The dissertation process is probably the most grueling and anxiety driven moment of a graduate student’s life. My generation has the benefit of blogging this experience to help inspire others who are on the same path or to vent frustrations that many before us remember. As I research, write, and seek publication for “As I Glory In the Name of Tory,” I hope that you will follow along. All of my views and experiences are my own and do not represent Fenwick Library, the Department of History and Art History, or George Mason University.
It has been a long, but productive 5 months away from Royal Seal. From dissertation work to conferences to just about everything, I can’t believe how time flew by. However, while I am currently writing my dissertation I’m going to have to backtrack a little bit to discuss something we never talk about in graduate … [Keep on Readin’]
***Update: Blog Post Chosen as Digital Humanities Now Editors’ Choice, May 2017! *** If you are a friend, family member, or co-worker of mine there is a really good chance you’ve heard me blurt something out about the Loyalist Claims Commission. You were also probably very nice about it and kindly nodded your head when … [Keep on Readin’]
I am the world’s worst at keeping secrets. When other folks tell me bits of information that they want to keep “hush hush” I never mumble a word of it. But if there is something interesting that has to do with me I will shout it from the rooftops. Ask my poor husband. I don’t … [Keep on Readin’]
It’s been an interesting year creating my new data sheets based on the Loyalist Claims Commission and the Book of Negroes. Using these incredibly detailed document collections has allowed me to create datasets listing all of the interesting social data that will allow me to better understand my loyalists, reconstruct their communities, day to day … [Keep on Readin’]
efore I ever started the prospectus for my dissertation I struggled with one of the most basic questions anyone in the business of loyalism has ever faced. Out of the thousands of people who claimed to be Tories during the American Revolution, how do we determine who gets to be labeled a loyalist? The question … [Keep on Readin’]
In history Ph.D. programs, we spend months, and even years, preparing for comprehensive exams. It is the worst moment of all of our academic lives. Was the Civil War inevitable? And if it was not at what point did it become inevitable? How would you periodize the American Revolution? Was racism learned or innate in … [Keep on Readin’]
As a Ph.D. candidate, I see myself as an apprentice of history. I take documents and scrape them for data. Then I realize I should have organized that data another way. So, I start over. Then I think I’ve found an argument. I proceed to read yet another book and realize that my argument is baseless. … [Keep on Readin’]
fter giving my talk at Historic St. Luke’s in August and having the opportunity to tour Glebe Church in Driver, Virginia, I’ve received quite a few questions about Reverend John Agnew. This is most likely due to the fact that even the most seasoned lovers of Virginia history have never had the opportunity to engage with … [Keep on Readin’]
Over the last few months I’ve scoured the loyalist claims, archives, and digital databases in attempt to locate loyalists from all over Virginia during the Revolutionary War. I’ve been through thousands of stories that painstakingly detail the Revolutionary experiences of each person and there are some that are just more memorable than others. Without a … [Keep on Readin’]
‘ve studied loyalism in Virginia during the American Revolution for almost five years now. I’m “that loyalist girl” that people at conferences and history conventions have sort of, kind of, maybe heard of. But why loyalists? Better yet, how in the world did a woman from South Mississippi decide to dedicate her early academic life … [Keep on Readin’]
Thank you for visiting stephanieanneseal.com or stephaniesealwalters.com. It all lands in the same place! Over the next few weeks this website will be under just a teeny bit more construction. Please check back this month to see new things added as I get used to the new plug-ins and find some interesting things to write … [Keep on Readin’]
For my final Clio I project, I chose to clear up a few questions I had from my MA thesis. My thesis examined loyalists in Virginia during the American Revolution, specifically in the Williamsburg area. After more research at the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library in Colonial Williamsburg, I gathered information on many of Virginia’s … [Keep on Readin’]
