An Intellectual Journey: Undergraduates explore a variety of subjects to complete theses

Transporting minds

Stephanie Dooper biked as much as a mode of transportation as for fun growing up in Owensboro. With a father from the Netherlands, the car dependency she observed was distinctly American. So when the opportunity to research and write an undergraduate honors thesis came up, she drew on her 2015 research as an Etscorn scholar in the Netherlands to complete the project, “Cycling Around the Car: An Analysis of America’s Car Culture, Cycling for Transportation in the Netherlands, and an Exploration of Policy Solutions.”

“The priority for people is convenience – that’s why people use cars. But that convenience is creating isolation,” Dooper said. “America’s car culture gives the myth of freedom and individuality, but it stymies communication and community.”

Graduating in May with degrees in political science and liberal studies, a Spanish minor, and a peace and justice conflict transformation certificate, Dooper, like many A&S students, chose to obtain a broad-based education that provides her with a background in a variety of subjects and the ability to engage and excel across disciplines and with people from a variety of backgrounds.

Education without borders

Kevin Grout combined his education and interest in political science and history, subjects he double majored in at UofL, to produce a thesis that looked at historical judicial interpretations of the constitution in two major cases. His thesis, “Habeas Corpus and the Exceptions Clause: Exploring Intergenerational Institutional Struggle,” studied two inter-generational, inter-branch conflicts about one specific clause of the Constitution. Grout found that in each instance, Congress passed a law to respond to internal security threats, and though more than a century separated the two decisions, “they demonstrated a continuation of a single struggle over institutional power and appropriate distribution of power between branches of the federal government,” he wrote.

Grout’s faculty mentor for the project, Prof. Thomas Mackey (History), helped Grout refine his thinking on the topic and oversaw the development of the project, read and edited each section as Grout produced it, and decided when he believed Grout had produced a defensible thesis.

“Because Grout is such a high-achieving student with outstanding academic skills, I ended up doing a lot of cheerleading and encouraging him to keep at the work,” Prof. Mackey said.

The interdisciplinary approach employed by Grout and others in the College of Arts & Sciences is often facilitated by faculty, who encourage students to broadly investigate their academic interests and to develop a collaborative approach to research.

“A good faculty mentor really comes into play with students who are starting fresh in research,” said Sarah Springer, an academic counselor in the Honors program who coordinates the undergraduate theses.

An intellectual journey

Amanda Allen, a political science major and Kentucky’s only 2015 Truman Scholar, worked with Prof. Jasmine Farrier (Political Science) to complete her undergraduate honors thesis, “The Priorities and Accomplishments of Kentucky Legislators: Is There a Gender Difference?,” which uses Kentucky as a case study of gender differences in the policy priorities and perceptions of accomplishments of state legislators.

Prof. Farrier served on the Senior Honors Thesis Committee for three years and led the committee in the 2015-2016 academic year.

“The undergraduate thesis is an intellectual journey for students,” Prof. Farrier said. “It refines the mind and develops critical thinking skills. It takes luck, persistence, and ingenuity in addition to research skills.

“Amanda was the most intelligent person in a room of three professors during her thesis defense, and that is the magic of performing individual research.”

Learning for the future

Steve Tran, a biology major, was the first to admit that writing an undergraduate thesis was “no walk in the park.” Tran’s thesis, “Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in Natural Environments within Kentucky,” involved extensive laboratory research and an expansive overview of scientific literature on the subject, in addition to a considerable amount of review and editing with his faculty mentor, Prof. Debbie Yoder-Himes (Biology).

As a freshman, Tran had no desire to spend his time in a lab and he had no lab experience. But as his undergraduate education progressed he realized hands-on work was exactly what he most enjoyed. His desire to go to medical school cemented that interest, and completing an undergraduate thesis gave him a leg up in the application process.

“Completing an undergraduate thesis gives students a degree of autonomy that can act as a bridge to professional environments or academia,” Dr. Yoder-Himes said. “Our graduates need not only research and writing expertise, but the critical thinking skills and confidence to work on a difficult project from start to finish, and to use their liberal arts education to excel beyond their undergraduate experience.”