Senior Project Abstracts – 2021

How Gender Bias and China’s One Child Policy Led to the Human Trafficking Crisis in China

Tenley Albright, 2021

Sexism and gender bias have existed in China for thousands of years. Sexism can be
found in Chinese literature, characters, and religion. Chinese culture displays a pattern of
preference for sons over daughters. The One Child Policy was a policy that magnified this bias
and created a gender gap between males and females. The deeply engrained gender roles in
China created a large sex ratio at birth in which far more males survived to adulthood than
females. This problem still impacts China today and has led to a gender disparity in which there
is a demand for women, specifically brides. This demand has led to an increase in human
trafficking of women into China. In this work, I intend to explore the deep-rooted sexism that
exists in many aspects of Chinese culture, including Chinese language, religion and literature. I
will then discuss the One Child Policy and how when paired with Chinese ideas surrounding
gender, it led to the severe gender gap that exists today. Lastly, I will examine the human
trafficking crisis that occurred and explore the causes of this and the ways the Chinese
government is trying to combat this issue.

Major track: East Asia

Project Advisor: Sharon Wesoky

Language Advisor: Xiaoling Shi (Chinese)


The Impacts of Education on Marital Practices in Morocco

Samantha Darris, 2021

Higher education among young adults in Morocco have increased tremendously in the past ten years, nearly 25%. A significant rise in college enrollment will undoubtedly have an impact on any society; however, many of the cultural and interpersonal affects higher education may have go unrecognized. While GDP growth, labor participation, and immigration are all critical factors to measure the changes in a quickly evolving country like Morocco, examining the cultural and social shifts that may occur are equally critical to better understand how a country is changing. This project identifies, measures and analyzes the impacts of higher education on Moroccan marital practices, to unveil unknown correlations within Moroccan society. Throughout this research, factors such as health, priorities, age, labor, and the circumstances through which spouses meet are investigated in both scholarly and statistical approaches. Utilizing literature from scholars of varying fields of study, this paper explores these factors in order to relate it to the question at hand by using computational calculations to determine the direct correlation between these effects and education over the last ten years. The results of this study are displayed on a website that is widely accessible, making this information useful to anyone who may have misconceptions about varying Moroccan marital practices and why they have changed in the last ten years.

Major track: Middle East

Project Advisor: Janyl Jumadinova and Brian Miller

Language Advisor: Reem Hilal (Arabic)


Critiquing the ‘Pink Tide’: Assessing the Shortcomings of Progressive, Populist Politics of 21st-Century Latin America

Sam Dunham, 2021

Recent decades in Latin America have seen considerable political instability that has hindered the region from maintaining consistent development. More than perhaps any other region in the world, Latin America seems uniquely prone to irrational and insecure political undulations. One such political wave was the Pink Tide, a group of progressive, populist presidents who rose to power in the early 2000s. This movement was considered to possess the potential to positively alter the landscape of Latin American politics. However, the ensuing wave of conservative leaders in the very same nations would suggest that the movement was not entirely successful. This study aims to investigate the Pink Tide as a means to understand the ideologies, policies, and behaviors which led to the group’s meteoric rise and fall. Using specific case studies in Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia, this research paper will critique each representative of the Pink Tide and arrive at a comprehensive conclusion as to why this group of bold and innovative presidents failed to enact meaningful reform in the region.

Major track: Latin America

Project Advisor: Kalé Haywood

Language Advisor: Wilfredo Hernández (Spanish)


Tekk Teggui and Tontines: Microfinance’s Solutions to Exclusionary Neoliberal Policy in Senegal

Erin Hartwiger, 2021

This project seeks to evaluate the impact of microfinance on the welfare of Senegalese women through participant observation, oral history interviews, and a case study of FDEA Microfinance. The project explores the effectiveness of microfinance institutions, in terms of their goals of financial inclusion and increasing gender equality. Additionally, the project investigates the extent to which MFIs have adapted their products to Senegal’s cultural context and the outcomes of this adaptation. I answer these questions in part through interviewing four Senegalese women involved in microfinance and tontines, relying on their expertise to assess the dominant narratives about microfinance. Microfinance is a widely used strategy for addressing gender inequality in development and the gaps left in social programs after the implementation of structural adjustment programs. Within the context of neoliberal ideology that places responsibility for development on the shoulders of individuals (specifically, women), this study asserts that microfinance increases women’s access to financial services, may provide opportunities for women to better the lives of themselves and their families, and utilizes their own knowledge, community support, and social connections to succeed. However, there is a dearth of continuing support which must be present in order to promote women’s empowerment through financial inclusion.

