Proposals, Proposals, Proposals

Back from conference, back to blogging.

I'm really happy about the responses to my post about the research methods text. We are going to do it, and hopefully we can come up with some really good "hands-on" activities that can make this course more interesting!

Sirc's blog emphasized the need for more activity of this type:

http://writingeverything.blogspot.com/

A great resource for those of you doing academic research--a workshop on writing an effective academic proposal.

Helm and Ty's Daddy have had to leave class--Helm has moved to Colorado, and Ty's Daddy has a new job. Both are going to finish the class as independent study, and both are still blogging.

Ty's Daddy is actively blogging about his project and interests: he appreciates your feedback!

http://www.researchbt.blogspot.com/

Helm hasn't posted anything new yet: http://11806confession.blogspot.com/

Jaron is among our most active bloggers:

http://www.folkloreinwriting.blogspot.com/





http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/DissPropWorkshop/

Conference Time

I'm off to conference after today's class: Wednesday I'll be at the conference of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing and Thursday and Friday I'll attend the Conference on College Composition and Communication. The first one is small. The second is huge.

I'll be thinking about research methods the whole time: at ATTW I'm meeting with a number of scholars at other universities who teach this course in one form or another. One of these meetings will be focussed on the need for a textbook which could be focussed on this class.

I'd be interested in hearing the thoughts of my students on this issue. What should be taught in a class like this, a class that serves grad students, creative writers, journalists, prfessional writers of all kinds? What disciplines should be explored?

Foucault and Research

I've been thinking through this whole question of research methods, knowledge, and epistemology. If research is about the search for knowledge, then we should pay close attention in our research to epistemology, the science or philosophy of knowledge. Furthermore, if you believe as I do, that knowledge is socially constructed, then that belief should have implications regarding research. I think it does.

The French theorist Michel Foucault felt the same way, and he put his belief into practice in an interesting way. Foucault's argument: If knowledge is socially constructed, then the focus of research should be on those social relations required to make a certain kind of knowledge possible. Therefore, Foucault studied history, and analyzed the emergence of new kinds of knowledge. In Discipline and Punish he looked at the social conditions that led to the development of modern prison systems. In Birth of the Clinic he examined the emergence of modern medicine.

Foucault is considered an important thinker in many disciplines: literary studies, psychology, political science, history, and philosophy among others. However, I think it is his contribution to research methods that might be his greatest achievement.

I've be reading student blog's again.

Ty's Daddy has a new job which may keep him out of the classroom rest of the semester. However his blog is still with us:

http://www.researchbt.blogspot.com/

Desert Rose has some good insight on interviewing and coding data:

http://www.researchmetodsdesertrose.blogspot.com/

John's reflections on zoos are a really excellent example of how to describe what you see:

http://www.canoemidewst.blogspot.com/

Blogger 118622 has a great post with the revealing title, "To be or not to be...a writer:"

http://www.bloggeripfwblogger.blogspot.com/

Great work--Keep blogging.