In tackling this research project, I decided on working with the Vietnam Veterans memorial as my primary artifact. After Professor Vo’s lectures regarding the Vietnam War, I found that the ways in which our nation has decided to memorialize the time would be extremely interesting to study. The brief dialogue she had on the memorial itself sparked me to want to research the topic to a deeper extent and understand its significance over time.
Moreover, after focusing my Oral History project on my father’s experience as a Vietnamese refugee, I really wanted to be able to study the history of the controversial time under the various “storylines” that run through the period—whether that may be of refugees, veterans, or loved ones at home.
Regarding my engagement with suitable bibliographic sources, I found that it was easy to find information regarding my topic. With a great number of scholarly works, I found that there was a beneficial amount of works that covered the Vietnam War—from personal narratives to historical documents, there was information that catered towards a great number of potential “angles”. Moreover, after my experience, I feel that the challenging aspect was being able to differentiate the works that were too “off track” from others that worked towards the direction I wished to head in. It was extremely enjoyable to be able to look through different sources and see the ways I could incorporate or utilize the information given to strengthen and develop my points in my research.
In looking at works that referenced the memorial itself, I was surprised to find out the amount of public engagement the design and creation received. It was interesting to see the ways in which people have “interacted” with the memorial, whether it may have been sending letters or leaving small relics.
Challenges I feel that I have/will encounter deals with the ways in which I should organize the information and claims that I have gathered throughout the first steps of this project. I hope to be able to sift through the information I have found and figure out how to build up my paper. Ultimately, I am concerned that the structure of my paper and information I choose to provide will be difficult to navigate through.
Exploring Empire 