Senior Independent Study is the culmination of the History curriculum. With the guidance of a faculty advisor, students design a research project, gather evidence, and present their conclusions in a formal thesis. Working one-on-one with a faculty advisor and engaging in the debates of professional historians, History majors develop the practical and analytical skills necessary for tackling problems not only in history but also in matters of contemporary concern. There are alternative models for the presentation of historical research as well. Wooster students have successfully completed their Senior I.S. by producing a film documentary, mounting a public history exhibition, writing a historical novel, and developing a high school curriculum.
Senior Independent Study Theses 2019
The Drum Break: Using the Poetics of Hip Hop as a Lens to Observe the Black Freedom Movement Post-Civil Rights & Black Power, Andrew Aldridge
Department: English; History
Pardon My Black Power! The Root of Black Stigma, Antonio G. Bailey
Department: History
Deadly Tail: The Rise, Fall, and Long-term Consequences of the Dalkon Shield IUD, Eleanor Barker
Department: History
Fundamentalist-in-Chief: How Jerry Falwell Built the Religious Right and Became the Face of Family Values in American Politics, 1956–1980, Abigail Blinka
Department: History
The Witch’s Apprentice: An Original Graphic Novel, Lorelei KM Carrier
Department: Art and Art History
Thus Come: The Making and Seeing of the Buddha in China, Julia S. Cavallo
Department: Art and Art History; Chinese Studies
Liminal Souls, Liminal Bodies: Michelangelo’s Non Finito and the Poetics of Liberation, Mackenzie Clark
Department: Art and Art History; English
In the Act of Witnessing Art, Regan Concannon Clark
Department: Art and Art History; English
Rosie in the Empire: Gender in British and Australian Media Propaganda during the Second World War, Josie Cotton
Department: History
Opening Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise: The Work of Art and its Contexts between Renaissance Florence and Modern Museum Culture, Ilaria Novella Crum
Department: Art and Art History; Sociology and Anthropology
Dancing with Wooster: Strengthening Community through Self-expression and Collaborative Art, Juliana Davis
Department: Art and Art History
Ottoman Reactions to a Decline in British-Ottoman Relations 1876-1914, Liam Dingle
Department: History
Location, Location, Location: The Expansion of the Lexington Public Library from 1795-2019, Robin Emmons
Department: History
The Mechanisms of Memory: Britain’s Remembrance and Forgetfulness of the British Raj in World War Two, Essam Farah
Department: History
“Marblescape of Memory”: An Examination of Aesthetics, Identity Construction, and Museum Display through the Appropriation of Ancient Greek Sculpture in Neoclassical England, Presley Feezell
Department: Art and Art History; Sociology and Anthropology
When Science and Art Collide: Learning the Methods Like a Scientist in Order to Break the Rules Like an Artist, Marissa Bailey Fiume
Department: Art and Art History; Biology
A Comprehensive Analysis of the Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) Population in Ohio over Time with a Focus on the Melanistic Color Morph, Weston Gray
Department: Biology; History
Rights, Naturally: An Examination of Natural Rights Philosophy in Constitutional Thought and Decision Making, Jordan Griffith
Department: History; Political Science
From the Depths: Impacts of the H.L. Hunley, Kolten Del Hainsey
Department: History
History = Change Over Time: Potential Adaptations for Three Contemporary Northeast Ohio Historical Societies, Marissa Hamm
Department: History
L’Image Coloniale: Representations of Sub-Saharan Africans in Primary School Textbooks and Children’s Literature During France’s Third Republic, 1870-1914, Olivia Holland
Department: French and Francophone Studies; History
Phyllis Schlafly’s Lasting Legacy: Discovering Continuity in Women’s Anti-Era Writings, Annabelle Hopkins
Department: Political Science; History
‘False Frenchwoman’: William Shakespeare’s Reinterpretation of Powerful Female Historical Figures in the Reign of Elizabeth I, Rebecca Giver Johnston
Department: English; History
