Earth to Student, This is Earth...

The "conclusion" of a Research Proposal is very important. In the professional world, it is your last chance to try to get money/permission to do the research. The conclusion is the section in which, after providing all of what you want to do, your goal is to convince your audience why they should care, and why the project is relevant to your own learning/professional development.

Two generic ideas you should make specifically clear in your RPs:

1. local implications: how are your own scholarly goals benefitted from doing the project. What will this project help you learn?
2. global implications: what will your research ADD to the larger academic world? Also, outside of academia why would a general audience be interested in you writing on your subject?

WHY :: Significance

With both implications on your mind, how does one accomplish clarifying beyond the obvious?Below are some critical thinking/talking points which should inspire you to provide detailed explanation of why you believe people will be interested in reading that final paper that will be a result of your research.

First, you need to understand (if you don't) that you are, in some way, defending why I should let you write on your subject-culture. Look at me as your Publisher, Boss, or Chair of the Board. Look at the final paper as something that you want published, a personal goal you are trying to fulfill.

Now, the reasons your project might be relevant are numerous, and varied. Each of you should and will have different reasons for seeing the validity in doing your project. Here are a couple of categories in which your own vision can be articulated. These are just a few categories, or general topics, that you could center your "significance argument" around.

• Stereotypes // Assumptions -- the most generic and easiest to "see," because part of human nature is to stereotype the world to make life easy to comprehend. However, what about stereotypes are you exploring? Which ones, what might people learn? WARNING: trying to prove the validity or invalidness of a stereotype, whether it is a good one or a bad one, is not what our projects are about. You are not writing well-informed Op-ed pieces; you are investigating the beliefs and roots of what makes up the culture. Remember that! So, what do you hope an audience can learn from your researching stereotypes? Where do the stereotypes come from? What will we gain from knowing the roots? How do those roots relate to other disciplines? Other cultures? Do you

• Cultural Trend -- you may have identified in your proposal a behavior or belief you find to be "trendy." So what? What questions do you have? Do you have assumptions for where the trend came from, other trends it is similar to, assumptions for how the trend represents its culture? Will you explore how trends spread in your culture, and how is that relevant?

• Cultural Phenomenon -- trends and phenomena are siblings (or at least cousins). Do you see the behavior or belief you are exploring as a possible isolated or spotty one? But, if the behavior is so out of the ordinary, what makes it so "fascinating" to study?

• Culture Evolution -- are you exploring ways that your culture has transformed, for example, its language; its food sources; its religion? Again, what can be learned by identifying and exploring the transformation?

• Old Subject, New Outlook -- many subjects have been written about a thousand times over. Many of those subjects, though, are looked at using the same lens -- the same theories within the discipline -- over and over. For instance, many academics and journalists have written (and still do) about the failure of communism and Russia being a result of corruption within the military/govt. ranks (bureaucracy). It is a warranted cliche, but still a cliche, to discuss the bureaucracy. Why not look at other areas for the failure and fall of the USSR? Taking this example to our own projects: do you think your project takes a fresh outlook on a commonly explored culture? How is your approach fresh, and how are you looking differently at the culture?

• Cross-Disciplinary Theory Application -- perhaps you find relevance in the science geeks dream: taking a well-known, respected and practiced theory from one discipline and analyzing you subject under the principles of that theory. For instance, analyzing Isaac Newton's Laws of Gravity as they apply to cartoons! Or, more relevant to Cultural Inquiry: using sociologist Max Weber's theories of music and its impact on and by society and applying them to your own culture. In fact, what Weber did was to develop sociological theories by looking at the discipline that is "Music." He strove to make connections between a society and its music.

• Cross-Cultural Parallel -- do you think there might be a connection between two seemingly distinct cultures? How so? I find such work, even if not your focus, will be inevitable to your learning and understanding of...LIFE!

SO?!?

From the above topics, which do you find most fits why you want to do your project and why you think your project will yield worthwhile material? Have confidence in this proposal, and work to convince us to be interested.

Writing Prompt: in the next 20 minutes, defend your project! Develop some rationale from two places: 1. The above categories, and 2. By reflecting on your introduction* and what you have told us about your culture in it.

