Senior Thesis Ideas
I've got to come up with a senior thesis by wednesday and of course I'm doing it at the last minute. I want to do something pertaining to food and farmers, possibly a photo documentary of sorts to go along with some interviews, but I feel like that isn't enough to keep me going from january until may. I'd rather stay away from the hard sciences and am leaning more towards the humanities. If anyone has any suggestions or can help me to formulate a concrete thesis that would be great. Thanks.
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11 Comments:
Since no one else has access to the rest of the information, you're going to have to help out a bit:
What kind of program are you in?
What are the parameters for a senior thesis?
Keep you going from Jan-May? How does it need to keep you going?
Photos are possible it seems, what are the other options for format or media?
The question as you've posed it is so broad that its impossible to offer reasonable suggestions. More information would certainly help people who want to offer up some help.
ccbweb at 12:32PM on 11/24/08
Hot Beef Injection: Antibiotics and Hormone Supplements in Corn-Fed Domestic Cattle: a waming quilt diaorama for resession economics.
sailordave at 1:10PM on 11/24/08
How about the decline of the small farmer caused by mass production and distribution by large conglomerates, ie Walmart which can only be saved through a return to locavorism. Where does your food come from?
KtMc24 at 3:03PM on 11/24/08
Or the aging demographics of farmers - many are retiring without the new generation stepping in.
tatianak at 3:06PM on 11/24/08
sorry if I was a little too broad, the problem is that the guidelines I was given were broad, basically I'm a high school senior (who has a great love of food and is going to study agriculture in college) and as part of my graduation requirement I can do a senior thesis which basically means whatever you want. any format, any topic, but I have to give a 30 minute presentation on my findings in May. hope that helps
so far the suggestions given are great and some of them are actually ones that i've considered, right now I'm leaning towards the evolution of the recent "foodie" and "locavore" movements and whether or not their actually benefitting the people that consumers think they are (ie: farmers). Again, thanks a ton.
avryan at 5:07PM on 11/24/08
Along with that, if that is what you are now considering, I would also suggest a topic along the lines of "organic", what it means, how it is defined, the problems with the definitions, and you could easily pull in the views of various farmers who have been postiviely/negatively affected by it. Many have moved to organic production and have seen an increase in orders, while others have not. That might be a great topic and one that would certainly have a *lot* of information that is very current.
Traveller at 5:21PM on 11/24/08
Why not trace the evolution of the typical Thanksgiving meal on a typical farm from the 30's, during the Depression, through every decade since then. You can talk about what foods they ate, how much they cost, comparing prices from one decade to the next, and the number of people around the table. Maybe include some information as to how they acquired the food (supermarket, local stores, made their own, killed their own turkey).
joedom at 5:53PM on 11/24/08
How about a deconstruction of a breakfast (or lunch or dinner) - taking one meal you eat and tracing how those products arrived from the farm (or not) to you?
You could interview the people at your supermarket, call the numbers on cereal boxes and ask for public relations, track down the egg farmer - talking to people is fun and gives you an alternate view from just books.
Get creative and don't be intimidated calling people up - as a teen, I did a report on infectious disease and was surprised at the number of people who took the time to talk to me, including folks at our large state university and the CDC. Just be polite and prepared with your questions.
If you're writing about organic food, you could also addressed the expense of such food and the availabilty (or lack of it) to less wealthy people.
For reading, look up Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver's book on food.
darkchocolatefan at 6:44PM on 11/24/08
localvore. google it. tons of info.
nycnowla at 12:25AM on 11/25/08
Why not do a photoessay of what, how, and why various students in your school eat--you could choose omnivores, athletes from different sports (football, cross-country team), vegetarians, vegans, people on a diet, people who are first-generation from other cultures--follow them around during a day or week, photograph what they eat, interview them about their food choices.
Another idea is to photograph your own food every day (a photographer did this already for a book) and write about what this says about 'you'--your socioeconomic status, beliefs, ethics, and community.
HeartofGlass at 10:51AM on 11/25/08
Avryan-
Lots of hits on Google, or even just lots of info available, does not equal a good topic. My day job is helping people with this stuff, so holler at me at fesser at gmail dot com, if you are still stuck. Good luck.
The Gurgling Cod at 8:36AM on 11/26/08