The Process of Mending: A Cathartic Exploration of Personal, Social, and Familial Relationships, Reagan N. Kazyak
Department: Art and Art History
Dr. George S. Benson and the National Education Program: An Analysis of Films from 1948 to 1972, Cullen Wayman King
Department: History; Religious Studies
Very Happy Exile: The Life and Works of Charlotte Wolff, Abby Lang
Department: History; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Full Pull:The Worlds Heaviest Motorsport, Trenton M. Leggett
Department: History
Athletes Engaging in Activism: Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos and their influence on Colin Kaepernick, Brian Lief
Department: History
The Lakota: On the Importance of Community and Selflessness, Wyatt Ogden Linde
Department: History; Philosophy
Broken Mirrors: A Historical Analysis of Racial Depictions in Video Games Through a Character, Francisco Martinez
Department: History
A Few Clumsy Lines: Ramifications of Philosophical Shifts in Neo-Confucian Philosophy to Ming Governance, John Martin
Department: History; Philosophy
The Ghosts of Terentia: The History and Historiographical Representations of the Woman who Married Cicero, Mary McKinley
Department: Classical Studies; History
The Untransacted Destiny: William Gilpin and the Birth of Modern America, Ben McKone
Department: History
A Rubbish Affair When Art Met Tech: Dissecting How Consumerism’s Recycling Exploits Southeast Asian Environment Through a Virtual Art Experience Using Leap Motion Technology for Gestural Commands and Physical Interactions, Thanh Nguyen
Department: Computer Science; Art and Art History
Modernism in Qatar: The South Asian Migrant Struggle and the Evolution of the Kafala System, Will Noel
Department: History
The Idea of “The Decisive Battle” As It Applies to Military Conflict from the Late 18th to the Early 20th Century, Spencer John O’Keefe
Department: History
“She Turned Me Into A Newt!”, an Examination of the Fictionalized Identities of Cunning Folk and Witches During the Witchcraft Trials, Katarina E. Padavick
Department: History; English
Humanity’s Forge: Constructing a Scientific Narrative around Los Alamos and the Atomic Bomb, Erika M. Purdy
Department: History
Little Puerto Rico: The Migration and Emergence of the Puerto Rican Community in Lorain, Ohio, Raymond Rhone IV
Department: History
Yogyakarta 1948: National Identity and the Indonesian National Revolution (1945-1949), Emily J. Root
Department: Art and Art History; History
Rootin’, Tootin’, and Shootin’: The Role of Western Towns in the Creation and Perpetuation of the Mythic West, Finn J.R. Schneider
Department: History
Reading Between the (Color) Lines: The Complex History of the Integration of Major League Baseball, Jacob Morris Schwartz
Department: History
A Critical Analysis of The Korean War In South Korean Films, Wooseong Seol
Department: History
Black Culture/Black Politics: Hip Hop Culture and Politics from the 1970s to the early 90s, Tori Smith
Department: History
How the Socialist and Feminist Revolutions in Cuba and Chile Liberated and Limited Women, Natalie E C Souleyrette
Department: History
Shōjo, Sexology, and Suicide: Female Same-Sex Relationships that Challenged Gender Roles in Prewar Japan, Jacob Rollin Springwood
Department: History
From the Hands of Midwives to the Forceps of Men: The Medicalization of Birth in Early 20th Century United States, Collier B. Summay
Department: History
An Examination of the Senegalese Boat Migration, Ousmane Sy
Department: Africana Studies; History
The African Female narrative explored through art: A transnational Generation of Women, Toshiko Tanaka
Department: Art and Art History; Communication
Intersections, Hao Tang
Department: Art and Art History
Pyae Thein’s Life: A Visual Representation Using Pufferfish and Octopus, Pyae Thein
Department: Art and Art History
Pursue This Discourse Instead: Deconstructing Settler Colonialism and Climate Change Through Art, Carolyn S. Webster
Department: Art and Art History
Cleveland’s Ladies Rock: An Analysis of Women’s Contributions to Cleveland Rock and Roll in the 1970s, Peter G. Zaremba
Department: History
To view previous Senior Independent Studies, visit https://openworks.wooster.edu/history_is/