GC2Y (Myth, Magic, & the Modern World) -- Fieldwork (final) Project -- Magoulick

 

SKIP TO SAMPLE CONSENT FORM

 

CHOOSING A TOPIC

      *  Interviews with local experts on things like haunted houses, local legends, etc.

      *  Interviews with local experts on material culture like bee keeping, herbs, health food, wine    making, quilt-making, ceramics, etc. (though be sure it's a folk example of the art).

      *  Interviews w/ family members who tell very interesting stories about their lives -- possibly significant events they participated in (like wars), or funny stories of childhood adventures, or how your grandparents met each other, etc.

      *  Interviews with family members who have personal experience narratives about significant events in their lives -- like unusual encounters, near-death experiences, lucky experiences, etc. (see PBS site on story corps)

      *  Interviews w/ college friends or professors about especially interesting pranks, hobbies (that are artful), travel experiences, foodways, etc. (but remember the focus is to get good stories)

PLANNING THE INTERVIEW

CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW

PRESENTATION: Your presentation will last a MINIMUM of 8 minutes – which must include minimum 5 minutes of excerpts played from your recorded interviews and 2 minutes of you talking (to explain/analyze your project). The maximum length of your presentation depends on which day you signed up for – in some cases it will be 10 minutes, in some cases 11 minutes, and in a few cases 12 minutes. Your time must include set-up & take-down (getting your DVD, Youtube clip, PPT, etc. loaded & ready).

 

WRITTEN ANALYSIS of fieldwork project (due at the time you give your presentation)
You must submit an analytical essay of at least 1200 words that demonstrates in a formal, academic, printed essay how the folklore you collected connects to ideas, examples, and concepts discussed in class. You must submit this in hard copy.

Your essay should discuss (in the form of an academic argument with a thesis) 2 main ideas: why this project is significant (what it means/suggests), and how it is folklore.

 

WHY/HOW is the Project Significant? What does it mean?

·   What you think is most significant about the folklore you collected (why should we be interested in it)?

o  For this you may analyze the actual content of the folklore.

§  For narrative based projects this means that instead of working with literature or research sources, the “text” you will analyze should be the transcribed text of the interview you conducted (hopefully including stories).

§  You might also analyze examples of material culture or customary folklore.

o  Include some kind of analysis in your presentation of what the material you collected MEANS. What is its significance? Why is it interesting?

o  Just as you would with a work of literature, use quotes and/or features (photographs, excerpts, quotations of your transcription) along with your analysis of them, as “proof” of your argument about what it means.

§  Show as well how your project reveals innovation, inspiration, a strong connection to community, and “unstandardized multiple variation.”

§  In other words, how is it folklore?

o  What is most interesting about your project? What did you learn from doing this?

o  Does it suggest anything about humanity more generally (or what it means to be human?)?

HOW (specifically) is your project folklore?

·   Demonstrate how the folklore you collected (in your interview) connects to ideas, examples, and concepts discussed in class.

·   How does the work you did in your fieldwork collection (final) project demonstrate the dynamism of folklore (be sure you show an understanding of that concept) as well as the related concept of “unstandardized multiple variation”?

·   How does your project reveal innovation, inspiration, and art, as well as a strong connection to community; in other words, both the “lore” and the “folk”?

·   Does your project connect to or illuminate other key concepts in folklore such as worldview, tradition, enculturation? If so, explain how (use quotes from the transcript)

·   What specific GENRE does your folklore demonstrate (or genres)? NOTE: “Oral” or “story” are not genres. Give generic characteristics from class in order to prove your point here.

·   Overall and most importantly, how is what you collected folklore?

 

TRANSCRIPTION (part of the required written portion of this project)
Listen to (or watch) your tape(s) shortly after you do the interview. Then listen again a few days later. Transcribe what you find to be the most significant (most interesting, best stories, best speaking) portion of your interview. The more accurate your transcription, the more points you will earn on this portion of your presentation.

·   Transcribing means typing WORD for WORD EXACTLY what is spoken during the interview. Your goal is to produce an exact TEXT of the story (or stories) that you are focusing on and analyzing.

