- Between weeks 8 and 14, each student should provide a weekly reflection (500 words) on the data you have collected to date.
- What data did you collect?
- What is your initial impression of the data?
- How have the data you have collected this week changed/progressed your thinking about your research project?
- What challenges did you encounter while collecting the data?
- What are your next steps?
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Research Portfolio
This week I mostly focused on the formation of my paper. I brainstormed further on the structure, style, and message that I aim to convey. I want to focus on the stifling of healthy debate and intellectual curiosity that results from politicized education. While I am certainly curious about how we arrived at this juncture, I’m more interested in the effects of an effectively singular way of thinking, flowing steadily and uncontested into students’ psyches. At this stage in my research I believe that I’m prepared to begin writing. Generally, my best work is done when I research as I write. A few sub-points that I will address are as follows: the historical intersection of politics and education, the effects of a majority-liberal student body vs. a potentially politically biased administration, the self-censorship that students feel in regard to class participation and engagement in conversation with their peers, and an exploration of the empirical science behind healthy debate and the exposure to differing opinions as a form of progress. I look forward to digging deeper into this topic, and I hope to write a politically unbiased and informative-to-all essay.
Chris,
I think you are at a great place to begin the writing process. Your presentation was well-thought-out and engaging, raising important questions as to the challenges of producing healthy discourse on college campuses. Per some of the points raised in class, I think you might benefit from also reviewing some of the roots in the student movements of the 1960s. I do think there is something to say about how the notion of “progressive politics” has shifted, from the efforts of students to express their opinions openly and freely, to the stifling of discourse around politics that are not entirely “liberal.” You have done some great work on this topic, and I look forward to reading the final product.