News Plans of Concentration

Commencement home

Rohan Agarwal
Bachelor of Arts
POLITICAL SCIENCE & LITERATURE & PHOTOGRAPHY
PLAN: An examination of the displacement of the individual and the process of searching for meaning within that context.
PROJECT: Two papers on Emerson and Foucault.
Sponsors: Meg Mott, Geraldine Pittman de Batlle
Outside Evaluator: Khristina Haddad, Moravian College

Christie Ann Barcelos
Bachelor of Arts
POLITICAL SCIENCE/Women’s Studies
PLAN: A political study of the institution and experience of motherhood in contemporary American society.
PROJECT: A Foucauldian analysis of the politics of childbirth.
Sponsors: Meg Mott, Kathryn E. Ratcliff
Outside Evaluator: Jana Sawicki, Williams College

Cailen Brower
Bachelor of Arts
VISUAL ARTS/French
PLAN: A study in visual art that focuses on medieval and modern imagery.
PROJECT: An original collage-based body of artwork inspired by personal reflection on medieval Flemish painting.
Sponsors: Cathy Osman, Laura D’Angelo
Outside Evaluator: K. Levni Sinanoglu, Hampshire College

Keith N. Brown
Bachelor of Science
PHYSICS/Philosophy of Science
PLAN: A general overview of physics with a focus on microscopic physics and the philosophical issues inherent therein.
PROJECT: Construction of a tunnelling electron microscope and generation of data from various observations to prove the validity of the atomic theory.
Sponsors: Travis Norsen, Neal O. Weiner
Outside Evaluator: Rafael Garcia, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Lawton A. Browning
Bachelor of Arts
HISTORY/Politics & Nationalism
PLAN: An examination of European intellectual history from the Enlightenment to the Great War.
PROJECT: A series of papers combining biography and intellectual history which traces the experience of European Jewry from emancipation to Zionism
Sponsors: Timothy F. Little, Lynette Rummell
Outside Evaluator: Daniel Connerton, Massachusetts College of Liberal Art

Charles Cacciola
Bachelor of Arts
LITERATURE & PHILOSOPHY
PLAN: A study on the possibility of secular ethics.
PROJECT: Papers on Kant’s and Dostoevsky’s ethical philosophies.
Sponsors: Neal O. Weiner, Geraldine Pittman de Batlle
Outside Evaluator: Laszlo Dienes, University of Massachusetts

Benjamin J. Carr
Bachelor of Arts
MUSIC/Composition
PLAN: A study of music composition focusing on electronic music.
PROJECT: A series of original music compositions.
Sponsors: Luis C. Batlle, Stanley Charkey
Outside Evaluator: John Levin, Independent Composer

Meghan Chapman
Bachelor of Arts
POLITICAL SCIENCE/Women’s Studies
PLAN: Investigation of the dynamics of oppression as a source for social change.
PROJECT: A paper focusing on the use of development policies and empowerment techniques in effecting social change.
Internship: Santiago, Chile
Sponsors: Meg Mott, John Sheehy
Outside Evaluator: Karen Lee Anderson, Family Planning Associates of New York State

Ashley Clark
Bachelor of Science
BIOLOGY/Alternative Veterinary Science
PLAN: The integration of biology and chemistry with alternative veterinary medicine, focusing on acupuncture and herbs used for animal healthcare.
PROJECT: An examination of acupuncture as an alternative approach for equine care.
Sponsors: Robert E. Engel, Jennifer Ramstetter
Outside Evaluator: Ted Johnson, Vermont–New Hampshire Veterinary Clinic

Hannah Davidson
Bachelor of Arts
LITERATURE/Postcolonial Studies
PLAN: An examination of the nature and consequences of empire as it is expressed through the literature of postcolonial societies with an emphasis on race and class issues that arise, particularly in the cases of “reverse colonialism” and cultural hybridity.
PROJECT: Paper discussing the complications of establishing identity as an immigrant in postcolonial London in Monica Ali’s Brick Lane.
Sponsor: Heather Clark
Outside Evaluator: Robin Dizzard, Keene State College

