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 2021
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
Taking the Waste out of Wastewater: Evaluation and Implementation of Sustainability Measures at Base Aérea N.°5’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, Abigail Monahan, Skidmore College
Perceiving the Intangible: Introspective & Meditational Practices in Moroccan Sufism, Anna Gray Morales, University of South Carolina
Draagmoederschap: Surrogacy in the Netherlands, Olivia Murray, Georgetown University
Analysis of the Moroccan Government & NGOs Responses to Migrant Health Crisis, Jepchirchir Mutwol, Grinnell College
Comparación entre las percepciones médicas y psicológicas de la diabetes tipo 2 y la tuberculosis en el Ecuador, Héctor Ortiz, Wofford College
Man v.s. Wild: An Analysis of Language Used Regarding Human-Wildlife Conflict in the Kibale National Park Community, Western Region, Uganda, Sophie Perfetto, Carleton College
Soil Not Oil: An Assessment of the Role of Earth Jurisprudence in Restoring Biodiversity Conservation in the Indigenous Bagungu Community, in Uganda, Joslyn Primicias, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
The Labyrinth of Data Collection for Humanitarian Project Funding and Implementation, Maria Alejandra Pulido, Hamilton College
Public Perception of Forest and Fire Management Policy in Portugal, Jensen Rocha, Washington and Lee University
Taxonomic Annotation of Near-Coral Seawater Microbiota in Kilifi, Kenya, Megan Ruoff, Swarthmore College
Letters to a Glacier; An Experiment and Critique of M. Jackson’s Glacier-Ruins Narrative, Lily Fife Schaeufele, Smith College
Evaluating the Pragmatic and Moralistic Approach to Drug Policy and Addiction in Opioid Epidemic Outcomes, Brielle Seidel, Syracuse University
A Phenological Analysis of Páramo Vegetation Along an Altitudinal Gradient: The Influence of Camelids on Andean Flora in the Páramo of Chimborazo, Ecuador, Tessa Seifried, Northwestern University
Disability and Healthcare Access in Morocco: Social and Cultural Influences, Christa Shipman, Oregon State University
Examining factors associated with BCG and Poliomyelitis vaccination coverage in Tanzanian and Kenyan children aged 12 to 23 months using DHS surveys, Ognyan Simeonov, Bates College
Harvesting the Truth about Salt Mining: An Assessment of the Factors and Demographics that Influence Women to Become Salt Miners, Katwe Uganda, Amelia Simmonds, Vassar College
COVID-19 Vaccine Diplomacy in West Africa: Empathetic Soft-Power or Neocolonial Intentions?, Mary Sperrazza, University of San Francisco
The Modern-Day Sand War: A New Dimension of the Morocco-Algeria Conflict Explored Through Youth, Alec Stimac, Davidson College
La educación alternativa y comunitaria y el rol de la minka en la comunidad de Chukidel Ayllu Llakta – Lagunas en Saraguro: Un enfoque intercultural y multilingüe, Kristin Lynn Vogel, The University of Iowa
Political Processes of Displacement in Infrastructure Development: the Case of Aldeia da Luz and the Alqueva Dam, Cordelia Walz, Oberlin College
Science is for Everybody: A resource for understanding glaciers, climate, and modeling, Emma Watson, Carleton College
An Assessment of Terrestrial Decapoda Diversity Across Three Ecological Zones in Mida Creek, Kenya, Reese Yount, Hope College
Assessing and Mapping the Spatial-Temporal Change in Forest Phenology of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest using Moderate Resolution Satellite, Bailey Ytterdahl, Gettysburg College
Submissions from 2020
La integración de las necesidades especiales educativas en aulas convencionales chilenos: investigación y experiencias vividas, Julia Alfiere, Smith College
El valor de la creatividad: Acceso, sentido, y potencial de las artes visuales en el sistema educativo en Valparaíso, Chile., Bianca Allende Boyd, Bowdoin College
Found in the World: An Autoethnographic Exploration of how Place Influences the Growing Formation of One’s Identity, Sydney Atkins, Tulane University
La importancia de los espacios: conociendo los espacios en línea creado por los haitianos y organizaciones haitianas en Chile, Juan Avilez, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The Current State of Migrant Health in Morocco: Pre-and Peri-COVID-19 Pandemic, Layla Babahaji, Tulane University
Trace Metals and the Environment: Studying the Behaviour of Iceland’s Glacially Sourced Trace Metals, Owen Bailey, Bates College
The Political Development of Capital Punishment in the Modern Moroccan State, Mia Barr, Skidmore College
Changing Water Resources’ Effect on Livelihoods and Socio-Ecological Relationships in Himalayan Communities of Nepal, Luke Bazemore, Middlebury College
