Honors Program Theses

Award/Availability

Open Access Honors Program Thesis

First Advisor

Brian Roberts

Abstract

A thesis project," ... gives Honors students the opportunity to explore a scholarly area of interest and engage in original research or creative work under the guidance of a faculty member."2 Typically, a history or philosophy student will write a thesis paper on a topic of personal or academic interest. I was interested in pursuing a more creative option, which complemented my intention of pursuing work in the field of public history after I graduate. This interest, combined with previous volunteer work in museums and a desire to learn more about 3 museum work, led to the decision to produce an exhibit for my thesis project. The topic of the exhibit required greater thought, as I wanted to adhere to the Cedar Falls Historical Society's mission,3 while avoiding repetition of any recent exhibits or projects.4 Discussion and consideration of possible topics that pertained to both Cedar Falls and the University of Northern Iowa brought attention to the fact that very little was written or collectively known about the businesses on College Hill and the role they played in student and residential communities. With the selection of a topic and approval from everyone involved, I was able to pursue a project that provided a valuable experience that far exceeded what I might have accomplished with a paper. Through the project, I learned that the process of creating an exhibit was more of a hybrid of the research thesis project and the creative thesis project, as both research and creative activity were essential to the completion of the project.

Year of Submission

2013

Department

Department of History

University Honors Designation

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the designation University Honors

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.

Date Original

5-2013

Object Description

1 PDF file (v 51 pages)

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