Croft Theses
One of the requirements for graduating with a major in International Studies is completion of the senior thesis during the final year in a student's program. The senior thesis is a substantial work of original research and analysis in the student's regional and/or thematic concentration.
Prizes for the best theses in each region, the best interregional thesis, and the best overall thesis are recognized each year at the Croft graduation ceremony.
Theses/Dissertations from 2016
Tortoise and the Hare: A Case Study of Quota Laws and Women's Representation in Congress in Argentina and the United States, Hannah Arrington
Understanding Effective Venues of Women Representation in Latin America: An Empirical Study of Millennium Development Goals 3 and 5, Sheila Arun Kumar
Trade Policy Formation in Europe: Disparities Between the EU-15 States and the CEE New Member States, Beau Bettiga
Analyzing the Growing Islamic Radicalization in France, Virginia Ruth Brommer
An Industry Giant's Struggles: Google's Relative Failure Within China, Zachary T. Cookston
Reinventing National Identity in a World of Globalized Soccer: The Case of the Uruguayan National Team, Maia Cotelo
Urbanization and Exclusion: Examining the Wages of Migrant Workers in the Chinese Urban Labor Market, Evan Heitzmann
Cultural Implications of Starbucks Consumption in China: Why do Chinese Have a Latte on their Mind?, Garrett Hersh
Strait Talk: United States Containment of Communism in the Taiwan Strait, Elizabeth Leary
Exogenous Barriers to the Incorporation of the Second Generation North Africans in France, Amber Malone
Political Underrepresentation and Domestic Terrorism: The Deficiency of Minority Descriptive Representation as a Causal Factor of Violent Radicalization in Western European Democracies, Erica Shannon McGraw
An International Crossover: Comparing The Chinese Basketball Association With The National Basketball Association, Allison J. Slusher
Tigers, Flies, and Longines: The Chinese Corruption Crackdown and its Effect on Conspicuous Consumption, Kayla Smith
Their Brothers' Keepers? Ethnicity, Rebel Diplomacy, and State Support for Insurgency, Connor Somgynari
Opportunities and Challenges for Socially Responsible Business in China, Liana Tai
Portrayals of Pinochet: Historical Narratives in Chilean Schools, Katie J. Wright
Theses/Dissertations from 2015
Regime Type and Healthcare Systems: A Global Quantitative Analysis, R. L. Barr
The Evolution of Chinese Students' Motivations to Study Abroad in the U.S., Alison Elizabeth Bartel
Women Hold Up Half the Internet: Examining the Political Identities of Chinese Women Bloggers, Taylor Brack
Machismo in Chilean Politics: A Case Study of the 2005 and 2013 Presidential Elections, Laura Bridges
Human Capital in Mexico: Estimating Externalities with the Constant-Composition Approach, Lorin D. Dawson
Apartheid in France: Galvanization of Political Concern for the Role of Ethnic Identities in French Society, Francesca Talley Diggs
The Chinese Inquisition: Xi Jinping's War on Corruption, Harriet E. Fisher
Death, Maintenance and Revitalization of the Quechua Language in Peru: A Case Study with a Focus on San Pedro de Cajas, Madeline Fumi
Modernizing the Marianne: The French Feminist Movement and its Effects on Gender Equality, Hallie Grace Haines
Catalunya No Es Espanya?: Examining Catalan Nationalism, Shiloh Jaggers Jones
Still Innocents Abroad: The Relationship between Anti-Americanism and American Foreign Policy in the Middle East, Kelly Kennedy
The Comedy of Frenchness: Exploring Social Issues in Mainstream French Cinema, Samantha Lund
Fueling the Dragon's Fire: China's Coal Policy, Taylor Malcolm
Vivre en Travaillant: Exploring the Economic and Social Effects of the 35-Hour Workweek in France, Mellie McGehee
China's 'Leftover' Women Phenomenon: Media Portrayal and 'Leftover' Voices, Mazie Merriman
