The full text of Senior Independent Study Theses submitted during and after 2012 are available to download only by College of Wooster users. Unless listed as an exemplar, all other theses are restricted.

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Senior Independent Study Theses from 2023

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Seeds of Liberation or Spheres of Domination: Role-Playing Games and Alternative Social Formation, Peter Barker
Department: History; Philosophy

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Is it Absurd to be Ethical?, Alex Drummond
Department: Philosophy

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Authenticity and Virtue Theory, David V. Dunn
Department: Philosophy

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Polarized Insurrection? An Ethical and Empirical Analysis of the January 6th Insurrection and Surrounding Media Coverage, Noah D. Golovan
Department: Philosophy; Political Science

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Agency: The Art of Human Choice - Finding Space Between Free Will and Determinism, Langston Hood
Department: English; Philosophy

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Understanding Frantz Fanon’s "schéma épidermique racial": The Implications on Post-Colonial Black Consciousness and Identities, Taylor Danea Jackson
Department: French and Francophone Studies; Philosophy

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Utopia Across Time and Space: Could There Ever Be a "Perfect World"?, Ashini Patel
Department: English; Philosophy

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Divinity's Secret Love Song: An Investigation Into the Relationship Between Humanity and the Divine Through The Lens of Sacred Narratives, Kevin Douglas Poe
Department: Philosophy; Religious Studies

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The Necessary Inclusion of Historical Trauma in Trauma-Based Diagnoses and Subsequent Alternative Therapies Informed by Decolonial Philosophy: Indigeneity as a Philosophia Nata Ex Conatu, Alix Joseph Printup
Department: Philosophy; Psychology

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Red Sword-White Canvas: The Past, Present, and Future of the Avant-Garde and Avant-Garde Aesthetics, Ben Read
Department: Art and Art History; Philosophy

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How Should Self-Driving Cars be Programmed: Exploring Intuition, Utilitarianism, and the Moral Machine Experiment, Isaac Schwartz
Department: Philosophy; Statistical and Data Sciences

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Explorations in Value Theory: The Case for Monism, Max Shiffman
Department: Philosophy

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A Critical Theory of the Internet, Savannah Sima
Department: Philosophy; Political Science

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Hope and Mourning in an Age of Immanent Extinction: Grief as a Framework for Revolutionary Ethics, Artemis Swanson
Department: Philosophy; Political Science

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What Is a Good Investment: Finding the Balance Between Monetary Profit and Moral Obligations, Yuchen Yang
Department: Philosophy

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2022

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Moral Responsibility And Gendered Implicit Bias In The Workplace, Maryam Abdul Hye
Department: Philosophy; Psychology

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Existence, Logic, Language, And Mathematics: Some Reflections, Muhammad Afaq
Department: Philosophy

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An Inquiry In Human Flourishing: Alasdair Macintyre And John Dewey In Dialogue, Nicole Benya
Department: Philosophy

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Ethical Considerations Of Wilderness Spaces, Sophia Cloyd
Department: Philosophy

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Who Gets To Know? Combating Colonial Epistemic Oppression, Timothy J. Cotter
Department: Philosophy

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Critical Theory As Critical Philosophy Of Self: Agency, Authority, And Emancipation Through Dialectical Imagination, Ryan Curnow
Department: Political Science; Philosophy

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Our Questions Have Too Many Answers: A Rejection Of Formalism And Determinate Truth In Mathematics, Brendan Dufty
Department: Mathematics; Philosophy

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Distributive Justice And Economic Inequality In The United States, Masani C. Francis
Department: Political Science; Philosophy

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Ethnic Nationalism In Postcolonial Disputes: The Epistemic Re-Evaluation Of Interest-Driven Knowledge Claims, HahYeon Lee
Department: Philosophy; Political Science

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Thomas Aquinas And Participation Metaphysics, Nathaniel Hunter Olson
Department: History; Philosophy

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Dichotomous Logic And The Failings Of Girlboss Feminism: Multiplicity Beyond Man's Episteme, Grace Susan Robinson
Department: Philosophy

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"Pretty Privilege" And Survival: Recognizing The Difference In Social Treatment, Most Notably In Healthcare, Towards Those Who Are Highly Attractive., Julia Alana Weisberg
Department: Philosophy

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Women, Autonomy, Authenticity, And Motherhood, Rebecca Wu
Department: Art and Art History; Philosophy

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2021

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The Flourishing Financial System: The Foundations of an Economic Doctrine that Promotes Social Equality, Jacob Mansfield Abramo
Department: Philosophy

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Liberty and Justice for All*: certain exclusions may be applied, Madelyn A. Cobb
Department: Philosophy

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Derivative Intentionality & Gricean Meaning, Alex Lee Cohen
Department: Philosophy

