The thesis is the culmination of the Oakcrest liberal arts education. After entering into the intellectual conversations of the past through her reading of several different primary and secondary sources, the student forms her own idea on a subject and crafts it into a thesis. The thesis and accompanying public presentation provides the experience for Oakcrest seniors to reflect on their liberal arts education, and gives them the confidence to continue in their next heroic endeavor. With the guidance of a faculty member, students narrow a topic, and work closely with their advisers to complete research and an annotated bibliography before writing and presenting a formal thesis.

The Edwina Maksym Senior Thesis Award

The Edwina Maksym Senior Thesis Award is given to senior theses of exceptional scholarly quality. Below, watch the winners of the 2023 Edwina Maksym Senior Thesis Award give their presentations. 

Senior Thesis Titles

List of 9 frequently asked questions.

  • Class of 2015

    Giorgi A., Bernini: Visual Crafter of Virgil’s Aeneas and the Roman Virtues

    Theresa A., Dignity in Work and the Problem of Economic Inequality: Socialism versus Catholic Social Teaching 

    Carolyn B., Balancing Progress and Morality: An Analysis of the Ethics of DNA Research 

    Camille C., Understanding the Journey of Life: Huckleberry Finn  and Odysseus 

    Da’jah C., Freeing the Caged Bird: The Voice of African American Poetry

    Laura C., The Right to Privacy: Relativism’s Judicial Henchman

    Mary Cate D., Chemical Madness: Depictions of Schizophrenia in the Works of the Fitzgeralds

    Antonia F., Zamperini’s Hope: Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken

    Jennifer J., Polygamy: When Three or More Become One Flesh 

    Julie K., Creating a Crisis: Native Leadership versus Belgian Colonization in the Congo 

    Samantha K., The Role of Women’s Leadership and their Important Influence on Society

    Emilie K., The Impossible Dream: A Reflection on the Gift of Imagination in Fantasy, Fairytales, and Fables

    Maria K., Women in Literature: Feminine Virtue as the Leaven for Society 

    Maggie L., The Change in Progressivism from Roosevelt to the Moderns 

    Madeleine L., We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident: Natural Law, Pluralism, and the Functioning of the American System

    Nicole M., Roads to Redemption and Criticism: The World War II Atrocities of Germany and Japan 

    Clare N., School Choice: Government’s Education Failure and the Case for Educational Liberty

    Sarah O., The Wings of Poesy Lift the Soul: Keats and Dickinson

    Grace P., Music and Nationalism: A Study of Music’s Pragmatic Purpose in the Nationalistic Era

    Maeve P., A Conservative Philosopher’s Theories on Revolution: Hegel and the History of Revolution in Ireland

    Caitlin R., The Death of Federalism: How the 17th Amendment Undermined American Government and Severed State Sovereignty 

    Tess S., When Does Knowledge Become Dangerous? An Examination of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein 

    Catherine W., The Television Sitcom’s Influence on American Culture

    Natasha W., A Nation of the Homeless
  • Class of 2016

    Rosemary A., Remembering the Child: Reconstructed Memory in the Coming of Age in Bradbury and Lee 

    Annie B., Time in Dystopia: Is Ignorance Truly Bliss?

    Caroline B., Salinger’s War Novel: Holden’s PTSD in The Catcher in the Rye

    Audrey C., Anna Karenina’s Radical Individualism: The Crippling Effect of Feminism on Marriage 

    Juliana D., The Pursuit of Happiness: Freedom and the Philosophy of the American Dream 

    Stephanie D., The Influence of Dante’s Contrapasso in Art and Film

    Mary Angela G., Lewis and Love: Transformation Through Suffering in Till We Have Faces

    Katie H., The Path to Redemption: Finding Truth through Suffering in The Giver and The Divine Comedy 

    Grace H., Women’s Enduring Search for Happiness: Lessons from Literary Heroines 

    Sheila H., Alienation and Hopelessness in the House of Mirth and The Catcher in the Rye

    Anne K., Transforming Modern Education through Classical Tradition 

    Marianne K., Extermination of Ethics: A Study of the Psychology Behind 20th century Genocides  

    Christina K., It takes a Father: The Lost Treasure of the American Family

    Mary L., The Relationship Between Man and Animal: The Beauty in God’s Creation

    Sofia L., Poetry as the Voice of Truth: World War I and the Descent into Psychological Hell 

    Victoria M., The Power of Effective Leadership: Churchill’s Machiavellian Triumph 

    Katie M., Catholicism in Japan: The Religious Symbols in Anime

    Sarah M., Keeping it Real: Reality as the Necessary Foundation for the Imagination 

    Alexis M., What is Happiness? The Transgender’s Flawed View of Human Nature

    Lucia M., Crime and Punishment: The Dangerous Influence of Western Philosophy 

    Kelly M., Health Inequity: How and Why Society Must Improve the Inevitable 

    Sofia N., Permitting versus Participating: Making the Most of the Injustice of Human Law

    Annie P., Dropping the Atomic Bombs on Japan: A Lifesaving Decision or a Grievous Error? 

