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January 26, 2006
Thesis Questions "Answered"
I'm still figuring out what form my project will take, but I'm starting to solidify my interests.
1. An area of interest you've identified:
* The poignancy of the past
2. Questions/Opportunities
* When do I find something to be poignant?
* Are there general patterns to what everyone finds poignant? (e.g. Hollywood moments)
* How can I create a piece where the audience finds their own poignancy, rather than simply understanding how I feel about something?
3. Methods/Processes used to explore questions
* Introspective analysis
* External research of psychological or critical studies analyses that have been done on the meaningfulness of artifacts and memories
* Discussion of methods of history education
4. Topics/Subjects of Interest
* Revolutionary/Early Republic America (1770-1830)
* History of clothing
* Family history/memory
5. Genre & Audience
* Interactive immersive installation with physical artifacts (i.e. not just pressing buttons)
* Ages 10 and up, probably only one visitor or one cooperative group at a time
6. Audience Terminology
* Visitor
Posted by rosenblj at 09:57 AM | Comments (1)
January 19, 2006
Week #2 Assignment: Personal Item Reflection
My three items were:
* Favorite thing: Lord of the Rings: Two Towers soundtrack
* Favorite project: Final paper ("Comps") for History BA at Carleton
* Inspiration: Card created by my youngest brother
Since my personal reflection was lengthy, rather than posting all the text here's the file: Download file
Just for a taste, here's the last section - my synthesis of the implications of all three objects:
These three items have to do with my self identity and my self confidence: I love The Lord of the Rings and am unashamedly in love with those movies and their music, I am a history nut and am incredibly proud of my comps project, and I value personal exploration and family support more than ever. They all have to do with immersive experiences of being transported to another time and place, with the result of greater self-reflection and analysis. They all have connections to learning – about how to realize a creative vision, about national scientific history, about solving mysteries (in both fantasy and reality) and seeing their larger implications. And they all have to do with love.
These objects differ in their areas of interest (fantasy, history, exploration), their medium of expression (music, prose, picture), and their varying emphases on the emotional and analytical aspects of my personality.
The strongest message I feel from this exercise is not to ignore my love of immersive experiences, whether they be inspired by music, a film, a book, a picture, or an artifact. Also that learning, human connection, and memory are really important to me. I have a great love of poignancy.
Now I just need to figure out what kind of project can help me not only express that, but create the same feelings in others.
Posted by rosenblj at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)
January 18, 2006
GGL Interview
So when I was in Austin I tagged along to an interview by a writer for the Global Gaming League with a group of women from Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center. Our interview started off about the experience of being female and in school for game design, but when it turned out that both schools had projects dealing with negotiation scenarios, well I guess it was too neat to pass up. Anyway, that group photo is rotating through the slideshow on their homepage here, and the full article is located here.
Posted by rosenblj at 01:32 AM | Comments (0)
January 12, 2006
511 Reflection
I was really uncomfortable at seminar last night, because it was the very first time that I have felt like an outsider during a class in this department. I have felt confused, lost, stressed, disappointed, frustrated, and so on, but I have never felt like I didn’t belong in a room and didn’t want to belong. I know and really like everyone who was in that class, it’s just that somehow the group congealed in a way that I did not want to and could not be a part of. I was made acutely aware of being one of the only women in the room, a fact that rarely came up last term in my classes where I was the only woman. I felt defeated, because when one of my best friends in this department got shouted down for the way he was wording something I agreed with, I was so overrun and turned off to the discussion already that I could not find the energy to defend him. Rick, I’m sorry. I am not someone who is easily intimidated into not speaking up in class – when I say nothing, it’s because I can’t find a way to speak to the conversation. I wanted to say something, I just couldn’t figure out what to say.
To cap it all off, we were told that we can’t substantially change who we are at this point in our lives. I think I understand where this comment was coming from: when we make resolutions, we first need to look at ourselves and see what aspects of our personalities and values are ingrained – only then can we frame our resolutions to be promises we are actually able to keep to ourselves. But at the point in the discussion when that comment was made, it was the last straw for me. I do have a resolution, and had been willing to share it – but at that moment I decided I could not say it in that room. This morning I decided I had to share it anyway.
