Let me recap you:
Thanks to ye glorious budget cuts, there are less graduate classes available and since Dr. A got a lovely research grant he cancelled his world history class. The result: those grad students needing a world history credit are overflowing the Atlantic History class. Cap is over by two! This means that it is harder to contribute to the discussion as there are more people to compete with. Ugh.
As someone who has always been a tad bit on the shy side of class participation, I was rather put out at times when I would have my hand raised multiple times to say something and not get called on. That sounds so elementary, I know. Why didn't I just call out and say it? Because Dr. M expects a certain level of decorum and wants us to act like the grown-ups we are.
There was one comment that I was desperate to rebuttal and never got the chance! One student, N, said something along the lines of this: You cannot look at Boston in Colonial America without treating it like European history because it's ONLY European history because it's inhabitants were all from Europe. Readers, I disagree! While, yes, inhabitants of Colonial Boston were either early generation Colonists or directly from Europe, I believe that once they crossed the Atlantic, entered, and formed communities in the "New World," they created new collective identities and therefor you cannot treat Colonial Boston (or America) as European history.
Well, since I never got to say it in class, I have been inspired to make this my class paper topic. Changing identities in the Atlantic World!
Daily Advice:
If you have a grand idea in class that you do not articulate for whatever reason, keep it in mind because it can turn into a nifty paper topic for your advantage.
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