Back to School

I was a little nervous about how I was progressing in the semester until I saw everyone else worrying about how it's only week 3 and they already feel like they're behind! Though by this point you think I would be used to it. The writing has been okay, I'm working through it, though it will definitely be a little disjointed right now until I get a better idea of how I would actually like to structure my research content. Right now I am working on my introduction section and a section on religion and the Erie Canal. This weekend I am hoping to read "Low Bridge: Folklore and the Erie Canal" by Lionel D. Wyld, depending on the progress of that I will also pick up "The Psychic Highway: How the Erie Canal Changed America" by Michel T. Keene. Both get into some of the more general history of the canal. I'm not sure if I'll read all of Low Bridge, as the first few chapters are more relevant for my studies than the second half of the book. The Psychic Highway looks at a lot of the social impacts I am interested in.

Back in the Saddle

As we approach the end of week 3 I cannot believe how fast this semester is moving. At the same time it is good to get into the process of writing the main portion of my thesis. I have been doing work on the project since the end of last semester but I decided to focus in on the artifact selection process. Having done the research on the best practices for selecting artifacts, I figured it was time to get going on the process. As I went I took pretty copious notes on my thought process for selection and these notes will form the basis of the next piece of my thesis. I will also introduce the topic of K-12 standards and explain how I have been using those to guide my selection process. The K-12 standards have been very helpful as they have helped me in trying to craft a narrative for the exhibit. Overall I am feeling very confident heading into the rest of the semester and cannot wait to move on to the rest of this project.

Winter Plans

I  have a great base for my thesis and have done a lot of the research necessary to actually begin working on my project, which is what my plan is for winter break. Throughout break I will be focusing on trying to actually find sources and do more digging on the Erie Canal so as to begin the creation of the exhibit. I will be taking meticulous notes along the way so that when it comes time to translate my experiences into a thesis paper, I will be able to retrace my steps throughout the process. I hope to have a list of sources for the project done and ready by the end of break so the process of creating the exhibit itself can begin by the time spring semester starts.

I will be able to put most of my focus on working on the actual thesis as I will have no work to do for other classes. While I will be working my normal job still I will have plenty of free time and I should be able to focus the majority of my attention on work for the thesis.

Winter Writing

During winter break I am going to dedicate a lot of time to do a deep-dive on research about the history of the Erie Canal and the impacts it had on the Seneca Falls region. I will specifically be researching how it impacted religion, the movement of ideas, the movement of people, economics, and the environment. During this research, I'm also going to start throwing around ideas for a tour/educational program/lecture that I have been invited to present in Spring at the park. I'm planning to spend 10-20 hours a week during the break on my thesis, but the quieter weeks may see a few more hours.

I am also planning to make a few trips to Seneca Falls Women's Rights National Historic Park to get the lay of the land and meet some of the people I could be working with. On January 5th there is an event going on at Seneca Falls called  "The Preamble and the Enlightenment" which is part 2 of a 6 part series examining the Declaration of Sentiments which I plan to attend (and may bring some family too).

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the principal author of the Declaration of Sentiments. Photo from Wikipedia. 

Evolving Thesis

After speaking with Denise from Seneca Falls Women's Rights National Historic Park my topic has changed from the confluence of science and history to looking at how the Erie Canal impacted the movement of people and how that led to the movement of ideas and reform in Seneca Falls. I'm going to be researching the topic thoroughly and providing them with my thesis at the end so they may use it to develop an educational program and tour. We will discuss next week the possibility of pairing me with a ranger so I can work with them during my thesis to begin making the program and tour. So while I have moved from science to history, my goal of creating educational programming has remained.

Erie Canal at Seneca Falls. Image from http://www.nycanals.com/Seneca_Falls

We did also discuss the idea of looking at how the Erie Canal impacted the biodiversity of Seneca Falls, and I may incorporate that, but we generally moved away from it to keep the scope of the project within what I can manage. Depending on how things progress, I may choose to look into that as well. I'm considering writing about both the ecology as well as reform history and then just developing a program/tour on one of the topics.