Randolph-Macon College student Grace McIntire ’19 had long wanted to try her hand at research, so when she heard about the Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program, she knew it was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up. SURF participants conduct 10 weeks of research under the mentorship of a faculty member.

In addition to enjoying the research process, McIntire is looking ahead to what comes next.

“I look forward to presenting my SURF research at the Classical Association of the Middle West and South – Southern Section Meeting this October at Wake Forest University,” she says, “and I will use it in the graduate school application process.”

Translate, Read, Write, Repeat
McIntire, a Latin and Greek major and history, women’s studies, and education minor, is working under the guidance of Classics Professor Bartolo Natoli. Her project, The Language of Non-normativity: Non-normative Adulescentes in Terence’s Eunuchus, explores the speech patterns of unconventional young men in Roman Comedy.

“I hope to bring scholars a better understanding of Terence’s tactics and message, and to show a more complex picture of gender and normativity in Classical society,” says McIntire, who jokingly describes her daily research process as “translate, scribble notes, read, write, repeat.”

She spends much of her time translating Terence’s Roman Comedy The Eunuch from Latin into English.

“As I translate, I take notes on distinguishing features in the vocabulary of the young men in the play. I am also reading articles and creating an annotated bibliography on this work to have a better idea of the discourse already around this play. Then I will write, edit and prepare my presentation, which will require that I go back and re-analyze the passages I translated in greater depth and expound upon them.”

Mentorship
One of the features that McIntire likes most about the SURF program is its emphasis on mentorship. She and Natoli meet regularly to discuss her project.

“Working alongside Professor Natoli greatly enriches my experience,” she says. “He guides me to think independently and critically. SURF is different from the classroom in that I can really focus on studying my text for deeper understanding. Professor Natoli helps make this research so exciting by sharing his ideas and his experiences. I’m thankful to have him as my mentor.”

Natoli says, “Grace’s project offers a unique analysis of how the Roman playwright Terence uses gendered language to give his audience socio-cultural clues about how his characters perform masculinity and how we are to react to them. The tradition of how language structures how we perceive reality is a fruitful and long-standing one, and I am excited to see what emerges from Grace’s research.”

Campus Life + Future Plans
McIntire, a recipient of RMC’s Presidential Scholarship and the Robert Epes-Jones Scholarship in Classics, is a member of Eta Sigma Phi – Delta Pi Chapter (Classics Honor Society), Triota (Women’s Studies Honor Society), the Student Virginia Education Association, the Leadership Fellows program, Macon Outdoors Club, and Wa Qoppa San (Classics Club). Her future plans include graduate school and a career as a Latin or Classics professor.

“SURF is preparing me for graduate school,” she says. “It has a similar workload of translation, research and writing, along with opportunities to think independently and explore my interests as a real academic. I am so thankful for this generous fellowship.”

“We are so fortunate to have a program like SURF that afford students like Grace an opportunity to stretch their wings and really explore original research in a graduate-type setting,” says Natoli. “It’s something that will benefit her career immensely.”

Award Winner
McIntire recently received word that she is the recipient of a 2018 FLAVA University Student Recognition Award from the Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA). The award is presented to students who exemplify a keen interest in language. FLAVA promotes the study, teaching and learning, use, and appreciation of foreign languages, cultures, and literatures.