Possible Final Paper Opener... Thoughts?

You've been waiting and hoping for months, a little note on your calendar, telling you today is the day. After an excruciating ride home, tucked in the bag in the passenger seat, you toss aside everything else and hold it in your hands. Cellophane tries to prevent your feverish progress as you grasp at the exasperating corners of plastic. With this aside, you slide a scissor along the security strip, finally able to open the case. There it is. So perfect and beautiful, this copy having never been seen before by human eyes. Lovingly, you extrapolate the game from its gripping tabs and place it into the tray of your XBOX 360. Your adventure is ready to begin.

Yes folks, I speak of the classic video game, in this case a video game for the XBOX 360. Without a doubt, upon first reading this, many would suspect that I, the author, am a boy. It's a stereotype that has been perpetuated both in the video game industry and in society throughout video games history. So for me, a twenty year old woman, to not only like video games, but to be avidly obsessed with them, as well as proficient at playing them, takes many by surprise.

-It's a work in progress, but I just want initial reactions.-

Project Proposal

1.     What is your project?

I am proposing to create an anthology of the evolution of farming and FFA (Future Farmers of America) both in Montana and across the United States in the past 50 to 100 years.

2.     What process will you use for primary research? (Who, where, what, etc.)

I want to interview my two of my old high school Agricultural Education teachers, my advisors, back in Missoula over Spring Break. I also would like to interview several professors here at MSU. Finally, I would like to interview several family members, including my paternal aunt, and all my remaining grandparents (one grandmas, three grandpas), since they all experienced farm life around the turn of the century. This correspondence will likely be over the phone, through email, or in person if a chance visit occurs.

3.     What directions do you imagine your secondary research going?

I see the evolution of farming equipment paired with the industrial revolution being a huge part of my project, as well as more intense research about the history of FFA and of farming and the settlement of Montana.

4.     Why is this an interesting subject for you?

I love the FFA and it has been huge part of my life for the past six years. I wasn't raised in a farming community, but I would really like to explore my own roots there, and if they are maybe "ancestral ties" as to why I so passionately wanted to become involved in FFA.

5.     What questions do you have about the topic as you enter it? (These are important because they will help shape what you do at the beginning, but they will almost certainly change as you work on your project.)

I am curious if the fact that many of the products that we use and eat everyday truly influences the farming here in Montana, as well as the motives of many FFA contests and workshops. I already know that 90% of the beef produced in Montana (some of the best in the world) is sold overseas in China and Japan, and I am curious why the US settles for such poor beef. How does this affect the farmers here? Does this call for more efficient farming methods? Does this end up being cost effective? Just initial questions... :)