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Knowledge of Intentional Action as Essential for It: An Epistemological and Action-Theoretical Investigation, Alex Fiander
Department: Philosophy

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Normative Bastardy, Max Kent Gregg
Department: Philosophy

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The Effects of Meditation, if Any, on Pain Awareness, Sosna Hailu-Chanyalew
Department: Neuroscience; Philosophy

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Just War Theory and Cyber Warfare, Orlando Jones
Department: Philosophy

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Contextual Questions: The Worldly Implications of an Insufficient Philosophical Stance, Serigne-Abdoulahad Kebe
Department: Philosophy

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Abstract Unity in Material Diversity: An Introduction to Category Theory and a Phenomenological Defense of Mathematical Realism, Micah Taylor Phillips-Gary
Department: Mathematics; Philosophy

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2020

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On The Relative Long-Term Future Importance of Investments in Economic Growth and Global Catastrophic Risk Reduction, Pedro Adami Oliboni
Department: Mathematics; Philosophy

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Divine Madness: Examining Love Through a Philosophical Lens, Hannah Appleman
Department: Philosophy

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Combining Phenomenology and Moral Particularism: A Trilemma of Moral Truth, Alejandro Arriaga
Department: Philosophy

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Saying "Yes," East and West: A Comparative Analysis of Meaning and Affirmation in Nietzsche and Mahayana Buddhism, Scott Gordon
Department: Philosophy

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“Big Time” College Sports: Amateurism, Exploitation, and Predicting Attitudes Regarding Student-Athlete Compensation, Malik Jordan Hearst
Department: Philosophy; Psychology

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A Cognitivist Conclusion in Metaethics: The Value of a Realist Notion of Ethics in Fighting Injustice, Henry C. Lehmann
Department: Philosophy

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Women Like Her Aren't Supposed to Run for Office: A Philosophical Unpacking of Resistance in the American Political Sphere and a Rhetorical Analysis of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Tweets, Grace O'Leary
Department: Communication Studies; Philosophy

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Just Cyber Warfare? An Exploration into the Ethics of International Cyber War, Katie Reese
Department: Philosophy; Political Science

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“To Thine Own Self Be True”: Deconstructing the Ideal of Authenticity, Brianna Lee Schmidt
Department: Philosophy

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The Genuine Option: What Religious Studies is Missing Concerning William James, Peter F. Schopen III
Department: Philosophy; Religious Studies

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Defending Preservation of the Environment While Considering Wild Animal Suffering, Shay Steele
Department: Philosophy

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2019

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Insurrecting Purity: Creativity as Resistance in Somatic Ambiguity, Margy J. Adams
Department: English; Philosophy

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Tying Truth's Shoes: The Value of a Realist Notion of Truth Within Democratic Discourse, Emma Arvedon
Department: Philosophy

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Says Who? A Feminist Challenge of Moral and Epistemic Authority in Advocacy, Coral Ciupak
Department: Philosophy

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Towards a Phenomenological Study of the American Criminal Courts, Robert Dinkins
Department: Philosophy

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Ethics in Computing, David Edward Hale
Department: Mathematics; Philosophy

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America’s Best Idea: Arguing for Bears Ears National Monument Through Leopold’s Land Ethic, Olivia Hall
Department: Earth Sciences; Philosophy

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Rethinking Humans Through Genetic Enhancement: The Ethics of Choosing Children, Lizzy Hemann
Department: Philosophy

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Revisiting Love in the Modern Era: the Need for the Flourishing of Universal Love, Eungyeol Kwon
Department: Philosophy

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The Lakota: On the Importance of Community and Selflessness, Wyatt Ogden Linde
Department: History; Philosophy

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Moral Obligations-Towards a Just Sytem of Immigration, Mayra Lopez
Department: Philosophy

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A Few Clumsy Lines: Ramifications of Philosophical Shifts in Neo-Confucian Philosophy to Ming Governance, John Martin
Department: History; Philosophy

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Inviting Others In: How Oppression Affects the Self, Mylo Apollo Parker-Emerson
Department: Philosophy

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Letters from Heaven, Dylan M. Reynolds
Department: English; Philosophy

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Beyond Bratwurst: Animal Ethics in Germany and the United States, Teagan Robinson
Department: German Studies; Philosophy

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Know Thyself: A Study of Being Human, Giuliano Stefanutti
Department: Philosophy

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“Dumb Brutes” or “Fellow-Critters”: Toward a More Virtuous Characterization of Nonhuman Animals, Daniel Sweat
Department: Philosophy; English

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Modal Notions and Semantic, Boyu Wu
Department: Philosophy

