The Senior Experience

Senior religious studies majors have the opportunity to synthesize their academic experience in the major by designing an independent study project under the mentorship of a Religious Studies faculty member.  This is a requirement for all senior majors. Depending upon student schedules, interests, and academic records, individuals can choose between three different project options. One option is for students to pursue research in Religious Studies within the Senior Scholars Program. A second choice is to enroll in the Religious Studies Honors Program (RE 483-84), which involves a two-semester project. Most majors pursue a third option: a one-semester independent study (RE 491 or 492). Regardless of the option they select, students must publicly present their work and final papers are included in Colby’s digital library collection. Students are encouraged to discuss these options with their departmental advisors no later than the first semester of junior year (especially if students plan to study abroad).

Religious studies majors who have a grade point average at or above 3.65 are eligible for the honors program; applications are completed during junior year (**note: this GPA is based on grades specifically from classes that apply to the religious studies major). Proposals and bibliographies must be submitted to the department chair, Carleen Mandolfo, by April 15. Students who successfully complete the honors program graduate “With Honors in Religious Studies.” If interested, here is the Honors Program Application.

2019-2020 Senior Projects

Holden Etcheberrigaray

“For my Honor Thesis, I combined my love for religious studies with my passion for psychiatry and creative writing to create a party-autobiographical text that examines the religious experiences of those with schizophrenia. Ultimately I proposed that “miracles & madness” can coexist. In other words, the presence of a mental illness does not negate the presence of the divine. To support my claim, I carefully explained and examined the topics of schizophrenia/psychosis, religion/spirituality, and multiplicity. I aimed, in doing so, to foster a more positive outlook on schizophrenia and other psychotic illness.
It was a complex project and I feel lucky that I had advisors who were willing to let me craft my paper how I wanted, no matter how unorthodox it felt, for example, putting my own poetry beside discussion of academic studies and analysis of Biblical passages. I was also lucky that the Professors I had were such excellent teachers! Every Professor I worked with was passionate about their subject and this ensured that I always felt engaged during class.”

2017-2018 Senior Projects

Brooke Gentry

“I am currently working on a year-long Religious Studies Honor’s Thesis Project with Professor Nikky Singh. My thesis looks at the portrayal of Muslims in Hollywood film, and how these predominantly negative portrayals impact public perceptions of Muslims and people from the generally defined “East.” By breaking down the types of misrepresentations of Islam and Muslims in film, we can trace the generationally changing and historically and politically informed systemic racism and Islamophobia in the United States. I am using primary and secondary sources for the project, reading and researching similar scholarly work on the subject, as well as watching and analyzing films myself. With this thesis, I hope to shed light on the experiences of Muslim-Americans and how these inaccurate film representations impact those experiences – especially in light of our current political atmosphere.”

Lucy Soucek

“For my thesis, I’m exploring how art can be a medium for interfaith communication, and in fact allows for more open, vulnerable, less top-down, and more community-oriented interfaith dialogue and understanding. I’m especially focusing on South-Asian visual artists Siona Benjamin, Arpana Kaur, and The Singh Twins, who come from several different religious backgrounds and uses those to influence their artwork. ”

2017-2018 Academic Year 

Brooke Gentry (Honors Project with Professor Nikky Singh)
From Protagonists to Antagonists: Muslims on the Hollywood Screen

Lucy Soucek (Honors Project with Professor Nikky Singh)
Forging Religious Bonds through the language of Colors

Elizabeth Oakley
The Red Tent: Biblical Women in Contemporary Fiction

Ellie Geo Ellie Geoghegan
Reimagining Sita through a Feminist Lens

Skylar Labbe
How MLK Jr. Worked to Reach White Christians

Mark Snyder
Respect or Resist? Contextualizing Evangelical Identity in the Trump Era

2016-2017 Academic Year

Kelsey Poole
Sexual Norms for Women in the Bible and Today:  Unfair Expectations?

2015-2016 Academic Year

Anna Spencer
Mishpucha: The familial nature of Jewish pastoral care in Waterville, Maine

Sarah Jean Shimer
Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home:  A New Environmental Ethic

2014-2015 Academic Year 

Annie Friedrich (RE 491, Senior Independent Project)
An Incomplete Completeness: Forming Integrity of Faith Through Youth Involvement in Short-Term Missions

Sonja Hagemeier (RE 492, Senior Independent Project)
The Tractor As Pulpit: Green Nuns and Catholic-Based Agriculture

Jimmy O’Leary (Honors Project with Professor Nikky Singh)
Bridging the Divide: The Religious and the Secular at Colby College

2013-2014 Academic Year

Nora Barnard
The Literature of Near-Death Experiences

Maddie Kurtz
Judaism in Modern and Postmodern Dance

Kristen Robinson
Dante’s Inferno Today