I applied for a research fellowship my junior year to study the English Industrial Textile Industry. I worked extensively with my advisor, Susannah Ottaway, and submitted a proposal in February 2004.

I traveled to England that summer. I realized while planning the trip that the train was the best mode of transportation for an American. This meant that the itinerary I submitted to the committee had to be revised. (See proposal.) I also discovered once I arrived in England that many of the museums had closed down. (The museums' websites were not always accurate.) In the end, I found museums and mills that were not advertised on the web; people I met were quite willing to make recommendations. Here is the final itinerary.

I had originally planned to base my senior thesis research on this fellowship. I was going to write about worker's pride during the Luddite Rebellion. However, once I got to England, I developed a fascination with early industrial machinery and the relationship between the worker and mill owner. I was able to take pictures at the museums and use them in my senior thesis. I also picked up several local histories that were valuable to my research.