Senior Independent Study Theses from 2015
How Police Policy Reform Can Reduce Police Violence: An Examination of the Use of Force Policies at the Wooster Police Department, Zachary Rashid
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Laughter in Context: Theoretical Discussions of Humor and Stand-up Comedy, Peter S. Shirey
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Adam, Eve, & Lucy: An Ethnographic Study of How Two Museums Display Human Origins, Karina E. Shvets
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
African American English: Perspectives of Parents and Teachers, Shauntell Q. Simmons
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Music and Identity in Korean American Communities: The Effect of Racial and Ethnic Identity on Korean Americans’ Music Taste, Lara Sinangil
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
"I Wouldn't Wish That on My Worst Enemy" An Analysis of The Effects of Gendered Expectations on Women in Poverty Through Social Service Access, Molly Snell-Larch
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Capturing Identity: A cross-generational photo project on Mapuche self-identification, Heidi Strike
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
'You Are Who We Say You Are': The Politics of Ethnicity in Post-Genocidal Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina, Stephanie A. Sugars
Department: International Relations; Sociology and Anthropology
Bridging the Gap: A Study of the Effects of After-School Programming On the Social Inequalities in the System of Education, Elizabeth Sweeney
Department: Sociology and Anthropology; Education
“We don’t need her anymore”: An Ethnographic Analysis of the Relationship Between International Aid and Non-Government Organizations with Child Vulnerability in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Taylor S. Thorp
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Melville in the Anthropocene: The Ecological Ethics of Moby-Dick, Jesse H. Tiffen
Department: English; Environmental Studies; Sociology and Anthropology
"I feel like we're the Indians in the corner": Addressing Native Cultural Identity Formation in Education, Eleanor K. Tompkins
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Entering Stage Left: An Examination of Masculinity and Education Among Black and Latino Adolescents, Emilio A. Vargas
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Man vs Wild: An Anthropological Examination of Big Game Hunting Culture within the United States, Emilie Vermilyea
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
"Women are not just reproductive beings": A Qualitative Analysis of Sexual and Reproductive Rights in India, Leslie A. Weaver
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Planting Seeds, Growing Youth: An Ethnographic Study of the Role of Urban Agriculture in the Dudley Neighborhood of Boston, MA, Alissa Elaine Weinman
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
The Business of Busyness: The Welfare Implications of Digital Technologies, John Wu
Department: Economics; Sociology and Anthropology
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2014
The Sacred “In-Between”: The Multiple Narratives of Multiracial and Transnational People, Parisa R. Ahmadi
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
The Moroccan Example: “Coming Movements,” Communities, and Lived Experience in Contemporary Protest, Paige I. Ambord
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Sight May Leave You Blind to Beauty, Edith M. Anderson
Department: Sociology and Anthropology; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Breaking Ground: The New Farmers' Movement in the United States, Ellen Baird
Department: Environmental Studies; Sociology and Anthropology
Independent Study Is-Real (Israel): An Examination of American Immigration to Israel, Kristen Bell
Department: History; Sociology and Anthropology
"You Laugh and Cry from the Same Mouth": An Exploration of Successful Aging in Contemporary Russia, Caroline Bilsky
Department: Russian Studies; Sociology and Anthropology
The Accuracy of the Ethnohistoric Data by La Page Du Pratz about the Natchez, Jensen L. Buchanan
Department: Archaeology; Sociology and Anthropology
“There’s a Time and a Place for Everything...It’s Called Fanfiction”: Investigating the Construction of Queer Women’s Sexual Identities through Doctor Who Fanfiction, Marissa Bundren
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
The Modern Parent-Teacher Relationship: How Teachers' Perceptions of Parents Affect Communication, Rebecca J. Cinquino
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Beyond Accessibility: An Examination of the Relationship Between Socioeconomic Class, Technology, and Student Success, Madeline Erickson
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
“All of the Times I Was Pretty/Handsome in Front of Him and He Never Said Anything”: Children’s Perception of Paternal Accountability & The Reason(s) Why Fathers Leave Their Children, LaShanda N. Evans
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
To Do Good: an Analysis of Tzedakah as a Multivocal Symbol as it was Performed by La Sociedad de Damas Israelitas de Beneficencia, Emma Callie Frank
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Community, Risk, and Vaccines: An Ethnographic Examination of the Debate on Vaccination, Cole Grabow
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Students Teaching Students: An In-depth Look at Domestic Student Exchanges between Predominately White Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the 1960's, Kendall Grace
Department: History; Sociology and Anthropology
The “Right” Model for Educating Ghanaian Girls: Emerging Themes and Messages from Ghanaian NGO Websites, Eryn E. Greaney
Department: Africana Studies; Sociology and Anthropology
What Does a Fish Say When It Hits a Wall? DAM: Re-fashioning Social and Cultural Ties to Rivers in Northern Thailand, Cassandra Greenbaum
