The Islamic State's rise to power, consolidation of territory, and sheer brutality has confused everyone from government officials to the average American citizen, but Ty Joplin '16 is working to make the situation clearer. This summer, thanks to funding from the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship, the political science major is in Tel Aviv, Israel, at the Moshe Dayan Center, researching the radical jihadi group with the goal of better informing governments around the world about how to fight it.

Joplin has been interested in the politics of the Middle East for a while, but says the professors in Haverford's political science department, in particular, inspired his research. He cites Associate Professor Barak Mendelsohn's "Evolution of the Jihadi Movement" class as the spark for his interest in the subject and Associate Professor Anita Isaacs' "Peace Building" class as the impetus for his desire to find policy solutions to the problem of extremism.

"Haverford classes have this unique ability to hone in one crucial nuance in an idea," says Joplin, "dissecting it until everybody knows every little thing about it, and then applying each little part to the big picture, and before you know it, not only do you know a certain idea inside and out, but you leave the class feeling like you understand the world just a tiny bit better."

Though Joplin is energized by his work at the Moshe Dayan Center, his favorite part of his internship so far has been interacting with his host family. "Tel Aviv is an amazing city and this is the best internship I can ask for, but my host family [are] just the nicest, most hospitable people," says Joplin. "They make me dinner every night, show me around Tel Aviv, connect me with scholars in my field that they know—they're kind of like my main lifeline here."

—Jack Hasler '15

"Summer Centered" is a series exploring our students' Center-funded summer work.