Some Research Background: How I Got Here

Given the brief intro I gave in my last post, I figured I would use this update to lay out some of the reasons why I’m here. With that in mind, I’ll drop the exposition to start an exposition of another sort.

This is E.M. Forster. As you can see, he's a
pensive man. 

This research is not beginning, it began. In fact, it began somewhat unexpectedly last spring (2011) in a survey course I took, Survey of Later English Literature, when we read E.M. Forster’s short story, “The Other Boat.” In the story, Lionel, a British imperialist, engages in a homosexual relationship with Cocoanut, a racially ambiguous lower caste, in transit on a ship to India. The story ends when Lionel murders Cocoanut and then commits suicide by jumping off the boat into the ocean.

I was so taken with this story. The subject was a risqué one, but it was more than just a story about a shocking homosexual encounter, it was stunningly sad for such a short piece. I knew instantly I had to write about it, and I did. But once I finished my paper, I couldn’t help but feel like it was incomplete. I felt like there was more to dig out from Forster’s words, like the story I wanted to tell, the story of/in Forster’s story, was missing something.

After the semester ended, I flew to Kansas to work at Kansas State University, where I had received a research grant to develop a project of my choosing. I had planned to research trauma narratives, but when I met with my advisor, Dr. Donna Potts, I told her I couldn’t. I remembered reading “The Other Boat,” and I was intrigued by the homosexual and colonial dynamics in that story. These dynamics, I told her, were what I wanted to study. And I did.

Thanks for the grant, K-State.

I learned a few things from my time in Kansas. First, I learned how much I love doing research. I love the independence that comes with it – choosing a topic, planning your work hours, deciding where you want to work – and I love the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment that comes with doing something good or discovering something exciting (such discoveries, I quickly realized, are rare, but that makes them all the more incredible). I also learned how I do research. Everyone researches differently, which is great, but it can be difficult to figure out how you research if there is no clear model. Some people need offices with sporadic bursts of reading and writing, but, personally, I work best outside of formal environments (I love reading in the laundry room or writing in coffee shops) for sustained periods of time. Finally, I learned a great deal about the British Empire at the end of the 19^th Century/early 20^th Century, and I learned a lot about this empire’s relationship to male homosexuality.

When I saw the opportunity to do research during Interim, I knew not only that I wanted to take it but also what I wanted to research: literary representations of male homosexuality in the British Empire from c.1880-1947. Research is a sustained process in a constant state of revision. I am happy this interest has sustained for what is almost ¾ of a year now, and looking back I see how I improved and where I need improvement. From the school semester to my summer in Kansas, my material circumstances improved dramatically. I gained more time, access to a larger textual database, and more money; all of these gains helped me to focus more exclusively on my research*. Two other improvements include my constant accumulation of knowledge on the subject and my ability to more tightly focus my research questions and goals. This latter point is extremely important. I’m not doing the same work I began doing (even though I kind of am). I’ve been able to develop my ideas and articulate my questions in better ways so that I can get clearer results. For example, over the summer I read a wide range of texts from different periods, genres, authors, and nations. This sort of breadth makes for fascinating work, but it can prevent good, nuanced, culturally specific scholarship, which is what I'm after. Now, I am focusing my project on primary texts from a specific period. Doing so offers new possibilities about the questions I can ask and the answers I can get. Hopefully, it means that both are better.

I am beyond excited to resume this project this Interim. I have no clue where I will be when the month ends, but it will be a thrill to find out. I will be incredibly surprised if, at the end of the month, I come to a point where I think this project has finally ended…but I would be more surprised if I would ever want it to. 

*And yes, this is a subtle hint to pay me, dear reader.