Hutton Honors College

Thesis Awardees Come from Many Disciplines

Classics (and anthropology and French & Italian) major Natalie Abell would like to know how "archaeologists project religiosity onto an area" and "what aspects of cult and society can then be inferred from different types of religious spaces?" Her thesis investigates the definition of religious space in Postpalatial Crete with particular attention to Kommos, Kavousi, Vronda, and Knossos.
Nancy Klein, a visiting assistant professor of classical studies, and Abell's faculty sponsor, says that Abell's work "will be a timely contribution to the subject of Minoan archeology and religion."

Cognitive science (and computer science and mathematics) major Benjamin Ashpole is exploring "the effect of social networks on cooperation between individuals." Ashpole's faculty mentor, Robert Goldstone, says Ashpole "has single-handedly developed a Java platform for running experiments with multiple participants interacting simultaneously. The participants navigate in a common virtual world in real-time." Goldstone considers Ashpole's work "a major development in experimental psychology, sociology, and economics."

Comparative literature major Kimberly Lux studies the themes of "place, perceptions of the self, problems of cultural intersection, notions of distinction, opposition, and universality" in Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities and works by Aimé Césaire, Wole Soyinka, and Assia Djebar. "The works of these writers have overt political and social relevance to the postcolonial context," she says. Her thesis studies "the intersections between place, self, and the other" and discusses how "the perception of one colors the perception of each of the others."
Lux's faculty advisor for her project is Professor Michael Berkvam of the department of French & Italian.

Music major (and pianist) Drew Massey wants to "trace the role of the piano in the American experimental tradition from Charles Ives to George Crumb, and to suggest possible aesthetic and practical motivations for its use in the avant-garde." He's also particularly interested in the works of John Cage, Steve Reich, and Henry Cowell.
Massey's faculty advisor is Assistant Professor of Music Jeffrey Magee who says that "Drew is on track to write an exemplary thesis."

Despite the difference in their interests, Abell, Ashpole, Lux, and Massey, in addition to being IU seniors pursuing honors degrees, have one other major fact in common. They, along with 27 other students have just received Honors College Thesis Awards.

Since Spring Semester 2000, the Honors College has sponsored a competition for awards to support students in the senior year, who are engaged in the writing of an Honors Thesis. Through this initiative, the Honors College hopes to encourage students to complete their honors degrees. This spring the 31 students who received awards represent twenty-one different disciplines. Many have multiple majors. Psychology (5), political science (4), comparative literature (3), philosophy (3), business (3), religious studies (3), and cognitive science (3) lead the discipline array. Other students come from anthropology, Germanic studies, biology, biochemistry, music, telecommunications, English, economics, history, French & Italian, computer science, and the Individualized Major Program.

"The range of academic work represented by these award winners is remarkable, and the depth of their research is enormously impressive," says Dean of the Honors College Karen Hanson. "These students are an inspiration--intellectually ambitious and wonderfully accomplished. Their faculty mentors are justifiably proud of them, and so are we. The Honors College salutes these students, and we wish them well as they complete their senior projects."

(See complete List of Awardees.)