Christopher Caruso
Blog #10
When considering the way that our class evaluated the Writing Option survey, it is apparent that surveys can be both a convenient and painless way to gather large amounts of data at once, and a slightly flawed method of data retrieval.
When creating a survey, the language in which the questions are presented can be one of the most crucial aspects of the information that is retrieved. It is important that the questions are presented in their most basic dialect possible. This way, the volunteer will not feel confused or intimidated by the question and will be able to answer it as accurately as possible. With a survey, the vast majority of the information that you can collect is largely opinion-based. This information could either be based on the volunteers personal preferences or skills. For example, an individual can run a survey evaluating which subjects students excel in most at school. Alternatively, an individual can host a survey to gather the public opinion of a certain area, such as asking a specific area its opinions o gun control policies. There are a few problems that an individual can run into while creating surveys however. First of all, the fact that the data being retrieved is mostly based on opinion instead of fact makes the data less solid due to the fact that the numbers can fluctuate depending on the area that you host the survey in. On top of this, the accuracy of surveys is brought into question, due to the tendency people have to alter their answers in order to make themselves or their skills appear more appealing than they actually are.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Blog 9
Christopher Caruso
Blog #9
The first standard encourages students to produce essays through drafts, and states the kinds of revisions it wants students to focus on: those of substitution, addition, deletion, and rearranging. I noticed that 4 of the questions pertaining to this standard use the word “revise”. In fact, these questions are all very similar. They ask whether or not the student focuses on certain qualities in their revisions. Assumably, the department wants to see that students rate their preferred qualities (rearrangement, addition, etc) over other qualities in revision. However, I think that having four very similar questions is confusing. Two of them start with “When I revise my first draft” where the other two refer to revising in general. I don’t think the student doing the survey will pay close enough attention to the difference between those. Also, I think that because 3 of the sentences use a nearly identical pattern, the student will wonder if it is a repeat question, and/or feel confused. In addition, students will probably figure out that you want a “strongly agree” answer to these questions and so they’re swayed to do that. Who doesn’t want to say that they revise their work a lot? We all know it’s important.
The fourth standard states that students will demonstrate the ability to give a compelling oral presentation. In other words, a student must be able to not only verbally present an argument or topic in front of the class, but must also do so in a way that appears confident, authoritative, and is able to catch the attention of the listener while also persuading them. In the survey, I noticed that at least five of the questions directly involved either giving a form of presentation or using language. At least one of the questions involved discourse, which is defined as language in use, while the other questions focused more on the aspects of speaking and presenting. Since the main and most important method of communication and conveying messages is through the use of speech and language, it would make sense that a student should focus such a large portion of his or her English curriculum fine tuning and perfecting this crucial art of communication. The questions on speech and verbal communication are careful not to appear similar in sentence structure or in topic, as not to confuse the student or make them second guess their answers. In fact, only once is a word ever reused among the language-centered questions: "presentation". This could imply that teachers wish to add an additional emphasis on giving presentations in class, as the student may be thrust into numerous situations during future occupations in which a form of presentation must me given. One of the other questions uses the word "talking" instead of "presenting". This implies that the survey taker wishes to understand not only more about the student's professional speaking, but their interpersonal formal communication as well. Because speaking in front of others is considered one of the world's greatest fears, it is possible that students would be less likely to check the "Strongly Agree" or "Agree" boxes. On the other hand, since the idea of oral communication is also such an important trait for a student, the student may feel embarrassed by their true lack of communication skill, and may mark one of the "Agree" boxes so that they do not feel bad about themselves. This, however, can lead to incorrect or altered information, which is the last thing a survey taker wants.
Questions 8, 9, and 10 could stand to be more specific, if they are to accomplish their purpose. Question 9, for example, asks if “I know how to make connections between topics discussed in classes..and concepts studied in other courses”. Knowing how to make a connection is a vague thing. Does it mean, if I have to, can I make a connection? (Anyone can do that) or does it mean, can I name a particular method for drawing a connection? (I don’t think I was taught any, and I doubt that’s the point) or does it mean I often make connections (that’s if frequency represents our ability to do it)? I think most people know how to, but they don’t often do it. Also, peoples’ confidence in their ability to “make a connection” will vary. This question, then, asks your subject if they feel confident claiming they can do it, not if they can do it, how often they do it, or how correctly they do it.
A few of these questions could come off as “yeah, duh!” questions, or questions that will be answered with a “strongly agree” by anyone who has graduated high school and/or feels the need to assert their intelligence. (Questions 1, 5, 11, 12, and 14 potentially).
I’m a little confused by what “textual analysis” is, in question 4. I’m guessing it’s just general literary analysis, but I’ve never used that term specifically, so I don’t know what you mean by it.
