The ISP, or Independent Study Project, is written by students from the undergraduate programs of SIT Study Abroad and relates to a program theme. Using primary sources students choose topics with a manageable focus that can be carried out in a variety of settings, such as schools, nongovernmental organizations or field research stations. During the independent study period students work closely with a project advisor and other key contacts in the field. The ISP is typically a 20- to 40-page paper presented to student colleagues, the academic director and, often, the advisor and other interested host-country individuals.
Copyright permissions have been obtained by all contributors to this collection.
Submissions from 2022
Defensa y Oposición al Aborto Legal: una exploración de las estrategias y las agendas dentro de los movimientos a favor y en contra de los derechos reproductivos en Buenos Aires, Argentina / Defense and Opposition of Legal Abortion: an exploration of the strategies and agendas within pro- and anti- reproductive rights movements in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Hannah Levenstein, University of Redlands
The Influence of a Company's Inherent Values on its Sustainability: Case Study of Portuguese Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Charlie Lynch, Colorado College
“Yo también Puedo” - Una investigación de pensamientos y opiniones sobre redes de apoyo y historia de violencia intrafamiliar contra mujeres mapuches rurales, Shira A. Lyss-Loren, Washington University in St. Louis
Market Feminism in Morocco, Claire Madsen, Colgate University
The Current Status of Women in Morocco and How it Can be Improved, Amanda Maia, Smith College
A comparative analysis of migrant health policies and practices in the US and Switzerland, Rebecca Mak, Rice University
The Maps of Us: Generational Trauma, Community Building, and Creative Resistance in Amman, Jordan, Neha Malik, Georgetown University
Investigating White Hegemonic Masculinity Among SADF Veterans in Durban, James Marculitis, Occidental College
Afforestation and Biodiversity: Bryophyte Richness Changes Between Icelandic Forest Types, Kian McDonough, University of Michigan
Improving the Longevity of Dairy Cattle: An Important Initiative for the Swiss Dairy Industry, Frances McMillan, Denison University
How elevation affects epiphyte distribution: An analysis in epiphyte distribution changes at different elevations and tree strata in Santa Lucia Cloud Forest Reserve, Ecuador, Nicole L. Melnick, Gettysburg College
Doing Well by Doing Good: Analyzing the Dynamics and Effectiveness of Corporate Engagement, Gillian Meyers, Georgetown University
The Nesting Behavior of Russet-backed Oropendola on Sumak Allpa, Ecuador: An analysis of nest construction and interactions with competing species, Claire Molina, Scripps College
Healing in the Himalayas: Mustangi Medical Practitioners’ Perspectives on Integrative Approaches to Chronic Illness, Lucia Morey, Mount Holyoke College
¿Cuál es el futuro del Sistema Alimentario en Argentina? El rol de los talleres de alimentación sana, segura y soberana del Área de Alimentación de la UTT en la lucha por la agroecología y la soberanía alimentaria, Gabriela Nahm, Davidson College
Sacred Scavengers: Vulture Conservation in Nepal, Hans Nedde, St. Lawrence University
Step by step: Understanding perceptions of time and space in Nepal, Lillian Norton-Brainerd, Hamilton College
Unofficial Torturers and Helpless Victims: Applying the Convention Against Torture to Organized Criminal Groups, Emmanuel Orozco Castellanos, University of Michigan
El Parque de la Papa y el Centro Internacional de la Papa: un caso de estudio de una colaboración única para la conservación de diversidad biocultural, Molly Orr, Kenyon College
Jabaaru Immigré ak Goor Jaarin: Migration, Marriage, and Emigrants’ Wives in Senegal, Sophia Patterson, Trinity University
How Ultra Firms in Former Soviet and Yugoslav States Became Political Actors, Alex Pelletier, Davidson College
