Changing and replanning my research strategy
To say this week was a hard week for me would be an understatement. A mental health breakdown combined with my partner’s medical emergency meant that I barely had time to do any work. Instead, I did a lot of planning and introspection which I will list here. Hey, I even made a list of likes and dislikes about my thesis experience so far to help me narrow down things I actually wanted to do. Perhaps one of the funniest things I realized that what I liked most each week so far was illustrating the cover image for my reflections. Thus, I should probably add illustrations to my research to help me enjoy my thesis process more.
Changes to my research statement
I am studying how rituals celebrated in Chinese festivals are passed down because I want to find out what is preventing the younger Chinese diaspora from celebrating cultural festivals.
I want to research this issue in order to create tools and artwork that will help Chinese-heritage people feel more connected to their cultural identity so that they might better understand festivals and what ways of celebration are best for them.
Notes from the meeting
After last week’s meltdown, it came as no surprise that reading academic papers is not for me. As I described it to my friends, reading academic papers is akin to stabbing my eyeballs with a fork. So I asked to meet with Professor Ansari to discuss my options. I found the meeting to be quite helpful, but also very stressful. Hopefully, he didn’t realize during the meeting that I was on the verge of crying the entire time. I think it’s just the fact that I’m very overwhelmed by everything. That it seems like my entire life is kind of falling apart and I don’t know how I’m going to keep it all together. It didn’t surprise me at all that even the professor said that I should take a break. My therapist would be very happy about that.
I maintained that I am interested in the topic that I have been exploring; however, I just needed a new research strategy and I needed an artistic practice element to keep me sane. Professor Ansari recommended the following things:
Change from reading academic papers to autoethnographies, both in the written word and in graphic novel form
Instead of writing an autoethnography, I should draw one out. I think that’s a great idea
I mentioned that I was interested in children’s book illustrations and scientific illustrations, so he recommended I look into that just to satisfy my interest
Since I was also interested in kids, Professor Ansari mentioned that I should talk to people and ask why they pass things down to their children.
Take a damn break
PS: I have 1 academic paper I’m halfway through - Emily Chao’s “The Maoist Shaman and the Madman: Ritual Bricolage, Failed Ritual, and Failed Ritual Theory.” I plan to finish reading that for completionist's sake.
Risograph training
As a part of my growing interest in incorporating illustration into my research and designs, I got a head start on the training to use the risograph machine. I finished the online training and went in last Thursday afternoon to get trained on the actual machine. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought to operate and I’m excited to start practicing and experimenting with the risograph machine. Particularly, I’m interested in the color mixing process on the risograph and the effects it can achieve.
Podcasts
Randomly, I listened to an episode about the Vietnamese diaspora on one of my favorite podcasts, 99% Invisible. While it wasn’t related to anything I am directly researching, it sparked my interest because the episode talked about the diasporic community regaining identity in a new country. I plan to re-listen to it more carefully and write down notes relating to diasporic identity again. I also want to find more podcasts to listen to that talk about diasporic identity, Chinese identities, and Chinese festivals.
Reading group
As part of this week’s homework, I have created a reading group with Victoria Anderson. We will be checking in on each other this week.
Citation style and Citation Organization
I have already been documenting my notes and some citations on my Notion page. I plan to still keep my reading notes here and copy them to my Zotero later; however, move my citations to Zotero. It took me a long time to set it up, but I think it will be better for me in the long run when I’m actually writing the dissertation. I even got the Mac-to-iPad workflow working so that I can start reading it on my iPad and have my annotations show up on my Zotero.
As for citation style, I’ll probably do MLA since it’s the one I’m most used to. However, I might change my mind later, as I don’t actually remember what the other option is.
Reading/Looking/Searching List
The following are things that I would like to look into in the upcoming weeks. Reading things I would like to read in the upcoming weeks. Looking is a list of artworks or designs other designers have done that I want to observe and take notes on. Searching is a list of things I still need to search for resources for.
Readings
Blankets by Craig Thompson
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Meatless Days by Sara Suleri
Boys will be boys by Sara Suleri
Looking
Chinese new years illustrations and artwork
Scientific illustrations of ecosystems/rituals
If there any resources out there already for how to celebrate different festivals
Searching
Autoethnographies written by people within Chinese diaspora
Riso printing basics and color mixing templates
Graphic novels about Chinese diaspora
Children’s books about Chinese new years
My plan for the upcoming weeks
Create an outline of a typical Thai-Chinese New Years festival
Read more into the history of Chinese New Years
Read non-academic papers about rituals / Watch videos about rituals
Read autoethnographies
Plan my autoethnography
Start thinking about who I want to interview and what I would want to ask
Create interview guide for Chinese diaspora community
Talk to people with young children about why they pass festivals down to them
Experiment with color blending on the risograph machine
Start sketching things I would want to include in my autoethnography
Find podcasts to listen to about chinese diaspora, chinese festivals, and rituals