HOLY SMOKES!

I just realized tomorrow is my last day of normal classes. WHAT THE HECK!? Where has the time gone? While I am happy to have break, I am slightly overwhelmed with the amount of work I have to do this week. Oh well, I suppose that is how it works.

I would just like to send a sentimental shout out to this class. I had a lot of fun, and really have enjoyed getting to know the class (well, those of you who showed up). I am a little bummed that I won't have the full ten minutes to present, but it was definitely cool hearing what everyone else found in their research over the semester.

I have to finish my final paper, in all honesty, I haven't worked on it yet since getting it back. I am pretty confident though that I will be able to revise it effectively as long as I dedicate a few hours to it.

Hope you all had a good semester, and live through finals! :)

FIN!...I think.

I think I am done with  my powerpoint! I have been working on it for the past few hours, and I really like how it came together. I will have to come back to it with fresh eyes, and make the notes that I can print so I don't forget anything important that is not detailed on the slides, but other than that I don't think I have anything else to add.

I found some really cool art, quotes, propaganda, music, and a montage video that all fit perfectly with my topic, so I am pretty amped to share it with the class. Also, as I said in the previous post, I found a Detroit Headline's book from WWII, and a pictorial work. So hopefully I don't mess anything up presenting it, and I hope you guys all enjoy the stuff I have found, because I do! haha.

Now I guess I just need to focus on my final paper. Working tonight I found some good sources to use on the community portion of my rough draft that was lacking. I am going to have to take some liberties in assumption based on the facts that I have found on community activities, but they are all reasonable in the fact that they were going on, and it is likely that more than a few Detroit workers participated in the stuff that I did find.

See you guys on Tuesday!

More presentation things...

I went to the Library of Michigan on Wednesday and found some really cool books to just pass around the class, and possibly pull some information from. The one that I am really pumped about is a book that is comprised entirely of Detroit headlines from WWII, unfortunately, the print on the actual articles is pretty teeny tiny, but the headlines are clear and show how the press was relating the US war effort to the community of Detroit. The other is a pictorial work, that shows the war effort in Detroit armament plants. It's a clear way to visualize the new mix of workers as a result of the war, and see how the plants looked and operated.

I am planning on using Monday to work on my power point, and to hopefully find some good community sources in terms of art, sports and music. The Tigers were a good way for workers to bond, especially at the end of the war when the Tigers took the World Series in 1945, so I might try to find more info on that as well, I have mostly seen that in relation to the white male workers, and veterans returning from war, more so than the black migrants and the women.

So that's where I stand in terms of presentation stuff, it's definitely still in the works!

GO STATE! :)

Presentation Plans

So, today I have been looking for good sources online to use in my presentation. There are some sources at the Library of Michigan, that are picture chronicles of Detroit during WWII, and I think that will be a really good source. Also, as I have been thinking a lot about music. Detroit, while being the motor city, was also an area that jazz was developing during the 40's, and a hot spot for jazz music. While I have been trying to find ways that the newly migrated black community was outside of the workforce, I am wondering if I could find a link through jazz music. But so far, I have no decisive evidence that the two (workers and jazz) had common factor, other than that they were both going on in Detroit. So the hunt to find a reflection of the work force in the community continues...

Either way, I think during my presentation I am going to use a power point, and while I want to provide the class with information about the workforce and their unionism and fight for equal work and housing rights, I think it will be more interesting for the class to see representations of the changes in Detroit's community as the influence of black workers, and southern workers changed the citizenry and the face of the community.

So, fingers crossed that I can put together a presentation that is interesting, because I don't want you guys to fall asleep and be counting down the seconds until it is over. Luckily, Detroit has a history that is full of art, and music. And there were are a lot of pictorial histories of Detroit from what I have seen, so again, here's hoping I can put together an engaging presentation!

Diego Riviera Mural--The Arsenal of Democracy

Rough Draft Meeting

Okay, so I met with, Micalee today and am feeling pretty good about working on my final. Mostly just have to narrow things down, and provide more information as I can find it on the community. Because my topic is so ingrained into different historical events. I just have to edit some, and find some more information regarding life outside of the workplace, and interactions outside of work.

Tomorrow/this weekend I am going to write up my book report, I am thinking I am going to do it on Reo Joe, but I also really liked the Great Arizona Orphan abduction, which is fresh in my memory. So I guess I will just see what happens.

I am going to hit up the MSU library again this weekend in hopes that I can find more material that relates to community, I have had a hard time finding good information of things that were going on in Detroit with each community to bond them outside of the workplace, and outside of the common fight between each.

Overall, I am feeling pretty good about the course. Hopefully the final will turn out to meeting her expectations, and can be something that I can be proud of, since I have put so much time and effort into it)

Hope you all have productive feedback to work from with your final!

Ready, Set...Rough Draft.

So, I haven't blogged much this week because I have been working on the rough draft. I think my paper came together well, and it ended up taking a pretty different tone than I had even anticipated, but I am happy that my rough draft is complete. But a little scared to meet with Micalee! Hopefully this paper isn't rubbish? haha.

Anyway, I guess in the mean time, I need to get my book report written, and get crackin' on my presentation. I am hoping to find good sources for the presentation to make it interesting, I don't want it to be boring and have all of you guys counting down the minutes til' it is over!

See you all in class tomorrow!

PBS: RACE: The Power of Illlusion

http://www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_03_i-godeeper.htm

I found this link to a PBS site that starts a time line from 1905, which outlines some citizenship issues for various races in the US. I don't have time right now to write more on it, because I am between classes, but I thought it was an interesting supplementary source to support today's discussion on legal and cultural citizenship.

Have a good one!