Saint Michael's College

Presenting your senior thesis can be an intimidating process, but you'd never know it by the confidence with which religious studies students shared the results of their research in the Hoehl Welcome Center in early May. Each student was given a half-hour to present their work and respond to questions from their professors and their peers. The culmination of a semester's worth of work, students investigated topics as diverse as Buddhism, Mother Teresa and the Antichrist.

Near the end of the day-long program, Anna Florent took the stage to present her thesis entitled "A Simple Mysticism for the Great Reformer: The Theologia Germanica and Its Relationship to Martin Luther." Working with Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Ray Patterson, Florent delved into the world of Medieval German mysticism in 1350 - the year the Germanica was written by an unknown author. One hundred and fifty years later, Martin Luther published the work and wrote its preface. Florent wanted to know why Luther would endorse the work, and presented several theories as to his motivations. Ultimately Florent concluded that "The Frankfurter" (as some call the anonymous author) and Luther were quite simply soul mates.

Turning to a more contemporary topic, Celia Hooker took the podium next to present her research on "Transformative Education and Liberating Christian Communities: The Impact of Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed." As a junior and a double major in religious studies and education, Hooker elected to present her senior thesis one year early, knowing that she'll be plenty busy next spring completing her student teaching experience. Inspired by Professor Joe Kroger's class in political liberation theology, Hooker decided to take a closer look at the life of Freire, an educational philosopher from Brazil who died in 1997. While showing a reel of still photos and movie clips of Freire on a large screen at the front of the room, Hooker spoke eloquently about the way the philosopher was able to bring international consciousness to the education of the poor and oppressed. Freire's theories caused Hooker to re-think her own approach as a future teacher. "It's easy to be a teacher that 'fills the bank,'" she said, "it's harder to be a teacher that lets students question."

Other Spring 2009 senior thesis presenters and their topics are listed below.

Derek Souza
"Changing the Face of Buddhism: The Influence of Mappo Thought on the Kamakura Era in Japan"

Hannah Shattuck-Pfeifer
"The Antichrist in the Christian Imagination"

Stephanie Daudelin
"The Dark Night of the Soul: A Textual Analysis of Therese of Lisieux and Mother Teresa"

Rachel Swift
"Architecture of the Sacred: The Role of Architecture in Catholicism, Islam, Hinduism and Shinto"

Cody Tougas
"Understanding the Apostasy: An Investigation Into Sabbatean Theology"

Maria Elmshauser
"Moral Conflict and Ecclesial Authority: A Case study of a Church in Crisis"

Marissa Deegan
"Religion & the Body: A Comparative Analysis"