The senior thesis is emblematic of the kind of intellectual freedom Bard College at Simon’s Rock’s Upper College students are given. It is a year-long, self-designed scholarly project that is the capstone of a student’s work. It’s required of everyone. The thesis is not just an academic requirement for a Simon’s Rock Bachelor of Arts degree, it is work that adds to the world’s storehouse of knowledge.
At the beginning of the thesis project, a formal proposal must be submitted and approved. This collection includes senior thesis proposals beginning in academic year 1998-1999 as well as theses beginning in 2011.
2015
Senior Thesis Proposal, Eldred Lee
Saximus: The Saxophone Playing Robot, Giancarlo Lezama
Senior Thesis Proposal, Cindy Zhaoran Li
An Analysis of Gravity’s Rainbow: On the Radical Politics of the Historical Novel, Cary Long
Theoretical and Kinetic Analysis of Nitrification and Reactor Design in the Scope of Lab Scale Wastewater Treatment, Alessandra Martinelli
Senior Thesis Proposal, Mia McGiffert
Senior Thesis Proposal, Jade Mermini
Senior Thesis Proposal, Matthew Meyer
Prosperous Piracy: Contemporary Maritime Economics and Politics in Two Case Studies, Alexander Morrow
Conserving the State: Postcolonial Nigeria's Gender Troubles, Victoria Ogundipe
Amour oiseau d’étoile: Messiaen’s Divine Surrealism, Sam Paris
Senior Thesis Proposal, Megan Patoski
Senior Thesis Proposal, Queen-Ama Phillips
From Pacific Ocean to Plastic Sea: Political Ecology of the Pacific Garbage Patch, Arden Pickoff-Rafferty
Intervals of Inspiration: A Creative Process in Vision and Sound, Alexander Pitman
Senior Thesis Proposal, Naomi Pitman
Senior Thesis Proposal, Brianna Pope
Senior Thesis Proposal, Cameron Powell
Senior Thesis Proposal, Maria Presti
Senior Thesis Proposal, Mallie Prytherch
Senior Thesis Proposal, Vasu Rabaib
Senior Thesis Proposal, Sofia Rafikova
Senior Thesis Proposal, Katharine Reid
Senior Thesis Proposal, Seth Roseman
Senior Thesis Proposal, Grace Rossman
Burning Nova One Town, Two Adaptations, Kahlia Russell-Self
Senior Thesis Proposal, Nathan Sadowsky
New Perspectives on Interactivity, Aaron Santiago
Senior Thesis Proposal, Irene Shamas
American Dreamscapes: Homeownership andthe Spatial Politics of Discipline, Desire, and Resistance, Michael Shank
Senior Thesis Proposal, Melissa Sherman-Bennett
Senior Thesis Proposal, Nathaniel Shoobs
Senior Thesis Proposal, Cori Stenning-Barnes
Flight 208, Friedolin Stockmeier
A Day in the Life: Through the Looking Glass of Mad Men, Ali Stritzler-Levine
A Reminder of Life: The Architecture of the Trees and a Call for Wonder, Moses Sukin
Gesture and Emotion, Charlie Suydam
Lost and Found: Examination and Short Story Collection of Third Culture Kids (TCKs), Mayu Suzuki
Senior Thesis Proposal, Koshu Takatsuji
Senior Thesis Proposal, Riksel Tshering
Senior Thesis Proposal, Sonam Wangmo
The Pursuit of Reality in the Nineteenth-Century Novel, Moe Thet War
Senior Thesis Proposal, Sierra Warren
Senior Thesis Proposal, Soraya Weill
Senior Thesis Proposal, Aaron Weiss
Senior Thesis Proposal, Naida West
Senior Thesis Proposal, Gavin Young
Alternative Catalysts to Precious Metals for the CO2 -‐ CO Conversion, Laura Boning Zhu
Senior Thesis Proposal, Dawson Zimmermann
2014
Population Survey of Dreissena polymorpha (Zebra Mussels) in the Housatonic River, Sarah Abusaa
Senior Thesis Proposal, Zara Anwarzai
Reekloon's Star, Edward Bakshis
