Tiffany Strange
Kinlea Hensel
English IV H
11 September 2014
Topic Proposal: Beauty Throughout History
Statement of Purpose:
The purpose of conducting this research project is to enlighten people to previous
definitions of beauty, as well as the most current, in hopes of illuminating the fact that beauty has
and continues to alter throughout history. Almost expectantly, the perspective of beauty changes
over time, therefore allowing the definition of beauty to change as well. Generation after
generation, individuals are surprised by the newest form, or definition of what is supposed to be
“beautiful”. Growing up in different places and time periods sometimes makes it hard to grasp
and comprehend just how quickly “beauty” can evolve given a period of time.
Background:
As a senior cosmetologist at The Academy for Technology and Academics, I have been
exposed to how beauty can and has evolved throughout history almost daily by my cosmetology
major teachers. I have always had a general interest in how drastically things can change over
time, and this project is no exception to that. With determination to pursue my dreams of
attending a university to major in secondary education history in the near future, I am extremely
excited to be able to research “Beauty Throughout History”. This project is everything that
interest me in one topic to say the least. Researching this topic will allow me to expose
myself to not only more historic cosmetology, but also more history in general.
Significance:
In this time and age, knowing and accepting how dramatically things can change over
time is something that many individuals fail to acknowledge each day. With a new time period
comes new changes that are inevitable. Spending an entire semester researching this project will
hopefully open up the eyes of whomever has not accepted that things are not as they were a
hundred, fifty, or even ten years ago. Accepting the latest definition of “beauty”, and
understanding how it came about will allow people to finally comprehend that just as people
change, so do perspectives.
Description:
The research that I intend on gathering throughout this project will mostly rely on various
blogs and articles that can be found on the internet, Cosmetology textbooks, interviews, and
possibly history textbooks relating to the subject matter.
Methodology:
To further my explanation on what research I will be using during the course of this
research project, I plan to use specific textbooks such as: MiLady Cosmetology textbooks. Many
of my sources will come from the internet, where I will use the key terms and phrases “beauty
throughout history”, “beauty”, “historic beauty”, ect. In the search engine to access a variety of
articles and blogs. I intend on trying to interview a historian from The Museum of Columbia if at
all possible to ask any questions I may have about my topic. The history textbooks remain
undecided at this point.
Problems:
Multiple problems have crossed my mind while contemplating this research topic, but I
believe the most evident problem at this moment would be lack of motivation. Lacking
motivation to complete a task can be challenging because you simply do not want to do what has
to be done. To lack motivation goes hand in hand with procrastination, which is a fault I struggle
to overrule on a daily basis. To repair this problem, I plan to stay on top of my work and ensure
that it is completed before the due date for various reasons such as: to turn completed work in on
time, and to eliminate the inner battle of doing work forcefully at the last minute.