I believe I have two major accomplishments this week. First, I have begun my paper in earnest. So far, I have my introduction and literature review sections complete, with the goal of completing my methodology section later today (Friday).
I also have my map done. Dr. Stan was able to get me the last of the census data I needed in order to show the relative wealth in the counties where my letters come from. Between that and the population data, I am able to show that all my letters are coming from the places I expected them to demographically speaking.
I think my third accomplishment this week is reaching out to my current top grad school choice in order to get more information about their program. I was also able to reach out to a student who was previously in the program to learn more about their experiences.
Now that I've really started on my paper, it doesn't feel like there's much holding me back. If anything, I think I'm a little ahead of my peers, which does make me worry that I don't have enough information or my paper won't be as thorough as theirs.
Other than that, my main distractions have been personal ones. Homesickness has truly begun to hit in the last week, especially since we're so close to being done. And some family drama has be particularly distracting in the past few days.
Now for what I've learned this week. I think the most exciting thing is that my letters are coming from counties with the greatest personal and real estate values. This shows that the people writing them are likely to be from wealthier families, which is the demographic I am researching for my paper.
It's been interesting to see the class divide between wealthy white and poor white women in the South. It seemed to be so great that the wealthy viewed the poor as an almost different race. This is fascinating, since discrimination actually based on race was the basis for slavery.
I've also come to realize just how important young women were to the Southern elite. Not only could they make advantageous marriages (something I traditionally assign to European nobility), but they were a physical representation of the family's wealth and responsible for maintaining the family's reputation at social gatherings through their grace and gentility.