2009 Lester London Award Recipient
(for a graduate student in history)
Kyle Goyette
From my early childhood, I have been fascinated by history. Something about studying the past and how it affects our present and future has always appealed to me. As I grew older, I found myself reading biographies for no other reason than I found them interesting. While I realize that I must sound like a thousand other graduate students, the truth is that my initial love of history is what compelled me to follow history as a major in college and as a profession in graduate school. My undergraduate work only reinforced my determination to become a historian.
Although I have always loved history, it was not until graduate school that I learned the methods necessary to become a historian as opposed to someone who "likes history." I came to realize that, much like any profession, history requires certain skills; simply enjoying the work was not enough. As I began to learn the research and writing methods necessary to follow history as a discipline, I began my evolution from student to scholar. Above all, graduate school allowed me to grow from a person who loves history to a scholar who is able to practice it. I have already enjoyed the experience of presenting my first paper and am scheduled to present another in April while also working on having my first articles submitted for publication.
During my years at Texas State, I discovered my fascination with 20th century American politics and the struggle over the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in particular. My initial interest in the ERA led me to conduct research and eventually follow the ERA as my thesis. I found so many wonderful sources in the archives at Texas Women's University that I spent days there pouring through their materials. Upon returning to school, I immediately began writing and have not stopped. The research completed for my thesis on the ERA affords me the opportunity to think about how I will expand the work for my doctoral dissertation on the ways in which the battle over the ERA changed American politics. For my thesis, I am narrowing my scope to follow the amendment's influence on Texas' political culture; however, I already know how I will expand the work to a national level for my dissertation. I find the fight over the ERA fascinating because it engendered such passion from Americans across the political spectrum and redefined the modern debate between the liberal demand for progressivism and the conservative demand for morality and traditional values. The defeat of the ERA was only the beginning of a discussion over gender roles and political rights, which continues today.
I learned a great deal as an undergraduate, but graduate school was where I came into my own and began to thrive. Working with such prominent scholars not only reaffirmed my desire to become a historian, but also taught me the methods that I will carry with me while working towards my doctorate. I still love history, but now I am able to understand and appreciate it as a discipline instead of something simply in the pages of books. Graduate school not only gave me the opportunity to improve my writing and conduct independent research, it also taught me the tools that I will take with me throughout my career.