Blog #9
The first standard encourages students to produce essays through drafts, and states the kinds of revisions it wants students to focus on: those of substitution, addition, deletion, and rearranging. I noticed that 4 of the questions pertaining to this standard use the word “revise”. In fact, these questions are all very similar. They ask whether or not the student focuses on certain qualities in their revisions. Assumably, the department wants to see that students rate their preferred qualities (rearrangement, addition, etc) over other qualities in revision. However, I think that having four very similar questions is confusing. Two of them start with “When I revise my first draft” where the other two refer to revising in general. I don’t think the student doing the survey will pay close enough attention to the difference between those. Also, I think that because 3 of the sentences use a nearly identical pattern, the student will wonder if it is a repeat question, and/or feel confused. In addition, students will probably figure out that you want a “strongly agree” answer to these questions and so they’re swayed to do that. Who doesn’t want to say that they revise their work a lot? We all know it’s important.
The fourth standard states that students will demonstrate the ability to give a compelling oral presentation. In other words, a student must be able to not only verbally present an argument or topic in front of the class, but must also do so in a way that appears confident, authoritative, and is able to catch the attention of the listener while also persuading them. In the survey, I noticed that at least five of the questions directly involved either giving a form of presentation or using language. At least one of the questions involved discourse, which is defined as language in use, while the other questions focused more on the aspects of speaking and presenting. Since the main and most important method of communication and conveying messages is through the use of speech and language, it would make sense that a student should focus such a large portion of his or her English curriculum fine tuning and perfecting this crucial art of communication. The questions on speech and verbal communication are careful not to appear similar in sentence structure or in topic, as not to confuse the student or make them second guess their answers. In fact, only once is a word ever reused among the language-centered questions: "presentation". This could imply that teachers wish to add an additional emphasis on giving presentations in class, as the student may be thrust into numerous situations during future occupations in which a form of presentation must me given. One of the other questions uses the word "talking" instead of "presenting". This implies that the survey taker wishes to understand not only more about the student's professional speaking, but their interpersonal formal communication as well. Because speaking in front of others is considered one of the world's greatest fears, it is possible that students would be less likely to check the "Strongly Agree" or "Agree" boxes. On the other hand, since the idea of oral communication is also such an important trait for a student, the student may feel embarrassed by their true lack of communication skill, and may mark one of the "Agree" boxes so that they do not feel bad about themselves. This, however, can lead to incorrect or altered information, which is the last thing a survey taker wants.
Questions 8, 9, and 10 could stand to be more specific, if they are to accomplish their purpose. Question 9, for example, asks if “I know how to make connections between topics discussed in classes..and concepts studied in other courses”. Knowing how to make a connection is a vague thing. Does it mean, if I have to, can I make a connection? (Anyone can do that) or does it mean, can I name a particular method for drawing a connection? (I don’t think I was taught any, and I doubt that’s the point) or does it mean I often make connections (that’s if frequency represents our ability to do it)? I think most people know how to, but they don’t often do it. Also, peoples’ confidence in their ability to “make a connection” will vary. This question, then, asks your subject if they feel confident claiming they can do it, not if they can do it, how often they do it, or how correctly they do it.
A few of these questions could come off as “yeah, duh!” questions, or questions that will be answered with a “strongly agree” by anyone who has graduated high school and/or feels the need to assert their intelligence. (Questions 1, 5, 11, 12, and 14 potentially).
I’m a little confused by what “textual analysis” is, in question 4. I’m guessing it’s just general literary analysis, but I’ve never used that term specifically, so I don’t know what you mean by it.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Blog 8
Christopher Caruso
Blog #8
I was very delightfully surprised at the amount of positive feedback that my research plan received in light of the feedback from the class. The only things that the class suggested to me is that I scale back the project a little bit. For example, since my research will be based on the Harry Potter book series, I would be able to obtain more consistent answers from my volunteers if I only emphasized the first book in the series instead of all seven books. On top of this, as apposed to my original idea where I planed to both interview the volunteers and have them fill out a survey, it was suggested that I only interview them so that I do not end up overwhelming my volunteers. Speaking of volunteers, it was also suggested to me that I focus only in interviewing no more than 2 - 3 volunteers because this is not an actual professional case study and it would create less work for me. Other than those little details, virtually everything about my research plan was well received by my peers and professor.
In terms of my references, the first one that I was able to find was an article found in TIME Magazine entitled "Books vs. Movies". Putting aside the notoriety of TIME Magazine, one of the main reasons I chose this article as one of my resources is because it directly tackles the main argument that I am trying to prove and/or disprove, which is the Dominant Discourse of whether or not books are superior to movies. Not only does it list several reasons why people believe that books are better, but it also takes an unbiased approach by delving into the opposite opinion that movies are better than books, which is another issue that I plan to look into with my research. While my research focuses on only one book, this article shifts its focus on several books and their movie adaptations, which gives me a variety of feedback as to why a movie may or may not be more appealing than a book. The MLA citation for the article can be fond below.
