Student Research Projects:

Research interns in spring 2004:
Miranda Carman, Gurpreet Kaur,
and Lorraine Peterson

Students are able to do original research in courses and research internships. Here are some recent examples of student research.

• Original research is done every year by students in the social work program (Swk 325 & 326) on a variety of topics. Some recent research was featured at the Health & Wellness conference.
  
• Research interns have assisted Drs. Allen Richardson and Catherine Cameron at the Hindu temple Vraj and religious pluralism in the U.S.
  
• Research interns help Drs. Kathy Boland and Kerrie Baker with an assessment of the Health & Wellness initiative
  

Faculty Research Projects:

A Hindu Pilgrimage Center in Eastern Pennsylvania:

The Temple, Vraj.
In the spring of 2002, Dr. Allen Richardson and Dr. Catherine Cameron began a study of a recently dedicated Hindu temple that is home to a sect from North India. Thousands of devotees who live in the eastern United State come for spiritual and cultural renewal on festival days throughout the religious calendar year. With student assistants, the faculty members have examined the community's reaction to its neighbors and the temple's many functions for members of the Pushti Marg faith. The researchers are affiliates of the Pluralism Project of Harvard University, as described at http://www.pluralism.org/affiliates/richardson/index.php

Click here for more on the Temple

College Initiatives:

Health and Wellness Initiative

The Planning Committee headed by Professor Suzanne Weaver and Dr. Micah Sadigh staged a very successful conference in 2004 and 2005. The conference inaugurates a major initiative for the college on the nexus among the psychological, social, and physical dimensions of health. Drs. Kathy Boland and Kerrie Baker are doing assessment research on this initiative.

Learn about the Health and Wellness Initiative and the First Annual Health Connection Conference at The Health Connection website.

Field Experience in the Caribbean

Field Experience in the Caribbean: An exciting new opportunity for students is the ten-day January course, Field School in Caribbean Anthropology, in the Turks & Caicos Islands. The course combines lectures, tours, and fieldwork on the little island of South Caicos (population 1200 people). Faculty and students stay at the School for Field Studies. The trip is co-ordinated by Dr. Catherine Cameron. See her details or click here for information provided on the course web site.