My family has never emphasized New Year’s resolutions. Well, not at New Year’s, anyway. Resolutions are inherent in the observation of Yom Kippur, tempered with a day of fasting, reflection, and repentance, so that’s when I usually tend to make such promises to myself and to God. But Winter Break does provide a convenient period of reflection, and so this year I did promise myself to make a change.
I have not felt in control of my life since moving to LA. It’s not the amount of work – I have always challenged myself academically and in the number of activities I juggle – it’s the schedule. With each class held only once a week, I have struggled in creating a coherent, consistent schedule of how I spend my time. This may not sound like a big problem, and I didn’t think it was either until I realized some time during the fall that I wasn’t eating enough. I don’t have a disorder, it’s not an image problem, and those who were with me for Korean barbecue on Sunday can attest that I love food and will eat large amounts of it. The problem is that it’s not even a conscious decision. Each night when I go to bed and plan for tomorrow, I don’t factor in the adequate amount of time for meals. And if I get in a crunch over schoolwork or other projects, it’s the time for meals that gets sacrificed.
So this term I’m hoping to rearrange my priorities and fix this problem. I hope that, contrary to the literal words of the statement, I can change a bit of who I am – I’d hate to think what will happen if I can’t. I’m not great at admitting weakness or defeat, so I hope that telling you all this is worth it. And I hope that this department can figure out some way (a series of events, activities, etc.) to successfully mingle all students from all three years – no, just being in the same room for seminar doesn’t cut it – so that none of us will ever feel like an outsider here, no matter what combination of people we happen to be with.
Posted by rosenblj at 09:30 AM | Comments (5)
January 09, 2006
Thoughts from Israel
Over break I visited Israel with my father, middle brother, and uncle December 17th-28th. It was my fifth trip to the country - the last time I was there was December 1997, my sophomore year of high school. Halfway through the trip I jotted down the following thoughts about how to record the experience.
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My first thought was that I should try to record and report on my trip in the most immersive way possible, because there was no way words could come close to a sufficient description of the places and people I would see. Mark Bolas offered me an audio recorder to bring along, which really intrigued me because sound is such a potent and immersive and inspiring medium. But the more I considered the possibilities the more I shied away from them, finally settling on the same recording methods I used for my undergrad term abroad in London - a simple outline diary of events, and my analog point-and-shoot Pentax camera.
I still stand by the decision, though it puts me at odds with both of my main academic interests. As a student in this department, I have seen the power of media to transport people to another time and place. As a student of history, I know the value of such transportation and the numerous times I have longed for more engaging primary resources in the course of my research. But something even deeper inside me gave me pause and stopped me from covering myself in technology and recording Israel for you.
Israel is an amazing place, unlike anywhere else I have been. Its natural beauty is breathtaking, from the lush forests of the north to the towering desert mountains of the south...I'm just going to stop now. I knew words wouldn't work. Anything I write here is going to sound cliche, like a tourist promotion. Just like any video or audio clips I would have felt comfortable recording. You can't watch Israel from a distance. News reports and travel programs are utterly insufficient, if not misleading. You have to be there. You have to BE Israel. Which is ultimately what kept me from recording. I didn't want to be immortalized as an evesdropper on anyone else, and I didn't want to step out of my own experience to get the intellectual distance necessary to stop experiencing and start recording.
So I'm afraid all I have for you are my thoughts and some photographs, which I am happy to share with you in person over hot chocolate some time. In no way will it come close to an immersive description of Israel. You will just have to go there yourself. And I mean that - it's a trip everyone should make. No matter what your background or opinions or interests, it will be an amazing and rewarding experience. There's no better time than now. (12/24/05)
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Current events since my return to the US have not changed my sentiments at all. Coming back with a video, saying "Here's what Israel was like just before Sharon became seriously ill" - it would only add to the sense we have here about any foreign country, that it's a place and a time for us to read about in the news or the history books. The world is a place for us to go out and experience as much of as we can. Let's turn off CNN and start buying plane tickets.
Posted by rosenblj at 01:30 PM | Comments (4)