·   You should include (in your presentation) a minimum of 900 words transcribed (which doesn't include the words indicating who is speaking, nor introductory explanations, nor analyses).

·   Be aware that it often takes up to 10 hours to transcribe 1 hour of tape (though you only need to transcribe the part you will play in class – or 900 words, not the whole interview). Keep re-listening to each sentence and correct what you transcribe. Accuracy matters most! You must include appropriate punctuation, correct spelling, and exactly what the words on the recording are (in that order).

·   Try to transcribe with an eye to ethnopoetics (arranging spoken words on the page according to performance aspects of the speech event) if appropriate. Not everything should be transcribed as poetry, but perhaps some parts of your interview should be.

·   If there is rhythm or dialect, how will you indicate it? Be creative but accurate.

·   Try to also record significant contextual events that might have also occurred during the interview (such as laughter or sighing or someone else coming into the room, speaking, etc.).

·   Significant gestures (especially if you are working with a recording with visuals – or if you remember) may also be indicated

·   Typically non-spoken components of your recording are indicated within square brackets [like this].

·   YOU DO NOT HAVE TO TRANSCRIBE YOUR WHOLE TAPE!! Only transcribe the portion you actually plan to play.

REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS
What to turn in on the day of your presentation (in a manila envelope) with your NAME, the TITLE of your project) and the DATE written on the front of the envelope

·         Three pages (minimum 900 words) of typed transcriptions of your interview (the part you will be playing in class)

·         A permanent recording (for instance burned onto a DVD) of the full interview; you may also include the clips you play for class (as an edited clip) and any “film” version of this that you might make on the DVD. Please indicate (by time) the place where your transcription beings within the recording (including multiple spots if you cut and paste clips). Please LABEL the DVD.

·         Signed, correctly filled-out and printed consent forms from all participants.

·         Your full, printed (in academic format) analytical essay (minimum 1200 words) – explained on the previous page.

·         Don’t forget all this must be submitted in a plain, manila envelope.

 

PROPOSALS

Your proposal should be very specific in answering the following questions.

Type up your answers and submit along with your proposed consent forms by the due date on the syllabus

1.      Discuss in detail the type of folklore you plan to document (collect). Is it oral, gestural, material, or customary (or some combination thereof?)? What will the topic or focus be (what kind of stories -- about what?) How is this folklors? Be as specific and clear as possible.

2.      Whom will you interview? (Include all names and relationship to you -- how you know this person or why you think he/she will be interesting) – this assumes you have already talked to these people and received their oral permission -- so do that first. Where will the interview take place? What equipment will you use?

3.    When will you carry out the interview (or documentation)? For how long? Remember the minimum is 45 minutes with ONE person in one setting (NOT a series of short interviews nor short interviews with several people). ONE interview with the one person for a minimum of 45 minutes. Longer than that is fine. You will have to turn in the full recording to prove your interview lasts at least 45 minutes.

4.    What specific stories or topics do you anticipate discussing/exploring? Include a list of 5 prompts (or questions) you think you might use during the interview to get your person talking well. For instance, if you are asking someone about stories you've heard before -- suggest to them, "Remember that story about how you first met grandpa on a blind date?" OR If you are interviewing a maker of folk art, you might get them to tell you stories of especially great pieces they made, how they got their inspiration, how others responded to it, how it has been used, etc. You might also ask them about hardest moments in their career, or most successful, or most embarrassing, etc. OR If you are interviewing a performer (such as a musician), you might ask them about things like how they get their ideas for writing music, what some of their pieces mean, or how they have been received by others. You might also ask about most embarrassing moments on stage, or most exciting, most successful, most disastrous, or interesting stories of road trips, relationships between band members, etc.

    In all cases, you should be able to give a list of likely ways you think you can get your person talking well (telling good stories)

5.    What do you anticipate you will learn from your fieldwork?

6.    Why does this topic interest you?

 

 

REMEMBER TO ALSO MAKE YOUR CONSENT FORM (see below for model)! -- Do NOT just print this -- but cut and paste it into your word processor and fill in the required information (READ THE DIRECTIONS!!)

