Six of Whittier’s Mellon Mays Undergraduate fellows brought their research to the recent west coast MMUF conference in Washington. Angel Alcantar ’21, Isa Castillo ’20, Dynette Chavez ’21, Elvira De La Torre ’20, Cynthia Esparza ’20, and Stephanie Whang ’21 presented alongside their cohorts from University of California - Los Angeles, Berkeley, Stanford, Caltech, Cal States, and over 150 other participants from across the west.
Each student presented on a unique topic within their own discipline, but all of their research related back to the core goal of the Mellon Fellowship: challenging racial/cultural inequalities in society and education. The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program aims to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups who will pursue a Ph.D. and become faculty in the arts and sciences. The hope is that students like these will one day help to equalize the ethnic and racial composition of higher education faculties and, in turn, address the social issues that arise from unequal racial disparities in academia.
English major Alcantar’s project called for the inclusion of young adult (YA) fiction in secondary education curricula. In his presentation, “Challenging the Canon: Young Adult Fiction in the Classroom,” Alcantar argued for the literary merit and themes of diversity and inclusion present in YA novels, and that they should be added to the educational canon.
Castillo, a Spanish major, analyzed how U.S. gender roles, racial stereotypes, and beauty standards have contributed to a hegemonic expectation of what the Latina body should look like--and how Latina authors have challenged these ideas. Specifically, Castillo argued that the Salvadoran American poet Yesika Salgado has created a radical space of body positivity and healing for contemporary Latina women.
Chavez, who studies language, culture and mental health through the Whittier Scholars Program, described the historical oppression faced by Native Americans, and argued for repatriation as a way to reconstruct the identities of Native people. Chavez asserted that returning stolen artifacts and human remains to Native communities will revitalize Native American spirituality and community, and allow their culture to flourish.
Sociology student De La Torre presented on the effects of gentrification in Echo Park area of Los Angeles. She focused on the changing gang activity there, and the sociological struggle between low-income Echo Park locals and new residents and businesses attempting to gentrify the area. Her research aimed to understand how gentrification affects neighborhood social relationships, community culture, criminal activity, and the social perception of gang members and people of color in Echo Park.
Esparza, an English major with an emphasis on fiction and poetry, conducted her research on speculative fiction. Specifically, she analyzed Octvaia Butler’s Parable series. Her research discussed how the speculative fiction of the first two Parable novels paint a vision of the 2020s and 2030s, and depict a realistic picture of contemporary life for marginalized people based on a postcolonial view of history. Esparza then went on to speculate what the final book of the series might have looked like, based on Butler’s science fiction methodology.
Whang, a double major in history and anthropology, presented on Asian American participation in civil rights movements. Whang argued that the Asian American rights movement has often been on the periphery of discussion concerning civil rights. She traced Asian American participation in the civil rights movement to explore the existence of an Asian American variant of a radical political organization, especially in California. The goal of her research was to establish a historical precedent for contemporary Asian Americans to continue to support the political endeavors of other people of color.
Mellon Fellows receive tuition assistance, summer research opportunities, and academic-year support through faculty mentors at Whittier, as well as the privilege of engaging with other Fellows and professionals at events like the MMUF conference.
Written by Ariel Horton '21