If These Walls Could Talk: Restoring 15th Century Paintings in Upper Mustang, Ellie Penner, Washington and Lee University
Abandonados por los Estados Unidos: Migrantes Venezolanos Llenan los Vacíos en la Comunicación de la Política Migratoria, Ingrid Piña, University of Texas at Austin
La Cultura Familiar: Una exploración de herencia y memoria a través de comida, Alexandria Pizzino, Bowdoin College
La Capital Marica de Chile: Un mapa queer/kuir/marica de Valparaíso y una investigación sobre la construcción publica de una comunidad visible en Valparaíso, Steven Powell, Duke University
Counternarratives of Color: Race in Queer Archiving, Sanjula Rajat, Rollins College
Los desafíos y sueños históricos y actuales de la Unidad Educativa Amauta Ñanpi: Comunidad como base y meta de la educación intercultural bilingüe, Catherine Rhame, Williams College
Fighting Heroin Abuse with Heroin: How Legalizing Prescription Heroin Has Changed the Way New Generations Use Drugs, Claire Ridley, Georgetown University
The Geopolitical Impact of Conflict on Food Security in Nigeria, Charis Riebe, Washington University in St. Louis
Born A Foreigner: Tibetan Statelessness in India, Sonam Rikha, Pomona College
Discusión política en los liceos de Santiago, Chile: Explorando las escuelas cómo espacio de ciudadanía formación y reflexión critica, Nicole Rodríguez, Hamilton College
Investigating primary succession following the retreat of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, Iceland, Ella Roelofs, Middlebury College
Economic Perceptions and Potential Within La Marsa, Dean Roiland, Cedarville University
Gender Roles And The Social Agent: Framing The Women’s Movement(s) In Postcolonial Morocco, Lily Ross, Pomona College
A quantitative study of orchids and their proximate environments over an elevational gradient on the Northern slope of Montagne d’Ambre, Hazel Schrader, Hamilton College
Shinetagantsi: Un caso de la alimentación materna e infantil y medicina intercultural durante lactancia en la comunidad nativa de Palotoa Teparo, Layne Scopano, University of South Carolina
El impacto de la pandemia en la formación de los hábitos de alimentación en niñes pequeñes en la Villa 21-24 en Barracas, Buenos Aires / The impact of the pandemic in the creation of nutritional habits in young children in Villa 21-24 in Barracas, Buenos Aires, Hannah Seewald, Temple University
Contemporary Legacies of Morocco’s Gnawa Music Communities, Luke Sheppard, Haverford College
Millonarios y Bosteros: La rivalidad entre River y Boca desde una perspectiva de desigualdad social en la ciudad de Buenos Aires contemporánea, Noah Siderhurst, Vassar College
La Ciencia Deshumanizada: La relación humano-ambiental entre el CADIC-CONICET y la Antártida, Ariel Silverman, Harvard University
Observational Study of Woolly Monkey Behavior and Vocalizations: Behavioral Time Allotment and Vocalization Habits of a Small Population of Poeppig’s Woolly Monkey (Lagothrix lagotricha poeppigii) in the Ecuadorian Amazon, Marina Smith-Hanke, Vassar College
The Viability of Traditional Portuguese Olive Groves in the Alentejo Region under a Sustainable Development Framework, Sydney Soloway, Hamilton College
La política cultural del aborto: Las percepciones y el manejo del aborto en Arica, Chile, Eva Strelitz-Block, The University of Texas at Austin
Assessing the Threat of Coral Decline on Fish Diversity in Response to Temperature, Ryland Talmadge, College of Charleston
The Effects of Gender-Based Violence on Maternal and Neonatal Health Among Women of Reproductive Age Seeking Services at the Gender-Based Violence Recovery Center at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, Mana Tezuka, Syracuse University
Aquatic diversity in a changing tropical Andean glacierized catchment: Macroinvertebrates reveal possible important consequences to the Chimborazo region as glaciers recede and the climate continues to change, Tanner Thomas, Bowdoin College
Treatments of Cyanobacteria on Mariculture Sponges in Jambiani, Tanzania, Sally Thornton-White, University of Denver