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Conversations in the Gallery: Uncovering Perceptions of Race through the Work of Hank Willis Thomas within a Museum Setting, Olivia Gregory
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Cultivating Champions of Sustainability: an Analysis of Sustainability Education and Civic Agriculture, Alexander Haas
Department: Environmental Studies; Sociology and Anthropology
Single Black Mothers: The Construction of Single Black Mothers and How That Construction Affects Them, Sha-Reeka Hester
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Foster Care Workers and Aging Out Youth: Neglected by the Inequalities of the Child Welfare System, Clara S. Hobson
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Restorative Reintegration: Restorative Justice and the Applications and Implications for Child Soldier Reintegration, Carolyn Elizabeth Hockey
Department: Political Science; Religious Studies; Sociology and Anthropology
Negotiating a New Feminism: Do Asian Values and Westernization Collide? - A Study of College-Age Students' Perceptions of Feminism in Singapore, Mariel W. Ho
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Check Here to Become an Organ Donor: A Comparative Analysis of Varying Religious Institutions Views on Organ Transplantation, and the Role of the State, Nicholas H. Isles
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Who is the Who: Lost Boys of Sudan in Language and Narrative, Devin Johns
Department: English; Sociology and Anthropology
Why I am Here and You are Not: How We Got Bamboozled in the American Educational System, Marytha Johnson
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
An Investigation of Cultural Identity: A Comparison of Mortuary, Ceramic, and Architectural Traditions between Cerro Magoni, Teotihuacan, and Northwestern Mexico, Emily J. Kate
Department: Archaeology; Sociology and Anthropology
Finding the Cross in a World Without God, Seth A. Michael
Department: Religious Studies; Sociology and Anthropology
Life After Forced Migration: An Assessment of How Community Cultural Centers Aid in the Negotiation of Tibetan Cultural Identity within the Tibetan Diaspora, Martha R. Oster-Beal
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Oppositional Looking: A Critical Interrogation of The White Female Gaze in "Orange is the New Black", Tiara L. Patton
Department: Africana Studies; Sociology and Anthropology
The Prison Dad: Experiences of the Family with Paternal Incarceration, Eliza L. Perry
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
#*$! Censorship: A Cross Cultural Comparison of Censorship in Film in the United States and Spain, Madeline G. Petersen
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Commodifying Quinoa: From Andean "Mother Grain" to Modern "Superfood", Molly Elizabeth Recka
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Stimulating Academia: The Beliefs and Perceptions Associated with Psychostimulant Use on College Campuses, Jonathan D. Rothman
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Effects of Socioeconomic Status and Family Structure on the Frequency and Quality of Family Meals, Nicole A. Sever
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
How Organizational Contexts Influence Success and the Actualization of Benefits for Urban Farms in Cleveland, Zachariah Sheehan
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Put Him in Grandma's House: Investigating Variation in Kinship Policy and Procedure across Ohio's County-based Child Welfare System, Andreja M. Siliunas
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Written In Stone: Mortuary Analysis of the Cemetery in Athienou, Cyprus, Ashleigh Sims
Department: Archaeology; Sociology and Anthropology
Tactics and Rhetoric Used by Natural Gas Companies and Pro-Fracking Organizations to Promote the Benefits of the Industry in the Face of Potential Risks, Kelsey M. Sullivan
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
These Colors Don't Run: An Examination of the Confederate Flag's Place in Modern America, Peter M. Synk
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
The Social Construction of Victimhood: Where the Just World Theory Intersects with the Cultural Conception of the Ideal Victim, Brianna G. Tarpey
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Normalizing Abnormality: An Exploration of Social Forces Driving Gendered Disparity in Rates of Anxiety Disorder Diagnoses, Sara Tebeau
Department: Sociology and Anthropology; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
No Time for Play: An Examination of How Teachers' Perceptions of Play are Influenced by School Philosophy and Environment, Shelby L. Thielke
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Live From New York, it's a Performance in a Performance: An Examination of How Gender, Gender Performance, and How Individuals Behave in Social Interactions can be Viewed in the Program Saturday Night Live, Jordan C. Turner
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Tourist Encounters of the Moroccan Kind: Contrasting Approaches to Tourism in Anthropology and in the Moroccan Tourism Industry, Katherine Vatilla
Department: French and Francophone Studies; Sociology and Anthropology
A Sociological Analysis of the Literature on Women’s Rights in Spain and Chile during the Franco and Pinochet Dictatorial Regimes, Linnea J. Whistler
Department: Sociology and Anthropology; Spanish
Images of Tradition and Modernity: Government Encouraged Social Gender Roles and National Identity Depicted in Meiji Era Kuchi-e Woodblock Prints, Zoe Zwegat
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Senior Independent Study Theses from 2013
Deconstructing Biological Determinism: An Exploration of the Interrelations Between Gender, Monogamy, and Infidelity Among College Students, Alexandra Beard
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
The Good Farmer, the Productive Farmer: Paradigms and Worldviews in Contemporary U.S. Agriculture, Luke Butcher