NOTE: The consent forms are to be SIGNED when you actually do the interview, due when you present your final project. Do not worry about getting signatures now (for the proposal) – just fill in the indicated spaces with your specific project info (title, name, phone number) and turn in the form for approval. Do not just cross out and write in your name, etc. Make it professional. You can cut and paste the form and easily type in your specific information (your project title -- be more creative than "folklore project," your name and your phone number) in the first few lines. That's all you need to do for now.

   

 

Folklore Fieldwork Project Consent Form

 

[-- FILL IN YOUR INFORMATION WHERE INDICATED -- for the proposal you only need to cut and paste this into your word processor and fill in the information in bold (your project title -- be creative and specific-- your name and your phone number).

 

DO NOT GET THE FORM SIGNED until you do the interview (after the proposal is approved). Note: The first blank space should be filled in by the person you interview (printed) WHEN YOU DO THE INTERVIEW, not now.

 

Do not keep these directions in the form you cut and paste -- delete everything between the "Folklore Fieldwork Project Consent Form" title and the end of this bracketed section]

 

I, _____________________________, agree to be a participant in the folklore research project [delete these directions and replace all bold, underlined type that follows here with your specific information for your project] the specific title reflective of YOUR Research Project (= your title), which is being conducted by Name(s) of Researchers (= your name), who can be reached at Researcher’s Phone Number(s) (= your phone number). I understand this participation is voluntary and that I will not be reimbursed for my participation. I also understand that the material collected may be archived at Georgia College & State University libraries, and may therefore be used for future collection, publication, or research purposes. No financial gain is anticipated from any such study.

 

The following points have been explained to me:

1.   The purpose of this study is to collect, record, analyze, and appreciate examples of folklore for a class project. This might include stories, songs, personal experience narratives, explanations of material folklore, discussions of architecture or other spaces, performances, or demonstrations of folklore, which is understood as creative expressions in context or artistic communications of small groups.

2.   The procedures are as follows. You will be asked to share your stories or other lore or expertise on lore with the student researcher(s). You will be tape recorded (by video or audio means). These tapes may be archived in the university library or the class professor’s files, possibly for use at a later date or in a later study. This archiving demonstrates and ensures that the recording of your performance, knowledge, expertise, and insight on the folklore in question is honored for future generations. There is no guarantee that every interview will be archived or used in the future.

3.   You may choose to have your real, full, or partial name used in the study OR to have a pseudonym used in the study. Please indicate your preference by checking one of the following:

      _______Use my real name             OR       ______ Use a pseudonym.

      Please indicate the name you wish to be known by in the study: _________________________________.

      Therefore, the study will refer to you according to your wishes and consent, which will be essentially anonymous if you choose to use a pseudonym. You may change this name at a later date if desired.

4.   You will be asked to sign two of these consent forms.  One form will be returned to the investigator and the other consent form you will keep for your records.

5.   If this interview becomes invasive or personal or you become uncomfortable, you may cease participation at that time.  No discomforts or distresses will be faced during this research.

6.   No physical, psychological, social or legal risks exist in this study.

7.   The results of this participation may be anonymous and may be archived to preserve your stories for future generations.

8.   The investigator will answer any further questions about the research (see above phone numbers).

9.   In addition to the above, further information, including a full explanation of the purpose of this research, will be provided at the completion of the experiment, if requested.

 

_______________________________________________________________________

Signature of Investigator                                                                        Date

 

_______________________________________________________________________

Signature of Participant                                                             Date

 

_______________________________________________________________________

Signature of Parent or Guardian                                                            Date

(if participant is under 18 years of age)

***************************************

Research at Georgia College & State University that involves human participants is carried out under the oversight of the Institutional Review Board. Questions or problems regarding these activities should be addressed to Mr. Quintus Sibley, Director of Legal Affairs, 212 Chappell Hall, CBX 041, GC&SU, (478) 445-2037.

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