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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.”

Recent turmoil and political upheaval in the Middle East have dominated the global news lately, with documentations of unrest in more than a dozen already unsteady nations. Ryan Karerat ’12, an Emerson grant recipient, is spending the summer with Henry Platt Bristol Professor of International Affairs Alan Cafruny researching the current state of U.S. foreign affairs in the Middle East.

World hunger is a pressing issue, yet its causes aren’t fully known and there is much debate about what responsibilities developed countries should have in ending it. Daniel Knishkowy ’13, a recipient of a 2011 Emerson Summer Grant, will explore the issue of world hunger with Associate Professor of Philosophy Katheryn Doran for their project, “World Hunger: The Debate About its Causes and the Scope of Our Ethical Responsibilities.”

Canada has recently declared a chemical known as BPA to be a toxic substance. Europe has partially banned BPA from consumer products. The United States also faces a similar push to remove BPA from products in which the chemical can be ingested. Claire Zurlo ’14, a recipient of an Emerson Summer Grant, and Amanda Ng ’14, funded with summer research funds, will spend the summer contributing to this effort. They will work with Professor of Chemistry Tim Elgren to perform a BPA analysis on various beer samples.

Joe Harmon ’12 is fascinated with the culture of boxing—and he's certainly not alone; there is a mystique to the sport that has allured Americans for more than a century, and boxing has given birth to some of the biggest stars in the sporting world. An Emerson grant recipient, Harmon will spend the summer studying “Filmic Interpretations of Boxing” with Visiting Professor of Film History Scott MacDonald.

Learning a second language is undoubtedly a challenging undertaking, and the pedagogical methods involved in teaching a second language can make the process easier or more difficult for students.  Linda Yu ’12 will spend this summer with Professor Hong Gang Jin, the William R. Kenan Professor of East Asian Languages, testing different pedagogical methods for teaching Chinese. Their project, “Attention to What? An Investigation on the Linkage Between Attention and Input,” is funded by an Emerson Summer Grant.