Reading, Writing & Research Methods

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Reading, Writing, and Research Methodologies 2015-16


Handbook description: "The Reading, Writing, and Research Methodologies Seminar is tailored towards (further) developing research methods within the first year of this master. By establishing a solid foundation of research skills, it will eventually prepare students for their Graduate research in the second year. Through reading core theoretical texts, they will establish a common vocabulary and set of references to work from. They will learn the practice of classic ‘essayistic methodologies’, including close reading, annotation, description and notation, students learn to survey a body of literature, filter what is relevant to their research and create comparative pieces of analysis. The seminar helps students to establish methodical drafting processes for their texts, where they can develop ideas further and structure their use of notes and references. The course takes as axiomatic that the perceived division between ‘practice’ and ‘theory’ is essentially an illusion."

Curriculum:

The seminar over the two trimesters will involve:

(a.) Identifying the object of your research: description and analysis of your work

(b.) Contextualizing your work through description and reflection on contemporary and historical practices.

(c.) Identify research material key to your practice.

(d.) Synopsis and annotation of key texts

(e.) Writing machines: creating methods for group and individual writing.

Throughout, there will be an emphasis on working collectively, whether in a larger discussion group or in smaller reading and writing groups.


Outcome:

The specific outcome for the RW&RM seminar of 2015-2016 will be a 1500 word text which reflects on your own method and situates your work in relation to a broader artistic and cultural context. The various texts produced within the RW&RM seminar will serve as source material for your text on method. In common with all modules on the course RW&RM serves to support the other elements of the course (Self-directed Research, Issues in Art & Theory, Practice-Group Critiques &c.). Therefore, the text on method will inform your Self-Evaluation at the end of the third trimester and provide the basis for your Graduate Project Proposal that you will produce in the fourth trimester.



Basic style sheet

Titles and works = italics

Essays = Title in Caps

Notation = Harvard System (writer, page number) = (Smith, 26)

URL = make link


Essay guide

Print Room

Where to find books


general tips


TRIMESTER ONE

1-10-15

WhoWhatWhy # 1

week one 71 Oct

WhatHowWhy

past pages methods

Eo Jess Adam Nicholas Dan T Tor Erika Angelica Ash's WhatHowWhy

Oct 29

Exquisite corpse 29-10-15:

Monumental tooth

licking fluffy milkshake

and tacky tears

Icy black hole

Whistles pink monument

Swirly shark

Whipped the sticky sunset

And keys of well being

Pock-marked cock

Drinking juicy molecule

And Rushton’s Steve

Mortified star

Painted chalky roads and sad sex

Ungrateful speaker yells

Weeping many chairs

Flea-bitten shoe twisting gravel

Gleaming Australian accent

Explicit sock folding softly and vegan omelette

Sweet computer set

Flowery gravel

and my lovers

destroyed

follow twinkle cold and colourful trap

Depressed toothpicks descend

Soft shyness

Laundry line

Frequent bell

Slow

Pleasingly bumblebee and axolotl

29-10-15 = Random questions to works of art

upload questions and to, and answers from, your work here

Angelica_questions&answers

Dan T questions

Ash's Questions

Viktor T questions

Anni Q&A

Adam Q&A

Tor - question to thing in box

Jess - Tell me about your dance/ the trouble I had

Eo Question

A list of all the questions

29-10-15 = What am I doing and what do I want?

outline project

What am I doing and what do I want?

12-11-15

Morning:

Recap

Notetaking

Uncreative writing

Afternoon

Writing machines


26-11-15

AM:

Subjects:

Material Metaphors (from Hayles'Wriiting Machines)

Ong now and then

Method: note taking

Late AM and afternoon: writing machines

angelica_3

eo_3

Ash's writing machine

Viktor's pseudo gothic title generator

Jess's writing machine

Anni's writing machine

Erika's script

Dan T's writing machine


Outcome of the machines here:

10-12-2015

Work in context

We will write notes together on this pad:

http://piratepad.net/246s5BWyKv


28-1-16

At the N C.A.C

10:00 = Steve outlines the project=

What is the N C.A.C and what are we doing there? The curator's brief

11:00 = into groups of two

11:00 = prepare interview 1

11:10 = conduct interview 1 (20 minutes max)

11:20 = prepare interview 2

11:30 = conduct interview 2 (20 minutes max)

12:00= transcribe your interview

LUNCH


14:00 = edit your partner's text

UPLOAD TEXT HERE>

Interview with Erika

Interview with Viktor

Interview with Nicholas by Tor

Dan interviewed by Ash

Dan interviews Ash

Aggressively Fun Connie meets Angelica

Tor interviewed by Nicholas

Eo interviewed by Anni

Anni interviewed by Eo

Connie interviewed by Angelica

16:00 review in group

11-2-2016

10:15 Discuss the difference between a passive and active voice.

passive

active vs. passive

10:30

Reading: Politics and the English Language (1948) by George Orwell.

