“Voice in its cultural contexts and consequences”
Overview:
For your second Writing Project, you will choose one of our recent vocal texts (or locate and choose a new vocal text, with approval of instructor), and you will situate that work both in a theoretical context as well as a broader social and cultural context. While we have been developing a critical, philosophical, and theoretical vocabulary for discussing this sort of work, you should not assume that your audience is fluent in this specialist vocabulary; therefore, you will need to be attentive to how you present theoretical concepts, and work to connect these to the cultural and social situation of your chosen vocal text. Following Sterne, how does the text you’ve chosen provoke, ask, and/or answer questions larger than those pertaining merely to voice or sound?
Building on the skills of close-reading and thick-description that we’ve been practicing and which you deployed in your first Writing Project, your second project will require close attention to your texts (both written and sound-based). This project is broader both in scope and method: you will move from the relatively focused critical context to a larger cultural comment, and you will also augment your project with digital media examples. Note that this example or these examples are not in substitution for close-reading and thick-description, but in addition to or an augmentation of. As with your focus and attention to the toggling between critical and cultural context described above, the use of digital media will require you to be sensitive both to your readers’ attentions and how your argument is enabled by such toggling or “linking out.” The project should be able to stand on its own without digital media, but be further nuanced, embellished, or augmented by the digital media that you choose and include.
Finally, this project will draw from our critical readings to date, and you will add critical context by conducting library-based research to locate at least two additional secondary sources. These secondary sources may be drawn from popular journalism (i.e. The Atlantic, The New Yorker, etc.), academic journals, or other specialized media. We will discuss these requirement in class, and we will also have one class meeting with a Research Librarian to get you started in this process.
Requirements:
At least three secondary sources (two of which should be new to the class; one may come from our prior readings); at least one linked primary vocal text under analysis; at least two linked vocal texts for context.
Embedded digital media will not take the place of description and analysis, but will instead complement those other features of the project.
Word-count: 1,500 – 1,750 words.
Assigned: Feb. 11.
Library Session: Feb. 20.
Peer Review: March 11.
Conferences: March 12 – March 15.
Final: Posted to the class domain by March 22.
