2017 Senior Thesis Topics

 

 

Africana Studies

• Henry Johnstone, A Seat at the Table: The Role of Music in a Black Feminist Discourse
• Terri Moise, To What Must We Be True?: The Black Writer’s Paradox
   

Archaeology

• Anna Arnn, In Pursuit of Isotope Ecology: EA-IRMS of faunal remains at the Slocan Narrows Pithouse Village, Upper Columbia River area, Interior Pacific Northwest
• Lindsay Buff, Sourcing Fine Grained Volcanic Artifacts Recovered From Housepit 54, Bridge River Housepit Village, British Columbia
• Casey File, The Effect of Taphonomic Processes on Blunt Force Trauma: An Experimental Study on the Cranium of Sus scrofa domesticus
• Lillia McEnaney, Assessing the validity of ceramic elemental data: a HHpXRF analysis of sherds from San Marcos Pueblo
• Mariah Walzer, Prehistoric mobility patterns through debitage analysis at Slocan Narrows Pithouse Village in the Upper Columbia River area
   

Art

Class of 2017 Senior Art Thesis

• Maraina Adams, Carol Chao, Merisa Dion, Max Freedman, Julie Lin, Araseli Mendez, Minh Nguyen, Ellison Sherrill, Katherine Wang
   

Art History

• Caroline Corbin, The “Branded” Artist in the 20th & 21st Centuries and its Growing Influence on the Contemporary Art Market
• Michelle Woodward, The Politics of Activist Art
   

Asian Studies

• Codi Reynolds, Higuchi Ichiyo and Contradictions Between Money and Gender
   

Biochemistry/Molecular Biology

• Taylor Arnoff, Determining the Site of p53 Ubiquitination by RNF43
• Edom Bekele, Polymerizing Antimicrobial Peptides to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance
• John Bianco, Studying the Role of Tyramine Beta-hydroxylase Related in Drosophila Melanogaster
• Michael Carducci, Bacterial Entry of Polymerized Biomolecules via Enterobactin Analogues
• Hawer Conteh, The Non-Innocence of Fluorophores in Cellular Uptake
• Jennifer Crawford, Applying Biochemical Techniques to the Field of Ecoimmunology to Elucidate Mechanisms Governing Bighorn Sheep’s Varied Immune Responses to Pneumonia Due to Changes in Nutritional Condition
• Bryan Ferguson, Investigating the Role of the Transcriptional Activation Domain of p53 in the Binding of RNF43
• Hung Hoang, Expression of rnf43 in Early Embryonic Development of Zebrafish
• Geum Mia Kang, Investigation of Different Binding Kinetics Among the Neuraminidase Inhibitors
• Conor Powers, The Evolution and Expression of Bothrops pirajai acidic phospholipase PLA2-I in the Venom of Sea Urchins
• Vishwa Rasania, Effects of Bifenthrin and Fipronil on PPARy in Zebrafish
• Sharif Shrestha, Literature Review of the Bioactive Alkaloids in Swertia Chirayita
   

Biology

• Megan Ahern, Recycling Psychology: Information, Perceived Social Observation, and Hamilton College Recycling Habits
• Emma Anderson, Elucidation of the links between nutrition, the gut microbiota, and the immune system
• Thomas Blanchard, Avian self-medication against ectoparasites through incorporation of cigarettes into nests
• Olivia Box, Beech Bark Disease Fungus: Which Neonectria species are found at Hubbard Brook Forest and at Hamilton College?
• Madeline Carras, Vitamin C and hypoxia: a concerted effect on growth
• Connor Crutchfield, Toxicopathological effects of the organic UV filter, homosalate, on the neurodevelopment of embryonic zebrafish (Danio rerio)
• Rachel Haskins, The Effect of Swim Training on the Maximum and Resting Metabolic Rates of Varsity and Novice Athletes
• Alexandra Horn, Evolution and localized expression of the L-rhamnose-binding lectin CSL3
• Henry Kang, Role of RNF43 in the regulation of p53
• Truman Landowski, Identifying pathways and metabolic processes involved in life stage transitions of the fish parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis
• Anne McGarvey, Using the North American Isoscape to Understand Crow Migration
• Dan O’Shea, Chemical and Genetic Characterization of Sub-Chemocline Microbial Biofilms in Meromictic Green Lake
• Angel Pichardo, A Genetic Analysis of Cryptocaryon irritans at different infectious states
• Raymond Schulmeyer, The Effect of Energy Reserves on Mule Deer Immunity
• Hannah Staab, Diet and health in urban birds: Do human food sources impact the American Crow?
• Julian Ziaggi, RNF43 Protein Expression in Early Zebrafish Development and Stability of an RNF43 mutant
   

