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!