Research can be overwhelming and frustrating, and while many undergraduate students may sometimes feel that their contributions are insignificant in the larger field of their discipline, this is not necessarily true.
Last semester senior English major Meghan Fadel worked on an independent study with English professor James Holstun, and she achieved national and international recognition for her research.
Fadel was the first place winner of a 2004 international essay competition sponsored by Early English Books Online (EEBO), a UB library resource.
The contest requires students to conduct research that includes substantial documentation of materials in EEBO. The award for first prize was $750.
Fadel said that she was ecstatic when a letter in the mail informed her that she had won.
"I yelled down to my mom and at first she thought something was wrong," said Fadel.
Other winners and honorable mentions of the competition were from Warwick University in England and the University of Southern California.
Fadel's research essay, entitled "Reason through the Unreasonable," critically interprets seventeenth century pamphlets, and is available on the EEBO Web site.
"It's fun working with primary sources. It's not the stuff you usually read," said Fadel.
Through illuminating the premise that an individual's words become prophetic near death, the essay focuses on the final words of women executed in England; and subsequently makes an analysis of the seventeenth century legal process.
Two accounts are examined specifically: an anonymous, and possibly fictitious woman in a pamphlet called "The Speech of the Queen of the Sluts"; and the account of Ann Green, who revives herself on a surgeon's anatomy table after partial asphyxiation.
"(These documents) might not be considered great literature, but they are interesting," said Fadel. "It's for a different audience, and it provides a different perspective on culture."
The essay was pretty expansive, she said, traversing a number of cultural dimensions such as gender, religion, justice, death, and medicine.
"It's a really sophisticated piece of scholarship," said Professor Holstun.
Fadel became interested in this material while working on a paper for Holstun's seventeenth century literature class. She was required to do some research using microfilm and the EEBO.
Holstun encouraged her to write a thesis based on the material that she found. Fadel said that writing a thesis has been a good experience for her, and that she would recommend it to other students.
"You really learn how to do research on a larger scale," said Fadel.
According to Holstun, Fadel's accomplishments reflect the level of research of which she is capable.
"She is kind of doing what historians call 'history from below.' It shows that she can do significant work as a literary critic or historian."
"It is ritually researched and brilliantly interpreted, but also it's the kind of work I see frequently from UB students," Holstun added.
According to Holstun, Fadel's research accomplishments should be attainable for all capable undergraduates.
"There is a bad tendency for people to associate research with graduate education, while undergraduate research is just crucial, and the library resources are there," said Holstun.
Fadel is also a Spanish minor, and has finished the pre-med requirements at UB. She is not sure if she wants to continue with graduate work in English literature or in medicine.
Fadel said she is also a volunteer at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, a member of a brass quintet, and swimming on a club team -- when she wakes up in time.
Currently, Fadel said she is assisting physiology Professor Susan Udin with research of the visual system of the frog, Xenopus Laevis.
"No matter what field I'm in, I want to be doing some sort of research. I like working with ideas," said Fadel.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
