Research Ambassadors
Spencer Dittelman ‘26
Email me at: sdittelm@u.rochester.edu
Discipline(s) of Research
- Humanities
- Social sciences
Major(s) and Minor(s)
- BA in American and British Literature
- BA in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics
Areas of Interest/Research Focus
My research is largely focused on the intersection between 19th-Century literature and social and political philosophy. I have conducted independent research projects through grants from the University's Humanities Center and the Department of English on the works of George Eliot, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Anthony Trollope, John Stuart Mill, and Marx, among others.
Areas where I may be particularly helpful
- Project Ideation
- Getting students in touch with appropriate resources and faculty
- Grant or application writing
- Interview preparation
- Presentation preparation
What advice do you have for prospective or new researchers?
Before you start a research project, outline the scope of what you want to argue or prove. It's incredibly easy to get swept up in the passion for your project and then end up with a monstrous 60-page paper that took months to create, and there's still more you can do. For the sake of your own time and energy, plan thoroughly ahead of time what you reasonably can accomplish within the natural constraints of being an undergraduate researcher.