The Senior Program

The Senior Program is an integrating, culminating academic experience for all sociology majors. Drawing on the methodology, research and thinking skills that they have developed during the first three years of study, seniors work closely with at least one faculty member to plan and complete the senior thesis. Work on the thesis includes an oral presentation in a public forum, where the audience includes visiting faculty members from other colleges and universities as well as faculty and students from the Hamilton program.

Recent projects in sociology include:

• Orthodox Jewish Identity Maintenance, Boundary-Setting and Social Organization in a Miami Beach Enclave
• A Campus Divided?: Comparing Perspectives on Identity Politics at an Elite Liberal Arts Institution
• Oops! I Might Really Need Help!: Socioeconomic Background and Learning How to Seek Help
• An Apple a Day Keeps the Copay Away: Cultural Health Capital and the Health Seeking Behaviors of the Privileged Poor at an Elite College
• Coloring Inside the Lines: Racial Identity in the World of PWIs
• Stigma Management Strategies in Autistic College Students
• Bridging Home and School: The Impact of Social Class on Parent-Teacher Interactions
• Can I Have A Hug? (Only If No One Is Watching)
• Thunder Lizards: Unpacking the Dynamics of Startup Survival and Success in the Technology Industry
• Is Kamala Brat?: Gen-Z, Trust, and Pop Culture as an Agent of Political Mobilization
• Spectrums: A Qualitative Analysis of Individual Experiences Across the Intersections of Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Neurodivergence
• Masculinity On and O? the Court: Male College Athletes and the Performance of Gender
• Shattering Stigma or Building Barriers: Understanding Mental Health Seeking Behavior at Hamilton College
• What’s In a Label?: Identity Formation and Negotiation Among Pro-Choice and Pro-Life Feminists
• Exploring the Potential Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Levels of Support in One’s Network
• Teaming Up: Adult Sports Leagues as Civic Infrastructure
• Classed-Based Parenting Strategies and Advocacy Among Parents with Autistic Children
• (Un)common Threads: Appearance and Labelling Practices Amongst Lesbian College Students
• Artificial Intelligence and Physicians: Perspectives, Experiences, and Resistance to Changing Dynamics in the Healthcare System
• ‘What’s the right thing to post?’: Collaboration and Constrainment in Reproductions of the Instagram Anorexia Recovery Subculture
• Just Here for the Season: Precarity, Privilege, and Belonging in a Western Ski Town
• UPHOLDING IDEOLOGICAL REALITIES: Assessing Political Influencers’ Rhetorical Strategies Surrounding the 2024 Election
• Making Gender Work: How Non-Binary Employees Navigate Gender And Cisnormativity At Work
• Gender Stereotypes in Job Applications: Intertwined Effects of Parental Warmth, Educational Achievement, And Gender
• The Good Coach: An Investigation of How Moral Ideals, Gender, and Division Level Influence Collegiate Swim Coaches
• Someone Worth Fighting For? Family Dynamics and Romantic Autonomy Among Second-Generation Asian Americans