Author: Grace Fuller Major: International Studies
During the Fall 2020 semester, I continued the process of working on my honors thesis in International Studies under the direction of Dr. Lora Walsh from the Department of English. I am a student of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, and my thesis on the interpretations of women in the apocalypse texts of various religions combines my major in International Studies with my minor in Religious Studies. Over this next semester, I will be finishing my thesis and defending it in preparation for graduation.
Through my research, I aim to gain a deeper understanding of the reasonings behind depictions of women in apocalypse texts like the one of Revelation in the Christian Bible. This understanding will then be brought into a modern understanding of the functions of women in apocalypse narratives with a goal of understanding why women serve the roles they do in modern conceptions of the end times.
The process of me working towards choosing my research topic started in Fall 2017 in my first semester of college. In one of my classes, Perspectives in History taught by Dr. Laurence Hare, I was tasked with writing my final term paper on an issue in the realm of the apocalypse. The research I did for this paper helped me to realize the great interest I had in stories of the apocalypse and helped to start me on the path towards being comfortable commenting on and analyzing apocalyptic narratives.
This interest in the apocalypse continued on through my college education, and I wrote a number of other class papers on topics surrounding the apocalypse culminating in Spring 2020 when I had to make a definitive decision about what I would write my honors thesis on. I decided on my research topic as it satisfied my growing want to learn about all things apocalypse and it is tied more personally to my want to advocate for women and their oppression that can be seen in religious texts. My honors thesis is titled The Role of Women in Religious Apocalypse Texts and How These Interpretations Relate to Modern Apocalyptic Discourse. I chose my thesis mentor, Dr. Lora Walsh, because I was interested in the research she does on women in Christianity and felt that her research would complement my own. Dr. Walsh has been a great asset throughout my research journey as she has kept me accountable and has continuously been there to provide guidance and to suggest different sources to add diversity to my thesis.
Throughout my process of conducting research for my thesis, I was faced with many challenges and roadblocks, the biggest of these being a global pandemic. Although being stuck at home all the time would appear to be a perfect setting to conduct research for my thesis as the majority of my research is reading and analyzing books, I found it difficult to focus amid the constant crises. Along these lines, I had to learn prioritization through the course of my research as it was being conducted during a very hectic semester of online learning. However, I overcame these roadblocks through learning how to plan my days in the most efficient ways and blocking out specific times which I could devote solely to my thesis research.
While conducting my research, I learned a great deal about the field of biblical studies. One of the most important things I have learned is that, while existing research may lead the dialogue surrounding women in the apocalypse in a certain way, there really is no clear answer to why women have depicted the ways that they are. This has allowed me to draw my own conclusions about why women are oppressed through apocalypse narratives and to find evidence to support my conclusions.
In this upcoming semester, I will continue to work towards the completion of my thesis. This will include continued research through reading and analyzing books as well as putting the finishing touches on my written thesis. I will also be defending my thesis this semester and plan to continue to foster my interest in religion and the depictions of women throughout history in my post-grad life.