Senior global communication studies student Rachel Morrell will be presenting her senior thesis “The Passion of Christ and the Anti-Vietnam War Movement at Kent State University: An application of Burke’s Guilt Redemption Cycle and Smelser’s Theory of Collective Behavior” at the Central States Communication Association Convention on Friday, April 15.
This presentation will be a culmination of many months of hard work.
“I started working on my senior thesis in the Spring 2015 semester because the Honors Senior Thesis Project is a three semester commitment,” Morrell said. “I worked over the summer as well, compiling my research and literature review and spent the fall creating the draft for the conference.”
Morrell’s desire to present her paper at a conference is due to her career goal of becoming a communication studies professor. She says her thesis work has made her more passionate about the research process and turning ideas into something tangible. She also hopes the thesis will help her within the academic community.
“My next step with this paper is to work on sending it out for review and hopefully publication. The sooner I get published, the more likely I’ll continue to be published as my work matures,” she said. “It’s important to me to be taken seriously and establish that kind of ethos within the academic community. I want to contribute to the knowledge already out there and continue to add to the work of scholars that I’ve truly come to respect.”
When it comes time to actually present her research, Morrell knows her communication courses will have prepared her to effectively communicate her message. She says she is most looking forward to a question and answer segment after her presentation, so she can discover holes in her research project and improve upon it.
"Even if I fall on my face during that question and answer segment, it'll make me a stronger academic,” Morrell said. “I’m also excited to learn what other students are presenting and hearing about different perspectives, angles, processes, application of theory, etc. The study of communication is so terrifyingly and beautifully broad so I am so excited to learn as much as I can.”
Dr. Dave Trebing, an associate professor within communication studies, serves as Morrell’s thesis advisor. To learn more about the School of Communication Studies, visit www.kent.edu/comm.