The following Senior Independent Study Theses were awarded Honors and nominated by their departments to serve as examples of the outstanding work done by Wooster students. The PDFs of these exemplars may be downloaded from any location. For questions about the exemplar nomination process, please email openworks@wooster.edu.

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Senior Independent Study Theses from 2020

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A Mathematical Analysis of the Game of Santorini, Carson Clyde Geissler
Department: Mathematics

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Greenbean Comics: An Independent Study!!!, Samantha Green
Department: English

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Awake, Waverly Swan Hart
Department: English

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La Libertad y Sus Acontecimientos: Un Enfoque En el Existencialismo y el Uso de la Libertad Dentro de Artefactos Culturales, Carlos A. Hernandez
Department: Psychology; Spanish

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Delete Your Account: A Methodological Investigation of Leadership Trait Analysis and Its Ability to Utilize Twitter as Spontaneous Material, Jimmy Hinton
Department: Political Science

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Boy Meets War: A Critical and Creative Analysis of Civilian Masculinities in Britain During the Second World War, Savanna Hitlan
Department: History

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Songs, Storytellers, and Science: An Examination of Long-Distance Interaction in the Cook Islands, Cyrus Hulen
Department: Archaeology

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Computer Vision Gesture Recognition for Rock Paper Scissors, Nicholas Hunter
Department: Computer Science

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A Theory of Fire Service Provision: With an empirical analysis of response time, suppression time, and service output, Hyong-gu Hwang
Department: Economics; Mathematics

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Managing Inventory: A Study of Databases and Database Management Systems, Jemal M. Jemal
Department: Computer Science

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Contested Commemoration: The Relationship Between Politics and the Memorialization of the Second World War in Polish Literature, Cinema, and Museums (1945-Present), Alexandria Joyner
Department: History

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The Continuation of Violence: Analyzing the Retraumatization of Incarcerated Survivors of Domestic Violence and Evaluating the Potential of a “Trauma-Informed” Prison Model, Eliana Kahn
Department: Sociology and Anthropology; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

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Repairing a Nation: A visual exploration into the American debate on reparations, Desi Jeseve LaPoole
Department: Interdepartmental

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Modeling Community Resource Management: an Agent-Based Approach, Maya M. Lapp
Department: Mathematics

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Write It Slant: Queerness and Form in The Argonauts and Time Is the Thing a Body Moves Through, Eleanor Linafelt
Department: English; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

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Does This Grant Them Agency? An Analysis of the Female Athlete as Portrayed in ESPN's Body Issue, Aubri McKoy
Department: Communication Studies

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Arguing Over America's Best Idea: Examining the Congressional Partisan Divide with Regards to Public Lands Policy, Anna Medema
Department: Political Science

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Mother Nature and Menvironmental Politics: Analyzing How Gendered Frames Affect Support For The Clean Air Act, Grace Montgomery
Department: Political Science

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#Kancelkulture: An Analysis of Cancel Culture and Social Media Activism Through the Lens of Minority College Students, Korri E. Palmer
Department: Communication Studies

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Developing A Web-Based Application for Finding Meeting Places, Aedan D. Pettit
Department: Computer Science; Mathematics

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Sending Mixed Signals: Feature Extraction for Gendered Emotional Speech Classification and Modeling, David McCulloch Pfeffer
Department: Computer Science

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The Planar Rook Algebra, Henry Potts-Rubin
Department: Mathematics

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Paleoenvironments containing Coryphodon in the Fort Union and Willwood Formations Spanning the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, Emily N. Randall
Department: Geology

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Talking about EU: The Impact of Leaders' Discourse on Public Support for the European Union, Marco Roccato
Department: Global and International Studies

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Tools of the Trade: An Ethnohistoric and Archaeological Investigation of Late Fort Ancient Bifacial Endscrapers, Kevin Andrew Rolph
Department: Archaeology

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You Think You Do, but You Don’t: An Investigation of Fandom and Nostalgic Media Through an Analysis of World of Warcraft Classic, David Andrew Schulz
Department: Communication Studies

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Paleoecology of Bivalves in the Carmel Formation (Middle Jurassic, Bajocian) of Utah, Evan L. Shadbolt
Department: Geology

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Laughing Matters: Late-Night Political Comedy Television & Individual-Level Affective Polarization, Nicholas R. Shereikis
Department: Communication Studies; Political Science

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Would You Date Her? How We Process Social Preferences and Social Perceptions, Madeline Claire Smith
Department: Psychology

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Understanding Behavioral and Emotional Responses to Frames Used by Animal Rights Organizations in the United States and France, Alysa Tarrant
Department: Communication Studies; French and Francophone Studies

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Revolutionary Possibilities: Anarchist Philosophy and Its Influence on the Work of Thomas Pynchon, Addison R. Wanner
Department: English

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The Persistence of Mixed Income Neighborhoods: A Case Study of Neighborhood Change in Chicago, Ian Warren
Department: Urban Studies

