I have today sent off this Expression of Interest to
Falmouth University as it was the penultimate day to do so.
Research Degree - Expression of Interest
Research Proposal
(please provide a brief research
proposal of no more than 500 words, this should include a proposed project area of research; the objectives of
the research; a possible methodology relevant to the topic; identification of a
possible research question; clarification of the research project importance)
To explore how identity is
written. An examination of the presentation of identity through the use of text
and any other medium which can be read, i.e. how writing performs
identity. The research is as much an
examination of reading as it is of writing. Written identity must be perceived
as such.
‘…it is the reader’s task to
perceive the providential design which has arranged the events in the order in
which the work presents them and with the results which it describes. Yet it is
the design that justifies these events and results and gives them a meaning.’
From George Dumézil, The Destiny of a King, (1973) University
of Chicago Press.
Notions of identity are seen in
even the smallest number. The moment one steps out the front door one is
confronted with signs and displays of identity. The number on the front door,
the street name, the registration numbers on the vehicles parked in the street,
the colours of windows, doors, bricks, railings, bill boards, etc., almost
everything serves to identify.
The house number makes quite a
few claims. One company selling door numbers provided a bit of social history
and philosophy in its pitch. This is from Filante Products web site:
“…Through a simple sign next to
a road, on a building or on a billboard, you can convey an important message
about who you are, where you are from and lots of other vital information,… Names
are, in fact, all around us. They provide us with a way of signalling something
to others without speaking… they can be important indicators as to who you are,
where you live and even what you believe in.”
Can ‘what do you believe in’ be
revealed through the simple choice of a house number? Do you even want to
reveal who you are? There seems to be an inevitable reveal the moment any
sign/writing is displayed. Certain European cultures are instantly identified
by a simple house number, e.g.:
 |
| France |
 |
| Spain |
 |
| Germany |
This is merely the kernel of an
idea for research. Written identities are found in all forms of media and
communications – music, film, television advertising etc. – and are perceived
in different ways in different cultures. In her lectures on Writing as Social
Practice, Prof. Roz Ivanic states:
“…writing as a social practice can be understood as several layers
embedded in each other: writing is multimodal text; writing is a cognitive and
creative process; writing is a physical and material process; writing is situated, purposeful social
interaction; and writing is culturally, politically and historically located
[…] writing is not done for writing's sake, writing is done to achieve something
else, writing is purposeful, goal-directed and culturally shaped".
In short, writing performs. This
is an examination of how the writing of identity performs, how that identity is
perceived and what is its significance in European culture. This will involve
some considerable travel and research in various European countries. The
outcome will be a video record of the research into displays of identity,
accompanied by a dissertation.
I am building an extensive
bibliography at present. Also see blog entries from 15/01/2013 at:
http://fbuffnstuff.blogspot.co.uk/
If accepted we will be off in the VW California to do the research. Tee hee.
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