When Puigpardines was Lord of Karditsa
India Kelly, Ancient Studies
Mentor: Michael Lane, Ancient Studies
In “When Puigpardines Was Lord of Karditsa,” I aim to understand what life was like in Frankish Greece under the rule of Catalonian Lord Pedro de Puigpardines. The circumstances surrounding Puigpardines’s rule were peculiar: there are no traces of his residence, no administrative records left behind, and only a single ruined church left to suggest his possible alliance with a particular French knight. Focusing on the relationship between Lord Puigpardines, the existing Frankish nobility, and the Greek peasantry, this project argues that Puigpardines was an absentee landlord who, astonishingly, allowed the enemy he once fought in battle to retain control over his territory in the province of Boeotia. This project draws information from secondary sources written in English, Greek, and Catalan and relies on local informants and material culture sources during my visit to the town of Karditsa (now Akraifnio). I also employed online mapping to find possible areas for Puigpardines’s castle. As few primary sources exist about the period of Catalonian Rule during the Duchy of Athens, this project will be the first work specifically about the lordship of Karditsa during the period, and one of the few works other than “The Chronicle of the Morea” on Frankish Boeotia.
This work was funded, in part, through an Undergraduate Research Award from the UMBC Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.
Questions? Please email eastephe@umbc.edu
Questions? Please email eastephe@umbc.edu
The Politics of Unwanted Pregnancy: A Social Work Perspective
Tessa Cone, Social Work
Lisa Vetter, Political Science; Jayshree Jani, UMBC, Department of Social Work
In a country where bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom are no longer guaranteed, social workers have a responsibility to understand the current political climate and legislation, educate themselves and others on safe sex practices, and advocate for increased services and resources for pregnant people. Through a variety of qualitative and quantitative research, including first hand experiences, this research will guide social workers as they continue to provide support to pregnant people who have unwanted pregnancies in the post Roe era.
This work was funded, in part, through an Undergraduate Research Award from the UMBC Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.
Exploring Barriers to the Hispanic Community of Baltimore: Perceived Discrimination in the Workplace
Natan Lichtman, Social Work
Kerri Evans, Social Work
Many Hispanic immigrants, especially those that are undocumented, endure poor working conditions and long hours while maintaining jobs that are significantly underpaid (Fernández et. al., 2021). That being said, their stories often remain unheard due to language barriers and/or not speaking up in fear of consequences. This research takes a deeper dive into a previous quantitative study with Dr. Evans regarding barriers to employment experienced by the Hispanic immigrant community of Baltimore, MD. The initial results found that many participants reported not having experienced discrimination, contradicting what we know to be true. To understand this discrepancy, 20 individuals from varying demographics that attend the Esperanza center, a social service organization that supports this population, participated in a 45-minute to one-hour interview regarding their pay, opportunity for advancement, workplace relationships, treatment by their employers, and discrimination based on various identities. At this point, the results have showed the common theme of a paradoxical relationship with their employers: on one hand, they pay them below minimum wage, deny requests off, and laugh off their attempts at self-advocacy; on the other, they provide them the opportunity to work in this country and support their families, and for that they are grateful.
This work was funded, in part, through an Undergraduate Research Award from the UMBC Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.