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Spaced Training in the 5CSRTT Proves Beneficial in Early Levels, Rebecca Renee Warren
Department: Neuroscience

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Use Your Head: A Frame Analysis of Digital Media on Concussions in the National Football League Using the Health Belief Model and the Extended Parallel Process Model, Harrison Stow Witwer-Dukes
Department: Communication Studies

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Inventing Christine de Pizan: Art and Authorship in Late Medieval France, Adria Leigh Woodruff
Department: Art and Art History

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2019

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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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Language of Disability, Language of Disorder: An Investigation of Lived Experiences and Perspectives of Individuals on the Autism Spectrum with Respect to Communicative Interventions, Rebekah Burkhart
Department: Communication Studies

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

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Examining the Effect of Attachment Styles on Sternberg's Love Components and on Loyalty, Voice, Neglect, and Exit in Adult Romantic Relationships, Jamila Coleman
Department: Psychology

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Dancing with Wooster: Strengthening Community through Self-expression and Collaborative Art, Juliana Davis
Department: Art and Art History

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Optimizing Timber Harvest Value: A Dynamic Programming Investigation, Kayleigh T. Dietz
Department: Mathematics

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An Analysis of Fractures around the Sevier Fault Zone near Orderville, Utah, Charley H. Hankla
Department: Geology

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Who Runs the World? An Analysis of the Internal Dynamics of International Organizations and Their Impact on the Ability of Women to Attain High-Level Leadership Positions, Sabrina K. Harris
Department: Political Science

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Talking Red White and Blue: An Investigation into the Relationship Between Polarization and Congressional Floor Speech, Dawson Patrick Honey
Department: Political Science

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Signing in the Margins: Manifestations of Professional Identity and Creative Agency in Viking Age Oval Brooches, Eleanor Howell
Department: Archaeology

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Six of One, Une Demi-Douzaine de L’Autre: Detecting Cross-Language Code-Switching in a Continuous Narrative, Melissa Kadish
Department: French and Francophone Studies; Psychology

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Determinants of Latinx Patients’ Perceptions of Trust in their Physicians at the Primary Health Care Level, Emani J. Kelley
Department: Psychology

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Effects of Personal Styling on Constituents’ Perceptions of Candidates, Cassidy D. Ktsanes
Department: Political Science

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Perseveration or Perseverance: Investigating Interpretations of Echolalia, Self-Stimulatory Behaviors, and Intervention Approaches for Children Who Have Autism, Ashlynn Rae Kufleitner
Department: Communication Studies

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Do You Want To Run a Regression? Nah, I Think I’ll Dance One Instead: Physicalizing Econometrics, Rachel Lau
Department: Theatre and Dance

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The D&D Sorting Hat: Predicting Dungeons and Dragons Characters from Textual Backstories, Joseph C. MacInnes
Department: Computer Science

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

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The Politics of Exclusionary and Inclusionary Zoning: The Road to Residential Segregation, Emily M. Partika
Department: Political Science

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"But it's not Fair!": Effects of Experimenter Familiarity on Inequity Aversion in Dogs, Kia Radovanovic
Department: Psychology

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The Progression of Aβ Proteins in the Retrosplenial Cortex Using an APP/PS1 Alzheimer’s Disease Transgenic Rodent Model, Maha H. Rashid
Department: Neuroscience

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Expectation Versus Reality: An Examination of the Training and Awareness Primary Care Physicians Have About Communication Differences and Sensory Sensitivities Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Present and Accommodations Provided During Office Appointments, Rachel H. Topper
Department: Communication Studies

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Exploring Topics of the Art Gallery Problem, Megan Vuich
Department: Mathematics

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Pursue This Discourse Instead: Deconstructing Settler Colonialism and Climate Change Through Art, Carolyn S. Webster
Department: Art and Art History

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A HoTT Approach to Computational Effects, Phillip A. Wells
Department: Computer Science

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Cowboys and Tiaras: The Role of Child Gender Nonconformity on Evaluations of Same-sex and Different-sex Families, Andrew David White
Department: Psychology

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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

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Think About It: The Role of Think Tanks in Public Debate and Policy-Making, Shana E. Zelenka
Department: Political Science

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2018

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The Stigmatization of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder as Influenced by Gender, Evelina Alex
Department: Psychology

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Big Book in a Small Pond: An Investigation of Preschool Teachers’ Use of Emergent Literacy Strategies When Reading Big and Typical-Sized Picture Books Aloud, Sara Beckstrom
Department: Communication Studies

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An Analysis of the Ego-Depletion Effects of Emotion Versus Attention Draining Tasks: Even Emotionally Arousing Depletion Tasks Do Not Show an Ego-Depletion Effect, Savannah Binion
Department: Psychology

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Encrusting Sclerobiont Paleoecology and Bioerosion Of Oysters in the Type Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) of Southwestern France, Macy A. Conrad
Department: Geology