    Erin P., The Secretes of Happiness Uncovered: Positive Psychology, The Beatitudes, and Aristotle

    Natasha P., Can DNA Evidence Solve Every Case? The Limits of Scientific Testing

    Catherine R., “Bye, Bye miss American Pie”: The Loss of Piety in the Roman Empire and America

    Emily S., Should America Keep the Draft? The History of the Draft in America’s Wars

    Ruth T., ABC’s and Good Night Z’s: The Picture Book and its Effect on the Word Gap

    Kate W., The Problem of Evil: Is There Really a Problem? 

    Anna W., How the Brain Changes Itself: Hope for Adopted Children

    Emma W., Poets and Mental Illness

    Maria W., The Doubting Disease: The Danger of Scrupulosity versus the Power of Holiness

    Mariah Z., Where to Draw the Line: The Science and Ethics of Gene Therapy
  • Class of 2017

    Maria A., Unstringing the Violinist: The Concept of Personhood and the Principle of Double Effect in Bioethics

    Catherine B., Raising American Workaholics: Capitalism, Homework, and the Individual

    Juliana B., The Importance of Fairy-Stories in Forming the Imagination Through Moral Virtues

    Anna C., From Coffee Spoons to Ashes: The Reconciliation of Modernism and Christianity in T.S. Eliot's Poetry

    Tess C., Otello Unmoored: The Power of Eight Bars

    Jill C., The Impossibility of a Love Song: The Break Between Romanticism and Modernism

    Etta D., The War of Words: Defining and Explaining the Impact of 9/11 on Terrorism

    Alexandra D., The Hero from Hell: The Rise and Fall of the Hero from Aeneas to the Avengers

    Leonie Duarte Defago., Magical Realism: A Mirror for Political Corruption
    in Latin America

    Anna D., The Lost Generations of American Culture

    Chinenye E., Confronting Black Inferiority in American Society: Healing the Wound of Racism

    Isabella F., A Living Tradition: The Key to Authenticity in Musical Interpretation

    Kate G., The Reawakening of Arab Salafiyya in the 20th Century: Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia

    Brigid K., Music as a Universal Necessity of Human Culture

    Clare K., The Dangers of Toxicity: Saving America's Health

    Jessica K., The Industrial Revolution's Influence on the Drug Industry: The American Perversion of Eating

    Annette L., The Voice of Law: The Inconsistency of Neutral Jurisprudence

    Mackenzie M., Art Nouveau to Bauhaus: Cultural Influences on Ceramics in the Decorative Arts

    Jenny M., The Comic vs. Tragic Vision of Heroic Sacrifice: Huckleberry Finn and Jay Gatsby

    Nicki M., A Prosperous Economy: The Harmony of a Free Market and Limited Government

    Claire M., Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter: The Role of The Family and The Necessity of Sacrificial Love

    Sarah N., Escaping from Adulthood into Childhood: Learning Values from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and David Copperfield

    Caroline O., In the Eye of the Beholder: Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth and Man's Need for Beauty

    Anna Rita O., Raskolnikov's Movement from Pride to Humility: A Reunification of Mind and Body

    Clare P., Frankenstein and the Effects of Abuse on Child Development

    Abigail P., Bursting the Bubble: The Battle for Free Speech in the Age of Safe Spaces

    Maggie R., The Second Bill of Rights: FDR and Socialism in America

    Cecilia S., The Horror Genre: The Child of Failed Enlightenment Thought and the Sexual Liberation of the French Revolution

    Maddie S., Minorities in Baseball: How African Americans, Immigrants, and Women Sought 

    Christina S., The Circle of Life: The Role of Animals in Ancient Egyptian and Christian Religion and Art Equality through the Sport of Baseball

    Grace T., Rhetoric, Word Play, and Irony: The Ambiguity of Language

    Julia W., Is the United States Prepared to Survive an Ebola Outbreak?

