Assignment constraints

Here are the constraints I am giving you for the next assignment:

1.     It must be non-fiction.

2.     It must involve primary research, the collection and creation of data (not primary textual research, but something more ethnographic involving other people).

3.     It must include secondary research.

4.     It must have a certain heft – think in terms of 2500 words or its equivalent (if you have alternative forms in mind than a straightforward 10 page paper).

5.     Don’t be boring.

On Thursday, please come to class with some basic ideas about what you might do for this paper. We’ll discuss them in small groups and then as a class. For Thursday March 6, please bring a proposal that addressing the following questions:

1.     What is your project?

2.     What process will you use for primary research? (Who, where, what, etc.)

3.     What directions do you imagine your secondary research going?

4.     Why is this an interesting subject for you?

5.     What questions do you have about the topic as you enter it? (These are important because they will help shape what you do at the beginning, but they will almost certainly change as you work on your project.)

You don’t have to answer these point by point like this - just address them in the proposal. Please post that to your blog by Tuesday’s class.