Master’s Thesis: the Journey Begins

Katie D.

November 12, 2011 - 8:12 PM

Technically I suppose the journey began last year, with thesis proposals and drafts of research questions. It began when I left for Honduras and started asking my questions in the communities of Northern Honduras, gathering people's stories and recording their experiences.

But there's something that feels completely different once pen hits paper-once the first sentences have been written and a document labeled "First Draft" has been created.

This thesis will be a major focus of the rest of this academic year. In the CRES program, we have the option to either write a thesis or a "terminal project," which can mean program creation or evaluation, or some kind of more free-form lengthy research project as the culmination of the CRES experience. I have chosen to write a thesis, mostly because I'm on an academic track, and someday will be applying for a PhD program, and I want to have a Masters thesis to show for my first experiences with graduate school.

Plus, I wrote a thesis as an undergraduate. It feels important to outdo my younger self. Does that make sense?

In any event, I will be writing my thesis on the experience of Central American migrants, and their clashes with the structural violence in place to impede undocumented migration. I will be using the interviews I conducted this summer, which include stories of the dangers and lasting damages of the migration experience, as well as the impact which immigration has in the sending communities in Honduras. I hope to explore US and Mexican policy which impacts Central American migrants, and to tie this research to other anthropological studies of Honduras, which discuss the impact of immigration and the cultural implications of so many Hondurans heading "al Norte."

If you've read my blogs from this summer, you know I had a powerful and emotional summer working in Honduras and across Central America. I witnessed true poverty and hopelessness, and some of the most traumatic outcomes of migration. And I have all of these stories from the men, women, and families I came to know during those weeks of study.

Thinking back, one thing jumps out at me with particular clarity. So many of the men and women I spoke with were surprised that anyone from the United States would care to hear their stories. They were honored, I think. They asked me to tell their stories when I returned home. They asked if this meant that people in the US care.

My focus in my studies has long been in the field of social justice. It is my profound hope that this thesis can serve somehow to address some of the injustices at work in the global immigration debates, and in the policies which impact the individual lives of so many Central Americans struggling to better their lives. As always, I cannot claim some perfect vision of immigration reform in the broadest sense. What I can do is contribute my small perspective based on the stories I now carry.

The months ahead are really dedicated to my thesis project. I will be drafting and re-drafting, writing and editing, re-outlining, polishing, researching, refining, and seeking out the advice of my professors. There's a lot of work between me and graduation. And I'm excited to see where the work will take me.