Blog #8
I was very delightfully surprised at the amount of positive feedback that my research plan received in light of the feedback from the class. The only things that the class suggested to me is that I scale back the project a little bit. For example, since my research will be based on the Harry Potter book series, I would be able to obtain more consistent answers from my volunteers if I only emphasized the first book in the series instead of all seven books. On top of this, as apposed to my original idea where I planed to both interview the volunteers and have them fill out a survey, it was suggested that I only interview them so that I do not end up overwhelming my volunteers. Speaking of volunteers, it was also suggested to me that I focus only in interviewing no more than 2 - 3 volunteers because this is not an actual professional case study and it would create less work for me. Other than those little details, virtually everything about my research plan was well received by my peers and professor.
In terms of my references, the first one that I was able to find was an article found in TIME Magazine entitled "Books vs. Movies". Putting aside the notoriety of TIME Magazine, one of the main reasons I chose this article as one of my resources is because it directly tackles the main argument that I am trying to prove and/or disprove, which is the Dominant Discourse of whether or not books are superior to movies. Not only does it list several reasons why people believe that books are better, but it also takes an unbiased approach by delving into the opposite opinion that movies are better than books, which is another issue that I plan to look into with my research. While my research focuses on only one book, this article shifts its focus on several books and their movie adaptations, which gives me a variety of feedback as to why a movie may or may not be more appealing than a book. The MLA citation for the article can be fond below.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Blog 7
Christopher Caruso
Blog # 7
Draft Research Plan
Presently, we live in an age where an increasing amount of our cinema has been taking its inspiration from pre-existing pieces of literature. However, despite the apparent increase of today's movies being based off of literature, it appears to be the Dominant Discourse that the original written versions of the stories are superior to their film adaptations. With this research project, I intend to make it my goal to test the validity of this Dominant Discourse. In simpler words, I wish to find a solid answer to whether or not it is true that the written format of storytelling is truly superior to the visual cinematic format of story telling, and if the way we read and process the information in books vs. the way we read and process in information in movies have any contributing factors to this notion. Similar to how people read and process the information presented in text through the written language, in cinema, people "read" and process the information on the screen predominantly through non-verbal language and other types of Discourse. This includes physical actions, facial expressions, tone of music, lighting, position of the camera, tone of voice, etc.
In order to achieve this goal, and in order to prevent my research from becoming too broad, it is my plan to focus on one specific book (or book series) that has been adapted into one (or several) feature-length film. On the other hand, in order to prevent my research from becoming too narrow or scarce, I have decided that it would be best to focus on a very well-known book/movie series that I can safely assume has been both read and watched by the majority of the general population. The book/movie series that best matches this description would be the Harry Potter books by British author J.K Rowling. I intend to obtain my information by gathering several individuals who are considered "fans" of the series (in other words a Harry Potter Discourse Community), and have proficient and extensive knowledge on both the film series and the original books. What is great (and convenient) about using the Harry Potter series as my base of analysis is the fact that the series is so well-known and so highly-regarded that volunteers could easily be found on the university campus alone, let alone anywhere else in the outside area. I, as the researcher, will be required to gather the data I seek most efficiently by interacting directly with my volunteers through a series or surveys and personal interviews with each individual volunteer. I could also give a spin on things by answering the questions myself and providing my own personal opinions on the subject manner as well. As such, much of my first-hand research is going to rely heavily on the use of Ethnography. The exact number of volunteers that will be required in order to obtain a sufficient amount of usable data is currently unknown.
Some of the possible questions presented in the surveys and/or interviews may consist of (but may not be currently restricted to) some of the following:
Blog # 7
Draft Research Plan
Presently, we live in an age where an increasing amount of our cinema has been taking its inspiration from pre-existing pieces of literature. However, despite the apparent increase of today's movies being based off of literature, it appears to be the Dominant Discourse that the original written versions of the stories are superior to their film adaptations. With this research project, I intend to make it my goal to test the validity of this Dominant Discourse. In simpler words, I wish to find a solid answer to whether or not it is true that the written format of storytelling is truly superior to the visual cinematic format of story telling, and if the way we read and process the information in books vs. the way we read and process in information in movies have any contributing factors to this notion. Similar to how people read and process the information presented in text through the written language, in cinema, people "read" and process the information on the screen predominantly through non-verbal language and other types of Discourse. This includes physical actions, facial expressions, tone of music, lighting, position of the camera, tone of voice, etc.
