We are running out of time, folks, but I want you to finish reading Irish's book on Suzanne Lacy. There are only 50 pages left to go, which cover Lacy's work on teen violence in her home area of Oakland, CA. This body of work shows a mature artist who has learned from her mistakes and found a way of doing effective, sustainable community-based collaborative performance art. Some hallmarks of her '90s work are: longterm (2+ yrs) research and community organizing efforts prior to presenting any kind of public event; personal investment and permanent residency in the neighborhoods most effected by the artwork; dispersed leadership; and sustained focus on one issue over a period of more than a decade.
The trajectory of her art from the early '70s - present reflects and embodies key developments in public art and U.S.-based feminism in the latter half of the 20th century. For example, in feminism the shift from Second to Third-Wave feminism was basically a philosophical shift in refocus from commonalities between women (the "we are the world" syndrome) to prioritizing difference (race, class, genders, national origin, religion, age, ability, etc.). This is one of the things that makes Lacy's work important. If you have any doubt about this, just look through the back issues of the leading public and performance art journals of the last 3 decades, Public Art Review and High Performance.
And so, even though we're moving into the period when you need to start thinking of your final project for this class, I want you to keep reading and incorporate your knowledge of chapters 6 - the conclusion into your final paper/project/response. There won't be any discussion topics or questions for the last chapters. It's entirely up to you to determine what matters and what doesn't matter to your own research objectives.
As you know, one of the main objectives of this class was to facilitate your own research process. Throughout the semester, I have asked you to relate the different readings to your own interests and objectives as a grad student. If you came into the class not sure of your research agenda, hopefully by now you have formulated an idea. If you came into the class with a research idea but no clear plan of action of how to implement it, by now you should have a clearer sense of direction. In the final project, I will again ask you to apply the readings to your research as it has evolved over the semester.
It is important that you understand - as I think all of you do - that your research project for this class should not be different from your MAE thesis idea or PhD dissertation idea. For this reason, the pages you write for your final project may include sections of papers you are writing or have written for other classes. Obviously, I don't want you to plagiarize yourself. I do want to underscore the importance of developing a consistent idea that pulls in material from all aspect of yur graduate program, because this is how you will put thesis or dissertation together.
I expect your final paper to contain ideas and writings from the blogs. You may quote another member of the class, as long as you cite them appropriately. Make sure to cite all of your sources according to APA style, as outlined in the very helpful APA sites listed in the right column of the blog (I use these sites when I'm feeling too lazy to open my paper APA manual - which is to say most of the time!). Your final paper should be exploratory: a work in progress. I don't expect you to wrap up your ideas in a nice neat conclusion, as might be expected in other classes. The whole point of this class was to get you thinking about what you could do in your graduate program and how you could go about making it happen.
It shouldn't be hard for you to come up with 10 pages of writing on your chosen research topic. Remember - I expect to have read some of it before. What's important to me is how you reassemble your thoughts in the format of a paper, and how you make connections to other ideas you thought of on your own or in the context of other classes. It may sound like I'm asking you to rehash old ideas, but I think you will discover many new things in the process of piecing-together. A quilt, as you know, is more than a bunch of squares sewn together in a certain pattern. Putting the pieces together to form a whole always takes more time than one could ever imagine. Well, the same goes for writing a thesis paper or dissertation.
You will have the last 2 weeks of the semester to work on this project. Please feel free to ask questions of others via the blog or to email me with questions. You can send me an early draft if you're feeling unsure, and I'll give you feedback. Please send me the "final final" in a Word document to my email address: c.erler@ttu.edu Everything is due on May 13th. Please let me know in advance if you foresee a problem getting it finished by then. Some of you, I know, will be taking your Departmental Qualifying Exam at exactly the same time.
Good luck, everyone!!!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Suzanne Lacy: Spaces Between, Chapters 4-5 (pp. 83-127)
I am looking for one or two volunteers to write this week's questions/topics. Since there are two chapters, perhaps someone would take chapter 4 and someone else take chapter 5? Thank you for considering!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Suzanne Lacy: Spaces Between, by Sharon Irish, pp. 37-81 Topics & Questions
If I had to choose an artist who most thoroughly embodies arts-based research methodology and practice, it would have to be Suzanne Lacy. Other artists (John Malpede, Mierle Laderman-Ukeles, Judy Baca and the Beehive Collective come immediately to mind) stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Lacy, don't get me wrong. But they all were influenced by her to some extent, either as a peer or a next-generation artist. I hope this comes through in the pages of Irish's book.
There are certain aspects of Lacy's work that I'd like you to focus on and write about in relation to your own evolving research. Each of the questions/topics for this week's reading address a key focal point. Some points may be more relevant to your particular research project than others, so I want you to respond accordingly. (By all means, use every bit of this class to further your own research in any and all ways possible. In my mind the worst thing you could do is waste your time writing purely academic responses to questions on topics that only marginally interest you!)
Respond to 2 or more questions (below) that are relevant to your research. Since each of you is working on something different, I will leave it to you to find or make the appropriate connections to your work. If none of the questions below are particularly relevant, please find something in the book that resonates for you and write about it.
1. Chapter 2, Embodied Networks, addresses the centrality of the body to Lacy's art practice. In this she is not alone: the body is central to most feminist art, literature, political action and theory. So what is meant by "the body politic" and/or, more importantly, how does Lacy's art make it tangible?
2. Look back at "Exploring Risky Youth Experiences," by Diane Conrad in Method Meets Art (pp. 162-78). Connect Conrad's example of arts-based research to the feminist idea of "self-naming" described on p. 46 of Suzanne Lacy: Spaces Between.
3. How did Lacy & Labowitz exploit press, media and public (municipal) space for maximum impact in their 1977 performance, In Mourning and In Rage? (The media-sphere has changed radically since the '70s. Does this have any bearing on your research?)
4. As Lacy's work grows in scale and complexity, it involves more research before the public event. You can see this even in her early work. If you were on the steering committee of one of Lacy's performances, what kinds of research would be on the table? )Hint: community organizing counts as research.) What challenges might you anticipate?
5. How did Lacy's background in pre-med, her interest in dissection, etc., influence her art in the '70s? Relate this to feminism's focus on the body and identity.
I hope you can find something here that relates to your research. If not, remember it's perfectly okay for you to create your own question based on the reading, as long as it helps you along with your research project. If you have questions or need help, please done hesitate to post your question here or send me an email!
Thanks & good luck...
carolyn
There are certain aspects of Lacy's work that I'd like you to focus on and write about in relation to your own evolving research. Each of the questions/topics for this week's reading address a key focal point. Some points may be more relevant to your particular research project than others, so I want you to respond accordingly. (By all means, use every bit of this class to further your own research in any and all ways possible. In my mind the worst thing you could do is waste your time writing purely academic responses to questions on topics that only marginally interest you!)
Respond to 2 or more questions (below) that are relevant to your research. Since each of you is working on something different, I will leave it to you to find or make the appropriate connections to your work. If none of the questions below are particularly relevant, please find something in the book that resonates for you and write about it.
1. Chapter 2, Embodied Networks, addresses the centrality of the body to Lacy's art practice. In this she is not alone: the body is central to most feminist art, literature, political action and theory. So what is meant by "the body politic" and/or, more importantly, how does Lacy's art make it tangible?
2. Look back at "Exploring Risky Youth Experiences," by Diane Conrad in Method Meets Art (pp. 162-78). Connect Conrad's example of arts-based research to the feminist idea of "self-naming" described on p. 46 of Suzanne Lacy: Spaces Between.
3. How did Lacy & Labowitz exploit press, media and public (municipal) space for maximum impact in their 1977 performance, In Mourning and In Rage? (The media-sphere has changed radically since the '70s. Does this have any bearing on your research?)