Chemistry

• Marta Antoniv, Brush Polymers to Combat Antibiotic Resistance
• Dan Cahill, Uniform, Nanostructured Copper Electrodes for CO₂ Reduction
• Jon Capelin, Toward the Synthesis of Peptidomimetics Related to AFP Useful Against Breast Cancer
• Andrew Fletcher, Metal-Organic Framework Synthesis for TcO₄^- Extraction
• Jeff Greenwald, Synthesis & Characterization of Y₂O₃:Tb³⁺ Core Shell Nanoparticles
• Jake Hamill, Rare Earth Nanophosphor and Semiconductor Nanoparticle Sol-Gel Incorporation and Analysis
• K.C. Kelly, The Investigation of Alkenes and Alkyl Halides in a Nickel-Catalyzed Suzuki Cross-Coupling Reaction
• Chris Powell, Nickel Catalyzed Conjugate Additions of Boronic Acids to Alkenes
• Aida Shadrav, Fabrication of Silver Dendrites for Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy
• Jon Shapiro, Developing Methodology in Alkaloid Synthesis
• Alec Talsania, Nanocrystalline Iron Oxide Electrodes for Water Oxidation
• Rich Wenner, Examining the Binding Pathways of Peramivir to Wild-type Neuraminidase through MDS and MM/GBSA Analysis
• Chris Williams, Transannular hydroamination towards izidine alkaloids and N-(1-alkoxy)vinyl pyridinium triflates Part III: EAS
   

Chinese

• Maraina Adams, The Marriage Crisis of Modern China: Who are the leftovers?
• Cole Bodak, The development of Korean Popular Culture in China and Taiwan
• Matthew Burner, The 21st Century Economic Shift of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone
• Charlotte Chandler, China’s “One Belt One Road”: Negative Influence or Healthy Competition?
• Cartland Harten, Chinese Sports Development and Athlete Training Methods
• Michael Holliday, Analyzing Racial Discrimination in the United States and China by looking at China’s Extra Credit Policies and the United States’ Affirmative Action Policies.
• Abigail Leitschuh, Chinese Migration Trends for Education
• Sharon Liu, May Fourth Literature and Fifth-Generation Director’s Film, Analyzing Chinese Modernity
• Oliver Magnusson, A Pivotal Moment in World Order: The 2016 Election and the Future of Sino-American Relations
• Devin O’Sullivan, China’s Energy Crisis: Does it exist and is it fixable?
• Sarah Sull, Why Chinese Students Study Abroad

• Elijah Weisbrod, Violence, Power, and Righteousness: Remembering the Cultural Revolution through Farewell My Concubine (1993)

• Alex Witonsky, Marketing Environmentalism to the Masses: Gauging Chinese Perceptions of Environmental and Ecological Ruin Through The Mermaid (2016)

• Lisa Yang, The Present and Future of Chinese Luxury Good Consumption

• Nicholas Zuroski, State-Run Media’s Influence on Chinese Understanding of the South China Sea Conflict
   

Cinema and Media Studies

Honors Theses 

• Brian Burns, Magic Mike and the XXL American Dream
• Kate Bushell, The Catholics Behind the Movies and The Church in Front of Them: The Creation of Pivotal Jesus Films and Their Institutional Response
• Hoang Do, “LAST SPRING,” A HOANG DO FILM: An Artivist Response to Western Fashion Films’ Consumption of the Chinese Other
• Mimi Do, ‘I Just Want All the White Boys to Love Me’ The New Fragrance: Disrupting the Racialized Representation of Asian Americans and East Asians in Visual Culture through Art and Digital Media
• Robert Marston, On Camera in the Studio: Understanding the Music Recording Process Through Documentary Film
• Elliot Nathan, Representing the Real: Issues of Spectatorship and Ethics in Immersive Virtual Environments
• Jenna Wilson, Mel Brooks: Ditching the Comedy
   

