On Tuesday I had my weekly lunch with the other Barnard Laidlaw Scholars and our faculty coordinators, where a Barnard librarian talked to us about the resources at our disposal for organizing our research (thank you, Jennie!) It was incredibly helpful to meet my peers in a formal space like that, and we've coordinated times throughout the week to work alongside each other in libraries on campus and other spaces in city. Today I even visited the East Village to get lunch and study with @Ava Blum, @Frances Kassouni, @Evangeline Eastman, and @Ihita Ghosh! Research can be so isolating sometimes, but having this community has motivated me to work on my project!

This week, I have largely focused on gathering papers and journals from databases, as well as physical books from Barnard's collections. These go over history and politics from many countries with large or otherwise significant Italian populations, including the US, Brazil, and Croatia. I especially look forward to reading Italy's Many Diasporas by Donna R. Gabbaccia various issues of the journal Modern Italy to aid me in my research regarding Italian heritage and identity. Additionally, my faculty mentor Prof. Angelo Caglioti recommended The Princeton Guide to Historical Research to me since I am new to research. Overall, the past few days have been rather light but still productive, and I look forward to more cafe work sessions with my fellow scholars in the coming weeks as I dive into these readings!