The SPIA Undergraduate Research Colloquium will be held on Friday, April 14, 2023.  This event brings together faculty and students from across SPIA to celebrate the accomplishments of our students and the faculty that facilitate their research.

Students may submit research projects completed or currently in progress, as part of course work, CURO, internships, or independent research. We invite paper and poster presentation submissions on research drawing from all academic concentrations within SPIA including American Politics, International Relations, Comparative Politics, Political Theory, Criminal Justice, and Public Administration.

More information regarding the Colloquium can be found below. Please send all questions to [email protected].

Schedule of Panel Presentations & Poster Sessions

Download the 2023 Program: 2023_URC

Panel Sessions

Panel A – Room 277                                                                             Panel B – Room 258

9:10-10:00am Panel A

Public Opinion, Partisanship, and the Presidency

Chair: Dr. Audrey Haynes

Discussant: Andrew Stone

Daniel Klein, “Who Gets to Be Innocent? The Role of Gender in Civilian Casualties and Public Support for Military Actions”

Faith Price, “Priorities of the U.S. Presidency: Insights from Bureaucratic Appointments”

Brock Schultz, “Comfort in Chaos: The Rewards of Dysfunctional Governance”

 

10:20-11:10am Panel A

Terrorism and Trust

Chair: Dr. Daniel Hill

Discussant: Jeff Milliman

Riley Mied, “Does Ideology Influence the Perpetration of Domestic Abuse by Extremists in the U.S.?”

Alex Drahos, “The Space Race: Examining Terrorist Attacks in Public and Private Spaces”

Sudhan Chitgopkar, “Trusting Zero-Trust: How Confidence in State Financial Institutions Affects Individuals’ Cryptocurrency Adoption Rates”

 

12:40-1:30pm Panel A

Conflict in the 21st Century: Export Controls, Surveillance, & Food Security

Chair: Dr. Andy Whitford

Discussant: Aleksander Kuznetcov

Hasan Kamal, “Food as a Weapon in the Russia-Ukraine War”

Zainub Ali, “Made in America: Implications for Dual-Use Export Controls as the U.S. Brings Supply Chains Home”

Chris Haswell, “Utilizing Transparency Reports: An Analysis of the Surveillance Relationship Between Big Tech and the United States Government”

 

1:50-2:40pm Panel A

Women and Domestic Politics: Public Health, Information Warfare, and the Pandemic 

Chair: Dr. Brittany Bramlett

Discussant: Karlee Taylor

Sahar Joshi, “The Weaponry of Words”

Isabel Archer, “Underestimating the Power of Women: The “Real” Pandemic”

Allie Maloney, “Women’s Publicly Funded Healthcare Disparities in the Southern United States”

 

3:00-3:50pm Panel A

Women & Security: Public Health, Energy, and Intersectionality

Chair: Dr. Leah Carmichael

Discussant: Deana Neaves

Sophia DeLuca, “Securitizing Periods: The Case for Incorporating Menstrual Hygiene Management into Women, Peace, and Security National Action Plans as a Mechanism to Improve Women’s Security”

Shekina Shindano, “How Does Intersectional Invisibility affect Black Women’s Participation in National Security?”

Brooke Sanders, “The Global Importance of Women in Energy”

9:10-10:00am Panel B

Contemporary Security Issues: Sanctions, Immigration, and Sexual Violence in Conflict

Chair: Dr. Ryan Powers

Discussant: Shawn Voutour

Avery Jainniney, “Anchor Babies” & Birthright Citizenship: The Domopolitical Depiction of Immigrant Women as an American Threat”

Emma Griffin, “The Impact of Environmental INGO Presence on Ecological Terrorism Activity”

Jacqueline GaNun, “Do Women Editors Lead News Teams to Report More on Sexual Violence During Conflict? A Study of War Reporting in Ukraine and Tigray, Ethiopia”

 

10:20-11:10am Panel B

The Congress Project

Chair/Discussant: Dr. Anthony Madonna

Carter Hamby, “”Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906″

Alimata Bah, “”Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986”

Hope Moreland, “Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986”

Matthew Lombardo, “Federal Corrupt Practices Act of 1925”

 

12:40-1:30pm Panel B

Protecting the Environment: Organized Crime and Local Policymaking

Chair: Dr. Bryan Barber

Discussant: Mackenzie Vaughn

Emily Prosser, “Changing Climates: Georgia’s Legislative Relationship with Climate Change Policy from 2009 to 2022”

Sean Manning, “Addressing Energy Security Misunderstandings in Georgia: A State-Wide Educational Approach”

Kevin Vega, “Dangerous Economies: The Environmental Costs of Organized Crime”

 

1:50-2:40pm Panel B

Extreme Right Politics and the Erosion of Democracy

Chair: Dr. Cas Mudde

Discussant: Alec Zimmerman

Connor Stockenberg, “Did COVID-19 Increase Democratic Erosion?”

