Introduction to the American Studies
Senior Project Seminar and Upper-level Seminars (AMST 400-470)

Deciding to embark upon a semester or year of researching and writing your senior essay is an ambitious affair.  It requires fortitude, resourcefulness, organization, discipline, and great passion for your subject.  Without fail, you will encounter unforeseen problems and many moments when you wonder why you took up the task in the first place.  You will find as Sylvia Plath did, that “Every day one has to earn the name of ‘writer’ over again, with much wrestling.”1 All of this while juggling not just the usual coursework and extracurricular activities, but also job searches and graduate school applications—and of course a very special type of spring fever.  

For those who venture forth the rewards can be immense, as it is the opportunity to demonstrate what you have learned over the past four years.  In order to be successful, you must begin early.  Projects that are triumphant, both in the experience of writing and research and in their reception, are those in which students have established their research plans and secured an advisor well in advance of enrolling in the course.  Below you will find information on the process, expectations, and timeline for the completion of either a one-term or yearlong project.

As a course, the American Studies Senior Project Seminar meets regularly with assignments designed to facilitate the research and writing process.  In addition, the seminar provides opportunities for students interested in designing a project that incorporates film, theater, dance, fine arts, music, electronic media, etc.  If you decide that such a special project is of interest to you, then it is all the more imperative that you secure a topic, a plan, the approval of the DUS, and a faculty advisor as early as possible. 

Timeline

Below is a suggested timeline.  You will see that the successful senior project begins in the junior year.  It is during this penultimate year that you should focus on finding a topic and an advisor, as well as research funds, if needed.  If you organize your work well, you can spend the summer doing research and putting together a draft prospectus.  Note that the senior year starts off quickly.  Within the first two weeks of the semester, you must submit a prospectus and an application form signed by your advisor.  If you’ve completed these things before the semester begins, you’re well on your way.  Regardless of whether you’re taking the one-term or yearlong course you will need to submit an annotated bibliography or bibliographic essay by October (fall or yearlong)/February (spring).  Again, having an early handle on your topic makes this much easier.  Full drafts are due within one month of submission of the bibliography.  The final draft is due the following month.  Without proper planning, meeting these deadlines can be a difficult proposition.

Junior Year

• Fall: Narrow down subject area and potential faculty advisors.  If interested in a project that would entail something such as making a film, ensure that you take the required courses. 
• Spring:  Secure an advisor.  Submit applications for summer funding.  Make sure you schedule an appointment with your advisor before the semester ends to help you develop a summer research plan.
• Summer:  Execute research plan.  Stay in contact with your advisor.  Draft prospectus.

Senior Year

• September: Application form signed by advisor and prospectus submitted.  If doing a special/multi-media project, it must be approved by the DUS as well.  Meeting with Greg Eow, Kaplanoff librarian for U.S. history and American studies.
• October:  Annotated bibliography due.
• November:  Fall-term students’ rough drafts due.*
• December:  Presentation of work by fall-term students.  Final 30-page drafts due for fall students.  First 15 pages or annotated outline due for yearlong students.  Yearlong students devise research plans for winter break.
• Winter Break:  Execute research plan.
• January:  First meeting of yearlong students.  2nd set of 15 pages due by end of the month. 
• February:  3rd set of 15 pages due for yearlong students.
• March: Full 60-page draft due.
• April: In-class presentations. Final 30- and 60-page drafts due.  American Studies Senior Seminar Project Colloquium held.

*Ideally, spring semester students would secure an advisor by the end of November, and come up with a research plan and/or a draft of the prospectus during the winter break.

Course Requirements

Prospectus and Signed Application Form:  The prospectus should be a one- to two-page document describing the aims and scope of the project and explaining the methods/plans of research to be used. The prospectus should also include a preliminary bibliography of primary and secondary resources. The departmental application form (which can be downloaded below) must be completed by you and signed by your faculty advisor.  Your signed application form and attached prospectus are to be submitted to the American studies office by 4 pm on the final day of registration for the term. For example, if registration for the fall semester closes on September 15th, then your signed prospectus form is due by 4 pm on September 15th.  For those students enrolled in the intensive yearlong course, the form need only be completed once. Remember, you cannot register for the course without submitting a signed prospectus form by the stated date, unless you receive permission to do so from the DUS.