    Regan W., The Cambodian Genocide and Its Impact on Modern Sex Tourism

    Anne W., Recovering Rome: Faithful Literary Translation of the Aeneid
  • Class of 2018

    Daniela A., The Qualities of Motherhood: Strength, Dignity, and Selfless Love as seen in Hester Prynne and Clara Peggotty

    Grace A., Man's Disconnection from Nature in Wordsworth's The World is Too Much With Us

    Maria B., The Importance of the Family Meal

    Colleen B., Always Listening and Always Watching: The Encroachment and Incorporation of AI

    Anna B., The Tragedy of Stalin's Communism in the Soviet Union

    Martina B., Leaving Paradise: Narcissism in F. Scott Fitzgerald's Protagonists, Amory Blaine and Jay Gatsby

    Lauren C., The Relationship Between The Meaning of Suffering and Suicide in Literature and Present Day

    Sophia D., Pride Goeth Before: Transgression of the Natural Law in That Hideous Strength

    Sophia D., Re-forming the Reform: The U.S Transition to Universal Healthcare

    Clare E., Feminism’s Destructive View of Children in Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina

    Grace F., The Driving Forces of Humanity: Traditional Marriage and Authentic Womanhood

    Claire G., The Shieldmaiden's Sorrow: Eowyn's Vain Search for Happiness in Battle

    Therese G., "The Stuttering Rifles' Rapid Rattle:" The Evolution of Warfare in Literature

    Kathryn H., Designing Your Interior

    Meg H., Islamic and Christian Just War Theories and the Rise of Terrorism in the Late 20th Century

    Clare K., Beyond All Praising: The Power of Music to Reveal the Spiritual

    Emaan K., Family Matters

    Michelle K., Transgressing the Natural Law: The Destruction of Man

    Makena K., A Colonized Mindset: The Psychology behind Post-colonial Zimbabwean Literature

    Daniela L., Redefining the Defined: an Analysis of the Manifestations of PTSD in Literature

    Sadie L., The Definition of True Beauty

    Jihyeon L., My Name is Dokdo: Korea's Battle for Justice

    Sydney M., "History Has Its Eyes on You": Does Hamilton Portray the Truth of History?

    Theresa M., Freedom and the Future's Happiness

    Margaret M., What is Progress? St. Augustine and Dostoyevsky’s Raskolnikov as True Progressives

    Grace M., I Don't Get It, Mansplain it to Me: The Sociolinguistics of Women in the Workplace

    Katherine N., Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness in Modern Day America

    Anna N., The Reign of the Medici: Patronage, Self-Expression, and Fine Art in Florence during the Italian Renaissance

    Jackie P., An Analysis of Anna Karenina through the Lens of C.S. Lewis's The Four Loves

    Mary P., “What do you mean you don’t speak Spanish, aren’t you from Spain?”: An Analysis of Sociolinguistic Diversity in Spain

    Julia R., "Mechanics as Metaphor" Video Games as seen through J.R.R. Tolkien's "On Fairy Stories"

    Julia W., The Creation of a Monster: The Unbalanced Ethos in Frankenstein and The Great Gatsby

    Therese W., More than Blood and Gore: The Scientific Merit Behind Horror Films
  • Class of 2019

    Edith B., Livin’ the Dream: The Rise and Fall of the American Dream as Seen Through Characters in History and Literature

    Julia C., The Effect of Isolation: Immoral Actions and Dissociation as seen in Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment and The Stanford Prison Experiment

    Caroline D., From Art to Anorexia: Beauty’s Progression throughout the Ages

    Grace F., The Return of the King: Monarchy’s Effect on the Rights of Man

    Maura F., Hope Amidst the Holocaust: An Analysis of NightMan’s Search for Meaning, and Life is Beautiful

    Natalia G., All Talk, All Bite: Societies Spellbound by Charismatic Leaders

    Catherine G., The Cure for Unhappiness: Resolving the Disconnect Between Body and Soul

    Angela G., Justice for the Nazis and ISIS: Countering the ‘Unprecedented Threat of International Crime’

    Cora H., More Than Crazy: The Connection Between Creativity and Mental Disorder

    Anna H., The Perversion of Human Dignity and Rights as Seen Through Nazi Occupation and the “Cure” of Downs Syndrome in Iceland

    Kiley H., Comedy and Tragedy on the Dance Floor: The Role of Dance in Pride and Prejudice and The Great Gatsby

