I'm kind of a dork, it's okay I own it. While I have many scholarly interests and spend a lot of time in investigative study of serious historical themes and developments, I still have a soft spot for roller-coasters. This semester is a stressful one, putting together a thesis topic and crafting a proposal to defend, getting ready for the last two classes that I need to take in the spring, and gearing up to create my thesis in the summer and defend it. With all this stress I needed an outlet to let my more lighthearted side fly, thanks to a digital history class this semester I have that chance. I need to create a site for a topic of my choosing. While I could have created another part to my thesis, I decided instead to use this as a chance to talk about roller-coasters, Cedar Point amusement park, and history. The page will use pictures of the park over the years to discuss the history of amusement in the United States, and to understand how a small beach park in Ohio turned into the "Rollercoaster Capital of the World" that it is today.
So if you like history, ohio, beaches, or just love rollercoasters feel free to check out the page as it develops. UIS Blog post for HIS 515 Historic Cedar Point Page
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It has begun, the process that's slowly moving me towards defending my thesis and graduating in August. I've spent some time thinking about what I would like to dedicate the next issue of my life to and while two topics have come forward, one seems to be in the lead. The following is an early statement of purpose that I'm working from in crafting what will eventually turn into my thesis, or so I hope.
The topic that I would like my thesis to address is the displacement of people along the interstate corridors in the city of Chicago during their construction in the post war years. This topic looks to answer the following questions. First, who were the people that occupied the areas targeted for clearance to make way for the construction of the interstate system in Chicago. How did these people embrace or fight against plans to clear their communities to make way for construction. What was the makeup of the communities in question, and what economic status did these communities enjoy. Finally, What was the fat of the communities involved, did they successfully resist change, or were they overcome by the forces that sought to clear the land in preparation for construction. This topic combines my love of history with that of the city of my youth, and the infrastructure and urban planning that intrigues me. It also works to understand the relationship between the forces of urban renewal and the communities that those policies directly impacted. This early statement is rough, and serves as a very small step towards the thesis that it will eventually become. But I'm interested to see how these ideas develop in the coming weeks as i finalize this and work towards meeting with my committee and defending my proposal. |
The Ranger SteveThough I'm no longer found underneath the Flat Hat of the NPS I still find myself identifying as Ranger Steve more often than not. Archives
January 2017
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