Major | Minor | Honors Program | Senior Project | FAQs
In 2007 the Senior Project examined the controversy
over the renaming
of (Confederate) Memorial Hall.
Every year, American Studies seniors do a collaborative capstone project
for the major. This project is not simply a senior thesis. The
final product may take the form of a written document but it also may be
a website, an on-line museum exhibit, a grant proposal, a documentary film
etc. Students are required to go public with their research by presenting
it to other students and faculty and the wider community.
Recent Projects:
2009 Down But Not Out . . . Stories of the Economic Crisis
Students (in groups) created digital stories that were combined to form this video project.
2007 What’s
in a Name? The Controversy over (Confederate) Memorial Hall
A short
documentary film detailing the history and issues concerning the University’s
decision to remove
“Confederate”
from the name of Confederate Memorial Hall.
2006 Hurricane Katrina: Before
and After, Inside and Out
A collaborative
thesis that examines the racialization of the disaster, the rhetoric of religion
and social change after
Katrina, post-Katrina tourism, urban renewal, and
educational issues in a post-Katrina New Orleans.