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.
2014
A Comparitive Analysis of Hepatitis C Virus Genotypes and Subtypes Using Bioinformatics Techniques, Jared Weiss
Death in Translation: Swallowing la Granada, Kiyomi Wilks
A Stitch in Time Saves Lives: Preventive Medicine in the United States, Samantha Yarmis
Barefoot in the Park: A Study of Set Design, Spencer Zeitel
Skeletal Ontogeny in Larval Stage American Toads, Molly Ziegler
2013
Senior Thesis Proposal, Sarah Abusaa
Rethinking National Growth: A Political-Economic Analyses of the Regional Development Disparity in Ghana and a Comparison with China, Mohammed Adawulai
All the World's A Stage: The Actor-Audience Relationship in Western Interactive Theater, Emily Baker
Senior Thesis Proposal, Edward Bakshis
Ontologies of a Post-Modern World: A Short History and Examination, Cameron Barrows
Harmonic Journeys: Some Instrumental Music, Aaron Basch
Ancient Art/Modern Frames, Joseph Berger
Senior Thesis Proposal, Alexandra Black
Senior Thesis Proposal, Ceilidh Blood
Failing Better: Essays on Anxiety, Impotence, and the Incomprehensible, Zak Breckenridge
The Fruits of Exile: Materialism in Suspension, Isaac Brosilow
Senior Thesis Proposal, Sahra Brubeck
Worm in the Apple, Georgia Byler
Dimension 5: The Mystery of Dreams, Zerabruk Cavallaro
Decoding Facial Expressions and Emotions, Jasmine Sou Mei Cunningham
A Dialogic Path to Practicing the Sacred, Edan Dalsheim-Kahane
Man to Manifesto: A Project in Four Books, Rebecca Dawson
Senior Thesis Proposal, Michael Depp
Design and Development Process of Innovative Food Allergen Detection Device, Juan Diaz Rodriguez
Staging the Scandal of Democracy: Politics and Aesthetics in the Tunisian Revolution, Jonathan Durfee
Culture of Intolerance? Race Relations, Racism, and the Legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Laura Fisher
From Techne to Transhumanism: An Inquiry into the Nature, History, and Theory of Technology, Lukas Fuchshofen
Show me the Money: Need and Greed in the Field of Human Rights, Elissa Furlong
Anthropology in an Imagined World: Life in the City of Valari, Nathaniel Gage
Senior Thesis Proposal, Marcel Garbos
Perceptions of the Use of Point of Care Medical Devices To Diagnose Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Haiti, Marne Garretson
Senior Thesis Proposal, Paige Gbasie
Senior Thesis Proposal, Gemma Gearhart
Senior Thesis Proposal, Bethany Geiger
Senior Thesis Proposal, Robert Connell Gess
Senior Thesis Proposal, Rohan Ghatak
Kiss While they Conspire: A Dramaturgical Analysis of Edward II, Molly Greene
The Great God Man: on object, method, and transcendental knowledge, Anthony Gulotta
Senior Thesis Proposal, Nicole Gunara
Senior Thesis Proposal, Ian Hetterich
Masters in Their Own House: Representations of Québecois Identity in Canadian Literature, Mallory Hogan
Symbolism, Affectation, and Cats at the American University of Beirut, 2010-2011, William Hopewell
Static (of) American Democracy: The Electoral Campaign as Institution and the Obstacles to Change, Taylor Horn
Senior Thesis Proposal, Bianca Johnston
Senior Thesis Proposal, Miranda Jones
Senior Thesis Proposal, Julian Claire Mia Kang
The Essences of Listening: Music Inspired by Various Forms of Art, Taylor Kang
Senior Thesis Proposal, Erik Koch
Senior Thesis Proposal, Ei Kyaw
"A blue vapor rose up into Felicite's bedroom...": An Analysis of Gustave Flaubert's "A Simple Heart", Savannah Lamb
Senior Thesis Proposal, Jordan Lome
Senior Thesis Proposal, Elliot Luttrell-Williams
Don't Hays Me Bro: A Brief History of the Hays Code and its Effects on Modern Film Through Comparative Analysis, Elijah MacCullagh
Senior Thesis Proposal, Cary Mandell
Senior Thesis Proposal, Avery Mauel
Senior Thesis Proposal, Kirsiah McNamara
Senior Thesis Proposal, Chelsea McNay
Senior Thesis Proposal, Heather Meehan
An iOS Library for Vewing Complex 3D Models, Miriam Melnick
Using a Massively Parallel Computer Architecture to Model the Ocean's Biological Pump, Thomas Meyer
Senior Thesis Proposal, Sophie Miller
Behind the Seen: A Philosophical Exploration of Dance and Dance Criticism, Caitlin Murphy
Healing or Fixing: Energy Healing in Contemporary Thailand, Piangpat Namtip
Realm of the Eternal Leader: The Cult of Ho Chi Minh, Dat Nguyen
Senior Thesis Proposal, Bradley Oerth
Senior Thesis Proposal, Serina Pace
Senior Thesis Proposal, Benjamin Palmer
Nauticis Nugarum, Emily Paruolo
Thank You for Recycling! Promoting Recycling Behavior Among College Students Through Feedback, Lauren Payne-Riley
Relationships and Ideas of Marriage in Emerging Adulthood, Abigail Peña
Fear, Force, and Fieldwork: Anthropology in Post-September 11th US Conflict Operations, Kirsten Peterson
Senior Thesis Proposal, Lucy Peterson
Senior Thesis Proposal, Taylor Polster
Senior Thesis Proposal, Dante Popple
Senior Thesis Proposal, Joelle Portelinha
Senior Thesis Proposal, Philip Psomopoulos
Contesting the "Diagnosis" of Fatness: An Analysis of Weight Discrimination in Contemporary America, Sierra Randall
I, Violence: Mapping the Mediated Subject, Craig Rathgeber
Senior Thesis Proposal, Zoe Rhinehart
Senior Thesis Proposal, Virginia Robinson
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Medea? Ancient Greek Theatre in 21st Century America, Amanda Rowe-Van Allen
Senior Thesis Proposal, Emma Sanger-Johnson
The Right Side of History? The Realist School of International Relations, Hillary Saviello
Senior Thesis Proposal, Daniel Sawyer
Globalizing Grassroots Networks for Sustainable Development: A Political Ecology of the Glocal, Lauren Scanlon
Senior Thesis Proposal, Andrea Schuchardt
Cultural Encounters: Comparing Three Translations of Heinrich von Kleist's "Das Erdbeben in Chili", Emily Schwab
Senior Thesis Proposal, Johanna Schwartz
Senior Thesis Proposal, Patricia Sendao
Senior Thesis Proposal, Linsen Settembrini
Arguedas' Los rios profundos: Land and Indigenous Identity in Peru, Ramiz Shaikh
An Exploration of the Inner Life through Portrait, Katherine Smith
Senior Thesis Proposal, Luke Stroehlein
LACE: Written Document, Slide Show, and Sculpture Set, Gabrielle Tillman
Will it Blend? An Experimental Exploration into Sponge Cell Reaggregation Behavior, Sarah Trachtenberg
Senior Thesis Proposal, Tara Turnbull
The Politics of Prison Privatization: Navigating the Public and Private Spheres, Ian Wallach
The Children's Society: Measuring the Successes of the Unconventional Child Rearing and Education System of the Classis Kibbutz, Hillary Weinberger
Senior Thesis Proposal, Jared Weiss