    Ruth H., Divinely Inspired: The Transformative Power of Dreams in the Bible and Classic Literature

    Elizabeth J., The American Coin: The Values that Created an American Identity

    Julie K., Home Away from Home: Overcoming the Psychological Effects of Adoption

    Serena K., Education in Korea: Good Education and a Successful Human Life

    Kara K., True Feminism

    Mengzhen L., The Interaction Between Asian and European Art

    Mary L., The Revenge of the Conscience: Dimmesdale and Raskolnikov’s Search for Harmony between the Mind, Body and Soul

    Sofia L., Suffering with Grace: The Redemptive Power of God’s Love in the Face of Tragedy

    Caroline M., Disobeying the Law of Hospitality: Cultivating Community Through the Meal

    Eileen M., My Dear, I Don’t Give a Damn: How a Lack of Virtue and Freedom Leads to Tragic Heroes

    Emelia M., The Silent are Heard: the Danger of Semantics and the Truth of Abortion

    Helen M., From Fascism to Communism: the Common Roots of Tyranny

    Alexandra M., Friendship is Forever: True Friendship in Maud Hart
    Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy Series and C.S. Lewis’s Four Loves

    Mary N., “I Must Have You!”: An Analysis of the American Dream and Its Effects on Human Relationships

    Shannon O., “Northern Ireland’s Brexit Border Crisis“

    Josephina O., Love and Suffering: Orual’s Transformation from Ugliness to Beauty

    Emma P., The Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation; and the Importance of Love and Community

    Savini P., True Femininity and Motherhood: The Defense of a Woman’s Integrity

    Ana S., Making the Perfect Machine: How Ender’s Isolation Leads to Loss of Purpose

    Bridget S., The Plunge Into Darkness and the Climb Back Out: Suffering and Its Provocation for Human Greatness

    Sofia S., Words and Their Power to Dehumanize: The Divisive Colloquialisms in American Culture

    Katherine S., The Power of the Powerless: Poznan, Prague, and the Problem with Communism

    Julianna S., 123 Years: An Argument for Constructive Nationalism During Poland’s Third Partition

    Grace T., Courage and Wisdom: Through the Eyes of Cinderella

    Helena T., More than Man’s Best Friend

    Mary W.,  The Honey Boo Boo Effect: How Society’s Addiction to Reality Television is Altering Our Perception of Happiness

    Abigail W., Literature Tells a Story: Moral Change In the Last Century Observed Through Some of Man’s Greatest Works

    Elizabeth W., Lust at First Sight: The Culture of Instant Gratification and Its Effect on Human Trafficking in the United States

    Isabela W., From Corsets to Crop Tops: World Events, Women’s Place in Society, and the Human Quest for Freedom and Their Impact on the American Women’s Fashion Industry
  • Class of 2020

    Arthi A., The Age of Jazz, Parties, and Degradation

    Christina A., Love in the Stars: The Importance of Literature seen in C.S. Lewis’s Cosmic Trilogy

    Caroline B., Dignity, Liberty, and Society

    Marialuisa B., The Language and Culture Interrelation in Literature

    Isabel B., The Tragic Hero in Ancient and Contemporary Times

    Hannah B., A Woman’s Worth is not Weighted by Society’s Wants

    Alexis C., What is True Feminism? A Comparison of Hester Prynne and Lily Bart

    Hannah C., The Theology of Mercy and Mental Health

    Kristelle C., Raskolnikov’s Criminality: The Idea of the Superman, The Consequences of Murder, and the Road to Redemption in Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment

    Elizabeth C., The Bard in Broadway: How Shakespeare’s Works Influence Modern Musicals

    Daniela D., The Distortion of the Romantic-What is True Love?

    Angela D., “Just Friends”: On Platonic Relationships Between Men and Women

    Claire F., A Fatal Love: The Unchangeable Tragic Ending to a Selfish Love in Anna Karenina

    Emily F., The Education of the Whole Person: An Analysis of Frankenstein and To Kill A Mockingbird

    Emma F., Society, the Individual, and Identity in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Wharton’s The House of Mirth

    Julia F., “True Freedom and Human Fulfillment: American Literature’s Portrayal of the American Dream”

    Theresa G., A Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s View of Communism in the USSR Versus the Modern Day Perspective

    Claire H., Lewis’ Ladder of Love

    Elizabeth H., The Effect of Isolation and Importance of Love in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter and Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein

    Natalia I., The Noble and Corrupt Pursuits of the American Dream in The Outsiders and The Great Gatsby

