Project: “Neualtland, Nuova e Antica: Italian Zionism during the Fascist Period”
Student: Jason Beck (Political Science & Italian ’20)
When the global pandemic kept everyone at home and prevented the department from having our wonderful Undergraduate Research Symposium, where we get to see the range of undergraduate research in Romance Studies, Jason Beck transformed his work into a recorded presentation. Jason explored the development of Zionism, anti-Zionism, the myth of Jerusalem, and the myth of Rome in Fascist Italy. His final project wove together the complexities of the shifts in national feeling, the Fascist promotion of ancient Rome as a model, and Zionism in a rich analysis of Jewish Italian identity and history, with special attention to three key autobiographical works: Fabio della Seta’s The Tiber Afire, Augusto Segre’s Memoirs of Jewish Life: From Italy to Jerusalem, 1918-1960, and Dan Vittorio Segre’s Memoirs of Fortunate Jew: An Italian Story.
Project: "Diferencias y disparidades de salud para la comunidad hispana en Durham (Differences and disparit
ies of health for the Hispanic community in Durham)"
Student: Carter Lovvorn (Spanish ’20)
Through an internship with the Durham County Department of Public Health, Carter Lovvorn participated in the preparation and implementation of the Durham County Community Health Assessment (CHA). His honors thesis explores results about Latinx communities from previous CHAs and closely documents the current state of Latinx communities in Durham. Having participated in many aspects of the CHA, Carter explains the process of designing and distributing one of the few bilingual community survey’s in North Carolina. The critical analysis of trends that emerged from the 2019 health data identify how cultural, linguistic, and systemic issues impact the well-being of Latinx communities in Durham.