I think my unit two research project was a little flawed from the get go. I do not think that changing the language of our diary entry was subtle enough. If I had the chance to do it again I would change the format of the diary entry, I probably would not use a diary entry either.
Through our project I learned that people can’t completely understand a text that has “made- up” words in it. Some of it can be understood using context clues, but for the most part it can be interpreted in a lot of ways. It makes me wonder how difficult it into translate literature from one language to another or try to understand a dead language. It also makes me realize how much can be expressed in just a few words, especially if they are “loaded words.” Some words carry strong or vivid connotations. I think testing people’s reaction to words with a traditionally strong connotation(s) would make for an interesting study. I think I would start by writing a horrific and heart wrenching text, but use fairly happy language or visa- versa.
I know this course is supposed all about independent work on things we are have not considered before, but I was slightly confused in this unit. I had no idea what you were looking for in our research. Social and historical contexts are major factors in our perception of reality. They are infinitely complex concepts and basically any observation can qualify as a comment on social and/or historical context. This really is not a problem in and of itself, but I do not think that you’re simply looking for just any observations. In the layout for the unit research findings, under section five, you give us fairly specific instructions. “Finally, this section connects your research to those larger writing/contextual/rule issues that we’ve been studying all semester.” I have absolutely no idea what these specific contexts and rules are referring to. I remember discussing their existence in class, but that is it. I do not remember any specific “issues” we associated with historical and social contexts.
My final thoughts on unit two are that I have done something I have never really done before. I have never constructed a research test to evaluate social and historical contexts of literature. It is a much different way of learning about social and historical contexts than I am used to. I consider these contexts everyday when I read for my other English class and I sure I will be doing the same for the next few years, but this was different. Studying literature that is being influenced by today’s society and perception of history is so much more direct. It is a different level of interaction with other people and our current perceptions.
I'm glad that, in this entry, you were able to look back on your project and consider what you could have done differently. It definitely means that, in this reaction, you actually knew a lot about what I was looking for in this research. Essentially, in changes to written genres not deemed "normal," how do people react? In answer to some of your questions, I was looking for observations that answered your research questions, than uncovered some "truth" about how people view a written piece of work. Clearly, social/cultural/political contexts are infinite, and, yes, your observation counts as a part of this. Your views of writing, whether you like to think of it or not, are all shaped by these factors. These are all interesting question you bring up here and would have been helpful to ask in class at some point, to get discussion going/clarifications/etc. Saving it for this blog after this unit doesn't "move the discussion forward" as well. But if you'd still like to hear some of my thoughts on these issues, I'd be happy to answer.
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