Undergraduate Research
Below is a selection of texts I wrote during my undergraduate career at Boston College. They reflect my evolution both as a writer and as a person from ages 17 to 21, during which my perspective was only beginning to coalesce; as such, I do not presently endorse every stylistic and/or rhetorical decision made within.
To Craft a Culture: Language Attitudes and the Vitality of Esperanto (2024)
My undergraduate senior thesis. Why is Esperanto the most popular constructed language on the planet, despite its Eurocentric design?
Slavery and Creole Language Attitudes in the African Diaspora (2024)
How are internal language attitudes affected by slavery and colonialism?
The Theology of Capitalism (2024)
How does the framing of capitalism as “secular” and “rational” obscure its underlying theodicy?
The Lingua Franca to Rule Them All: English as the Language of Globalization (2023)
What is the role of the English language in the sustentation of neoliberalism?
El tango: La espuma en la punta de las olas argentinas (2023)
A short piece about the history of tango and immigration in Argentina.
The Pragmatics of Toki Pona Across Variable Native Language Backgrounds (2022)
How does one’s first language shape the way they use Toki Pona?
An Island Among Islanders: Holyoke’s Puerto Rican Community (2022)
On Holyoke, MA’s Puerto Rican diaspora and the relationship between the U.S. and Latin America.
Note: This paper in particular is methodologically flawed; in particular, I regret not including any interviews. I have included it here for posterity, but as is, my perspective does not at all reflect the Puerto Rican community of Holyoke.
Smooth Politics on a Rocky Foundation: Corruption in Malawi (2022)
How have the histories of British colonization and privatization endured in Malawi?
Valmiki’s Construct of Moral Living as Understood Through the Ramayana (2021)
What does Valmiki’s Ramayana convey about morality?
Engineering for Sustainable Water Use in Cape Town (2020)
An overview of systemic inequality in Cape Town as reflected in the 2015-2020 water crisis.
Videos
I publish short-form videos about linguistics and geography on TikTok and Instagram. Below are the videos which represent what I feel is my best work.
Tagalog and Austronesian Alignment (2024)
An overview of Austronesian alignment as it applies to Tagalog.
Why is Dutch funny? (2024)
An analysis of the perceived inherent humor of the Dutch language by English speakers.
Grammaticalization and “-like” (2023)
A brief history of the English suffix -ly and the phenomenon of grammaticalization.
Sketches
During my time at Boston College, I was part of a sketch comedy group called Hello… Shovelhead! Just for fun, I’ve included a few of my favorite sketches below.
Beautyland (2024)
A student expands the scope of a geography lesson.
The Airport Bathroom (2024)
An earnest attempt to rate an airport bathroom goes awry.
Miscellaneous
Projects that don’t fit into a defined category.
Mapmaking in the Digital Age (2019)
A lecture I gave to the Chicago Map Society in Oct. 2019 about Minecraft and digital mapmaking.