Jocelyn Delman
Bachelor of Arts
LITERATURE/American Literature & BIOLOGY/Ecology
PLAN: A cross-disciplinary study in literature, ecology and visual arts that focuses on nature, loss and memory in the American identity.
PROJECT: Two papers examining the themes of water and loss in Western American literature.
Sponsors: John Sheehy, Jennifer Ramstetter, Cathy Osman
Outside Evaluator: Laird Christensen, Green Mountain College

Ronald Demers
Bachelor of Arts
VISUAL ARTS/Sculpture & Ceramics
PLAN: A study of visual arts and art history that investigates form and function.
PROJECT: An exhibition of three dimensional art that explores the intersection of image, function, and abstraction. A paper examining the theory and practice within four paintings of 15th-century Florence.
Sponsors: Timothy J. Segar, Felicity Ratté, Michael Boylen
Outside Evaluator: Michelle and David Holzapfel, Independent Artists

Stacy Dickerman
Bachelor of Arts
LANGUAGE/Linguistics
PLAN: A study of contemporary linguistic and morphological theory with a focus on the theory of Distributed Morphology.
PROJECT: A summary of the theory of Distributed Morphology, providing both a framework for the analysis of Germanic inflection and a solution to the problem of Saussurean morphosemantic mismatches.
Sponsors: Edmund Brelsford, Thomas Ernst
Outside Evaluator: Jonathan Bobaljik, University of Connecticut

Amialya Ann Bellerose Elder
Bachelor of Arts
MUSIC/Historical musicology & voice
PLAN: A study of English music drama in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, with a special emphasis on Handel’s operas and the role of the castrato singer.
PROJECT: A paper in several parts concerning the introduction of Italian opera to London’s audiences in the first decade of the 18th century.
Sponsors: Stanley Charkey, Luis C. Batlle
Outside Evaluator: Christina Fuhrmann, Ashland College

Elizabeth Mae Ethier
Bachelor of Arts
POLITICAL SCIENCE/Constitutional Law
PLAN: A study of political and economic influences in modern American constitutional interpretation.
PROJECT: Research paper examining constitutional issues in the exercise of eminent domain.
Sponsors: James A. Tober, Meg Mott, John Sheehy
Outside Evaluator: Peter d’Errico, University of Massachusetts

Rachel Devorah Federlin
Bachelor of Arts
POLITICAL SCIENCE/Political Theory & AMERICAN STUDIES
PLAN: A study of race in U.S. history and contemporary society, with an emphasis on law and public policy.
PROJECT: A paper analyzing constructions of race in selected Supreme Court decisions.
Sponsors: Meg Mott, Kathryn E. Ratcliff
Outside Evaluator: Peter d’Errico, University of Massachusetts

Kathryn Jane Finer
Bachelor of Arts
POLITICAL SCIENCE/Political Theory & Writing
PLAN: A consideration of creative self-expression in the work of women’s crisis centers.
PROJECT: A consideration of the connection between power and language.
Sponsor: Meg Mott
Outside Evaluator: Amy Angell, Vermont College

Tina Forsee
Bachelor of Arts
PHILOSOPHY & LANGUAGES/French
PLAN: An analysis of Descartes’ method of doubt as one of the causes for the existing disparity between science and religion, and an exploration of Plato's philosophy as a possible means of reconciling the two.
PROJECT: Two papers: The first on Descartes’ method of doubt, Plato's philosophy and an examination on reconciling science and religion; the second, written in French, on the significance of Cartesian thought for the modern mind.
Sponsors: Neal O. Weiner, Laura D’Angelo
Outside Evaluator: David Roochnik, Boston University

Natalie Clare Forsythe
Bachelor of Arts
VISUAL ARTS & PSYCHOLOGY
PLAN: A study of visual arts with a focus on kiln-formed glass combined with an examination of experiential art education.
PROJECT: A body of glass work and design. A paper addressing the function of visual arts in an experiential educational environment.
Sponsors: Timothy J. Segar, Thomas L. Toleno
Outside Evaluator: Alex Bernstein, Worcester Center for Crafts

Amy Frazier
Bachelor of Arts
FILM/VIDEO STUDIES
PLAN: An investigation into the development of a new independent cinema, the problems and possibilities surrounding it and its relationship to the existing dominant film industry.
PROJECT: A paper dealing with specific issues in the development of an independent film community and a short film produced according to “independent” limitations and ideals.
Sponsors: Jay Craven, Dana P. Howell
Outside Evaluator: Rick Winston, Savoy Theater