In context Orwell vs. modernism: 1984, BASIC English and Otto Neurath


Politics and the English Language is an old text, but today we will use Orwell as a writing machine

Orwell writes:

" A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus:

1. What am I trying to say?

2. What words will express it?

3. What image or idiom will make it clearer?

4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?

And he will probably ask himself two more:

1. Could I put it more shortly?

2. Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?" (p.3)

Orwell later proposes the following rules:

"1. Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything barbarous." (p.5)


From 11:00

Experiment:

(a) edit the text you wrote last week using the active voice.

(b) apply Orwell's constraints to the interview text you made during the last session (you can also apply to other texts, of course). Keep both versions for comparison.

(c) option: you can choose to swap texts.

Angelicas new draft

Ash interviews Dan Orwellised

Connie interviewed by Angelica

Anni interviews Eo

Erika interviews Viktor

Erika interviewed by Viktor

3 March

Today we will bring together a number of the methods we've been playing with.

The aim of the RW&RM is to write a 1500 text on method, this will be part of your self-evaluation seminar later in the year. key elements of this texts will be description of work and discussion of motivation.With each session you have been gathering material which can be used as a resource. Today we will revisit two methods we have previously used in order to update the descriptions and analysis of current and recent work..

a.) 10:00-11:30 description of (most recent) work: what,

how and

why? (150 words)

If you are up to date with this (you may have a description of recent work in the interview you made in the last session)

b.) 11:30-12:30

Current work

1 What are you working on now?

2 What are you thinking of making?

3 How do you plan to make it?

4 Why do you want to make it?

5 Relation to previous practice

5 Relation to a larger context

6 References


Lunch 13:00-14:00


14:00-15-30

c) This afternoon run the above text through the 'orwell editing filter':

"1. Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything barbarous."

Orwell, politics and the English Language 1948 (p.5)


15:30- 16:30

UPLOAD TEXT HERE:

Eo 1st draft Dan 1st draft


Get someone else to edit your text (cut and paste a version for them to work into, make comments &c.)

16:30


Meet as group to recap

ALSO - Steve note: I have been working on individual texts with some of you. Today I would like to work together with you on a text of your choosing (or maybe in groups of two, if you would find that more useful.) The aim is to read and reflect on your text, praise the positive elements and suggest changes.

I have recently worked with about half of you and have yet to see:

Viktor

Dan

Anni

Erika

Let's allow for three one hour sessions between 11:00 and 16:00

Note:

Remember these editing tips (including “Sarah Tripp's top tips” - please add your own useful tips):

identify the reader;

use active mode of address;

make three drafts with a specific outcome for each draft (these may correspond to text editing, copy editing and proof reading stages);

print each draft out;

read aloud (this helps with punctuation);

get second reader to give feedback on second and final draft


This isn't the only way to write and edit, but try it at least once and see what works for you.

In the next session we will gather the material together to work on a first draft on the text on method.

NEXT SESSION

If you are advanced with the above, you may want to start this exercise.

March 17

Print out everything you have written for this seminar and physically cut and paste a 'very rough draft' of a text on method.

You can use this outline as a guide:

Outline for the text (this is a guide rather than a prescription)

General note on mode of address. Write as if to someone not familiar with your work.

Title

Abstract: what is this document? what do you want the reader to get from this text? (50-100 words

Introduction: Give outline of the text and make the points you want to get across clear.

Current Practice (resource: here you can use the descriptions made in the last session)

Relation to previous practice

How does your current work connect to previous projects you have done? (resource: here you can use the descriptions made in the first sessions)

Relation to a larger context

Outline practices or ideas that go beyond the scope of your personal work. Write briefly about other projects or theoretical material which share an affinity with your project. It is simply about showing an awareness of a broader context, which you will later build upon in your project proposal and writing component in the second year (you may have covered some of this in your interview)

Research strands

Consider the possibilities open to you and where you would take your work in the near future.


General note= consider the role of images and links to video (if you want your proposal to take the form of a wiki/web page)


Reading and editing sessions with Steve. Individual or groups of two

Please add names

11:00

12:00

15:00