When I started as an English major at UVM, the last thing I expected was that I would participate in research at the university. However, this semester I have participated in more research than I ever thought I would.
This semester I took a class in the history department called Fashion’s Empires. It is basically a fashion history class, and part of the course includes an almost semester-long research project. Along with two group members, we researched a piece of clothing in the Fleming Museums archive. This isn’t the only class I did research in, but it is the one that really changed my perspective on it. It taught me a lot, and not just about fashion.
This experience really reinforced in me that not all research takes place in a lab. When it comes to the humanities we’re asking questions that are almost always answered by reading. My group researched a pink 1850s wedding dress from Montpeiler. We ask questions about why the dress was pink and not white, how might a dress like this come to be in rural Vermont, and what kind of person might have worn this dress? None of these questions can be found by examining an example under a microscope. So, we dug through books and articles for answers to these questions. And we found them!
This experience taught me that I love research. I want to spend my life finding out the answers to the questions I have about the world.
I think it is important for everyone to be able to recognize that not all research happens in a science lab. That research is crucial, but research into the humanities is just as important. Without it, there is so much we will never learn about the world.
I am endlessly grateful for the research I have engaged in at UVM. It has really changed my life. It has made me into the student I have always wanted to be, and has shown me what I want to do with my future.