Perceptions of the Efficacy and Trustworthiness of Faith-Based Organizations and Secular NGOs in Mgwashi, Bumbuli District, Tanzania, Naomi Tomlin, Vassar College
A Displaced People: Documenting the History and Displacement of the Batwa Tribe in Bundibugyo District, Uganda., Marcos S. Turk, The George Washington University
“For a Better Future”: The Impact of Labor Migration on Families in Samoa, Rebekah Underwood, Saint Michael's College
Factors Driving Changing Community Acceptance of Gays and Lesbians in Cato Manor, KwaZulu-Natal, Isabella van der Weide, Muhlenberg College
Using Remote Sensing Technologies in Relocating Lubrak Village and Visualizing Flood Damages, Ronan Wallace, Macalester College
Políticas Visuales y Acción Colectiva: Un investigación sobre las articulaciones estético-políticas en manifestaciones de arte público en Ushuaia y El Bolsón / Visual Politics and Collective Action: An investigation of aesthetic-political articulations in manifestations of public art in Ushuaia and El Bolsón, Laura Woodhouse, University of Puget Sound
Comparing the Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV)’s social policies towards refugees and asylum seekers, Emily Woodruff, Washington University in St. Louis
Medical Ethics: How Resource Distribution Affects the Decision Making of Doctors in Rural India: An Explorative and Comparative Study in Jamkhed, Maharashtra, Jared Yee, Washington University in St. Louis
Medical Ethics: How Resource Distribution Affects the Decision Making of Doctors in Rural India: An Explorative and Comparative Study in Jamkhed, Maharashtra, Jared Yee, Washington University in St. Louis
Using Sport as a Tool for Sustainable Development: International Organizations and Sustainability, Hank Young, University of Arkansas
Conservation and Variation in Agricultural Landscapes: A survey of insect populations across naranjilla cultivation methods in the eastern Andean cloud forest, Ian Zakelj, Macalester College
Declining Career Interest in Primary Care in Switzerland and the United States, William Zhang, Rice University
How Does Theater Critically Engage With Contemporary Socio-Political Tensions? A Case Study on Neil Coppen and Mpume Mthombeni’s Isidlamlilo, Kami Zimmer, The New School
Submissions from 2021
An evaluation of the organic carbon content found in Fucus vesiculosus and Ascophyllum nodosum from Skutulsfjörður and Eyjafjörður, Iceland, Sylvie Alexander, Scripps College
Discontinuity Between Religion, Law, and Society through Animal Treatment in Morocco, Michael Altman, Hamilton College
Constructed Memories: A Study of how the Arts and the National Museum Operate Within Power Structures and State Interests in Postcolonial Morocco, Evan Antonakes, Bates College
Through the Eyes of Lawyers and Advocates: Navigating the Court System for Women Impacted by Domestic Violence in Morocco, Emily Atieh, Brandeis University
An Analysis of the Role of Gender in Political News Media Coverage, Clare Atkinson, University of Virginia
Narrativas de la autoconstrucción: posicionalidades e identidades en migrantes venezolanos en Quito, Ecuador, Vicente Bickel, Hope College
Islam and Equality Through Symbolism, Nellie Bowers, Sewanee
The Odyssean Dilemma: Homelessness as Home and the Search for Ithaka, Francesca Casarella, University of Notre Dame
Abundance, foraging levels, and dietary preferences of Chaetodon capistratus on reefs surrounding Porvenir Island in the Guna Yala Comarca of Panamá, Eleanor Ann Casement, Tulane University
Helmintos transmitidos por el suelo en Ecuador; la respuesta comunitaria y las percepciones a ellos en Baños y Puyo, Audrey Chesney, Gettysburg College
A Socio-Ecological Perspective on Integrating Biodiversity Conservation and the Security-Development Nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa, Lilyon Conroy, Tulane University
The Memory of a Nation: How Spanish Political Parties and Their Electoral Manifestos Address Historical Memory, Aidan G. Coohill, University of Colorado Boulder
The Role of Public and Private Sectors: How to Promote National Cybersecurity Strategies and Critical Infrastructure Protection in Southeastern Europe, Larry Cruz, Bates College
