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