CES Blog

My last semester in Paris taught me that the worst thing I can do is take myself too seriously as a researcher. I showed up in Paris, ready to write a Social Studies junior paper about race in France (something, anything within that giant area of study), armed with contacts I had made while at Harvard. I met with a number of professors, took sociology classes at French universities, then I angsted for a month. Then another month. I was stuck: Where was my magical, fascinating research topic? What was my contribution to the not-yet-existent field that was race in France?

Turns out, said field was already budding, and that’s what I ended up studying. I looked at books with the word “race” in the title since the 1990’s to study trends in its usage. (Side note: race is a very taboo word in France, except in relation to the US e.g. “They are so obsessed with race,” or colonialism, so it is a bold move for a French author to frame it as a pertinent contemporary issue.) Not a groundbreaking study, per se. 20 pages really isn’t that grand of a paper. But I finally realized I was not writing a book, and chose an interesting and remotely feasible topic.

So this time, even with a more serious intellectual endeavor—a senior thesis—I have to remember that, at the end of the day, I am still a student. Though I may find interesting results, they will be humble, and Paris is also a great place to just enjoy life. If you let go of expectations, something serendipitous might just fall into your lap. Then, maybe I’ll finally know what I’m writing about!