To be honest, I'm definitely further behind on this project than I would like to be. It has been hard to find the time to do research on a long term project when there are always more pressing tasks that need to be completed. For a while, I struggled over which topic to write about. Having so many options makes it more difficult because there are also so many options that could go wrong. However, with feedback from Professor Burnham, I was able to settle on a topic that I am very excited about: female politicians. As a Political Science major, I have always found the conversation surrounding women in this field very interesting. There is a strong stereotype that politicians are often older, white men fortunate enough to benefit from generational wealth. This stereotype is often true, which makes the stories of women who manage to break the imaginary boundary even more intriguing. My next decision was deciding which text I wanted to make my home text. I should say "is deciding" because I am still hesitant. At first, I wanted to do Antigone. While there are no female politicians in Antigone, I thought it was bold of Antigone to stand up for what she believed in, in defiance of her powerful uncle. While the situation in Home Fire where Aneeka defies Karamat is similar, I think Antigone's revolt was even bolder than Aneeka's given the context of the play in 441 BCE. The punishment for women defying a man in 441 BCE was incredibly severe, sometimes fatal. On the other hand, any hypothetical punishment for Aneeka would have been handed down by Britain, a modernized, western nation. While this argument does make Antigone seem like a more compelling home text, I'm still hesitant because I would rather work with a text that isn't a play. I find it simpler to comprehend ideas in a novel format rather than a play format. As I said before, I still haven't decided, I just wanted to let everyone in on what I'm thinking.
I really enjoyed being in this class for the last two quarters. Originally, I was nervous and scared to be writing as much as we have because writing is not my strong suit. I was afraid I'd fall behind. While there was definitely plenty of initial struggle in the transition from high school writing to college writing, I feel like I have improved a lot as a writer. In particular, I have improved on writing research papers, something that was a serious endeavor for me in high school. Aside bettering my writing skills, I appreciated this class for all of the time periods we learned about. I also really enjoyed doing projects such as Neatline which incorporated map-based research. Learning about cultures from different time periods and different physical locations really widened my scope of the world. I was born in the United States when it was already considered one of the most powerful countries in the world. For that reason, my perspective is very limited and it is easy for me to b...
Hi James, It is pretty much the same for me. The research portion just seems like it is taking longer than it should be and taking up a lot of time with so few results. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I completely understand why you are a little hesitant to use Antigone as your home text.
ReplyDeleteI have also struggled to be fully motivated to complete this project. I think most of it in the abstract as it is overall a daunting task. However, once I develop my sources more I am sure that it will become more clear where the project is going.
ReplyDeleteHey James! I also struggled with picking a topic, and I definitely get what you are saying about how when there are lots of other things to do, it is easy to let long term projects such as this fall on the back-burner. It is awesome that you found a topic you are interested in, and that connects to your major! I'm excited to see what you end up creating. Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteHi James! I too struggled with finding a realistic topic for myself and connecting it to a home text. But, don't be discouraged! It seems like you have a good start and having all these ideas are great! I love your ideas so far! It's great that you chose a topic that matches well with your interests! It seems like it can be quite nuanced, so you have a lot to work with hopefully. I can't wait to see what you end up doing!
ReplyDeleteHi James! I completely can relate to some of your struggles with your research right now. It was hard at the beginning for me to find motivation and a topic to settle on, but I'm glad you have a made a decision on that. I'm looking forward to see how you tie your topic in with the texts!
ReplyDeleteI like your topic, and completely agree that the amount of choices we have actually makes it harder to settle on something that feels the most generative. I can also relate to being behind on the project, as I'm struggling with alot of the process and feel pretty behind. Best of luck to the both of us!
ReplyDeleteJames, I totally relate to your struggle with research! There is not a lot of time right now at this point in the quarter, so finding time to actually sit and do research has been a major struggle for me as well. I think your topic is unique and will bring about some really interesting discussion and texts! I cannot wait to see it in its final form!
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