IAT810:Community Portal

FINAL PROJECT MILESTONES

November 9th

JV: basic structure & bibliography

EA: outline & references

DOC: I plan to have a rough draft in which a few ideas are fleshed out and I have something to work with.

LLC: Approval article format, list of artists, basic concept proposal Leonardo paper

JO: basic structure and argument

BF: Research on the methodology

Leila: close reading and working on basic concept and ideas of paper

November 16th

LLC: clarify current challenges with Diane/Meehae

BF: Still working on proposed methodology

Leila : Write preliminary outline of paper

November 23rd

TF: See Haptic Creature, first draft and bibliography

JV: in-class discussion of concept and publication roots

EA: first draft & editing

DOC: analysis of first draft

JO: present the examples and first draft

LLC: draft & bibliography

BF: Finalizing the new Methodology

Leila: First draft of final paper

MA: First draft

December 7th LAST DAY OF CLASS: PAPERS DUE

FINAL PAPER ADVICE - DGr 23NOV2010

In order to situate your position or perspective, it is most useful to know what other perspectives are out there. How do you find them?

In the sciences, finding a meta analysis is the most straightforward approach.

science: meta analysis Example: Immersive VR is used for many different therapeutic purposes. Instead of finding 20+ papers that deal with this issue, it is better to START with a "meta analysis." That is, someone who has read those 20+ papers, categorized them, and has something to say about them. Think of it as an overview.

When you read the diversities of approaches, one will probably strongly resonate with your idea, AND you have alternate ideas ready to cite. Obviously, you'd need to then hone in on the approach you have identified with in more depth.

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In the arts & humanities, it is more difficult. Wikipedia is only moderately useful, and often has incorrect or dubious information. Nonetheless, you may want to look at the bibliography at the bottom of the entry, and see if you recognize any authors. Use a very critical eye.

meta analyses? These are less common; it is usually easier to find them in book form. Note: It is easier to start with an art or humanities database, not google.

If that doesn't work . . . the next thing to try is to find an encyclopedia of your topic, published by a reputable press (Oxford, Routledge, UMinnesota, MIT, etc.).

   The book Meehae showed us about art, for example, was Methodologies of Art.
    For Parjad, that might be an Encyclopedia of Performance Art or 
    Performance: Critical Concepts in Literary and Cultural Studies, 
         Philip Auslander (Routledge).
    More to the point would be: 
   The Potentials of Spaces: The Theory & Practice of Scenography 
   & Performance, Intellect Press, or
   The Cambridge Introduction to Scenography.
    (Intellect Press is okay, but the table of contents reveals that
     this book would be more useful in providing specific examples.
     It doesn't seem to cover a wide range of perspectives.
     The Cambridge book does seem to cover a wide range of perspectives,
     so I'd go with that one first.)

Or, you can hone in more specifically on your topic. For Erin, that would be, say, self & subjectivity. Some examples would be: Virtual Anxiety: Photography, New Technologies and Subjectivity, Sarah Kember, (Manchester).

   However, Manchester is a publisher I am unfamiliar with, 
   the author is someone I am not familiar with, 
   it was published in 1998, and I cannot search inside it.
   So this would be a pretty serious gamble & potential waste of time.

Instead, I'd look at: 1. Concepts of the Self, Anthony Elliott (Polity).

   only vaguely familiar with the publisher, but seems to have a wide range

2. Subjectivity: Theories of the Self from Freud to Haraway, Nick Mansfield, NYU Press.

    Pretty good publisher, AND, since it mentions Haraway, 
    issues of technology are likely to be covered.

3. Self and Subjectivity, (Blackwell).

    Reputable publisher, table of contents seems to cover a broad range.
    So, this might be useful to scan/look over, but 
    doesn't cover any pomo/posthuman ideas or technology per se.

4. Digital Technologies of the Self, Yasmine Abbas & Fred Dervin, (Cambridge Scholars).

    Seems okay -- covers the ideas + technology, but seems oddly too specific. 
    Nothing about photography per se.

5. Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet, or

   The Second Self, Sherry Turkle (MIT Press).
    Good publisher, canonical books on the self & the Internet.
    However, Turkle pretty much comes from one point of view,
    and these books are a bit old. Moderately useful.

6. Self/Image: Technology, Representation, and the Contemporary Subject, Amelia Jones, (Routledge).

    Stellar publisher, title suggests it may cover all the issues, well-known author,
    has the bonus of covering many kinds of art.
    If it were me and the clock was ticking, I'd go with this one.

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Be sure to set time limits -- in this case of basic identification, I'd limit your search to 20-30 minutes. If you are getting closer to what you need in that amount of time, continue. If not, bail & try another route.

Also, don't forget that we have experts in SIAT, so asking one who is an expert in your topic area is a good idea. In Computer Science, there is a lot of agreement. In other fields, there is more multiplicity of contesting ideas.

ANNOTATED BIB ADVICE: DGr 23NOV2010

Masters' students do not need to create an annotated bibliography. Nonetheless, it is a good idea to start one anyway, because it will make writing your thesis easier.

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PhD students need to create an annotated bibliography, which comprises readings (and, say, examples of art or media) that covers information (or a landscape of) their field. Their supervisor and committee members review this to ensure that it is not missing important areas or ideas.

These students are expected to become experts in their fields, so they need to know what knowledge comprises that field. Usually, an annotated bibliography includes about 100 entries. The number is not as important as ensuring that information about the field is covered.

Annotated bibliographies also serve to limit what kinds of questions may be asked during the comprehensive exam, which is a test of a student's knowledge of his or her field.

Advice to the wise: it is NOT a good idea to start an annotated bibliography in earnest until you have a solid research question. WIthout one, you are likely to spin out into the netherworld of confusion and angst. In many ways, this is the most difficult part of working toward a PhD.

Once the comprehensive exam is done, the PhD candidate writes a proposal that specifically addresses their research question -- a kind of "how I plan to approach and structure my dissertation."