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#quitbullyingme: Teachers’ and Speech-Language Pathologists’ Perceptions of the Academic, Social, and Emotional Impact of Cyberbullying on Individuals Who Stutter, Claire Dunwoodie
Department: Communication Studies

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The Role of Children in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Paintings: Social Distinction and National Identity, Helena Enders
Department: Art and Art History

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You've Got a Friend in Me: The Effects of LGBTQIA+ Legislators on Same-Sex Partnership Rights in Latin America, Danica Genners
Department: Political Science

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The First But Hopefully Not the Last: How The Last Of Us Redefines the Survival Horror Video Game Genre, Joseph T. Gonzales
Department: Communication Studies

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Masculinity (De)construction and Policing: A Comparative Study of Representation, Policies, and Legitimacy, Sarah Huffman
Department: Political Science

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Americanized Chinese Dishes as Heritage Food and Bridging Identities, Megu Itoh
Department: Chinese Studies; Communication Studies

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Sports Analytics With Computer Vision, Colby T. Jeffries
Department: Computer Science; Mathematics

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Zero to Hero: Elite Burials and Hero Cults in Early Iron Age Greece and Cyprus, Alina M. Karapandzich
Department: Archaeology; Classical Studies

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Resilience in STEM Students: An Analysis of the Demographic, Intrapersonal, and Interpersonal Predictors of Resilience, Catherine B. Kuzmishin
Department: Psychology

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The Effects of Objectification on Varsity Athletes: A Comparison of Its Consequences in Sports with Revealing and Non-Revealing Uniforms, Maggie C. Layde
Department: Psychology

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Manipulating Diversity: A Rhetorical Analysis of Annalise Keating’s Intersectional Portrayal of Race and Sexuality on the Primetime Television Show How to Get Away with Murder, Melany Le
Department: Communication Studies

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An Examination of the Relationship between Perceptions of Campus Climate and Academic Competence, Cheyenne McQueen
Department: Psychology

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The Dissemination of Responsibility: Exploring the Audience as Bystander in Theatre, Helen Rooker
Department: Theatre and Dance

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Beyond The Breakfast Club: The Influence of Breakfast Type on Cognition, Jillian D. Saccogna
Department: Psychology

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The Influence of Exposure to Unbalanced Sex Ratios on Perceived Vocal Attractiveness, Taylor N. Sikich
Department: Psychology

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Real Fake News: The Colbert Report and Affective Polarization, Jeffrey J. Skoroda
Department: Political Science

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Crime Around the World: Using Mathematical Modeling Techniques to Model Aggregated Worldwide Crime Rates, Kelly M. Steurer
Department: Mathematics

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Food for Thought: The Effects of Past and Present Food Insecurity on Subjective Well-Being and Child Behavior, Jena C. Styka
Department: Psychology

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Logic -> Proof -> REST, Maxwell Taylor
Department: Computer Science; Mathematics

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Inclusion of Blocking Power for a Complete Voting Power Analysis in the IMF, Shiwani Varal
Department: Mathematics; Political Science

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Tuned In: An Investigation of the Use of Group Amplification Systems for Students, Including Those on the Autism Spectrum, in First Grade Mainstream Classrooms, Emily Velichka
Department: Communication Studies

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Attachment Style and Romantic Satisfaction as Predictors of Relationship Visibility on Facebook, Amanda I. Wells
Department: Psychology

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Power, Profit, and Political Participation: How Neoliberal Rationality Limits Citizen Influence in a Democracy, Emma Woods
Department: Political Science

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From Retribution to Restoration: An Analysis of Restorative Justice as a Policy Reform Effort to Dismantle the School-to-Prison Pipeline in New York City Public Schools, Leigh T. Yartz
Department: Political Science

Senior Independent Study Theses from 2017

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An 'Answer to Hopes and Dreams': Utopianism, Progressivism, and the American Spatial Tradition in the New Deal Resettlement Community of Greenhills, Ohio, Jared M. Berg
Department: History

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"A New Weapon - A New Monster - The Walkout": The East Los Angeles Student Walkouts of 1968, Camille G. Christenson
Department: History

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“Marching Mothers”: The Battle for Desegregation in Cleveland Public Schools, 1957-1976, Theresa Dunne
Department: History

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On Degree Bound for Syzygies of Polynomial Invariants, Zhao Gao
Department: Mathematics

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Paradojas de la narrativa colonial: Representaciones de la gente indígena en el arte indigenista y la obra plástica de Enriquestuardo Álvarez, Erin Gass
Department: Spanish

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Saint or Politician: A Gendered Analysis of Catherine Benincasa’s Letters, Jacob Hailperin-Lausch
Department: History

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Beyond an Uncertain Future: Vietnamese Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Their Needs for Social Support, Khue M. Hoang
Department: Communication Studies

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Laughing Against White Supremacy: Marginalized Performance of Resistance Comedy, Caren Holmes
Department: Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

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Building a Course Recommender System for The College of Wooster, Nan Jiang
Department: Computer Science; Mathematics