Our most significant plan for the upcoming academic year concerns a complete re-vamping of our senior thesis process and requirements, as we embrace a more liberatory approach to the proposal process, faculty review, mentoring, and final output.

We realized that the structure of the proposal process might privilege domestic students who may, at times, more easily develop strong social networks among their peers, or who may be more comfortable being outspoken about their ideas. In response, we have broken down the hierarchical structure of the senior thesis, emphasizing collaboration among students and faculty along all steps of the process. Perhaps most significantly, the stakes of the proposal have been reduced because all seniors are assured in advance to participate in a senior film. We have also dismantled the hierarchical structure of the thesis projects: if students wish to write/direct their own project from start to finish, that remains a possibility; but if a student is passionate about one area of creative practice (say, costume design), then they may choose to work on multiple projects, emphasizing their area of interest/passion and likewise making the entire thesis process more holistic and collaborative for the senior class as a whole.

In effect, we have made the students co-collaborators in the very crafting of the thesis requirements and grading process, taking inspiration from liberatory and de-colonizing pedagogies that seek to make students equal participants in the development of their own education and educational practices.