Hamilton was well-represented as 12 students presented the results of their research at the New York 6 Undergraduate Research Conference this month at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs.

A combination of social oppression, poverty and discrimination has kept Mayan women in Guatemala from raising their voices and using their full potential. Deaf women in particular are stripped of their rights and made to believe that they have no worth. This summer Mariela Meza ’13 interviewed Guatemalan women in the highland community of Nahuala in an effort to prove that they can be valuable contributors to their community. Meza’s work was funded through an Emerson Summer Grant.

In impoverished countries such as Guatemala, education and other opportunities for women and girls could help substantially in improving the state’s overall economic health. However, Guatemalan women, particularly those belonging to the Mayan tribe, are all but ignored when it comes to proper education and healthcare. Rebecca Ross ’14 spent the summer in Guatemala, analyzing the conditions facing Mayan women and studying the concept of battling poverty through gender equality.

Public schools, and particularly the teachers who staff these schools, play an integral part in shaping the future. Marcus Sesin ’13, a recipient of a 2011 Emerson Summer Grant, is studying the recent changes in tenure acquisition procedures in NYC public schools. Through interviews and research, Sesin hopes to understand the effect of the new procedures on teachers.

Societal pressures shape the way in which many young people develop into adulthood. In fact, cultural norms are so ubiquitous that there are few examples of people who truly break the mold. Kadahj Bennett ’12, an Emerson Summer Grant recipient, is working with Associate Professor of Theater Mark Cryer to create an interdisciplinary, innovative street theater performance piece, Letters to the Shadows in the Sky, on the male black identity in modern society.

Archaeological sites offer a firsthand glimpse into the past. Specifically, working intimately with ancient artifacts allows researchers to piece together historical periods that could otherwise be lost.  Emerson Grant recipient Caroline Morgan ’13 is spending the summer working on- and off-site in Crete with Professor John McEnroe, the John and Anne Fischer Professor in Fine Arts, to uncover a Minoan ruin’s chronological past. Their project is titled “Excavating Minoan Crete: Uncovering Gournia’s Architectural Past.”

Cat Boyd, '12,  the recipient of an Emerson Grant, and Naomi Guttman, Professor of English and Creative Writing, spent the week of July 11-15 at the Women's Studio Workshop in Rosendale, N.Y., where they each produced an edition of a handmade book and documented the process with assistance from the Digital Humanities initiative.

In today’s digital age, print media has become something of a dying art form. Across the world, newspapers have lost distribution, book sales are down, and it’s harder than ever before to get published. This summer, Emerson grant recipient Catherine Boyd ’12 will seek to get back in touch with the origins of the book as art as she works with Professor of English and Creative Writing Naomi Guttman to write, design and print her own book.

Stan Brakhage is one of the most significant avant-garde filmmakers in the 20th century. His influence can be seen across genres and decades. This summer, Emerson grant recipient Marty Cain ’13 is exploring the aesthetic philosophy of Brakhage and its relation to contemporary poetry.

Why does voyeurism sell movie tickets? That's a question Danielle Mortorano ’12, a recipient of a 2011 Summer Emerson Grant, is working to answer in her project, “The Female Sex Object: The Relationship between Voyeurism and Male Dominance in Mainstream Films.”