Classics

• Rebecca DeTurk, Motherhood and Martyrdom in the Passion of Perpetua: A Reconciliation of Nurture and Violence in the Early Church
• Madsen (Brory) Harboe, Who Were the Carthaginians?: Fact versus Fiction
• Dawit Kassa, Fake News and the Dangerous Legacy of a Martyrdom Complex: How Popular Misconceptions about Martyrdom in the Early Church Still Create Real Barriers to Compassion and Dialogue Today
• Lyndsay LaBarge, Deconstructing the Gender Binary: Social Transgression in The Acts of Paul and Thecla
• Rebecca Lunt, Martyrdom’s Evolution Through Classical Western Civilization
• Elizabeth (Beth) Prescott, Making a Martyr: The Life and Afterlife of Thiemo of Salzburg
• Maude Wilson, Gender in the Passio Sanctarum Perpetuae et Felicitatis: Implications of Masculinity and Femininity
   

Comparative Literature

• Natalie Adams, Reading While Grieving: The Social Construction of Grief and Mourning in Literature
• Madeline Carras, Believing, Then Seeing: Lilith and I Take a Look at “Alternative Truth”
• Laura Chong, Feasts in Literature: The Famous and the Infamous
• Ondine Jean-Baptiste, The Pursuit of (Feminist) Happiness
• Liz Lvov, Rewriting the Romance: Crafting a Narrative of Queer Desire
• Haley Lynch, The Real Life of Literature in Three Dimensions
• Codi Reynolds, Metamorphosis and Mental Illness
• Emma Reynolds, I Say X, You Think Y: Intimate Strangers in Gertrude Stein, Yoko Ono, and Harryette Mullen
• Kelsie Sausville, Trained Readers and Tawdry Temptresses
• Cedar Weyker, The White Other: Manifestations of Whiteness in Latin American Demonology
• Kelt Wilska, Senior Closure: My Attempt to Achieve Campus Social Change Through Comics
   

Computer Science

Honors Presentations

• Eric Collins, Explorations in Operating Systems or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Boot Loop
• Jason Fortunato, Natural Language Processing with an Emphasis on Statistical Parsing Techniques
   

Creative Writing

• Kianee Love De Jesus, Legs and Mouths Shut
• Alexandra (Ali) E. Gay, Reckless

• Liz Lvov, Peach Juice: A Queer Novella

• Mackenzie Nguyen, Reflections

• S. Fain Riopelle, The Road to the Citadel: The Bloodsalt Compendium, Book 1
• Aaron Rogers, Pantheon
• Nick Sobczyk, These Places Don’t Get Enough Poetry: Ruminations on a Lifetime
• Mariah Walzer, Little Homes: Searching for Smultronställe
• Eli Ward, Lady Woodward
• Laura Young, Camilla: A Story of Superheroines

 

Economics

• Ayo Adjibaba, A Macroeconomic View of the Effects of Civil War on Economic Growth
• Elizabeth Barry, Flooding and Childhood Malnutrition: Long Term Health Outcomes in 21st Century Nepal.
• Matt Burner, Impact of High Performance Work Practices on Job Satisfaction:  Evidence from British Establishments
• Jonathan Carkeek, Deregulation, Number of Underwriters, and Quality of Certification
• Jillian Donze, Identifying the Effects of the Minimum Wage Law on Crime Rates in the United States
• Gregory Elliot, The Effect of Enterprise Risk Management on the Performance and Valuation of U.S. Insurance Companies
• Jeff Greenwald, Modeling Lending Club Loan Defaults
• Zachary Hardmeyer, Financial Inclusion and Financial Stability: Cross Country Evidence from Firm and Household Access to Finance
• Lindsay Heyer, The Effect of Investment in the Health Care System on Maternal Health in Peru
• James Hunter, Measuring the Affordability of Massachusetts Healthcare Reform
• Wenyu Jin, Can Paid Paternity Leave Narrow the Gender Wage Gap?: Evidence from the United Kingdom.
• Isaac Kirschner, Income Volatility, Poverty, and Mobile Phones
• Neema Lema, Does Child Marriage Affect HIV Prevalence and Sexual Agency? An Empirical Study of Tanzanian Women
• Brett Mele, Finding productive workers in the market for amateur baseball players: a zero-inflated negative binomial analysis
• Hannah O’Leary, The Poor and The Easterlin Paradox: A Closer Look at the Poor’s Relationship between Income and Subjective Well-Being
• Seamus O’Neill, A Study of Culture’s Effect on the Relationship between Economic Growth and Environmental Degradation
• Kyle Pitman, Value at Risk and the Financial Crisis
• Maggie Stoyantcheva, Violence and Early Childhood Investments in Colombia
• Sarah Sull, Abortion Laws and Maternal Mortality in Mexico
• Weilin Tang, Determinants of Quit Behavior in British Establishments
• Jaemin Woo, Forecasting Private Consumption with Google Trends
• Tianyu Yang, Exchange Rate Variability and Sovereign Risk
   

