Progression of Thesis

        Over intersession I was able to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and make my observations. I went on a Sunday, and arrived a little after 9 a.m. I was the first visitor there so I had the museum to myself for about an hour before other people started trickling in, which was nice, but different because I had never been in the Baseball Hall of Fame when it was so empty!    
        My thesis is progressing the way I want it to. I haven't had to make any significant changes, and I don't think I will need to.  I have begun writing the paper, and recently finished ten pages for my first draft. The writing process is going well, however I am still playing around with the order of section two of my paper, in which I will discuss the study of sports, sports museums, the study of baseball, the history of baseball, African Americans in baseball, the Negro Leagues, and the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (not necessarily in that order). As I add more content, and fill out the sections in more detail, I will be able to see more clearly how I want that section of my paper to flow. 

Below is a picture I took at the Museum. This quote caught my eye given the nature of my thesis, in which I have been conducting research on the history of baseball and how African Americans were marginalized within the sport, in order to answer my question of whether the Baseball Hall of Fame's museum challenges the traditional marginalization of African Americans in baseball.

"Major League Baseball has an enormous social responsibility to provide equal opportunities for all people, both on and off the field."  -- Commissioner Bud Selig, 2013

Plans for Thesis over Intersession

        I am using the Baseball Hall of Fame as a case study for my research on the representation of marginalized groups in sports museums, and so I will need to make observations at the Hall of Fame. Since my hometown is only about an hour from Cooperstown, New York (the location of the Baseball Hall of Fame) I will need to conduct my observations over intersession. When I go home for winter break I will be returning to my paid job, and also to the Gloversville Public Library [to complete my internship requirements]. Nevertheless, I will make time in my schedule to make as many trips to the Hall of Fame as needed to complete these observations. Additionally, I plan to continue researching my topic over winter break.
(Sample observations: How much of the exhibit space is used to interpret the history of marginalized groups in baseball? How is the history of African Americans in baseball being interpreted?)

Evolution of Thesis

My thesis has not changed much since I first came up with the idea of creating a project around baseball, but it has certainly evolved. I began with a very broad idea of what I wanted to research -- baseball. I played with the idea of creating a project around the Rochester Red Wings, but quickly realized that that wasn't the route I wanted to take. From there I spoke to my professor and my primary adviser, conducted research on baseball to get an idea of what kind of literature was out there regarding this topic, and was able to narrow the scope based on my discussions and research. It was through my primary adviser that I discovered my research question; she shared with me a list of questions that the NCPH was asking in regards to sports and sports museums. I modified one of the questions that I found interesting to create this research question: How are marginalized groups being represented in sports museums? Since I live near Cooperstown, NY I decided to use the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum as a case study for my research. I will most likely focus on one minority group -- African Americans -- and observe how much space the museum is devoting to this group. I plan to conduct interviews with the staff members to get their take on the representation of marginalized groups in sports museums. From here on out I definitely need to do more research on the history of baseball, Negro leagues, sports museums, etc. I will most likely create a list of questions, as well, to aid me in conducting my interviews.

Sports Museums

    At this point I have just about figured out my research question. I would like to take a look at how marginalized groups are represented in sports museums, using the National Baseball Hall of  Fame in Cooperstown as a case study. From my research I have learned that the study of sports, and sports museums, is a fairly new field that is receiving more attention from scholars. Sports can provide insight into different cultures, and their values throughout history. For example, one can learn a lot about the history of African Americans in the United States by taking a look at how they were represented in baseball. Baseball in particular has the most literature available because it is considered to be America's pastime.
     I still need to do more research on the history of marginalized groups in sports, particularly baseball because I am using the Hall of Fame as a case study. From this additional research I will be able to conclude which groups are considered to be marginalized, and then decide which groups I would like to focus my paper on. I would also like to have a good idea of how much space sports museums typically devote to these marginalized groups.