From Italy to Mississippi: MSU grad student scholars present a humanities institute showcase
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.—From the language of diplomacy to the history of environmental conservation and the fight against disease, Mississippi State’s 2025 Humanities Summer Scholars have been exploring what it means to be human across cultures and centuries. Their research will be shared Wednesday [Oct. 22] during presentations hosted by the Institute for the Humanities, part of MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences.
The free event, open to the public, takes place at 4 p.m. in the Templeton Room of Mitchell Memorial Library, followed by light refreshments. The presentations promise lively discussion, fresh ideas and a chance to see innovative humanities research in action.
“I’m particularly excited about this event because it will be a chance to celebrate the cutting-edge work being done by MSU’s graduate students within the humanities,” said Morgan Robinson, institute director and associate professor of history.
“The Summer Scholars fellowship is a competitive award that supports three students with summer funding. This year’s projects ranged from an environmental history of Trentino to a sociolinguistic analysis of diplomatic communication, to historical and biological examinations of tuberculosis at the former site of the Mississippi State Asylum. During the panel discussion, each student will describe the work they completed over the summer and situate it within their larger project. Audience members will be treated to a taste of three very different methodological approaches that all contribute to our understanding of humans and their place in the world,” said Robinson, author of “A Language for the World: The Standardization of Swahili.”
This year’s three recipients each received a $1,000 award, jointly supported by the College of Arts and Sciences and their respective home departments.
Presenting their work are:
—Giovanni Bisi, a Ph.D. student in history from Platteville, Wisconsin, “History of Conservation in Austrian and Italian Trentino.”
—Nana Yaa Gyamfi, a master’s student in foreign language from Ghana, “The Role of Language in Political Discourse: A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Political Rhetoric in International Relations.”
—Alexis Cutshall, a master’s student in applied anthropology from Narberth, Pennsylvania, “Contagion and Control: Tuberculosis, Public Health, and the Mississippi State Asylum.”
Part of MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, the Institute for the Humanities promotes research, scholarship and creative performances in the humanistic disciplines while raising their visibility within MSU and the wider community.
For more details about the College of Arts and Sciences and the Institute for the Humanities visit www.cas.msstate.edu and www.ih.msstate.edu.
Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.