Research being conducted by Jany Ramirez '11 spans continents and centuries. Ramirez, who is from Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduated from Grover Cleveland High School, is studying “The Impact of the Black Death on Italian Society” as a McNair Scholar at St. Lawrence.  This fall, she’s studying that impact in Italy, through St. Lawrence’s program there.

“I first learned about the Black Death in high school, when my global studies teacher mentioned how it affected Europe’s population and economics,” the anthropology major explains. “Then, during my First-Year Seminarat SLU, Plagues and Peoples, I learned more about the structure of the disease and the significance of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis in comparison to the HIV virus.

“Once I was accepted into the McNair Program, my advisor, Alice Pomponio in anthropology, and I decided to conduct research on the Black Death, focusing on Italy,” she continues.  “My purpose is to show how the Black Death's devastation created a paradigm shift in Italian religion and medicine, and that this shift set the stage for the Renaissance.” Jany is studying in Florence this fall, doing further research, especially on how Italian society moved forward after the Black Death.

When she’s on campus, Jany is involved with the Anthropology Club, the Italian Club and the student group Literacy for Nepal.