Image
Students
Beyond the Numbers: Connecting Data Analysis to Cultural Roots
After about a year of analyzing Dominican identity from a social formation perspective, Lulu Moquete ŮٱƵ24, Mathematics, approached Associate Professor of Mathematics Emilio Fernández, PhD, with a dilemma that many students face as they head into their final year of undergraduate studyŮٱƵwhat should she do after graduation?
Throughout MoqueteŮٱƵs time on PaceŮٱƵs Westchester campus, Fernández has become a trusted mentor who shares many parallels with MoqueteŮٱƵboth have a deep-seated love of mathematics and critical thinking, and both are part of the Dominican diaspora living in the United States. It was these similarities, and MoqueteŮٱƵs eye on her future, that encouraged Fernández to suggest that she apply for the .
With the grant, Moquete worked alongside Fernández engaged in multi-level cultural analyses to explore the impacts of colonialism on people living in the Dominican diaspora (a term used to refer to Dominicans living outside of the Dominican Republic, often in the United States and Spain). Through the immersive analysis of multidisciplinary texts, Moquete investigated the social structures at work, as well as the psychological and sociological impacts of colonialism on Dominicans and society as a whole. Moquete and FernándezŮٱƵs ultimate goal, as a result of this work, is to persuade the University to offer an introductory analytical course for students to understand the ŮٱƵformation and operation of culture.ŮٱƵ
ŮٱƵWhen Lulu became my mentee, I realized that she already had a lot of people teaching her math, so I thought, ŮٱƵWhat are the ways I can better serve her?ŮٱƵŮٱƵ said Fernández, noting his belief in the liberal arts notion of exploring a breadth of knowledge, rather than specializing solely in one topic. ŮٱƵAs fellow Dominicans, I didnŮٱƵt have to think much about it. A lot of the challenges she faced were cultural issues, as when I was in her shoes.ŮٱƵ
The Intersection of Data Analysis and the Humanities
Image
The project centered around the critical reading of three cross-disciplinary pieces of literature. The first was the Pulitzer Prize winner The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, a fictional story of a young Dominican boy living in New Jersey who dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien.
ŮٱƵI felt that this book was going to be an easy read for Lulu,ŮٱƵ said Fernández, ŮٱƵbecause if youŮٱƵre a Dominican living in the diaspora and you happen to go to school, there is no way that youŮٱƵre not going to find yourself immersed in this character.ŮٱƵ
The next piece was more challenging: French Marxist Louis AlthusserŮٱƵs essay, ŮٱƵIdeology and Ideological State Apparatuses.ŮٱƵ In it, Althusser argues that social institutions such as school, the church, and family have the capacity, through seemingly compulsory, albeit unconscious, rituals and customs, to promote a worldview of bourgeois domination.
ŮٱƵAs a math student, reading this kind of essay was a very new thing for me,ŮٱƵ said Moquete. ŮٱƵI just started taking it slowly and rewriting it in a way I could understand. I realized then that I was analyzing it like a data scientist would analyze quantitative data. This was me analyzing qualitative 岹ٲ.ŮٱƵ
MoqueteŮٱƵs final reading was Black Skin, White Masks, a 1952 book by the French-Martinican psychiatrist and philosopher Frantz Fanon. Having served in the French Army and having experienced several hurdles as a Black medical student, FanonŮٱƵs doctoral thesis was rejected, as the faculty deemed it was not valuable to the field. After graduating medical school and solidifying his theories with the empirical evidence of his practice, he published his work. The book lays out a human-scientific approach to how colonialism imposes, defines, and replicates the psychology of the colonized. The book also engages in a systemic analysis and provides a historical critique of the effects of colonialism on the human psyche.
ŮٱƵIt became very clear to me that, because she does not mainly study the humanities, Lulu needed very specific examples to connect to,ŮٱƵ said Fernández of selecting FanonŮٱƵs work. ŮٱƵThis book is more of a sociological, scientific analysis, so I thought this was the most applied theoretical framework that Lulu could utilize to begin to make sense of all of these texts.ŮٱƵ
Their emphasis in employing these three vastly different texts was to contextualize both qualitative and quantitative data on the effects of colonialism. Fernández mentioned that the statistician and the sociologist often work separatelyŮٱƵthe statistician supplies the numbers, and the sociologist contextualizes them. His hope is for his students, in this case particularly Moquete, to understand the connection from both sides.
The Outcomes
This fall, Moquete presented her work to members of the Pace community at an event hosted by the Center for Undergraduate Research Experiences for students who participated in summer research programs. Fernández noted his pride in MoqueteŮٱƵs presentation, particularly in her ability to speak eloquently and analytically about information outside of her declared discipline, mathematics.
Moquete and Fernández have laid the groundwork for the course they hope will one day become a staple of social analyses at Pace, noting that conversations have begun to add their course to the academic catalog, a legacy that Moquete can leave at Pace even after sheŮٱƵs crossed the stage in May.
ŮٱƵI really hope that once this course is created, it can influence many other minoritized students to get involved in programs and departments like this,ŮٱƵ said Moquete. ŮٱƵYou donŮٱƵt usually see a lot of minoritized students in a math program, but I hope that in the future, more will know that theyŮٱƵre capable of being in programs like this.ŮٱƵ
And as for her post-grad plans, her work with Fernández did, in fact, provide her with clarity on her next step: she plans to pursue a PhD in applied mathematics or data science.
ŮٱƵHaving this mathematical background has helped me think more eloquently in a lot of different fields,ŮٱƵ Moquete said. ŮٱƵSo, imagine having a higher degree in that, how many more windows it would open for me to be able to see the world in a different way.ŮٱƵ
Above all, Moquete will graduate with a life-changing connection with Fernández.
ŮٱƵThe one topic that Lulu and I have never discussed in our hundreds of hours in my office or via email is math,ŮٱƵ Fernández said with a laugh.
ŮٱƵI'm really glad that I've had a mentor like Professor Fernández, especially within the department,ŮٱƵ said Moquete, ŮٱƵto help guide me through this experience of college and extend myself in ways I didn't know I could.ŮٱƵ
Dyson Digital Digest: Winter 2024
Students
In the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, hands-on learning isnŮٱƵt reserved solely for the science labs and art studios. PaceŮٱƵs experiential approach to the humanities builds on the UniversityŮٱƵs long-standing commitment to undergraduate research and civic engagement.
Faculty and Staff
Dyson faculty members Matthew Bolton, PhD, and Emily Welty, PhD, are at the forefront of nuclear disarmament advocacy on a local and global scale. As the founders of the Pace Disarmament Institute, they welcome the many students who express interest in their work to get involved through internships, activism, and speaking opportunities.
Alumni
Dyson alumna Juliana Martins ŮٱƵ19 is a Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur whose success is built on communications and business skills developed at Pace.