Student Research

Senior Capstones

What are Rhetoric & Media Studies Senior Capstones?

All Rhetoric & Media Studies seniors are required to do a senior capstone (project). This project can be a thesis, CD rom, web site, radio or video documentary, or other appropriate project with an accompanying explanatory and evaluative paper.

Seniors sign up for senior seminar for two or four hours credit. If you sign up for two hours, you will complete your project over the last two semesters of your senior year. If you sign up for four hours, you will be working intensively to finish your senior project in one of your two final semesters at Lewis & Clark.

The senior project should be in a Rhetoric & Media Studies arena which you are intensely interested in. You should already have the quantitative or qualitative methodology for your project under your belt . The senior project can be an considerable expansion of a previous project you have done. 

It is a very good idea to narrow and focus your project before you start the senior year. Talk to potential advisers and get some ideas. It is also a good idea to start gathering both substantive and methodological materials for your project into a preliminary biography: books, articles, and web information.  
 

Guidelines for Completing the Senior Capstone 
 
These are some questions you will be asked early on:

1. What are you doing and why is it worthwhile doing?
2. How is this a Rhetoric & Media Studies project?
3. What methodology or methodologies are you employing and why are they best/ most appropriate for your project?
4. What sources do you have on your project? What books, articles, web information do you have on the substance of your project and what information do you have on the context, history, and methodologies or previous studies like yours?

When you are finished, you will be asked to present your capstone to other seniors, the Rhetoric & Media Studies faculty and majors, other faculty, parents, and friends.

Examples of recent capstone projects: 

Lilly Chamberlain

“From Turkey Trot to Tango: Dance, Women, and Social Identity in the Early Twentieth Century”

This paper examined the role of popular dance forms as a communication medium that both reflected social values and served as a stimulus for changes in attitudes about gender relations during the early 1900’s in America. Information for the study was obtained from a variety of historical documents, including sheet music covers from the years 1910-1914.

Mukund Devan

“Tibet: A Pictorial Account”

This is a documentary about Tibet that is in the form of an interactive CD. The images were obtained during Mukund’s travels in Tibet and the CD includes an illustrated diary of his travels. The major sections of the CD focus on Tibetan landscape, the capital city of Lhasa, and several important sacred sites.

Michelle Muang Saeturn

“Getting to Know Your Mien Neighbors”

This is an interactive CD-Rom that presents an overview of Mien culture among Mien people who immigrated to the Portland area. The CD has text, images, and sounds related to Mien culture that are organized into six categories: history, food, language, apparel, traditions, and the acculturation process. Among the interactive features is a language lesson that enables the user to hear and learn the pronunciation of some Mien words.

Sadna Smaranayake

“Sri Lanka: The Serendib Island”

A documentary video that examines the rhythms and lifestyle of her home country. The central focus is on religious tradition, the relationship of the people to nature, and the effects of poverty. These social and natural forces are in tension with the forces of globalization to create a unique culture.

Christopher Eckerdt

“Edgar Allen Poe’s Ligia: A Visual Interpretation of a Classic Story”

This is an adaption of Poe’s short story to the video medium. A variety of special effects, which are only possible through digital processing and editing (see technology resources), were used to interpret and heighten the symbolism in Poe’s text.