4. As Lacy's work grows in scale and complexity, it involves more research before the public event. You can see this even in her early work. If you were on the steering committee of one of Lacy's performances, what kinds of research would be on the table? )Hint: community organizing counts as research.) What challenges might you anticipate?
5. How did Lacy's background in pre-med, her interest in dissection, etc., influence her art in the '70s? Relate this to feminism's focus on the body and identity.
I hope you can find something here that relates to your research. If not, remember it's perfectly okay for you to create your own question based on the reading, as long as it helps you along with your research project. If you have questions or need help, please done hesitate to post your question here or send me an email!
Thanks & good luck...
carolyn
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Suzanne Lacy: Spaces Between, Sharon Irish, pp. xiii-36
Dear All,
This week's reading will be fairly brief, as will the questions/topics, since we're running slightly behind.
If you have not heard of Suzanne Lacy before, I am proud to introduce her and her work to you. She is widely believed to be the pivotal feminist artist of the latter half of the 20th century. Her work, over 3-4 decades, reflects changes in feminist thought, action and theory. I chose this book for us to read because her work is not only aesthetically important; it is research-based, public and communal. I hope you will regard her as a stellar role model.
First, I'd like you to read the Preface and Acknowledgements. While the acknowledgements typically aren't very interesting, I want you to pay attention to Irish's preface. Notice the "I" language. Speaking in the first person, she explains her own position in relation to Lacy and lays out some of the basic ideas in the text. This continues into the Introduction.
The Introduction is quite theoretical in places. For this reason, I advise you to read as follows: PhD students, read the whole Introduction and make sure you understand all the terms. Each term is like a door opening onto a world of ideas, research, theory and dialogue. It's very important that you make the effort to appreciate the richness of the subject matter. The first chapter of your dissertation will resemble this chapter in terms of its structure.
MAE students, you may skip over paragraphs that befuddle and frustrate you. This, of course, is only if you aren't overwhelmingly keen to know and understand important developments and trends in feminist theory from the 70s - 90s. There was a significant shift. However, much of the chapter is mostly descriptive of Lacy's early works. Please read these sections.
Now for Chapter 1, Visceral Beginnings. Of course, first read it. Then choose one of the following questions to respond to in depth:
1. Why is the body so central to feminist or woman-centered art?
2. How and why does Lacy include non-artists in many of her artworks?
3. How and why did Lacy integrate the popular media into her projects on rape?
I'm sorry to be so brief in this introduction to Lacy's work. However, I think that once you start reading the book, and especially after you get through the Introductory chapter, you will find it very engrossing and will have much to share on this blog.
I will check back soon! For now, I only have internet access in the hotel lobby, which is very busy and distracting.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
carolyn
This week's reading will be fairly brief, as will the questions/topics, since we're running slightly behind.
If you have not heard of Suzanne Lacy before, I am proud to introduce her and her work to you. She is widely believed to be the pivotal feminist artist of the latter half of the 20th century. Her work, over 3-4 decades, reflects changes in feminist thought, action and theory. I chose this book for us to read because her work is not only aesthetically important; it is research-based, public and communal. I hope you will regard her as a stellar role model.
First, I'd like you to read the Preface and Acknowledgements. While the acknowledgements typically aren't very interesting, I want you to pay attention to Irish's preface. Notice the "I" language. Speaking in the first person, she explains her own position in relation to Lacy and lays out some of the basic ideas in the text. This continues into the Introduction.
The Introduction is quite theoretical in places. For this reason, I advise you to read as follows: PhD students, read the whole Introduction and make sure you understand all the terms. Each term is like a door opening onto a world of ideas, research, theory and dialogue. It's very important that you make the effort to appreciate the richness of the subject matter. The first chapter of your dissertation will resemble this chapter in terms of its structure.
MAE students, you may skip over paragraphs that befuddle and frustrate you. This, of course, is only if you aren't overwhelmingly keen to know and understand important developments and trends in feminist theory from the 70s - 90s. There was a significant shift. However, much of the chapter is mostly descriptive of Lacy's early works. Please read these sections.
Now for Chapter 1, Visceral Beginnings. Of course, first read it. Then choose one of the following questions to respond to in depth:
1. Why is the body so central to feminist or woman-centered art?
2. How and why does Lacy include non-artists in many of her artworks?
3. How and why did Lacy integrate the popular media into her projects on rape?
I'm sorry to be so brief in this introduction to Lacy's work. However, I think that once you start reading the book, and especially after you get through the Introductory chapter, you will find it very engrossing and will have much to share on this blog.
I will check back soon! For now, I only have internet access in the hotel lobby, which is very busy and distracting.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
carolyn
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Method Meets Art by Patricia Leavy, ch. 5 (pp. 135-178) Discussion questions & topics
All,
Since we have a holiday weekend coming up, your responses will not be due until next week Wednesday. The topic/questions will therefore be posted a little later than usual: possibly Saturday or Sunday.
You may have noticed from her recent blog postings that Liz has been reading ahead. She is very excited about the Leavy book, and is discovering ways of implementing arts-based feminist research methodology into her MAE research project. For this reason, I asked Liz to write this week's topic.
Liz really deserves praise for accepting the challenge of writing this week's topic. As you know, she teaches full-time at a middle school, and runs an award-winning after school program. She is also an accomplished athlete with a demanding training schedule. I don't know how she does it all, but she stepped up to the plate when I asked her to consider writing this week's blog topic.
Popular performance is dear to my heart. It was the main methodological tool I used in my own doctoral research, and I highly recommend it as an exciting exploratory approach to working with groups. If you find yourself drawn to the topic, please consider following up Leavy's chapter with Augusto Boal's (1979, 1992) Theater of the Oppressed and/or Games for Actors and Non-Actors. From there, you can stretch out in different directions, but it's best to start with Boal.
Look for Liz's post in a couple of days. In the meantime, I imagine most of you have the weekend off - so enjoy! Of course, it's also a Judeo-Christian holiday, so for those of you who observe Easter or Passover, have a great celebration.
L'Chaim!
Since we have a holiday weekend coming up, your responses will not be due until next week Wednesday. The topic/questions will therefore be posted a little later than usual: possibly Saturday or Sunday.
You may have noticed from her recent blog postings that Liz has been reading ahead. She is very excited about the Leavy book, and is discovering ways of implementing arts-based feminist research methodology into her MAE research project. For this reason, I asked Liz to write this week's topic.
Liz really deserves praise for accepting the challenge of writing this week's topic. As you know, she teaches full-time at a middle school, and runs an award-winning after school program. She is also an accomplished athlete with a demanding training schedule. I don't know how she does it all, but she stepped up to the plate when I asked her to consider writing this week's blog topic.
Popular performance is dear to my heart. It was the main methodological tool I used in my own doctoral research, and I highly recommend it as an exciting exploratory approach to working with groups. If you find yourself drawn to the topic, please consider following up Leavy's chapter with Augusto Boal's (1979, 1992) Theater of the Oppressed and/or Games for Actors and Non-Actors. From there, you can stretch out in different directions, but it's best to start with Boal.
Look for Liz's post in a couple of days. In the meantime, I imagine most of you have the weekend off - so enjoy! Of course, it's also a Judeo-Christian holiday, so for those of you who observe Easter or Passover, have a great celebration.
L'Chaim!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Carrie Mae Weems - Constructing History: A Requiem to Mark the Moment
Can I have a volunteer to write the discussion questions/topic for this week's reading? I would prefer it be someone who is already familiar with Weems' work. Thank you!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Method Meets Art by Patricia Leavy, ch. 7 (pp. 215-251) Discussion questions & topics
In chapter 7, finally we reach visual arts-based research methods. You were probably wondering how long it would take! Hopefully, previous chapters and texts have shown that visual art is not the only art form we can use in our research. Narrative, poetry and performance (which we haven't discussed yet) can be equally important and integral to the production of creative research. Still, visual art is central to our research mission; it is the art form that brings us together and allows us to understand each other.
