Last week, students in the Center for Integrative Studies in Social Science at Michigan State University gathered to share their research at the department’s annual Undergraduate Research Forum.
Held on April 24 in Berkey Hall, the event highlighted projects from students in the Interdisciplinary Research Methods and Research Capstone courses, offering them the chance to present their work to the Spartan community. As the culmination of a one- or two-semester project, students presented and discussed their research, strengthening their skills in public communication and critical inquiry.
The event also included a film screening that highlighted student storytelling, featuring documentaries such as The Indian Touch, Farmers Markets, Printed in Tradition, and more. Honorable mention for documentary films went to Building a Bigger Table by Thomas Frost, Marisol Macias, and Amber Theisen.
The poster forum featured a wide range of topics, from political propaganda and gambling addiction to pizza culture and housing insecurity. Students explored complex social issues through interdisciplinary lenses, demonstrating how their coursework connects to real-world challenges.
Senior Yula Cho, a global and international studies in social science (GLIS) major, shared her poster, An Interdisciplinary Analysis of Korean Traditional Performing Arts: Tradition, Market Forces, and Global Contexts. “My project examines Korean traditional performing arts and how they’ve been shaped by the tension between cultural tradition, commercialization, and globalization,” she said. “The research asks how these art forms adapt when they move beyond local or national contexts and enter global markets.”
She found that Korean traditional performing arts are living practices shaped by history, economics, and global exchange. Rather than disappearing, these traditions adapt as they enter global contexts, revealing the complex balance between preserving cultural identity and responding to modern audiences.
Jacob Kagan, an interdisciplinary studies in social science (IDS) senior, presented his research poster, MSU Study on Pizza Culture, which examines pizza as a cultural, social, and economic phenomenon. His work explores how pizza reflects broader patterns in American identity, community, and globalization. “Rather than focusing on pizza as just food, my research treats pizza as a cultural artifact connected to identity, community, consumption, and globalization.”
He found that pizza’s flexibility, affordability, and convenience helped it spread nationwide and adapt to regional tastes. Its role in social settings and delivery culture explains why pizza remains such a central part of everyday American life.
"While I enjoy the entire semester and the slow, multi-step process of working alongside students as they craft and refashion their ideas and interests into a full-fledged research topic, it is the forum itself that really brings me joy,” said David Baylis, assistant professor and an event organizer. “These students have worked so hard and, despite expressing a fair amount of trepidation and angst about the public presentation itself... well, the confidence just comes pouring out when you see them chatting about their work with interested spectators."
To see more photos from the forum, check out our album on Facebook. Also view the complete list of honorable mentions.
