Student Research Profiles
Emily Smith
Emily Smith is a secondary education major with an emphasis on history. She travelled to London with the Centre for British Studies in 2012, and even had the opportunity to stop by Brussels and Paris on her way.
Smith’s research project involved making a two-week lesson plan geared toward teaching students about different perspectives on WWII, with a special focus on the leadership qualities of Winston Churchill. Her trip to London allowed her to utilize resources she would not have had access to otherwise – resources like the Churchill War Rooms and a special interview with the director of the War Rooms.
View Emily's full profile here!
Rob Weaver
Rob Weaver is a Harvest, Ala. native who graduated from UNA shortly after his trip to London with the Centre for British Studies. He is now pursuing his graduate degree in criminal justice with hopes of working in law enforcement until he can secure a job working in the U.S. government.
One of the many facets of London that intrigued Rob was that of “pub culture.” For his historical research project, he focused on a study of what exactly defined pub culture using Charles Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers and George Orwell’s essay, “The Moon Under Water.” Using a variety of historical databases, interviews with bartenders, visits to see historical pubs, and the British Library, Rob examined the history of pub life and how the picture of an ideal pub has changed in social contexts over the years.
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Kerrie Holloway
Kerrie Holloway is a history graduate student originally from Huntsville, Alabama. She has been to London with the Centre for British Studies twice, and both trips have offered unique travel and research opportunities. Over the course of both trips, Kerrie has been developing her master’s thesis, which focuses on a group of people in the 1920s known as the Bright Young People. These people, according to Kerrie’s research, were undermined in their time, but ended up being huge catalysts for social change.
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Chris Burns
Chris Burns' project took him to the heart of a time and area of London that has been rife with controversy: Brixton.
In 1981, Brixton erupted in riots fueled by racial tensions between the police and the community. Being African American, Chris felt connected to the history behind the riots, as well as the history and culture that thrives in Brixton. While most of the other students got their sources from the British Library, Chris spent the majority of his time scouring the streets and libraries of Brixton, reading archived newspapers, recording first-hand interviews with people who lived during the riots, and soaking up as much culture as he could.
What came from his work was a paper that delved into the climate that sparked off the 1981 riots and in what condition that climate exists today.
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Celia Prince
For nursing major Celia Prince, a literature project in London was definitely new territory. Even her project took her out on a limb. During her time with the Centre for British Studies in the summer of 2012, Celia wrote a “found poem” that combined parts of various works by T. S. Eliot and A. E. Hausman with her own experiences in London to address the complex relationship the city has with the passage of time.
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