Based on the three-movement 1952 John Cage composition "Four minutes, thirty-three seconds," the Spotlight on the Arts festival hosted the fifth-annual competition highlighting scholarly research by UGA students on Nov. 7. Poster and presentation winners were:

Bridget Dooley

PhD Creative Writing, English. Advisor: LeAnne Howe

Her PhD dissertation, Night of the Same Day, documents her research into the extraordinary life and storytelling of her great uncle 

 

Samantha Lynn Hudson

MFA Dramatic Media, Theatre & Film Studies Advisor: Michael Hussey

Her research, aimed at undergraduate cellular biology students, involves creating a molecular animation of the process by which the motor protein Kinesin walks across a microtubule while transporting cargo through a cell. 

 

Rhia Moreno

PhD Language and Literacy Education. Advisor: Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor

Moreno restructured a study abroad Italian language and culture course in Italy to address and challenge widely-held notions of culture where all Italians eat meatballs.

 

Kuo Zhang (presentation winner)

PhD Language and Literacy Education. Advisor: Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor

Zhang undertook an ethnographic study examining the experiences of 10 international graduate student first-time mothers during their process of pregnancy, childbirth and early years of motherhood in the U.S. 

 

Cage's original composition, commonly thought of as four-plus minutes of silence, emphasizes rather Cage's idea that any sounds may constitute music. Congratulations to these extraordinary students and the faculty members who encourage their research creativity, for these inspired reminders that the parameters of research are far broader than we might consider.

Image: (l-r) Kuo Zhang, winner of the presentation category, and posters winners Rhia Morena, Samantha Lynn Hudson and Bridget Dooley.