In order to achieve this goal, and in order to prevent my research from becoming too broad, it is my plan to focus on one specific book (or book series) that has been adapted into one (or several) feature-length film. On the other hand, in order to prevent my research from becoming too narrow or scarce, I have decided that it would be best to focus on a very well-known book/movie series that I can safely assume has been both read and watched by the majority of the general population. The book/movie series that best matches this description would be the Harry Potter books by British author J.K Rowling. I intend to obtain my information by gathering several individuals who are considered "fans" of the series (in other words a Harry Potter Discourse Community), and have proficient and extensive knowledge on both the film series and the original books. What is great (and convenient) about using the Harry Potter series as my base of analysis is the fact that the series is so well-known and so highly-regarded that volunteers could easily be found on the university campus alone, let alone anywhere else in the outside area. I, as the researcher, will be required to gather the data I seek most efficiently by interacting directly with my volunteers through a series or surveys and personal interviews with each individual volunteer. I could also give a spin on things by answering the questions myself and providing my own personal opinions on the subject manner as well. As such, much of my first-hand research is going to rely heavily on the use of Ethnography. The exact number of volunteers that will be required in order to obtain a sufficient amount of usable data is currently unknown.
Some of the possible questions presented in the surveys and/or interviews may consist of (but may not be currently restricted to) some of the following:
- A comprehensive question in which the volunteer will be asked to summarize the central ideas and plot around the written work, as well as a comprehensive summary of the key points of the film
- Which central fields in the plot of the book successfully translated into the movie adaptation? Which central fields in the plot of the book were LEFT OUT in the movie adaptation? Were there any central fields or points in the plot of the story that were added to the film that were not present in the original book?
- What were the most impressional moments in the books/movies
- What essential points of action in the book/movie to the volunteers remember specifically?
- What features of books do they value most? Which features of movies do they value most?
- What is the volunteer's "reading style"? Are they more visual readers, creating heavily vivid and immersive images in their minds, or do details not matter as much?
- How much of a distraction or dampener is it when a film deviates from the original source material?
- If literature is truly considered the superior format, then why is it significantly less common for movies to receive literary adaptations as apposed to the other way around?
- What features of books do they value the most?
- Do illustrations in literature play a role in how individuals enjoy and/or visualize a story? Could the same be asked about the special effects and visuals in cinema.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Blog 6
Christopher Caruso
Blog #6
After several weeks of attending and participating in Section 01 of the course Research in Language and Literature, and after interacting with several of the students within the class, it is my belief that our class in in fact a Discourse Community. For starters, everyone in the classroom, including the professor, ultimately has one main goal in mind: to aim for high grades and be able to pass the class. In order for each of us to accomplish this common goal, intercommunication between us students is crucial. Whether the communication be mandatory in order to complete a certain group project, for the sake of the classroom participation grade, or simply to provide advice and feedback on a certain assignment, being able to talk and cooperate with each member of the classroom is absolutely necessary in order for us get good grades. On the topic of communication, even the way in which we speak to each other and to the professor reveals hints of the classroom being a Discourse Community. Our "community" honors the common guideline that, with the exception of the professor, one may only speak unless a hand is raised, and when a person does speak, the speak clearly and confidently. Since our class has a large focus on language and literature, it is important that our Discourse Community has specific guide lines when writing for research project. It is mutually agreed that the content of the writing must be clear, professional, and must remain formal. Writing in a manner that is too relaxed or too casual will result in receiving lower grades, thus detracting from the same common goal. If you were to apply these sole traits to a much larger scale, one could even make the argument that our class is just one piece in an even larger Discourse Community, which would be Kean University itself! This is due to the notion that many many of these core values, goals, and guidelines (goal of getting good grades, speaking respectfully and clearly, having to interact with fellow peers, etc.) are ones that could easily be applied to any individual classroom on campus, not just our own! However, one could also make the argument that our classroom is not entirely apart of a larger Discourse Community because of the fact that the ways and requirements of getting good grades completely differs from classroom to classroom. For example, one of the main ways that our classroom gets graded is through our blogs, but not all classrooms use blogs in their curriculum. Some classes may make students write essay after essay or make them take tests. Each teacher has his or her own unique requirements and grading techniques.