English

Honors Presentations

• Mali Barker, Publishing as Determining Dickinson’s Poetry to Its Detriment
• Adeline Black, Uncanny Resemblances: The Supernatural Portrait in Gogol, Poe, and Wilde
• Margaret Boyd, Humanizing the Famine, Forgetting its Women
   

Environmental Studies

• Jonah Boucher, Mapping geochemical gradients and microbial community composition at high spatial resolution in a meromictic lake
• Meghan Brennan, Addressing erosion on New Jersey’s Long Beach Island
• Jacqueline Guyol, How agricultural subsidies have impacted the environment in France
• Sam Matlick, Business and regulatory solutions to the e-waste crisis
• Liam McAuliff, How right-wing populist parties view the environment
• Jack McCaffrey, Effects of State Characteristics on Renewable Energy Production
• Anne McGarvey, Climate induced changes in the Adirondack maple-sugaring season over the past century
• Ana M.C. Reynoso, The cooptation of indigenous struggles, labor and, language within MAS environmentalism in Bolivia
• Mabel Sabina, Renewable energy policy in the United Kingdom and Denmark
• Jessica Springer, Subsistence poaching and human/wildlife interactions in Tanzania
• Katie Veasey, Microplastic pollution in New Jersey’s Sandy Hook Bay region
• Perry Von Stade, Does the Environmental Kuznets Curve Exist for Renewable Energy?
• Jessica Weston, Improving the relationship between Native Americans and the National Park Service through co-management
   

French

Honors Theses

• Hazel Chan, Le musée national Gustave Moreau et le musée Rodin: Un voyage pour créer de l’héritage à travers le temps
• Eli Spang, Représentation de l'identité algérienne dans le cinéma de propagande français. 1945-1962
   

Geosciences

• Mary Margaret Allen, Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction of the Holocene Galana Boi Formation at Kabua Gorge, Turkana Basin, Kenya
• Madison D. Atterbury, Broadening the Geoscience Perspective: Environmental Justice and Diversity in the Undergraduate Classroom
• Samuel Bernstein, Development and implementation of a GIS-based method for predicting soil erosion on mountain bike trails at Hamilton College
• Lindsay Buff, Petrographic and geochemical characterization of Eocene volcanic rocks, British Columbia, and their application to archaeological toolstone sourcing
• Claire M. Forbes, Mazon Creek Paleobotany:  An Advanced Paleontology Laboratory Exercise
• Tony Hernandez, Timing of Syncline Formation in the Drunka Formation of the Western Desert, Egypt: Constraints from Deposits of the Katkut Formation
• Julianna S. Horgan, Coastal Erosion and Lighthouse Relocation on Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
• Mary Langworthy, Refined Stratigraphy and Paleoenvironmental Interpretations for the Lower Miocene Locherangan Locality in West Turkana, Kenya
• Rachel Lannino, The impacts of septic systems on groundwater and lake water quality, Westernville, New York
• Devin O’Sullivan, Major and trace element compositions of garnets from New York State kimberlites: a window into the lower crust and upper mantle
• George Segee-Wright, Whole-rock geochemistry and U/Pb zircon age of a granitic pluton exposed on two small islands in Penobscot Bay, Maine
• Margaret Smith, Historical Sedimentation in Adirondack Lakes: A Multi-Proxy Study
• Stephanie Talaia-Murray, Determining lead content of soil along U.S. Highway 20 near Oriskany Falls, New York
   

Government

Honors Theses

• Daphne Assimakopoulos, The Ballot is Not Secure: Partisan Attempts to Manipulate Voting Rights Since Shelby County v. Holder (2013)
• Eliza Coffin, Voting Laws in the United States: Integrity versus Disenfranchisement
• Ella Dean, Climate Refugees and Place-Based Identity: Understanding Displacement and Resettlement as Communities Vanish
• Taylor Elicegui, Ice, Ice, Baby: Examining Polarization’s Impact on Senate Leadership and Legislative Productivity
• Sarah Hogoboom, Mapping Trends: Private Education in Nigeria and Liberia
• Isaac Kirschner, Developing Countries and Multilateral Trading Organizations: Lessons from China in the WTO era
• Joshua Troop, Outsiders in Presidential Elections: Major Party Primary vs Third Party Strategies
• Florence Turiaf, Small Islands and Brain Drain: A Case Study of Martinique
• Samantha Weckenman, The Price of Justice: The Effect of State Government Funding on Indigent Defense
• Jacob Weissman, Apple and the FBI, The Power of Jus Tertii, and the All Writs Act of 1789
• Grant Whitney, Regional Exertion of Power: Iran and the Nuclear Deal
   

