Senior Seminar

The senior seminar is History's capstone course in which History majors pursue research in a topic of their choice. Follow along with Jillian to see what it was like to research and write her senior seminar paper.

History major Ryan completed his senior seminar with Dr. Nilay Özok-Gündoğan. He had always been interested in military history and the seminar on 'World War I and the Middle East' was a great fit. Ryan's advice: "Be passionate about the work you do – and you will do well. If you find something you love, it will not seem like work to you."

Elizabeth Richardson took Dr. Andrew Frank's 'FSU and the Seminole Tribe' for her senior seminar class. The project she researched and wrote on provides an in-depth analysis of the Native American imagery utilized by Florida State from the time the university chose the Seminoles as its icon in 1947 to the symbolism employed by the university today. "Being raised a Gator, I knew only a little about Florida State’s traditions and nothing about FSU’s real connection to the Seminole tribe. This course provided me with mountains of information regarding FSU’s history, becoming my favorite undergrad course, ...".

Hi, I am Cassandra, and I recently graduated from FSU's Department of History. In this project, I explore the connections between a series of government reforms occurring near the end of the reign of King Louis XV and enlightened absolutism. I spent the summer of 2022 studying in Paris and loved seeing all of the history in the city for myself. I chose Dr. Cathy McClive's senior seminar on Claudine Rouge’s disappearance in 18th century France because it would give me a chance to explore more complex themes in early modern French history, which is one of my favorite time periods in history.

My name is Gabrielle, and I am a senior hoping to graduate this spring semester. In the senior seminar on American Pop Culture with Dr. Mooney, I began to work on 1990s feminism. For my senior seminar paper, I decided to look at “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” the TV series. I loved watching Buffy as a child, and it was wonderful being able to use my passion for my senior thesis.

Hi, I am Mallory Malman, I am a senior at Florida State University, double majoring in History and English – Editing, Writing, Media. I came to FSU because I was selected for the Presidential Scholar program. I became interested in History during my Freshman year when I worked with Dr. Piehler, the Director of the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience, on a project through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program. Through the coursework for the History major, I have come to realize that History is what I want to do with my life. Let me share my senior seminar experience with you.

My name is Ana Teresa, and I graduated from FSU in fall 2022. As part of the History major, I had to write an article-length paper, the senior thesis. I chose to do my senior seminar on U.S pop culture with Dr. Mooney. I decided to work on the animated Barbie movies that were released between 2001 and 2014.