At the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, we open up research opportunity for undergraduate students.
The Undergraduate Research Experience (URE) offers many opportunities to students and one of the URE projects this fall semester was “The Ethics of Dating”where junior Esther Gold has been assisting philosophy assistant professor Maura Priest.
Priest is working on completing a book project on the subject and has been working with Gold to find and summarize relevant scholarly articles, investigate dating websites to identify norms and common behaviors, search for dating data from relevant professional companies and interview experts and non-experts on issues relevant to project.
The project hopes to cover issues of physical attraction, dating ‘deal breakers’, approaching a potential date, online dating, sex in earlier relationships, 'ghosting,' polyamory and breaking up.
Gold is a philosophy major with a concentration in morality, politics and law and is minoring in psychology and history. After hearing about the URE, she decided to apply and join the program.
Question: Why did you apply to your research topic? What drew you to it?
Answer: What drew me to the project was that it is a largely unexplored topic in philosophical contexts, despite its relevance in society. Because of my wide range of studies, I was also drawn to the interdisciplinary nature of this project where there are many psychological and sociological considerations, in addition to philosophical.
Q: What has your experience been thus far?
A: My experience has been amazing to say the least. To see what is involved in a large scale research project and knowing that I am having an impact is beyond belief for me. I have always loved furthering my research and knowledge into religion and its effects on society as a whole through academia.
Q: For you, what has been a highlight of conducting the research?
A: Conducting this research has been eye-opening because it is fascinating to explore the evolution of dating dynamics and the sort of ethical implications that arise from modern dating, especially in the realm of online dating. Another highlight of this experience is that I am able to contribute my theoretical knowledge from research methods coursework to an applied setting.
Q: Would you recommend URE to other students?
A: I would absolutely recommend URE to students who are interested in supplementing their coursework with practical research.
Applications for the spring semester are open now until October 28. If you are interested in building your resume, gaining valuable experience and working with a professional in the field, go to the Undergraduate Research Experience website to find out what projects are available.