What I've Learned in Class Thus Far

In order to write a thesis or any other piece of critical academic literature, a solid foundation for research methodologies, writing clarity, the formulation of specific research questions, analysis of data, formation of conclusions from the evidence presented/collected, and a solid understanding of how to format and structure citations are required. In other words, in order to construct an academic work that directly engages with difficult subjects, one must be able to dissect, analyze, and critique scholarly sources as well as refer to them correctly. In order to even begin the process of academic inquiry and research, previous examples of theses or academic studies/experiments already extant in the field need to be read as both examples of what works in regards to forwarding one's argument(s) and what does not. How do you, as an individual, present your ideas in a way that engages meaningfully with your audience? This is the driving question behind what we do within our Research Methods class with Professor Caroll.

The pieces that we have examined in class as well as on our own serve as perfect examples of the possible shortcomings or over-extensions of a thesis topic which either make or break the effectiveness of the conclusions/research presented. For example, when reading the "I Know I’m Home When I Have One: The Cultural Significance of the Garbage Plate of Rochester, NY" article the issue of having a succinct, accurate, and specific abstract was explored. Namely, within the abstract it was stated that the cultural roots of the foods and ingredients used within the garbage plate would be discussed and analyzed, however, the work itself focused more upon how the community perceived the garbage plate itself. The ingredients were mentioned, but only in their relation to other popular bar foods and juxtaposing the complexity of the garbage plate (i.e. the amount of ingredients) with community members' own previous experiences with Rochester's food culture. What this piece did do well was explore how a detailed community survey/interview allows multiple perspectives and meaningful details one may have overlooked to come to the surface of a discussion: the experiences of the community became the focus and framework for the academic work and subsequent discussion. 

When reading through and attempting to summarize Elizabeth Bucar's work dealing with the ethics of visual culture and the social act of seeing, I tackled a common issue inherent to academic writing. How does one succinctly and effectively communicate a wealth of heavy theoretical and abstract concepts? Bucar was writing in response to a panel of Religious Ethics discussing cultural anthropologist Kenneth George’s book [as well as other examples from the literary discourse regarding visual culture], Picturing Islam: Art and Ethics in a Muslim Lifeworld (2010), a retrospective of the collaborative work between George and Indonesian Islamic artist Djalil Pirous wherein the concept of creative visual expression is examined as a means of cultivating a specific self-concept and developing a moral framework from which to engage reality. Bucar's essay revealed to me just how difficult and crucial being able to succinctly provide contextual backgrounds for one's argument is when writing for an audience that may or may not be familiar with the concepts one is exploring. This was very helpful for me as Bucar summarizes the current conversations and topics circulating the visual culture aspects of religious ethical thought in an accessible, detailed, yet not long-winded manner. Hopefully I will be able to communicate myself as accessibly and thoroughly as I read through the literature surrounding cultural institutions' engagement with climate change.

I have been utilizing Zotero as a content management system for my research and it has been an invaluable tool. 
 

Bibliography
Bucar, Elizabeth M. 2016. "The Ethics of Visual Culture." Journal of Religious Ethics 44 (1): 7-16.
Fekete, Emily. 2014. “‘I Know I’m Home When I Have One:’ The Cultural Significance of the Garbage Plate of Rochester, NY,” Material Culture 46 (1): 25-43.

What I've Learned In Class So Far

To read and write theses, a solid foundation must be formed. Luckily, for RIT students in the Museum Studies program, the Research Methods class does just that. While we finalize our thesis ideas, read papers for research and learning how to navigate databases, the first weeks of class consisted of how to read and dissect scholarly articles into important parts to know when building a thesis. These parts include Research Questions, Research Methodologies, Evidence presented, Conclusions,

Structures and Citations. These categories are important to reading and analyzing research papers becasue it perfectly sums up the core information presented in the article. Later when writing my own thesis, I can use these to look back on and use as evidence. 

Aside from the research presented in each of the articles, they also exhibit ways in which we can research and write our own. For example, the article “Preserving the Voices of Revolution: Examining the Creation and Preservation of a Subject-Centered Collection of Tweets from the Eighteen Days in Egypt” details step by step how to preserve born digital media which would be a good source for my thesis that is based upon digitization. Detailing how to digitize manuscripts or 3D objects could be one focus of my thesis. On another note, a thesis can be written about public history, such as Kelly's thesis, and could use the article "I Know I’m Home When I Have One:’ The Cultural Significance of the Garbage Plate of Rochester, NY" as a framework. Surveying the community about the panel can be one focus of her thesis. For now, I will continue my research with the help of zotero which was another helpful research tool I learned through this class. 

Bibliography: 

Timothy Arnold and Walker Sampson, “Preserving the Voices of Revolution: Examining the Creation and Preservation of a Subject-Centered Collection of Tweets from the Eighteen Days in Egypt,” The American Archivist, Vol. 77, No. 2, pp. 510-533 (Fall/Winter 2014).

Emily Fekete, “‘I Know I’m Home When I Have One:’ The Cultural Significance of the Garbage Plate of Rochester, NY,” Material Culture, Vol 46, No. 1, pp. 25-43 (2014).