Mark R. Gerlach
Bachelor of Arts
POLITICAL SCIENCE/Economics
PLAN: An exploration of the theoretical rights and responsibilities of the citizen and the state with regard to each other.
PROJECT: A paper on the theories and ideals of the relationship between the citizen and the state, and poverty and political anomie in the U.S. and Europe.
Sponsors: Meg Mott, Val Voorheis
Outside Evaluator: James Donelan, Franklin Pierce College

David Eli Golann
Bachelor of Arts
AMERICAN STUDIES
PLAN: An investigation of post-modern parody on contemporary U.S. film and popular media.
PROJECT: Two linked papers analyzing the ways Romanticism and noir have been incorporated and altered by post-modern cinematic parodies.
Sponsors: Kathryn E. Ratcliff, Timothy J. Segar
Outside Evaluator: Randall Knoper, University of Massachusetts

Allison Elsbeth Gold
Bachelor of Arts
PSYCHOLOGY & VISUAL ARTS
PLAN: An examination and illustration of some of the sources that give rise to psychological growth and development.
PROJECT: A paper exploring the growth of self from a clinical and social psychological perspective. A series of observational portraits investigating ideas of relationship, identity and the self.
Sponsors: Thomas L. Toleno, Cathy Osman
Outside Evaluator: David Johnson, Greenfield Community College

Stephanie Gonyea
Bachelor of Arts
SOCIOLOGY
PLAN: A study of the social development of adolescents and how socialization affects their lives, actions and
behaviors.
PROJECT: An ethnography of the social structures and behaviors of adolescents at the Boys and Girls Club in Brattleboro, Vermont.
Sponsors: Gerald E. Levy, Thomas L. Toleno
Outside Evaluator: Nancy Muller, Massachusetts College of Art

James Joseph Guckenberger
Bachelor of Arts
RELIGION
PLAN: An exploration of religious experience, focusing on the role of belief in new religious movements.
PROJECT: A paper analyzing the origins, beliefs and practices of the New Thought movement.
Sponsor: Amer Latif
Outside Evaluator: Nancy Frankenberry, Dartmouth College

Allison Guptill
Bachelor of Arts
SOCIOLOGY & VISUAL ARTS/Arts Education
PLAN: A search for an artistic pedagogy that supports education in the visual arts.
PROJECT: An ethnographic study of the River Gallery School in Brattleboro, Vermont.
Sponsors: Gerald E. Levy, Carol E. Hendrickson, Cathy Osman
Outside Evaluator: Amy Angell, Vermont College

Jason Thomas Hamilton
Bachelor of Arts
HISTORY & DANCE
PLAN: The cultural ethic of Japanese martial arts.
PROJECT: A paper on the evolution of Bushido as influenced by aesthetic concepts, military efficiency and religion.
Sponsors: Seth Harter, Dana Holby
Outside Evaluator: Rich Myers, Budo Instructor

Andrew Hayes
Bachelor of Arts
FILM/VIDEO STUDIES
PLAN: An exploration of film production with an emphasis on cinematography and screenwriting.
PROJECT: A paper exploring the collaboration between Martin Scorsese and his cinematographers; an original short narrative screenplay examining family dynamics and the production of an original short narrative screenplay.
Sponsor: Jay Craven, John Sheehy
Outside Evaluator: Kenneth Peck, Film Scholar and Public Television Curator

Sunny Min-Sook Hitt
Bachelor of Arts
DANCE
PLAN: A study of dance with an emphasis on the choreographic and performance processes.
PROJECT: A dance performance using memories and personal experiences as source material for the choreography.
Sponsor: Dana Holby
Outside Evaluator: Thomas DeFrantz, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Michael Patrick Jensen
Bachelor of Arts
FILM/VIDEO STUDIES/Political Science
PLAN: An exploration of international socio-political issues through film.
PROJECT: Writing and directing a documentary film shot in Israel about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how it relates to U.S. foreign policy.
Sponsor: Jay Craven
Outside Evaluator: Tim Kipp, Brattleboro Union High School