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Applying Gadamer: An Evaluation of Interpretations of the Confucian Analects by Different Schools Under the Light of Gadamerian Hermeneutics, Yifeng Xu
Department: East Asian Studies; Philosophy

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2018

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Wilderness Preservation in the Capitalocene: Valuing Wild Lands in an Instrumental World, Brandon Burkey
Department: Philosophy

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Metaphor and Truth-Condition Semantics, Junyi Chen
Department: Philosophy

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Understanding Human Well-Being, Junyi Chen
Department: Mathematics; Philosophy

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Human Action Motivation : For Love of Thyself: The Egoist Approach to Navigating Motives Among Social Guise, Kevin B. Compliment
Department: Philosophy

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The Good Life: An Analysis of Buddhist, Epicurean, and Ascetic Perspectives, Christopher Dukich
Department: Philosophy

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Reclaiming Self-Love: Philosophy of Moral Worth, Colleen E. Gilfether
Department: Philosophy

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Comedic Personal Narrative and the Self Awareness of Vice: Rethinking Virtue, Amy Hagedorn
Department: Philosophy

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Folktales From Origin Valley, Elen-Kalliopi Halimou
Department: English; Philosophy

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Does Law Affect Morality? An in Depth Analysis of the Effects of Injustice on Morality, Jaelan R.O. Harney
Department: Philosophy

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A Sound of Drum and Bass: Hip Hop as Identity and Means to Ethical Growth through Aesthetic Value, Justin Konyn
Department: Philosophy

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The Responsibility of For-profit Corporations: A Dilemma in Ethics and Rationality, Kayleigh Marks
Department: Philosophy

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Walden, Wilderness, and Wrenches: The Radical Environmentalism of Henry David Thoreau and Edward Abbey, Alex Moore
Department: English; Philosophy

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Political Conflict and Dialogue: Toward the Criteria for Reaching Understanding, Isaac Scher
Department: Philosophy

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Pathways Through Democratic Disconnection: Rawls, Connolly, and Mouffe, Erik Severson
Department: Philosophy; Political Science

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Affordable Care Act: Is it Enough?, Manogjna Vaddiraju
Department: Economics; Philosophy

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Rules of Engagement: Ethical Considerations in Artistic Evaluation, Nicklaus Wilcher
Department: Philosophy

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Capitalism and Socialism: A Dialectical and Philosophical Inquiry, Steve Xu
Department: Philosophy

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2017

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Radical Adornments: Subversion Through Self-Presentation, Dorian I. Boye-Doe
Department: Philosophy

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A Stroll Through Cantor's Paradise: Appraising the Semantics of Transfinite Numbers, Matthew R. Buranosky
Department: Mathematics; Philosophy

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Problems of Irrationality: Self-Deception and Akrasia, Akiksha Chatterji
Department: Philosophy

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Self-interpreting Animals: Understanding the Self and the Meanings of Life, Milo E. Davis
Department: Philosophy

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Importing Ballet to Bhutan: An evaluation on Dance Value and Cultural Interaction, Leiden C. Doma
Department: Philosophy; Theatre and Dance

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Islamic Ornamentation as a Test Case for Aesthetic Theory, Taylor Funderburk
Department: Philosophy

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On Rationality and Morality: Three Kinds of Approaches, Emily A. Howerton
Department: Mathematics; Philosophy

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Consent Ethics and the Harms of Rape, Cassandra L. Huye
Department: Philosophy

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Plays with Words: Understanding Visual Interpretation through Ed Ruscha's Text Works, Claire E. Ilersich
Department: Art and Art History; Philosophy

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Alternative Facts Are Not Facts: Arguments against Conceptual Relativism and for a Pragmatic Notion of Truth, Mariah Joyce
Department: Philosophy

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Revolting Against Racism in Urban America: Questioning the Ethical and Political Concerns of Violent Urban Protest, Daniel J. Lynch
Department: Philosophy; Political Science

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A Meaningful Time: Recasting the Growing Block in Terms of Content, Garo Matossian
Department: Philosophy

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Neuroscience & the Religious Mind: A Materialist Critique of Neurotheology, Adam John McDonough
Department: Philosophy; Religious Studies

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Philosophies of Faith and the Megachurch Phenomenon: A Personal and Academic Encounter with Kierkegaard, Royce, and a Changing Faith, Peter M. Olson
Department: English; Philosophy

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It's an Ant's Life: A Moral and Political Account of the Valuable and Meaningful Life, Isaac Parker
Department: Philosophy

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Are Virtual Things Real? An an investigation into the nature of virtual reality, Zachary Phillips-Gary
Department: Computer Science; Philosophy

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Environmental and Epistemic Injustice in Ironbound, Stephany M. Rivera
Department: Environmental Studies; Philosophy