuing predicaments, such as issues of identity, trauma, culture shock, etc. that may have an impact on the way African immigrants and refugees assimilate. Through participant observation and interviews, Tigisty has done a comparative study of the assimilation process between African immigrants and African refugees, premised on the hypothesis that their assimilation process is different due to their status.

Asian Exclusion (1882-1943): How Much has the U.S. Changed?
Laura Oman

Global AIDS
Wangechi Thuo provides an information session about the current status of the global AIDS epidemic and the availability of Antiretrovirals (ARV treatment) in the world. Students will have the opportunity to brainstorm on activities they can do or participate in within the local AIDS outreach communities so as to take local action.

Health Care Policy and Rising Health Care Costs
Lorraine Sperling

Legal and Ethical Issues in the Treatment of a Mentally Ill Population
Tyler Zink

Lessons from a World Traveler
Jessica Djilani

Of the Faith: Identity Politics in Northern Ireland
Ann Horwitz

Modern Soul Food: Dangerously Delicious
Ghiane Jones

My experience as an AIDS activist
In her talk, Katie Spencer tells students about her own experience becoming increasingly aware of HIV/AIDS and decision to become an AIDS activist. In an effort to make the HIV/AIDS epidemic more relevant to students, Katie presents some global and local statistics on HIV/AIDS, and dispels common myths about the disease. The goal of her presentation is to empower students to feel as though they are able to make a difference both here in the United States and abroad.

Stereotypes: What They are and What They do
Stereotypes are all around us. We are presented with them every day, from television shows we watch to the conversations we have. Knowingly or not, we all have stereotypes. Grace Dobbyn's presentation focuses on what stereotypes are, how they are created, and the effects they have in the real world.

Trapped or Gapped?
It is difficult for some high school students to imagine the real world, life away from the rigorous social constructs they find in school, at home, and in their extra-curricular activities. Using her own experiences as an outline, Olivia Reynolds explains to students how their current life may be suffocating and how taking a gap year between high school and college can provide as escape from this trap. Olivia's talk introduces students to means for escaping this trap by setting their own goals, developing independence, and having a lot of fun with what can be the experience of a lifetime.

Who Needs Philosophers Anyway?
The Changing Face of Contemporary Philosophy. Kristen Sherry's presentation examines philosophy's new, decentralized role in society, as a pursuit open to all with inquisitive, critical minds. Through questions, answers, and lively conversation, students will explore how philosophy plays into five of the most popular career paths: education, government, economics/business, medicine, and law. Students will be encouraged to participate as much as possible as they discuss and debate a specific, philosophical issue related to each field. Students will learn that the contemporary philosophical method is something we should all engage in, from questioning our teachers' assertions to seeking solutions in the workplace.

Psychology:

A Comparative Study of the Assimilation process between African Immigrants and African Refugees
Tigisty Reda
Beyond Silence of the Lambs: Forensic Psychology in the Real World. Lindsey Crusan draws on academic and personal experience to discuss real world applications of forensic psychology. Topics that are addressed include: what forensic psychology is, the presentation of forensic psychology in the media, the New York State Department of Corrections and Office of Mental Health, mental illness, and personal experience working directly with a psychiatric forensic population.

Legal and Ethical Issues in the Treatment of a Mentally Ill Population
Tyler Zink presents what he learned through personal experience at an in-patient psychiatric facility about the treatment, discharge, and legal status of mental patients.

Stereotypes: What They are and What They do
Grace Dobbyn

Levitt Scholar Archives:

You can find out about past Scholars and their topics by clicking one of the links below:
Teacher Comments

"This Levitt Scholar modeled what good public speaking is all about. She knew her audience and engaged the students, all suffering from senioritis, in a lively, interactive discussion. Her program was wonderful -- both informative and entertaining!"  More ...