Today we had the final project presentations in class where everyone had 7-8 minutes to present their research thus far, and where they’re intending to take it moving forward until the final paper that is due in 3 weeks. I truly enjoyed listening to my classmates discuss their work. I think what got me interested in taking the class this semester was the promise that transnational history could be applied to all topics of study, and considering the diversity of projects presented on today it is doing just that.
I found my classmate’s discussions on their use of transnational methods to conduct their research and guide their questions most interesting. The main theme I noticed between the presentations was the notion of ‘returning autonomy’ to traditionally neglected groups and places in western historiographies. This was the case most clearly with the presentations about defining indigeneity, jewish resilience during the london blitz, and the pundits. Spatially, the focus on Eastern European rock youth rock culture in Poland, ballet as a form of cultural diplomacy, and the emergence of the neo-right in Latin America, were all projects which sought to bring attention to places less studied in historiography, and using transnational history as a way to bring attention to them.
I think there’s a lot for me to take away from what I heard about from my fellow classmates and their projects for me to apply to my own. For instance, the variety of sources available in the archives, and my classmates different approaches to them to answer their questions was interesting for me to consider, and rethink how I’ve chosen to approach the archives. I think it would be fun for me to try and engage with a variety of more sources, both visual and written, to help bring my project more to life. It was also really informative to hear the different kinds of questions they were able to pose and tackle in their projects. The question that arose today that I found most interesting was discussions of intention vs reception, and the limitations of cultural diplomacy. I think that as historians, being able to ask interesting questions is one of the most important skills we can develop, so it was cool seeing what they came up with so that I can hopefully use that as inspiration moving forward when I try to ask questions for both the project I’m working on now, as well as future projects.
Overall I’m super happy with how the presentations went for everyone today, and I’ve really loved being in this class this semester. I’m looking forward to seeing where everyone goes next.