In 2024, the Vice-Principal Research instituted the Vice-Principal Research Undergraduate Prize, which recognizes the two top papers presented at the Inquiry@Queen's Conference, as determined by graduate student adjudicators. This prize celebrates academic rigour, reinforces the commitment to teaching and research integration, and elevates the profile of undergraduate research at Queen’s University. Each recipient receives $1000 in recognition of their excellent research.
Winners
Arianne Ettehadieh (Department of History), "The Historical Erasure of the W8banaki Nation in the Eastern Townships of Quebec"
The history of the W8banaki Nation, semi-nomadic hunters, fishers, and gathers from the Algonquian language family, has been frequently misrepresented by colonial-era histories. The Ndakina, which means “our territory,” in the W8banaki language, includes what is today known as Quebec, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and parts of Massachusetts and New Brunswick. However, European colonization condensed this vast homeland into two separate reserves in southeastern Quebec. One of these is Odanak, a 6km2 parcel of land on the shore 27 of the Saint-François River, near Drummondville. The second reserve, Wôlinak, is situated 50km farther east on the Bécancour River. Some historians today do not consider southeastern Quebec the ancestral territory of the W8banaki Nation. They believe that eighteenth-century colonial wars, disease, and famine drove the population to seek “refuge” north of their well-documented territories in Maine and New Hampshire. This project will question the historical erasure of the W8banaki Nation in Quebec using historical research and a multidisciplinary approach. European travel narratives are examined to retrace W8banaki subsistence patterns, alliances, conflicts, and locations through the eyes of European explorers and missionaries. In conjunction with these descriptions, recent archaeological discoveries show that the network of rivers and lakes within the Ndakina were well-traversed by the W8banaki before European contact. The toponyms associated with these important waterways in Quebec, closely resemble W8banaki language terms, indicating the W8banaki Nation’s long-term presence in the area. Additionally, important frameworks established by Indigenous historians recognize the important cultural kinship ties between the W8banaki, Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Innu peoples. The proximity and overlapping territories fostered ancient relationships seen in their parallel subsistence patterns, trade networks, and conflicts. Overall, this project brings to life the very real and legitimate ancestral presence of the W8banaki Nation in southeastern Quebec, while also enlightening the reader on Canada’s colonial roots.
Dominic Everett (DAN School of Drama and Music), "Analyzing Compositional Style in the Music of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time"
The soundtrack of The Legend of Zelda: “Ocarina of Time” is rife with innovative musical techniques which facilitate player engagement and interactivity. The composer Koji Kondo’s unique style, which often includes the use of modes, chromatic harmony, parallel motion, and proximal voice leading, differentiates this game from others of the same era and efficiently communicates narrative information like emotion, setting, and trope. These musical topics make Kondo’s works distinct and recognizable and contribute to the game’s overall goal of immersion. Analyzing several of Kondo’s works as case studies, similarly effective stylistic topics can be 25 implemented in original compositions to accomplish the same feats. The purpose of the project is to develop my personal compositional style which is audibly identifiable while also functioning as nuanced game music. Some of these nuances include the added challenges of player engagement and the necessity of continuous music; the duration of the music is not predetermined like a live performance or film score. Achieving this goal involves the analysis and recreation of Kondo’s original works, including simulating the limitations of the 1990s game console hardware. Also, to modernize the findings of this project, similar analysis and experimentation is applied to works of other composers, exploring the growth and changes in game music composition throughout the past several decades. The culmination of this research is my own body of original compositions, including both acoustic and digital pieces of music and a live interactive suite for medium ensemble, which aim to achieve the goals outlined above.