2012–2013 VOLUME I / ISSUE 9 Journal of 2012–2013 Undergraduate Access More Papers in the Online Edition at: www.nd.edu/~ujournal Research JOURNAL OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH UNDERGRADUATE JOURNAL OF MONICA VANBLADEL MEGHAN MCKINNEY JONES Diffusing Authority: Borges on Identity, ‘Not Wholly True’: The Myth of American Community Tradition and Creation in Nella Larsen’s Passing NATHALIE ROSADO AMY MASLAR Chekri Ganem and the Comité Central Syrien: The Choice Was Theirs Syrian Nationalism in Paris, 1905–1921 REBECCA KIBLER MARIA SERAKOS The Role of Translation Equivalents in Acquiring Difficult-to- The Effects of Welfare Reform on the Postsecondary Translate Second Language Vocabulary Degree Attainment of Young Adult Women Front cover and design by Georges-Philippe Toumayan and Colleen MacDonald University of Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters Journal of Undergraduate JResearch U2012 2013 college of arts and letters university of notreR dame journal of undergraduate research ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Journal of Undergraduate Research is a product of the work of many dedicated men and women. While the Editors-in-Chief and the Editorial Board have what are perhaps the most visible roles, it is the efforts of others that truly make this project possible. As the Journal’s faculty advisor, Nicholas Russo, Assistant Dean in the College of Arts and Letters, deserves our gratitude for his help and guidance throughout the process. The Office of the Dean in the College of Arts and Letters continues to guarantee their support of the Journal, which enables our student board to produce a thoroughly professional publication each year. We also thank John McGreevy, Dean of the College, who continues to enliven the thesis culture among Notre Dame’s liberal arts students. His leadership makes us confident for the future of the Journal’s quality content. We thank Service Printers, Inc. of Elkhart, Indiana — particularly Ray Mann and Kelly Luna — who have provided the layout and print production services necessary for a timely publication. Finally, special thanks go to Colleen MacDonald, a senior Graphic Design and Art History major, for her assistance with the Journal. The Journal sources its material from the research of undergraduates in the College of Arts and Letters here at the University, and we owe our quality content to the students who submitted their work for consideration and to their professors and thesis advisors here at Notre Dame. Perhaps most importantly, it is the Journal’s readership that makes this publication possible and meaningful. Thus, thanks also goes to you for picking up our 2012-2013 issue, and please feel free to pass it along. iii journal of undergraduate research EDITORIAL BOARD 2012-2013 EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Michael Massman ‘13 Economics, Political Science, Glynn Honors Meghan Thomassen ‘14 English, Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy EDITORIAL BOARD: Bianca Almada ‘16 English, Spanish, Journalism Emily Bieniek ‘13 Anthropology, Theology Mairead Browne ‘13 History, Italian Aubrey Butts ‘14 American Studies, English Emily Frazzette ‘13 English, Italian Literature and Culture Christine Gorman ‘14 Economics, Chinese, European Studies Theodora Hannan ‘14 English, History Emily Houtsma ‘13 English, Economics Frances Kelsey ‘15 Program of Liberal Studies, Business Economics Crystal Lee ‘13 Sociology, English, Latino Studies, Korean R. Anthony Meena ‘14 Science Pre-Professional, Spanish, Theology, Glynn Honors Shane O’connor ‘15 Economics, Mathematics, PPE, Chinese Erin Portman ‘15 Program of Liberal Studies, French, Irish Language/Literature Justin Sena ‘14 Political Science, Theology, Latino Studies Andrew Spas ‘15 Economics, Political Science John Stallings ‘14 Economics, Psychology Evan Thompson ‘13 Philosophy, Political Science, Poverty Studies iv journal of undergraduate research TABLE OF CONTENTS From the Desk of the Editors-in-Chief 1 Meghan McKinney Jones ‘Not Wholly True:’ The Myth of American Community in Nella Larsen’s Passing Nathalie Rosado Chekri Ganem and the Comité Central Syrien: Syrian Nationalism in Paris, 1905-1921 Maria Serakos The Effects of Welfare Reform on the Postsecondary Degree Attainment of Young Adult Women ONLINE FEATURES Rebecca Kibler The Role of Translation Equivalents in Acquiring Difficult-to-Translate Second Language Vocabulary Amy Maslar The Choice Was Theirs Monica VanBladel Diffusing Authority: Borges on Identity, Tradition and Creation v journal of undergraduate research FROM DESK OF THE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Now in its ninth year, the Journal of Undergraduate Research is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that seeks to collect, review, and distribute outstanding academic research and writing produced by