Because this chapter is so important, I have given much thought to the blog topic. I know that next week we'll be reading Carrie Mae Weems' Constructed Histories, which addresses critical theoretical issues of identity, representation and subjugated voices/perspectives, and as such constitutes a work of visual "aesthetic intervention," as defined by feminist theorist bell hooks (1995) in her widely read book, Art on My Mind.. (**note my use of APA style**). So what shall this week's topic be?
Here is what I think. I think each one of you quite capable of running with the material presented in this chapter. Therefore I'm going to limit my directives. What I want to know, and what I think you are ready to ask yourselves, is how you will implement one or more of the methodological approaches discussed in the chapter. Leavy divides visual art-based research methodologies into 4 general categories. Here is her description of each (the numbers in parentheses were added by me):
The visual arts-based methods researchers have created offer several options, including (1) using art that exists independent of the research in order to study something that it articulates or questions it poses about social life; (2) having research participants create art in order to express or get at some aspect of their lives that would otherwise remain untapped;(3) creating visual models in order to assist data analysis and interpretation; (4) and creating art as a part of the representation of data. (2009, p. 218).
[Side Bar: the above quote is formatted in APA style. It is a block quote, re: a quote over 40 words long. Block quotes are usually indented 5 spaces from the left margin (which I could not do in this format), do not use quotation marks, and provide date and/or p.# at the end of the quote, after the end punctuation]
The chapter goes on to give examples of the four methodological approaches or strategies. The Weems book (which you might glance at now) is a combination of research strategies #1 and #4. Vicuna's book arguably falls primarily into research strategy #4. The Carolyn Jongewood example on pp. 239-51 might be a combination of #3 and #4. Kim Hershorn's work exploring themes of violence in an artmaking project with kids in an urban school setting (see Leavy, pp. 229-30) is an example of research strategy #2.
As you can see, it is possible and even likely that more than one methodological approach will inform your research. You can set up your project to work in a certain way, but you cannot foresee where it leads. Research usually involves other people whose lives and personalities lead in new directions. It is important to be open, flexible and ready for unexpected opportunities. We can never predict another person's behavior, no matter how well we know them! For this reason, you may start out with the intention of using one methodological approach but end up with two or more overlapping approaches. In the analysis phase of your research you'll find out what happened, when and how it happened. In the writing phase of your research, you'll state what happened, when and how, in narrative form. Visual "data" will inform the research process and final product in different ways. It's up to you and your thesis/dissertation committee to figure out what works best.
Which visual arts-based research methodology/ies best fit/s your research project? If you haven't settled on a particular project, imagine different scenarios based on different methodological approaches.
Be aware that if your research involves people other than yourself, for example if you plan to conduct interviews, photograph people's faces or do a collaborative artwork, you will need to obtain permission from TTU via the Internal Review Board (IRB). The IRB process is more rigorous for research involving minors. I have had students obtain IRB approval to work with school children, so it's not impossible and you shouldn't be intimidated by the process. It does involve paperwork, however. The IRB process is in place to protect research subjects from potential abuse (bad stuff has happened in the past) and (most of all) to protect the university from costly lawsuits.
How will you implement visual arts-based research in your research study? Use chapter 7 to guide your responses. Good luck!
References
hooks, b. (Ed.)(1995). Art on my mind: Visual politics.New York: New Press.
Because this chapter is so important, I have given much thought to the blog topic. I know that next week we'll be reading Carrie Mae Weems' Constructed Histories, which addresses critical theoretical issues of identity, representation and subjugated voices/perspectives, and as such constitutes a work of visual "aesthetic intervention," as defined by feminist theorist bell hooks (1995) in her widely read book, Art on My Mind.. (**note my use of APA style**). So what shall this week's topic be?
Here is what I think. I think each one of you quite capable of running with the material presented in this chapter. Therefore I'm going to limit my directives. What I want to know, and what I think you are ready to ask yourselves, is how you will implement one or more of the methodological approaches discussed in the chapter. Leavy divides visual art-based research methodologies into 4 general categories. Here is her description of each (the numbers in parentheses were added by me):
The visual arts-based methods researchers have created offer several options, including (1) using art that exists independent of the research in order to study something that it articulates or questions it poses about social life; (2) having research participants create art in order to express or get at some aspect of their lives that would otherwise remain untapped;(3) creating visual models in order to assist data analysis and interpretation; (4) and creating art as a part of the representation of data. (2009, p. 218).
[Side Bar: the above quote is formatted in APA style. It is a block quote, re: a quote over 40 words long. Block quotes are usually indented 5 spaces from the left margin (which I could not do in this format), do not use quotation marks, and provide date and/or p.# at the end of the quote, after the end punctuation]
The chapter goes on to give examples of the four methodological approaches or strategies. The Weems book (which you might glance at now) is a combination of research strategies #1 and #4. Vicuna's book arguably falls primarily into research strategy #4. The Carolyn Jongewood example on pp. 239-51 might be a combination of #3 and #4. Kim Hershorn's work exploring themes of violence in an artmaking project with kids in an urban school setting (see Leavy, pp. 229-30) is an example of research strategy #2.
As you can see, it is possible and even likely that more than one methodological approach will inform your research. You can set up your project to work in a certain way, but you cannot foresee where it leads. Research usually involves other people whose lives and personalities lead in new directions. It is important to be open, flexible and ready for unexpected opportunities. We can never predict another person's behavior, no matter how well we know them! For this reason, you may start out with the intention of using one methodological approach but end up with two or more overlapping approaches. In the analysis phase of your research you'll find out what happened, when and how it happened. In the writing phase of your research, you'll state what happened, when and how, in narrative form. Visual "data" will inform the research process and final product in different ways. It's up to you and your thesis/dissertation committee to figure out what works best.
Which visual arts-based research methodology/ies best fit/s your research project? If you haven't settled on a particular project, imagine different scenarios based on different methodological approaches.
Be aware that if your research involves people other than yourself, for example if you plan to conduct interviews, photograph people's faces or do a collaborative artwork, you will need to obtain permission from TTU via the Internal Review Board (IRB). The IRB process is more rigorous for research involving minors. I have had students obtain IRB approval to work with school children, so it's not impossible and you shouldn't be intimidated by the process. It does involve paperwork, however. The IRB process is in place to protect research subjects from potential abuse (bad stuff has happened in the past) and (most of all) to protect the university from costly lawsuits.
How will you implement visual arts-based research in your research study? Use chapter 7 to guide your responses. Good luck!
References
hooks, b. (Ed.)(1995). Art on my mind: Visual politics.New York: New Press.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Please View Our New Flickr Album!
All, I posted a bit of a photo-essay on a recent installation by Cecelia Vicuna that I think will contribute significantly to your understanding of her work. Please let me know if you encounter technical difficulties logging onto the site or viewing the images. Thanks,
carolyn
carolyn
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Mid-Term Challenge - DUE MARCH 19th
All,
It’s Mid-Term time again! For those of you who have taken my classes before, you know that I take a somewhat unique approach to the Mid-Term and Final. I call the blog assignments that we do at these magic moments “updates” or “challenges.” I don’t call them papers. Rather, they are working documents that are designed to help you think through and integrate ideas from the class readings into your (evolving) thesis or dissertation topic. Yes, I realize your thesis/dissertation topic is evolving all the time, and will likely continue evolving until the moment you graduate. With this in mind, please use the Mid-Term Challenge to flesh out your research topic (if you haven’t done so already), articulating a way to implement arts-based feminist methodologies in your research. The methodologies we have discussed so far in this class encompass several forms of narrative (including fiction, creative non-fiction and oral histories, as in The Quilters) and poetry (which you are all quite good at, I must say!). Please integrate your reading of the second half of SABORAMI into your Mid-Term response.