    Falan K., How to Respond to Suffering

    Mackenzie M., Life’s Symphony: Music as Fundamental to the Human Journey

    Eva M., What’s the Point? The Path to Purpose from Auschwitz to the American Frontier

    Megan M., A Return to Beauty: Poetry as the Salve of the Divine

    Adriana M., Different not Disposable: Examining the Effects of Disability Discrimination and the Road to Recovery

    Rebecca M., Marital Union: A Path to God and Reflection of the Divine Love

    Madelyn M., How Beauty Will Save the World: The Way of Flourishing and the Radiance of a Good Life

    Alice M., What is Happiness?: Lily Bart’s Tragic Fall, the Modern Opioid Epidemic, and Man’s Search for Meaning

    Emma M., The Christian Answer to Suffering: From the Cross to the Modern Man

    Rachel N., Divine Providence, Vocations, and the Imperative Journey of Man

    Grace N., False Family Foundations: A Warning From Dystopian Literature
    Frances N., A Harmony of Opposites: Liberty and Order in the U.S. Constitution (1789) and the Polish Constitution of 1791

    Hope P., What are Friends For? Why Both the Anthropomorphic and Real Relationships Between Horse and Man Lead to His Betterment

    Kyla P., “War... What is it good for?”: A Comparison of the Justifications and Purposes of War from Ancient Greek and Christian Perspectives

    Catherine S., POWs, Trauma, and PTSD: The Path to Resilience

    Alydia U., Who Is the Happy Warrior?: How Courage and Adventure Cultivate Truth and a Fulfilled Life

    Teresa W., From Honor To Humility: The Development of The Hero From The Pagan Achilles to The Christian Joan of Arc

    Xiaoyi Z., Mercy vs. Justice: The Merchant of Venice through the Lens of Aristotle and Confucius
  • Class of 2021

    Annaliese A., Edifying or Simply Entertaining? The Power of Story to Transfer Wisdom to Humanity as Seen Through Dostoyevsky and Kreeft

    Devon B., Avoiding Dictatorship and Corruption: A Reflection on Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm

    Amelia B., Kristin Lavandatter’s Journey from Eros to Agape

    Katherine B., How Love in Childhood Leads to Success in Adulthood

    Elena B., What is True Love? The Struggle Between Agape and Eros in Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karénina

    Kateri C., The Genius of Comic Books: Telling the Complex Story of WWII and the Holocaust

    Veronica C., Our Call to Love: The Importance of Community as Expressed Through Dante and Lewis

    Maria D., Our Only Certainty: Understanding Death, Suffering, Mortality, and the Purpose of Life in The Iliad and Anna Karenina

    Elizabeth D., Without Beauty, Man Will Die

    Elizabeth E., The Suicide of Russia: Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky’s Prophetic Vision

    Rose F., Charity as Divine Love: Orual’s Journey from Selfishness to Selflessness

    Brigid H., The Influence of Suffering on the Human Soul: An Invitation to Participate in the Divine Nature

    Nora H., Functionalism and Technology: In an Age of Constant Communication, Why is it so Hard to Connect?

    Giulia I., The Tragic Effects of Interior Slavery Revealed in the Lives of Fitzgerald and Wharton’s Protagonists

    Sofia J., The Impact of Music on the Soul in Pride and Prejudice and The Great Gatsby

    Lili T., The Key to a Beautiful Home: How a Person’s Interiority Forms a Nourishing Home

    Alexandra L., Law from a Divine Source: A Female Embodiment of Justice in Antigone and The Merchant of Venice

    Hannah L., The Secret to a Happy Life: An Analysis of Virtuous Friendships in My Antonia and The House of Mirth

    Caitlin M., Personhood and Justice: The Importance of Being Color Blind

    Grace M., The Dystopian Distortion of Human Nature

    Claire M.,Daring to Hope in the Vale of Tears: What Dostoevsky and Solzhenitsyn Can Teach Us About Pain and Suffering

    Theresa M., How Works of Art Reveal Truth in The Picture of Dorian Gray and The House of Mirth

    Maria M., A Wise Man Begins with Wonder: Education in Frankenstein and Hard Times

    Stephanie M., The Struggle for Independence Given Societal Pressures on Women

    Lourdes N., “Straight and Narrow” or “Gentle and Gradual”: Encountering Spiritual Sin in The Screwtape Letters and Inferno

    Ava Q., Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Pleasure: The Tragedy of the American Dream According to Fitzgerald

