College of Humanities 2024 Summer Program Highlights

Marylinda Gonzalez, University of Utah
Traditional Bomba Dance as a Tool for Maintaining Puertorriquenidad in Utah
Research Mentor: Ed Munoz, Associate Professor, School for Social and Cultural Transformation

Marylinda, a double major in English and Ethnic Studies (Latinx studies emphasis) and a minor in Chicano studies, is a Humanities Ambassador for the 2024-2025 academic year. Marylinda Gonzalez was awarded both the Dr. Clarence Snow Memorial Endowed Scholarship in the Department of English and the Ophelia Flores Laurella Pathfinder Endowed Scholarship in the College of Humanities. 

Project Description: This project asserts that Latinidad, or Latinx identity, is not new to Utah. Throughout the years, varied Utah Latinx groups have developed different mechanisms for maintaining their Latinidad. In this project, we analyze four oral histories from members of the Utah Puerto Rican dance group Bomba Marilé. In particular, we demonstrate how concepts such as cultural citizenship, convivencia diária, or daily living, and insistence and belonging shape Puertorriquenidad, or Puerto Rican Latinidad. The findings highlight intra- and inter-ethnic interactions that help develop a sense of belonging in Utah, a place not known as welcoming towards non-LDS communities in general, and non-white LDS communities in particular. Implications of the study are discussed in the context of the increased growth and diversity of Utah's Latinx ethnic groups.

Natalia Lopez, University of Utah
Examining Differences in Opinions on Environmental Policy in Salt Lake County  
Research mentor: Sara Grineski, Professor, Department of Sociology and Co-Director, Center for Natural and Technological Hazards

Natalia Lopez is an office assistant in the College of Humanities and serves as president of the Spanish Club in the Department of World Languages and Cultures.

Project Description: This project is about Salt Lake County residents' perceptions of air pollution, with a focus on the differences in opinion about environmental policy between White and Hispanic residents. Salt Lake County periodically experiences some of the worst air pollution in the nation. Air pollution in the region frequently exceeds the PM2.5 24-hour national ambient air quality standard, which is concerning as it can harm human health. (PM2.5 Moderate Area State Implementation Plans (SIPs) (2009-2014), 2019). In Salt Lake County, previous research has shown that people of color are more exposed to dust from the Great Salt Lake (Grineski et al., 2024), as well as fine particulate matter during winter inversions (Mullen et al., 2020) and annual average fine particulate matter (Collins & Grineski, 2019) than are White people.

Asuna Dai, Davidson College
Learning about Fan-Fiction via Data Science
Research Mentor: Anne Jamison, Professor, Department of English

“Asuna came with knowledge of both computing and fanfiction, including lived knowledge of her own fandoms. Her Chinese linguistic and cultural knowledge enabled us to better investigate across languages. According to team member Kate Isaacs, Associate Director, Scientific Computing and Imagining Institute (SCI), Asuna “absorbed new methods like a sponge and got so much analysis done! Her work this summer extends the way we can look at fanfiction and provides a valuable basis for what we need to collect in the future---and how much we can do computationally without automatically mass-reading the stories, something the community is very sensitive to right now.” – Anne Jamison

Project Description: Fanfiction refers to written works created and shared by fans of an already existing work, such as a movie, television show, or book series. These existing works give their fans a common point of interest which can springboard into explorations of any genre or topic. Thus, fanfiction communities provide a forum for collective storytelling where often marginalized individuals can engage in cultural commentary, experiment with narrative forms, express and process emotions, and explore aspects of identity or belief - both through generating and interacting with fanworks.