Blog #6
After several weeks of attending and participating in Section 01 of the course Research in Language and Literature, and after interacting with several of the students within the class, it is my belief that our class in in fact a Discourse Community. For starters, everyone in the classroom, including the professor, ultimately has one main goal in mind: to aim for high grades and be able to pass the class. In order for each of us to accomplish this common goal, intercommunication between us students is crucial. Whether the communication be mandatory in order to complete a certain group project, for the sake of the classroom participation grade, or simply to provide advice and feedback on a certain assignment, being able to talk and cooperate with each member of the classroom is absolutely necessary in order for us get good grades. On the topic of communication, even the way in which we speak to each other and to the professor reveals hints of the classroom being a Discourse Community. Our "community" honors the common guideline that, with the exception of the professor, one may only speak unless a hand is raised, and when a person does speak, the speak clearly and confidently. Since our class has a large focus on language and literature, it is important that our Discourse Community has specific guide lines when writing for research project. It is mutually agreed that the content of the writing must be clear, professional, and must remain formal. Writing in a manner that is too relaxed or too casual will result in receiving lower grades, thus detracting from the same common goal. If you were to apply these sole traits to a much larger scale, one could even make the argument that our class is just one piece in an even larger Discourse Community, which would be Kean University itself! This is due to the notion that many many of these core values, goals, and guidelines (goal of getting good grades, speaking respectfully and clearly, having to interact with fellow peers, etc.) are ones that could easily be applied to any individual classroom on campus, not just our own! However, one could also make the argument that our classroom is not entirely apart of a larger Discourse Community because of the fact that the ways and requirements of getting good grades completely differs from classroom to classroom. For example, one of the main ways that our classroom gets graded is through our blogs, but not all classrooms use blogs in their curriculum. Some classes may make students write essay after essay or make them take tests. Each teacher has his or her own unique requirements and grading techniques.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Blog 5.5
Christopher Caruso
Blog #5.5
Jotting Notes
Personal note: Made in error in jotting notes, instead of focusing in the classroom as a whole, I thought we were supposed to take notes on the people presenting their research ideas.
Mike: Makes occasional pauses in speech, voice monotone, sounds confident but not thrilled with project, makes frequent gestures with hands.
While Mike was presenting a description of his research project (which was about how comics react in certain environments whether it be on a live talk show, a night club, or umong friends), he showed little signs of stuttering or making sounds like "uhh" or "ahh", nor did he have to stop and repeat himself. It seems to me that Mike is knowledgeable about the field of stand up comedy, and feels comfortable about this topic. However, I noticed that when mike was speaking, his voice was very low and not very audible from the other side of the room. His voice was also very monotone and did not have a lot of spirit. On top of this, Mike was making frequent gestures with his hands, possibly as a way to detract attention from his face. In my opinion, it seemed to me that Mike was not very thrilled about the experience of actually sharing what his project was, especially considering that he was the first to share his project.
Blog #5.5
Jotting Notes
Personal note: Made in error in jotting notes, instead of focusing in the classroom as a whole, I thought we were supposed to take notes on the people presenting their research ideas.
Mike: Makes occasional pauses in speech, voice monotone, sounds confident but not thrilled with project, makes frequent gestures with hands.
While Mike was presenting a description of his research project (which was about how comics react in certain environments whether it be on a live talk show, a night club, or umong friends), he showed little signs of stuttering or making sounds like "uhh" or "ahh", nor did he have to stop and repeat himself. It seems to me that Mike is knowledgeable about the field of stand up comedy, and feels comfortable about this topic. However, I noticed that when mike was speaking, his voice was very low and not very audible from the other side of the room. His voice was also very monotone and did not have a lot of spirit. On top of this, Mike was making frequent gestures with his hands, possibly as a way to detract attention from his face. In my opinion, it seemed to me that Mike was not very thrilled about the experience of actually sharing what his project was, especially considering that he was the first to share his project.
Blog 5
Christopher Caruso
Blog #5
During my first Blog post, I listed about five different possible research projects that I could execute, all of which contained a central theme of either literature or how certain individuals process literature. Of these possible projects, one of the first ones that I brainstormed was the idea of "the experience that one has when reading a story vs. watching a film adaptation of the same story". Of this idea, I already have several approaches and factors to measure in this project brainstormed, such as:
1) How visual of a reader the individual is (i.e. how vivid the images in one's head are when reading a story and how important imagery is to the reading experience).
2) How certain people react to the story when seeing the film adaptation before reading the book adaptation instead of the other way around,
3) How the ability for a film adaptation to stay close to the source material or take a few liberties has an affect on the experience one has while watching the film.
4) How pre-existing stories have a direct correlation to the expectations people have of thefilm adaptation.
5) How individuals "read" the visuals and physical reactions of the solid actors vs. how a reader imagines the characters and physical action in his or her mind.
These are just a few of many ideas I have for the possible project, but there is a reason why I am listing them now. In the introduction to my research project, there are plenty of different terms that I will have to define or explain in order for my reader to gain a better understanding of what my study is trying to accomplish.
