Eylie Sasajima '23 discusses SCE research on Dune.

Emma Campbell '22 discusses SCE research on Anne of Green Gables.

The Senior Capstone Experience (SCE) in English is an opportunity for English majors to bring their research and interpretive abilities, their writing skills, and their understanding of the literary tradition to bear on a long-term, independent project in the form of an essay and annotated bibliography that will serve as the culmination of their literary studies at Washington College. The SCE for English majors exemplifies each student’s accumulated knowledge and mastery of literary analysis. We challenge and guide you in doing work that is publishable quality. It may even get you published.

Published SCEs in English

Some Recent SCE projects published in the Washington College Review

"Unsex me here": The Inordinate Criminalization of Female Violent Offenders in Shakespeare's Macbeth, King Lear, and Titus Andronicus, Annalie Buscarino '21 [joint thesis with Sociology]

Hope is the Thing with Feathers: The Potential Impacts of the Political Implications of Popular Young Adult Literature--a Close Reading of The Hunger Games, Julia E. Clifton '22

The Politics of Rhetoric: Reagan's Rhetorical War on Nicaragua, Victoria Cline '19 [joint thesis with Political Science]

Moonlight and Dust: The Ethereal Sister-Brides of Dracula, Leah Duff '21

Breaking the Cage of Structural Codes in Anne Carson's 'Autobiography of Red', Laiken Harrison '19

The Body as an Abode of Freedom: Redefining the Female Self through Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus, Nicole Hatfield '21 

"True solace is finding none": Grief Through the Seasons of Gretel Ehrlich's The Solace of Open Spaces, Rebecca Kanaskie '21

The Author is Dead, Long Live the Author: Alt Lit, Authorship, and the Objectification of the Self Through Art, Charlotte Lindsay '19

Real-World Economic Theory and Fictional Dystopia in Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games Series, Maggie Moore '22 [joint thesis with Economics]

Revelation to Revolution, in Search of Queer Liberation through Self-Actualization, Self-Definition, and Group Mobilization in Science Fiction Narratives, Erica Quinones '22

Investigating the Limits of Consent and Authority in Charlotte Temple, Emma Reilly '23

Pride and Prejudice and Porn: Examining the Effects of Femaile Desire in Romance, Emma Russell '23

'He for God only, shee for God in him': The Sexual Contract of Milton's Paradise Lost, Rebecca Sachs '17 [joint thesis with Political Science]

The “Ungeziefer” and the Insect: The Social Connotations in the English Translation of “The Metamorphosis," Eman Simms '19

The 'Dreamlike Downward Career of a Girl: Compounding Trauma in Jean Rhys's Voyage in the Dark, Abby Wargo '20

Prize-Winning SCEs in English

The Lamond Senior Capstone Award provides a $500 award for the SCE judged by faculty to be superior, given in memory of beloved Washington College English professor Bennett Lamond

• 2023: Emma Reilly, Investigating the Limits of Consent and Authority in Charlotte Temple. Advisor: Professor Katie Charles
• 2022: Erica Quinones, Revelation to Revolution: In Search of Queer Liberation through Self-Actualization, Self-Definition, and Group Mobilization in Science Fiction Narratives. Advisor: Professor James Hall 
• 2021: Jacquelyn Smith, “’Unhappy Beauty’: Evaluating the Transition of Chaucer’s Emelye in The Knight’s Tale to Shakespeare’s Emilia in The Two Noble Kinsman and the Impact of Her Increased Voice.” Advisor: Professor Courtney Rydel
• 2020: Sophia Grabiec, 'Viney' Intricacies: Medusa and Eve's 'Wanton' Gardens in Paradise Lost. Advisor: Professor Katie Charles
• 2019: Erin Caine, "'Each Comes to Daylight': Lost Generations of Queer Continuity in Woolf and Cunningham." Advisor: Professor Kim Andrews
• 2018: Brooke Schultz, "The 'Propaganda Spirit': Sophie Kerr, Middlebrow Modernism, and the Emergence of a Feminist Voice." Advisor: Professor Elizabeth O'Connor

Thesis Deadlines

For students graduating May 2024

February 10, 2023	Identify SCE topic and advisor.  With SCE advisor's agreement, submit an abstract identifying a potential argument and line of inquiry to the link on Canvas.
April 28, 2023	Proposal due.
November 24, 2023	Annotated bibliography due.
April 5, 2024	Completed theses due.

For students graduating December 2024

November 24, 2023	Identify SCE topic and advisor.  With SCE advisor's agreement, submit an abstract identifying a potential argument and line of inquiry to the link on Canvas.
February 9, 2024	Proposal due.
April 26, 2024	Annotated bibliography due.
November 29, 2024	Completed theses due.

For students graduating May 2025

February 9, 2024	Identify SCE topic and advisor.  With SCE advisor's agreement, submit an abstract identifying a potential argument and line of inquiry to the link on Canvas.
April 26, 2024	Proposal due.
November 29, 2024	Annotated bibliography due.
April 4, 2025	Completed theses due.

For students graduating December 2025

November 26, 2024	Select area of interest and SCE advisor. With advisor's agreement, notify associate chair.
February 17, 2025	Thesis proposal due.
April 25, 2025	Annotated bibliography due.
November 28, 2025	Completed theses due

 

Need help?

Refer to the SCE Guidelines for detailed instructions including how to prepare a proposal and how to submit the completed SCE.

SCE Guidelines