The Mid-Term Challenge asks you to explain what you plan to do for your Master's thesis or Doctoral dissertation. Provide a general overview with enough detail for us to get a clear idea of what you want to do, how you will do it, and why you chose your particular topic.
For some of you, this will be your first opportunity to articulate your thesis or dissertation plans in writing. For others who have taken my classes before, you have had some experience in this area. Either way, it probably won’t be easy. But you're going to feel GREAT when you have something written down. If you've been anxious or worried about the thesis/dissertation process, or if you've been avoiding taking that first step, writing something down - no matter how sketchy or preliminary - will be an act of valor!
You may go about this in any number of ways. For example, if you already know who your research participants are or will be, or if you are still in the stage of considering different individuals or groups to work with, you could meet with a familiar person, or acquaint yourself with a new person, and record your conversation with them (in field notes, not video or tape recording unless you already have IRB approval). You may choose to visit a location and jot down your observations, develop your notes into a narrative or poem, and use this as part of your Mid-Term Challenge.
If you’re interested in pursuing something more along the lines of SABORAMI, you can include visuals (art and/or photography) in your response to this assignment. We haven’t yet read the chapter about visual arts-based research in Leavy’s book, but you can anticipate it by observing Vicuna’s text. It is a very good example.
It may sound like I'm asking you to write a long paper, but actually I think you can do it in about 3 paragraphs. The first paragraph will explain your plans for your thesis if you are in the MAE program, or your dissertation if you are a doctoral student. You may not know exactly what you're going to do, but this paragraph will give you a chance to start thinking and writing about it. If you have more than one idea and can't decide which way to go, write them all down. The group will offer you guidance!
The second paragraph can introduce the methodological approaches discussed in Leavy’s book that resonate with you. Explain why they resonate.
In the third paragraph, explain how the ideas in paragraph 2 connect to your thesis/dissertation project. Your thesis/dissertation topic may still be a hazy idea. However, the aim of this assignment is to twofold: 1) For you to state your thesis/dissertation work in clear, concise and concrete terms, and 2) For you to integrate ideas from this class into your thesis/dissertation.
Now, the 3-paragraph structure is just a suggestion. I don't advise less than 3 paragraphs or more than, say, 8 paragraphs. You do not have to write a formal research paper. This assignment is more about identifying what you want to do, getting your ideas down in writing, and seeing how your ideas and the readings in this class fit together.
In addition to the 3 paragraphs, I want you to produce a creative research document of some sort – it may be fiction, poetry, notes from a conversation, observation notes, visual art or some combination of these elements. How you put them together is your choice.
Please email me both parts – the 3 paragraphs and creative document – as Word doc attachments.
Remember, you are using these forms as methods, or ways, or doing research. This research should relate directly to your dissertation or thesis. It should have practical value to you as a student moving forward in your program. Make something you can use! You are students in programs that encourage and appreciate creative activity combined with original scholarly research. Approach the Mid-Term as an opportunity to find the right balance (for you) between creative and scholarly research activity. It will be different for each of you, but you can learn a lot in the process of doing it and we can learn a lot from each other.
I expect and welcome your questions about this assignment. Please, feel free to post your questions here. If you are uncertain about something – anything! - chances are that someone else in the class feels the same way. So don’t be self-conscious. (If you are self-conscious and can’t help it, you can email me.)
Best of luck with your Mid-Term Challenge. I can’t wait to read what you come up with!
It’s Mid-Term time again! For those of you who have taken my classes before, you know that I take a somewhat unique approach to the Mid-Term and Final. I call the blog assignments that we do at these magic moments “updates” or “challenges.” I don’t call them papers. Rather, they are working documents that are designed to help you think through and integrate ideas from the class readings into your (evolving) thesis or dissertation topic. Yes, I realize your thesis/dissertation topic is evolving all the time, and will likely continue evolving until the moment you graduate. With this in mind, please use the Mid-Term Challenge to flesh out your research topic (if you haven’t done so already), articulating a way to implement arts-based feminist methodologies in your research. The methodologies we have discussed so far in this class encompass several forms of narrative (including fiction, creative non-fiction and oral histories, as in The Quilters) and poetry (which you are all quite good at, I must say!). Please integrate your reading of the second half of SABORAMI into your Mid-Term response.
The Mid-Term Challenge asks you to explain what you plan to do for your Master's thesis or Doctoral dissertation. Provide a general overview with enough detail for us to get a clear idea of what you want to do, how you will do it, and why you chose your particular topic.
For some of you, this will be your first opportunity to articulate your thesis or dissertation plans in writing. For others who have taken my classes before, you have had some experience in this area. Either way, it probably won’t be easy. But you're going to feel GREAT when you have something written down. If you've been anxious or worried about the thesis/dissertation process, or if you've been avoiding taking that first step, writing something down - no matter how sketchy or preliminary - will be an act of valor!
You may go about this in any number of ways. For example, if you already know who your research participants are or will be, or if you are still in the stage of considering different individuals or groups to work with, you could meet with a familiar person, or acquaint yourself with a new person, and record your conversation with them (in field notes, not video or tape recording unless you already have IRB approval). You may choose to visit a location and jot down your observations, develop your notes into a narrative or poem, and use this as part of your Mid-Term Challenge.
If you’re interested in pursuing something more along the lines of SABORAMI, you can include visuals (art and/or photography) in your response to this assignment. We haven’t yet read the chapter about visual arts-based research in Leavy’s book, but you can anticipate it by observing Vicuna’s text. It is a very good example.
It may sound like I'm asking you to write a long paper, but actually I think you can do it in about 3 paragraphs. The first paragraph will explain your plans for your thesis if you are in the MAE program, or your dissertation if you are a doctoral student. You may not know exactly what you're going to do, but this paragraph will give you a chance to start thinking and writing about it. If you have more than one idea and can't decide which way to go, write them all down. The group will offer you guidance!
The second paragraph can introduce the methodological approaches discussed in Leavy’s book that resonate with you. Explain why they resonate.
In the third paragraph, explain how the ideas in paragraph 2 connect to your thesis/dissertation project. Your thesis/dissertation topic may still be a hazy idea. However, the aim of this assignment is to twofold: 1) For you to state your thesis/dissertation work in clear, concise and concrete terms, and 2) For you to integrate ideas from this class into your thesis/dissertation.
Now, the 3-paragraph structure is just a suggestion. I don't advise less than 3 paragraphs or more than, say, 8 paragraphs. You do not have to write a formal research paper. This assignment is more about identifying what you want to do, getting your ideas down in writing, and seeing how your ideas and the readings in this class fit together.
In addition to the 3 paragraphs, I want you to produce a creative research document of some sort – it may be fiction, poetry, notes from a conversation, observation notes, visual art or some combination of these elements. How you put them together is your choice.
Please email me both parts – the 3 paragraphs and creative document – as Word doc attachments.
Remember, you are using these forms as methods, or ways, or doing research. This research should relate directly to your dissertation or thesis. It should have practical value to you as a student moving forward in your program. Make something you can use! You are students in programs that encourage and appreciate creative activity combined with original scholarly research. Approach the Mid-Term as an opportunity to find the right balance (for you) between creative and scholarly research activity. It will be different for each of you, but you can learn a lot in the process of doing it and we can learn a lot from each other.
I expect and welcome your questions about this assignment. Please, feel free to post your questions here. If you are uncertain about something – anything! - chances are that someone else in the class feels the same way. So don’t be self-conscious. (If you are self-conscious and can’t help it, you can email me.)
Best of luck with your Mid-Term Challenge. I can’t wait to read what you come up with!
Monday, February 27, 2012
SABORAMI by Cecilia Vicuna, pp. 9-71, Discussion Topics/Questions
Let me begin this week's blog by encouraging you to read the Afterword, pp. 157-163, which Vicuna wrote specifically for the 2011 edition of SABORAMI. Since most U.S. citizens know little about Chile or any other Latin American country, this Afterword will help provide context. Any additional online research you can do on the 1973 Military Coup in Chile will greatly enhance your understanding and appreciation of Vicuna's historic text.
