msdevon ([info]msdevon) wrote in [info]engl102064,
@ 2008-03-05 22:22:00
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Research Project Ideas
Please respond to this post with your ideas/comments/questions concerning the research project.

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[info]cembry
2008-03-10 07:55 pm UTC (link)
I think I'm going to research wwII journals compared to journals of today's soldiers

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[info]msdevon
2008-03-13 05:27 pm UTC (link)
Excellent! My suggestion would be to focus on a couple of primary sources from both time periods and then explore something that you find interesting -- similarities? differences? In particular, how are the soldiers positioning themselves in relation to the events going on around them within the texts themselves? Also, what is the purpose of these journals and blogs, and how have they changed (or remained the same) over time? Then, of course, try to explain why that might be.

I hope that helps!

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[info]jenalcala
2008-03-11 04:03 pm UTC (link)
My thesis will be that although technology has greatly improved out society, it has also made it more impersonal. I will use information from professional and personal aspects (such as scheduling business meetings AND writing love letters in an email as opposed to a note.) Should be fun!

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[info]msdevon
2008-03-13 05:29 pm UTC (link)
Sounds great! I'm a little nervous that it might be a little broad, but I like the specific examples you are giving! Perhaps try this -- even though technology has greatly improved the way we communicate and interact in society, we run the risk of that communication and interaction becoming more impersonal. Then you can focus on means of communication, such as email, sending letters, etc. Basically writing as communication, and how technology makes that sort of communication even less personal than it already is.

Yay fun! :)

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[info]robsevenflow
2008-03-11 05:18 pm UTC (link)
I was hoping to be able to do a study of the technology that music has incorporated over the years in the America, from humble acoustics of years ago to the great amplifiers of today.

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[info]msdevon
2008-03-13 05:34 pm UTC (link)
Excellent! Great example of looking at "technology" in a much broader sense of the word. Be sure to think of lots of specifics to sort of make an overall "point" -- for example, how has the development of technology changed the overall "sound" of popular music? Then, to make that more specific -- how has specific technology developed specific sounds in music? I like this! Hopefully you'll get to "see" some of this at work in Laurie Anderson this afternoon!

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[info]patrickshort
2008-03-11 06:28 pm UTC (link)
right now i am leaning on on making the topic of my research project about video games at least for now

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[info]msdevon
2008-03-13 05:36 pm UTC (link)
Yay! I love video games. :) What exactly would you be interested in exploring as far as video games are concerned? What are some of the purposes of video games? People often argue that video games cause people (kids especially) to be less social and active; could you argue against that? for that? There's so many different angles you can approach this from. Ask yourself the reporter questions (who, what, when, where, why, how) and see what you come up with. :)

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Final project
[info]npowell865
2008-03-11 06:46 pm UTC (link)
I am thinking about doing research on the journals of slaves or indians I do not realy know yet that is why it took me soo long tho try and post anything. I figured if the people I wrote about had an actual place in history it would make me more interested and allow me to write a better paper.

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Re: Final project
[info]msdevon
2008-03-13 05:39 pm UTC (link)
That sounds like a great idea! Check with Nick Wyman in Special Collections and see if they know of any specific journals related to this. I am sure there is a lot out there in terms of published journals, too. You can provide a nice historical context and show how these people are expressing the "unpublished" history. Let me know if you need any help!

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[info]skywalker40
2008-03-11 07:11 pm UTC (link)
I would like to write my paper on a journal of a musician on tour...not sure who yet. I am goin to sure for one.

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[info]msdevon
2008-03-13 05:41 pm UTC (link)
Sounds good! That is definitely one of the popular trends today -- people writing tour journals. You might even want to explore more than one, and then discuss some ideas as to what these blogs are used for (promotion, information, self-expression?) Nice!

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[info]jcaruth4
2008-03-11 07:35 pm UTC (link)
I am really not sure what I want to write on yet, I keep on drawing blanks on topics. But most likely it will be on something historical maybe the past culture of some city.

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[info]msdevon
2008-03-13 05:43 pm UTC (link)
Focusing on a city could be good. It might be interesting to focus on a city you like, or a specific event in a city. For example, using that boy's diary to explore Knoxville during the Civil War would be interesting. If you need to meet with me and brainstorm some ideas, just let me know!

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[info]tluncefo
2008-03-11 11:16 pm UTC (link)
I will probably do my paper on civil war diaries. I might compare soldiers diaries that fought for the Union with soldiers that fought for the Confederacy. It could change, but I think it would be interesting.

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[info]msdevon
2008-03-13 05:44 pm UTC (link)
I think that sounds awesome! It would be interesting also to see what the diaries have to say about the accepted "culture history" we believe about the two sides. For example, we believe the Union was fighting to abolish slavery -- do we see this reflected in the journals of the soldiers? I like this!

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[info]mandak26
2008-03-11 11:34 pm UTC (link)
I want to do my paper on author blogs and how the relationship of authors and their fan base has changed over time. I know we talked about this in my conference, but I don't remember all the ideas we talked about.

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[info]msdevon
2008-03-13 05:46 pm UTC (link)
Yes! We talked about the fact that it is interesting that, while these authors write for young adults, their intended audience for their blog seems to be a lot older. Does that make more adults read young adult novels? Does that appropriately promote the book? Lots of ideas to kick around. Interviews would be key for this project. I like it!

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Research Topic
[info]tennesseegirl17
2008-03-12 03:25 am UTC (link)
I am going to research the miscommunications of text messaging. I'm going to dig deeper into the idea that text messages as a unit of communication and multimedia, but the question is do we interpret texts as how they are meant by the author or what we think they mean?

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Re: Research Topic
[info]msdevon
2008-03-13 06:22 pm UTC (link)
Hmmm. Well, it might be interesting to explore that very topic in terms of instant messaging. One of the biggest issues with writing online is that meaning is sometimes confused -- for example, someone could say something and mean one thing, and the person who "reads" the text could understand it as something completely different. Why is that so much more complicated by online communication (such as instant messaging)? That would be a great way to make that topic more specific!

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[info]skane25
2008-03-12 05:10 pm UTC (link)
I want to do something having to do with music and the music industry and the effect online blogs, news sites, and forums have had on it.

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[info]msdevon
2008-03-13 06:31 pm UTC (link)
Excellent! There was actually a really interesting interview on Fresh Air this afternoon which might provide a good "jumping point" for you: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88145070

That of course deals more with the distribution of music, but the guy being interviewed writes "Listening Post" on Wired.com -- and that may also be a good source of information.

Hope this helps!

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