social sciences
Social Sciences
When Sarah Barclay '03 and Heitor Gouvêa '03 were applying to college, they both imagined attending classes, reading books, and writing papers. Neither anticipated doing social science research on campaign finance reform and writing up their findings for publication and for presentations at national forums. Now, though, both will tell you the research is among the most meaningful schoolwork they have ever done.Data they collected and papers they wrote as juniors were published in a briefing book for organizations working to bring new voices into the debate on campaign finance reform. Working with Professor of Government Anthony Corrado, one of the nation's leading experts on campaign finance, Gouvêa and Barclay were involved in a ground-breaking study of how people of different races, ethnic backgrounds, and religions feel about political campaigning and the role that money plays.
Corrado described the research, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, as the biggest and most diverse campaign-finance education initiative in the country. "It's a good example of the research opportunities that Colby students have," he said, reeling off a list of other ongoing projects.
Gouvêa said the hard work is worth it. "We go out to lunch and dinner to talk about it, and we get our names right at the top of publications with his [Corrado's]."
"It's really exciting to be doing something so current and relevant," Barclay said.
» Read more about Colby's political pundits.
Colby Economic Outlook
Each year, students in Associate Professor of Economics Michael Donihue's senior seminar on economic forecasting produce the Colby Economic Outlook , an eight- to 15-page newsletter that makes economic projections for the U.S. and Maine economies. This is more than just a collection of class papers. The Outlook contains projections based on Colby's Quarterly Econometric Model of the U.S. Economy and a model of the state of Maine's economy that students maintain. The publication goes to as many as 100 recipients, including think tanks, government officials, and other academic institutions. Donihue, who spent a year working for the President's Office of Economic Advisors during the Clinton administration, makes sure a copy gets to contacts there. Federal Reserve Board advisors are also on the mailing list.C.A.R.E.
Student lifestyles are at the heart of social psychology research done by Tom Geaghan '02. Geaghan conducted behavioral research about Colby students' drinking and safe-sex attitudes as part of the Colby Alcohol Research and Education (C.A.R.E.) project, in its sixth year. "The average Colby student doesn't drink as much as their peers think," Geaghan said. In fact, the way drinking is noticed and perceived in our society has contributed to a condition that researchers call pluralistic ignorance. Because most people think more alcohol is imbibed on campus than the research suggests, there's a shared sense that inflates the perception of what is normal. That shared ignorance may subtly encourage some individuals to drink more than they might otherwise, Geaghan explained. Through an ambitious education program, explaining what the norms really are, there's an opportunity to readjust perceptions and to help combat excessive drinking, he said.
Oak Human Rights Fellowship
» Go to the Oak Institute for the Study of International Human Rights site.In the last four years, four extraordinary human-rights practitioners have shared their experiences and their spirit with Colby. They came to Maine from front lines around the world: a Pakistani journalist who was charged with treason for writing about sweatshops and child labor; a Congolese activist who risked his life to avert ethnic bloodshed and to save child prisoners; a Colombian advocate for peasants and indigenous tribes; an organizer from Kosovo who defied authorities and founded clinics for women and children victims of warfare and torture. Each was an Oak Human Rights Fellow, and each spent a semester on campus teaching and inspiring students and faculty alike. Colby's Oak Institute for the Study of International Human Rights sponsors the fellowship and organizes lectures and other events around the fellow's expertise.