The Afterword makes it clear that the body of SABORAMI was written before Pinochet became the Dictator of Chile. (For those who don’t know, Pinochet was one of the worst human rights violators of the 20th century.) The text brims with hope for a newly born Chile that embraces a uniquely Latin American form of Socialism deeply rooted in indigenous, Pre-Colombian culture. Most citizens of the U.S. are unfamiliar with this kind of political vision. It would be like contemporary Americans longing for a political system that aligned with the values and traditions of Native Americans.
Question #1
Especially since 9/11, we are accustomed to dismissing alternative political systems and positions critical of the U.S. as “anti-American.” We have a hard time imagining why anyone wouldn’t want to be like us, trained as we are from an early age to see ourselves as the best in the world. Yet on p. 34, Vicuna writes: “Latin America should never become like europe or the u.s.” Now, put your researcher’s cap on and answer as thoughtfully as you can to this question: Why doesn’t she want her country to be like the U.S.?
Question/Topic #2
Much of Vicuna’s artwork is temporary and ephemeral (see pictures posted on Flickr). The art in her book of poems, The Precarious, for example, were small frail structures made of natural materials. Many were site-specific, made outdoors with found(natural) objects such as stick and rock. Once made, they were left behind to crumble or blow away. The installation piece, Autumn, which is described on pp. 63-67, embodies this particular aesthetic.
The fact that Vicuna’s art that could not be bought and sold on the art market, but rather was time-based and performative, put her in the vanguard of the ‘60s-70’s international art scene. Like other artists of the time, her aesthetics extended to the political realm. Unlike her European and U.S. contemporaries, however, her political vision was uniquely Latin American and, unlike Kahlo and Rivera (with whom you might see parallels), uniquely Chilean. In other words, her art and political vision was specific to her time, place, and political circumstances. So, what is the relationship between the installation piece, “Autumn,” and Vicuna’s political vision?
Question/Topic #3
SABORAMI is not poetry-based research as defined by Leavy. Written before poetry was recognized as form of research, SABORAMI anticipated its development. In what ways would you say that it IS research? In what was is it NOT?
****
I have to admit, this book is a tough one. I thought that since Vicuna is a poet and visual artist, it would fit nicely with the chapter in Leavy’s book on poetry as research. In fact it does fit, but to see this requires extra effort to learn and understand the political situation Vicuna was living in at the time.
The Afterword makes it clear that the body of SABORAMI was written before Pinochet became the Dictator of Chile. (For those who don’t know, Pinochet was one of the worst human rights violators of the 20th century.) The text brims with hope for a newly born Chile that embraces a uniquely Latin American form of Socialism deeply rooted in indigenous, Pre-Colombian culture. Most citizens of the U.S. are unfamiliar with this kind of political vision. It would be like contemporary Americans longing for a political system that aligned with the values and traditions of Native Americans.
Question #1
Especially since 9/11, we are accustomed to dismissing alternative political systems and positions critical of the U.S. as “anti-American.” We have a hard time imagining why anyone wouldn’t want to be like us, trained as we are from an early age to see ourselves as the best in the world. Yet on p. 34, Vicuna writes: “Latin America should never become like europe or the u.s.” Now, put your researcher’s cap on and answer as thoughtfully as you can to this question: Why doesn’t she want her country to be like the U.S.?
Question/Topic #2
Much of Vicuna’s artwork is temporary and ephemeral (see pictures posted on Flickr). The art in her book of poems, The Precarious, for example, were small frail structures made of natural materials. Many were site-specific, made outdoors with found(natural) objects such as stick and rock. Once made, they were left behind to crumble or blow away. The installation piece, Autumn, which is described on pp. 63-67, embodies this particular aesthetic.
The fact that Vicuna’s art that could not be bought and sold on the art market, but rather was time-based and performative, put her in the vanguard of the ‘60s-70’s international art scene. Like other artists of the time, her aesthetics extended to the political realm. Unlike her European and U.S. contemporaries, however, her political vision was uniquely Latin American and, unlike Kahlo and Rivera (with whom you might see parallels), uniquely Chilean. In other words, her art and political vision was specific to her time, place, and political circumstances. So, what is the relationship between the installation piece, “Autumn,” and Vicuna’s political vision?
Question/Topic #3
SABORAMI is not poetry-based research as defined by Leavy. Written before poetry was recognized as form of research, SABORAMI anticipated its development. In what ways would you say that it IS research? In what was is it NOT?
****
I have to admit, this book is a tough one. I thought that since Vicuna is a poet and visual artist, it would fit nicely with the chapter in Leavy’s book on poetry as research. In fact it does fit, but to see this requires extra effort to learn and understand the political situation Vicuna was living in at the time.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Flickr
All, I linked our blog to Flickr and transferred the photos over to it. Everyone in the class has permission to join the group. To access the photos, you need to sign in. You can do this using your gmail, yahoo or facebook username and password. Once you join the group, you should be able to share your photos and post comments. I hope this works!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Method Meets Art by Patricia Leavy, ch. 3 (pp. 63-99) Discussion questions & topics
This week we will read about research as poetry. Be sure to read all of chapter 3, pp. 63-99. It has appendices and an extended example that looks like it could be another chapter. I think that you will find the example very helpful.
I'd like to start with a warning. There are some excellent writers whose poetry enacts a form of qualitative research. They are considered poets, not researchers in the academic sense. As poets, they really know what they're doing. I would second Leavy that not everyone can write poetry. It is a form of writing that requires a great deal of serious preparation and study. For this reason, I would not recommend poetry as a form research unless one is already a poet. The book we will be reading next, Sabor a Mi, was written by an accomplished poet and international art star.
Still, Leavy shows us a way to organize research data from interviews and field notes into small nuggets of language that can be quite effective. This is not the way poets write poetry, but it's an interesting strategy that could strengthen one's research (by providing variety) if used sparsely.
It is crucial to include participants in the editing process. Poindexter highlights this in her piece (pp. 92-99). Much as we may think editing is innocuous, it isn't when we're working with other people's words. Without consulting the speakers, we could leave out the parts that are most meaningful to them. We could get caught up in crafting a "condensed, magnified, emotionally heightened" message or "third space" that has little to do with what the speakers were actually thinking and feeling when the words were spoken.
As you can see, I'm issuing a lot of warnings. That's because poetry is generally not well understood in our society. It should not be confused with song lyrics or the release of personal emotion. Poetry actually has more in common with calculous than any of those things (I'm serious about that).
This chapter mentions "coding" a number of times, so I want to make sure you know what that is. If you have collected a hundred pages of interview material (as the authors of The Quilters undoubtedly did), then you need some way to organize it. Cooper & Allen organized, categorized or CODED their material into phases of the life cycle: i.e., childhood, youth, middle years, etc. They organized their entire text into chapters based on these codes. (Post continued - click "comments").
I'd like to start with a warning. There are some excellent writers whose poetry enacts a form of qualitative research. They are considered poets, not researchers in the academic sense. As poets, they really know what they're doing. I would second Leavy that not everyone can write poetry. It is a form of writing that requires a great deal of serious preparation and study. For this reason, I would not recommend poetry as a form research unless one is already a poet. The book we will be reading next, Sabor a Mi, was written by an accomplished poet and international art star.
Still, Leavy shows us a way to organize research data from interviews and field notes into small nuggets of language that can be quite effective. This is not the way poets write poetry, but it's an interesting strategy that could strengthen one's research (by providing variety) if used sparsely.
It is crucial to include participants in the editing process. Poindexter highlights this in her piece (pp. 92-99). Much as we may think editing is innocuous, it isn't when we're working with other people's words. Without consulting the speakers, we could leave out the parts that are most meaningful to them. We could get caught up in crafting a "condensed, magnified, emotionally heightened" message or "third space" that has little to do with what the speakers were actually thinking and feeling when the words were spoken.