Annotated bibliography: This document should list a number of secondary sources that will play an important role in your own writing. For annotations, you should include summaries of how each work’s argument or content intersects with your proposed project, and the ways in which you expect to make use of it. Rather than randomly adding in any and all potential citations with brief summaries in the style of a book report, take time to assemble a thoughtful overview of the main pieces of scholarship with which you expect to engage. This document is for your own future use; thus, you may organize and assemble it how you please—as long as you demonstrate a relatively thorough and intelligent overview of sources that you’ve examined and expect to rely upon in a substantial way.  Some students find it useful to write a bibliographic essay, which becomes the foundation of a literature review for their longer work. Speak with your advisor about what would be best for you.

Drafts: For yearlong participants, you are required to submit 15-page installments of your essay.  Spring and fall term students will be required to submit a full draft at least three weeks before the deadline for the final manuscript (see dates above). You may still have gaps that you need to fill in, but this draft should demonstrate that you have substantially completed your research, organizing, and drafting stages and that you are moving into final-revisions mode. Immediately after submitting the full draft, you should set up an appointment with your faculty advisor to discuss what revisions this draft will require before final submission.

Final essay: Students enrolled in a one-semester version of the process must submit a manuscript of 30 pages, while students in the yearlong version must submit a manuscript of 60 pages. For submission, two (2) bound copies (the least expensive method of binding at TYCO or Docuprint & Imaging, for example, is just fine) must be delivered to the American studies undergraduate office (HGS 232) by 4 pm on the day of the deadline. These will go to the student’s advisor and a second reader.  If you have more than one advisor, make sure you submit enough bound copies so that your advisors and the outside reader will each have one.  In addition, an electronic copy of the essay (PDF preferred) must be submitted by the same deadline to American Studies Undergraduate Registrar Jean Cherniavsky for inclusion in the departmental archive.

The format of the final essay should be as follows:  double-spaced with 1-inch margins in a font such as Times New Roman 11-point or Garamond 12-point.  It should include a title page with your name, the title of your work, your advisor’s name, and whether your essay was written for the fall, spring, or intensive yearlong course.  Page numbers should be placed in the bottom center of the page.  Consult with your advisor regarding citation style and placement of illustrations.  If no preference is specified, use the Chicago style of citation with endnotes at the back of the text.  Place illustrations within the text rather than in a separate folio.  For more information on citation styles see:  http://writing.yalecollege.yale.edu/why-are-there-different-citation-styles. 

Senior Seminar Colloquium
At the end of the spring semester, you will be expected to participate in the American Studies Senior Project Colloquium.  You will present your work to your colleagues and faculty members, delivering a short presentation and fielding questions. 

Choosing a Topic

First and foremost, choose something that excites or fascinates you, something that you can imagine spending many days and months researching and working through.  Senior seminar essays and experiences are facilitated, indeed improved, if the student has done preliminary research.  It is strongly recommended. Perhaps you have a past seminar paper with questions you have yet to answer.  Perhaps there’s something you’ve always loved, but have not had a chance to write about—video games, federalist architecture, a neighborhood bodega.  If you have a topic and have yet to do any research on it, get cracking. Find out what has been written, if anything.  Find out what archival material is available.  If you’re thinking about tackling a project that might involve interviews, draw up a wish list of individuals with whom you’d like to speak.  Are they easy to reach?  Would you need to go through an intermediary?  Will you need to travel for your research?  The sooner you put out a few feelers, the sooner you’ll know whether it would be feasible for you to complete your project in a semester or a year. Then, with all of the information at hand, ask yourself what perspective is missing and why?  This is your starting point, where you should begin your conversation with your potential faculty advisor.