Senior Thesis Proposal, Marisa Benitez
Evaluation of atherosclerotic plaque permeability using novel dynamic contract enhanced (DCE) MRI techniques, Alexandra Black
Playing the Viola da Gamba: an historical investigation with practical implications, Ceilidh Blood
Punica Granatum: Lost Seeds, Sahra Brubeck
A 21st-Century Office Building, Wade Burelbach
Mushrooms: An Evaluation of Fungi Indigenous to Berkshire County, William Deng
Bulding a Framework of Conflict: The Second World War and its Relation to Modern Warfare, Michael Depp
Senior Thesis Proposal, Demitria DeRiggs
Senior Thesis Proposal, Erik Elbieh
Senior Thesis Proposal, Colin Eubank
Senior Thesis Proposal, Isabel Filkins
Senior Thesis Proposal, Ciaran Finlayson
A Stunted Reconstruction: The "Ukrainian Question" in Polish Eastern Thought and Policy, 1893-1921, Marcel Garbos
Senior Thesis Proposal, Julian Garcia-Kwan
A Dream Deferred: The Shortcomings of Education Reform and the Unfulfilled Promise of Equal Educational Opportunities, Paige Gbasie
The Algebra of Rubik's Cube, Gemma Gearhart
The Theater of Intimacy: A Manifesto and Journal of Discovery, Bethany Geiger
How to Succeed in Title Blocks: An Applied Research and Study of Technical Direction in the Theater, Robert Connell Gess
Theezus: Approaching the Care of the Self, Rohan Ghatak
Senior Thesis Proposal, Isabella Goldman
Senior Thesis Proposal, Harrison Gregg
The Reality of the Online Virtual World: An Insight to the Self, Value, and Economic Action, Nicole Gunara
Senior Thesis Proposal, Lee Hayes
Senior Thesis Proposal, Izaak Hecht
Eels Not Climbing Things: A Study of Rheotaxis in Anguilla rostrata and its Applications to Conservation, Ian Hetterich
Senior Thesis Proposal, Jacob Ireland
Senior Thesis Proposal, Amanda Johnston
A Short Comparison and History of Veterinary Medicine in the United States and France, Bianca Johnston
A Translation and Analysis of Christian Kracht's Faserland, Miranda Jones
Colors/Shades: Learning to View the Other through a Lens of Carefully Learned Blindness, Julian Claire Mia Kang
A Tale of Two Towns: Relationship Between Community and Resort in a Tourism Environment, Daniel Katten
Traditional Perceptions and Practices toward Reproductive Health Care: A Community Study in Burma, Ei Thinzar Kyaw
Senior Thesis Proposal, Jake Larcqua
Senior Thesis Proposal, Joseph Leonard
What the Folk?!: Exploring First-Hand the Performance of Folklore in Asian and New England Communities, Jordan Lome
Senior Thesis Proposal, Cary Long
Theatre and War: Conversations with Brecht on the Making of a Political Tabernacle, Cary Mandell
PNEUMA: An Artistic Exploration of Breath and Movement, Avery Mauel
Ashes and Shadows: Angels in an Exploration of Creative Writing and Photography, Kirsiah McNamara
Qui perd sa langue, perd sa foi: An Analysis and Pilot Study of French Dialect in Southern Maine, Chelsea McNay
(Em)body(ing) (E)motion: An Active Exploration of the Poetics of Embodied Language, Heather Meehan
Your Couture: Developing and Application for iOS using Objective-C and Xcode, Sophie Miller
Senior Thesis Proposal, Alexander Morrow
"Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky" Tuning in with Woodstock's Grandchildren, Enana Nduku
The Shale Gale: The Effects of New Natural Gas Production on Electricity Generation Fuels and Prices, Bradley Oerth
Millenials, Health, and the Doctor-Patient Relationship, Serina Pace