*This is one way that you can help build a theme throughout your proposal. You should have a theme in the proposal, and the conclusion should further ideas provided at outset of the Proposal.

Homework:

• Reminder: Research Proposal is due Wednesday!

• Read Translating Culture: Chapter 4 (framing ethical research)

Eradicating the Boring

Quality writing draws a reader in to the images and ideas presented, creates a unique world for the reader to live in, and has what Ernest Hemingway calls "vigorous language."

This week, and from our observations over this past week, we are to practice upping our language by focusing on the descriptive value of prose. The audience will most likely lose attention IF a writer is not willing to provide accurate detail, the right word choice, and expand on the ideas they themselves present in their writing.

As the semester chugs on, there is much we must consider in representing our cultures through our language. We must pay attention to the finer details, so that when we come to the page our vision of the culture is most accurately portrayed.

Writing Sins

Judgmental Words: you do want to provide your audience with what you think, but don't tell them how to feel about a subject. Have confidence that your audience will see the "bad" in a person who, for instance, thinks it is funny to go around kicking random people in the back of the knee!

• Example Bad words: bad, good, great, amazing, rude, mean, dumb, super, wonderful, sloppy, intimidating, cool...

• Exceptions: of course, writing would be hard if we weren't allowed to use these words at all, but the goal is to rely more on the describing the people and places that give you the feeling.

• To Combat: Yes, a graveyard may be spooky, but if "spooky" was all you had in your description of the graveyard, well, that's pretty low in value. What makes the graveyard spooky? Is there a rusted iron gate, falling off its hinges, are there ravens cawing on gravestones? Are graves packed closely together; grave markers ten feet tall, blocking out life beyond the cemetery? What I mean: focus on the surroundings, the details that provide you the feeling. Go in depth as to what gave you the feeling you have labelled on your subject.

General Store Language: an over-reliance on abstract adjectives, adverbs, nouns and verbs that have innumerable meaning. There is nothing more boring than reading an essay that is filled with flat, voiceless, faceless characters and unknown, under-painted landscapes. There is nothing more frustrating than when an author replies on the common associations and assumptions that go with a concept like "freedom" or "love," and won't provide their own subject-cultures definitions of these concepts. (As Foreigner sings, "I want to know what love is, I want you to show me.")

• Example Abstractions: love, freedom (!), happy, people, animals, thing, everything, everyone, no one, nothing ...

• Exceptions: Of course, you will have some of these words used, but again you want to make sure that you don't casually use these terms. If, for example, you are studying a culture like a Protest Group, and "freedom" is one of the things they are protesting for, you would have to use the word. However, their idea of freedom might not be my idea of freedom, or your idea of freedom. Instead of relying on the catchphrase, your job as the writer would be to meditate on what that word means to your subject-culture.

• To Combat: As I said, defining generic terms is one thing. Another combat move would be to, in the revision process, seek out weaker phrases from sentence to sentence. When you see yourself using all-inclusive language like "everyone, no one, everything, people, etc." you need to stop and rewrite that phrase to the specific person or to be less all-inclusive. (I know you don't really mean "They love everyone" so why would you use this weak phrase?)

Pronoun High: we, us, they, them, he, she, it, this, that. Uggggggggggggh. Really? From the first two sins, the reasons these words are worth avoiding should be obvious. The constant use of pronouns to replace the noun is easy to do for any writer, but easy does not mean that using pronouns makes for the best writing.

Using pronouns can cause you to miss opportunities in your writing to re-define/develop your subject-culture more thoroughly. Yes, constantly referring to your subject as "The Outsider Graffiti Gang" might get tedious, or tiresome. However, instead of using a generic pronoun like "They," use a noun-phrase that helps build their character. For instance, you might replace "The Outsider Graffiti Gang" with "The lawbreakers..." or "The subversive artists...."

It, this, that are three words used at the beginning of sentences that are highly frustrating. Avoid these words if you can! You can build sentence-to-sentence coherence by using the specific reference instead of the vague pronoun. You can.

Writing Activity

• With all of these ideas fresh in your brain, we are going to write drafts of your Research Proposal introductions...