Rachael Marie Johnson
Bachelor of Arts
DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
PLAN: How gender, consumerism and class are transforming contemporary China.
PROJECT: Two papers, one on the changing role of women in urban society and one on consumerism and changing class identities.
Internship: Beijing, China
Sponsors: Seth Harter, Kathryn E. Ratcliff
Outside Evaluator: Suzanne Zhang-Gottschang, Smith College

Patrick Koske-McBride
Bachelor of Arts
BIOCHEMISTRY
PLAN: A study of human genetic diseases with a focus on Wolfram Syndrome and its two genetic variants.
PROJECT: A paper describing human genetic diseases and their relationship to Wolfram Syndrome.
Sponsors: Todd Smith, Robert E. Engel
Outside Evaluator: Scott Garman, University of Massachusetts

Matthew B. Lynch
Bachelor of Arts
PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION
PLAN: An examination of religious and philosophical themes in the writings of Plato and Rumi.
PROJECT: A paper on Rumi and the poetic use of language.
Sponsors: Amer Latif, Neal O. Weiner
Outside Evaluator: Amina Steinfels, Mount Holyoke College

Samantha Joy Mahar
Bachelor of Arts
VISUAL ARTS/Photography & ART HISTORY & LITERATURE
PLAN: An examination of the role of memory through literature and photography.
PROJECT: An exhibit of photographs of the town of Lubec, Maine.
Sponsors: Felicity Ratté, John Willis, Geraldine Pittman de Batlle
Outside Evaluator: Joanne Hayes, Greenfield Community College

Yousif Malik
Bachelor of Arts
POLITICAL SCIENCE & LANGUAGES/Arabic
PLAN: A study of Palestinian identity in history and literature.
PROJECT: Translation of Men in the Sun by Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani.
Sponsors: Meg Mott, Amer Latif, Lynette Rummel
Outside Evaluator: Diana Abouali, Dartmouth College

Rachel Marbach
Bachelor of Arts
SOCIOLOGY
PLAN: An exploration of how race, age and gender play a role in homelessness and poverty in modern America and an examination of welfare systems and street life.
PROJECT: An in-depth ethnography of Morningside Emergency Shelter in Brattleboro, Vermont.
Sponsor: Gerald E. Levy
Outside Evaluator: Nancy Muller, Massachusetts College of Art

Tyler Martin
Bachelor of Arts
POLITICAL SCIENCE/Political Theory
PLAN: The role of reason, self-creation and political love of life in Lucretius, Saint Augustine, Spinoza and punk rock.
PROJECT: Two papers on the role of reason, self-creation and political love of life in Lucretius and Saint Augustine.
Sponsor: Meg Mott
Outside Evaluator: James Donelan, Franklin Pierce College

Carol Ann McManus
Bachelor of Arts
SOCIOLOGY/Psychology
PLAN: A historical and contemporary description and analysis of foster care in American society, focusing on the relationship between foster parents and children. A supporting paper comparing orphans in Africa.
PROJECT: Case studies of children in foster care.
Sponsors: Gerald E. Levy, Thomas L. Toleno
Outside Evaluator: Christian J. Churchill, St. Thomas Aquinas College

Anna Mefferd
Bachelor of Arts
BIOLOGY/Psychology
PLAN: A study of animal behavior through the fields of biology and psychology.
PROJECT: An examination of several components of human-dog interaction based, in part, on work completed at the Monadnock Humane Society in Keene, New Hampshire.
Sponsor: Robert E. Engel
Outside Evaluator: Darlene Arden, Journalist and Author

Rebecca Mielczarek
Bachelor of Arts
PSYCHOLOGY
PLAN: A psychological and sociological study of sexual deviance, focusing on sexual offenders and their treatment, rights and role in society.
PROJECT: A set of papers based on library research and an independent exhibit.
Sponsors: Thomas L. Toleno, Gerald E. Levy
Outside Evaluator: John Petty, Association for Treatment of Sexual Abusers

Kristiana Elizabeth Molitor
Bachelor of Arts
DANCE/Theater
PLAN: An exploration of dance-theater.
PROJECT: A performance of three dances and two research papers on the concept of dance-theater and the lineage of German Tanztheater.
Sponsors: Dana Holby, Wanda Strukus
Outside Evaluator: Laurie McLeod, Choreographer and Filmmaker

