A Day in the Life: The Perks of Solitary Research

Hey researchers!

A day in my life of working on historical research is, first and foremost, solitary. Preparing to do research is akin to wading into an echo-chamber that is made from my readings of monographs and articles. Whether working in my room, at Starbucks, or at the Shapiro Undergraduate Library, I am almost always reading to understand the authors’ arguments and biases, and recording these “findings” on word documents. Although the work involved in historical research is rather hum-drum, especially when reading material is either online or within hands’ reach rather than in physical archives, it is rewarding. It serves the purpose of having such an echo-chamber in the first place, in which one can think new things; of the kind that leads to research questions and argumentative supports. Apart from the bulk of this work, I email and/or record questions that I have. What is anti-cosmopolitanism? What are the areas of structural, social, and cultural overlap between 20th century American breastfeeding initiatives and 20th century Brazilian breastfeeding initiatives?*And sometimes I get to snack with fellow fellows 🙂

I look forward to reading about all of yours research days!

All Best,

Trina