Resources for Undergraduates
Undergraduate Profiles
Lourdes Long
![Dana Lee [photo]](photo.jpg)
Class of 2008
Anthropology, History, and Science, Technology, and Values
I stumbled blindly into an Intro to Anthropology course in the spring of my freshman year. I didn’t want to take the class and I had no idea what Anthropology even was. I was so excited to discover that Anthropology is everything I’d ever wanted to study, a discipline with a wide enough scope to engage all of my interests. Anthropology doesn’t ask me to leave my other knowledge or activities at the door; my interests in history, science, politics, etc. inform my anthropological study. I keep changing all my other majors, but Anthro is always a constant.
My introduction course with Dr. Deb Rotman opened my eyes to the field of Anthropology, the Anthro Department at Notre Dame, and all the academic and research opportunities open to me. Happening upon this course was probably the most fortuitous event of my ND career. All of my Anthro classes are teaching me to think differently and more critically about the world and my experiences. Taking Immigration in Comparative Perspective with Professor Maurizio Albahari challenged me to think analytically about media coverage of migration. Each class I take shakes my perspective a little bit. I think this is an essential part of a university experience.
I’ve also spent the summers after my freshman and sophomore years studying abroad. I had two incredible academic encounters at Trinity College Dublin and then at the Notre Dame Center in London. My time in Ireland led to a great research opportunity. During my sophomore year, I was research assistant to Dr. Deb Rotman, studying Irish Immigration to South Bend. Our work together grew into my own study of the Irish Immigrant Experience in San Francisco, funded by a UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program) grant from the University. I developed a project to study to compare history immigration to modern trends. This grant gave me experience in writing a grant proposal, conducting independent research, and presenting at professional conferences.
