Back when I was studying ballet (many, many years ago), we were taught to end each class with the révérence. A kind of closing bow, the révérence acknowledges the end of a period of collaboration (between students and teachers, fellow participants of the same activity, audience and performer) and demonstrates gratitude from one side to the other. This being rather poetic, I find myself drawn to close this, my final post of the summer, with that same expression of thanks and goodwill.
All books have been returned, all maps are made, the poster presented – it seems that all is done except to reflect on what we have accomplished. And, my, what we have accomplished.
In the ten weeks of work on our project, we have created a website that not only displays our mapping prowess, but also reflects our wider interests and their cross-overs into music history. We have written about literature, devised fictional stories, followed important figures and listened to the music composed and created in 1924. All of this has built up the experience of Paris that we wanted.
Certainly, not everything went exactly according to plan. When we started out, our goal was to create “The Map,” which turned out to be impossible with the mapping platforms available. While the computer whizzes fixed us up a new platform, we expanded our horizons. Everything we did related back to the map, but it also made “The Map” into far more than just points on a grid of streets.
Excited as I have been to see what the HiPerCic team creates for us, I think that the items relevant to the map that we have finished have me far more excited. Or possibly add to the excitement of the former, making it tenfold. I am exceptionally pleased with the essays, mini-maps, and stories that our team has produced, because they illustrate clearly how much we have done. Of course, one need only take a look at our database to see that we have been very busy. Somehow, that is very rewarding indeed.
I leave this project with a mixture of satisfaction and possibly nostalgia. It has been a pleasure to work with this team and engage in research within a field that I did not previously know very much about. What I have learned, the skills that I have developed, exploring the benefits of WordPress and Google Maps, the writing that I have done, creative, lengthy, and concise, all of it has honed my abilities to compete in my field. Besides, who doesn’t like learning new things?
In closing, I want to express how grateful I am for this opportunity, and how fortunate I feel to have worked with the people on my team. I hope that this project continues to grow in the hands of the next team and becomes a resource for all who happen upon it.
And to take a quote from my favorite Jane Austen novel:
“Let us not say farewell, but as the French say, Au revoir!”