Back into the thick of it

The break has come and passed and this new semester brings me back to working on thesis. Over the break and up through now I was able to have some great conversations about what I'm working on and upon stopping into the museum with my case study the workers there were really enthusiastic about talking with me and giving me materials to work with. So now begins the process of taking all the information and research I had and gained and taking it to the written form. I find myself in a state of reflection as I sit down and put thought to words and consider what has led me here.

Back to writing I go!

Winter Break: The Time To Get Going

As the semester is coming to an end and things are beginning to slow down, winter break is ever-present in the minds of all students. While I am excited for the chance to rest and take a break it also means making sure I have set goals for my continued work on my thesis over the break.

After some discussion with my primary advisor and some personal goals of my own, my main objective over the break is to get a good start on both my paper and my digital project. I would like to get into The Cazenovia Library's Collection and start compiling more sources regarding the specific history of its objects. I'd also like to give a thorough eye to its exhibition itself and how I will make it into a digital space. With all the free time I will have I'd ideally like to set weekly goals for myself on steps I want to be completed so that my schedule can still be flexible and restful without my work becoming completely pushed to the side.

Moving in a direction

As week 4 has begun to settle in the weight of needing to decide what I want to do my thesis on settles in as well. When I began this semester, I was trying to think in more depth about what I'm interested in and what I can write that will keep me interested and how I can turn that into a thesis. I had a couple of different ideas, each touching on things I had thought about in the past and things that had once meant something to me, but moving forward I think I know what I want to do. What I needed to determine for the project is what I actually felt a personal stake in. Moving forward my topic is shaping up to be along the lines of:
A look into repatriation of non-Native artifacts, what can we do and what are our obligations to the objects when economically repatriation is not possible. How can modern technology help us do right by the objects and their homes?
The wording needs some work but the idea is there at least. I have talked with friends over the years about the mummy that lives in our home town, how weird it is and how ethically it feels a little off. But in talking about it and what we could do we always knew that sending them home wasn't economically an option for the small library at all. So taking on this project would finally allow me to answer the question "Alright, we can't send Hen back, but what can we do?"