Hispanic Studies

Honors Theses

• Sarah Gamblin, Cervantes, Ricote y la expulsión de los moriscos
• Rachel Harshaw, Las gallinas y los zorros del patriarcado: el poder de la alianza femenina en La casa de los espíritus
• Amanda Hernandez, Entre la guerra civil y la violencia urbana: dos filmes sobre El Salvador
• Aida Shadrav, Transgredir las normas sociales restantes de la dictadura de Franco a través del cine de Pedro Almodóvar
• Grace Ward, El catalizador del nacionalismo radical: la propaganda cinematográfica en las relaciones entre los Estados Unidos y Cuba
   

History

Honors Theses

• William Artery, Abraham Lincoln's Rhetoric of Qualification
• Michael Lubelczyk, Military Tribunals and the Hegemony of Liberal Internationalism
   

independent Study

Independent Study in Communication

• Lauren Pyo, Real Beauty: Gender Norms, Women’s Empowerment, and Beauty Standards in ‘Natural’ Campaigns
   

Interdisciplinary Studies

Interdisciplinary Studies in Communication and Women’s Studies

• Polly Bruce, #EverydaySexism, #ToTheGirls, and Feminist Social Media: Women Coping with Sexism and Supporting Each Other on Twitter

Interdisciplinary Studies in English, Education Studies and Psychology

• Colleen O’Brien, (Re)Imagining Empathy: Exploring the Influence of Fictional Narratives on Empathic Tendencies
   

Linguistics

• Michael Burchesky, Prosodic Disambiguation & Pitch Discrimination
• Taylor LaSon, Metalinguistic Awareness in Multilingual Children
   

Literature

Honors Presentation

• Hannah Mooney, Escaping the Inbent Spiral: Sincerity Through Fiction in David Foster Wallace’s “Good Old Neon”
   

Mathematics

Honors Presentations

• Gordon Bogardus, Baseball, Percentages and Regression
• Emily Hedison, Extensions of Rock-Paper-Scissors
• Emmerson Zhaime, Using Cronbach’s Alpha to Assess the Reliability of Alcohol Survey Questions
   

Music

• Eliza Burwell, piano
• Adelaide Fuller, voice and choral conducting
   

Neuroscience

• Alexander Baradari, The Effect of TBI Severity on Learning and Memory in Drosophila melanogaster.
• Beatrice Blackwell, Effects of Yo-Yo Dieting on Immunocompetence.
• Sarah Bowler, The Polygenic and Environmental Impact on Stress and Maladaptive Coping Strategies.
• Martina Brave, The Role of the ACC and the Amygdala in Fear Memory Reconsolidation in an Animal Model of PTSD.
• Carolin Chao, Sexual Arousal Influences the Neural Encoding of Facial Attractiveness.
• Amelia Denney, Bind, Learn, Update, Retrieve: the Role of the Postrhinal Cortex in Contextual Memory.
• Charles Feinberg, Too Afraid to Include: Fear Suppresses the Neural Encoding of Out-Group Members.
• Ana Garces Torres, Variation in Bilingual Cognitive Performance Contingent on Age of Acquisition.
• Hilary Giles, The Impact of Perceptual Noise and Emotional Expression on the Neural Encoding of Faces: An EEG Study.
• Paul Green, Learning and Memory Deficits in a Drosophila TBI model.
• Areej Haroon, The Impact of Vitamin D Deficiency on Tryptophan and Subsequently the Synthesis of Serotonin (5-HT) in the Brain: A Pathway to Depression.
• Natalie Kuhn, In-group v. Out-group learning across the political spectrum: An EEG study.
• Audrey Love, The Effects of Positive Stereotyping on Math Performance.
• Minh Nguyen, The Influence of Golden Ratio on Visual Spatial Attention.
• Marina Palumbo, Could a New Rat Model for Alzheimer’s Disease Pave the Way for Earlier Diagnoses?
• Kevin Roback, Recovery of Learning and Memory Deficits in a Drosophila TBI model.
• Samantha Rosen, Spatial Attention and Competing Representations in Working Memory.
• Rebecca Ryan, Can Exercise Serum Improve Cognition in Diabetic Animals?
• William Rybaltowski, Audiovisual Associative Learning of Tone-Color Pairs
• Olivia Surgent, Altered Sensory Learning in a Potential Rat Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
• Thomson Tai, Examining Learning in Action Video Game Players.
• Ivanka Temnycky, Co-treatment of PTSD with Exercise and Propranolol.
• Tanapat Treyanurak, How do Rats Remember Where They’ve Been? Studying the Role of the Rat Retrosplenial Cortex in First-Order Fear Conditioning.
   

