The Enterprise

On January 31, 2018 Price and I met with one of our college’s librarians. We had no idea what to expect, but it did not go exactly as we had hoped. There was no aha moment that led to clarity in our project. We only managed to untangle one knot. We are still looking for a specific case, and I am torn between historical and contemporary. A local newspaper could prove to be a valuable source for either, but advancements in technology and the way people interact have made sources for a contemporary case far more interesting.

If we do a historical case, we lose the opportunity to include video recordings of petitions. It is difficult to predict what case may compel the most interesting primary sources. To work around this, my group will need to investigate a few cases to get a better idea of how they may play out. I plan to spend most of the early part of this week narrowing my options down to two cases and heavily fleshing out the possibilities.

This past weekend I brainstormed ways I would like to present my case. I want to have more than just text. I believe history displayed through an online medium should show a combination of images, video, audio, and writing. I hope to film future interviews with a public librarian and our college librarians. I also hope to track down opinions on both sides to present a fleshed-out explanation on why a case has been contested, if it should remain in public schools or libraries, and if it was appropriate to contest it at all. It is a little nerve-wracking to consider the front-facing nature of this project. If we undertake a contemporary case and disagree with the petitioners, we may have to deal with their response to our research. If it is a historical case, it is less likely to produce conflict, but the work must be presented thoroughly just in case.

I have made a few videos for other projects, but I hope to work closely with our school technician to produce something our school and this project can be proud of. I also hope to produce something that others can use as a resource for their own research and that our work will be cited because it is thorough and supports a well-crafted argument. It would be heartbreaking to have this project fall short of my expectations, and I intend to put the time and effort into this project to make it special. Hopefully the work Price and I do will inspire future students of St. Mary’s College of Maryland to select coursework like this.