FOR THE TIMES

VALPARAISO | Two Valparaiso University honors students will present their scholarly work during Christ College's annual Fall Student Scholarship Symposium on Thursday.

The biannual symposium features the analytical, critical, creative and research projects of students in Christ College, VU's interdisciplinary honors college.

Bonnie Keane, a senior American studies and Spanish major from Tinley Park, Ill., will discuss her paper "Spiritual Currency: The Retablo Tradition in Mexico and the Latino United States."

Retablos are devotional paintings on canvas or tin that offers thanks to a saint in the form of a short narrative. Her paper explores how retablos can add to understanding of the Mexican experience in the U.S. as well as how they provide a spiritual and cultural anchor for Mexican-Americans as they confront problems not faced by their Anglo counterparts.

Keane is a Kemper Scholar -- a national program that aims to develop a new generation of servant leaders -- and presented her research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research earlier this year.

Ruth Moberg Foster, a senior history major from Worcester, Mass., will present "All American Girls Playing the All-American Game: Understanding American Identity through the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (1943-1954)."

She examines how the women's league sought to highlight attributes that defined "All-Americanism" such as feminine beauty, wholesomeness, hard work, patriotism and hometown pride. Moberg Foster's research also looks at how the league emerged, its place in post-war society and how participants and spectators viewed it. She also has presented her research at NCUR.

The symposium will be from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Mueller Hall refectory on campus. Each presentation in the series is open to the public without charge. Call Christ College at (219) 464-5022 or visit valpo.edu/christcollege for more information about upcoming events in the series.