Amidst the abundant scholarship on Lamanite identification within Latine communities, there is still a need for further exploration and understanding of the perspectives held by Latine individuals affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). According to LDS beliefs, the term Lamanite originates from the Book of Mormon, considered a sacred scripture by the church, and is used to describe individuals or groups believed to be descendants of ancient inhabitants of the Americas. This study aims to explore how Latine individuals interpret Lamanite identification as an ethnic/racial category and the reasoning behind embracing or rejecting it. Conducted through semi-structured interviews, this research will focus specifically on Mexican-American members and ex-members of the church. By examining the concept of transculturation, the study seeks to delve into the participants' understanding of Lamanite identification as an ethnic/racial identity. The literature on Lamanite identification demonstrates that for some Mexican Americans, it signifies a connection to a lost ancestral history. In contrast, for others, it represents an ethnic/racial category that colonial mentality used to oppress Indigenous groups. Anticipating diverse responses, this study aims to uncover how participants utilize the Lamanite identification to comprehend their positionality in both the United States and Mexico. By shedding light on the nuanced perspectives surrounding Lamanite identification, this research contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of how Latine individuals within the church navigate their ethnic and racial identities, enriching the discourse on cultural heritage and heritage-making practices.

The United States of America accounts for the highest number of museums in the world, with roughly 33,000 institutions across the nation as of 2021 (Study in Switzerland 2021). In a national context, these museums serve as liaisons that transcend time, space as well as social boundaries, allowing for information and constructive dialogue around global conflicts and phenomenon that not only educates the public on the past and present but also engage audiences in more critically examining and understanding the world around them. Globally, museums are functioning as platforms for necessary socio-political discourse and are leading institutions in serving as bridges in peacebuilding amongst social groups with high social tensions. This research focuses on museums as an operable tool in navigating peacebuilding globally in considering historical contexts of cultural conflicts as well as recentering marginalized groups and their narratives in retelling stories that contribute to national and global identities as well as realities. This ongoing research takes a dual approach to conceptualizing engaged topics through case studies and ethnographic collections, with hopes to assert the complexities of peacebuilding in museums during late-stage capitalism across the globe. Through the examination of museum strategies, programs, and operations, and future collections of personal accounts, this research works towards conceptualizing the engagement of civic action and advocacy in the context of a changing socio-cultural and economic landscape causing the needs of communities, governments, and corporations to intersect in the overall efficacy of museums. In understanding the global efforts in aiding to mend social disparities and intolerance, it is intended that these efforts are utilized to theorize museum organizing in the US to better counter perpetual social unrest.

When you look at an object how do you know the name of it? For objects with multiple names, how do you decide which name is the most appropriate? Name agreement refers to how well people agree on what an object should be called. Objects with low name agreement (couch/sofa) typically have multiple possible names whereas objects with high name agreement have few (apple). The present study examines how people decide which name is the most appropriate. Because names for objects differ regionally, the first part of the experiment will be a norming study utilizing visual stimuli from the Bank of Standardized Stimuli (BOSS) to gather materials for the eye tracking portion of the study. A Qualtrics survey of about 100 images (50 high and 50 low agreement) prompting individuals to name said stimuli will be used to ensure that the materials properly reflect the participants’ high and low name agreement norms. These materials will then be used in an eye tracking experiment which will examine how much implicit competition there is between labels for an item at different points in time. In this study, we will track participants’ eyes while they view images and written labels and ask them to pick the label that best matches the image. To measure competition, we will track when and for how long people look at each label during the decision-making process. This will allow for a better understanding of how participants decide between competing labels for a given object.

This research project focuses on Liberian immigrants’ experiences when settling into the United States faced during the Liberian civil war. The political systems that create complex living environments that lead to migration and the effects of migration policies on displaced populations are addressed through these interviews. The research is a collection of ethnographical interviews with Liberian Americans detailing their experiences migrating to the United States. Interviewees are questioned on their migration experience to their lives in Liberia and the United States: the answers are then coded for similarities. The project is meant to exemplify the experiences of those immigrants who moved to the United States during the Liberian civil war and show the analysis of the socio-political factors of the United States migration policy. The purpose of this study is to see the commonalities of what makes migration to the United States difficult through the policies that are in place: oftentimes, the migration process can be difficult for immigrants. Those who become immigrants through disruptive events (such as war) aren’t strangers to difficult situations.