Looking again at Emily Bell's experience, I found her project proposal in the online database of field study papers and once again found a lot of great information to help me in my preparation for a creative writing project in Dharamsala, India. At the same time, I was able to see more clearly where our projects are going to be different.
In this project proposal, narrative theory is defined as "the study of story, whether or not the story is written
down. It explores how and why humans tell stories to themselves and each other. Because storytelling is one of the oldest and most universal forms of communication, narrative theory argues that individuals often view their world through a lens of perceived narrative and make decisions within a narrative framework (Thomas)." The source for that definition is found at the end of this review.
Emily states off the get go that telling stories is a "long standing tradition in humanity." She goes on to explain why Dharamsala is a good location for her to write her creative project. She says that the location is diverse enough that she could see if narrative was really universal, that there are plenty of places to volunteer at (which was what she planned to do on a daily basis), and that the had the interest necessary to do it. When thinking about my project, my motivations are slightly different. I have not taken the time to polish them, but I think my motivations come from desire (in that we are the same), the diversity, but in a different sense, because I want to look at the different people and do a portrait of them, and also to help raise awareness for the Tibetan cause by writing about these stories that the Dalai Lama himself has encouraged people to tell.
One thing that I really liked in reviewing Emily's project proposal was what she says about ethics, and her concern to be ethical. I think especially when I am going for a creative project, it is important that I emphasize that this is not going to technically be research like so many of my other field study students. I wonder if it will be more tricky for me though. Emily looked at her own personal experience and wrote an account based on that, but I will be looking at the stories of others. I will be careful in crafting my IRB proposal, but it is definitely something I need to be aware of when establishing the differences between our projects.
She identifies two differences in narrative theory that were helpful for establishing appropriate background on the subject. You can either look at it in terms of the great works of our times (ie. the Iliad, Odyssey, etc), or on the day to day scale, which has been the emphasis lately.
A question I have for Emily is how her final project turned out. I reviewed the final she included in the field study database, but in this proposal she said that her final would be a novella, around 100-200 pages in length. This will be something I ask her when I get a chance to interview her about her experience.
One of the most important things Emily included in her proposal that will help me is her own sources. I have included these here for my own personal reference to do more research on my subject:
Works Cited
Aristotle. Poetics. London: Penguin, 1996. Print.
"Dharamshala Earthville Institute (DEVI)." Welcome to Dharmalaya. Web. 5 Feb.
2010. <http://dharmalaya.in/devi/>. Web.
Fisher, Walter R. Human Communication as Narration: Towards a Philosophy of
Reason, Value, and Action. Columbia, S.C: University of South Carolina, 1987.
Print.
Gergen, Kenneth J., and Meredith M. Gergen. Memory, Identity, Community The Idea
of Narrative in the Human Sciences (Suny Series in the Philosophy of the Social
Sciences). New York: State University of New York, 1997. Print.
Questions 15
Joseph, Campbell,. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton, N.J: Princeton UP,
1972. Print.
Ricoeur, Paul. Oneself as Another. New York: University Of Chicago, 1995. Print.
Ricoeur, Paul. Time and Narrative, Volume 1 (Time & Narrative). New York:
University Of Chicago, 1990. Print.
Sartre, Jean-Paul. Nausea (New Directions Paperbook). Grand Rapids: New Directions
Corporation, 1969. Print.
Thomas, Charlton. Thinking About Oral History Theories and Applications. New York:
AltaMira, 2007. Print.
Dalai Lama XIV. Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama. New York:
HarperPerennial, 1991. Print.
Again I am grateful for the field study database. Reading about Emily's experience has been most helpful in preparing me for my own creative writing project in Dharamsala, India.
In this project proposal, narrative theory is defined as "the study of story, whether or not the story is written
down. It explores how and why humans tell stories to themselves and each other. Because storytelling is one of the oldest and most universal forms of communication, narrative theory argues that individuals often view their world through a lens of perceived narrative and make decisions within a narrative framework (Thomas)." The source for that definition is found at the end of this review.
Emily states off the get go that telling stories is a "long standing tradition in humanity." She goes on to explain why Dharamsala is a good location for her to write her creative project. She says that the location is diverse enough that she could see if narrative was really universal, that there are plenty of places to volunteer at (which was what she planned to do on a daily basis), and that the had the interest necessary to do it. When thinking about my project, my motivations are slightly different. I have not taken the time to polish them, but I think my motivations come from desire (in that we are the same), the diversity, but in a different sense, because I want to look at the different people and do a portrait of them, and also to help raise awareness for the Tibetan cause by writing about these stories that the Dalai Lama himself has encouraged people to tell.
One thing that I really liked in reviewing Emily's project proposal was what she says about ethics, and her concern to be ethical. I think especially when I am going for a creative project, it is important that I emphasize that this is not going to technically be research like so many of my other field study students. I wonder if it will be more tricky for me though. Emily looked at her own personal experience and wrote an account based on that, but I will be looking at the stories of others. I will be careful in crafting my IRB proposal, but it is definitely something I need to be aware of when establishing the differences between our projects.
She identifies two differences in narrative theory that were helpful for establishing appropriate background on the subject. You can either look at it in terms of the great works of our times (ie. the Iliad, Odyssey, etc), or on the day to day scale, which has been the emphasis lately.
A question I have for Emily is how her final project turned out. I reviewed the final she included in the field study database, but in this proposal she said that her final would be a novella, around 100-200 pages in length. This will be something I ask her when I get a chance to interview her about her experience.
One of the most important things Emily included in her proposal that will help me is her own sources. I have included these here for my own personal reference to do more research on my subject:
Works Cited
Aristotle. Poetics. London: Penguin, 1996. Print.
"Dharamshala Earthville Institute (DEVI)." Welcome to Dharmalaya. Web. 5 Feb.
2010. <http://dharmalaya.in/devi/>. Web.
Fisher, Walter R. Human Communication as Narration: Towards a Philosophy of
Reason, Value, and Action. Columbia, S.C: University of South Carolina, 1987.
Print.
Gergen, Kenneth J., and Meredith M. Gergen. Memory, Identity, Community The Idea
of Narrative in the Human Sciences (Suny Series in the Philosophy of the Social
Sciences). New York: State University of New York, 1997. Print.
Questions 15
Joseph, Campbell,. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton, N.J: Princeton UP,
1972. Print.
Ricoeur, Paul. Oneself as Another. New York: University Of Chicago, 1995. Print.
Ricoeur, Paul. Time and Narrative, Volume 1 (Time & Narrative). New York:
University Of Chicago, 1990. Print.
Sartre, Jean-Paul. Nausea (New Directions Paperbook). Grand Rapids: New Directions
Corporation, 1969. Print.
Thomas, Charlton. Thinking About Oral History Theories and Applications. New York:
AltaMira, 2007. Print.
Dalai Lama XIV. Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama. New York:
HarperPerennial, 1991. Print.
Again I am grateful for the field study database. Reading about Emily's experience has been most helpful in preparing me for my own creative writing project in Dharamsala, India.
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