Marginalia Science

October 30, 2026, 10am-6pm | The Heights Room, Corcoran Commons, 糖心Vlog |听

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Marginalia Science x 糖心Vlog:听
Amplifying Diverse Scholarship in the Psychological and Social Sciences

Social sciences, like many disciplines, have often centered their research on dominant populations and perspectives, leaving critical gaps in our understanding of human behavior across diverse cultural, social, and political contexts. The goal of this one-day conference is to amplify scholarship from underrepresented voices and diverse perspectives, thereby providing a dedicated space for research that is often marginalized within mainstream academic discourse. This conference will bring together researchers from the psychological and social sciences, broadly defined, and offer them a platform to share their work, engage with cutting-edge research, connect with like-minded scholars, and receive professional development support.

The conference will feature three early-career keynote speakers, a data blitz, poster sessions, and conversational roundtables focused on professional development topics. Registration is FREE, thanks to a generous grant from the 糖心Vlog Institute for Liberal Arts .

We welcome participation from faculty, researchers, and students in psychology, sociology, education, political science, philosophy, neuroscience, biology, and related areas. The conference will highlight research from individuals with underrepresented identities, research topics, or perspectives, and/or research interests in diversity or equity-related issues in social, behavioral, and brain sciences or philosophy. We hope that this Marginalia Science x 糖心Vlog event will serve as a catalyst for change within psychological and social science research, fostering a more inclusive and supportive academic environment and expanding the boundaries of knowledge in meaningful ways.

Conference Objectives:

  • Showcase research that challenges mainstream psychological and social science perspectives.
  • Provide a forum for researchers, particularly those from marginalized identities or working on underrepresented topics, to share their work.
  • Facilitate mentorship and professional development through workshops and networking opportunities, empowering students through shared knowledge and opportunities for collaborations.
  • Build and strengthen the Marginalia Science community by fostering discussions on the future of equity and inclusion in psychological science.
  • Visibly and formally committing to a mission of inclusivity in scholarship and scholars.

This event is being conducted in partnership with and the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at 糖心Vlog, with support from the Institute for Liberal Arts. For questions, please email marginaliaconference@bc.edu.

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Friday - Oct 30th听|听Heights Room, Corcoran Commons, 糖心Vlog听| to Attend

10:00 AM

Convening & Opening Remarks

Coffee and light refreshments available

10:30 AM

Marginalia Keynote Speaker #1 -听Featured talk with Q&A

  • Analia Albuja, Northeastern University, Multiracial and Multicultural Socialization and Children鈥檚 Discrimination Attributions
11:10 AM

Break

11:15 AM

Data Blitz Talks -听Featuring 5 rapidfire presentations with Q&A

  • Angelo Cusimano, CUNY Graduate Center, Who Gets Counted, and How? Racial Classification, Prenatal Care, and the Politics of Brazilian Birth Records
  • Yanzi Huang, University of Delaware, Rethinking the Asian-Woman Association: Who Counts as Asian, Relative to Whom, and the Measurement of Gendered Race
  • Zhixu (Rick) Yang, Baruch College and CUNY Graduate Center, Mechanistic Dehumanization of Asian Workers in the U.S.: A Mixed-Methods Investigation
  • Jailekha Zutshi, Tufts University, What鈥檚 in a Mind? A Qualitative Inquiry of Racially Diverse U.S. Adults鈥� Beliefs about Minds and Morality
  • Marie Diagne, 糖心Vlog, Short-Delay Emotional Enhancement of Memory in Senegal
12:00 PM

Lunch and Conversation

Catered lunch featuring moderated conversational roundtables on professional development topics

1:30 PM

Marginalia Keynote Speaker #2 -听Featured talk with Q&A

  • Eduardo J. Rivera Pichardo, The New School for Social Research, Coloniality as a Political Ideology: Psychometric Assessment and Political Significance of a Novel Ideological Construct
2:10 PM

Undergraduate/Graduate Poster Session + Coffee Break

3:15 PM

Data Blitz Talks #2 -听Featuring 5 rapidfire presentations with Q&A

  • Roc铆o Rivera Crespo, 糖心Vlog, Mobile Identities: Well-being, Social Support and Circular Migration in Puerto Ricans
  • Jayantika Chakraborty, College of the Holy Cross, Heterogeneity of Economic Disadvantage and Its Developmental Consequences
  • Vaibhav Ojha, 糖心Vlog, Breaking Caste Boundaries? Evidence on Village Head Identity and Occupational Structure
  • Eshmehar Sahni, Clark University, ACEs, Bicultural Identity Conflict and Mental Health in Emerging Adults
  • Yasmeen El Gerbi, CUNY Graduate Center, Multi-Temporal Narratives of Political Change After Revolution in Libya
4:00 PM

