1. What are you most excited about as you start your Laidlaw research summer?

I am most excited to dig into the archives to find and analyze any scraps of writings by incarcerated people and eventually formulate my own thesis for what makes the prison autobiography a distinct and revolutionary genre. Just from this first week, I feel that this is far deeper research than anything I have done before; in the past, I have mostly relied on secondary sources and mostly coalesced existing ideas. Since much of my project involves getting my hands on the direct primary sources myself, I think this will involve much more of my own analysis and pattern recognition across texts. My challenge is in both generalizing — in order to form my argument — and honoring the individuality of each author. 

1. This week, the discussions we held about research cut across the disciplines. How does the interdisciplinary nature of this program, the fact that students are focusing on such a diverse range of projects, help you think about your project and/or your academic interests more broadly?

I am particularly excited to do interdisciplinary research in history and literature. I don't have much experience with literary research, and I am looking forward to exploring this world and combining my two interests in a single project on prison writing. I anticipate that the interdisciplinary nature of the program as a whole will push me to consider my research from a variety of angles and think about how my findings will be perceived by both scholars in my specific field and laypeople.

1. As you begin your individual research projects this week, do you anticipate any challenges in getting started? If so, what are they?

I think my challenge will be in narrowing my scope; right now, I am just trying to read as much as possible, but there is only so much I can grapple with in six weeks. I know I want to focus on prison writings in the United States in the 1960s and 70s, but this is also the most prolific period of prison writings, so I will have to determine how I might narrow down what specific type of prison writings I will analyze. Though I know I am interested in the autobiography, there is no strict definition for this (given that some are in epistolary formats or transcribed audios). I may have to soon decide what I will exclude from my readings. I think time management will also be a challenge, given the short period, very flexible work schedule, and ambitious goals I have for my project. I am working to create a strict schedule for myself in order to stay on task and meet deadlines.