Independent Study Projects

Each year, members of the senior class apply to complete an Independent Study Project (ISP). If selected, they spend the spring working with an advisor to research and write an extensive paper on a topic of their own choosing. At the end of the semester, the entire school community is invited to join us as the seniors present their projects. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Panayotes Dakouras, the director of the ISP program, at pdakouras@nightingale.org.

Sample topics from the Class of 2012 ISP presentations

Commercial Sexual Exploitation: A Local Perspective on a Global Problem
A Play Without Words: Creating Costumes for the Theater
La Quête du "Nouveau": The Search for the "New" in the Poetry of Baudelaire, Rimbaud, and Mallarmé
The Best on Broadway: A Vocal Presentation of Women in Stephen Sondheim's Musicals
The CIA: An Agency of Deception
Writing Modern Short Fiction
Predicting the Unpredictable: A Foray into Stock-Investment Strategy
Word of Mouth: A Brief History and a Performance of Stand-up Comedy
Another Dimension: An Experiment in Performance Art
Do You Know What I Mean?: Exploring the Use of Language in Human Communication and in William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying
Feminism Lost: The Reality Behind the Perception that the Women's Movement Has Won
What Would You Do?: A Documentary on Diversity in Independent Schools
Too Funny to Fail: Comedy Through YouTube
The Inflammasome and its Role in the Adaptive Immune System
Museum Explorers: Connecting Public and Private Schools Through Art
Playwriting: Creative Process and Critique in Two Plays