Senior Capstone Projects in Africana Studies

Each student completing the minor in Africana Studies produces a senior capstone project. In this capstone, students pursue in depth and detail a subject that particularly captivates them, usually something they have studied in one of their courses in the program.

Capstone Procedures

Each senior in the program must do a Capstone Project in the senior year. The proposal for the project, including title, a 1-paragraph description, and, if possible, the faculty with whom the student will be working must be submitted to the Director prior to registration for the semester during which the Capstone will be undertaken. Each capstone project must be read by two faculty, and the principal advisor must be a core faculty member within the Program. The grade will be assigned by the principal faculty advisor, in consultation with the second reader. The second reader need not provide comments, but both readers must fill in the "assessment form." An electronic copy of the final project, along with the two assessment forms, will be stored electronically for assessment purposes. Students are expected to meet regularly with their capstone director. It is recommended that a draft of the final project be submitted 3 weeks before the final due date, so that the final version will be a revised and polished piece of scholarly work.

Capstone Projects

2018-2019

  • George Frank,"William McCutchan Morrison and the Fall of the Congo Free State"; advisors: Kamara and Gildner

2017-2018

  • Arlette Hernandez, "Trapped in a Glass Prison: Photography's Rhetoric of (De)colonization"; advisors: Tallie and Kamara
  • Trichia Bravi, “The Changing Roles and Status of Women in Rwanda Since Colonization”; advisors: Kamara and Tallie
  • Cole Peck, “Knots and Needles: Lynching and the Death Penalty”; advisors: Tallie and Kamara

2015-2016

  • Edward "Teddy" Corcoran, "The Tragicomic Response:  Ellison, Invisible Man, and the Clarifying Laugh"; advisors: Conner and Morel

2014-2015

  • Cory Church, "'Out of the Fire of Human Cruelty':The Struggle for Masculine Identity in Four American Slave Narratives";advisors: DeLaney and Conner
  • Waringa Kamau, "Nappy Messages: Natural Black Hair as a Form of Expression," directed by DeLaney and Tallie.

2012-2013

  • Amber Cooper, "African-American Tattoo Industry"; advisors: Conner and Lepage

2011-2012

  • David Doobin, "Black Patient Vulnerability to Injustice in Medical Ethics: Examining the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and the case of Henrietta Lacks to investigate how black patients in the mid-twentieth century were less able to protect themselves"; advisors: DeLaney and Conner

2010-2011

  • Summer Lollie, "Unreconciled Strivings of the 21st Century: Double Consciousness in Shelby Steele, Clarence Thomas, and Barack Obama"; advisors: Morel and DeLaney

2009-2010

  • Alecia Flynn, "Contemporary Black Women Novelists: Putting Pen to Paper to Empower Marginalized Voices"; advisors: Profs. Conner and Melina Bell, Philosophy
  • Katie Sinks, "Black Political Activism in the United States: A Historical Examination of Black Liberation Theology, the Nation of Islam, and the Black Power Movement"; advisors: Profs. DeLaney and Diette
  • Kevin Corn, "Blurring the Color-Line: The Effects of the Clinton and Obama Presidencies"; advisors: Profs. Morel and Conner
  • Sam Craparo, "NCAA Freshman Eligibility Requirements"; advisor: Professor Novack

2008-2009

  • Chris Rucker, "Integration and African Americans at Washington and Lee"; advisors: Profs. DeLaney and Conner
  • Aisha Davis, "20th-century Black American Protest Music"; advisors: Profs. Conner and DeLaney

2007-08

  • Quiana McKenzie, "Reclaiming Uncle Tom: A Call for Black Moral Leadership"; advisors: Profs. Conner and Morel
  • Dominique Lamb, "The Prison Industrial Complex and the Black Moral Community"; advisors: Profs. Conner and Morel
  • Kristi Williams, "Justice in Black and White: The Impact of Civil Rights Coverage in the Media"; Profs. DeLaney and Conner
  • Melissa Poorman, "Black Educators in the South from the Post-Reconstruction Era until Today"; advisors: Profs. DeLaney and Novack