Philosophy

• Brett Bracco, Non-Therapeutic Infant Male Circumcision: The Ethical Issues
• Ryan Cassidy, Atrocities on Camera: On The Moral Responsibility of Filmmakers Who Include Atrocities in their Work
• Dan Farina, The Subject Side of Respect: Why and How to be a Respecter
• Sophie Gaulkin, Sexual Healing: Does Language Preclude Authenticity?
• Emily Magruder, Working Towards Happiness: An Exposition of Epicureanism and Guidelines to Happiness
• Jake McDougall, Metaphysical Realism: The Door Not the Window
• Gaby Pilson, Why climb mountains? An investigation into what mountain climbing can teach us about the self
• Sara Purinton, Nietzschean Affirmation: A Joyous Challenge
• Connor Sharkey, On the Rationality & Moral Permissibility of Physician-Assisted Suicide in Light of the Theoretical Nature of Suicide as an Action
• Caleb Duane Williamson, The Emergence of the Twenty-First Century ‘New Negro’: An Analysis of the Emerging Social Consciousness of Contemporary Black America
   

Physics

• Ian Brown, Calculating the Post-Newtonian Parameters for Conformally Equivalent Theories
• Brady Bruno, Measuring the Neutron Spectrum: BL3’s Neutron Chopper
• Kevin Carey, Automated Analysis For Atomic Positions in 2D Silicates
• Maxwell Coleman, Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle for Bacterial Research in Meromictic Lakes
• Alec Cornwell, Measurement of the Neutron Lifetime: Neutron Chopper for BL3
• Marcos Ferreccio, Continuing the Modification and Optimization of a Rubidium Magnetometer
• Leo Kell, Acceleration Curves for Disk-Shaped Galaxies in Modified Newtonian Dynamics
• Ash Khan, Neutron spin transport in the aCORN apparatus
• Ashton Lowenstein, Quantum Parametric Radiation from Merging Black Holes
• John Pikus, Statistical Mechanics of Black Holes
• Ben Schafer, Construction of a Parallel Transport Machine for the Measurement of Topographic Properties
• Tom Soldi, Optimization and Modification of a Rubidium Magnetometer
• Eli Ward, Calculating the Leggett-Garg Inequality for Non-Hermitian Quantum Mechanics
• Mengyi (Jessica) Zhu, Design and Building of Crow-bot
  
   

Psychology

• Scott D. Becker, Framing Climate Change Messages with Positive and Negative Liberty

• Devon Brown, Reducing Negative Behaviors in an Elementary Student: A Case Study

• Becca Butler, Effect of Linguistically Cued Perspective-Taking on Empathy

• Hazel Chan, Reducing Binge Drinking using Fear and Gain vs. Loss Framing Messages on Facebook

• Jeremy Cottle, In- vs. Out-group Charitable Giving as a Function of Political Orientation

• Finley Cruger, Effects of Role Play on Children’s Prosocial Behavior

• Sarah Dimakis, Collaborative Inhibition in Autobiographical Memory

• Emma H. Feitelson, Designing Recruitment Messages to Boost Volunteering in Hamilton Students

• Peter Goldsmith, The Effects of Race of Speaker and Argument Quality on Persuasion

• Hayley Goodrich, Overcome with Awe: Meaning-maintenance in the Face of a Profound Aesthetic Experience

• Bennett Hambrook, Leadership Development in College Athletics: A Proposed Study

• Charlotte Healey, Interventions for Selective Mutism in an Elementary Student: A Case Study

• Benjamin Isenberg, Comorbid ADHD and Mood Dysregulation: Creating and Evaluating a School-based Intervention

• Congcong (Cindy) Li, Emotions and False Memory: Moving Beyond Valence and Arousal

• Nathalia Mahabir, Belongingness and Emotional Intelligence: An Examination of Reciprocal Relationships

• Kelly Manhart, Early Predictors of Long-Term Relationship Success

• Cole Mattran, Helping Students with ADHD Using Working Memory Training

• Annie McArdle, The Influence of Children’s Pretend Play Identity on Persistence

• Araseli Mendez, Source Monitoring as a Counter for the Misinformation Effect

• Emily Morris, The Effect of Social Influence on Preschoolers’ Self-Control

• Brendon W. Nylen, Gender Differences in the Relationship between Serotonin and Alcohol-Related Aggression

• Hannah O’Grady, Does Ego Threat Moderate the Relationship Between Defensive Self-Esteem and Risk-Taking?

