The number of topics that people like to research is too broad to fit into one blog entry. For that reason, it's really hard for me to answer a question that can be easily answered with the word "everything" (if you're feeling particularly lazy). But it's true, the range of topics is impossible to measure. In high school I had a classmate who did his thesis paper on the history of baseball helmets, and that is no joke. Ten months of research that this young man labored over yielded far past the ten-page-minimum for our thesis papers and, according to our history teacher, it was a stunning feat. If I tried hard enough I could write a full book about socks or napkins. In any case, it would be useless to attempt to list even the categories of possible research topics. It's just not going to happen.
As for what I personally like to research and write about, I have been gaining a steady interest in feminism (though I do not label myself as a feminist for my own reasons) as well as racism. I also have an interest in activism against able-ism and fat-shaming, as well as LGBTQ rights and I include privileges into my writings as well (i.e. male privilege, able-bodied privilege, etc). I'm pretty new to all of these concepts as far as "blogging activism" goes so I'm not yet confident enough in my voice or my knowledge to play a fully active part in that part of the internet but part of the reason why I'm an English major is so I'll have the skills to contribute to that activism.
Christine, this was a great entry. I don't believe we officially met since you added the class after the first week of introductions and whatnot, but this was a nice intro to who you are.
ReplyDeleteYour topics of interest are all excellent and overlap each other, which could make for an amazing research paper (for instance, the stigma attached to an overweight female who identifies as male and is also physically disabled). I spent some time in my past working for a radical feminist bookstore on the Lower East Side called "Bluestockings" and also for the Gay Civil Rights organization known as the Human Rights Campaign. Both showed me a lot about the inner-workings of feminist/anarchist/queer groups and the humongous schism between radical groups (like at the bookstore) and highly organized groups (like the HRC). I definitely suggest checking the bookstore out, as well as looking into the policies of the Human Rights Campaign. It may help you with research, should you decide to follow through with these topics for your paper.