Melissa Molloy
Bachelor of Arts
LITERATURE & FILM/VIDEO STUDIES
PLAN: An exploration of regeneration and the multiplicity of the self through D.H. Lawrence’s work and the creation of original films.
PROJECT: A paper on D.H. Lawrence and his works The Plumed Serpent, "St. Mawr" and “The Woman Who Rode Away.” An installation of original short films inspired by Lawrence’s themes.
Sponsors: Geraldine Pittman de Batlle, Jay Craven
Outside Evaluator: Kenneth Peck, Film Scholar and Public Television Curator

Ethan J. Morgan
Bachelor of Arts
HISTORY
PLAN: A study of early Irish history, religion, folklore and literature.
PROJECT: A series of papers on the traditional figure of “the wild man” in early Irish literature, religion and history.
Sponsor: Timothy F. Little
Outside Evaluator: Paul Cullity, Keene State College

Lauren Miriam Mrotek
Bachelor of Arts
LITERATURE/Poetry
PLAN: An examination of memory, love and spiritual meaning in the works of William Faulkner and T.S. Eliot.
PROJECT: An examination of memory and the narrative in William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!
Sponsors: Geraldine Pittman de Batlle, Heather Clark, John Sheehy
Outside Evaluator: Margo Culley, University of Massachusetts

Sarah Mutrux
Bachelor of Arts
VISUAL ARTS/Writing
PLAN: A study of visual arts and writing directed toward illustrated children’s books.
PROJECT: The use of literary, artistic and technological skills to prepare a children’s book.
Sponsors: Cathy Osman, Laura C. Stevenson
Outside Evaluator: Leyla Torres, Author and Illustrator

Britta Nelson
Bachelor of Arts
AMERICAN STUDIES
PLAN: An exploration of contemporary U.S. urban life with an emphasis on the social ramifications of urban planning on community.
PROJECT: A paper on the city and urban culture represented through contemporary art and film and a paper on fieldwork examining an urban community in Boston, Massachusetts. Photography show detailing the history of a neighborhood through a narrative of place.
Sponsors: Kathryn E. Ratcliff, John Sheehy, John Willis
Outside Evaluator: Jim Dow, Tufts University, The School of the Museum of Fine Arts

Karl Onsager
Bachelor of Arts
POLITICAL SCIENCE
PLAN: An exploration of the theoretical positions and historical contexts in international relations since World WarI.
PROJECT: An examination of peace, power and security as changing theoretical ideas in International Relations Theory in the 20th century.
Sponsors: Lynette Rummel, Timothy F. Little
Outside Evaluator: Gregory White, Smith College

William Allen Pasour
Bachelor of Arts
MUSIC/Physics
PLAN: A Plan in music composition and history with a focus on electronic music and the analog synthesizer.
PROJECT: A study of the role of the synthesizer in 20th-century music. The construction of a synthesizer and its use in an original composition.
Sponsors: Luis C. Batlle, Stanley Charkey, Travis Norsen
Outside Evaluator: John Levin, Independent Composer

Jacqueline R. Perry
Bachelor of Arts
VISUAL ARTS/Literature
PLAN: A study of narrative form through painting and drawing and in the literature of John Edgar Wideman.
PROJECT: An exhibition of oil paintings that reframe the relationships between the objects within the still-life.
Sponsors: Cathy Osman, Gloria Biamonte
Outside Evaluator: John Gibson, Smith College

Austen Petersen
Bachelor of Arts
LITERATURE/Victorian Children’s Literature
PLAN: A study of Victorian literary fairy tales and fantasy.
PROJECT: A series of papers on the short literary fairy tales of George MacDonald and the children’s works of Lewis Carroll and Kenneth Grahame, supported by original fiction.
Sponsors: Laura C. Stevenson, John Sheehy
Outside Evaluator: Joanne Hayes, Greenfield Community College

Kristen Plantz
Bachelor of Arts
BIOLOGY
PLAN: A study of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), the effect of human emotions, thoughts and actions on the immune system.
PROJECT: A paper that explores immunology and psychoneuroimmunology by analyzing PNI studies and physiological pathways that may explain the connection between mind and immune system.
Sponsor: Todd Smith
Outside Evaluator: Jacqueline Channon Smith, Dartmouth Medical School

