Discussion boards... again!

It occurred to me the other day that actually I have used dicussion boards more than i had initially realised. When i consiered my use of them i was thinking of it more form the perspective of when i have written on them or when i have used them for more personal things. However, I have used them far more as a means of research.

For example, when i was doing my history degree i spent some time researching the Southa Asian diaspora in Britain. Part of my research included studying ways in which the diaspora can be seen as homogenous and in what ways it is not. I did this partly through looking at discussion boards of South Asian communities. This in some ways highlighted similarities becuase many of the young people were expressing a disengagemnt with their culture, in particular the religious institutions to which they were affiliated. This sentiment was expressed by Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Indians, Pakistanis and Bangledeshis alike.

However, the discussion boards also revealed the huge rifts that exist between these communities. I read many a discussion where people were arguing over whether Pakistan should have been conceeded and which ethnicity were the 'real' Indians. Much of the debate harked all the way back to the imperialist era, in particular the 1857 Indian Rebellion or as most South Asians refer to it 'The First War of Independence'.

Reading through discussion boards gave me a much more personal insight into the relationships that exist between South Asian communities than would any book or Journal Article. Furthermore, using quotes from these discussions gave my essay a lot by way of uniqueness.