Speaking at Princeton’s 250th anniversary convocation in October 1996, novelist and professor Toni Morrison began with a reference to William Wordsworth’s meditation on “the spirit of the place,” in The Prelude. Morrison thought there were two ways of thinking about Princeton: as a place of collective memory that is part of the nation’s history, and one of private memory. Read more
Senior thesis: Rosales transforms his immigrant experience on page and stage from Princeton University on Vimeo
Senior Edwin Rosales, a first-generation college student who emigrated from Guatemala with his parents when he was a child, drew on his own family stories and extensive research to write not one but two senior theses. The first, an original collection of short stories, “The Art of Stones,” satisfied the thesis requirements for his major in English and certificate in creative writing. He also wrote a play, “Spring on Fire: A Guatemalan Story,” for his certificates in theater and Latin American studies.
Princeton students must write a senior thesis or conduct an independent research project for their majors and certificates, and the creation of the thesis is considered a defining achievement in students’ academic lives. Read more