    Katherine R., I Do: What Austen, Wharton, and Fitzgerald Reveal About a Good and Committed Marriage

    Catalina S., Being the Hero of One’s Own Life: An Investigation into the Nature of Heroism in David CopperfieldAnna Karenina, and My Antonia

    Magdalena S., Social Influence: The Conflict Between Conformity and Freedom

    Ellen S., The Versatility of Fashion as Portrayed through the Flapper Girls of the 1920s

    Elizabeth S., Philosophizing for Evil: The Rise of Modernism and Dostoyevsky’s Chilling Prophecy

    Maria T., True Marital Love: An Analysis of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina in light of CS Lewis’ Four Loves

    Celia T., An Examination of The Factors Leading To Dystopia And How To Prevent The Collapse of Society

    Marie T., Medea and Lily: Victors, not Villains

    Lily V., Isolation through Culture: Young Goodman Brown and The Picture of Dorian Gray leave no Room for Mercy or Mistakes
  • Class of 2022

    Abigail A., Attaining Human Fulfillment: Solzhenitsyn and Wharton’s Depiction of the Paradoxical Pursuit

    Dima A., Society’s Role on the Fates of Lily and Elizabeth in The House of Mirth and Pride and Prejudice

    Margaret B., Virtue as the Champion of Democracy and Humanity in American Literature

    Delina B., Gatsby and Atticus’ Pursuit of the American Dream

    Laura B., The Journey, Knowledge, and Mentorship in Relation to One’s End as Exemplified by Dante, Odysseus, Dr. Frankenstein, and The Monster

    Ilayda B., “Do what you will, the heart hardens and the soul shrinks in upon itself”: How Disillusionment Leads to a Loss of Morality in Crime in Punishment and A Hero of Our Time

    Anne Marie B., “Either our hope cometh or all hopes end:” The Battle Between Hope and Despair in Beowulf and The Lord of the Rings

    Emilia B., Willa Cather’s My A´ntonia and the Debate on Assimilation: Preserving Immigrant Identity and Cultural Heritage to Enrich the American Nation

    Gabrielle B., C.S Lewis’ Depiction of the Fight Between Good and Evil: God as Goodness Himself Prevails

    Sarah C., The New Normal: Female Familial Relationships Affected by Mental Illness in the Modern and Postmodern Era of American Theatre

    Natalya C., The Effect of Superficial and Complete Friendships on the Quality of Life in My Antonia and The Great Gatsby

    Grace C., Illuminating the True Path to Happiness: Freedom in The Scarlet Letter and The House of Mirth

    Katrina D., Raskolnikov’s “Renewal, Rebirth, and New Reality” through Love in Crime and Punishment

    Elisabeth D., Frankenstein and Brave New World: the Dangers of Technology in the Pursuit of Happiness

    Anabela E., The Impact of Societal Pressures on the Heroines of The Scarlet Letter and The House of Mirth

    Rachel F., Full Table, Fulfilled Soul: Food as Central to Community and a Flourishing Life in My Antonia and Anna Karenina

    Jacqueline F., Perverted Passion as the Distortion of Love in Anna Karenina

    Reilan G., Another Paradise Lost?: Jim, Hannah, and Willy’s longing for an Agrarian Past as Central to their American Identity

    Meredith K., Women as a Source of Grace for Men in The Merchant of Venice and Crime and Punishment

    Abigail K., The Truth Will Set You Free: Dimmesdale and Raskolnikov’s Guilt as a Catalyst for Redemption

    Kelsey K., Nostalgia: Downfall or Salvation in The Great Gatsby and My Antonia

    Katherine L., The Transcendence of Beauty and the Good Life: A Grasping Hand versus a Wondering Heart

    Simonne L., The Parasitical Roles of Consumerism and Despair in The House of Mirth, The Great Gatsby, and My Antonia.

