Eighth Post- 12 July 2024

 This week, I completed my assignment of finding the backgrounds of people involved in the right academic fields who might be qualified to read Dispatches from Beluthahatchee: A Stetson Kennedy Reader. In the foreword alone I was able to find several relevant sources. Curiously, the book does not appear to have an acknowledgements section, which made my job easier. Part of the guidelines for the assignment was that I should not recommend any scholars who had already been acknowledged, since they had already made a contribution and were therefore biased. The introduction section was also very short and did not contain any citations, as it was more of a direct message from the editor of the book. I still read it carefully, however, as it contained useful information about Kennedy's life. While facts about the books subject matter are not directly related to my project, I have found that knowing a subject inside and out makes any adjacent research much easier, as I begin to understand the academic sphere in which I am working. If I did not know that Stetson Kennedy engaged in anthropological work with Zora Neale Hurston, I may not have thought to consider looking up anthropologists of Florida history, Hurston scholars, or specialists in recording oral traditions (I did not end up needing to find any specific specialists in these fields, since the foreword was so helpful, but this was a learning experience in possible journal work in the future nonetheless).

I met with Dr. Lester today and now I need to send in my list of potential reviewers. Then I will await my next assignment, which will probably be another article review. I am very excited, and pleased to have been able to complete this leg of my internship journey.