MENU
student holding thought bubbles
Capstone in Humanities

During their final year at the university, Humanities and Humanities-Prelaw majors are required to develop and execute a plan of scholarly inquiry in the humanities while working closely with their Capstone advisors and the Capstone Committee. The Capstone Project is a serious piece of work representing the culmination of the student’s undergraduate work in the humanities and preparing the student for the type of research undertaken at the graduate level. Students are required to complete two courses for their Capstone Project, HUM 3999: Capstone Research Methods and HUM 4100: Senior Capstone Project. The Capstone projects are presented to the Capstone Committee and invited guests of the School of Arts and Communication as part of their final Capstone presentation.

The Capstone Advisors and Topic Selection

The Capstone Project begins during the student’s final year at the university, when the student identifies one or two professors who will serve as the students' Capstone Advisors. Students will also require a secondary reader, who may come from outside the Humanities Program. Students consult with their professors about suitable topics for their projects, which are typically drawn from a previous project completed during their coursework. Topics should be discussed with potential advisors before the student’s final year and will require final approval during the first weeks of the Capstone process.

The Capstone Committee

Students will meet on a weekly basis during their final year at the university with the Capstone Committee, a group of Humanities faculty members who will advise and monitor student’s progress on their Capstone Project. These meetings will help students improve their research methods, writing and argument, as well as provide an opportunity for feedback from the committee members. The purpose of these meetings is to prepare students to work in an environment more conducive to graduate school, encouraging independent study and time management skills. 

Capstone Project Requirements

Goal: The completion of a project consisting of original research that will result in a substantial written work about a significant issue in the humanities.

Format: Approx. 10,000 words, typed and double-spaced. Documentation consistent with MLA format.

Due Date:  Finals week of graduating semester

Previous Capstone Projects

Brooke Fisher: The FBI and the Barker-Karpis Gang: A case study into the struggle against America’s “Public Enemies” during the 1930s

  • Advisor: Dr. Matthew Ruane

Adam Paulauskas: A History of Florida Tech’s Army ROTC

  • Advisor: Dr. Gordon Patterson

Jullian Lane-Maire Knight: The Literary Lenin: What Is to Be Done with Lenin Studies?

  • Advisor: Dr. Lisa K. Perdigao

Kathryn A. Broderick: Sarte and Siddhartha: A Comparative Examination of the Philosophy of Jean-Paul Satre and Theravada Buddhism

  • Advisor: Dr. Robert Shearer

Sara Torabi: Women's Voices: From Montesquieu's 'Persian Letters' to Present-day Iran

  • Advisor: Dr. Gabriella Baika

Marie Kesten: Is The Truth Out There? An Analysis of Pre-Columbian Pyramids and Mounds in the Americas and the Literature that Defines Archaeological Studies

  • Advisor: Dr. Lars Jones

Lindsay Drown: The Last Pages are for You”: Placing the Fantasy Hero in a Literary Tradition

  • Advisor: Dr. Lisa Perdigao

Nicole Stone: Perceptions of US- Mexican Relations from 1823 to the Present

  • Advisor: Dr. Robert Taylor

Kelly L. Deaton: The Changing Culture of International Responsibility: A Case Study of the Haitain Military Coup 1991-1994

  • Advisor: Dr. Matthew Ruane

Paul Hosburgh: Messaging and Framing: Related Sea Level Rise

  • Advisor: Dr. Alan Rosiene

James R. Almasi: West Nile Virus in Florida: A History

  • Advisor: Dr. Gordon Patterson

Jennifer J. Triolo: The Bataan Death March: In History and Memory

  • Advisor: Dr. Robert Taylor 

Tim Gonyer: Nisikana

  • Advisor: Dr. Robert Taylor

Rebecca Werner: Society and the Tudor Kitchen: A microcosm of transformative social pressures in 16th Century Britian

  • Advisor: Dr. Matthew Ruane

Bayly White: “Happy Fatalism”: John Irving’s Mark on Poststructuralist Theory

  • Advisor: Dr. Lisa K. Perdigao

Darcy L. Webber: The 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron in the Korean War

  • Advisor: Dr. Robert Taylor

Emily M. Main: The History of Women in Florida’s Legal System

  • Advisor: Dr. Robert Taylor

Allison M Madara: The Women’s Army Corps

  • Advisor: Dr. Robert Taylor

Vincent Bisson: History through the Camera’s Lense: Using Oliver Stone’s Alexander to Define and Defend the Genre of Historical Film

  • Advisor: Dr. Matthew Ruane

Stephanie Terry Joy: Angels in Khaki: The Evolutionary Depiction of War-time Nursing in Film: 1930-1945

  • Advisor: Dr. Matthew Ruane

Patrick J. Harrigan: On Patton: Film Into History

  • Advisor: Dr. Robert Taylor

Shatondra Cobbs: Ink and Thunder: Transforming Thor through Comic Format

  • Advisor: Dr. Matthew Ruane

Creating Joan of Arc: Maid in the USA: Joan of Arc in American Popular Culture

  • Advisor: Matthew Ruane

 

Edit Page