Amidst the turn of the twentieth century, few women were accounted for witnessing the advancement of archaeology, later known as the "Golden Age'' of Egyptology. In fact, much of the source material by women in this period have been misplaced or yet to be published. Mrs. Emma B. Andrews wrote nineteen volumes of diaries while observing the unearthing of over twenty tombs in the Valley of the Kings. The Emma B. Andrews Diary Project seeks to introduce Mrs. Andrews's works—and other unpublished historical documents composed by women during the time—to modern platforms, such as an online reader and social media. The transcribed texts are encoded into XML, using Text Encoding Initiative Guidelines, and the structural and contextual elements are denoted. The TEI documents are currently being used to create a comprehensive database for scholars and students alike to read the compositions of the lesser-known women of Egyptology. Accompanying the transcribed texts are biographies to equip the readers with additional context. However, we interns stepped further into this project by attempting to answer a fundamental question—how did Mrs. Andrews's accounts of her day-to-day interactions reflect the manner she viewed her life, and therefore herself? Guided by this question, we used research methods involving an analysis of Mrs. Andrews's language and identification via XML-TEI of the various contextual elements referenced—the people, places, hotels, and boats she encountered. These components were also cross-evaluated with further sources, including a sentimental analysis tool, to provide supplemental information to our study. After converging Mrs. Andrews's life history with recognized research in memory retrieval, we have noted observations on how her writing reveals her distinct perspective of the world and how her past may have influenced that point of view.

This research and public history website explores Jewish immigration experiences and Americanization from the perspectives of young Jewish immigrant women around the turn of the 20th century. I used archival material from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations to highlight these women’s voices, and archives from the Tenement Museum and the Jewish Daily Forward to illustrate Jewish life in this period. Additionally, archives from the New York Times were used to examine how Jewish immigrants were viewed. I searched these archives for primary sources to shed light on how Jewish immigrant women worked and lived, including how life in the Lower East Side’s cramped tenements was photographed and written about by outsiders - White society, and how this propagated the notion of Jewish people as Others. My goal for this research was to tell the stories of these women and listen to their voices. They tell of long hours in crowded and often dangerous garment factories, of unionizing and striking for better labor conditions, and the tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire. These women were often the main breadwinners for their families, but many saved a little for themselves to spend on ‘American’ activities such as seeing shows, frequenting dance halls, and developing an interest in ‘American’ fashion and buying clothes. White society dubbed these women’s fashion as tacky, outlandish and vulgar. Their dresses were described by White society, as well as their own community, as cheap knockoffs of the dresses they made, with too many bows, too much jewelry, and too much makeup. These immigrant women were often called ‘Ghetto Girls,’ as the Lower East Side was called the Jewish Ghetto at this point. This research also brings the present into focus and examines how immigrants are viewed and often judged. 

This paper explores how Dutch wax print has become interconnected within Central and Western African society and culture as well as throughout the diaspora. More than merely a fabric for many, Dutch wax print is an important signifier of African identity and heritage. The fabric also stands as evidence of the complex history of its traveled and cross-cultural past. During the early to mid-nineteenth century, Dutch colonizers began imitating wax resist-dyed batik fabric from Java, Indonesia, with newly developed machine technology. This was done with the intent to infiltrate the local Javanese textile market but did not succeed in doing so. Instead, the imitation batik was rejected by the Javanese market. This disapproval of the fabric in Java eventually led Dutch producers to conduct trade activity with West Africa, where a new market developed. The popularity of Dutch wax print and its association with African identity is linked to the long-standing communications between Dutch wax print distributors and West African women that sold the fabrics. These merchants would receive the fabrics and give them culturally-relevant and significant meanings related to proverbs and local sayings. Through the custom of integrating and redefining imported Dutch wax print, Africans have infused the fabric with deep cultural meaning and importance. For many in the diaspora, Dutch wax print is also a medium for expression. Contemporary artists Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Yinka Shonibare both include the fabrics into their art as a way to communicate ideas about their identity as well as the cultural heritage and multifaceted history of Africans over time. Today, throughout much of Africa and the diaspora, the fabric is a powerful medium for which to communicate ideas and concepts through cultural exchange.

Seattle has a notable history of racial segregation concerning residential discrimination that persists in its neighborhoods and schools. Segregation is often narrated as a result of private discrimination and demographic development. However, this story implies that modern segregation is not a product of government actions and unconstitutional policies, which removes the responsibility of the law to provide legal remedy for the continued existence of segregation. The consequences are evident in how legal actors, such as judges, frequently perpetuate “colorblind” language in their court cases. My study centers on the question, “How does the ‘colorblind’ approach in legal discourse exacerbate the issue of segregation of public schools?” To answer this question, I conduct a legal analysis by reviewing court decisions and review literature on the aftermath of selected court decisions and their outcomes on racial equity and segregation. In particular, I concentrate my textual analysis on pivotal court decisions on segregated public school education in Seattle and the use of colorblind rhetoric practiced by the United States Supreme Court, such as in the case of Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (2007); Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (2007) defeated a voluntary desegregation program established by the Seattle School District. Predicted findings are that in an effort to assume a non-discriminatory, universal perspective, legal discourse often overlooks the extensive history of racism that has developed the American legal system and results in a legal system that undermines and defeats efforts to establish race-conscious policies. This study sheds light on why Seattle’s public schools remain racially divided, and how the law contributes to this legacy of segregation.

School segregation is viewed as a problem of the past as schools have become more racially integrated since the Jim Crow Era and the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka court case. However, a new wave of segregation is still present in our school system as a result of systemic inequalities that stem from continued racial segregation such as socioeconomic inequalities and redlining. The goal of this project is to critically examine the public school system in the Seattle area and expose disparities that exist between the more affluent, predominantly white North Seattle area versus lower income and more racially diverse communities within South Seattle. I conducted qualitative interviews with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students from each area to compare how their education differed in higher education preparation. Predicted results are that there are significant disparities in educational experience for BIPOC and other disadvantaged groups in the greater Seattle area as they lack equitable access to academic resources and enrichment classes either from school bias or underfunding. Results may also inform us of how the racial population is disproportionately spread across Seattle as a result of redlining and district dividing lines, with BIPOC taking up more lower income areas with less access to education. By studying the experiences of BIPOC in the Seattle area, I hope to help bring awareness to the still present issue of segregation in our school system. As they speak on their own personal experiences, we can learn how to better support these students and work towards structural change to dismantle the inequities they face in our current education system.