As you can see, I'm issuing a lot of warnings. That's because poetry is generally not well understood in our society. It should not be confused with song lyrics or the release of personal emotion. Poetry actually has more in common with calculous than any of those things (I'm serious about that).
This chapter mentions "coding" a number of times, so I want to make sure you know what that is. If you have collected a hundred pages of interview material (as the authors of The Quilters undoubtedly did), then you need some way to organize it. Cooper & Allen organized, categorized or CODED their material into phases of the life cycle: i.e., childhood, youth, middle years, etc. They organized their entire text into chapters based on these codes. (Post continued - click "comments").
Sunday, February 19, 2012
New photos in class Picasa Web Album
After Liz' story about the boy in her class, I thought I'd add a few photos to our Picasa Web Album. These photos were popular postcards in their time, printed in the thousands and sent all over the country to friends and family members for the purpose of sharing the "excitement" of a town lynching. I think these images go a long way to help people without a sense of American history understand the extent of the terror and cruelty that at one time was considered socially acceptable, at least in some communities.
Monday, February 13, 2012
The Quilters: Women & Domestic Art, An Oral History, by Cooper & Allen, pp. 88-157, Discussion Topic
We're now far enough into the course that I feel comfortable asking one of you to write the discussion questions. Each person in the class will have a chance to do this at least in the semester. We do this on a voluntary basis. Volunteers must have the reading done by Thursday at the latest, and their discussion topics/questions posted to the blog no later than Friday. The topic should be based squarely on the reading, of course. However, bear in mind that the topic or question is also a starting point for a more wide-ranging discussion that each person can take in their own direction.
The upside of writing the discussion topic/question is that once you have posted it, you are not obligated to participate any further that week. Now, you may choose to participate, but it's up to you.
With that said, do we have a volunteer to write this week's discussion topic based on the second half of The Quilters? Your participation is much appreciated!
Thank you ~~
carolyn
The upside of writing the discussion topic/question is that once you have posted it, you are not obligated to participate any further that week. Now, you may choose to participate, but it's up to you.
With that said, do we have a volunteer to write this week's discussion topic based on the second half of The Quilters? Your participation is much appreciated!
Thank you ~~
carolyn
Monday, February 6, 2012
The Quilters: Women & Domestic Art, An Oral History, by Cooper & Allen, pp. 1-85 Discussion Topic
I have a feeling you are going to like this book. If you are not from West Texas, it will help you understand and appreciate the region a bit more; if you are from West Texas, it will make you feel proud.
This week's reading covers the first half of the book, pp. 1-85. That sounds like a lot until you see that half the pages are pictures. The text is made up primarily of oral histories, which also makes for quick (but not superficial) reading. I think you will find that the photographs and oral histories work together to effectively "establish resonances, depths that neither words nor photos have separately" (Cooper & Allen, 1999, p. 15).
The Quilters is a great example of a certain kind of feminist research, somewhat more in keeping with second-wave '70s feminism than third-wave feminism, which tends to be more theoretical. You will notice that the research was conducted in the 1970s but the book was not published until 1999. Doc students, be warned: it's not easy to publish qualitative research in book form (notice that I didn't even say "feminist" or "narrative" or "auto-ethnographic" research. Tack on those modifiers and your problems increase exponentially).
Pay close attention to how the Introduction is structured. In the first paragraph, the authors establish a first-person ("we" language) presence by speaking directly to readers. This is a strategy to connect with readers and minimize the academic feel of the scholarship. Realize, though, that the book was published by a university press, which automatically renders it academic. I would not be surprised if the TTU press editors made the authors add an introduction explaining their research methods (second paragraph), statement of purpose and limitations of the study (third paragraph), specific information about the participants in the study (pp. 16-7), research questions (top paragraph, p. 18), fieldwork (second para., p. 18) and so on. These are the staples of scholarly research. For anyone who plans on writing a dissertation or traditional thesis, these elements will appear in the first chapter of your document.
Make sure to read the Author's Note on page 10. This information should absolutely be in the Introduction. When working with oral histories and representational photographs that purport to portray people's lives as they "really" are, researchers must critically examine their role as editors. The power to edit is the power to shape, manipulate and stage what is taken for reality. As student researchers, you need to know that representing other people's lives is a very big deal. I am sure that the Author's Note was added after some of the women whose stories and quilts appear in the book complained of being inaccurately represented.
Always be as open and fair as possible with the participants in your study. Many researchers today collaborate with participants in the editing process. This minimizes the chance of misrepresentation. Let the barrier between "us" and "them" fall away as much as possible. At the same time, be real with yourself and others that a barrier does exist. The fact is that you are getting a Master's or Doctorate degree and your participants are not.
****
If you have never studied quilts before, this book is going to be a treat. There are so many directions we could take the discussion this week. I'm going to pick two topics to get things started. You may want to discuss other aspects of the text, and I welcome you to do so, once you have responded to the topics below.
Question/Topic #1:
In their Introduction, Cooper & Allen quote a participant whose philosophy of life and quilting is beautifully enmeshed. The participant, Mary, reflects, "Sometimes you don't have no control over the way things go. (....) And then you're just given so much to work with in a life and you have to do the best you can with what you got. That's what piecing is. The materials is passed on to you or is all you can afford to buy...that's just what's given to you. Your fate. But the way you put them together is your business. You can put them together in any order you want. Piecing is orderly" (italics added) (p. 20).
After reading the first 85 pages of The Quilters, tells me what this statement means to you.
Question/Topic #2:
In the Introduction and the first two chapters, we are often shown how quilts traditionally functioned as containers of personal memory and records of social history in the lives of women. What is your favorite example?
People of our generation(s) are more accustomed to recording memories with cameras and storage devices such as photo albums, shoe boxes, cell phones, websites and CD/DVDs. We look at a picture of something and we have a memory (or think we have a memory) of a person, place or thing. So how does this quilt-memory thing work? It's a different process, isn't it? Memory is encoded differently. What do you think is the main difference between quilts and cameras as encoders/transmitters of memory?
Put your thinking caps on! Email me if you have questions or want clarification. Best of luck & happy reading.
carolyn
This week's reading covers the first half of the book, pp. 1-85. That sounds like a lot until you see that half the pages are pictures. The text is made up primarily of oral histories, which also makes for quick (but not superficial) reading. I think you will find that the photographs and oral histories work together to effectively "establish resonances, depths that neither words nor photos have separately" (Cooper & Allen, 1999, p. 15).
The Quilters is a great example of a certain kind of feminist research, somewhat more in keeping with second-wave '70s feminism than third-wave feminism, which tends to be more theoretical. You will notice that the research was conducted in the 1970s but the book was not published until 1999. Doc students, be warned: it's not easy to publish qualitative research in book form (notice that I didn't even say "feminist" or "narrative" or "auto-ethnographic" research. Tack on those modifiers and your problems increase exponentially).
Pay close attention to how the Introduction is structured. In the first paragraph, the authors establish a first-person ("we" language) presence by speaking directly to readers. This is a strategy to connect with readers and minimize the academic feel of the scholarship. Realize, though, that the book was published by a university press, which automatically renders it academic. I would not be surprised if the TTU press editors made the authors add an introduction explaining their research methods (second paragraph), statement of purpose and limitations of the study (third paragraph), specific information about the participants in the study (pp. 16-7), research questions (top paragraph, p. 18), fieldwork (second para., p. 18) and so on. These are the staples of scholarly research. For anyone who plans on writing a dissertation or traditional thesis, these elements will appear in the first chapter of your document.