    Madeline M., The Presence of the Four Loves of C.S. Lewis in Pride and Prejudice and The Great Gatsby

    Grace M., The Significance of Meaningful Relationships in Overcoming Addiction in The House of Mirth, Unbroken, and Fahrenheit 451

    Thérèse M., Intimacy and Personality: The Temperaments of Austen’s Heroines and the Impact on Their Relationships

    Caroline N., The Lost Generation: Cultural Disillusionment and Societal Disintegration Following The First World War

    Helen P., Wonder as the Luminary Aspect of an Education through the Lens of Homer and Plato

    Adair R., Nostalgia for Heaven and the Journey Home in My Antonia and The House of Mirth

    Ashley S., The Power of Suffering to Transform Mankind into Heroes and Saints

    Cassielle S., Feminine Virtue in Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice: A Canon for Timeless Heroes

    Eliana T., Renewal of the Soul: Raskolnikov’s Moral and Spiritual Turn to God in Crime and Punishment

    Ana U., The Power of Imagination and its Impact on Reality through the Minds of Anne Shirley and Jay Gatsby

    Adele W., True Happiness as the Fruit of a Homeland in My Antonia and Hannah Coulter

    Sarah W., Monsters of Pride: The Picture of Dorian Gray and Frankenstein

    Suzanna Z., Society's Effects on the Quest for Truth in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the House of Mirth
  • Class of 2023

    Rima A., Maker and Product: The Failsure of Basil's Portrait and Frankenstein's Creature in Accomplishing the Good

    Mariana A., Love's Labyrinth: The Maze of Lies and the Path to Truth in Anna Karenina and Crime and Punishment 

    Regina B., What is Happiness?: Materialism and the Tragic Downfall of Gatsby and Lily Bart

    Natalie B., The Poetic Imagination: Symbolism and Imagery in Cather's My Ántonia and Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

    Mariana B., Heart and Head: A Comparison of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Brontë's Jane Eyre 

    Maria B., The Danger of the Unnatural: Rejection of Human Nature in The Picture of Dorian Gray and Frankenstein

    Zoe B., The Paradox of the Land: How Intimacy with the Earth Leads to Fulfillment in the Lives of Hannah Coulter and Antonia Shimerda

    Gabriella C., Understanding Tragic Heroines: Anna Karenina and Lily Bart's Illumination of Moral Truth

    Gianna C., From Homer to Remarque: Great War Literature and Human Fulfillment

    Sofia C., “The Unconscious Man:” The Repercussions of Resisting Reality in Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms and Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment

    Madelyn C., The Art of Expression: Religion, Suffering, and Love in the Work of Leo Tolstoy and Vincent Van Gogh

    Teresa C., Antonia, the Modern Aeneas: The Value of Pagan Virtues in Our Christian Lives

    Sophie E., Reason and Beauty: The Essential Concoction for True Living Manifested in Russian Literature

    Rachel J., The Price of Glory: Through the Prideful Eyes of Raskolnikov and Frankenstein

    Faven K., The Paradox of Suffering: Finding Meaning in Pain

    Erin K., Where is My Chivalrous Scientist? The Quest for a Moral Code in Scientific Research

    Meghan K., Selflessness, Receptivity and Sensitivity: Finding Authentic Joy in Embracing Femininity

    Eva K., Sisterhood in Alcott's Little Women and Austen's Pride and Prejudice

    Elizabeth L., Finding Strength in Weakness: How Vulnerability Transforms and Resurrects the Heart in The Scarlet Letter and Crime and Punishment

    Natalie M., Hannah Coulter's Agrarian Lifestyle: An Antidote to Gatsby's Restlessness

    Cecelia M., A Warning to Contemporary Scientists: The Danger of Pursuing Knowledge Through the Transgression of Natural Law

    Sophia M., Fighting the Good Fight: The Honor of Combatant Brotherhood in The Iliad, All Quiet on the Western Front, and The Things They Carried 

    Sally M., Persevering Through Suffering: The Path to Joy Found in Unbroken and My Antonia

    Bianca N., The Feminine Genius: the Women’s Progressive Movement in Little Women and My Ántonia

    Teresa R., The Art of Dying Well: Man's Journey Towards Salvation in The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Everyman, and Tuesdays with Morrie

    Patricia R., Compassionate and Loving Relationships: A Path to Truth in Suffering

    Lilly R., From Revolutionary Sparks to Smoldering Ashes: Dostoyevsky's Warning to Russia

    Lucy S., What's Love Got to Do With It?: Understanding Suffering in the Lives of Anna Karenina and Philippa Talbot

    Josefina T., The Relationship Between Home and Character: A Comparison of Willa Cather's My Antonia and Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth

    Olivia V., Healing the Whole Person: The Necessity of Love in Crime and Punishment and The Death of Ivan Ilyich

    Kate V., Examining Happiness Through the Eyes of the Upper Class in The Great Gatsby

    Laura Elizabeth W., Why are Moral Values Crucial for Happiness?: An Analysis of Tolstoy and Wharton's Heroes and Heroines