Clemencia El Antouri, “Democratic Backslide in Turkey”

Nick Markiewicz, “Modeling Brand Responses to Clothing Co-optation by the Far-Right”

 

3:00-3:50pm Panel B

The GLOBIS Human Rights Lab

Chair: Dr. Chad Clay

Discussant: Meridith Lavelle

Kiana Bussa, “UN Human Rights Council Membership & Domestic Respect for Human Rights”

Hannah Kesner & Inaara Lalani, “The Populist Radical Right: A Threat to Human Rights”

Sydney Sanders, “State Efforts to Fulfil Economic and Social Rights (ESRs) and Development Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)

 

Poster Sessions

9:00-10:30am Poster Session

Matthew Lombardo, “A Poster Child for Democracy or Corruption? Post-genocidal Politics in Rwanda

Abby Benton Then, ” Education with Conditions: The United States Strategic Use of Foreign Education Aid

Lilly Kersh, “Race and Motherhood in Politics: How News Media Coverage Differs Based on Intersecting Identities”

Julianna Russ, “Recasting Surrogacy as Labor: Assessing International Law and Developing a Regulatory Framework”

Larissa Lozano, “Scramble for Africa 2.0: The Impact of Territorial Tensions in Western Sahara on Spain-Morocco Relations”

Ashley Rosica, “The Application of Criminological Theories to Mass Domestic Terrorism Incidents”

 

10:30-11:45am Poster Session

Caroline Knudsen, “Gendered Differences Visible in Anti-Trafficking Legislation”

Ellie Loventhal, “What Happens When the War Ends: How Women’s Roles During War Affect Their Engagement in Post Conflict Reconstruction”

Ansley Whitlock, “Propaganda and the Italian Risorgimento”

Katie Moebes, “Gender Equality in the United States… Do we have it yet?”

Sara Sehhizadeh, “Gender Roles in Non-Democratic Regimes”

Blakely Dishman, “An Open Secret: The Impact of Prison Security Characteristics on the Perpetration of Sexual Violence”

Adam Starks, “The Hidden Costs of Private Probation”

Sara Anis Ali, “Evaluation of Georgia’s Conditional Discharge Program”

 

12:00-1:15pm Poster Session

Justin Cohen, “Rifts in Congress: How Has Domestic Elite Polarization Affected U.S. Foreign Policy?”

Josie Renner, “International Environmental Laws & Their Affects on Vulnerable Populations”

Sloane Rice, “Brexit Reopens the Irish Border Conflict”

Andrew Nguyen, “Political Alignment and Prosperity”

Alexis Nash, “Women’s Impact on Renewable Energy Policy”

Christopher Rosselot, “Scapegoats of Crisis in Ecuador? Narratives of Migrants During Times of Social Unrest

Sebastian Granados, “4th Amendment and the Internet”

 

1:15-2:30pm Poster Session

Luke Caggiano, “The Russo-Ukrainian War and Support for European Defense Integration among EU Leaders”

Thompson Miles, “Psychology of Governmental Whistleblowers”

Sofia Mohamed, “How Does Conflict Increase the Spread of Infectious Disease?

Margaret Hart, “The Evolution of Agricultural Sectors in the Growth South: From Agriculture to Agribusiness”

Shrika Madivanan, “Bosnia’s Burden: A Comparative Analysis of Refugee Support and Food Aid in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia”

Nicolle Martin and Charlotte Huck, “The Joint List: A New Hope for Arab Israelis”

Monroe Harless, “Political Causes and Consequences of Notorious Georgia Lynchings: A Case Study of Moore’s Ford”

 

2:30-4:00pm Poster Session

Allie Maloney, “Intersectional Identities of Black Women in Legislative Politics”

Davis Potts, “How Does Sustainability Policy Affect Local Industries? A Study in the Archipelago of the Açores.”

Julian Fortuna, “Global Far Right Attacks on Public Education”

Austin Lalomia, “The Regime of Alberto Fujimori”

Brooke Nitkowski, “Is Affordable Housing Causing Greater Human Rights Violations?”

Faith Price, “Queer Experiences in Natural Disasters”

Jack Breslin, “A House with No Doors; Study of the Response Rates of Political Science Programs”

 

Venue Information

The 2023 SPIA Undergraduate Research Colloquium will take place at the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies on April 14th, 2023 with a live streaming option available for audience members. If you are interested in being able to watch the panel sessions via live stream, please register prior to the event.

Information for visitors:

Parking for the Russell Special Collections Library can be found in the Hull Street Deck and the Tate Center Parking decks.

If you are looking for places to eat while you are in Athens:

Downtown Athens is about an 11 minute walk or a 5 minute drive away from the Library with several restaurants on Broad Street.

If you would like to stay on campus: the Tate Student Center (about a 9 minute walk) offers Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Panda Express, Niche Pizza, and Barberitos.

Or you can visit the Au Bon Pain in Amos Hall (about a 4 minute walk).

For a tour of the Special Collections Libraries, see here.

SPIA URC Research Proposal Application

Thank you for your interest in being a part of the SPIA Undergraduate Research Colloquium! Students may submit research projects completed or currently in progress, as part of course work, CURO, internships, or independent research. We invite paper and poster presentation submissions on research drawing from all academic concentrations within SPIA including American Politics, International Relations, Comparative Politics, Political Theory, Criminal Justice, and Public Administration.

The submission form for the 2023 Colloquium has closed. Applicants were notified of acceptances in early March. Please send all questions to [email protected].

Information for Participants

Students may apply to present their research as part of a PANEL or POSTER session.

Students who are selected for a panel presentation will prepare a formal 10-minute talk on their research. Each panel will have three presenters, as well as a discussant who will discuss the three projects collectively, and a chair who will keep time. Full drafts of papers presented will need to be circulated to discussants prior to the event.

Students who are selected for a poster session will display their research and answer questions from visitors as they walk around the Special Collections Library. The poster session is ideal for those who have research that is currently in progress and will not be completed by the time of the colloquium.

Information regarding the type of session and presentation times will be sent out after acceptance decisions, along with guidelines for making a poster and a panel presentation. Any questions that you may have regarding the event can be directed to Megan Wall, Graduate Student Assistant, at [email protected], or Dr. Maryann Gallagher, Coordinating Director, at [email protected].

Contact Information

For additional details or questions, please reach out to Megan Wall, Graduate Student Assistant, at [email protected], or Dr. Maryann Gallagher, Coordinating Director, at [email protected].

Past Colloquiums