What I have achieved so far
Being completely transparent, my knowledge surrounding my research project was somewhat limited at the beginning of my research period - this meant that my first couple of weeks had to be spent improving my basic knowledge on the topic of my research. (My research project is: 'Telling the Stories of Colonial Populations in the French Resistance through Self-Guided Heritage Walking Tours.'). This included improving my understanding on the Second World War in general, gaining a comprehensive and intricate understanding of the French Internal Resistance, learning the names of colonial subjects who participated in acts of resistance, what forms their acts took, and where they carried out these acts. It was important to achieve all of this and be confident in my knowledge since a part of my research project involved going to Paris to hone in on my area of research (along-side my partner @Thomas O'Rourke).
Whilst in Paris, we collected archival material (from the Police Archives), began to map out potential routes for our tours (through visits to Bobigny and various arrondissements), collected audio and visual data (across Paris), deepened our understanding of the French Resistance through visits to museums and memorials (Museum of the Liberation of Paris, Mémorial du Mont-Valérien, Holocaust Memorial and Museum, Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation, the Immigration Museum, former Deportation Station in Bobigny) and more! Overall, this was an incredible experience, not only because it further improved our knowledge but since it was also incredibly immersive and allowed us to visualise and piece together the lives of these individuals - thus making me more determined to work as hard as I can to produce great walking tours and give a voice to those who have been voiceless and marginalised throughout history.
What's next?
Moving forward, over the next couple of weeks, Thomas and I will continue synthesising all of our work so far in order to create our walking tours - which will (hopefully) allow people to imagine the lives lived by these people!