Dissertation and Thesis Presentations

Candidates who are in the process of defending their doctoral dissertation or master's thesis may submit their information to the Office of Graduate Studies for posting to this page. Submissions intended for this page should be submitted to candidacy@american.edu and submitted at least two weeks before the date of the defense.

Dissertation Presentations

Student Name: Día Joy Wright
Field of Study: Anthropology
Committee Chairs: Dr. Daniel Sayers
Committee Members: Dr. Alanna Warner-Smith, Dr. Manissa Maharawal, Dr. Keith Leonard, Dr. Neal Lester
Date of Presentation: April 21, 2025
Time of Presentation: 1:00 PM ET
Location: Zoom
Title of Thesis: "We See You Baby; We Know Your Name": The Praxes & Poetics of Black(Q) Identity (Re)construction and Necrographic Divinatory Embodiment as Community Care

Student Name: Tamara Oppliger
Field of Study: Clinical Psychology
Committee Chairs: Dr. Michele Carter
Committee Members: Dr. Kate Gunthert and Dr. Noemí Enchautegui-de-Jesús
Date of Presentation: April 23, 2025
Time of Presentation: 8:30 AM ET
Location: Zoom
Title of Thesis: Gendered racism and mental health among Black women: The moderating role of racial gendered identity and coping in HBCUs and PWIs