Elon sociology majors present semester long research projects at poster session on campus.
Elon University’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology celebrated the scholarly achievements of its senior Sociology majors during the Sociology Senior Seminar Poster Session on Tuesday, Nov. 18, in Lindner 209. The event marked an important milestone in the senior seminar experience, as students showcased original research projects developed over the course of the semester.
The session featured projects spanning an impressive range of sociological issues—from family, identity, media and mental health to law, education, community support and social inequality. Each poster represented months of work designing studies and attaining IRB approval, collecting and analyzing data, and drawing connections to broader sociological theories and frameworks.
Students examined how people make meaning in their everyday lives through media, relationships and culture. Projects included explorations of comfort television among individuals with OCD (Brooke Goldstein), children’s books and neurodivergent identity formation (Avery Shipp), media portrayals of serial homicide (Morgan Murphy, Elon College Fellow, mentored by Associate Professor Rena Zito) and the role of third places in modern university settings (Emily Dvorak).
Several students focused on family and identity, including sibling experiences in families with special needs children (Shelby Kaufman), parental perspectives on adoption from China during the One-Child Policy (Emma Hash, Honors Fellow mentored by Professor of Sociology Tom Arcaro) and depictions of families in the media (Khoreen Johnson). Others analyzed social issues in institutional contexts, such as mental illness in prison media depictions (Emilee Welch), the law school pipeline (Savannah Ginda) and experiences of Black fatigue among students at PWIs (Kendall Lytle).
The showcase also included projects on social support and community response, such as support mechanisms for children experiencing domestic violence in Alamance County (Gia Coleman), and studies of stigma, identity, and belonging, including the experiences of furries and their fursonas (Will Walters) and the ADHD experiences of today’s youth (Parker Greason).
Additional projects explored fitness culture (Daniela Lorino), public grief narratives surrounding adolescent suicide and school shootings (Gavin Michaud), older adults’ sense of being heard in healthcare settings (Diana Luther), and the storytelling and legitimacy of handwritten versus typed in forma pauperis petitions (Corrin Line).
Light refreshments were provided by Alpha Kappa Delta, the Sociology Honor Society, as faculty, staff, and peers visited each poster, asked questions, and celebrated the intellectual growth of the department’s graduating seniors. The course is taught by Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Alexis Franzese.
The senior seminar course is designed to give students the opportunity to apply the full range of their sociological training. The creativity, rigor, and thoughtfulness on display in these projects reflects the depth of the learning and the passion majors bring to understanding real-world issues. Students will give oral presentations on their topics during the final exam week and have also created portfolios that reflect their educational journeys in the major.