It’s really been a while since I last wrote an entry for this blog – it was in 2017! At lot has happened since then (not to mention a global pandemic…).
I guess it’s no coincidence that I get back to the blog during another period of study leave. I’m lucky to have this opportunity to reconnect with my research after two years in which everything became much more difficult in many ways. Now, I have a semester with fewer teaching and administrative responsibilities, which allows me the “luxury” of writing a blog entry… I hope I can keep the blog more active, but that’s easier said than done!
My main objective during this period is to continue working on my project on the connections between Galicia and New York (and New Jersey by extension). Developing a project takes a lot of time and work. Time that we don’t always have. Time that is needed to look for materials, read them, think about them, read other people’s work, go back to the materials to analyse them, write the findings, think about all of it again… During the leave period I was granted in 2016, I visited a variety of archives (see previous entries!) and had the opportunity to speak with people (archivists, writers, filmmakers, historians…) who were very generous and provided me with materials and information. Since then, I continued to compile more information, read, take notes, and even write a couple of things. Thanks to all this work (not sustained over time, due to other pressures from the academic world), I’ve been able to create a website envisioned as a window into the multiple connections that have existed, and exist still today, between Galicia and New York, Galician New York: a Cultural History.
The website is structured around the three mains strands of my research project: migration, exile and cultural representations (literature and cinema, mostly). It also features a map that pinpoints the Galician presence in New York and New Jersey, as well as traces of New York in Galicia; several photo galleries; a database; and a “magazine” where I will write about some of my findings and will invite both academics and practitioners to also share bits of their research or experiences. In a way, this website is a virtual compilation of my research notes, visual materials that I’ve found, etc. so I can share them with those interested. Speaking of which, I’d be delighted to know your views about the website and the project, and to receive any information if you want. Please get in touch in the comments section or on galicia.nyj@gmail.com
And you can now also follow the project on Twitter (@GalicianNewYork) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/galician_new_york/).
I hope you find it interesting!
Research Journal 