The Honor Scholar Program is open to DePauw students of any major who show unusual promise and commitment to the development of the life of the mind. Each year a small number of carefully selected first-year students are invited to participate in the program and the special opportunities it presents. During their final year at DePauw, Honor Scholars pursue independent work under the direction of a faculty thesis advisor and a committee of two or more additional faculty members, culminating in an Honors thesis.
Theses/Dissertations from 2021
The Lingering Shadows: An Examination of Collective Memory from Vietnam to the War on Terrorism, Kenneth Henry Decker
Exposing Racism in Fashion: How Black Women Navigate Societal Beauty Standards, Re'Nae Dillard
COVID-19 Connections: An Existential View of a Pandemic, Jacqueline Ebel
Custody Battles: Reimagining Persephone's Plight, Maggie Ephraim
Picking the Brain: Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease, Hannah Hutchison
Medical Veracity and the Erosion of the American Physician-Patient Trust Relationship, Jonah Jerabek
USWNT and Twitter: Resistance and Activism in the Equal Pay Campaign, Mia Manney
A Closer Look into American Humanitarian Intervention: How Understanding Humanity Tells Who and When We Help, Katie Noble
dilemma: A Magazine About Sexual Assault ft. Me, Emma Rees
The Power of Inclusion: Deconstructing “Normality” in Primary Education, Madison Smith
Theses/Dissertations from 2020
Contemporary Challenges Facing Small, Family Farms in America: The Grant Family and Their Maraschino Cherry Farm, Haley Allaben
Friend or Foe: Chaucer’s Depiction of Women in Troilus and Criseyde, Vanessa Balis
The Second Wave in Secondary Schools: Textbooks and Standards on the Feminist Movement, Melissa Browning
Caught in the Middle: Existentialism in a Contemporary Fantasy, Hannah DePauw
Multi-Ethnic Chronicles: Interrogating My Imposter Syndrome, Maria Flores
The Narrative of Courtship: Literary and Biological Constructions and their Impact on Women, Drew Harris
Reflections from a Pre-Service Teacher: Finding Equity, Accessibility, and Compassion in Our Schools, Emma Houston
The Era of Commercialized Genetics: Examining the Intersection of DNA, Identity, and Personal Origin, Joanna Hutchins
A Revisionist History of Disagreeableness, Jasmeet Kaur
An Evaluation of Family Planning Initiatives in Developing Nations, Lauren Kaylor
Project-Based Learning in an Ever-Changing World: Experiential Revelations from the Field, Sarah Kelly
The Politics of Sports, Sydney Kopp
From Michigan With Love, Emma Krug
Spiritual Reclamation: Learning From Frida Kahlo and Entering My Personal Healing Journey, Sandra Laserna Cowal
Religious Identity and Religious Belief: The Subconscious Religiosity of Chinese University Students, Margot Leiner
The One Child Policy: A Moral Analysis of China’s Most Extreme Population Policy, Allison C. Lund
Fort Ancient and Woodland Pottery from the Hahn Site, Hamilton County, Ohio: A Petrographic Analysis of Chronological Changes in Ceramic Temper, Shelby C. Lutz
Understanding Abu Ghraib: Accountability, the United States, and the Continuation of Torture, Julia Michaels
Virtual Reality of Underwater Nessebar, Caleb O'Brien
Cyber Security in the Healthcare Industry, Giovanni Ordonez
Housework for Revolutionaries: Between Theory and Experience, Megha Summer Pappachen
It’s Not Cuul to JUUL: Nicotine Addiction, the Rise of e-Cigarette Usage, and How Zebrafish Can Help, Anna Pearson
Experimental Archaeology and Brewing Beer: a Modern Reproduction of the "Hymn to Ninkasi", Mahayla Roscoe
Birtherism, Benghazi and QAnon: Why Conspiracy Theories Pose a Threat to American Democracy, Emily Schabes
Murder Upon Murder, Patricia Rose McKown Schuelke
Become What You Are: The Student Handbook to Fighting Nihilism, Jules Shinkle
Legitimizing the Laboratory: How Science Has Depended on Policing in Glacier Bay National Park, Cecilia R. Slane
White, Female Cellist: One (Very Average) Musician’s Exploration of Identity Through Jazz Pedagogy, Amelia Smerz
Holy Ground: A Website Project on the History of Indiana’s United Methodist Camps, Sheraya Smith
Children’s Autonomy and Medical Decision Making, Haley Thompson
Over-Medicalization and Criminalization of Birth In the United States: Exploring the Outcomes, Meg Wallace
Theses/Dissertations from 2019
The Progression of the LGBTQ+ Rights Movement in the United States: The Human Rights Campaign, Tabitha Adams
The Ethics of Cookies: Exploring the Collection of Big Data and Its Ramifications, Sarah Biely
What to Expect When You are Not Expecting: the Biological, Psychological, and Cultural Setbacks Following Infertility, Lauren Butler
Goals, Outcomes, and Efficacy of Music Programming in Prisons, Liam Byrnes
The Ethics of Single-Use Plastics, Kiara Goodwine
Is Breastfeeding Truly Best? Evolutionary, Physiological, & Cultural Factors That Shape Breastfeeding Practices, Emily J. Green
