A Topic!

One of my classes involves a research project.  This project includes a substantial paper and two semesters of reading, researching, writing, speech giving, drafting, etc. etc.  I'd rather not be stuck with a topic I don't like, or one I'm ambivalent about (such as "The Effects of Hollywood on the American Culture from 1962 to 1965.").  Last year Beth wrote on local foods, so I couldn't do that.  I threw around ideas like "The Effect of Federal Policies on Small Business" and "The Changing Roles of Women in the 1900's"  but they all seemed way too broad, and not really topics I want to research for the next nine months.

Then, out of the blue (almost - I was brain-storming on paper), the idea came to compare previous American recessions and depressions with our current recession.  It has since been narrowed down to just the Great Depression compared to now, and I may reduce it further to just those events in our state.  This is so exciting to me, since I like:

• American History
• The 1920-40's
• Economics 
• How people's actions and reactions affect their communities
• Knowing the history of where I live

I emailed the authors of one of my favorite books, A Patriot's History of the United States, and they sent me a list of resources to check on the topic.  Lesson learned - if you'd like to ask question of someone you admire, just do it.  They're probably very nice.