Make sure to read the Author's Note on page 10. This information should absolutely be in the Introduction. When working with oral histories and representational photographs that purport to portray people's lives as they "really" are, researchers must critically examine their role as editors. The power to edit is the power to shape, manipulate and stage what is taken for reality. As student researchers, you need to know that representing other people's lives is a very big deal. I am sure that the Author's Note was added after some of the women whose stories and quilts appear in the book complained of being inaccurately represented.
Always be as open and fair as possible with the participants in your study. Many researchers today collaborate with participants in the editing process. This minimizes the chance of misrepresentation. Let the barrier between "us" and "them" fall away as much as possible. At the same time, be real with yourself and others that a barrier does exist. The fact is that you are getting a Master's or Doctorate degree and your participants are not.
****
If you have never studied quilts before, this book is going to be a treat. There are so many directions we could take the discussion this week. I'm going to pick two topics to get things started. You may want to discuss other aspects of the text, and I welcome you to do so, once you have responded to the topics below.
Question/Topic #1:
In their Introduction, Cooper & Allen quote a participant whose philosophy of life and quilting is beautifully enmeshed. The participant, Mary, reflects, "Sometimes you don't have no control over the way things go. (....) And then you're just given so much to work with in a life and you have to do the best you can with what you got. That's what piecing is. The materials is passed on to you or is all you can afford to buy...that's just what's given to you. Your fate. But the way you put them together is your business. You can put them together in any order you want. Piecing is orderly" (italics added) (p. 20).
After reading the first 85 pages of The Quilters, tells me what this statement means to you.
Question/Topic #2:
In the Introduction and the first two chapters, we are often shown how quilts traditionally functioned as containers of personal memory and records of social history in the lives of women. What is your favorite example?
People of our generation(s) are more accustomed to recording memories with cameras and storage devices such as photo albums, shoe boxes, cell phones, websites and CD/DVDs. We look at a picture of something and we have a memory (or think we have a memory) of a person, place or thing. So how does this quilt-memory thing work? It's a different process, isn't it? Memory is encoded differently. What do you think is the main difference between quilts and cameras as encoders/transmitters of memory?
Put your thinking caps on! Email me if you have questions or want clarification. Best of luck & happy reading.
carolyn
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Method Meets Art by Patricia Leavy, Chapter 2
Chapter Two of Leavy's book deals with narrative ways of learning, knowing and doing research. Narrative can be fiction, nonfiction, auto-biography (known in research circles as auto-ethnography), creative nonfiction, storytelling, oral (spoken) history and/or any combination of these forms. Chapter Two provides summaries of each, and a short example of the author's own experimental writing.
As Leavy points out at the start of the chapter, narrative ways of questioning and investigating the world have expanded the qualitative research paradigm in several ways. She groups these into four main themes: 1) the relationship between the researcher and the researched (generally, the space between "us" and "them" has almost disappeared), 2) the movement from numbers to words and data (data can mean images, sounds, recordings, performances, etc.) 3) the shift from the general to the particular (from the all-knowing "man of science" to the limited perspective of the qualitative researcher, who admits that she doesn't know everything and never will), and 4) the emergence of new epistemologies (new ways of knowing).
For this week, I'd like you to read the chapter and select a narrative form that interests you as a way of doing research (or asking questions about your world and developing new understandings). You may have already developed an idea of what you want to do for your thesis or dissertation. Select a narrative approach that fits what you want to do, or what you are already doing in your graduate program. For example, if your interests center on your own art-making process, then perhaps auto-ethnography (using "I" language) would be a productive way of investigating your work. Or, if your research involves making art with a group of people, you might want to develop ways of letting other people tell their stories through recorded oral histories, storytelling or interviews. If your research will be more historical and/or theoretical, you might try some creative (non)fiction (like Leavy's example on pp. 45-6) or something else entirely. It's up to you.
This week's topic will allow you to: 1) introduce the class to your personal research interests, 2) relate a form of narrative inquiry to your interests, and 3) explain how and why they go together. You may choose to make the third part of your response an example of narrative inquiry applied to your research topic. But that's only if you feel ready to jump right in. In a way, you will already be doing narrative inquiry by responding to this blog topic. You really can't go wrong.
A note on reading: if you don't know the meaning of a word or sentence, don't let it fry your brain. Let the meaning come to you through the process of reading, reflecting and writing. The most important ideas in the text will keep cycling back in different ways, and you will have many chances to "get it" in a way that makes sense to you.
Next week we'll start reading The Quilters: Women & Domestic Art. We'll jump to that book because it is a great example of narrative inquiry, especially oral history and auto-ethnography in research. You might find it helpful to look at it while you read Chapter 2 in Leavy's book.
Take care, good luck & contact me if you have questions!
carolyn
As Leavy points out at the start of the chapter, narrative ways of questioning and investigating the world have expanded the qualitative research paradigm in several ways. She groups these into four main themes: 1) the relationship between the researcher and the researched (generally, the space between "us" and "them" has almost disappeared), 2) the movement from numbers to words and data (data can mean images, sounds, recordings, performances, etc.) 3) the shift from the general to the particular (from the all-knowing "man of science" to the limited perspective of the qualitative researcher, who admits that she doesn't know everything and never will), and 4) the emergence of new epistemologies (new ways of knowing).
For this week, I'd like you to read the chapter and select a narrative form that interests you as a way of doing research (or asking questions about your world and developing new understandings). You may have already developed an idea of what you want to do for your thesis or dissertation. Select a narrative approach that fits what you want to do, or what you are already doing in your graduate program. For example, if your interests center on your own art-making process, then perhaps auto-ethnography (using "I" language) would be a productive way of investigating your work. Or, if your research involves making art with a group of people, you might want to develop ways of letting other people tell their stories through recorded oral histories, storytelling or interviews. If your research will be more historical and/or theoretical, you might try some creative (non)fiction (like Leavy's example on pp. 45-6) or something else entirely. It's up to you.
This week's topic will allow you to: 1) introduce the class to your personal research interests, 2) relate a form of narrative inquiry to your interests, and 3) explain how and why they go together. You may choose to make the third part of your response an example of narrative inquiry applied to your research topic. But that's only if you feel ready to jump right in. In a way, you will already be doing narrative inquiry by responding to this blog topic. You really can't go wrong.
A note on reading: if you don't know the meaning of a word or sentence, don't let it fry your brain. Let the meaning come to you through the process of reading, reflecting and writing. The most important ideas in the text will keep cycling back in different ways, and you will have many chances to "get it" in a way that makes sense to you.
Next week we'll start reading The Quilters: Women & Domestic Art. We'll jump to that book because it is a great example of narrative inquiry, especially oral history and auto-ethnography in research. You might find it helpful to look at it while you read Chapter 2 in Leavy's book.
Take care, good luck & contact me if you have questions!
carolyn
Monday, January 23, 2012
Method Meets Art: Arts-Based Research Practice by Patricia Leavy, pp. 1-24, Discussion Questions
It's time to get started with our reading for the semester. I selected books that I felt best represented a feminist approach to "doing" research. Our main text will be the Leavy book on arts-based research methods. Although the book is not specifically titled "feminist," Patricia Leavy has authored or co-authored several important works on feminist research methods. I selected this book because it is specific to research in the arts and interests we all have in common.
I will not assign you to read every chapter in the book. Chapters 4 and 6, which focus on music and dance, do not for the most part address your particular research interests. However, since half of you are doctoral students in Critical Studies & Artistic Practice - a multi/cross/transdisciplinary program engaging all the Schools (Art, Theater, Music) within the College of Visual & Performing Arts - I think these chapters could be relevant to someone in the class. Chapters 4 and 6 will not be assigned, but if you need them now or at some point in the future, you'll know where to find them.
This week we will read the first chapter in Leavy's book. (Note: Liz might not participate in this week's blog because I sent her the book list late.) I'm going to begin with some straightforward questions. We will get into broader discussion topics later on. Also, each of you will have a chance to author your own discussion topics/questions based on the readings at some point during the semester. For now, I'll take the lead.
