SENIOR THESIS
The Senior Thesis is the culminating work of students majoring in Christian Studies, Religious Studies, and Philosophy. , or Theology. It will normally be done in the final year of study. The work can be done in one semester (411) for one full credit, or extended over two (410, 412) for 1/2 credit each semester.
The purpose of the thesis is to utilize the perspective, understanding, research skills, and writing abilities students have developed in their studies to investigate a substantial topic. The goal is for students to produce a paper of high quality and distinction.
SENIOR THESES FOR 2021
Reilly Bird (Philosophy)
A Bite at Affordable Dental Care in Canada: The Ethical Arguments for and Against Universal Dental Care
Dr. Peterson
Wilson Ey (Philosophy)
Plato's Craftman
Dr. Zorn
Katherine Gattuso (Christian Studies)
The Human Notion of Injustice Explored Along with God's Justice: How God has been Consistent Since the Beginning of Time
Dr. Trexler
Emilee O’Dell (Religious Studies)
Black Lives Matter Movement: The Value of Black Life as Sacred and Religious
Dr. Trexler
Hannah Smith (Religious Studies)
Apocalyptic Warriors: A New and Improved Wave of Christian Nationalism
Dr. Trexler
Kelly Talish (Religious Studies)
Dr. Larson-Harris
SENIOR THESES FOR 2020
Cara Anderson (Christian Studies and Religious Studies)
Comparing Martyrs: A Defense of Martyrdom
Dr. Hinlicky and Dr. Trexler
Alexa Chapman (Philosophy)
The Becoming Dragon of Fossils
Dr. Adkins
Aubrey Frabutt (Philosophy)
Zeno's Paradoxes: Ancient and Contemporary Responses
Dr. Zorn
Cassie Lindenfelt (Religious Studies)
Jehovah's Witnesses, Blood Transfusions, and the Rise of Bloodless Medicine
Dr. Trexler
Kathleen Hall (Philosophy)
Nietzsche and Camus: The Philosophy of Overcoming
Dr. Adkins
Paul Martin (Religious Studies)
Virtual Faiths: Religious Traditions in Video Games
Dr. Larson-Harris
Johnson Mihaly (Philosophy)
Frayed Edges: How the Contest Between Neoliberalism and Sovereignty Unfolds in Border Policy
Dr. Adkins
Joseph Montalvo III (Philosophy)
One with the Force: Marcus Aurelius and the Jedi Way of Life
Dr. Zorn
SENIOR THESES FOR 2019
Sasha Bronder (Religious Studies)
Sexuality and the Sacred: How Generation Impacts LGBTQ+ Approaches to Religion and Spirituality
Dr. Trexler
Jacob Joyce (Philosophy)
Determining History or Ending History? A Brief Introduction to Understanding Hegel’s Historical Metaphysic of Moments in the Phenomenology of Spirit
Dr. Adkins
Matthew McKinney (Christian Studies and Religious Studies)
King's Moses: The Biblical-Narrative Theology of Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Hinlicky
Hannah Schneider (Philosophy)
The “one life” that “rolls through all things”: Nature, Philosophy, and Perception in Spinoza, Coleridge, and Wordsworth
Dr. Adkins
Emily Sheppard (Religious Studies and Christian Studies)
The Intersectionality of the Disciples of Christ Church and the LGBT+ Community: Inclusivity at the Lord’s Table
Dr. Trexler
Hana Smith (Philosophy)
Bodies in Nature: Spinoza’s Interconnected Individuals
Dr. Adkins
Marsden Woddail (Philosophy)
Nietzsche’s “Pale Criminal”: Bad Conscience and Sublimation
Dr. Adkins
SENIOR THESES FOR 2018
Brandon Croci (Philosophy)
A Davidson Critique: Discussing Intentional Manipulation of the Principle of Charity
Dr. Zorn
Gabriel Gibson (Philosophy)
Depression
Dr. Adkins
Emily Grice (Philosophy)
On Perspectivism: Leibniz and Nietzsche
Dr. Adkins
Madison Haley (Philosophy)
Is Sisyphus Happy After All?
Dr. Adkins
Caleb Lythgoe (Christian Studies)
The Misconception of the Predestination of Believers: A Study of Individualism Versus Community Based Salvation
Dr. Hinlicky
Kelly Makowske (Philosophy)
The Physicalism found in Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Language
Dr. Zorn
Hayley Moe (Religious Studies)
Authority of Women in the Church: Examining Female Ordained Ministry within two Lutheran Traditions in the Christian Church
Dr. Hinlicky
Patrick Stone (Philosophy)
Nietzsche and the Reality of Love
Dr. Adkins
Leah Weinstein (Religious Studies)
A Wounded Faith: The Existence of God After the Holocaust from a Jewish Perspective with a Focus on Human Freedom and Divine Justice
Dr. Hinlicky
SENIOR THESES FOR 2017
Jamie Allen (Philosophy)
Practically and Philosophically, Why Eradicate the Death Penalty in the United States?
