Guidelines for Story-Gathering
and -Analysis Projects
In lieu of an in-class or take-home
final exam, each student will engage in a quarter-long project of
collecting/obtaining a narrative and using the tools we
study in class to analyze it. The due date for this project, which like
your reading journal submissions should be submitted via the dropbox
function on Carmen, is Monday, March 15, but you are welcome to turn in
your project earlier than that. In any case, I would recommend that you
start working on this project early
in the quarter, and that you complete sections of it as we move through
each of our "units" of the course. That way, you won't be scrambling at
the end of the quarter, trying to complete the project at the same time
that you are writing the essay that is due on the last day of
class.
Because students in the class will have different backgrounds
and interests, I want to leave open the source and nature of the
narrative that you collect for your project--with one proviso. The
proviso is that, since we'll be reading quite a few literary narratives
in print in the course, you gather a narrative from some other
source/medium than literature in print. Thus, you might opt to
audio-record a family member or friend telling a story, or record a
guest on a television or radio talk show telling a story about his or
her experiences. Other possibilities include a story or thread of stories included on a
blog; a newspaper story; a
nonfictional account written by a
veteran (or about veterans) of a war; the story of a crime, as told by
one or more witnesses in court (if you can obtain a copy of the
relevant testimony); an episode of a television show; or a graphic
narrative, whether centering on fictional events or not.
In any case, please do check with
me before you embark on your project to confirm that the sort of
narrative you have in mind will be appropriate for this purpose. You
should touch base with me about your narrative by no later than Tuesday, January 19.
If you do choose to record a narrative
told in everyday interaction, as part of a televised interview or radio
broadcast, or in another setting where audio-recording is required, you
can check out a digital audio
recorder from the Digital Media Project in 324 Denney Hall
(http://dmp.osu.edu/). Please note that there is a 24-hour time-limit
on equipment checkouts from the DMP, and that advanced reservations
have to be made in person, not over the phone. Digital audio recorders
can also be checked out from Classroom Services, located in the same
building as the OSU Bookstore. Visit this page on Classroom
Services' website to find a link to a downloadable equipment checkout
form that you'll need me to sign.
Once you've recorded your
narrative, you can download some free
transcription software called Express Scribe Transcription Playback
Software (for
either Mac or Windows) here:
http://www.nch.com.au/scribe/index.html As this site explains, "Express
Scribe is free
professional audio player software for PC, Mac or Linux designed to
assist the transcription of audio recordings." If you choose to use
this software, what you'll need to do
is copy the sound file from the recorder to your computer and open it
in Express Scribe. You can then use helpful functions like the
"backstep" function and sped-up or slowed-down playback modes--in case
you
have trouble hearing what you're trying to transcribe, and need to go
back and recheck what you heard or play the file slower or faster. As
you prepare to transcribe the story, you can find a set of
conventions for transcription (and see those conventions applied to a
specific narrative) here: http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/herman145/UFO.html
Whatever the nature and source of the narrative that you choose to work
with, as part of the process of analyzing the narrative with the tools
that we study in our class you should write up a report on your project
that follows these basic guidelines:
1. The report should begin with a characterization of the context in
which the story was told. If it is a newspaper story, what paper was it
published in and on what date? If it is part of a larger interaction,
what sort of interaction is involved--for example, a conversation
around the dinner table, a series of
interviews with guests on a radio talk show, or an episode of a
television series? What other features of the context are noteworthy or
significant, and why? This section should be 1-2 double-spaced pages.
2. If possible, please include along with your report a copy of the
narrative you obtained and analyzed. For transcribed stories, you need
not give me the original sound file; just the transcript will do.
Providing me with a copy of a newspaper story or the print-out of a
story-thread on a blog should be straightforward; but if you choose to
work on, say, a graphic novel or an extended piece of witness
testimony, providing a
brief summary of the entire narrative, as well as a statement about the
particular scene or episode you're focusing on, would suffice.
3. Next, the report should put into dialogue with your narrative 2 of
the theoretical sources discussed in each of the 4 main units of the
class--for a total of 8 sources. In completing this part of your
report, you should think about ways in which the theoretical sources
can be used to generate productive interpretations of (or questions
about) your narrative
case study. Conversely, try to think about how the narrative can throw
light on both the possibilities and the limitations of the theoretical
sources. What aspects of the narrative do the sources
allow you to explore? And in what ways does the narrative present a
challenge to the theoretical sources you are using to analyze it? Limit
your remarks to 2 double-spaced pages
for your 2 sources from each of the 4 units, meaning that this part of
your report will be 8 double-spaced pages maximum.
4. Provide a one- or two-page concluding statement in which you discuss
which
of the sources seem to be the most productive when it comes to
analyzing your narrative, generating what strike you as the most
important or far-reaching questions about the story. Also indicate how,
if you had the opportunity, you would extend your research on the story
or explore additional implications of the research you've already done.