Approaching a Faculty Advisor

You will work and meet with your faculty advisor regularly over a semester or even a year. Although you can work with someone outside of the program, your primary faculty advisor for the course must be affiliated with the American studies department.  A listing of American studies faculty and information about their primary areas of interest can be found at: http://www.yale.edu/amstud/faculty/index.html.  If you have worked with a faculty member before, all the better.  Regardless, it is important to come prepared to any meeting with a faculty member and be able to clearly explain what you are interested in pursuing and why.  Also, speak with your potential advisor about their expectations, and when you might meet again.  Regular meetings are essential to a successful process.

Special Projects

All senior seminar projects contain an essay component.  If, in addition to the essay, you plan to present your research in another format (e.g., film/video, play, new media, visual arts, music, etc.) you must indicate so by filling out the senior essay prospectus special projects form. Before you undertake such a project, it is important that you have taken the correct prerequisites, and that you and your advisors have agreed upon what your written component will consist of and its length.  You will need to work closely with your senior seminar coordinator to ensure that you attend all the pertinent class sessions, and that you produce the written portion of your project by the final due date.

Interviews

Many of you have probably not had conversations about research done working with individuals, rather than in archives.  If you have not discussed the interview process/procedures with your faculty advisor, you may not know that Yale has a specific policy regarding researcher’s interactions with “human subjects,” set by the Institutional Review Board (IRB).  The parameters for such research are less stringent for some humanities projects than for those in medicine, for example.  And based on the nature of your research, you are eligible to apply for an exemption from the Board’s review process.  Under the guidance of your faculty advisor, here’s how:

1) Review the Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) Policy and Procedures.  They can be found at:  http://yale.edu/hrpp/policies/index.html.  There’s quite a bit of information there.  Don’t be overwhelmed.  Much of it focuses on the social sciences and medical research.  For your purposes, review sections 100 GD1 (Humanities Projects and IRB Review) and 100 GD9 (Exemption from IRB Review) and Policy 200 (Informed Consent for Research Involving Human Participants). 

2) Submit a copy of your prospectus to the IRB with a short section addressing your research involving human subjects—who do you plan to interview, why are you interviewing them, what you hope to learn—to human.subjects@yale.edu.  You may also want to submit a sample list of the questions you would be asking.

Projects that fall under the purview of the IRB address knowledge that can be “generalized.” Most of you are not making such broad claims, but are instead looking at specific histories/experiences.  So again, most of you will be exempt from the IRB protocols.
For those of you whose projects are more expansive in scope, you will receive guidance from the Board on how to proceed. 

Course Credit

In order to successfully complete the course, you must attend scheduled meetings and submit required assignments.  You will meet regularly with your advisor and the senior essay coordinator.  The DUS is kept apprised of your progress, as well. 

The final grade for the course is based upon the grade you receive for your final essay.  For those in the yearlong course, if your work is up to par, you will receive a “SAT” grade for the first semester and a letter grade for the course at the end of the second semester.  Readers’ reports are kept on file in the American studies office.  Once final grades have been submitted, you may pick up a copy of your reports from Jean Cherniavsky.

Note that you cannot receive credit for more than one course at a time.  Therefore, if you are taking a course that requires you to write a seminar paper on a topic that is similar to that of your senior essay, you cannot write one paper and have it count for credit for both classes.  You must write two separate papers.  However, it is possible to participate in an independent study in the fall with the hope of continuing your work in the spring towards completion of a 60-page senior seminar essay.  You must get the approval of the DUS in order to do so.

Evaluation of Final Essay

Once you submit the bound copies of your final essay, they are distributed to your advisor(s) and to an outside reader for evaluation.  Students may make suggestions regarding the reader.  However, the final decision is made by the DUS in consultation with the senior seminar coordinator.  Both the reader and your faculty advisor will consider the organization, style, and clarity of your argument, as well as the cleanness of your manuscript—typographical errors, citations, etc.  Your advisor will also evaluate your progress over the course of the semester or year.  Did you meet agreed upon deadlines?  Does your work demonstrate an evolution of thought and/or style?  After reading and writing up their evaluations separately, the reader and your advisor will submit an agreed upon grade for your work.  For those of you with projects that include gallery shows, film, or theater performances, etc., those elements of your senior project will be evaluated by similar criteria.

