Undergraduate Library Research Award (ULRA): 2024 ULRA Winners

Kylie Hammack

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Holley Hansen

Project Title: The Role of Economics in Political Unrest in Africa: Comparing Predictors from Relative Deprivation and Modernization Theory

Project Abstract: Existing research on political instability agrees that economic factors are important predictors of unrest events; however, scholars debate which factors are most important. Some argue that growth and modernization are major triggers for protests and riots, while other studies focus on poverty or inequality as better predictors. To address this debate, I use protest and riot data from all African countries, taken from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) Project, and match this data to the PRIO-GRID geospatial structure. I test whether overall cell-level wealth (my modernization measure) and cell-level inequality (my relative deprivation measure) predict the presence of unrest events. I find that cells that are poorer, wealthier, and farther away from their country’s average are at a lessened risk of experiencing unrest, affirming theories that suggest the importance of cost-benefit calculations and the middle class in the prediction of political unrest.

Gannon Kazi

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Seth Wood

Project Title: Who is Angie Debo? The Inner Workings of a Monolith

Project Abstract: When I began attending OSU, I came to learn about an extraordinary individual known as Angie Debo. Debo was a historian who detailed the history of the allotment system which scattered Native American societies in the late 1800s. But as I learned more about her life, I wondered why Debo mattered so much to those that knew her. After reading her diaries, her books, the writings of her contemporaries, and hearing her own words and examining her historical context, I found myself further divided on this topic. Through rigorous and wide-reaching research and analysis I determined Debo’s importance today centers on Oklahoman values like selfassuredness, attention to accuracy, and an appreciation for the people and places one came from.