About
| Who I Am |  Source: Claire PetrasMy name is Claire Petras. I am a senior at the University of Colorado Denver majoring in English Writing. |
| Contact Me |
Claire.Petras@UCDenver.edu |
| University of Colorado Denver |  Source: ucdenver.eduEnglish Department Academic Honors |
| What this project is | This website is a multimedia project in pursuit of undergraduate Latin honors in English Writing. |
| What this project is meant to achieve | I have created a website on the history of tea as it came into Britain, from the 17th-19th century. I will show tea as a dignified, and everyday drink that steeped in a rich history of violence, addiction, lawlessness, corporate espionage, and national pride. |
| How this project started | In the fall of my Sophomore year at UCD, I took a 10-day trip to England while drinking gallons of delicious tea. That trip influenced me to complete a project on British posters from the first and second World Wars for writing projects in Core Composition II (ENGL 2030). In Multimedia Composition (ENGL 3084) a year later, I turned to the subject of tea. I began researching Britain's role in tea's history, creating a documentary on the influence of English Tea Culture in Denver (see below). But there was simply too much fascinating information to fit into one short documentary. I wanted to know more! This fall, in Senior Seminar in Writing (ENGL 4991), I researched further and wrote my senior research paper detailing the scandalous, complex, intertwining history of Britain taking control of the world while becoming tea drinkers. For this project, in Honors in Writing (ENGL 4740), I have taken that research and supplemented the content by applying multimedia elements to create a visually rich website full of period art, illustrations, photographs, maps, and music. I hope you enjoy it! Denver Tea Culture documentary
Source: Claire Petras
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| While creating this project | I was inspired, diverted, and took occasional brain breaks by... watching short videos at lizziebennet.com, reading books by Gail Carriger on the Kindle app for iPhone, drinking MANY, MANY cups of black tea with milk, listening to the new Game of Thrones soundtrack, running miles on the treadmill in a pair of lime green Nike Frees, sobbing my way through the third season of Downton Abbey, juggling the needs of my two adorable and patient young kids, and my husband (who took on extra cooking, pet care, and chauffeur duties, but drew the line with doing laundry). |