There are two annual undergraduate awards that are dedicated to the Honors Program thesis projects. The Sherley Williams Memorial Award in Literary Arts is bestowed upon the highest rated literary arts thesis, and the Burckhardt Honors Award in Literary/Cultural Criticism is bestowed upon the highest rated literary/cultural criticism thesis. The 2023-2024 winners are noted below.
Literatures in English major
Thesis Title: There’s More to Learn of What You Know: Into the Woods, Critical Pedagogy, and the Revolutionary Potential of Children
Thesis Advisor: Géraldine Fiss
"Writing this thesis was the most challenging thing I've ever done, and I could not be more grateful for it. In pushing myself, I deepened my understanding of research and art as a joint endeavor, as well as of writing as an experiment and not a product. While I am endlessly proud of my final, completed paper, I am even more proud to now know that I am capable of play, passion, and discovery at all stages of the writing process."
World Literature & Culture major
Thesis Title: Depictions of Migration in Salt, El Norte, and Overseas
Thesis Advisor: Jin-kyung Lee
"I enjoyed being part of the program and felt that it definitely gave me a better understanding of academia discourse. My mentor, Professor Lee, really helped me in how to tackle a huge writing project like this. I also had set goals to finish by the end of the week like writing at least 3 pages that made it much easier in my mind to write the paper. Participating in this program felt like I was putting all my academic skills to the ultimate test and I feel very proud of myself for accomplishing it."
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: What's Left
Thesis Advisor: Camille Forbes
"My experience in the Honors Program taught me where I am in my writing journey and strengthened my relationship with my identity and cultural history. I was challenged to learn what is important to me as a growing writer, the answer to which is something that will shift and change with me as I continue to pursue my craft. But most important was the opportunity to meet other incredible writers and build lasting creative relationships."
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: Please Remove Your Knife From My Back
Thesis Advisor: Géraldine Fiss
"Being a part of the honors program allowed me to push my writing and my imagination to a place where I know that I can tackle larger projects and do so successfully. The time spent on this project wasn't daunting but filled with exploration and fun."
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: Dirt Road
Thesis Advisor: Marco Wilkinson
"Advertisement. Promotion."
Literatures in English major
Thesis Title: From Margins to Center Stage: Asian American Representation in Mainstream Medi
Thesis Advisor: Joo Ok Kim
"Not only has the Honors Program taught me how to become a better writer, but to appreciate all the works provided to us students by our professors. I didn't realize it would take so long to write 30 pages."
Literatures in English major
Thesis Title: At the Threshold: Cyborg Writing and Female Machines in Contemporary Women’s Poetry
Thesis Advisor: Amy Sara Carroll
"I enjoyed meeting with my advisor to wrangle all my ideas into a cohesive argument. I'd never written anything of this scope before and couldn't have done it without her support."
World Literature & Culture major
Thesis Title: Childbirth, Human Hybrids, and Mutation in Horror Films
Thesis Advisor: Kathryn Walkiewicz
"Throughout my project, I learned that we should not let our fears take over. We must not be silenced because of fear."
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: Big Trouble Comes Small
Thesis Advisor: Kazim Ali
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: Undercurrents
Thesis Advisor: Camille Forbes
"The Honors Program gave me the opportunity to gather all that I have learned throughout my college experience and piece it together into a larger body of work that I am proud of. I am grateful for my peers and my advisor for helping me grow through this process."
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: The Manananggal
Thesis Advisor: Lily Hoàng
Winner of the Sherley Williams Memorial Award in Literary Arts!
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: TIANGOU OF TOMORROW
Thesis Advisor: Camille Forbes
"The program was rigorous, but through it I definitely gained a lot. The collaborative experience it offered me was invaluable, as I was working closely with both my advisor as well as others in my cohort. I'd say many aspects of the program allowed me a window into the time management, responsibility, and communication required in the process of producing long-form work at a higher level."
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: Ghost Trees - A Literary Response to Kiki Smith's Standing
Thesis Advisor: Anna Joy Springer
"The experience of working with Brandon Som as my capstone instructor and Anna Joy Springer as my thesis advisor was an incredible opportunity to grow as a writer. I felt nurtured during the entire process and was given the creative space I needed to complete my thesis. My cohort of students were a huge support as well, especially my workshop groups. I feel ready to take the next steps to advance my career as a fiction writer."
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: Your Silver Screen Bite
Thesis Advisor: Amy Sara Carroll
"My time in the Honors Program has led to a deeper appreciation of my own skills and work as a writer. I have grown to love the terrifying imperfections for what they are as steps to something greater and vastly different. I can't describe the way my heart felt uplifted as I got to share my writing with my peers and friends. A connection honed as we loved the beautiful valleys of differences and the rivers that brought us together. The strength of this connection was especially strong as we called for a free Palestine--from the river to the sea!"
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: Slightly Severed
Thesis Advisor: Camille Forbes
Literatures in English major
Thesis Title: Echoes of the Self: Virginia Woolf's Exploration of Identity and Space
Thesis Advisor: Todd Kontje
"With heartfelt gratitude for the support and guidance received, I look forward to a future brimming with personal achievements, new challenges, and endless possibilities."
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: Cathedral
Thesis Advisor: Lily Hoàng
"The Honors Program gave me the opportunity to articulate what I learned throughout my years at UCSD reading and writing my heart out. Though the process was challenging, I learned more about my craft and who I am and want to be as a writer. I am truly grateful for this experience of working with my wonderful advisor Lily Hoang and my peers. I have grown much more confident in my writing and am proud of myself for culminating the long journey of my undergrad years with my thesis!"
