Senior Thesis Guidelines
for Students in Religious Studies
at Ȧ College
A senior thesis is an ambitious, yearlong undertaking that can be an amazing and intellectually rewarding experience. The process of writing a thesis is an opportunity to take further control over your own learning and to work more independently while being closely mentored by a faculty member. During one’s senior year, the fall is occupied with reading and research, and then the spring is devoted to writing and rewriting. Students elect to produce a multi-chapter paper, with each chapter being approximately as long as regular research papers (i.e. 15-20 pages). Students who complete an honors thesis present their work at the end of their senior year.
Past Thesis Topics
Callahan Mainzer “Playing the Devil’s Advocate: A Reflection on Portraying Multiple Truths Through a Documentary Film”
Xiaoyan Guo “The Material Culture of Chinese Temples: Food and Merchandise at Longhua Temple, Shanghai”
Luke Deuterman “The Scenes Shift and Change: Reading the Novel as Magic in William S. Burroughs’ Cities of the Red Night”
Carolina Garcia “The Intersection of Religion and Sports”
Elizabeth Levy “We Spend Our Years as a Tale That is Told”: Antisemitism and the Construction of Jewish Identity in France from the 12th Century to the Present
Henry Brefka "Burning Gabriel's Wings: Exploring the Soul’s Movement towards God through the Masnavi of Jalal al-Din Rumi"
Dylan Adelman "Charmed: A Study of Practical Benefits in Japanese Religion"
Zoe Katzen "Self on Skin: Spiritual Tattoos and Transformation in New Age Religion"
Monica Jabobs "Reaching the Core: Self-Identity Formations in New Age Sufism"
Victoria Strang "The Rise of New Atheism as a Response to 9/11"