• What are the 2-3 most "defining" characteristics of your culture? Choose 1 of the 5 general prompts, and write a draft of your RP intro:

1. Is physical appearance hugely important to our understanding? If so, perhaps you might introduce your subject-culture by giving the "typical" physical description of someone in the culture. Be playful, be accurate, don't settle on just adjectives.
2. Is the subject-culture's ideology (religious, gender, political, ethnic, food, etc.) most important to their identity? If so, an effective way to introduce your culture to your audience might be to give a brief list of the culture's key beliefs -- like Martin Luther when he introduced Protestantism with his list of 95 grievances against the Catholic church, circa 1517!.
3. Dialogue. Providing a couple of key phrases used by participants in your culture, and then clarify the relevance of those phrases. What is so interesting in what the culture is saying? (Do the words signify empowerment; are they filled with patriarchal privilege; are they influenced, and stealing, from popular culture figures?)
4. A major behavior. Describe the behavior. Who is involved? Pose questions to what you find fascinating about culture.
5. LANDSCAPE. Where does your culture live? Give a physical description of the place in which your culture spends a majority of its time.

Now, these are just starter prompts that give us some room to focus on certain areas to focus our description of culture. Your own introductions will be revised and more fully developed.

Homework:

• Bring back the writing activity, as we continue talking about writing Research Proposals.
• Read Lygia Navarro's "Tropical Depression from the Winter 2009 issue of the Virginia Quarterly Review. This is a very long reading! That said, focus on the beginning and how Navarro describes Cuba. What are some of her arresting images that help you understand what it is like to live in Cuba, and in what ways does her focus on the landscape affect our tonal understanding of Cuba?

Want to Study Abroad?

The following announcement was e-mailed to me this morning. I think, since we are practicing research by exploring cultures, that studying abroad is a fantastic supplement to anyone's education -- during school or after! You learn as much about yourself and your own culture as you do about the cultures you get to experience firsthand...

The office of International Programs will be hosting a Study Abroad Fair on Tuesday, March 9 from 11am-3pm. This is an opportunity for students to meet with independent program providers, Columbia program representatives and other international organizations to learn about the various options around the world that are available to them.

WHEN: Tuesday, March 9th, 11am-3pm

WHERE: Conaway Center, 1104 S Wabash, First floor

Study abroad is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students to travel, learn and live in a foreign country. They can earn college credit and use their Title IV (FAFSA) awards to help pay for approved study abroad programs. Encourage your students to go and learn more about their options!

For more information, please contact:

International Programs

600 S Michigan, 1311

aiipoffice@colum.edu

312.369.7726

No Class Meeting on 2/19: Out of Class Assignment

Today’s assignment (2/19), which gets you out of the classroom and into field work, is to work on a couple of very important aspects of quality writing so that you will be able to make quality analysis:

1) Focus on smaller details of an object (people, in our case) that are often overlooked

2) Attempting to provide an image*(or images) to your audience rather than simply telling your audience how to feel by using bias language.

* As writers, we are after trying to recreate what we saw as if we are the cameras recording a scene. We want to capture the color, the language, and even the way a character might shrug their shoulder when asked a question, or turn their head and roll their eyes when one of the group members mentions being tired.

More specifically, your assignment for class participation today is to attend a large tourist spot – Shedd Aquarium, the Art Institute, etc. – where you can see a large amount of people interacting with each other and within small groups. The Shedd is free today, Friday (2/19), and the Art Institute is free all February. There are other places, too, as we discussed in class, that you may go!

Normally, I tell you not to be a voyeur, but today is different. In order to sharpen your descriptive language abilities, you have to be able to stare people down…without being awkward or threatening, of course.

Specific Assignment at Your Site:

Descriptive value in writing relies much more on providing the specific details of people rather than relying solely on judgmental, summary phrases, often through OVERUSE of adjectives and adverbs (funny, angrily, great, huge). The key is to spend more time on our descriptions; pay attention to the small details that make up our judgments. Descriptive value allows your reader to see more of what you see – as if you are the camera. So, going to a larger tourist spot, you are to practice this kind of writing by doing the following:

- Pick at least one person, or a small group of people, and start noting down as much as you can about physical appearance of those observed – clothing to height to hair color to jewelry to describing their body language and where they are sitting, and how they are sitting. Also, describe their body movement and facial expressions – all those parts of their action that we interpret as their behavior!

