I can go literally anywhere. where should i go

[jackson113]

I'd say Kernersville...but wouldn't wish that on anybody.

[pstall]

Travel. Within. Whoaaaaa.

[Happy Panther]

I probably won't be traveling for a full year, because my wife and I are both in masters programs and now time and finances are both an issue, but over the rest of this year I'll be developing themes and specific locations for my master's thesis, and then next summer I'll be doing fieldwork somewhere.

 

Anywhere.

 

In most social science masters programs, you've got to pin down a specific subject that includes a location and a population to study. My approach has been a little different. I'll still have to narrow down to something very specific, but I'm coming into this with a specific theme in mind: historical memory and its effect on national memory and identity. Examples of this subject include studying historical monuments; for instance, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in D.C. What voices competed for their own narrative of the war being represented? What politics were involved in how the conflict was represented? On the other side, the victorious North Vietnamese unified the country and then built a museum memorializing their victory. The name and contents of the museum changed markedly after the normalization of political relations with the U.S. in the mid-90s; how do political and economic motivations change how the historical past is produced and dispersed to the public? Or maybe contemporary Germany. How does contemporary Germany grapple with the Holocaust and WWII? How does its school curriculum present Germany's part in the war, and how does that effect self-identity and national identity?

 

But I'm not pinned down to that. I can take that general theme and take it literally anywhere in the world. I just need a subject that involves competition over representation of the historical past… which happens all over the world.

 

Where should I go, huddle?

If I could send you someplace and have you report back it would be Cambodia. 

[SCP]

This fat guy at Wendy's told me there is this exotic location outside of the US called Destin, FL. Don't even need a passport.

[SCP]

Or go to Moosejaw Saskatchewan and follow Linden Gaydosh around for 6 months.

Seriously though, Germany would be cool. Stuttgart rebuilt all of their historical buildings and pawn them off on tourists as original structures.

[PhillyB]

I'd say Kernersville...but wouldn't wish that on anybody.

 

i used to live off of piney grove road. i loathe kernersville

[PhillyB]

If I could send you someplace and have you report back it would be Cambodia. 

 

this is on my short list. i have a ton of contacts there already, i'm at least familiar with the language, my contacts would be incredibly useful in helping with translation, and because the khmer rouge atrocities were relatively recent, there hasn't been a whole lot of work done on the subject. the national identity of the khmers is a constantly-shifting thing, so i'm sure there'd be a treasure trove of data to be mined on the subject.

 

germany is on the short list too… i'm interested in how german school curriculums deal with WWII and germany's role in it, and how its weighing heavy on the national consciousness directs thought about nationalism and the national self.

 

vietnam, too, and representations of the american war and vietnam. and pstall, i've looked at studying vietnam war memorials here in the u.s. too.

 

israel i'm not so sure, only because i'll need a working grasp of the language, OR the ability to pick it up really fast, OR contacts that will alleviate the need to be fluent. israel is missing all three.

 

any other thoughts? either places, or conflicts that have been memorialized in some form at some point somewhere in the world?

[Kevin Greene]

Seriously though, Germany would be cool. Stuttgart rebuilt all of their historical buildings and pawn them off on tourists as original structures.

 

 

See, that's a second vote for Germany.

 

[Squirrel]

Japanese and WWII   First observe the Visitors at the Arizona Memorial then go to the Battleship Missouri and observe the people there. 

 

 

 

[camycamcan]

Why not my home state?

[Jangler]

Bloomington In

[Davidson Deac II]

 

 

israel i'm not so sure, only because i'll need a working grasp of the language, OR the ability to pick it up really fast, OR contacts that will alleviate the need to be fluent. israel is missing all three.

 

 

 

 

Virtually everyone in Israel speaks English, and they are usually fluent in it.  It was one of the easiest nations irt communications.

[frash.exe]

Whatever you decide, just don't go to a place where ebola is running amok like Liberia or Texas

[h0llywood]

Nepal. Go climb Everest and if you live come back and tell us all about it.