Saurav PJB Rana
Bachelor of Arts
VISUAL ARTS
PLAN: An investigation of the interaction between architecture and the landscape through various media in visual arts, and an examination of the works of Paul Cezanne.
PROJECT: A series of landscape paintings focusing on architecture in the landscape.
Sponsors: Timothy J. Segar, Cathy Osman
Outside Evaluator: Nancy Friese, Rhode Island School of Design

Morgan Rhodewalt
Bachelor of Arts
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES/Agriculture & Landscape Design
PLAN: An exploration of alternative agriculture and landscape design focusing on agroforestry and landscaping.
PROJECT: An examination of agroforestry systems throughout the world with a detailed description of a temperate agroforestry system.
Sponsors: Jennifer Ramstetter, Timothy J. Segar
Outside Evaluator: Dave Jacke, Dynamics Ecological Design

Jeffrey Rodarti
Bachelor of Arts
HISTORY
PLAN: Studies on societal development and religious conflict in the Mediterranean from Christ to King Charles of Sicily.
PROJECT: Papers exploring topics in Mediterranean conflict and development from the rise of Christianity to the Crusades.
Sponsor: Timothy F. Little
Outside Evaluator: Paul Cullity, Keene State College

Minna Marie Roussi
Bachelor of Arts
AMERICAN STUDIES/Photography
PLAN: An exploration of U.S. history and culture through social documentary and family photography, complemented by personal photographic work.
PROJECT: Two papers: one focusing on social documentary photography in the New Deal era, the other on the photographs of Sally Mann.
Sponsors: Kathryn E. Ratcliff, John Willis
Outside Evaluator: Amy Montali, The School of the Museum of Fine Arts

Ann Sammis
Bachelor of Arts
LANGUAGE/Celtic Languages
PLAN: An exploration of the Celtic language family from a linguistic and historical perspective.
PROJECT: Creation of an artificial language based on Irish Gaelic and other Celtic languages.
Sponsor: Edmund M. Brelsford
Outside Evaluator: Catherine McKenna, Harvard University

Erik Schmitt
Bachelor of Arts
HISTORY & VISUAL ARTS
PLAN: A study of medieval European history armour and its production.
PROJECT: An examination of the production, effectiveness and aesthetics of medieval European armour in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Sponsors: Timothy F. Little, Timothy J. Segar
Outside Evaluator: Paul Cullity, Keene State College

Julie Fay Shumway
Bachelor of Science
MATHEMATICS
PLAN: A broad study of math with a focus on the algebra, geometry and analysis of roots of polynomials.
PROJECT: A study of roots of polynomials.
Sponsor: Matthew Ollis
Outside Evaluator: Harriet Pollatsek, Mount Holyoke College

Matthew Silverman
Bachelor of Science
BIOCHEMISTRY
PLAN: A discussion of the utility of reductionist and holistic approaches to science.
PROJECT: A paper discussing the reemerging role of systems science in molecular biology.
Sponsors: Todd Smith, Travis Norsen
Outside Evaluator: David Kulp, University of Massachusetts

Maura Smith
Bachelor of Arts
WRITING/Biology
PLAN: An exploratory comparison of nature in the suburban landscape of Rhode Island and the badlands of Western North Dakota, viewed from ecological, literary and personal perspectives.
PROJECT: Creative non-fiction describing a personal relationship with nature both in an eastern landscape and in the Badlands wilderness of North Dakota, supported by work in American nature literature and by study of the ecology of urban and western America.
Sponsor: John Sheehy
Outside Evaluator: Lorianne DiSabato, Keene State College

Raquel Steres
Bachelor of Arts
LANGUAGES/Linguistics
PLAN: A literary and linguistic approach to Ancient Sumerian and Ancient Greek.
PROJECT: Works in linguistic analysis and works in literature.
Sponsor: Edmund M. Brelsford
Outside Evaluators: Lindsay Whaley, Dartmouth College; Kathryn Slanski, Yale University

John Stiteler
Bachelor of Arts
PSYCHOLOGY/Economics
PLAN: An exploration of energy conservation behavior using psychology and economics.
PROJECT: A paper discussing the applications of human factors to energy conservation at the individual level.
Sponsor: Thomas L. Toleno
Outside Evaluator: Laura Dubester, Director, Center for Ecological Technology

