Blog #6: Reigning it in

     Since I first conceptualized the topic for my thesis I've had to reduce the scope of my research tremendously. Initially, I had hoped to discuss the entire German community in Rochester, which currently consists of eight members of the Federation of German American Societies (FGAS); down from 13 member groups when I first became affiliated with the FGAS in 2002. This loss of groups due to members aging out and not being replaced by younger members is what initially attracted me to the issue to see what could be done to preserve membership in the various groups. After researching the issues faced by one FGAS member group, the Schuhplattler Verein Heidengold (SVH) it became clear that to try to discuss every member group would be too large of a task for my thesis, so I decided to focus solely on the Schuhplattler Verein Heidengold. That in itself has presented more than enough content to complete my thesis.

     I had also conceptualized going in to depth as to the tanzen (dances) and tracht (clothing) that the SVH present as being authentic to the Allgäu region of Germany that they represent. While I still plan on addressing these points, I feel that I will not necessarily need to go in to the detail that I had originally planned on to still get my point across about the means that the SVH go to in order to ensure that their representation is trustworthy.

     I believe that an examination of the entirety of the member groups of the Federation of German American Societies is important to ensure the continuance of German heritage in Rochester and will suggest in my thesis that it be researched for future work.