The Public Secret and Private Pain of Wartime Sexual Violence: Comparing the Heroinat Memorial and the 2020 Newborn Monument from the Perspective of NGOs in Kosovo, Martha Beliveau, Grinell College
Non-state Actors’ COVID-19 Response in Nepal, Jenna Mae Biedscheid, Colorado State University
Shifting Landscapes: The Effects of Male Out-Migration on Food Security and Food Sovereignty in Rural Nepal, Emma Brown, Middlebury College
The Increased Role of Pesantrens in Indonesia’s Modern-Day Approach to Deradicalization, Helen Bruckner, Bates College
Alimentando a México: Los Movimientos Indígenas y Agrícolas Contra las Políticas Neoliberales, Sofia Buchler, Occidental College
Macroinvertebrate Community and Temperature Changes in a Michigan Stream, Nyika Campbell, University of Colorado Boulder
Indigenous Communities Versus Oil Companies: Identifying Trends in Tactics and Success of Indigenous-Led Anti-Petroleum Movements in the Ecuadorian Amazon, Ella V. H. Carlson, Smith College
Catalonia: Independence in History, Rhetoric, and Symbolism, Natalie J. Cestone, Colgate University
La inclusión de la mujer indígena y el conocimiento en la conservación biológica en el Perú, Ivyanna Colon-Greider, Temple University
La Discapacidad en Valparaíso: La existencia de un (¿nuevo?) movimiento social, Julia Conti, Carnegie Mellon University
Facebook’s Façade: Understanding The Disillusionment of Tunisian Youth, Adam Cooper, University of Virginia
¿“La Familia Diversa”?: Una Investigación en Constructos de Familias en Ecuador en el Siglo XXI, Julia Cornick, Smith College
Room to Grow: A Comparative Analysis of Cannabis Regulation Models in Europe, Amanda H. Cronin, Cornell University
The current state of research on the global amphibian epidemic, chytridiomycosis: A systematic literature review and view into the future of the field, Emily DeAlto, Lehigh University
If Watersheds Spoke: A condition analysis of the Rio Tomebamba watershed in southern Ecuador using GIS analysis, Lenka G. Doskocil, Colorado State University
NGOs as Learning Organizations: Evaluating Female Sports Development in Jordan Through the Lens of Women’s Soccer, Saede Eifrig, Haverford College
Finding A “True Morocco:” How Tourists Change Moroccan Economies, Infrastructure and Cultures, Emily Federico, Skidmore College
Medical Trust in Pediatric Care in the United States, Talia Feldscher, Wesleyan University
Los comedores populares argentinos en tiempos del COVID-19: El rol de los comedores durante la pandemia: el sistema alimentario y la acción del gobierno argentino, Katrina Frei-Herrmann, Claremont McKenna College
An overview of supply-chain logistics in international humanitarian aid: finding challenges and solutions, Arjun Ganga, Brown University
Ecological and Economic Benefits and Risks of Using Botanical Insecticides in Tanzanian Farms, Lilia Garcia, Illinois Wesleyan University
El artista está en línea: E-performance en el tiempo de COVID-19, Ezequiel N. González, Columbia University
Morocco’s Leadership: Assessing the Relationship Between the State and Non-Governmental Organizations Working on Migration Affairs, Adriana Nadyieli González Ortiz, Whitman College
Gen Z Perspectives on Climate Change and the Future: Having the courage to imagine and fight for a better world, Isabelle Graj, Brandeis University
The Motif of Children in War in Memorialization Practices in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ana Gvozdić, Macalester College
United or Divided? The Politics of Euro-Mediterranean Regional Identity and Migration Governance, Sarah Hall, Brown University
Conservation efforts concerning native bee species of Michigan, Thomas Hellman, Denison University
Internship Paper: Completed at the Humanitarian Law Center Kosovo, Julia Herzfeld, Smith College
Un análisis histórico de la respuesta de organizaciones sindicales a la pandemia de COVID-19, Rachel Hodes, Wellesley College
El cuerpo en la poesía de mujeres ecuatorianas, Chloe Hood, Whitman College
Tramitación social después del trauma colectivo: Un análisis de las respuestas colectivas en torno el trabajo de las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo de Argentina después de la última dictadura cívico-militar / Social processing after collective trauma: An analysis of the collective responses around the work of Argentina’s Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo after the most recent civic-military dictatorship, Sarah Horwitz, Washington University in St. Louis
La Relación entre Cambio Climático y Migración en los Andes de Perú: Los Q’ero, Taquile y la Cordillera Blanca, Sam Hosmer-Quint, Kenyon College
Colonial Patronage: Evolutions in the Critique of Sartre’s “Orphée noir”, Gus Huiskamp, Hamilton College
Una evaluación de la evolución y el futuro de la vigilancia de la pesca ilegal en Antártida bajo la CCRVMA, Courtney Jacobs, Barnard College
