Nora Ventura

October 2, 2011

Research plan:

I have opted to complete two research posts for this class. First, I am considering researching how colonialism is taught, or first introduced, to children in former colonies. While working on my midterm, the song I wrote about kept circling in my head. I cannot remember all the lyrics so I ran an online search for the parts of the lyrics I still remember. I did not find that specific song but I found many songs intended for children (specifically in Mexico it seemed). I watched a few video clips or children singing about Christopher Columbus and re-enactments of those events. Right now I am questioning whether it is appropriate to introduce small children to such complex history. I will search for more information of this topic not only regarding Mexico but other former colonies as well.

For the second post I am hoping to collect more of a reading list of fiction novels by diaspora writers. I plan to use this assignment to engage in conversations with professors and perhaps even students of different cultural backgrounds from mine and explore why or how those books are significant for them. After collecting a few titles, I would briefly research the history of wherever those novels are set and single out a few current issues in those places that may serve as topics for future research.