Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Conflicts in multi-ethnic states can vary in their degrees of severity from protest to civil war or state dissolution. Though it can be attested that ethnic and religious differences fuel conflict, there are a multitude of variables that contribute to social unrest. In this paper, three case studies of Yugoslavia, Lebanon, and Switzerland are examined using the comparative historical method in order to determine what drives social unrest in multi-ethnic states in some cases rather than others.

This paper examines how ESPN’s business model is not conducive to success in the age of cord-cutting and digital media. The recent trend of cord-cutting, or television viewers moving from cable subscriptions to streaming, is having drastic effects on ESPN, one of cable’s biggest networks that commands one of the highest affiliate fees. Live sports, once an anchor of cable TV, is now readily available on streaming networks, and professional leagues are now agreeing on media rights deals with sites that will produce and package games in a similar manner to ESPN.

This paper traces the history of eugenics at Lehigh University, a practice aiming to "improve the genetic quality of the gene pool in a human population through selective breeding". Introduced in Lehigh's curriculum between the 1920s and 1950s, eugenics initially appeared in biology courses like BIOL 9 "Genetics" in 1927, leading to a dedicated course, BIOL 14 "Genetics and Eugenics," by 1938-1939. Prominent faculty like Dr. R. W. Hall and Dr. Neil Carothers advocated these ideas, influencing students who wrote on "Heredity and Eugenics".

Climate change impacts are displacing communities by undermining livelihoods, homes, and health. This study seeks to understand why some countries have better responses to people displaced by climate change by analyzing Bangladesh, Nigeria, Indonesia, Peru, and Vietnam through comparative historical analysis. A country’s response to climate change-induced displacement was measured through disaster protocol, temporary relocation, permanent relocation, and long-term livelihoods after permanent relocation.

Reproductive labor, the work that people put into raising children and keeping households, is one of the most under-appreciated forms of labor. Monster stories, specifically Frankenstein and Dracula, provide a clear representation of the danger of life without reproductive labor and reveal how incredibly important this work really is. By engaging with other scholars who have examined the text in similar ways and using evidence from the novel, I will set up Frankenstein as the framework for how a gothic novel understands reproductive labor.

Comparative study on youth unemployment in Bududa, Uganda and Petra, Jordan. Analyzing youth unemployment and neoliberalism's effects through a World Systems Theory approach. Bordieau's concept of agency and structure are employed to further assess the youth experience. Topic covered include youth empowerment strategies, the role of government, movement and migration, social and familial networks, guidance and mentorship, tertiary schools and skill building, higher education, sexual transactional economy, and hustle culture.

The word "Mê" in Vietnamese is attributed to those being enchanted or fixated by specific interests or passions; and often, these interests are rooted in childhood experiences. The concept of my project will revisit my childhood fixations which are clay and sewing crafts, particularly those related to food and toys. The project will also pay homage to how I entered my artistic journey by recreating an installation of a children's play room through a contemporary and psychologically responsive lens.

Joint attention, also known as joint engagement, is defined as the ability to coordinate attention between a social partner and an object or event of shared interest. Joint attention occupies a central position in children's developmental research and has been shown to be crucial for language development, communication, and other advanced social skills. However, influences on the development of joint attention are not well understood.

The study investigates the relationship between maternal mental health, encompassing maternal depression and general distress, and child self-regulation and externalization behaviors at grade 5, across three ethnic groups: European American, African American, and US-Mexican American. The research employs regression models to explore potential cultural differences in this relationship. The findings highlight the importance of considering cultural backgrounds when designing preventions and interventions targeting maternal mental health and its impact on child development.

This thesis examines the role of women in the American eugenics movement from 1900 to 1945, as well as how ideas about motherhood were manipulated to further eugenic ideals about race and hygiene. This paper analyzes primary sources such as propaganda posters about social hygiene, academic articles written by women, advertisements aimed towards women using eugenic ideology, and more in order to determine the prevalence and impact women had on the American eugenics movement.

My thesis will explore how Morrison uses formal techniques to bring the depersonalization many of her characters experience to life for her audience: specifically, nonlinear narrative structure, fragmented sentence structure, and internal dialogue highlight the characters' depersonalization. I will explore this idea through Morrison's novels The Bluest Eye, Beloved, and A Mercy, which feature characters who have experienced extreme traumas and seem to have developed depersonalization as a result.

This undergraduate thesis is focused on introducing the reader to concepts related to the search for topological obstructions to the existence of compact gradient shrinking Ricci soliton metrics in dimension four. It contains a discussion of the relevant background material for this subject. Furthermore, it introduces the problem of extending the Hitchin-Thorpe inequality to gradient shrinking Ricci soliton metrics and explores the limitations of current results in that direction.

This paper investigates standard uncertainty in socially responsible labeling schemes. Admist government incapabilities to alleviate negative externalities, corporate social responsibility has been called upon to assist in this mission. Labeling schemes are meant to allow consumers to identify which products promote social responsibility, but when labels are uncertain in the true amount of negative effect the product's production alleviates, they may perpeturate confusion amongst consumers and lose their effectiveness.

The context of the source of The Trew Law of Free Monarchies needs to be examined and critically and thoroughly analyzed in order to answer the research question of "in what methods and ways did King James I of England produce ideas of divine right along with absolutist measures?" The central argument of this paper is to prove the position of the post-revisionist interpretation that James I was indeed an absolutist monarch who utilized and referenced the power of religion to support his political ideologies of the monarchy.

Bududa is a district located in the east of Uganda that frequently suffers from the occurrence of landslides. Based on 22 interviews with community members, I investigated the roles of natural disasters in rural Uganda and the ever-changing social landscape of Bududa. Using the world-systems theory, the theory of ecologically unequal exchange, and ecofeminism, this study examines the changes in gender roles that ensue post-landslides and how this fits the frameworks stated above.

This thesis conducts a feminist analysis of Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass series, establishing it as a feminist narrative that offers a nuanced representation of women within the fantasy genre. An exploration of Aelin's character reveals how the series dismantles patriarchal stereotypes. Using the work of feminist scholars, it becomes evident that Maas has crafted a female protagonist who disrupts negative portrayals of female characters.

Black students who attend predominantly white institutions before college have a complex educational experience because of the systematically racist practices that are in place within the American school system – students' lives and identities are complicated as they try to get an education. This study focuses on the elite preparatory school environment (places that have been historically for the rich and white), where many Black students integrate into. First, this paper investigates the historical precedents that are the consequence of an unfair and unequal education system.