- Can you, in words, provide for your audience the kind of description that will allow us to see what you saw, as if we were looking at a photo when we read your prose?

Descriptive value in writing is often overlooked, so this assignment is highly necessary to field work for your projects. Analysis becomes much clearer and easier when you pay the closest attention to your subject. The more you can show your audience what your subject looks like, the more likely they will understand your ideas.

Due for Wednesday, 2/24: Bring in your best observation of a person or small group, so that we may discuss “the next step,” which is to use the observation to start making analysis. This may be written out, and not typed.

Research Proposal

Due: Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Required Content & Guidelines:

In a 3-page proposal worth 10 pts (10% of course grade), you will want to include the six parts generally outlined below. Parts 1-3 can be seen an “introduction” to culture; 4-5 the “approach” aspect of a proposal; part 6 the conclusion of a proposal, used to explain relevance of project.

MLA format, 12 pt. Times New Roman, with a creative & informative title.

Use the outline below, but also do not write like a robot. Pay attention to your prose, and work on language that will bring your project to life in our imaginations!

Proposal Outline

I. Introduction of Culture (~3-5 paragraphs):

1) Define your subject culture. What are some “defining” characteristics of the culture that would allow your reader to visualize them? What do they look like? What are their major beliefs? What are normal general behaviors? What is their history? Is there a historical nugget important to getting to know culture?

These questions should inspire you to give a portrait-in-words to your audience. Another category that might be relevant to address, depending on your culture: place. How important is location – are they buried deep in the Amazon (kidding!)?

2) Provide your original, personal interest in doing this Cultural Inquiry, including: knowledge and current level of “insiderness.” Why this culture? How much are you already part of culture?

3) Provide your original line of inquiry that you are using to look at culture beyond surface. Provide two to three “starter” questions gives the audience reading your proposal a clear idea of what you want to explore about the culture beyond the surface; show that you have thoughts about culture you want to investigate and have identified those questions.

Also, provide a clear exploratory thesis/tagline à Ex: “My major aim in exploring ‘going emo’ is to meditate on the representational value of dress and persona within Columbia College’s Emo culture.”

II. Plan of Attack (~3-5 paragraphs):

4) Outline your plan of attack going forward, using specific detail. Detail is key. Depth of detail is key. Giving context to the steps in your plan is key.

What places will you visit, and why? Do you have specific people to already interview, or to use as “informants” in doing project? Do you plan to take pictures of, or record your cultureà How are you documenting your observations?

Offer specific, detailed steps, rather than just vague actions you will take. Show your thought process in your steps. Let your audience see that you are taking considerate steps, not thoughtless ones!

Here is an example of effective and ineffective outlining language:

Effective (good level of detail):

Since a large part of my original inquiry revolves around the question, “Do teens at the youth shelter come there to escape the dangers of the neighborhood or out of genuine interest in a specific activity offered at Urban Youth,” I will be looking for texts centered on the social sciences that include discussion of adolescent or teen mindsets and the idea of safety; the role of community centers in impoverished areas; studies done on peer pressure; texts written about artistic ambition in teenagers, especially in urban areas.

In general, search terms like “urban teens”, “community centers” and “art” seem important to finding relevant articles.

Ineffective (generic, obvious, empty detail):

I will go to the library and look up books on psychology and sociology. I hope to find articles on youth culture and community centers. I want to leave no stone unturned. (Look at that icky cliché! What empty words!)

5) Spend one to two developed paragraphs discussing your background research.

What author(s), theories, and specific texts have you already read whose material you are using to shape the way you look at culture? What linguistic, psychological, sociological, historical, biological theories or hypotheses are you going to use in research? Have you read up on another culture that you want to compare to this culture – what texts? Beyond just listing the texts read, provide key ideas taken from them and clarify how you are applying them to your project now. This is an extension of your “plan of attack,” where you discuss steps already taken.

