I met with Dr. Robert Adcock on Wednesday, December 5, 2019, for about forty minutes. Our discussion primarily consisted of an analysis of my most recent Research Design, how my Final Literature Review presentation and paper is coming along, and finally, what my next steps are, not only towards next week but also into SISU-306. Overall the discussion was productive and a great insight into how I should change my project.

The first thing we covered was the edits I would have to make going into the final project. The primary edit was the alteration of my object of inquiry, which was initially ethnicity, but after further discussion changed to decentralization, and how official American actors may perpetuate a discourse of both security and insecurity about said object. The alteration was primarily due to the limitations presented by the object of “ethnicity,” in that, one, its nature as an object was a more “fluid” rather than “solid” object, in that it focused more on views, rather than an actual discourse. The further limitation was that I could only understand English, so I would only be able to investigate the issue from an American perspective, rather than a Bosnian, media discourse surrounding the issue.

Aside from making some more minor edits, we further discussed how my project was going. I affirmed with Dr. Adcock that I would be tackling an interpretivist study and that the presentation aspect of our project was helping me assort my schools of thought and prepare for the actual expansion upon them. From there, we discussed how my schools of thought had been adjusted to adapt to my new object. Dr. Adcock added that through this transformation, I could develop a sense of trustworthiness with my reader, as I am willing and open to not only expose myself to new viewpoints on my project but also recognize the changes I had to make as a result. Finally, I assured Dr. Adcock that I would send him both a copy of my Final Literature Review presentation and paper once I finished.

Regarding the next steps towards 306, Dr. Adcock suggested I look further into the divergence of scholars and policymakers within my research, as well as try to look deeper into the non-profit sector regarding official actors, which I intend to do over Christmas break as well. Other things I plan to do over winter break is to read some memoirs, specifically of Richard Holbrooke, regarding the war, to gather more primary evidence on the topic, as that is something, I feel that is needed more for my project.

Overall, though I am nervous, with the confidence that Dr. Adcock has given me over the past few months, I feel that I am prepared to take on this new challenge that is SISU-306.