The following American Studies Seminar research papers were written by students in the 2002 seminar, "Private Writings: Their Uses and Value for History and Literature," under the supervision of Helen R. Deese.

• "Big Men on Campus?: Levi Lincoln Newton and the Harvard riots," by Erin Bartram
• "The Letters of George Gustavus Kimball: A Reflection of the Greatest Generation," by James Bostock
• "A Young Woman's Battle with Tuberculosis: A Comprehensive Evaluation of the Diaries of Sarah Josephine Stoughton," by Sara Campbell
• "Serious Business: Growing up in 19th Century Massachusetts" by Meghan Griffiths
• "The Significance of Private Writings: An Analysis of A Convict's Diary, an Unpublished Manuscript," by Jane McGowan
• "Selected Letters of Lucy Chase, 1870's," by Janet O'Brien
• "A New England School Boy in 1874: The Diary of Kenneth Allen," by Erin Penoyer-Gerbino
• "Selected Journal Letters of Jonas King," by Elizabeth R. Salazar
• "Abby and Stephen Foster: A Personal Perspective," by P. Thomas Spencer
• "Levi Lincoln Newton, b. 1820, d. 1847 Worcester Unmarried: The Story of Levi Lincoln Newton," by Daniel Wajnowski