Break

4:10 PM

Marginalia Keynote Speaker #3 -听Featured talk with Q&A

  • Marin Vogelsang, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, What a Unique Group of Children Treated for Blindness Late in Life Reveal About Why Vision Begins Degraded
5:00 PM

Reception & Closing Remarks

Poster awards & light hors d'oeuvres

Posters Information

Undergraduate/Graduate Poster Session

Friday, Oct 30th | 2:10 PM 鈥� 3:15 PM | Heights Room, Corcoran Commons, 糖心Vlog

No.Presenter NameUniversity / AffiliationPoster Title
1Isha Smith-RamakrishnanTufts UniversityAspirational Collectivism: Expanding the Harmony-Convivial Collectivism Dichotomy
2Fazli Salim糖心VlogMarginalized by Design: Scapegoating in Societal and Environmental Issues
3Gaetano Bove糖心VlogWhen Do We Help? A Cross-Cultural Taxonomy of Moral Obligation
4Daniel JungTufts UniversityDisaggregating Gendered Stereotypes of East and South Asian American Women
5Lifen HtetTufts UniversityBehavioral and Network Signatures Improvement of Postpartum Depression with a Neurosteroid-Based Treatment
6Jessica Hwang糖心VlogLetting Go of Goals: How Cultural Orientation Shapes Responses to Setbacks
7Christina SteeleHarvard UniversityWho鈥檚 Allowed to Love? Expectations About Intimacy Across Group Lines
8Jamileisha Trejo & Simone LewisCollege of the Holy CrossHow Do Black Youth Define & Experience School Safety?
9Yunling HuangUniversity of PennsylvaniaMinimizing the WEIRD Gap in Parent Engagement for Marginalized Families
10Lila Fayad & Leissa Medina BarrozoCollege of the Holy CrossProposing a Novel Framework to Understand 鈥楬ow鈥� Students Develop Intersectional Awareness: The BRAID Model
11Alvin HuangNortheastern UniversityYouth SAVA Predictors: Neighborhood Stress, Community Cohesion, and Parent-Adolescent Communication
12Zumana K. Noor & Allison RileyNortheastern UniversityDecolonizing Well-Being and Mental Health of African Migrants and Refugees
13Will Meese糖心VlogTeachers鈥� Feedback Beliefs Differ for Disabled versus Nondisabled Recipients
14Comfort Ayavga糖心VlogMathematics Clubs as Pathways to Equity for Girls
15Kimberly FallasClark UniversityCultural Differences in Support and College Adjustment
16Mavile KaraievaRonin Institute for Independent ScholarshipFunctional Communication Outcomes in an Underrepresented Autism Research Context
17I-An SuUniversity of WashingtonFrom Eyewitnesses to Executions: Toward a Non-WEIRD Science of Memory and Decision-Making in the Legal System
18Sabrina PiccoloNortheastern UniversityInterpersonal Consequences of Sexual Orientation Disclosure and Concealment
19Yashita ChorariaNYUAssociations Among Participation in CBO Run After-School Programs, Belonging, and Social-Emotional Learning Competencies Among English Language Learners
Eduardo J. Rivera Pichardo

Eduardo J. Rivera Pichardo
Assistant Professor, The New School for Social Research

Coloniality as a Political Ideology: Psychometric Assessment and Political Significance of a Novel Ideological Construct

