Beauty & Power in the Mediterranean
Artifacts from the Wolfsonian - FIU Collection, Miami Beach, Florida
Sixteen Research Projects by Undergraduate Scholars of the 2006-2007
Mediterranean Aesthetics, Values & Authority Seminar

under the instruction of
~
Prof. John S. Kneski
Associate Dean and Fellow of the Honors College
Councilor, National Council on Undergraduate Research
President, Florida Collegiate Honors Council

MIAMI (June 13, 2007)-Through The Honors College course, Aesthetics, Values & Authority in the Mediterranean, sixteen FIU undergraduate students completed extensive research projects using art and propaganda objects from the Wolfsonian-FIU Museum’s Research Library located in Miami Beach. Objects were selected based upon both aesthetic power and their ability to convey meaning about changing socio-political values. The research has been combined into a single publication to be included in the collections of major research and archival libraries for further scholarly investigation, including the Library of Congress. The permanence of the project via the publication adds certain significance that a term paper just cannot accomplish.

This project was conceived of as an introduction to rigorous research conducted with the best of primary source materials located within a highly recognized state-of-the-art institution. Scholars have never examined many of the materials studied as part of this publication before -adding to the excitement of selecting and exploring the significance of the materials.

The emphasis on research at The Honors College at Florida International University is encapsulated in a program titled the Student Research & Artistic Initiative (SRAI), founded in 2003. The inspiration for the program was the massive national push for increased formalized undergraduate research through vehicles such as the Florida Collegiate Honors Council, the National Collegiate Honors Council, the National Science Foundation’s REU Program, the National Council of Undergraduate Research, the Councils of Undergraduate Research, and the Reinvention Center. This publication comes on the heels of FIU hosting the Florida Collegiate Honors Council conference, as well as Associate Dean Kneski’s election as President of that organization and his election to the national Councils of Undergraduate Research.

All of the student scholars enrolled in the Aesthetics, Values & Authority in the Mediterranean seminar are required to participate in the annual research day at Florida international University, which is organized under the auspices of the SRAI Program. This conference is in turn meant to inspire the student scholars to take their research to other conferences around the country. The significance of sharing one’s research with the broader community of scholars is highly emphasized and encouraged. This particular project was presented at the Florida Collegiate Honors Council conference in February of 2007, at the SRAI conference in April 2007, and will be presented at the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in Denver in November 2007.

For additional information please contact Prof. Kneski at 305.348.6360.