Student Research Conference

William V. Moore Student Research Conference

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About the Conference

The William V. Moore Student Research Conference is an opportunity for advanced high school and undergraduate students to present research on a variety of topics, including Southern and South Carolina politics, civil rights, political extremism, educational opportunity and economic development, political communication, human geographies and world politics. The conference, held annually in April, is held in honor of Dr. William V. Moore and reflects his passionate commitment to undergraduate education and improving political discourse and educational and economic opportunities for all South Carolinians.

Questions about the conference can be directed to Dr. Mark Long (LongM@cofc.edu) or Dr. Briana McGinnis (mcginnisbl@cofc.edu).
The conference is made possible by donations to the William V. Moore Memorial Fund and the Department of Political Science.

About Bill Moore

Bill MooreIn his 37-year career at the College of Charleston, Dr. Moore was a devoted teacher and mentor.  He was a true renaissance man, but he always identified himself as a teacher. He advised a large number of political science students and took on special responsibilities for student athletes, always mindful of the special challenges posed by pursuing both athletic and academic achievement. Dr. Moore earned his B.A. and Master’s degrees from Southern Illinois University and his Ph.D. from Tulane University. He was a well-known expert on South Carolina politics, Southern politics, and political extremism. He was the author of Political Extremism in the United States and co-author of South Carolina Politics and Government as well as numerous scholarly articles, encyclopedia entries and publications on Southern and extremist politics, civil rights, electoral politics, campaign spending, and intergovernmental relations.

2023 William V. Moore Conference Awards

Best Papers:
First Place: Ella Phillips - "Relations Between China and Africa: Mutually Beneficial or Exploitation?"
Second Place: Lucas Moyon - "Monetary Contraction in the Presence of Fiscal Stimulus"
Third Place: Cameron Wilson - "The Common Law Approach to Conflict Related Sexual Violence in a Global Context"

 

Best Presentations:
First Place: Justin May - "Shady Standards: The Shadow Docket and Emergency Relief"
Second Place: Grace Kern - "Mapping Pathways Forward for the Women and Children of
al Hol Camp"
Third Place: Co-presenters, Aliece Hurley and Soleil Tibbets-Barnes - "Bad Blood: Partisanship and the Politics of Blood Donation"

 

The panels for the 12th annual William V. Moore Student Research Conference are listed below, along with the names of our presenters and their research projects.  

 

Panel 1: Institutions and States: Empirical Approaches

Justin May - "Shady Standards: The Shadow Docket and Emergency Relief"
Major: Political Science  Mentor: Dr. Claire Wofford

Cameron Wilson - "The Common Law Approach to Conflict Related Sexual Violence in a Global Context"
Majors: Political Science, International Studies  Mentor: Dr. Hollis France

Gabrielle Coble - "Japan's Transition to a Modern State"
Major: Marketing  Mentor: Dr. Guoli Liu

 

Panel 2: Citizenship & Belonging

Taylor Schneider - "Why American Citizens on the Island of Puerto Rico Should Have the Right to Vote"
Majors: Political Science, Communication  Mentor: Dr. Robert Westerfelhaus

Courtney Smith - "Conceptualizations of Home at the Interchange of Exile"
Majors: Political Science, Communication  Mentor: Dr. Briana McGinnis

Grace Kern - "Mapping Pathways Forward for the Women and Children of al Hol Camp"
Majors: Political Science, International Studies  Mentor: Dr. Daniel Brown

 

Panel 3: The Politics of Public Health

Emily Eaton - "The Right of Self-Determination for the Mentally Disabled in the United States"
Major: History  Mentor: Dr. Elisa Jones

Alexander Siegelman - "Reviewing Health Care Policy in Kentucky, Massachusetts, and South Carolina"
Major: Political Science  Mentor: Dr. Kendra Stewart

Aliece Hurley & Soleil Tibbets-Barnes (co-presenters) - "Bad Blood: Partisanship and the Politics of Blood Donation"
Majors: Political Science, International Studies (Hurley)
Majors: Political Science, French (Tibbets-Barnes)
Mentor: Dr. Jordan Ragusa

 

Panel 4: Children, Families, and the Law

Rachelle Kimbrell - "No Ideal Perpetrators: The Legal-Political Construction of Children who Commit Criminal Offenses"
Major: Political Science  Mentor: Dr. Briana McGinnis

Alicia Wilson - "South Carolina's Racial Disparities in Juvenile Justice"
Major: Political Science  Mentor: Dr. Jordan Ragusa

Glory Mayreis - "Trans Parents and the Policies Against Them"
Major: Political Science  Mentor: Dr. Lynne Ford

 

Panel 5: Political Economies

Ella Phillips - "Relations Between China and Africa: Mutually Beneficial or Exploitation?"
Major: Political Science  Mentor: Dr. Guoli Liu

Margaret Bowden - "How Eco-Friendly is Ecotourism?"
Majors: Political Science, Marine Biology  Mentor: Dr. Matthew Nowlin

Lucas Moyon - "Monetary Contraction in the Presence of Fiscal Stimulus"
Majors: Economics, Physics, Astronomy  Mentor: Dr. Norman Maynard

 

Panel 6: Contesting Gender

Savannah Petrelli - "An Analysis of the Lack of 'Gender' in Refugee Law Definitions"
Majors: Poliical Science, International Studies  Mentor: Dr. Lynne Ford

Paige Kelley - "Gendered Appearance and Electability"
Major: Political Science  Mentor: Dr. Lynne Ford

Zara Johnson - "Biological, Conjugal, or Ornamental: The social impact of women's portrayals in Indian soap operas and advertisements"
Majors: Communication, International Studies  Mentor: Dr. Beatriz Maldonado