I have been flip-flopping back and forth between research topics and I am hoping that you kind-hearted people can help me make upmy mind. Here are my options:
1. Why do people write?
I think it would be interesting to get out amongst the people here in Commere and see what writing does for them – I use writing to express my emotions creatively without harming other people (suc as writing an angry letter without sending it). I just think it would be an interesting topic to explore and would be quite easy for me to do research on.
2. How does society view scholarly people and how does that effect people’s motivation to become literate?
I don’t know how people in your hometown were, but where I came from, people who were viewed as “smart” were also judged to be self-absorbed and condescending. As a result, few people aspired to excell academically for fear of being judged by their peers. I am interested to see what other people’s experiences with scholarly folk have been as well as their peers’ reactions to such people.
Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Both sound like they can lead to great projects, Mo! My first thought on the first topic was that the we have a couple of extracurricular writing groups on campus that might provide an excellent focal point for a study of this broader question. One is the group that reads at the Mayo Review Open Mic nights. Those happen relatively frequently and might be a great place to start, locating participants who write creatively. Be interesting to talk to them about why. Also a group of older Commerce residents meet once a month to write their memoirs. The group is called the Silver Leos. They meet in the Alumni Center. There must be others, as well.
Lots of great stuff out there to help get at an answer to these important questions!