Writing at Washington College
One of the most valuable skills you can learn is how to clearly and effectively write and communicate. From literature to business, biology to computer science, our courses teach you how to write and communicate in all fields of study and for a variety of audiences and purposes. While some schools may limit writing to a standard composition course in one department, at Washington College our writing program is embedded throughout the undergraduate coursework. Students are continually building on their foundational writing and inquiry skills from their First Year Seminar (FYS) through their Senior Capstone Experience (SCE), the largest independent research project our students complete. The program is based on the belief that all students can become effective communicators with guided and ongoing practice in the craft of writing and critical thinking.
Capstones in the Washington College Review
The Parallel Nature of Jane and Antoinette: Othering in Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea
By Delaney Runge ’24This thesis argues how Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea are connected and by reading them in tandem, they shed light on the realities of class, race, and place for Jane and Antoinette/Bertha and how these concepts function. It explores how these novels show the vastly different outcomes of these two women of the literary canon due to their portrayed identities.
Competitive Victimhood in Northern Ireland: The Role of Political Rhetoric in the Wake of the Troubles
by Mackenzie Boughey ’24Despite the Troubles’ official ending in 1998, there has been no substantive post-conflict reconciliation in Northern Ireland. Increasing studies have attributed this to competitive victimhood, which is the tendency to perceive one’s own suffering as more legitimate than the suffering of another.
(Un)Strange Fruit: Aiming to Understand Zoe Leonard’s Unconventional Memorial
by Sophia Lennox ’24Strange Fruit by Zoe Leonard is a collection of over 300 fruit skins, repaired at the torn edges with string, twine, zippers, buttons, and other materials. The creation of Strange Fruit was an extensive and powerful act of mourning, and the piece is a symbol of the failures of the AIDS epidemic, as well as an example of the detrimental conflict between art institutions and ephemeral art.