So, it's the beginning of my project and the beginning of the 2023 cohort's collective Laidlaw journey. My research project 'Friendship as a Method', supervised by Professor A. Grimaldi at the University of Leeds, focuses on how pupils' interactions with archival media can shape learning in a group environment. This potentially establishes not only an alternative education strategy for university modules but also a rich emotional understanding and empathy for historical events that influence political culture today. I will be conducting interviews (and have just done my first one this week) with students who have completed this project, to evaluate the efficacy of this learning model; researching the archives, before working in groups to evaluate the material and produce a physical presentation of such learning to conclude the program.  Furthermore, I will then interview the public to gauge the community impact of the presentations and exhibitions, as the aim is to also spread political awareness and share stories based on the area of history the group focuses on. The students I will interview focused their work on the struggles and tensions of the dictatorships and authoritarianism in 1970s Latin America (the link to their work is attached).

The second part of my project will be to formulate the data into a presentation that can be presented to the university, to develop this type of learning into a university module that students can take. This project is actually being developed in two sites (Leeds and London), thus I will work with my team of Laidlaw scholars on this project to propose this module in both universities. This aspect will hopefully take me abroad to the national colonial archives of France, Spain and Portugal, as my proposal will research the future of the learning project. I will be researching how the main colonial powers of Western Europe document and approach their own colonial past, as if this project continues next year, this will be another option for the students to discuss. As the UK has a vast and almost hegemonic colonial past, it is paramount for future university students and leaders to understand the political, cultural and social impact of this history. Therefore, I will be selecting a specific area of British colonialism to focus on, before researching how this area was regarded and documented in other colonial states (France, Spain and Portugal). This data collected from the national archives in each country will be translated and uploaded to an online archive that I will be established, which the future students can utilise if the project is permitted to continue as a university module. Therefore, by the end of my research project, I hope to have this e-archive well stocked with colonial documents and stories, and for this student project converted into an official university module. 

Undeniably, I cannot shoulder this project alone and I'm excited to work with my supervisor Professor Anna Grimadli and research partners of the 2023 cohort Grace Nash and Lily Else. If you are reading this and you find it an interesting concept, or if you have any experience with Spanish or Portuguese archives or history please connect with me or message me on Facebook or LinkedIn. 

That's it for week 1- I hope to keep updating soon !