Empty Streets, Active Feeds: Moroccan Youth Activism in the Age of Social Media, Samantha Jaloza, Emory University
North Korean Refugees Along the Route to Freedom: Challenges of Geopolitics, Deborah Da Sol Jeong, University of California San Diego
Good Intentions, Mixed Results: Why Aid in Uganda Is Fragmented and What Can Be Done About It, Samuel D. Johnston, Willamette University
Two (or more) viruses in one bat: a systematic quantitative literature review of viral coinfection in bats, Eli J. Kaufman, Vassar College
“Gender and Sexual Minorities Identity Terms” Academic Discourse in Nepal Over Time, Carolyn Kelly, Barnard College
A Comparison of Entrepreneurship: Uganda and the United States of America, Jordan Killen, The University of Vermont
“El fútbol no tiene género”: confrontar, desafiar y cambiar la narrativa sexista del fútbol femenino en Argentina / “Soccer has no gender”: confronting, challenging, and changing the sexist narrative of women’s soccer in Argentina, Adia Klein, Yale University
Gender-based Violence During the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic: New Challenges and Adaptations at Haguruka, Asia Korkmaz, Wellesley College
The Indigenous as Orthodox: Religious Evolution in Tana Toraja, Charles Perry Lange, Whitman College
Understandings of Sexual Consent Among Male and Female Zulu South Africans in Masxha, KwaZulu-Natal, Larkin Levine, Washington University in St. Louis
Linguistic Differences in Swiss cantons and its role on the national identity, Karen Lin, Hamilton College
La construcción del imaginario de una ciudad multicultural: el Barrio Chino de Buenos Aires como exhibición pública de cultura, Yiran Lin, Columbia University
Encuadrar el aborto: Un estudio de caso de dos medios impresos porteños durante el debate en el Congreso Nacional de Argentina en 2018 / Framing Abortion: A Case Study of Two Buenos Aires Print Media during the Debate in the Argentina National Congress in 2018, Emma Lohman, Gustavus Adolphus College
Casablanca Bombings, Preventing Violent Extremism, Imam Training Program, Commander of the Faithful, Religious Pluralism, Rachel Macnow, Emory University
“En defensa por la salud”: Los actores sociales en la construcción del movimiento social en Chile, Karina Martinez, Washington University in St. Louis
Parásitos gastrointestinales de Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, Sarah Martínez, Brown University
Surviving Under the Reign of El Niño Southern Oscillation: An analysis of the effects of extreme El Niño events on the oceanographic and biological environment of the Galápagos Islands, Ava McIlvaine, Scripps College
Examining “Empowerment”: Insights into the Murshidat Program in Morocco, Hannah McKenzie, Bates College
El Ingreso Familiar de Emergencia en Argentina: una exploración cualitativa preliminar de la suficiencia relativa y el acceso / Emergency Family Income in Argentina: a qualitative and preliminary exploration of relative sufficiency and access, Seamus McWilliams, University of Wisconsin-Madison
El proceso de decolonialidad en las escuelas chilenas: Desde la educación popular y la pedagogía crítica hasta las prácticas educativas regulares, Georgia Moses, Bates College
Climate Change and Migration in Madagascar: Investigating the impacts on people, ecosystems, and natural resources, Eloise Parish Mueller, University of Oregon
EL COVID-19 Y EL DERECHO A LA INFORMACIÓN DE LOS PUEBLOS INDÍGENAS EN LA REGIÓN DE ARICA Y PARINACOTA / COVID-19 and the Right to Information of Indigenous Peoples in the Region of Arica and Parinacota, Finn Odum, Macalester College
From the Ulama to the Legislature: Hermeneutics & Morocco’s Family Code, Rachel Olick-Gibson, Washington University in St. Louis
Innovative Protection and Conservation of Coral Reefs in Madagascar, Meghan Parker, Colby College
NGOs, Religious Diversity, and Displacement in Morocco: How NGOs in Morocco navigate religious diversity when working with displaced populations from other countries, Anjali Patel, The George Washington University
Sin acceso a alimentos seguros, saludables y económicos: el modelo agroindustrial dominante y sus efectos en los consumidores en Salta, Argentina / Without access to safe, healthy, and affordable food: the dominant agroindustrial model and its effects on consumers in Salta, Argentina, Sara Paulsen, Williams College
Migración y salud en Chile: el impacto del coronavirus en la vida de los migrantes, Summer Reyes, Washington University in St. Louis
El rol del gobierno en las campañas sanitarias de VIH, COVID-19 e Influenza, Sydney Reyes, Washington University in St. Louis
Prescribing Public-Private Partnerships to Global Health Initiatives, Elizabeth Rhoads, The George Washington University