The Heidelberg Project: Day One

I had my orientation with the Heidelberg Project today (finally) and I am very excited to get to work.  Being that today is Valentine's Day, Tyree came armed with little heart-shaped boxes of chocolates for everyone.  He handed me one that was white with red baseball stitches - perfect considering that last week, my paper for the 23rd Annual Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball & American Culture was accepted and I will be presenting this June at the Baseball Hall of Fame.  That means that I have four months to write a 25 page (publishable) paper.  Pressure! 

But that's not stopping the wheels from turning in my head...  Today's staff meeting gave me an idea for another paper.  I already thought that the HP would figure into my Master's Essay, but now I am thinking that it could take center stage.  There is an emerging term (and I am not sure it is ready to be disclosed), but it is being considered for trademark, and it pertains to art and the urban fabric, making it perfect for my thesis.  If I can write about this term/movement in a scholarly way and get it published, it would serve as a great promotional tool and lend this new term further credibility.  My advisor, Dora Apel, has already mentioned that although urban art in Detroit is mentioned frequently in popular publications, the field has been relatively neglected by scholars.  This would a perfect opportunity to place Detroit art and the HP in the academic spotlight.


Of course, this would be a more behind-the-scenes project and the final product would not be ready until the end of the year (to be turned in for graduation).  As for my more immediate role with the HP, that has yet to be determined... but you'll be the first to know!