III. Conclusion (~1-2 well-developed paragraphs) à Why the World Will Care…

6) Relevance to world*. Why will an audience be interested in your study? What are you going to add to the academic/intellectual community by doing this project? Reflect upon the research that’s already been done on subject, or the lack of reading material on the group!!!

Put the culture into context of the contemporary world we live in…. What is going on, or do you see happening out in the world that makes your writing on this culture something people will want to read??? As writers, you have to defend what you want to write . . .

*Don’t be afraid to reference popular culture. What’s hot? Vampires, celebutantes, reality tv, economic crisis, two wars, gossip, Gosselins, going “green,” . . .?

Today's Cultural Tiff

The Olympics inspires more than just great competition! The games are a source for inquiry inspiration!

Other thoughts:

• Speech Acts and subversion
• Myth and culture (not related to article), but in thinking about today being Ash Wednesday

Starting Research: Cultural Inquiry Sources

First, it is important to understand that Cultural Inquiry=ethnography, so that when you see the word 'ethnography' you understand that it means Cultural Inquiry.

From today's assigned reading comes a relevant quote that will guide your projects:

As Harry F. Wolcott says in Ethnography: A Way of Seeing, “Ethnography begins with a researcher’s ability to frame an appropriate question or to recognize what contribution ethnography can make toward understanding some larger issue” (242). As a researcher and writer, then, you must examine the potential significance of your [subject-culture]. That significance can be personal (local) or public (global), but you have to consciously and actively raise questions about what that significance might be.

Each of you must actively create questions and look at your culture from various angles. We want sharp points that tear through the surface, not dull "stock" questions that keep us from seeing underneath the skin of a culture.

To do so, we will go over The Ethnographer's Tool Kit, Source Report 2 and go over some techniques from using the Columbia Library website to find all possible texts.

Homework for 2/12: We will be meeting on the third floor (3rd) of the Columbia College Library. Come prepared with a working Cultural Inquiry project "thesis." Include both the subject-culture and a specific area of humanity (that's so broad!) that you want to look into.

This "thesis" is to be a focus-area for you to start looking into your culture.

Some examples: Gender politics in on-line gaming communities; Alternate personas in bar culture; Competition for attention in the college dating scene; Non-verbal communication at Hardcore Concerts; Dressing the Part of an Artist at an Art School: a human artistic statement.

Homework for 2/10: Reading and Source Report 1

As a friendly reminder (I'm apt to do this sometimes), due for next Wednesday is your Source Report 1 (typed, of course), which should be on an on-line periodical (newspaper/magazine) such as we went over in class Friday. You might-should choose an article that will get you into your Cultural Inquiry Project!

ALSO, read Translating Culture Chapter 3: Proposing a Research Project. This particular chapter can be found by clicking on that title, or from going to the Translating Culture link on the right side of the blog! Make sure to give yourself time enough to download the PDF. And, the English Department heads have asked us to tell students: Do not try to print of these chapters in the computer labs; you are not allowed!

Critical Encounters/Culutral Debate

As we explore the idea of "what is fact" as part of our Cultural Inquiry, here is another article that demonstrates how complex and woven are our belief systems. The article points out cultural differences between the US and Sweden, and the comment system shows a variety of different beliefs about just what can be considered animal cruelty...

Today

MLA Citation: On-line Magazine/Newspaper Articles

So, to discuss citation all at once seems (to me) outdated and not as successful as focusing on individual kinds of sources as we move through the semester. That said, next Wednesday we will still have a refresher of MLA citation and a handout provided for the most common sources.

Besides the OWL website, another good source of the ever-evolving citation guide is Diana Hacker's website. As an editor of MLA handbooks, she's a good authority. Also, I find this website as useful because she has a great drop down list that will take you directly to different kinds of sources (as we shall demonstrate in class today).

Note: part of a citation of on-line periodicals is to include the "Publishing Company." This can often be found at the bottom of the website's page. Scroll down all the way down to the bottom and look at who owns the copyright for the material! (For example, at the bottom of www.theatlantic.com is "The Atlantic Group.")