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I really wish there was someone around with whom I could brainstorm thoughts about this paper, and my thesis generally.
The way I have my data organized doesn't really show the thing that I suspect dr. Ewen will be looking for, and what he thinks the 'pirate pattern' will say: thay these people show have access to fine goods that would be beyond thier means, or outside of their social station.
However:
a: The thesis I have on Port Royal argues that, at least at that location, by the late 17th C, 'luxury' goods were sufficiently commodified that even middle class people could afoord them and had them to display. This was possible because a: bucanneers provided the (stolen) goods and b: merchants forged ties of illegal trade which made goods more readily avaliable
b: it is difficult to assess what goods would have been affordable, since we are dealing with the black market. it is hard to assign an economic value to these things.
c: Saying 'they have things they shouldn't' is really subjective anyway, and the point of the exercise is to see if there is a way to determine this when lacking background information about the sites
d: you can't just say 'well they seem to have a lot of nice pottery' because they didn't have anything *else* nice... there has to be something more, but I am not sure how to extract it
Why does this stuff all hit me now, when the essay is due in two days, and mostly written? Bah! BAH!
Well, I figured out something. I will subject my category with the pottery it into to more detailed analysis, which will wind up looking like another section, but will be different.... *sigh*. It will all work out in the end. Or else. It would still be cool to have someone to chat about this stuff with. I theoretically know people who would understand and might be interested, but they are all busy too. However, this has given me an idea. I might see, next term, if the people who are all working on their theses, Anth and martitime-y folk, might want to form some kind of discussion group, maybe? Something informal, where we can meet up at one of the little cafes downtown and chat about what we are working on, and so on...talking helps stimulate ideas, afterall, and input is good. It is also nice to know what other folks are working on. We'll see. I'll probably forget.
Here is some random info to entertain you, though:
This morning when I was making pancakes, I had to melt some margarine in the microwave. And it *exploded*! Seriously! There must have been an air buble or something, but there was margarine all over the place. Crazymadness :o
Just now, I went to... okay, I really can't remember why I left the room o_O. Oh, I was taking out empty dishes. Anyway, I noticed a flickering red light in one of my jewellery boxes. I was seriously confused. I went to check it out, and realized that it is this silly dolphin flashing LED pin I own that is activted by pressure. So what set it off? I have *no* clue. I had to loosen the back in order to shut it off.
And these are the random strangenesss that comprise my life.
Word of the day: Comprise: be composed of, include or contain, form or contain. I have used this alot in my paper, explaining what is in categories and what percentages of the assembalge they, well... comprise.
Okay, I'm done for now. Aren;t you all glad that I just edited this entry instead of creating a whole new rant, though? I bet it is super huge long now though, and you are all secretly wishing I'd put it behind a cut. Well, tough!
The way I have my data organized doesn't really show the thing that I suspect dr. Ewen will be looking for, and what he thinks the 'pirate pattern' will say: thay these people show have access to fine goods that would be beyond thier means, or outside of their social station.
However:
a: The thesis I have on Port Royal argues that, at least at that location, by the late 17th C, 'luxury' goods were sufficiently commodified that even middle class people could afoord them and had them to display. This was possible because a: bucanneers provided the (stolen) goods and b: merchants forged ties of illegal trade which made goods more readily avaliable
b: it is difficult to assess what goods would have been affordable, since we are dealing with the black market. it is hard to assign an economic value to these things.
c: Saying 'they have things they shouldn't' is really subjective anyway, and the point of the exercise is to see if there is a way to determine this when lacking background information about the sites
d: you can't just say 'well they seem to have a lot of nice pottery' because they didn't have anything *else* nice... there has to be something more, but I am not sure how to extract it
Why does this stuff all hit me now, when the essay is due in two days, and mostly written? Bah! BAH!
Well, I figured out something. I will subject my category with the pottery it into to more detailed analysis, which will wind up looking like another section, but will be different.... *sigh*. It will all work out in the end. Or else. It would still be cool to have someone to chat about this stuff with. I theoretically know people who would understand and might be interested, but they are all busy too. However, this has given me an idea. I might see, next term, if the people who are all working on their theses, Anth and martitime-y folk, might want to form some kind of discussion group, maybe? Something informal, where we can meet up at one of the little cafes downtown and chat about what we are working on, and so on...talking helps stimulate ideas, afterall, and input is good. It is also nice to know what other folks are working on. We'll see. I'll probably forget.
Here is some random info to entertain you, though:
This morning when I was making pancakes, I had to melt some margarine in the microwave. And it *exploded*! Seriously! There must have been an air buble or something, but there was margarine all over the place. Crazymadness :o
Just now, I went to... okay, I really can't remember why I left the room o_O. Oh, I was taking out empty dishes. Anyway, I noticed a flickering red light in one of my jewellery boxes. I was seriously confused. I went to check it out, and realized that it is this silly dolphin flashing LED pin I own that is activted by pressure. So what set it off? I have *no* clue. I had to loosen the back in order to shut it off.
And these are the random strangenesss that comprise my life.
Word of the day: Comprise: be composed of, include or contain, form or contain. I have used this alot in my paper, explaining what is in categories and what percentages of the assembalge they, well... comprise.
Okay, I'm done for now. Aren;t you all glad that I just edited this entry instead of creating a whole new rant, though? I bet it is super huge long now though, and you are all secretly wishing I'd put it behind a cut. Well, tough!
thoughtful