On Monday night, Peiling Li '06 completed the third chapter of her history thesis, which analyzes desertion during the Civil War. The 50 pages of the chapter are "the best writing I've ever done at Brown. ... I'm really proud," she said.
The final product - which has been two years in the making -is due in less than a week, and though she has only completed a little more than half of the 120 pages she expects to write, she is surprisingly calm.
As she pulled out two four-inch binders full of research she began over the summer, which are perfectly organized and labeled with color-coded post-its and highlighter marks, she explained that the thesis-writing process has taught her valuable lessons of balance and adaptability. "It's a psychological battle trying to keep yourself sane" during this process, Li said.
Like many other seniors hoping to graduate with honors, Li is in the final stages of writing her thesis - an undertaking that varies depending on each department's requirements as well as individual students' philosophy about the endeavor.
Li has been looking at the thesis experience from a broad, idealistic perspective. She believes that writing a thesis "arms students with a different way of thinking," as it trains students "to think more critically in everyday life." She added that her thesis "is not the seminal product of my undergraduate years."
Different requirements
Honors history students like Li are required to take a three-course sequence in order to write a thesis. The process begins with a seminar taken during the spring of a student's junior year, HI 92: "Selected Topics in the Writing and Interpretation of History," taught by Professor of History Kenneth Sacks, who coordinates the department's honors program.
Sacks' seminar introduces students to history research methods and helps sharpen their critical reading and writing skills. The course provides an opportunity for students to "air their insecurities, bounce their ideas off one another," Li said. It's "akin to a book review ... it provides a support network."
In the seminar, students are required to produce a 20-page prospectus proposing the material they are interested in researching and outlining the obstacles they anticipate facing. Sacks addresses topics ranging from students' uncertainties regarding the writing process to developing time-management skills. Li joked that she taught herself important skills like taking 10-minute naps and pulling all-nighters without caffeine.
Li said she appreciated Sacks' seminar because "this particular kind of thesis needs a lot of guidance," adding that the history department's honors program is "an extremely personalized process."
During their senior year, honors history students work one-on-one with an advisor to complete their thesis while receiving two course credits, one for each semester of work.
When the thesis is completed, Sacks assigns it out to different readers - one in the department whose interests closely match the topic and one from another department - who decide whether or not the finished product is sufficient to qualify the student for honors.
The professor who advised a student will not read that student's thesis, thereby ensuring an objective process of evaluation. To qualify for honors, students must also have a 3.5 GPA in at least four history classes. Similar requirements regarding a student's course performance are imposed by other departments.
But other departments don't provide as structured a process for students writing honors theses.
Suzanne Smith '06, who is writing a thesis in the sociology department, said she believes the history honors program is too regulated. It "seems like way too much," she said.
Sociology students interested in writing a thesis meet with Associate Professor of Sociology Gregory Elliott once in the spring of their junior year. They do not have to take a thesis-writing seminar until the spring of their senior year.
We "want the students to own their thesis ... to write about something they care about," Elliott said. The program, which attracts a handful of students graduating in sociology, is usually for people who are self-motivated and passionate, he said.
"We facilitate the pursuit of that passion," Elliott said. Writing a "senior thesis isn't for everyone, and it isn't that those who write one are better, but some students find a topic they're really passionate about and want to delve into it," he added.
The required seminar for sociology students writing a thesis is structured like a writing workshop. The seminar helps to narrow the students' topics down to a researchable question because as Elliot said, there is a tendency for students to "want to save the world" with their topics.
Most seniors working towards honors in sociology have just done preliminary research, and few have started writing before the required seminar in the spring, according to Smith. It's "pretty decentralized," she said.
Sociology students have the "freedom to do what they want," whereas history thesis writers "sometimes have their hand held," Smith said. Though she claimed to favor the structure of the sociology honors program, the mandatory seminar she is taking this spring imposes actual deadlines, which she said makes her feel more prepared than last semester.
In the French department, many students discover their thesis topics while studying abroad. This is typically a "formative year intellectually," said Associate Professor of French Studies Gretchen Schultz. Students don't apply to write a thesis until first semester of their senior year.
A strenuous workload
For Smith, the hardest part about writing a thesis has been motivating herself to do something everyday, but she said it has been "fun to commiserate with everyone else" who is going through the same process.
Last week, Linda Evarts '06, who is writing a thesis in Latin American studies, and some of her friends talked about organizing a "student sanity committee" for honors thesis writers. They casually spoke of putting together a self-help guide, an effort to alleviate some of the stress seniors face when pursuing honors. However, over the past few days, interest waned as deadline pressure increased, Evarts said.
The level of difficulty of the process "depends on how much grasp you get on the idea, rather than the idea itself," Evarts said. "The enjoyment of writing a thesis does not depend so much on how much you like your idea, but your ability to pin down what you want to focus on," she added.
