Rationale of style

One of the big inspirations whilst I was researching this was reading a book called 'Understanding Comics' by Scott McCloud. I am not a comics buff, but was interested from the outset of how cartoons and comics were viewed in the Illustration discipline, as a way of working. This book is incredible in how, when you read it, it make you see the world and think differently. It is one of those instantly inspiring books that you know you need to own, and that if you read it cover to cover in one go, you'd probably end up either crazy or knowing the secret of life. Now I am in no way saying that was my intention for my work. I wish! The thing I was inspired by was that the whole books was a comic. If it was a standard textbook , (using exactly the same words), it would not be half as effective as it is in its current format. By reading a comic book about understanding comics you open up your worldview, especially if you don't like (or respect) them.

Approach

In the initial stages of writing I didn't find it an easy task. I think the reason for this is because in the past I have always written work that is more sociological or political in nature, even if the context is with in my discipline, and usualluy had the perspective of a certain ideology. This may have been the first time that my gaze was totally within the subject area itself without an external ideology, so it was a really good challenge. Originally I was going to write about Widening Participation, which would have been more familiar territory for me. Even though I will still write that study as it will be very useful for me, I'm glad that I opted for this idea for this assignment.

I hope that there is a constant thread through this work, but I fear that from time to time it may read a bit wobbly. I tend to write more as a features writer than a heavy academic, but again it is a case of letting the content dictate the form. I am fully aware that my style of writing may not be looked on favourably in high academia, but when I studied for my MA (Anthropology of Media) I went into it very consciously knowing that I would only find theoretical study interesting if I could ground it in "reality". As with the art world, I don't want to make work just for other artists. I get so frustrated reading theory which is so laden with heavy language without any grammar, that I don't wish to repeat that style myself. And so it is with producing this work as a website.

I thoroughly enjoyed conducting the interviews with my colleagues. I decided to keep them anonymous from the outset, and I feel that was a good idea. Although they didn't really say anything highly controversial (nothing that I used anyway!), it still allowed them to be very candid as they spoke and not feel they would be judged. I recorded them using a mini disk and transcribed them afterwards. I learnt a lot just by talking to them and hearing what they had to say. My favourite section of this work is probably those interview sections, as I love the documentary format anyway, it felt a very natural process to go through. I set up the interviews to be more of a conversation rather than only reading from my list of questions. I knew from the outset that I would not be doing any statistics or number crunching with any data, so I let the information flow and then attempted to mould it into shape. I get very suspicious of statistics as I feel they never tell the full story and reach false conclusions. I not particularly pleased with my conclusion in the work, but it feels more satisfying than being led by numbers to the very end.

Structure

I like the structure that I gave this work, but know I probably spent too much time (words) in section one, when maybe it could have started with the interviews. (?) When I write this type of work I never like to assume the reader knows the backdrop context, but know there's a limit of how much I should attempt in such an assignment. I'm not sure how coherent it will read with fresh eyes, all in one go, but as an overall portrait and insight into this issue and art education world, I feel it went ok. Having lots of pictures in the web format has definitely helped. If this was a straight paper text I don't think it would be as digestible as an overall style. Hopefully as a website it makes more sense.

If this was a bigger assignment I would have definitely interviewed students as well, but know that is something I can do at a future date to expand this work.

Learning points

I have learnt masses from doing this project!

When I first mentioned the idea to my colleagues it sparked much debate in the office, and after I conducted the interviews I felt I knew and understood them and their approach much better, which helped me with my own teaching. When I ran my first tutorial after doing the interviews I felt like I had new insight into how I could respond to my students, and felt brimming with confidence. When I mentioned that to my colleagues they to said they too were thinking about the whole topic and found it useful to talk about it, and kept them thoughtful.

There is no doubt that I've learnt a lot about my own attitudes from doing this work, and have found the whole thing a positive, but torturous experience.

Torturous because, making it as a website definitely had its difficulties. I'm no expert web designer so I learnt a lot about that process and new techniques. That has also been very beneficial, as I now definitely see the web as a viable option for publishing and sharing ideas, as I love writing anyway.

Strengths and weaknesses

I know there are many weaknesses to this work, if you accept it to grade at all!

I tend to ramble when I write, and with more time I would conduct a tighter edit. I'm not sure if the actual intention of my idea/argument is very clear throughout. This isn't really an opinionated piece of writing, which is what I am more used to. This feels more like a romp through some ideas, so even though I'm aware I may lose grades for that style, I don't think I was ever that necessarily opinionated about the issue of student approach to work, and more interested in it. The whole point of this research was to promote the need for tutors mind's to stay open to new and challenging ideas. I think I achieved that much, so I don't mind not contradicting myself by having a concrete opinion one way or the other. I wanted to be open.

In closing, it has been a great opportunity to pursue this research and I still feel inspired to do more. That can only be a good thing really, no matter what the outcome.

Shawn Sobers
11th March 2004

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