Students and faculty may listen to and challenge Honors Program seniors — and two juniors — over the course of the next week as they present their Honors theses, the accumulation of a year-long research project.
The final drafts of all the theses are available on the college portal, and include topics like privatization in Latin America, the lost island of Atlantis, and Richard III’s genetic heritage. Associate Professor of History Richard Gamble encouraged students to look at the drafts ahead of time and come to the defenses ready to challenge their peers and stimulate academic inquiry.
On Tuesday, four students began the nine-day series that will continue through next week until Thursday, April 16. Each defense over this next week will be in the Heritage Room, and a schedule of the defenses can be found on the college portal.
In addition to students and faculty, a committee of professors has been chosen to challenge each student on the argument they have constructed over months of research.
“There’s something almost medieval about this,” said Gamble, who also acts as the director of the Honors Program. “It’s a public defense of an argument.”
Preparation for the honors thesis is an extensive process. Students pick their topic a year before the defense, so as to be able to research for a lengthy period of time before beginning to write. The maximum length for the paper is 35 pages, not including the bibliography or the bibliographical essay. The length of the paper is not arbitrary, Gamble said. 35 pages is comparable to the chapter of a book, or a short scholarly article.
“It’s not just a number. It seems to be the size of a complete thought,” he said.
The overall grade for the honors theses depends upon three components: the research process, the product of their research in a written thesis, and the defense. Junior Timothy Troutner said there is a significant amount of time and effort that goes into the process, and estimated that he was “probably approaching 100 hours” of work time.
The honors thesis is constructed for seniors within the Honors Program, so as to be a culmination of their years within the Honors Program itself, but juniors can participate too. This allows for juniors who are presenting departmental theses or other lengthy projects their senior year to balance the various projects over the course of two years. This year, juniors Timothy Troutner and Elisabeth Wynia will be defending their theses along with 21 seniors.
“I think it’s inspiring to see the type of work that is done on this campus,” Gamble said. “I think students should come support their friends. I think underclassmen should definitely come and see the kind of work they can aspire to do.”
Senior Addison Stumpf recommended the Honors Thesis Program to underclassmen. Regardless of how much a student could learn about a specialized topic, Stumpf said the true benefit is found in the completion of the process.
“The sense of accomplishment, the discipline required to do something of this magnitude — it’s valuable in and of itself,” he said.