Assessing the need for and access to migrant-sensitive rehabilitative healthcare: An analysis of current Swiss and German practices, Lauren Cuppy, University of South Carolina
RETRATO DE UNA ECONOMÍA EN MOVIMIENTO: Retos de la economía sustentable en San Francisco de Borja, Quijos, Napo, Meghan Mary Edwards, Ohio Wesleyan University
An Eventful Past Predicting a Bizarre Future: Assessing the Influence of Ocean Circulation on Key Fish Species in Icelandic Waters. An analysis of past circulation records in order to predict the state of demersal fish stocks in future climate scenarios, Matthew Engfer, The College of Wooster
Beach suitability for nesting Olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), Playa Malena, Azuero Peninsula, Panama, Soleil Foy, University of Colorado Boulder
Development-Induced Displacement in Kiryandongo District: A Case Study of the Karuma Hydroelectric Power Plant, Remington Fritz, William & Mary
Purple Shadows in Catalonia: Josep Pla, Great Questions of Literature, and the Bid for Catalan Independence, Caya Greenspan-Layman, Muhlenberg College
A Hidden Emergency: Transgenerational Inheritance in the Next Generation of Rwandans, Neila Gross, University of Notre Dame
The Gap Between Policy and the People: A Case Study of the Buikwe Fishing Communities, Capri Gutiérrez, Rollins College
A Ladder of Endemicity: A pioneering study of anuran communities along an elevational gradient in the Eastern Andean Cloud Forests, Ecuador, Ella Halbert, Oberlin College
The Hands that Weave Stories, Elanna Hawkins, Southwestern University
The Multi-step Approach to Covid Prevention in the Casamance Region, Saraí Hernandez Salguero, Bowdoin College
Landmine Removal in Post-Conflict Rwanda: The Connection Between Demining, Reconstruction, and Reconciliation, Riley Hinklin, Macalester College
Land Use as a Predictor of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) Presence on the Entebbe Coast of Lake Victoria, Uganda, Zachary Hoffman, Gettysburg College
Los Efectos Psicosociales que Produce el Embarazo en las Vidas de Madres Adolescentes en Quito, Ecuador, Kaylee Howell, Wake Forest University
Investigating The Impact of Land Use on Avian Diversity and Abundance in Areas Surrounding Mabamba Swamp, Uganda, Sydney Marie Jones, Carleton College
An Assessment of the Traditional Botanical Usage of the Indigeneous People of the Bugungu Sub-Region of Western Uganda, Elena Kilber, Portland State University
A biological assessment of water quality in El Placer, Ecuador: The effect of agriculture on stream health and the quality of historical versus current drinking water sources, Danielle Kleinberg, Gettysburg College
Representation and Recommendations: Participation of People Who Use Drugs in UN-Level Policy-making, Lily Knudsen, Vanderbilt University
Bird Diversity in the Ecuadorian Chocó: A Proposal for Avitourism in Villaflora and Manduriacu Reserve, Elizabeth Kroger, Middlebury College
Lessons learned from the HIV/AIDS pandemic and access to medicines for COVID-19 treatment, Thalia Le, Emory University
Alienation of Labor or Alienation of Self: Perceptions of Hospitality Labor and Economic Development in Morocco, Julian Madera, Brandeis University
Cape Town Cartographies: Which spaces can the youth access? Mapping the mobilities of 11 University of Cape Town (UCT) students, Sokona Mangane, Bates College
CBOs as a Tool for Sustainable Community Development: The Case in Kapchorwa, Annie Manges, Appalachian State University
La autenticidad y el yo: Un análisis sobre la experiencia urbana de las mujeres indígenas en Ecuador, Madison L. McClellan, Northwestern University
Burning in Purgatory: The Suffocation of Bisexuality and How the Match was Lit, Tricia Menzel, University of Colorado Boulder
Indigenous conceptions of community organization and autonomy in Oaxaca’s Sierra Norte: Answers and resistance to State-sponsored practices of internal colonialism, Carter Minnick, The University of Virginia