Dr. Adkins
Amanda Downs (Religious Studies)
Teaching about Religion: Public School Education
Dr. Wisnefske
Luke Hägele (Philosophy)
A Long and Lustrous Winter: Nietzsche’s Philosophy in Groundhog Day and 2001: A Space Odyssey
Dr. Adkins
Bridget Rose (Philosophy)
The Necessity of Moral Discourse: Plato’s Political Philosophy and Its Applications to Contemporary Democracy
Dr. Zorn
Zachary Wright (Christian Studies)
The Misuse of Martin Luther's Doctrine on Vocation: From Luther to Weber to Roanoke College back to Luther
Dr. Hinlicky
SENIOR THESES FOR 2016
Danielle Bosdell (Christian Studies)
Truth Behind the Collar: Historical Analysis on the understandings of ELCA female clergy since 1970
Dr. Wisnefske
Ben Cowgill (Religious Studies)
Effects of Participation in Denominational Governance on religiosity among Youth and Young Adults
Dr. Wisnefske
Bridget Gautieri (Religious Studies)
Lutheran and Catholic Theology on the Eucharist with a Focus on Worthiness and Reception
Dr. Hinlicky
Joseph Kropff (Christian Studies)
Wesley’s Doctrine of Original Sin
Dr. Hinlicky
Griffin Pivarunis (Christian Studies)
ADIAPHORA OR ESSENTIAL? The Dilemma of Same Sex Marriage and the Apostle Paul, for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
Dr. Peterson
Tyler Robertson (Philosophy)
Rousseau and Hobbes on the State of Nature
Dr. Zorn
Zach Scherrer (Christian Studies)
A Lost Connection: The Negative Impact of Technology on our Spiritual Relationship with God
Dr. Wisnefske
Aubrey Teague (Philosophy)
The Neoliberal Economization of United States Prisons: The Hidden Costs of a Rising Trend
Dr. Adkins
Brian Whitt (Philosophy)
Intellectual Property and the Ownership of Ideas
Dr. Adkins
SENIOR THESES FOR 2015
Jordan Fallon (Philosophy)
Cultural Violence and Contemporary Racism
Dr. Adkins
Paisley LeRoy (Christian Studies)
Disorders of Sexual Development: A Contemporary Christian Response
Dr. Wisnefske
Shaina Lidd (Religious Studies)
Haredim and Heresy: Women’s Right to Public Prayer in a Divided Israel
Prof. Jordan
Amanda Lundberg (Religious Studies)
Forgotten Faces: Lessons about Disgust from Japanese Buddhist Nuns
Dr. Larson-Harris
Andrew Miles (Philosophy)
Beyond Critique: Participatory Pedagogy at Roanoke College
Dr. Adkins
Christopher Mumaw (Religious Studies)
Sharia in Western Democracies: Is there Room in Western Society for Islamic Law?
Dr. McDermott
Augustine Targonsky (Philosophy)
A Look at Problems in Hume’s Aesthetics Based on the Principles of Conceptual Art
Dr. Adkins
SENIOR THESES FOR 2014
Christopher Beckman (Religious Studies)
Christianity and South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Was It Successful?