• Helen Park, Comparing Brief Mindfulness Meditation and Relaxation on Attention and Anxiety

• KaraLin Pintye-Everett, Look Again: Examining Responses to Facial Attractiveness Via Repetition and Social Influence

• Leah Pranschke, The Effects of Primed Social Class Stigma on Self-Regulation, Self-Esteem, and Sense of Belonging

• Elizabeth Prescott, Broad Autism Phenotype and Related Factors in College Students

• Kaitlan Puglia, How Do People with Defensive Self-esteem Interpret Neutral Cues Following Ego Threat?

• Emily Randrup, Implicit Learning in Children: An Investigation of Statistically Optimal Learning Through a Spatial Localization Task

• Alex Regan, College Athletes’ Susceptibility to Eating Disorders: A Review of the Literature

• Meg E. Riley, Feminist Backlash as a Function of Moral and Status Quo Threats

• Lillie Simourian, College Students’ Perceptions of Classmates Who Treat ADHD with Stimulant Medication

• Barbara Singhakiat, To Conform or Dissent: The Effect of Threatening Self-Concept Clarity

• Corinne Smith, College Students' Narratives of Sex and Sexuality

• Elizabeth P. Starr, Exploring the Relationship Between Self-Distancing and Trauma

• Djinnie Timoleon, The Relationship between Stress Reactivity and 5-HTTLPR: The Moderating Roles of Self-Esteem and Need to Belong

• Abigail H. Toribio, How Anticipating Moral Reproach Affects College Students’ Willingness to Self-Disclose

• Becka L. Vacarelo, Does Instagram Harm Women’s Health? Dieting and Modern Media Exposure

• Annali Vernon, Hiring Bias: Mechanisms and Tips for Prevention
   

Public Policy

• Jean-David (JD) Brachman and James (Jimmy) Giattino, The New Era of the Sporting Mega Events: What is the New Mold for a Mega-Event Host?
• Genevieve Caffrey, Defining Kinship Navigator Program Quality: How States Can Best Meet the Needs of Informal Caregivers and How Societal Values Affect These Efforts
• Jonathan Cohen, The Chicken Tax: A Natural Experiment in Protectionist Policy in the Automobile Industry
• Caroline Rose Corbin, Diversity and College Admissions: Understanding the Influences on Diversity in American Higher Education
• Carter Dorsett, Common Language: Integrating Machine Language Translation into General Education Courses for Students with Limited English Proficiency
• Jonathan Dugal and Alex (Zhixiong) Wang, The City of New Hartford?  Exploring the Procedure and Feasibility for the Town of New Hartford to Become a City
• Nicholas Flora, Choice Schools and Survival of the Fittest: Do Charter Schools Get Better Over Time?
• Tucker Hamlin, Paying to Play: The Determinants of Government Funding for Sports Stadiums
• Conor Lamberti, Pretzel Logic: The Curious Psychological Principles Behind Extended Warranties
• Abigail Leitschuh, Building the Glass Ceiling: The Surprising Effect of Education and Work Hours on Pay Equity for Women
• Shirley Luo, High-Deductible Health Plans and Health Savings Accounts: The Future of Health Care in America
• Robert McClure, Campaign and Box Office Success: What Movie Moguls Can Learn from Campaign Managers, and Vice Versa
• Katie Parkman and Sara Taffe, Pay Now to Save $111 Billion Later: Undocumented Immigrant Health Care Reform
• Taylor Ryan, The Cost-Benefit Analysis of P3 Investments vs. State Gas Tax Reconfigurations: A Proposal for Future U.S. Infrastructure Financial Needs

 

Religious Studies

Senior Theses

• Michael Berrios, Using Institutional Reform and Early Intervention to Combat Genocide: An Examination of the 1994 Tutsi Genocide and the Holocaust
• Sara Nolan, The Church of Freaks: The Socio-Religious Dimension of Music