Major track: West Africa (self-designed)

Project Advisor: Stephen Onyeiwu 

Language Advisor: Laura Reeck (French)


The Beauty in the Chinese Dream: The Realities/Implications of Women in China’s Consumerist Society

Markeyda Jones, 2021

This project seeks to evaluate the impact of microfinance on the welfare of Senegalese women through participant observation, oral history interviews, and a case study of FDEA Microfinance. The project explores the effectiveness of microfinance institutions, in terms of their goals of financial inclusion and increasing gender equality. Additionally, the project investigates the extent to which MFIs have adapted their products to Senegal’s cultural context and the outcomes of this adaptation. I answer these questions in part through interviewing four Senegalese women involved in microfinance and tontines, relying on their expertise to assess the dominant narratives about microfinance. Microfinance is a widely used strategy for addressing gender inequality in development and the gaps left in social programs after the implementation of structural adjustment programs. Within the context of neoliberal ideology that places responsibility for development on the shoulders of individuals (specifically, women), this study asserts that microfinance increases women’s access to financial services, may provide opportunities for women to better the lives of themselves and their families, and utilizes their own knowledge, community support, and social connections to succeed. However, there is a dearth of continuing support which must be present in order to promote women’s empowerment through financial inclusion.

Major track: East Asia

Project Advisor: Sharon Wesoky

Language Advisor: Xiaoling Shi (Chinese)


German Textbooks in the 1950’s and 1960’s: The Historical Narrative and the Vergangenheitsbewältigung

Sam Keane-Paul, 2021

from the Introduction: The guilt of the events of the Holocaust is unique for the collective memory and historical narrative of Germany. In today’s society it is most important that we understand our history and own historical narrative. If one avoids this historical truth, then one is prone to repeat the mistakes of the past. Overall, this work aims to examine the development of both German states by recognizing how historical narratives such as intentionalism in German Holocaust acknowledgment can have different outcomes based on the intent of the power pushing that narrative.

Major track: Europe

Project Advisor: Brian Miller

Language Advisor: Julia Ludewig (German)


¡El Estado opresor es un macho violador!: Feminist Mobilization against the Femicide State of Mexico

Yadira Sánchez-Esparza, 2021

Mexico currently averages ten femicides daily and is also home to Ciudad Juarez, a city at one point coined the femicide capital of the world. The watershed to this excessive and brutal gendered violence has been named by academics and activists alike as the implementation of the neoliberal economic policy known as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993. In response, feminist mobilization has increased to specifically address the cultures of violence that exist in the economic, political and social systems that foster the impunity of the murders. Yet, currently the academic literature is lacking surrounding this new wave of feminism, its ideals, goals and overall impact in Mexico. Thus, this project will use specific examples to show how feminists in Mexico mobilize to deconstruct the femicide state of Mexico also known as el Estado feminicida.

Major track: Latin America

Project Advisor: Barbara Shaw

Language Advisor: Wilfredo Hernández (Spanish)


Full Dollarization as a Means of Development in Latin America

Joseph Silvester, 2021

The purpose of this investigation is to determine the functionality of the full dollarization process and if it promotes development within Latin America. Full dollarization is when a country fully gives up its own currency and replaces it with the United States dollar. By looking at the three countries that have fully dollarized, which are Panama, Ecuador, and El Salvador, the consequences of this process can be analyzed. The positive and negative effects on trade, GDP, inflation, interest rates, corruption, etc., are discussed for the three countries. The perceptions of the citizens of each of these countries are also consulted in order to come to conclusions about both the economic and social consequences that these countries have experienced. The research finds that full dollarization is successful in promoting development within a country that is experiencing high levels of inflation. The inherent stability and lowering of both inflation and interest rates will hold beneficial consequences in promoting foreign investment and market confidence. Full dollarization is not advised for all of Latin America, but countries such as Venezuela and Argentina may benefit with a full dollarization in the near future to help them with hyperinflation.

Major track: Latin America

Project Advisor: Chris Finaret

Language Advisor: Wilfredo Hernández (Spanish)


French Development Aid in Senegal: An analysis of French bilateral, multilateral, and non-
governmental project models

Melanie Torres Cabrera, 2021

As developing countries in Africa continue to strive towards greater economic
development with the help of countries like France, it is important to analyze how development
aid policies are adjusted to address beneficiary countries’ needs. My research focuses
specifically on the case of France and Senegal. I analyze how France adjusts its development aid
policies to address development needs in Senegal in terms of bilateral, multilateral, and private
non-governmental projects. I argue that differences in priorities between French development aid
policy and the Senegalese government’s development goals create disharmony and inefficiency
in the implementation of development aid. I also argue that non-state actors like NGOs and
migrant groups are a useful resource to identify gaps in current France’s approach to
development aid in Senegal and identify potential areas of improvement for future development
projects and objectives. Through my research, I find that France’s institutional objectives
remained largely the same across bilateral, multilateral, and non-governmental projects.
However, differences between project objectives and institutional/state goals cause issues with
aid effectiveness and often lead to a disproportionate concentration of aid in urban regions near
the Dakar area. Additionally, I find that countries with slightly more developed economies, like
Senegal, are more likely to obtain higher amounts of bilateral aid in the form of loans than
countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo. Furthermore, I find that France uses bilateral,
multilateral, and non-governmental projects to either expand the scope of its development aid
policy or reinforce existing institutional objectives/preferences. Ultimately, I find that France
adjusts its use of the three mentioned mechanisms for development aid policy in accordance to a
country’s development as well as its own scope of influence.

Major track: West Africa 

Project Advisors: Chris Finaret, Shanna Kirschner 

Language Advisor: Laura Reeck (French)