Dr. Wisnefske
Jillianne Disbro (Philosophy)
La Bonté Naturelle:Rousseau's Inherent Goodness and its Proof
Dr. Adkins
Tiara Mehič (Philosophy)
The Logic Behind Just War Theory
Dr. Wisnefske
Jennifer Stoughton (Christian Studies)
Menno Simmons and the Nurture of Children
Dr. McDermott
SENIOR THESES FOR 2013
Steve Chovanec (Philosophy)
DeLanda and Spinoza, Or, How I Learned to Stop Fearing and Love Materialism
Dr. Adkins
Katy Cline (Christian Studies)
A Hermeneutical Exploration into Biblical Equality
Dr. Peterson
Ethan Guebert (Religious Studies)
The Potlatch Ceremony of the Northwest and Its Changes in Legal Status
Dr. Larson-Harris
Edward Hrinya (Philosophy)
The Death of Determinism? (And Why That Would Be Okay)
Dr. Zorn
Ryan Hughes (Christian Studies)
What is Distinctively Lutheran? An Analysis of Piepkorn's Ecumenical Theology
Dr. McDermott
Adam Jump (Philosophy)
Determinism and Free Will: An Examination of Modern and Contemporary Perspectives
Dr. Adkins
Brian McKee (Philosophy)
Beyond the Individual: Hegel, Marx, and Private Property
Dr. Adkins
Robert Miller (Religious Studies)
House Churches in the Middle Kingdom: A Look at Protestants in China
Dr. Larson-Harris
Ben Morgan (Philosophy)
Stoicism, Ethics, and Emotion
Dr. Zorn
Tim Smith (Religious Studies)
Filioque as Key to East-West Division and its Reconciliation
Dr. Hinlicky
Jonathan Thumas (Religious Studies)
Nature in the Shugendo Amalgam: An Example of Contemporary Japanese Folk Religion
Dr. Larson-Harris
Scott Tringali (Philosophy)
Alan Moore's Transformation in Politics with Ethics: Watchmen
Dr. Adkins
Patrick Whitson (Philosophy)
Heart and Mind: On the Possibility of an Extra-Material Consciousness
Dr. Zorn
SENIOR THESES FOR 2012
Blake Bernlohr (Philosophy)
Be In Awe: Cultivating a Healthy Mind, Body, and Spirit Through the Practice of Meditation and Mindfulness
Dr. Larson-Harris
Jillian DeBenedetto (Philosophy)
Money and Happiness: A Philosophical and Psychological Examination
Dr. Vilhauer
Peter Foxen (Philosophy)
Plato's Theory of Knowledge: How it Changed, and How it Withstands Present-day Critiques
Dr. Zorn
Ellen MacInnis (Religious Studies)
Gender and Identity in Roanoke Pagan Communities
Dr. Rothgery
Heather Repass (Christian Studies)
Freedom or Bondage? Jonathan Edwards and Martin Luther on the Will
Dr. McDermott
SENIOR THESES FOR 2011
John Graham (Philosophy)
Philosophical Debate over Religions Language and Theory following Kant
Dr. Hinlicky
Marissa Kennedy (Theology)
So That No One can Boast: Martin Luther and Jonathan Edwards on Justification
Dr. McDermott
Caroline Lance (Theology)
Gender Roles in Marriage: A Look at Ephesians 5:21-33 Then and Now
Dr. Wisnefske
Cameron Lee (Philosophy)
A Case Study of Normalization
Dr. Adkins
Cyrus Martin (Philosophy)
Spinoza, Heidegger, and Naess: Actualizing the Human-Nature Relationship
Dr. Adkins
John Moore (Philosophy)
No-Self, Buddha-Nature, and Upaya
Dr. Larson-Harris
Matthew Peregoy (Philosophy)
Situational Physical Modality: The Trial of Charles J. Whitman
Dr. Adkins
Samantha Penn-Timity (Religion)
Love, Islam, and Sufism
Dr. Rothgery
Kathryn Schlimmer (Religion)
The Lord's Prayer: Old Testament Characteristics in New Testament Contexts
Dr. Delaney
William Shoemaker (Philosophy)
Philosophy, Food, and Freedom: The Conditions for the Possibility of Living in the Margins of the Foodscape
Dr. Adkins
Adam Sexton (Philosophy)
Plato on Happiness, Freedom, and Individuality: A Correction to Modern Views
Dr. Vilhauer
Paulwat Sirisuth (Philosophy)
Does Freedom Exist in the Patient-Physician Relationship?
Dr. Vilhauer
Amy Woodson (Theology)
Justice in the Book of Joshua
Dr. McDermott
SENIOR THESES FOR 2010
Jesse Allen (Philosophy)
Dewey vs. Niebuhr on Pragmatism
Dr. Hinlicky
Christine Burke (Philosophy)
The Question of Selfishness in Platonic Love
Dr. Vilhauer
Eric Coleman (Philosophy)
Schelling's Metaphysics of Evil: How We Create the Past
Dr. Adkins
Jennifer Greger (Religion)
History of the Arian Controversy
Dr. Hinlicky
Marie Guirguis (Religion)
The Coptic Church: Who She Is and What She Has Been Through in 2,000 Years
Dr. Hinlicky
Laura Jennings (Philosophy)
Feminist Theory and Maternity Leave
Dr. Vilhauer
Rebecca Lord (Religion)
The Problem of Evil
Dr. Zorn
Kelsey MacIntosh (Religion)
The Misinterpretation of Love: the Theological Difference between Christianity and Islam
Dr. Hinlicky
Elizabeth Nicoll (Philosophy)
Plato on Freedom: Introducing a New Reading of the Dialogues
Dr. Vilhauer
Heather Unroe (Religion)
The Role of Procreation in Christian Marriage
Dr. Wisnefske