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Goin' to the Chapel, Gonna Get Married: An Examination of Why Young Adults Want to Get Married, Amanda Collins
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Measuring Inequality: a Sociological Look at Alternative Schooling, Theodore D. Cox
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Max Weber Meets Michel Foucault, and Society Ensues: "Charisma" and "Parrhesia" in Societal Evolution, and Other Musings, Edward Alter Day
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
If My Kids Aint Got Me, They Got Nobody Parents' Perceptions of Their Child's High School, Roxie Deer
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Leadership. Empowerment. Gender: a Sociological Examination of the Effects of Emotional Intelligence and Empowerment on Female Leadership, Jacqueline DeFrancesco
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Sport As a Vehicle For Fostering Environmental Consciousness: An Examination of Ultimate Frisbee in the United States, Noah Fisher
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
The Orchestration of Persuasion: An Analysis of the Audible and Prosodic Features of American Television Ads, Alexandra Francis
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Consumption of Visual Art in Contemporary American Society, Sarah Frecker
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Grand Forks Kept the Faith, Gustave Fuguitt
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
An Exploration of Balancing Roles at Work and in Private Life for Full-Time Workers in the United States, Nashaunta I. Gross
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Prisoner Reentry and the Reentry Court System, Camille Marie Guthrie
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
An Indelible Mark: Support Networks and Institutional Interactions for Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Alexander Hammerslough
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
走婚: A One Night Stand or Eternal Love?: An Ethnographic Study of the Effects of Tourism on the Mosuo and Their Walking Marriages, Caroline Hanson
Department: Chinese Studies; Sociology and Anthropology
Seeking Respect in the Face of Poverty and Gendered Inequality: A Case Study of Structural Violence in the Kibera Slum, Kenya, Alexandra Harmony
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
A Dress is Not a Yes: A Feminist and Sociological Analysis of Slutwalk as a Response to the Politics of Victimization - A Longitudinal Analysis of the Population of Grand Forks, North Datoka Since the 1997 Red River Flood, Kelsey Jandrey
Department: Sociology and Anthropology; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
One Size Does Not Fit All: Spirituality and Academic Experiences Among African Americans, Veronique Jones
Department: Philosophy; Sociology and Anthropology
Class Humor in Menander's Dyskolos, Jessica Jordan
Department: Classical Studies; Sociology and Anthropology
Myth, Ritual, and Symbol and the Theory of "Invented Tradition" As Applied to the Worship of Dionysos/Dionysus Across Space and Time, Justin Kalinay
Department: Classical Studies; Sociology and Anthropology
Getting More Than Meals on Wheels: Report and Analysis on Perspectives of the Transportation Needs of Senior Citizens, Daniel A. Kellman
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Democracy Inaction?: How "Fake News" Is Defining American Citizenship, Julie Ann Kendall
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
No Fracking Way: Activists' Motivations For Participating in An Environmental Justice Campaign, Emma Gates Kornhauser
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Democratic Not Radical: An Examination of Consensus in Four California Cohousing Communities, Bryan Kovalick
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
An Evaluation of Cattle on the Lives of Farmers in Wayne County, Ohio, Samantha Wallis Lundeen
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Comparative Analysis of Two Public High Schools in the Youngstown City School District, Kaylynne Mahone
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Cooperation, Commitment, and Sharing: a Qualitative Analysis of a Secular Intentional Community, Brian S. Maier
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
In the Spirit of the People: the Effect of Musical Tradition on Community Efficacy in Post-Katrina New Orleans, Micah Motenko
Department: Music; Sociology and Anthropology
"in the Spirit of the People:" the Effect of Musical Tradition on Community Efficacy in Post-katrina New Orleans, Micah Motenko
Department: Music; Sociology and Anthropology
Why Steal Cars, Why Not? Current Trends in Car Theft, Imre Namath
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
We All Need Somebody to Lean On: An Examination of Social Support Networks at the Center Communities of Brookline, Massachussetts, Emily Perbix
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Encounters of Food in the American Prison System: From Green Bologna to Nutraloaf in the Prison "Chow Hall", Annie Peterson
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Cultural Preservation and Change in a Globalizing World: A Study of Guatemalan Immigrant Identity and Experience in Dover, Ohio, Julie Piller
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
I'll Have Fries With That: Eating Preferences of School Children in the Wooster Community, Max Plevyak
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Eat Until You're Full: The Pursuit of Autonomy and Health through the Adoption of Organic Agriculture in Mae Ta, Thailand, Erin Jean Plews-Ogan
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
The Smartphone Self, Matthew J. Policastro
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Riding the Red Wave: Constructing Pan-Oceanic Identity at the Oceania Center For Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies, Shelby Cheyenne Pykare
Department: Sociology and Anthropology