    Teddie Y., The False Promises of Time: Temporal Illusions in The Great Gatsby and A Rose for Emily 
Anna G. - Longevity in a Culture of Eternal Youth: Hannah Coulter and Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment
Charlotte O. - When the Truth Is Not Beautiful: Grotesque Messengers of Grace in Conversion

Class of 2024 Senior Thesis Topics

Zelie A., The Good in the Encircling Fire: The Beauty of Gratitude in Hannah Coulter and My Antonia
 
Monica B. ,The Root of Fruitful Relationships in Hannah Coulter and My Ántonia 
 
Elizabeth B., Finding Light in Darkness in Hannah Coulter and All the Light We Cannot Not See
 
Lucia B., Frankenstein and Scarlet Letter:The Importance of the Relationship Between Community and God 
 
Heidi B., When Gifts Become Gods: Hubris in Crime and Punishment and Frankenstein
 
Lulu C., It Takes a Village: The Necessity of Place in Berry's Hannah Coulter and Jayber Crow 
 
Amelia C., Mutual Respect Fosters Good Relationships in The Chosen and Merchant of Venice
 
Amelia C., Girls Just Wanna Have Fun: Exploring Ideas of Femininity and Fulfillment in My Antonia and In This House of Brede
 
Victoria C., Devotional Work: The Food for the Soul in The House of Mirth and Hannah Coulter
 
Eleanor D., The Power of Motherhood: How Female Role Models Affect a Women's Sense of Self
 
Francesca D., The Transcendental Power of Music: Bringing Classic Literature to Life
 
Catherine D., The Formation of Community Through Work and Land in My Ántonia and Hannah Coulter.
 
Catherine E., A Severe Mercy and The Scarlet Letter: The Necessity of Truth and Beauty in Relationships 
 
Elaine-Rebecca E., The Great Gatsby and Hannah Coulter: The Foundation for a Strong Marriage
 
Emily G., “A Bullet to the Head or the Road to Siberia”: Exploring the Path to Redemption in Poe and Dostoevsky
 
Anna G., Longevity in a Culture of Eternal Youth: Hannah Coulter and Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment
 
Louise G., Hannah Coulter and The Death of Ivan Ilyich: Accompany the Dying 
 
Tyler Reese H., From Death to Life: Hope for the Human Person in Crime and Punishment and The Death of Ivan Ilyich
 
Deirdre K., The Fall and Redemption in Anna Karenina and The Scarlet Letter
 
Katherine K., All You Need is Love: Selfless Love as a Remedy to Suffering in The Death of Ivan Ilyich and The House of Mirth
 
Norah K., The Power of a Formation in Virtue: Overcoming Materialism in Pride and Prejudice and the House of Mirth 
 
Annie K., Unfulfillment: A Product of Wharton and Tolstoy's High Societies
 
Evelyn L., Silence is Golden: The Impact of Silence on the Moral Growth of the Human in The Chosen and In This House of Brede
 
Claudia M., Fate, Free-will, and Fulfillment in House of Mirth and My Antonia
 
Ana M., Defiance, Denial, and Duels in The Iliad and Crime and Punishment
 
Myriam M., Essentials to a Thriving Life: Aspects of Community as portrayed in Hannah Coulter and Jayber Crow
 
Erin M., Beauty or The Beast: Youth and Beauty in The Picture of Dorian Gray and The House of Mirth
 
Neilly M., Raskolnikov and Frankenstein: Masters of Life or Slaves of Pride
 
Caroline M., The Heroic Journey as Transformative in The Hobbit and The Odyssey
 
Maddy M., Conversion as a Daily Encounter: On the Threefold Power of Humility, Freedom, and Judgement in Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina
 
Helen N., The Search for Redemption in The Scarlet Letter and The Great Gatsby 
 
Charlotte O., When the Truth In Not Beautiful: Grotesque Messengers of Grace in Conversion
 
Edith P., Friendship as the Cure to the Soul in House of Mirth and My Antonia 
 
Lucy R., Crime and Punishment and Fahrenheit 451: Montag's Guide From Hell to Redemption
 
Marina S., Meeting Motherhood: The Maternal Journey of Anna Karenina and Hester Prynne
 
Kathryn S., Pride and Prejudice and The House of Mirth: What Makes a Strong Romantic Relationship?
 
Lianor S., Happiness Hindered: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Portrayal of the Pitfalls of Prosperity  
 
Aria U., We Are Only Half Hnau: Sin's Impact on a Flourishing Life
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