First, since my possible research project has literature as one of the key factors of the study, it would be absolutely crucial to explain to the reader the idea behind Intertextuality. This will be due to the fact that I will be making several references and call-backs to pre-existing literature as well as their film adaptations. On that note, it also would not hurt to convey to the reader a brief synopsis of the story that is being formatted in both book and film form. That way, the reader has a slightly stronger grasp of the references that will be made about the stories throughout the project. One other crucial topic that I will need to discuss is the idea of Discourse and how how language is made up of more than our vocal speech but also in the ways that we as people behave or dress. With that in mind, I find it more important for me to discuss the idea of Discourse Community in my introduction. That is due to the factor that, since I will probably be interviewing and speaking to several individuals whom have both read and watched the story, I might be interacting with true fans of the content. As such, there is always the probability that several of these individuals might clump together to form similar and mutually agreed upon beliefs about the content material, thus forming a fan community of sorts. It would also be beneficial to touch upon the different definitions of literacy, and how one "reads" the content on the big screen can compare to how one "reads" the information presented in a book. It would also be very important to define the ideas behind ethnography. Since this study is a very community-based study, it is highly possible that the observer (me) might become directly involved in some way, whether it be interviewing participants or personally contributing in the study myself through my own experiences. Defining the many ways of ethnography is crucial to having the reader understand how the study may be executed.
Blog #5
During my first Blog post, I listed about five different possible research projects that I could execute, all of which contained a central theme of either literature or how certain individuals process literature. Of these possible projects, one of the first ones that I brainstormed was the idea of "the experience that one has when reading a story vs. watching a film adaptation of the same story". Of this idea, I already have several approaches and factors to measure in this project brainstormed, such as:
1) How visual of a reader the individual is (i.e. how vivid the images in one's head are when reading a story and how important imagery is to the reading experience).
2) How certain people react to the story when seeing the film adaptation before reading the book adaptation instead of the other way around,
3) How the ability for a film adaptation to stay close to the source material or take a few liberties has an affect on the experience one has while watching the film.
4) How pre-existing stories have a direct correlation to the expectations people have of thefilm adaptation.
5) How individuals "read" the visuals and physical reactions of the solid actors vs. how a reader imagines the characters and physical action in his or her mind.
These are just a few of many ideas I have for the possible project, but there is a reason why I am listing them now. In the introduction to my research project, there are plenty of different terms that I will have to define or explain in order for my reader to gain a better understanding of what my study is trying to accomplish.
First, since my possible research project has literature as one of the key factors of the study, it would be absolutely crucial to explain to the reader the idea behind Intertextuality. This will be due to the fact that I will be making several references and call-backs to pre-existing literature as well as their film adaptations. On that note, it also would not hurt to convey to the reader a brief synopsis of the story that is being formatted in both book and film form. That way, the reader has a slightly stronger grasp of the references that will be made about the stories throughout the project. One other crucial topic that I will need to discuss is the idea of Discourse and how how language is made up of more than our vocal speech but also in the ways that we as people behave or dress. With that in mind, I find it more important for me to discuss the idea of Discourse Community in my introduction. That is due to the factor that, since I will probably be interviewing and speaking to several individuals whom have both read and watched the story, I might be interacting with true fans of the content. As such, there is always the probability that several of these individuals might clump together to form similar and mutually agreed upon beliefs about the content material, thus forming a fan community of sorts. It would also be beneficial to touch upon the different definitions of literacy, and how one "reads" the content on the big screen can compare to how one "reads" the information presented in a book. It would also be very important to define the ideas behind ethnography. Since this study is a very community-based study, it is highly possible that the observer (me) might become directly involved in some way, whether it be interviewing participants or personally contributing in the study myself through my own experiences. Defining the many ways of ethnography is crucial to having the reader understand how the study may be executed.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Blog 4
Christopher Caruso
Blog #4
Since the objective of this blog is to do an individual exploration of the Shaggy Dog stories based on the previously posted blog, it should be noted that my group focused on only one of the Shaggy Dog stories in explicit detail, the story about the string trying to get a beer. Since that story has been thoroughly analyzed by the group and not much more can be touched upon with an individual exploration, I find that the most appropriate way to approach this observation by focusing my attention on a different Shaggy Dog story while applying the same questions that were asked and the same analysis that was performed in the previous blog. As such, I will be doing an analysis of the fifth Shaggy Dog story, which was about the lawyer and the bears.
While evaluating this story, some of the questions I will be asking include "Why does this story 'work?’” and "Which of Gee's building tools are incorporated into this story and why are they effective?" In other words, I wish to analyze exactly what made this story funny. Through my analysis of the story, I was able to conclude that one of the most important tools that was utilized in this story was Discourse. This was followed by the use of Social Languages, however, this story also contains the tiniest bit of intertextuality as well.
What Discourses are involved? How do they help develop the socially situated identities & activities?