Penalties for Late Submission

Essays submitted after the due date will not be accepted without a dean’s excuse submitted to both your faculty advisor(s) and the DUS.  Your essay will be docked one letter grade for every week you fail to submit.  Remember, if you have chosen to complete work in your area of concentration with a senior essay or senior project, Yale College will not graduate you without it.

Allies and Resources

In addition to your faculty advisor, the senior essay coordinator, and the DUS, you have an extensive network of allies and resources to draw upon. 

• Greg Eow is the Kaplanoff librarian for U.S. history and American studies. You are required to set up an individual meeting with him to discuss potential resources at Yale. His email address is gregory.eow@yale.edu, and his office is located in the Microfilm Reading Room, Sterling Library basement. He holds regular office hours, and is also available to meet by appointment.
• Jean Cherniavsky is the undergraduate registrar.  She will have copies of your readers’ reports and examples of past essays.  Unless otherwise indicated by the senior essay coordinator, all copies of your written work will be submitted to the undergraduate department office (HGS 232).
• Yale College Writing Center:  Tutors and readers at the Writing Center are available to work with you.  Please make use of this resource! http://writing.yalecollege.yale.edu/
• Fellowships database: Take special note of the OFP Research Fellowships for Juniors (Bates, et al.), which funds summer research for senior projects.  The application deadline for this particular fellowship is usually in mid-January.  There are many other summer funding opportunities that can be found online at http://www.yale.edu/yalecol/academics/fellowships/index.html.
• Web guide: Yale library research guide for U.S. history and American studies, with section for senior essayists: http://guides.library.yale.edu/ushistory
• Citation Tools: You will find various programs to download, including Endnote and Zotero at: http://www.library.yale.edu/cite/.
• Past essays as examples:  Again, as indicated above, senior essays from previous years are kept on file in the American studies undergraduate office (HGS 232). If you would like to look at these, please speak with Jean Cherniavsky. 

Upper-Level Seminars (amst 400-470)

Students also have the option of fulfilling the American studies senior year requirement for work in the area of their concentration by taking an upper-level (amst 400-470) seminar.  In order to do so, you must submit an upper-level seminar registration form [LINK] to Jean Cherniavsky in the American studies office by the final day of open registration for the semester.  The form, which must be signed by you, your advisor, and the DUS, outlines your intention of employing the course to fulfill your concentration requirement.  Upon completion of the course, you also must submit a 20+ -page essay or its sanctioned equivalent to both your instructor and Jean Cherniavsky in the American studies office (HGS 232).  The essay does not have to be bound.  With the exception of the Norman Holmes Pearson Prize and the Richard Hegel Prize for a Senior Essay on New Haven, work completed for upper-level seminars also may be considered for departmental awards.  For more information on the current prizes, refer to the descriptions below.

American Studies Prizes

Faculty readers may nominate senior essays that they find to be outstanding for one of a number of prizes listed below.  Decisions are made at the end of the spring semester.  Both one-term and yearlong essays are eligible for consideration.

Percival W. Clement Prize (1994). Awarded to a junior or senior for the best thesis in the support of the principles of the Constitution of the United States of America and the first ten amendments. Also open to students in History and Political Science.

Henry K. Hayase Prize (1988). Friends and alumni in memory of Henry K. Hayase, B.A. 1973. Awarded for the best student paper or senior thesis dealing with a topic relating to the Asian American experience in the United States.

Norman Holmes Pearson Prize (1976). Students, colleagues, and friends in memory of Professor Norman Holmes Pearson, B.A. 1932, Ph.D. 1941. Awarded to a senior in Yale College majoring in American Studies for the best senior essay.

Richard Hegel Prize for a Senior Essay on New Haven (2001). Sponsored by the Yale Club of New Haven, the Hegel Prize was awarded for the first time in celebration of Yale's Tercentennial year. The prize is named in honor of Richard Hegel because of his enduring commitment to the partnership of the University and the City of New Haven. The Hegel Prize is to be awarded for an outstanding senior essay pertaining to the greater New Haven area. Senior essays from any department of Yale College are eligible.

Prepared by: Tisha Hooks, Ph.D. Candidate © 2011