Bibliographies Due

Wednesday September 19, 2012

      Today our bibliographies were due! I was very nervous because it seemed like everyone else had more sources than I did, then again, I was not able to get into the archives at the Aurora Historical Society or schedule an appointment at the Aurora Library.  I most definitely need to find more sources than what I have and really buckle down and get crackin' on this paper.  After we handed in our bibliographies we did some exercises to get us thinking. Today we were also supposed to read chapter one of "Writing History."  Chapter One was all about starting to write a history paper, the different types of papers, how to search for information, and more.  The book makes a good point when it discusses how to develop and explore your interests.  I know from experience that I find it much easier to write about something that I find interesting rather than just have a teacher/professor give me a topic to write about.  The topics on how to research information was very interesting, but it did not help me very much.  My senior seminar paper is too narrow for online databases to be of any real help.  I will have to basically completely rely on the historical society, the library, and and other primary sources that I can find, like interviews.  I want to see if I can go to a nursing home and find an old person that I can interview about their experience with the Great Depression.  I was thinking about it and they wouldn't even necessarily have to be from the Aurora area, just as long as they came from a small town similar to Aurora.  This would give me personal first-hand experience.  The only problem is that nursing homes now-a-days are very strict, it might be difficult for me to get in to talk to someone I don't know and I can't just call up the place and ask if they have any old people that were born around 1910-1925 (old enough to remember the Great Depression).  But still, this is a theory that I will definitely be trying out because I know that once I get into a nursing home I will be sure to be able to find someone to talk with (old people love to tell youngsters about the "good ol' days!).
     The book talks about using reference material, but I have already looked in a couple just to get an idea of my topic.  Reference books are not that helpful for my topic because it is so specific, but some books do a good job giving a brief overview of the before, during, and after situation.  I would probably not use a reference book, like a dictionary, because like we talked about in class, it should only be used when trying to define any terms that the reader may not be informed about.
     One thing that we did in class today really helped me!  Professor Butters had us do some writing exercises that helped us bring our papers into perspective.  We were told to write about the main argument of our papers and then to create a basic outline.  Ever since I had this awesome English teacher at Waubonsee, I LOVE OUTLINING!!! So I think I have a pretty good outline going, of course, it all depends on what kind of information that I can find.  I just have to make sure that I stay focused on the cultural/social aspect of the Great Depression and not go too much into the business/economy part of it.  I think I will give a section of my paper to workers programs (CCC & WPA) and federal/state aid.  I was also thinking that I can look into the Elk Lodge and the American Legion of Aurora and see when they were established and if they did anything during the Great Depression.  I am really REALLY not looking forward to writing my annotated bibliography!  But, alas! It must be done!  The one thing that made me laugh about this chapter "If you have to abandon your topic, do it early."  HA! we are married to our topics and definitely not allowed to change it now!  Paper is due in about 80 days, time to get crackin!!!