My name is Joseph Ganiszewski, and I am a senior at Temple University. Before attending Temple, I earned an associate degree from Montgomery County Community College. Since my graduation from high school in 2014, my academic interests have shifted several times. Although I began my time at Montco as a fine art major (with hopes of becoming a graphic designer), I eventually realized that it was not a good fit. I then changed majors to the versatile and more easily-transferable “liberal studies.” When I first enrolled in Temple, I was majoring in secondary education and history. After exploring the career for a semester, I ultimately decided to drop the secondary education portion and solely pursue a degree in history. At this point in time, I have no specific career goals that directly involve my major, although it is something that I am open to.
As I write this post, my research topic is still in flux. I plan on further solidifying my intentions this coming Monday and Tuesday. The most fleshed-out idea I have at the moment is to explore George Washington’s statement of neutrality on the French Revolution. I became aware of this topic while researching the U.S. government’s response to the French Revolution for my Intermediate Writing Seminar paper last semester. From my recollection and understanding, Washington issued the statement without submitting it to Congress. Although this step was technically unnecessary, Washington’s critics viewed this action as an overstepping of bounds. It would then take roughly a year before Congress officially backed-up Washington with a more-formal statement on the matter. I believe that I would explore the political environment leading up to the issuing of the statement, as well as the resulting backlash. My primary sources would likely include personal correspondence from notable U.S. and French political figures of the time, as well as Washington’s statement and Congress’ follow-up. This topic would be presented in the form of a traditional research paper.