undergraduates in the College of Arts and Letters. As Editors- in-Chief, our most important task was the selection of members of the editorial board, as they have had a large role in shaping this year’s Journal. Through the selection and editing processes, our editors have had to make a number of decisions — choices made more difficult by the high caliber of papers submitted. While we only have room to publish a few, the papers featured here represent a diverse set of research topics and research methods from the College of Arts and Letters. We believe that they are informative, well-composed, and meaningful contributions to their different academic areas. We hope that what we have produced this year attests to the range of voices emerging from the undergraduate researchers at Notre Dame. This Journal means to support, showcase, and amplify such work. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed publishing it. Thank you, Michael Massman and Meghan Thomassen 1 journal of undergraduate research MEGHAN MCKINNEY JONES graduated from Notre Dame in 2012 with honors in English and a supplementary major in Spanish. Three weeks after graduation, she moved from her hometown of Mobile, Alabama, to Austin, Texas, where she works as a marketing coordinator for an engineering consulting firm. Meghan would like to express her sincere gratitude to Professor Cyraina Johnson-Roullier for fostering her love of critical theory in Introduction to Literary Studies and for guiding the development of her senior thesis. 2 ‘NOT WHOLLY TRUE’: THE MYTH OF AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN NELLA LARSEN’S PASSING MEGHAN MCKINNEY JONES ABSTRACT Published in 1929, Nella Larsen’s novel, Passing, illustrates the development of an unlikely relationship between Irene Redfield, an African-American woman, and Clare Kendry, an enigmatic woman of mixed race who mysteriously dies after her white husband discov- ers her black heritage. The effort of critics to identify the specific quality that attracts Irene to Clare is complicated by Irene’s obsession with projecting herself as the perfect middle-class female American citizen. After all, Clare appears only to disturb Irene’s national vi- sion through her passing by exposing the tenuousness of class, racial, sexual, and national identity. The failure of scholars to resolve the contradictions between Irene’s two desires leaves a critical question unanswered: if Irene openly declares her desire to preserve her stable American identity, what motivates her to pursue a relationship with the exotic, inconstant Clare? My thesis intends to answer this question by examining Irene’s behavior through the lens of Slavoj Žižek’s theory of national fantasy. According to Žižek, the national fantasy functions as an illusion that conceals the inherent impossibility of social unity caused by ongoing internal division. Citizens seek to belong within the idealized identity created by the national fantasy. However, when the citizen examines the fantasy closely enough to recognize its shortcomings, the fantasy dissolves and inevitably re- turns to the original lack of unity. 3 journal of undergraduate research In Passing, Irene’s husband’s desire to move to Brazil in an attempt to evade racial violence compels Irene to assert an exceptional nation- al identity based on the fantasy that the United States is “one nation, indivisible.” Irene attempts to uphold this fantasy of social cohesion by continually obscuring evidence of racism. As a mixed-race woman who appears to disregard social barriers, Clare initially functions as the embodiment of the fantasy out of which Irene imagines her ex- ceptional American identity. However, the inability of Clare to find true community even with her husband makes Irene uncomfortable within her own fantasy. I contend, therefore, that Irene initially seeks a relationship with Clare in order to mask the difference between her idealized vision of the United States and the reality of the segregated nation in which she lives. By understanding how Irene transforms Clare into the national fantasy, the reader will understand why her proximity to Clare in the final scene leads not only to Clare’s death but also to the destruction of the exceptional American identity that she represents. 4 ‘not wholly true’: the myth of american community in nella larsen’s PASSING Nothing is more desirable than to be released from an affliction, but nothing is more frightening than to be divested of a crutch. - James Baldwin, Nobody Knows My Name 5 journal of undergraduate research Introduction The popularity of speakeasies, jazz music, and automobiles dur- ing the American Twenties marked an allegedly national climate of prosperity and unity, leading many citizens to adopt the belief that the United States represented the fulfillment of the dream of an ideal nation. However, the society underneath