Virginia Meaghan Teixeira
Bachelor of Arts
FILM/VIDEO STUDIES/Documentary & MATHEMATICS
PLAN: A study in the fields of documentary film and mathematics with a focus on graph theory.
PROJECT: Directing and editing a documentary film and a reflexive mathematical documentary. A paper about documentary film and a paper studying a graph theory problem.
Sponsors: Jay Craven, Matthew Ollis
Outside Evaluator: Bess O'Brien, Filmmaker and Theater Producer

Zarah Catherine Thompson-Jacobs
Bachelor of Arts
AMERICAN STUDIES & ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
PLAN: An examination of the relationship between people and the physical environment in the U.S. West with a focus on water resources.
PROJECT: A paper on the history and ecology of the Klamath Basin, Oregon.
Sponsors: Kathryn E. Ratcliff, Robert E. Engel, John Sheehy
Outside Evaluator: Karen Merrill, Williams College

Jennifer Thrall
Bachelor of Arts
PSYCHOLOGY/Literature
PLAN: A psychological and literary examination of methods and therapies of clinical psychology.
PROJECT: A systematic review and meta-analysis of psychosocial treatments of deliberate self-harm in Borderline Personality Disorder patients.
Sponsors: Thomas L. Toleno, Geraldine Pittman de Batlle
Outside Evaluator: George Karabakakis, Health Care and Rehabilitative Services

Sarah Ann Waggoner
Bachelor of Arts
BIOLOGY/Biochemistry/Evolution
PLAN: An examination of the biochemical mechanisms and environmental impact of insecticides and a study of the evolution of insecticide resistance.
PROJECT: Two related papers: the first on insecticide toxicology and the second on insecticide resistance.
Sponsors: Robert E. Engel, Todd Smith
Outside Evaluator: Richard Lewontin, Harvard University

Samantha Waldron
Bachelor of Arts
VISUAL ARTS
PLAN: Creation of a personal response to contemporary fashion and portraiture through original art work and an exploration of the figure in painting.
PROJECT: A series of original art work and a paper focusing on the study of contemporary fashion.
Sponsors: Cathy Osman, Anne Heath
Outside Evaluator: Marion Miller, Mount Holyoke College

Crystal Lee Ward
Bachelor of Arts
LITERATURE & FILM/VIDEO STUDIES
PLAN: An exploration of the implications of language, sound and image in constructing realities with a focus on existential and nihilist thought using the works of Dostoevsky, Camus, Chekhov, Tolstoy, Shakespeare and Kurosawa.
PROJECT: A mixed-media silent-film adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s short story,“Sleepy.”
Sponsors: Geraldine Pittman de Batlle, Jay Craven
Outside Evaluator: Kenneth Peck, Film Scholar and Public Television Curator

Emily Wendlake
Bachelor of Arts
POLITICAL SCIENCE/French & Women’s Studies
PLAN: An exploration of issues of women and development.
PROJECT: An investigation into strategies for creating the capacity for politics in women’s lives.
Internship: Dakar, Senegal
Sponsors: Meg Mott, Laura D’Angelo, Lynette Rummel
Outside Evaluator: Khristina Haddad, Moravian College

Nathaniel Wharton
Bachelor of Arts
FILM/VIDEO STUDIES/Screenwriting
PLAN: A study of screenwriting with an emphasis on extreme human behavior as shown in the films of various European and American directors.
PROJECT: Feature length screenplay.
Sponsor: Jay Craven
Outside Evaluator: Bill Phillips, Dartmouth College

Samantha Williams
Bachelor of Arts
LITERATURE/French Language & Literature
PLAN: An exploration of the New Novel movement in France starting in the 1950s.
PROJECT: An analysis of narrative structure in the works of Duras, Robbe-Grillet, Butor and Faulkner.
Sponsors: Laura D’Angelo, Gloria Biamonte
Outside Evaluator: Annabelle Cone, Dartmouth College

Vanessa Williams
Bachelor of Arts
DANCE & POLITICAL SCIENCE
PLAN: An examination of body image in dance using Michel Foucault’s understanding of discipline.
PROJECT: A dance performance exploring natural movement and women’s performance.
Sponsors: Dana Holby, Meg Mott
Outside Evaluator: Sherry B. Shapiro, Meredith College