For this story to be able to remain funny, it is crucial that the reader be familiar with and understand the concept of lawyer jokes and the stereotypes that are associated with lawyers. One of the big stereotypes of lawyers is that despite their profession, they will actually do very little to help you out if you are in trouble. In fact, its even said that when real trouble strikes, lawyers will actually go out of their way to safe their own skin, showing very little actual concern for the person that they are mean to protect. This trait is first scene in the story when the lawyer and his friend are picking berries and the two bears showed up. Instead of being concerned and making sure that both he and his friend both made it to a safer location, "The Lawyer... immediately dashed for cover", thus leaving his Czechoslovakian friend to die and to be eaten by the bears. This trait is also seen when the lawyer finally gets a police officer to come to his property to shoot the bears. Instead of a supposedly normal human being who would be in pieces over the fate of their friend who was eaten by the bear, the only thing that is worrying the lawyer is the idea of getting sued by his friend's family members. During this entire experience for the lawyer, "visions of lawsuits from his friend's family danced in his head". The idea of tainting his reputation and losing a large sum of money was more concerning to the lawyer than the well-being of his friend, only cementing the selfish nature of lawyers. Another trait of lawyers that is also prominent in this story is the idea that lawyers are very wealthy and can afford the nicer things in life. This can be seen through the lawyers Mercedes, as that is a particularly expensive brand of automobile to own. Even the fact that the lawyer has a summer home only highlights his wealth, since most normal individuals have trouble maintaining the payments for one house, let alone a second house meant only for vacations. One of the last traits of lawyers that is exemplified in this story is the notion that lawyers can never be trusted, and always try to steer people wrong or lie to them. In this story, the lack of trust in the lawyer is so strong and prevelant, not even the police officer trying to kill the right bear will believe what the lawyer has o say, even though this was a life or death situation. For example, upon being told by the lawyer that his friend was in the male bear, "without batting an eye, [the officer] leveled his gun, took careful aim, and shot the female".
What sorts of social languages are involved in the story and what purposes do they serve?
At the end of the story, when the lawyer tells the police officer that his friend is in the belly of the male bear, the officer immediately shoots the female instead. Upon asking why he shot the female bear when the lawyer told him to shoot the male bear, the officer simply replied "Would you believe a lawyer who told you the Czech was in the male?" This one line is the most crucial line in the whole story, serving as the punchline for what all of the tension of the story was building up to. What makes this line so effective is due to the fact that this line is a direct play on words. Instead, the phrase sounds like "would you believe a lawyer who told you the check was in the mail?" In order for this play on words to work, the reader of the story must be familiar with lawyer jokes and be familiar with the stereotype of just how stingy and untrustworthy lawyers are. This is a play on the common lie lawyers make when they promise that their client's money is on the way to them, when in reality either the money does not actually exist or the lawyer has no intention of sending the portion of the money in the first place. This phrase alters the literal meaning of the phrase that was spoken, which was supposed to convey that the Czechoslovakian friend was inside the belly of the male bear.
What Intertextuality is involved? How does it help develop the story?
Intertextuality is when a text makes either a direct or indirect reference to a pre-existing text or piece of literature. When the author of the story uses the line "visions of lawsuits from his friend's family danced in his head", he or she is making a direct reference to the Clement Clarke Moore poem "'Twas the Night Before Christmas". Specifically, the line "visions of... danced in his head" is a reference to the line "visions of sugar plums danced in their heads". This reference could have been made for several reasons, the most common of these being for comedic effect. Using a variation of a line from such an innocent and childish poem in order to convey the consequences of such a dire, serious, and horrible situation helps to take the tension away from the situation in the story, thus bringing the reader back down to Earth and reminding him or her that this is still a Shaggy Dog story and has a comedic resolution at the end.
To conclude on what made the joke work, I saw that it is necessary to have the background knowledge of the stingy history of lawyers, as well as “lawyer jokes”. This is a type of Discourse community involving not only the nature of lawyers, but the other “stuff” that goes with it. The lawyer story also uses Social languages to make the story “work”. The play on words presented by the cop at the end is the corner stone that makes the whole joke work. Without that one line, the story would not have a punchline, and this story would not be categorized as a Shaggy Dog story. It also helps to have a little knowledge of intertextuality in order to understand the one Clement Clarke Moore reference. This will help relieve some tension in the story when the conflict is at its grimmest and most serious.
Blog #4
Since the objective of this blog is to do an individual exploration of the Shaggy Dog stories based on the previously posted blog, it should be noted that my group focused on only one of the Shaggy Dog stories in explicit detail, the story about the string trying to get a beer. Since that story has been thoroughly analyzed by the group and not much more can be touched upon with an individual exploration, I find that the most appropriate way to approach this observation by focusing my attention on a different Shaggy Dog story while applying the same questions that were asked and the same analysis that was performed in the previous blog. As such, I will be doing an analysis of the fifth Shaggy Dog story, which was about the lawyer and the bears.
