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The End of an Era
The End of an Era
I am so excited to officially be wrapping up AP Research (and my high school career at that)! I am so excited about all that I learned through this process, and I am excited to share my reflections with you all. As always, thank you so much for your support throughout.
Over the past few weeks, I had the opportunity to complete my oral defense, submitted my final paper, and presented my research to the community at my school's research symposium! It has been beyond exciting to see all of my work come together, and it feels surreal to be done. The only thing I'm waiting for is "the decision" in which I will get my score back from the College Board!
If you would like to read my final paper, please feel free to read it below! I also attached my final presentation for reference.
If you would like a brief overview, below is the final abstract from my paper.
Abstract
The world of the 20th century witnessed immense change. A Cold War broke out in which the Soviet Union and United States fought each other indirectly for power through an ideological struggle. Simultaneously, the United States underwent the Civil Rights Movement. As such, the following research seeks to answer the question: “To what extent are communist works and propaganda from the Soviet Union thematically connected to Civil Rights Supreme Court Majority Opinions from 1954-1971?” In order to address this question, a conceptual content analysis was utilized in which Civil Rights Supreme Court Majority Opinions, communist works including the Communist Manifesto and Stalin’s Constitution, and several pieces of Soviet, Cold War-era propaganda were coded for thematic ideas in order to analyze if there were similarities in the themes presented in each work respectively. Further, a conceptual content analysis was performed on Plessy and subsequently compared to the aforementioned cases in order to see if jurisprudence was the only factor influencing the Supreme Court. Ultimately, the research revealed that there are thematic differences between Plessy and the Civil Rights Majority Opinions, indicating that external influences, not just jurisprudence, influences the Supreme Court. Further, it revealed that there are thematic similarities between the communist works, propaganda, and Majority Opinions. Despite some limitations, this research is significant because it addresses a gap in the academic conversation, better informs people about the nuances of the past, and encourages questioning the status quo narrative of the past. For future research, it is recommended that additional sources are analyzed, or cases are analyzed more individually.
Reflections
Reflections
Content: I learned SO much about the Soviet Union, Civil Rights Movement, communism, and the Supreme Court. I always knew that I loved history, and throughout high school, I developed a special interest in United States History. this project affirmed my passion for this subject. In the future, I plan to continue my studies of history, and I would love to continue to focus on the connections between the Cold War and Civil Rights Movement. I also hope to continue to study Supreme Court Cases (hopefully eventually in law school)! This project gave me great exposure to these kinds of complex topics, and I cannot wait to build upon them in the future.
Product: Writing my paper taught me a plethora of invaluable skills. I learned so much about how to synthesize complex ideas, write concisely and precisely, and format a paper in an appropriate style. I am excited to apply these skills in college next year, and I am grateful for all I learned!
Process: This project taught me so much about myself. When starting this blog, I was reflecting on the summer in which I started to form my annotated bibliography (an assignment in which I complied research on topics I may be interested in). I remember feeling so overwhelmed and questioning if I could successfully do it. Looking back, this project taught me the art of perseverance, diligence, creativity, and perhaps most importantly, having faith in my capabilities. This project was a rollercoaster with intense ups and downs, but through the challenges, I learned how to adapt to unexpected roadblocks. I am thankful for all that I was able to learn about myself as a student, researcher, and person.
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
I am SO immensely grateful to all who helped me throughout my project. The wisdom and support that these individuals provided to me was invaluable, and I cannot thank them enough.
Thank you to Mr. Sassali and Mr. Chapman for being my primary mentors throughout this project. They were always willing to talk with me through the historical context of my project, help me find resources (including databases of Russian propaganda!), talk me through my project when I had doubts, and assist me with so many other little things. I am so incredibly grateful to them for their time and effort. I cannot thank them enough.
Thank you to Ms. Dobos, Mr. Winkelman, Ms. Uchyn, and Ms. Burnham for their support as well. I am so grateful for their willingness to answer questions and provide me with support. Their input was absolutely invaluable, and I am so grateful to them. A special thank you to Ms. Dobos for being an incredible AP Research teacher and always providing me with support!
Taking on the Next Case
Taking on the Next Case
Next year, I will be attending the University of Notre Dame where I plan to continue my study of history and law (in addition to management consulting). I am so excited for the opportunities that await me, and I am especially excited to have the opportunity to narrow my focus on my passion for history. I hope to continue to build upon this research in the future! Stay tunned.
That's all for now! Thank you for your support. :)
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