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: An Island of Stone and Snakes
Thesis Advisor: Andrea Mendoza
"The University of California, San Diego's Honors Program provided me with an opportunity to grow and understand myself better as a writer. By working alongside a mentor, who was both honest and encouraging with their feedback, I was able to embellish and advance my skills, while explore and experiment with different techniques. At the end of the program, I wrote a complete collection of flash essays that I am incredibly proud of."
Literatures in English major
Thesis Title: Through Lolita's Looking Glass: Girls' Voice, Girlhood Culture, and the Coquette
Thesis Advisor: Andrea Mendoza
"I am incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to spend so much time with a novel that, to me, continues to be more and more relevant to the contemporary girl. Lolita's continued cultural influence, especially in online spaces for girls, was a topic that I knew had to be both studied and put into words. I will always be thankful to my advisor and my peers for supporting me in this journey, and dedicate my research to all of the girls who inspired me to put my pen to the page."
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: everyone around you is grieving
Thesis Advisor: Casandra Lopez
"Writing is mining for gems. Sketch with a loose brush. Get sloppy. Follow the prompts to get lost. Make new rules. Ignore those rules. None of this matters. So be kind."
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: Appocrypha: Stories
Thesis Advisor: Anna Joy Springer
"BRANDOM SOM WAS GR8"
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: Hands like Spiders
Thesis Advisor: Lily Hoàng
"I won't lie to you. Composing my thesis was not unlike prying a tooth out, the words and sentences so often an uncanny wrongness pricking my nerves and gums. However, through the mentorship of Lily Hoang, the Honors Program fostered my creative development. It debunked the myth that writing is a solitary endeavor, exposing me to a community of writers who inspire me, who made the countless late nights spent drafting bearable. I shared my struggles with them, them with me, and we survived. We celebrated our triumphs together, and that sense of community has enriched our creative lives."
Winner of the Burckhardt Honors Award in Literary/Cultural Criticism!
World Literature & Culture major
Thesis Title: Graphic Alterity in Asian American Sequential Art: Inscrutable Care in the Pandemic Era
Thesis Advisor: Joo Ok Kim
"I loved being able to research topics that I was interested in and engage with materials I otherwise would not have gotten the chance to see. I am also grateful for the opportunity to work with my advisor, whose guidance was invaluable to my project."
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: Insatiable
Thesis Advisor: Meg Wesling
"The Literature & Writing Honors Program was my favorite part of my UC San Diego career. Through this program, I was able to dedicate a year of my higher education to exploring my identity as a queer woman of color through the written-word, with the aid of dedicated professors and deeply-intelligent students. I am confident that the pieces my peers and I crafted in this program will follow us for the rest of our lives. Most importantly, though, this program gave me a platform on which to speak up for what I believe in: A FREE PALESTINE!"
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: Tap Dancer: Stories
Thesis Advisor: Anna Joy Springer
"I got to work with Professor Springer and through her and the honors program I gained something much greater than a laurel, I gained life experience that led to healing and sobriety."
Literatures in English major
Thesis Title: Performing Asianness: Asian American Ethnic Humor in the Modern Day
Thesis Advisor: Babak Rahimi
"The Honors Program pushed me out of my comfort zone, encouraging me to learn more about my own personal interests and writing style. Crafting a long-form literary research project was a difficult but rewarding process, and I am grateful for the program's support systems which helped me along the way. I am immensely proud of the work my peers and I put into these projects, and it has been inspiring to see our ideas come to life."
Literatures in English major
Thesis Title: Pioneering a Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy: Return and Restoration in the Modern Zombie
Thesis Advisor: Géraldine Fiss
"It's been truly wonderful to be able to delve deep into two of my favorite childhood series in my analytical thesis for the Literary Honors Program. I learned about research, analysis, structure, and of course, time management, like I never have before. It was truly such an amazing opportunity for me to work with many of the up and coming minds within UCSD's literature department and produce a thesis I'm proud of."
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: Screaming Six Ways to Sunday: How "Until Dawn" Demonstrates the Power of Video Games
Thesis Advisor: Kathryn Walkiewicz
"This process was the hardest thing I've ever done, academically speaking, but it did teach me a few things. The first is that research is never a solitary endeavor, but instead a decidedly social one, even if we're in conversation with individuals hundreds of years old. The second is that your social community is what will revive you when you've lost all motivation to complete a project. The final thing is that we should never be afraid to critique the things we love most, because in understanding them for good and bad we become, if nothing else, more ethical enjoyers."
Literatures in English major
Thesis Title: Wilde’s Usage of Portraiture as a Space of Demise and Decay
Thesis Advisor: Amanda Batarseh
"Joining the Honor’s Program was a very meaningful experience. I got to write and do research on one of my favorite novels, and I also got to work with one of my favorite professors at UCSD. It’s an experience I will never forget and one I will forever cherish."
Literature/Writing major
Thesis Title: A Collection of Unfinished Works
Thesis Advisor: Marco Wilkinson
"The Honors Program has been a challenging but rewarding experience. While working on this project, I was humbled throughout the process, pushing beyond my limits and balancing coursework and my responsibilities as a caregiver. This experience is one that I will always value as it taught me to be tenacious and gracious with myself concerning setbacks and minor adversities. So, thank you to the wonderful staff at UCSD’s Literature Department for the amazing opportunity to excel, succeed, and grow."
Literatures in English major
Thesis Title: Transmedia, Media Literacy, and "The Hunger Games"
Thesis Advisor: Ameeth Vijay
"This program gave me the opportunity to analyze and research on a more extensive level than I had been able to in any of my classes. I became much more confident in my writing. While it seemed intimidating at first, my advisor and peers provided guidance and encouragement when I needed it, and I am very grateful to them all."