Penn State Altoona students have crafted innumerable senior theses and performed various internships as requirements for their degrees in History. These undertakings are testaments to the wide array of interests and expertise of our students and faculty. Below is a small sampling of such projects completed in recent years.
Senior Capstone Form
Senior Theses
- Leena Anwar – “Kristallnacht.” Fall 2012.
- Marybeth Baker – “Silent Complicity: What Americans Knew about the Holocaust.” Fall 2005.
- Bryan Carnes – “Eugenic and Volkish Influence on Mein Kampf.” Fall 2007.
- Danielle Corrigan – “The Voices of Silence: The Political History Reproductive Rights in Chile.” Spring 2006.
- Emily Crum – “The International Industrial Funding of World War I.” Spring 2009.
- Andrew Culp – “Esotericism and Nazi Germany.” Spring 2013.
- Scott Davis – “The Relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots.” Spring 2010.
- Nicole DeAngelis – “Eugenics: The Kaiser Wilhelm Institute and Cold Springs Harbor Institute.” Spring 2009.
- Andrew Emigh (Student Marshal) – “The Hartford Circus Fire.” Spring 2010.
- Dustin Faust – “The German Panther Tank.” Summer 2010.
- Matthew Fornari – “Aleister Crowley: Conspirator.” Spring 2009.
- Matthew Fries – “Augustus Caesar: The Making of an Emperor.” Spring 2009.
- Jorge Gonzalez – “The History of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.” Fall 2011.
- Adam Gorba – “The Quest for the Holy Grail: Its Legends and its Influence on Popular Culture through Film.” Spring 2010.
- Joshua Graham – “Operation Weserübung: Nazi Germany’s Invasion of Norway and Denmark.” Spring 2008.
- Casey Granlund - “How the Matchlock Changed Japanese Warfare.” Spring 2014.
- Christie Hackman - “Western Perceptions of the Geisha: How the Media, the Arts, and Gender Mold History.” Fall 2013.
- Zachary Hammers – “Hannibal.” Spring 2012.
- James Irion – “The Evolution of Chinese Civil Service Examinations.” Spring 2010.
- Byron Kost - “Military Culture of Modern Japan, 1868-1945.” Spring 2011.
- Joseph Labriola – “Alexander the Great: Genuine Celestial or Ordinary Man?” Spring 2012.
- Elizabeth Lutton – “Know-Nothingism: An Examination into the Know Nothing Organization, with Particular Emphasis on the Pennsylvanian and Northern Orders.” Spring 2005.
- Charles Lynch – “The American Paratrooper in World War II.” Spring 2010.
- Jonathan McConahy – “Irish History: What Does it Mean to be Irish?” Spring 2012.
- Darrel Morris – “Washington’s First War.” Fall 2012.
- David Ollman – “Gallipoli and its Impact on Turkey.” Spring 2010.
- Felicia Robinson - “Nationalism and Identity: Mahatma Gandhi and Mustafa Kemal’s Nationalist Movements.” Spring 2013.
- Robert Robinson – “Cold War Near-Misses.” Fall 2012.
- Christopher Scelsi – “William Harvey's Circulation of the Blood: A Paradigm Shift?” Spring 2006.
- Matthew B. Smith - “Central Control and Local Reaction in Tokugawa Japan, 1600- 1867.” Spring 2012.
- Eric Sral – “The Origin and Development of the German Maschinengewehr 42.” Spring 2010.
- Linda Webster – “The History of Barbed Wire on United States Prairies and Reservations.” Fall 2009.
- Zachary Williams – “Augustus Caesar.” Spring 2012.
Copies of senior theses are on file in the History Coordinator's office.
Internships
- Nick Arthur at Fort Roberdeau Historic Site in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Summer 2014.
- Christopher Baker at the United States Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Summer 2010.
- Elizabeth Bartholow at the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site in Cresson, Pennsylvania.
- Sean Burroughs as a Pennsylvania General Assembly Legislatives Assistant for Representative Rick Geist. Summer 2010.
- Jared Frederick at Gettysburg National Military Park in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Summer 2009.
- Tyler Gum at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Summer 2008.
- Nate Koozer at the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site in Cresson, Pennsylvania. Summer 2006.
- Joel Troxell at Baker Mansion and the Blair County Historical Society in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Fall 2013.
Our students have also completed internships and independent studies at:
- Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum – Altoona, PA
- Blair County District Attorney's Office – Hollidaysburg, PA
- Blair County Courthouse – Hollidaysburg, PA
- Cambria County District Attorney's Office – Ebensburg, PA
- Jennie Wade House Museum – Gettysburg, PA
- Law Offices of Lepley, Engelman, and Yaw – Williamsport, PA
- Quaint Corner Children’s Discovery Center – Altoona, PA
