Finally, I am content with how things are turning out.

I have compiled a list of all the books I wish to use, and I am in the process of extracting valuable information from them. Thanks to that, I have created what is, in my eyes, a well-written 6-page outline of how I see my paper and research argument to be. Sarah and Mr. Clark have emphasized the importance on narrowing down my scope, so for now I have confined my 10 case studies to 4 countries only – Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and what was once East Germany.

Taking into consideration Sarah’s suggestion of narrowing it down to only 1 country, 4 may still seem like an unaccomplishable overkill, but I have taken into consideration that monuments are not demolished or vandalized every single day. Additionally, in some cases the treatment of monuments that I am planning to analyze has been tied to the same political event – a political event that has sparked outrage internationally. Thus, in my eyes the project is not and should not be seen as an examination of the political relations of 4 countries and Russia. Rather, this project aims to show that although monuments aim to preserve a time in history, to make permanent someone or something that is fleeting, the treatment of these monuments depicts instability, rather than permanence. And this instability is based on fluctuating social and political events, which I see as a smaller scale than political relations! Monuments are undeniably tied to history – consequently, to ideology and values – and so the ways in which they are viewed and treated changes according to what lens history is seen through.  Because this lens changes due to its relationship with the political and social scene, I aim to prove that the way communist monuments are valued changes in the same way.

I have started working on narrowing down which monuments I want to use as case studies, but I will continue researching what is controversial. Additionally, my aim is to expand my total database to 300 monuments by the aim of this week. However, I need to emphasize the importance on the case studies, rather than on the supplementary database itself. That being said, I will try to choose my final case studies by the end of the week as well, and start gathering information on them. I will simultaneously be uploading this information on the WordPress platform that I started creating, and when I have gathered enough, I will start my analysis and incorporate it into the final paper, as well.

On a brighter tone, it’s Monday! The start of a new week, which will be fuelled with new energy and enthusiasm. I’ve got this!