UNH Today

It’s spring. At UNH, that means celebrating undergraduate research — first through the Undergraduate Research Conference and then through Inquiry, UNH’s online undergraduate research journal. This spring, three College of Liberal Arts students penned articles for Inquiry about their research: Julian Maduro ‘21 looked at high school reading lists, C. Jamie Mater ’22 explored the troubled teen industry and Ryan Saputo ‘22 dug into Crusade-era writings.

A hallmark of UNH’s undergraduate research is the close mentorship of faculty. Inquiry editor Brigid Casellini interviewed Paul Robertson, lecturer in the Department of Classics, Humanities, and Italian Studies, about his approach to mentoring for Inquiry’s “Mentor Highlights.”

Maduro, an alumna who graduated last spring, was an English and justice studies dual major. Her article is “The Evolution of Assigned Reading: The Diversity in New Hampshire High School Reading and Student Reading Engagement.” Maduro was mentored by Laura Smith, senior lecturer in English.

Inspired by a lifelong love of books as well as previous research on multicultural children's books, Maduro takes a close look at the diversity of high school reading lists and how the titles on these lists may impact student engagement.

Mater, a psychology major, wrote “The Troubled Teen Industry and Its Effects: An Oral History.” They were mentored by psychology and justice studies senior lecturer Robert Eckstein.

Because of their personal experiences and a lack of in-depth research on the harmful effects of the troubled teen industry, Mater sought to document the stories of nineteen former residents of a treatment program to contribute knowledge that could lead to positive change in the industry.

Saputo, a history and classics double major, wrote “Barbarians and Heretics: Anti-Byzantine and Anti-Western Sentiments in Crusade-Era Chronicles, 1096–1204." He was mentored by David Bachrach, professor of history.

Saputo first learned about the Byzantine Empire as a child playing a video game. As a history major with a continued fascination years later, he dissected first-hand accounts of medieval Crusades and discovered how stereotypes influenced the events that led to the sack of Constantinople.

Read the full spring edition of Inquiry here.