Honors Projects

• Michael Berrios, Wakeup: Millennials and Religion
• Shannon Boley, Muslim Refugees and Christian Charities: A Case Study of Refugee Resettlement in Rome, Italy
• Lillia McEnaney, Nampeyo and the Anthropologist: Restoring Artists’ Agency at Hopi Pueblo in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
• Lauren Scutt, On the Origins of Postmodern Spirituality
   

Russian Studies

• Winston C. Schromm, Rebuild, Recreate, Dominate: An Investigation into Party Involvement in Soviet Physical Culture and Sport
• Hunter Sobczak, Russia Between the East and West: A Study of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky's Writings in the 1870s
• Claesen (Coo) Wyckoff, From Dikanka to Mirgorod: The Ways N.V. Gogol Represents Ukraine

 

Sociology

• Charlotte Andrews, Can We Talk?: How Talking About Ourselves and Talking About Others Builds Group Solidarity
• Molly April, Female Students “Doing Gender” at Hamilton College
• Kateri Boucher, Complexifying Intra-Movement Interactions: Collaboration, Conflict, and Competition Between Two Environmental Justice Organizations
• Madison Fredrick, “Hearts and Minds”: Commitment Culture at Silicon Valley Tech Organizations
• Benjamin Goldman, How to Become a “Power Gay”: A Qualitative Study on Social Mobility, Privilege, and Opportunity in the New York City Gay Community
• Katherine Hayse, Professional or Powerless: The Effect of the Common Core Standards on Teacher Morale
• Yuwen Michelson, An Interpersonal Exploration of Zen Buddhism: A Case Study of Thi?n Vi?n Trúc Lâm in Da Lat, Vietnam
• Meredyth Ohringer, The Best: How Certain Professors Come to Stand Above the Rest
• Jeanette Parra, Sex Talk: Understanding sexualization through the female college student perspective
• Caroline Reppert, Enabling Political Volunteerism: A Study of the Pieces of Political Participation in the United States
• Jean Shim, Do the Clothes Make the Man? Male College Students and the Performance of Intersectional Identities Through Clothing
• Hannah Strong, From Martin’s Way to Wall Street: A Study of “Career Funneling” at Hamilton College
• Zain Ul-Arifeen, The Dating Choices of Young Adults – The Effect of Social Origins in Determining Who Dates Whom
   

Theatre

• Eliza Burwell, Hamilton College Stage Management Handbook
• Ryan Cassidy, directing, Mac Wellman’s The Self-Begotten
• Catherine Daigle, directing, Medea Redux by Neil Labute
• Collin Purcell and Matt Reinemann, performing and directing, In On It by Daniel MacIvor
   

Women’s and Gender Studies

• Janika Beatty, Black Girl Magic: An Exploration of Black Selfie Feminism
• Charlotte Bennett, Centering the Survivor Experience: Strengthening the Institutional Response to Sexual Violence
• Rachel Eimas-Dietrich, Non-Gendered Fashion: Exploring the Interaction Between Clothing, Gender, and the Body
• Rebecca Gorlin, Radical Transparency: Student Discourse of Trigger Warnings at Hamilton College
• Ondine Jean-Baptiste, Seeing Red: Examining Period Stigma on a College Campus
• Carolyn Kossow, Examining Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers in Texas and Michigan from an Intersectional Perspective
• Alex Medellin, Teaching From the Margins: An In Depth Analysis of Underrepresented Faculty Retention at Hamilton College
• Annel Monsalvo, ‘Free the Bra’: A Case Study on the Influence of Brassieres on Hamilton College Students’ Gender Identity, Body Image and Self-Esteem
• Barbara Perego, “Let’s Talk About Sex:” An analysis about Sex and Sexuality at Hamilton College
• Lauren Pyo, The Journey to Recovery: Analyzing Eating Disorder Self-Help Books

 

World politics

Honors Theses

• Sarah Duncan, Ethics Quotas: Reconciliatory Legislation in Post-Conflict, Multiethnic Societies
• Lily Frost, Natural Resources, Foreign Intervention, and Civil War: Going Deeper Than “Greed”
• Hady Hewidy, Sacred Violence: The Wahhabi Influence on Al-Qaeda’s Interpretation of Jihad
• Rebecca Mullaley, Geographic Variance in Voter Support for Right-Wing Populism in Germany
• Evelyn Torsher, Understanding Extremist Mobilization: The  Relationship Between Objective and Violence