First Question:
Leavy begins her book by juxtaposing "Positivist Science" with the "Qualitative Paradigm," outlining the differences between them. If this is new information for you, as I expect it may be for a few, please respond to this question by quickly summarizing the main differences between the two research paradigms. For example, you might explain how each thinks of "truth." You might also say something about the historical (and ongoing) tension between the two research paradigms. One of these two approaches is still seen as "stronger" and more suitable to the "hard" sciences than the other, which by comparison is seen as "soft" and "not serious." The traditional masculine/feminine split plays a role in this long-standing bias.
Second Question:
What social movements contributed to the development of the Qualitative research paradigm? Situate these movements in historical time, re: 1930s, '40s, '50s, etc. You might also mention place: Europe? Asia? North America? South America? Africa? Eastern Europe? Multiple places at once? (This can get complicated. A general statement ((1-3 sentences)) will suffice if you choose to go into it.)
Third Question:
What are some of the main features of Arts-Based Research? What do these features have in common with contemporary feminism?
Fourth Question:
In your opinion, what are the beauties of Arts-Based research practice? What are its difficulties?
Important: I realize you could write pages & pages in response to these questions. Please do not write pages & pages. Hit the main points of your response and move on. Read each other's comments first. If you see that someone has already said what you were going to say, you can acknowledge it ("I agree with ____'s analysis/comment/observation"), but then go on to say something new. If you're the last person to post, this could get challenging, so post early and often!
Please ask questions if you need clarification. I am not perfect; I sometimes forget to mention something or fall short of expressing myself in the best way possible. If you aren't sure about something I've said, chances are someone else in the class is thinking the same thing. There are no stupid questions! So please, go ahead & fire away.
I look forward to reading your responses. You don't need to answer all in one post - you may wish to take the questions one day or one post at a time. Whatever works for you is fine with me.
carolyn
I will not assign you to read every chapter in the book. Chapters 4 and 6, which focus on music and dance, do not for the most part address your particular research interests. However, since half of you are doctoral students in Critical Studies & Artistic Practice - a multi/cross/transdisciplinary program engaging all the Schools (Art, Theater, Music) within the College of Visual & Performing Arts - I think these chapters could be relevant to someone in the class. Chapters 4 and 6 will not be assigned, but if you need them now or at some point in the future, you'll know where to find them.
This week we will read the first chapter in Leavy's book. (Note: Liz might not participate in this week's blog because I sent her the book list late.) I'm going to begin with some straightforward questions. We will get into broader discussion topics later on. Also, each of you will have a chance to author your own discussion topics/questions based on the readings at some point during the semester. For now, I'll take the lead.
First Question:
Leavy begins her book by juxtaposing "Positivist Science" with the "Qualitative Paradigm," outlining the differences between them. If this is new information for you, as I expect it may be for a few, please respond to this question by quickly summarizing the main differences between the two research paradigms. For example, you might explain how each thinks of "truth." You might also say something about the historical (and ongoing) tension between the two research paradigms. One of these two approaches is still seen as "stronger" and more suitable to the "hard" sciences than the other, which by comparison is seen as "soft" and "not serious." The traditional masculine/feminine split plays a role in this long-standing bias.
Second Question:
What social movements contributed to the development of the Qualitative research paradigm? Situate these movements in historical time, re: 1930s, '40s, '50s, etc. You might also mention place: Europe? Asia? North America? South America? Africa? Eastern Europe? Multiple places at once? (This can get complicated. A general statement ((1-3 sentences)) will suffice if you choose to go into it.)
Third Question:
What are some of the main features of Arts-Based Research? What do these features have in common with contemporary feminism?
Fourth Question:
In your opinion, what are the beauties of Arts-Based research practice? What are its difficulties?
Important: I realize you could write pages & pages in response to these questions. Please do not write pages & pages. Hit the main points of your response and move on. Read each other's comments first. If you see that someone has already said what you were going to say, you can acknowledge it ("I agree with ____'s analysis/comment/observation"), but then go on to say something new. If you're the last person to post, this could get challenging, so post early and often!
Please ask questions if you need clarification. I am not perfect; I sometimes forget to mention something or fall short of expressing myself in the best way possible. If you aren't sure about something I've said, chances are someone else in the class is thinking the same thing. There are no stupid questions! So please, go ahead & fire away.
I look forward to reading your responses. You don't need to answer all in one post - you may wish to take the questions one day or one post at a time. Whatever works for you is fine with me.
carolyn
Updated Syllabus
All,
Please note that the syllabus has been updated to reflect current TTU academic policies.
Thanks,
carolyn
Please note that the syllabus has been updated to reflect current TTU academic policies.
Thanks,
carolyn
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Welcome! Introductions
Hello class! It's the first day of the semester, so here we go, let's get started.
I think all of you know me, but you may not all know each other. In this wonderfully small class of only five students, two of you are in the Master's of Art Education (MAE) program and three are in the Critical Studies & Artistic Practice Ph.D. program. I look forward to the cross-pollination between programs, experiences, perspectives and ideas that will take place among us this semester!
To get things rolling, let's start with introductions. Tell us your name, your program and why you decided to take this class. You may also include anything about your background that is important to you and therefore worth sharing. For example, you could tell us where you grew up, educational and/or work experiences, or even something about your family - again, if it is important to you. Please know that you are not obligated to share beyond your personal comfort level! In this class, your ideas, opinions and views are regarded with respect, as is your privacy.
Also in these first few days we need to look at the syllabus. You will see it posted in the right column. All you need to do is click & download the document to your computer. Please look it over and if you have questions, post them on this blog. I will answer any questions or concerns that you have.
Note that in this class, reading & blog assignments are scheduled on a week-by-week basis. Discussion questions and topics based on the assigned readings are posted on Monday or Tuesday of each week. Your comments will always be due the following Sunday at midnight. If something comes up and you are unable to post by Sunday at midnight, please let me know in an email (c.erler@ttu.edu). I understand that you have lives and things occasionally happen that disrupt the flow.
Let's see... I think that is all for now, but I will post again if I think of anything. In the meantime, please do the following:
1) Introduce yourself in a post on this blog
2) Download and read the syllabus
3) Post any questions or concerns that you have about the syllabus, the textbooks, or this class
Thank you, all! I look forward to working with each one of you this semester.
carolyn
I think all of you know me, but you may not all know each other. In this wonderfully small class of only five students, two of you are in the Master's of Art Education (MAE) program and three are in the Critical Studies & Artistic Practice Ph.D. program. I look forward to the cross-pollination between programs, experiences, perspectives and ideas that will take place among us this semester!
To get things rolling, let's start with introductions. Tell us your name, your program and why you decided to take this class. You may also include anything about your background that is important to you and therefore worth sharing. For example, you could tell us where you grew up, educational and/or work experiences, or even something about your family - again, if it is important to you. Please know that you are not obligated to share beyond your personal comfort level! In this class, your ideas, opinions and views are regarded with respect, as is your privacy.
Also in these first few days we need to look at the syllabus. You will see it posted in the right column. All you need to do is click & download the document to your computer. Please look it over and if you have questions, post them on this blog. I will answer any questions or concerns that you have.
Note that in this class, reading & blog assignments are scheduled on a week-by-week basis. Discussion questions and topics based on the assigned readings are posted on Monday or Tuesday of each week. Your comments will always be due the following Sunday at midnight. If something comes up and you are unable to post by Sunday at midnight, please let me know in an email (c.erler@ttu.edu). I understand that you have lives and things occasionally happen that disrupt the flow.
Let's see... I think that is all for now, but I will post again if I think of anything. In the meantime, please do the following:
1) Introduce yourself in a post on this blog
2) Download and read the syllabus
3) Post any questions or concerns that you have about the syllabus, the textbooks, or this class
Thank you, all! I look forward to working with each one of you this semester.
carolyn
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