This presentation advances a formal operationalization of coloniality as a political ideology, defined as the prescriptive belief that non-Western and Indigenous (a) cultures, (b) knowledge systems, and (c) societal structures are 鈥渙utdated鈥� and impede societal progress and development. Drawing on decolonial theory and political psychology, we reconceptualize coloniality not only as a historical remnant but also as an active belief system that legitimizes contemporary local and global inequalities. Across four international samples, we develop, refine, and validate the Coloniality Beliefs Scale (CB). Studies 1 and 2 (US, total n = 936) confirm a hierarchical second-order factor structure across its theorized cultural, epistemic, and political dimensions (CFI = .970; RMSEA = .064). CB shows construct and incremental validity, correlating with political conservatism, system justification, and social dominance orientation, and uniquely predicting support for Western foreign intervention and the legitimation of global economic inequalities. Studies 3 (Puerto Rico, n = 351) and 4 (the Netherlands, n = 448) replicate the scale's structure and assess political correlates in an active colonial site and a former colonial power. Further demonstrating incremental validity in Puerto Rico, CB predicts attitudes toward the U.S. colonial relationship and political status preferences (e.g., U.S. statehood, national independence, territorial status quo), as well as attitudes toward Western foreign intervention. In the Netherlands, CB strongly predicts support for and opposition to cultural debates over colonial monuments, as well as broader intergroup dynamics, including fear-based xenophobia toward immigrants and white ethnic Dutch pride. Lastly, latent profile analyses identify subgroups defined by cross-ideological endorsement of CB (e.g., Neocolonial Liberals and Conservatives), underscoring CB's prevalence beyond conservatism, group status, and geopolitical context. We discuss the broader implications of CB and ongoing examinations across former colonized and colonizer contexts, including Chile (Mapuche and Hispanic populations), Portugal (Mozambican and Portuguese populations), and Belgium (Congolese and Belgian populations).

Marin Vogelsang

Marin Vogelsang
Postdoctoral Researcher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

What a unique group of children treated for blindness late in life reveal about why vision begins degraded

Human visual development unfolds in a stereotypical temporal sequence, with early experience being initially blurry, color-reduced, and otherwise degraded before gradually improving in quality. These initial degradations have traditionally been regarded as 'limitations' of the developing system. We propose, however, that they actively facilitate, rather than hinder, visual learning by promoting the extraction of global visual structure. Evidence derives from a rare and understudied population that we have had the chance to work with: children in India who, following years of congenital blindness left untreated, gained sight late in life through sight surgery. In contrast to neonates, these children commence their visual experience with a remarkably mature perceptual system, effectively bypassing the initial phase of severely degraded vision. Examinations of their perceptual profiles later revealed significant reductions in the holistic nature and robustness of their visual processing. These results illuminate why normal visual development may proceed as it does, help account for deficits reported in atypically developed individuals, and point to rehabilitative interventions.

Analia Albuja

Analia Albuja
Assistant Professor, Northeastern University

Multiracial and Multicultural Socialization and Children鈥檚 Discrimination Attributions

Multiracial (with parents from different racial backgrounds) and Multicultural (with at least one immigrant parent) youth navigate multiple racial/cultural ingroups while encountering messages that question or deny their identities. Three studies examined how racial/cultural socialization and young people鈥檚 racial and cultural cognition relate to interpretations of identity-related exclusion. In Study 1, caregivers reported high levels of socialization helping children navigate multiple heritages. Studies 2 and 3 extended to caregiver鈥揷hild and caregiver鈥揳dolescent dyads. Although associations between socialization and discrimination attributions were modest and inconsistent in multivariate models, the findings identify specific, context-dependent links between caregiver messages and how young people interpret identity-related exclusion. Together, these studies provide one of the first quantitative examinations of how family socialization and social-cognitive interpretations of identity denial intersect across Multiracial and Multicultural populations. The findings highlight how caregiver messages may relate to young people鈥檚 beliefs about race and culture and their interpretations of ambiguous identity-related behavior, while also revealing important complexity across families and developmental periods.

Diane-Jo Bart-Plange, Ph.D

Faculty, Psychology & Neuroscience

Kengthsagn Louis, Ph.D.听

Faculty, Psychology & Neuroscience

Regan Bernhard, Ph.D.

Faculty, Psychology & Neuroscience

Kelly Kane

Faculty, Psychology & Neuroscience

Jaclyn Ford

Faculty, Psychology & Neuroscience

Gregg Sparkman

Faculty, Psychology & Neuroscience

Alanis Camacho Narvaez

Graduate Student, Psychology & Neuroscience

Seoyeon Bae

Graduate Student, Psychology & Neuroscience

Trystan Loustau

Graduate Student, Psychology & Neuroscience

Ariana Mondiri

Graduate Student, Psychology & Neuroscience Dept

Marie Diagne

Graduate Student, Psychology & Neuroscience

Sara Haman

Graduate Student, Psychology & Neuroscience

Campus Map and Parking:

Parking is available at the nearby Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue Garages.

糖心Vlog is also accessible via public transportation (MBTA B Line - 糖心Vlog).

Directions, Maps, and Parking

Visitor Parking Information

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