Senior Thesis Guidelines
for Students in Religious Studies
at Skidmore College
A senior thesis is an ambitious, yearlong undertaking that can be an amazing and intellectually rewarding experience. The process of writing a thesis is an opportunity to take further control over your own learning and to work more independently while being closely mentored by a faculty member. During one鈥檚 senior year, the fall is occupied with reading and research, and then the spring is devoted to writing and rewriting. Students elect to produce a multi-chapter paper, with each chapter being approximately as long as regular research papers (i.e. 15-20 pages). Students who complete an honors thesis present their work at the end of their senior year.
Past Thesis Topics
Elizabeth Levy 鈥淲e Spend Our Years as a Tale That is Told鈥�: Antisemitism and the Construction of Jewish Identity in France from the 12th Century to the Present
Henry Brefka "Burning Gabriel's Wings"
Dylan Adelman "Charmed: A Study of Practical Benefits in Japanese Religion"
Zoe Katzen "Self on Skin: Spiritual Tattoos and Transformation in New Age Religion"
Monica Jabobs "Reaching the Core: Self-Identity Formations in New Age Sufism"
Victoria Strang "The Rise of New Atheism as a Response to 9/11"