Capstone Information
MESA minors who do not pursue the minor with language emphasis will complete a capstone paper as their last course. This will likely happen during junior or senior years. Through this project, you will deepen your understanding of an already strong interest, and work with specialists within our MESA faculty, who will guide your inquiry through meetings and discussion. The final product should be a well-wrought argument that takes into consideration all recent and relevant scholarship, and uses primary and secondary materials.
Guidelines
- Reach out to the MESA director to alert her/him of your capstone plans about one month before you intend to carry out the capstone. During this time you will also need to:
- Identify a well-considered, viable topic
- Reach out to a MESA faculty to be your advisor (please see list of faculty below)
- Register for your 3-credit Capstone
- In consultation with your advisor, you will need to:
- Create a calendar of due dates for this semester-long writing project
- Articulate the main research questions/argument you are interested in pursuing
- Build a bibliography of relevant resources (primary and secondary)
- Meet with the MESA director once during the writing of the capstone to discuss progress
- Send final capstone papers to both advisor and MESA director
- At the end of the academic year, there will be a presentation of MESA capstones (from both Fall and Winter terms). During this 10-15 minute presentations, you should share your research questions, argument, and findings
Format
- Roughly 10,000 words (about 20 pages double-spaced)
- Clearly stated thesis statement or argument noted at the beginning & supported throughout the paper
- Section on contribution/state of the field
- Follow conventions of discipline in which you are working
Program Info
Faculty Advisors
We have a number of faculty who may be able to work with you on your project.
Aliaa Bassiouny
Lawrence Term Associate Professor of Finance
Bassiouny’s teaching portfolio includes courses in managerial finance, investments, portfolio management, international finance, valuation and financial modeling. Her research interests include investments and empirical market microstructure with a focus on emerging markets.
Niels-Hugo (Hugo) Blunch
Darrold and Kay Cannan Term Professor of Economics
- P: 540-458-8619
- E: blunchn@wlu.edu
Blunch teaches econometrics and health economics, and also takes students to Ghana for study abroad. His research pertains to health, education and labor market issues. Previously, Blunch worked with the World Bank and the United Nations.
Seth Cantey
Associate Professor of Politics; MESA Program Head
- P: 540-458-8019
- E: canteys@wlu.edu
Cantey teaches courses on global politics, Middle Eastern politics, intelligence, terrorism and foreign policy. His commentary on current events has been picked up by various media outlets, such as USA Today and the Huffington Post.
Anthony (Antoine) Edwards
Associate Professor of Arabic
On Sabbatical 2024-2025
- P: 540-458-8396
- E: edwardsa@wlu.edu
Edwards teaches courses in Arabic at all levels as well as a course on the Arab world through film. His research centers around Arabic language and grammar as well as the histories and ideologies of Arabic.
Emily Filler
Assistant Professor of Religion
- P: 540-458-8788
- E: efiller@wlu.edu
Filler teaches The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and Topics in American Judaism. Her research focuses on modern Jewish and continental philosophy, political and ethical theory, and classical Jewish texts.
Stuart Gray
Associate Professor of Politics
- P: 540-458-5879
- E: grays@wlu.edu
Gray teaches numerous courses on political philosophy, Gandhi and Greek/Indian political theory. His research focuses on the history of political thought, global comparative political theory and South Asian political thought.
Timothy Lubin
Jessie Ball DuPont Professor of Religion
- P: 540-458-8146
- E: lubint@wlu.edu
Professor Lubin teaches courses on Asian religions and comparative study of religion and law. He researches Hindu religious history, law in ancient Asia, and texts and inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Old Javanese and Old Tamil.
Shikha Silwal
Associate Professor of Economics
- P: 540-458-8256
- E: silwals@wlu.edu
Silwal teaches courses such as The Economics of War and Peace, and Culture and Economic Development. She also co-teaches a study abroad course in Nepal. Silwal researches conflict and peace studies with a focus on South Asia.