While evaluating this story, some of the questions I will be asking include "Why does this story 'work?’” and "Which of Gee's building tools are incorporated into this story and why are they effective?" In other words, I wish to analyze exactly what made this story funny. Through my analysis of the story, I was able to conclude that one of the most important tools that was utilized in this story was Discourse. This was followed by the use of Social Languages, however, this story also contains the tiniest bit of intertextuality as well.
What Discourses are involved? How do they help develop the socially situated identities & activities?
For this story to be able to remain funny, it is crucial that the reader be familiar with and understand the concept of lawyer jokes and the stereotypes that are associated with lawyers. One of the big stereotypes of lawyers is that despite their profession, they will actually do very little to help you out if you are in trouble. In fact, its even said that when real trouble strikes, lawyers will actually go out of their way to safe their own skin, showing very little actual concern for the person that they are mean to protect. This trait is first scene in the story when the lawyer and his friend are picking berries and the two bears showed up. Instead of being concerned and making sure that both he and his friend both made it to a safer location, "The Lawyer... immediately dashed for cover", thus leaving his Czechoslovakian friend to die and to be eaten by the bears. This trait is also seen when the lawyer finally gets a police officer to come to his property to shoot the bears. Instead of a supposedly normal human being who would be in pieces over the fate of their friend who was eaten by the bear, the only thing that is worrying the lawyer is the idea of getting sued by his friend's family members. During this entire experience for the lawyer, "visions of lawsuits from his friend's family danced in his head". The idea of tainting his reputation and losing a large sum of money was more concerning to the lawyer than the well-being of his friend, only cementing the selfish nature of lawyers. Another trait of lawyers that is also prominent in this story is the idea that lawyers are very wealthy and can afford the nicer things in life. This can be seen through the lawyers Mercedes, as that is a particularly expensive brand of automobile to own. Even the fact that the lawyer has a summer home only highlights his wealth, since most normal individuals have trouble maintaining the payments for one house, let alone a second house meant only for vacations. One of the last traits of lawyers that is exemplified in this story is the notion that lawyers can never be trusted, and always try to steer people wrong or lie to them. In this story, the lack of trust in the lawyer is so strong and prevelant, not even the police officer trying to kill the right bear will believe what the lawyer has o say, even though this was a life or death situation. For example, upon being told by the lawyer that his friend was in the male bear, "without batting an eye, [the officer] leveled his gun, took careful aim, and shot the female".
What sorts of social languages are involved in the story and what purposes do they serve?
At the end of the story, when the lawyer tells the police officer that his friend is in the belly of the male bear, the officer immediately shoots the female instead. Upon asking why he shot the female bear when the lawyer told him to shoot the male bear, the officer simply replied "Would you believe a lawyer who told you the Czech was in the male?" This one line is the most crucial line in the whole story, serving as the punchline for what all of the tension of the story was building up to. What makes this line so effective is due to the fact that this line is a direct play on words. Instead, the phrase sounds like "would you believe a lawyer who told you the check was in the mail?" In order for this play on words to work, the reader of the story must be familiar with lawyer jokes and be familiar with the stereotype of just how stingy and untrustworthy lawyers are. This is a play on the common lie lawyers make when they promise that their client's money is on the way to them, when in reality either the money does not actually exist or the lawyer has no intention of sending the portion of the money in the first place. This phrase alters the literal meaning of the phrase that was spoken, which was supposed to convey that the Czechoslovakian friend was inside the belly of the male bear.
What Intertextuality is involved? How does it help develop the story?
Intertextuality is when a text makes either a direct or indirect reference to a pre-existing text or piece of literature. When the author of the story uses the line "visions of lawsuits from his friend's family danced in his head", he or she is making a direct reference to the Clement Clarke Moore poem "'Twas the Night Before Christmas". Specifically, the line "visions of... danced in his head" is a reference to the line "visions of sugar plums danced in their heads". This reference could have been made for several reasons, the most common of these being for comedic effect. Using a variation of a line from such an innocent and childish poem in order to convey the consequences of such a dire, serious, and horrible situation helps to take the tension away from the situation in the story, thus bringing the reader back down to Earth and reminding him or her that this is still a Shaggy Dog story and has a comedic resolution at the end.
To conclude on what made the joke work, I saw that it is necessary to have the background knowledge of the stingy history of lawyers, as well as “lawyer jokes”. This is a type of Discourse community involving not only the nature of lawyers, but the other “stuff” that goes with it. The lawyer story also uses Social languages to make the story “work”. The play on words presented by the cop at the end is the corner stone that makes the whole joke work. Without that one line, the story would not have a punchline, and this story would not be categorized as a Shaggy Dog story. It also helps to have a little knowledge of intertextuality in order to understand the one Clement Clarke Moore reference. This will help relieve some tension in the story when the conflict is at its grimmest and most serious.
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