Some senior theses are due before spring break this year, and Hillsdale College seniors are hard at work on their papers.
“My thesis is about privatizing unemployment insurance, and why it is terrible under government control,” said Mike McDonald, a senior economics major.
McDonald is exploring how unemployment insurance contributes to unemployment in general, especially considering the unreliability of the government in providing insurance.
“I’m using historical evidence to explain how unemployment insurance would be better as a private institution,” McDonald said.
As an economics major, McDonald is not required to do a thesis — he chose to write one. He does not have an adviser yet, but plans to talk to someone soon. McDonald plans to publish his thesis after graduation.
Professor of English Stephen Smith is advising seniors in the Honors Program as well as those writing for their English majors. As a thesis reader, Smith advises the student throughout the project. He makes sure that their arguments are coherent and effective.
“When I read papers, I want to see that their mind is alive and that they have a capacity for wonder,” Smith said. “I want to see that they can make a good argument at a high level of competency.”
Smith has seen a wide variety of topics. One thesis he is directing is on Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale.”
“In our department, a successful thesis will come in at an A, and this high level of expectation is due to the magnitude of the paper,” Smith said.
Emily Schutz, an English and history major, is studying Shakespeare’s histories for her thesis. The title is “‘But remember — For that’s my business to you:’ the Role of Wonder in Shakespeare’s Histories.” She is focusing on Henry V and how Shakespeare treats this character.
“I picked Henry V because he is constantly reading himself as a product of history in the play,” Schutz said.
She has been working on the paper since the summer of 2013. As a paper of this magnitude requires, she is working hard to unify her points and elicit what she wants to say about Shakespeare.
Her readers are Smith and Assistant Professor of History Matthew Gaetano. Schutz would like to return to the idea in the future, but as of now has no desire to publish.
“My paper will probably hang in a frame on the wall of my future home, as a testament to the weeks of my life it has cost me,” Schutz said.
At 25 to 35 pages across the honors program and various departments, the senior theses have been, and continue to be, a large part of the students’ lives. According to Smith, the spread of opinion on whether or not to publish the article after graduation is equal on both sides. Each student is committing to the paper no matter what they plan to do after graduation.
“I’d like the students to devote themselves to writing the best thesis they can, with as much love and care that they can,” Smith said. “If it’s worthwhile to do something with it afterwards, sure, I say that they should pursue it.”
