Seminar 2: Daniel Toretsky Questions

What was Torestsky point of interest: a) the general context b) the specific starting point of his inquiry; c) his research question

Daniel focused on the religious conflicts in Crown Heights. He also focused on the racial parts of the neighborhood and he wanted to expand more in depth of his research. He mentioned the history of the neighborhood and how it was mostly populated by the African Americans but then slowly moved into a more religious home for the Jews. Later on, he let us know that his topic will be focused on the relationship between the Jewish community and the African Americans and how it impacted the neighborhood in the years.

What knowledge did he need to be able to respond to the question he posted (Qualitative? Quantitative? Explain)

He had lots of information; there were many maps of the area, photographs of the site, census data, including his own experience. He had qualitative data because the collected information included interviews and his own visit to Crown Heights.

How did he acquire this knowledge?

He read books that provided information on the history. Although he had some useful information, there were some parts missing to complete this research. Therefore, he went to the location and fill in the rest that was missing.

What literature and what general concepts inform his study?

He mentioned “Race and Religion” and “Fire in the Mirror”

Write down general highlights of his intervention

Daniel wanted to investigate a space that seemed interesting and somewhere that had a historical background that includes racial and religious identities. Going in depth to his research, he was able to discover more about the neighborhood that provided information about the culture it once had in the past and compare it to now. It was definitely remarkable to see what he came up with for his research which gave me a better understanding and heads up of what to look for and what not to while doing my investigation on my neighborhood.

Write down general highlights of the presentation. What was helpful to make the project clearer? Were the frames of reference used clearly?

Daniel did very well in his presentation and was helpful to see his way of analyzing data (maps, diagram sketches, concept maps, photographs) and the flow of his presentation went smoothly. It is important to give your audience a clear and visual idea of what you are trying to approach/topic. His presentation was informative but extremely interesting to follow.

what would you like to learn more about the project?

Maybe a little bit more of his concept drawings and how he analyzed his bibliography. I’ve noticed that there were different blocks of colours he used to identify his data but didn’t really know what it meant. It seemed like a helpful and easy way of organizing his bibliography and categorizing them into sections.

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