A Global Perspective on Ethical Consumerism: A Study of Advertisements from Social Enterprises to Identify the Ethical Consumer, Murray Miller
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: Legislative Action and the Future of Transatlantic Trade, Zachery Newton
“Architects of Their Own Solutions:” A Comparative Study of Gender in Environmental Justice Work, Ellen Olack
Economic vs. Ideological Interests: Examining Chinese Arms Exports and Aid, James Delton Rhodes
That Awkward Moment When...: An Explanation of How Britain Made the Modern Arab World Homophobic, Sequareah Sayles
Drink, Drank, Drunk: an Analysis of Three Possible Solutions to Urban Residential Potable Water Shortages in China, Holly C. Smith
Defining the Revolution: A Study of Contemporary China's Sexual Transformation, Zackary L. Whitehead
Windows Into Changing Worldviews: A Critical Cartographic Analysis of Four Influential World Maps from the 13th to the 21st Century, Elizabeth E. Wicks
Boss Lady: How Female Chinese Managers Succeed in China's Guanxi System, Charles Palmer Withers
To be, or not to be-Statehood is the Question: Analyzing the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, Leigh Anne Zook
Theses/Dissertations from 2014
Liberté, Égalité, Laïcité?: Defining French National Identity, Elizabeth Adair Abbot
The Success of an Ethnic Political Party: A Case Study of Arab Political Parties in Israel, Samira Abunemeh
Croatia in the European Union: A Study on Foreign Direct Investment, Unemployment, and Infrastructure, Mary Grace Boland
The Evolution of a Social Movement: A Study of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, Grace Anne Boyd
Uncontrolled Enrollment Expansion: Fragmented Authoritarianism in Chinese Higher Education, William Bumpas
Investment in the Developing World: Democracy and/or Transparency, John Carter
How to Win Elections and Influence Parties: Party and Electoral System Development and Manipulation in the Republic of China, James B. Cutchin
Plátano Power: Understanding the Rise of Dominicans in Major League Baseball, Patrick Fields
The Trajectory of the Argentine Economy from 2001 to the Present: What Comes Next?, Mary Morgan Gladney
Nostalgia and the Myth of Old Russia: Russian Emigres in Interwar Paris and their Legacy in Contemporary Russia, Brad Gordon
What is a Berber?: Characterizations of Imazighen from Britain and Morocco, Byron Head
Chile Se Moviliza: Protest Movements and Inequality in Post-Dictatorship Chile, Shruti Jaishankar
The Specter of Franco, Alexandra L. Jones
The Dólar Blue: The Black Market Exchange Rate for Dollars in Argentina, Brad Brunson Lanier
Organic Farming in France: À La Mode or A Mode of Life?, Ellen L. Mallette
Effects of Globalization on the Use of the Mediterranean Diet in Spain, Jacob J. McGee
The Currency Union Effect on Trade: The Role of Financial Development, Walker Lee Messer
Explaining the Decline in Fertility Rates in Post-War Italy, Susanna Rychlak
The Effectiveness of Basel II, Rachel Shaw
A Yen Saved is a Yen Earned: Deconstructing the Japanese Savings Rate, James Smith
Changes in United States Foreign Assistance Allocation and its Effect on Terrorism, Mary Anna Smith
New Propaganda: Remnants of Soviet Mass Media in Pro-Kremlin Popular Culture, Sylvia M. Stewart
Festivals and Revelry: a Study of Identity in the Cantons of Modern Switzerland, Courtney Gayle Taylor
La Alegría Ya Viene: How Chile's Youth are Reshaping History, Anna Terry
We Live like the Poor, but We Die like the Rich: Cuban Biomedical Implementation and its Implementation within Ecuador, James Drew Toppin
North-African Immigration to France: Economic Benefit or Burden?, Adam Weaver
Ja, Ich Will: Framing the Same-Sex Marriage Debate in the 17th Session of the German Bundestag, Stephen Colby Woods
Bolivian Public Health Care: Interculturation for Indigenous Rights, Kendra Leigh Wright