Student Researcher Spotlight
Library staff members are routinely impressed by the work done by Stonehill’s student researchers. “Researcher Spotlight” is a regular feature of the library’s monthly newsletter. In it, we introduce you to some of these researchers and provide you with some information about the intriguing work they are doing. For this installment, meet Heidi Grove, ‘23. Heidi has been an avid library user since she was a freshman. Now in her final year as an undergraduate, Heidi is currently working on her student teaching requirement in Elementary Education, having completed her capstone for her English major during the fall semester. In her capstone, Heidi explored the roles of gender and race in famous works of literature.
Would you like the Library Newsletter to feature your research? We would love to hear from you. Email librarydeskgroup@stonehill.edu.
Name: Heidi Grove
Hometown: Barrington, RI
Class Year: 2023
What are you working on? In the fall semester of 2022, I completed my capstone course for my English major. My final capstone paper involved exploring works by famous writers Shakespeare and John Fletcher with a sole focus on race and gender.
What is your topic? I chose to research and explore the European colonization of women during the 17th century, specifically focusing on the two women, Quisara and Desdemona in Fletcher’s The Island Princess and Shakespeare’s Othello. The Island Princess is a play that demonstrates the European suitor’s desire for colonization due to the threatening disposition of the natives of the island of Tidore. Indigenous men in the play are seen as inferior to European individuals, and Native women are imagined as being pursued sexually by European men. The suitors ultimately see Princess Quisara as a virgin beauty in need of husbandry. In contrast, Shakespeare constructs Desdemona as embodying the qualities of a European woman, which she has internalized as the ideology of female obedience. In my paper, I worked to argue that Shakespeare's depiction of Desdemona demonstrates the standards of European women as extremely obedient, particularly within marriage. Then I worked to compare the two women, Desdemona and Quisara, to the notions of female beauty during the 17th century.
Why does this topic interest you? Throughout the semester we worked with several pieces of literature in class ranging from themes and issues related to race and gender. I have always been fascinated by the role of women in literature, specifically plays, throughout history and the depiction of them in comparison to men. When considering my capstone paper, I knew that I wanted to examine the role of women in the plays we worked with this semester while also looking at how race plays a large role in this construction of women. With the help of Professor Helga Duncan, we decided that focusing on the role of European colonization of women in two of the most captivating plays of the semester would be the perfect topic to research and analyze further.
What is the most interesting or surprising thing you have learned from your research to date? I think that the most surprising thing that I have learned from my research to date is that each and every class I have enrolled in, mainly history and English courses over my four years, has required research in some capacity and that it quite honestly takes lots of practice to master. Looking back to my freshman year courses where I researched in comparison to my senior year, I have utilized so many more databases and research platforms because I kept an open mind and never gave up. Researching may seem daunting at first but if you stick to it and ask for help you may find it is much more doable than you initially thought.
What types of library resources have you used? I utilized several library resources with the help of resource librarian Lindsay Boezi. She guided me in the right direction by beginning my research in a very broad way and then from there narrowing down my search. Some of my favorite library resources and databases have been JSTOR, Academic Search Complete, MLA International Bibliography, and Google Scholar. Google Scholar is a great starting point and then from there exploring some of the other databases with a more specific lens helps immensely.
How have the library resources shaped your research? Without the use of library resources, my paper would have been drastically different. I found that beginning my paper with the research portion helped significantly because then from there I had a much clearer picture of what I wanted to cover in my paper. Finding a handful of sources that could be useful and dissecting those along with my class notes ultimately guided my paper in the right direction.
What is the most interesting source you have used during your research? The most interesting source I used during my research was titled “Early Intimations of Colonialism in the 17th century: William Shakespeare’s Othello and The Tempest, John Fletcher’s The Island Princess, Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko" written by Hilal Kaya. I was shocked when I stumbled upon this source since it covered my exact topic and the two works from Fletcher and Shakespeare. This source surprised me because it was extremely detailed and provided great context for my essay and guided me directly into comparing the two women, Quisara and Desdemona by using exact textual evidence from the respective plays.
Do you have any advice for fellow student researchers? My biggest piece of advice for fellow students and researchers would be to take your time and be patient. Research does not happen instantaneously and is ultimately trial and error. If you are brand new to researching and using library resources, I would highly recommend meeting with a resource librarian and learning the most efficient and effective ways of researching. Do not give up if you are lost, confused, or struggling to find exactly what you are looking for. Research takes time and effort!