We will see each other twice this semester. During our first session we will explore topics and research methodologies as well as talk about the importance of staying organized in the research process. Next time, we will focus on exploring the scholarly conversation and advanced searching. In each session, you will have search time to practice what we go over.
Your research assignment:
Original research that analyzes a small set of language data (e.g., social media posts, a YouTube video, a two-minute conversation, speeches by public figures, literary texts, survey data, interview data, an excerpt from a film or television program, etc.) in view of themes and concepts addressed in class. The research results must be presented in a concise report (2000-2500 words) that includes an introduction motivating the research question, a review of a limited body of relevant literature, a description of the approach/methods of data collection and analysis, the results, and a discussion of the significance of the findings. Instructions and due dates for specific components of the project appear on the syllabus; an overview follows:
No Longer Human / Osamu Dazai
Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death / Deborah Blum
The Edward Said Reader / edited by Moustafa Bayoumi and Andrew Rubin
Homo ludens: The Study of the Play Element in Culture / Johan Huizinga
The Accidental Empire: Israel and the Birth of the Settlements, 1967-1977 / Gershom Gorenberg
Storm / George Stewart
The Mystical Qabalah / Dion Fortune
A Day and a Night at the Baths / Michael Rumaker
The Big Love / Florence Aadland
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Generic License.