I think I should start this article with an apology to any science majors, computer science minors, math nerds and the like. It is possible that some of your bretheren's theses were fascinating, but I'll never know because it was impossible for me to read them. Instead, this is a collection of liberal arts theses that I read mainly because I liked their titles. If they peak your interest, too, you can find them in Rauner. So here it is, the article submitted to the department of The Mirror in partial fulfillment of the requirements for my deadline.
"Incinerating a Dog and other stories of Protest at Dartmouth College, 1966-1971," by Cory Wishengard, History, 1996.You might think you already know about all the crazy things that happened at Dartmouth in the late '60s, but even so this thesis is still worth reading for the all quotes from then-contemporary students, excerpts from local papers and unbelievable photos. Read about the controversial visit of George Wallace and the "heckler's vote" that cut it short, the birth of Safety and Security at Dartmouth, the day students took over Parkhurst and the student strike in 1970 that was narrowly avoided. Writing in a clear and engaging tone, Wishengard dedicates his thesis simply "to those who dare." Dare to read it and then think about activism at our school now. This is the thesis I wish I wrote.
"Dartmouth Men and the Birth-Rate: a study to determine the number of children desired by the Dartmouth Student and to discover the factors that account for this aspiration," by Richard S. Reed and William G. Fraser, Sociology, 1951.Wish you knew how many children your significant other secretly wants to have? According to this thesis, the answer is a lot. In a yellowing type-written thesis, scattered with pencil corrections and hand-drawn graphs, Reed and Fraser examine the question of whether the slowing birthrate of their time (especially among educated people) applied to Dartmouth men. The pair conducted 25 intensive interviews with randomly chosen students and also distributed a shorter survey to almost 200 men. In the wider survey only one man said he didn't want children. At the opposite end of the spectrum, one said he wanted seven. Dartmouth men specifically wanted boys because "they could carry on the family name" and "they are easier to bring up," among other reasons. The survey may have occurred over 50 years ago, but it's still a good tool to fully freak out your commitment-phobic mate. "But baby, see everyone else at Dartmouth wants children too."
"Harry, England and St. George: An analysis of J.K. Rowling's use of Merrie England and New Britain in the Harry Potter Series," by Malini Mukhopadhyay, English, 2001.Thesis on Harry Potter: the perfect solution for anyone who wants their research to be about something they love and are familiar with. Mukhopadhyay herself writes, "I started thinking about these books because I enjoyed reading them and I wanted to pursue a project I could enjoy." Her thesis, however, is not child's play. At 104 pages, bound in an imposing black cover with gold type, this thesis is almost as heavy as the Harry Potter books themselves. Mukhopadhyay divides her paper into three parts: "A Magic Britishness," "A Capital Education" and "Playing Field of Power." Within each section she analyzes a wide variety of topics in the Harry Potter universe and relates them to the reality of our own world. Future thesis writers, keep in mind this thesis was written just after the release of The Goblet of Fire, so someone could conceivably write a second part covering the subsequent novels.
"Fashion: A Study in Social Conformity," by Jerome J. Hochberg, Sociology, 1938.As someone who really loves fashion, I was interested to read Hochberg's thesis on the inner motivations of fashionistas. He gets right to the point by writing "conformity has ever been a most powerful factor in social behavior" and "closely associated with conformity, is the fear of social disapproval the fear of being laughed at and the fear of being alone." I never realized how terrified my subconscious must be to get me to wear jeans and a wife-beater to the library today. On the other hand, Hochberg writes, "a person in high social regard may successfully defy Fashion with no resulting damage to his prestige, in fact the fashion itself may suffer." Okay, thanks Hochberg, my daring choice of a zip-up sweatshirt over my wife-beater today clearly places me in that category. Or maybe it was the forecast of rain. In any case, Hochberg writes that "fashion, today, presents a universal problem," a problem that he tries to explain and analyze by including topics such as the sources of fashion crazes and the history of knock-off styles. His reporting goes up to the 1930s, so no mention of Goach bags and fake Chanel glasses.
"Predictors of Homesickness in First-Year Dartmouth Students" by Nicole Danielle Scaramelli, Psychology, 1997.This is for all the freshmen that dread seeing their families this weekend. Or all the ones indifferent to seeing them at least. Scaramelli examines the causes of homesickness for freshmen and finds, "Students who reported strong feelings of homesickness were less satisfied with their pre-college environments, a result that ran counter to a grieving hypothesis which supposes that a happier home life creates a greater vulnerability to loss." So you can tell your parents that the reason you don't want to see them is because you love them too much. Scaramelli writes that homesick students are on the whole more introverted, dependent, distressed and neurotic than other students, which is like adding insult onto injury for the homesick students themselves, who are also found to experience high levels of loneliness, depression and increased physical problems. All I can say to these students is how sorry I am about your sucky situation, but enjoy your family's visit this weekend!
