Hey Helen, It sounds like you have a pretty clear idea for the structure of your paper. At this point, finding the primary and secondary sources that explore British thought and politics of that time seems like it should be a priority. I think it's really interesting that she has a racial hierarchy with Russians somewhere between Europeans and 'Asiatics.' It might be interesting to see whether there are any contemporary accounts of China, and if certain negative qualities she associates with the Russian state are also associated with the Chinese state. (although your paper would be just fine without that extra dimension!)
Hi Helen, Great prospectus! Your argument is already well fleshed out in it, which puts you in really good shape for delving into the outline and paper. I'm curious about just how much Cross says about McCoy's identity - do you see her being the daughter of a Scotsman as playing any role in her account? One interesting thread you might want to explore or emphasize in your analysis: what distinctive influence does her being a woman play in her account? Does it seem to influence what she highlights? What she neglects? Does she tell us anything about the English woman traveler's role in the British Empire and (or, perhaps, versus) in other foreign countries?
It seems like you already have a strong grasp on your primary source. Maybe you could bring in a secondary source that describes ethnography at that time, in order to see whether she was following a paradigm.
Helen, your prospectus is well written and measured. You seem to have a good grasp on the secondary literature and the beginnings of a really interesting argument. Thinking about the police and underlying assumptions about society and social conditions will be great!
You delve down deep into McCoy's narration of Russian society. You explore in this prospectus how McCoy invokes “the authority of residence" to then make the argument that "it is the oppressive structure of Russian society that prevents the people from becoming civilized". You also do a good job putting McCoy, as an Englishwoman, into the context of other female writers at the time. But I feel that there needs to be a little more explanation of what you are trying to argue in this paper. It seems that at the very end, you tack on the sentence that: "I will use secondary sources to explore how her views of the police, the political police, censorship, and other government institutions are influenced by this belief, and I will address how British political conditions and thought at the time influenced her beliefs". I would like to hear a little more clearly about your argument. Is the puzzle/question you are trying to answer, how does her enlightenment ideals then influence how she views the Russian authoritarian state?
Hi Helen- You've done a thorough job of researching the secondary literature on Rebecca McCoy, and your prospectus was very interesting and read smoothly. At the end, you said that since you've exhausted the secondary literature you'll spend the rest of your research analyzing the primary source, but it looks like from your thesis (Rebecca McCoy purveys Enlightenment notions in her hierarchy of Russia) you'll need do more research on those Enlightenment notions so you can show a strong tie between Rebecca's statements and common ideas of the time.
Hey Helen, I hope this doesn't sound cliched, but it truly is interesting to get a travel account from a woman's perspective during this time. Besides her feminine perspective, it seems that McCoy otherwise acts as a rather objective viewpoint, and attempts to understand Russian society (or more so, just Russians) without belittling it. She seems to be a staunch proponent of cultural conditions, rather than innate characteristics, dictating society. As such, it appears she is better trying to understand Russian society and how it influences the thoughts of its citizens.
Hey Helen,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have a pretty clear idea for the structure of your paper. At this point, finding the primary and secondary sources that explore British thought and politics of that time seems like it should be a priority. I think it's really interesting that she has a racial hierarchy with Russians somewhere between Europeans and 'Asiatics.' It might be interesting to see whether there are any contemporary accounts of China, and if certain negative qualities she associates with the Russian state are also associated with the Chinese state. (although your paper would be just fine without that extra dimension!)
Hi Helen,
ReplyDeleteGreat prospectus! Your argument is already well fleshed out in it, which puts you in really good shape for delving into the outline and paper. I'm curious about just how much Cross says about McCoy's identity - do you see her being the daughter of a Scotsman as playing any role in her account? One interesting thread you might want to explore or emphasize in your analysis: what distinctive influence does her being a woman play in her account? Does it seem to influence what she highlights? What she neglects? Does she tell us anything about the English woman traveler's role in the British Empire and (or, perhaps, versus) in other foreign countries?
It seems like you already have a strong grasp on your primary source. Maybe you could bring in a secondary source that describes ethnography at that time, in order to see whether she was following a paradigm.
ReplyDeleteHelen, your prospectus is well written and measured. You seem to have a good grasp on the secondary literature and the beginnings of a really interesting argument. Thinking about the police and underlying assumptions about society and social conditions will be great!
ReplyDeleteHelen for some reason my computer can't read your proposal. I will have to just hear more about it in class today. sorry
ReplyDeleteMackenzie
Hi Helen,
ReplyDeleteYou delve down deep into McCoy's narration of Russian society. You explore in this prospectus how McCoy invokes “the authority of residence" to then make the argument that "it is the oppressive structure of Russian society that prevents the people from becoming civilized". You also do a good job putting McCoy, as an Englishwoman, into the context of other female writers at the time. But I feel that there needs to be a little more explanation of what you are trying to argue in this paper. It seems that at the very end, you tack on the sentence that: "I will use secondary sources to explore how her views of the police, the political police, censorship, and other government institutions are influenced by this belief, and I will address how British political conditions and thought at the time influenced her beliefs". I would like to hear a little more clearly about your argument. Is the puzzle/question you are trying to answer, how does her enlightenment ideals then influence how she views the Russian authoritarian state?
Hi Helen-
ReplyDeleteYou've done a thorough job of researching the secondary literature on Rebecca McCoy, and your prospectus was very interesting and read smoothly. At the end, you said that since you've exhausted the secondary literature you'll spend the rest of your research analyzing the primary source, but it looks like from your thesis (Rebecca McCoy purveys Enlightenment notions in her hierarchy of Russia) you'll need do more research on those Enlightenment notions so you can show a strong tie between Rebecca's statements and common ideas of the time.
Hey Helen, I hope this doesn't sound cliched, but it truly is interesting to get a travel account from a woman's perspective during this time. Besides her feminine perspective, it seems that McCoy otherwise acts as a rather objective viewpoint, and attempts to understand Russian society (or more so, just Russians) without belittling it. She seems to be a staunch proponent of cultural conditions, rather than innate characteristics, dictating society. As such, it appears she is better trying to understand Russian society and how it influences the thoughts of its citizens.
ReplyDelete