tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post6512699116474365720..comments2024-03-10T20:46:19.274-04:00Comments on In the Middle: Drawing a DissertationCord J. Whitakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06224143153295429986noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-18003384697992509502009-03-05T11:05:00.000-05:002009-03-05T11:05:00.000-05:00Eileen> Oh, I remember that! And I think you&...Eileen> Oh, I remember that! And I think you're entirely right: there's a sense of needing to see if the diagram makes the point better than any possible words -- I've included it in the chapter as I turned it in to my committee, so we'll see how they respond. Another thing that occurs to me based on your thoughts is that I may be using the diagram *precisely because* the relationships aren't clearly delineated, and I want to emphasize that aspect of it? Very interesting possibilities.<BR/><BR/>Liza> Very good point. I don't know that I was thinking through where I want the diagram to go when I was drawing it -- I just wanted to think through the process I was describing in a way that helped me think non-linearly. Which causes its own problems. <BR/><BR/>Steve -- glad you like it, and a good reminder that it won't ever work for anyone. This is something I've been struggling a lot with as my dissertation starts to include what might be considered "traditional" allies of Anglo-Saxonists -- charts and tables.<BR/><BR/>Jeffrey: Hope you've recovered by now. :)<BR/><BR/>Ken: I need to check that out. Will do.Mary Kate Hurleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14892991966276345782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-34124385720649732302009-02-20T16:33:00.000-05:002009-02-20T16:33:00.000-05:00I was going to mention Tinderbox but Prof. Cohen b...I was going to mention Tinderbox but Prof. Cohen beat me to it. While a tad dear, Tinderbox (TB) is an incredible piece of software for visualizing data. More importantly, it has, perhaps, the most powerful means of searching data in any program I've seen.<BR/><BR/>For example, you can create "agents" -- small pieces of code -- that will range over your data searching for odd combinations like all of the Chinese words that I have noted on my blog -- as opposed to all of them that I have in the db -- but only on Fridays and also only those in the context of the words "apples" and "goats" -- well, you get what I mean.<BR/><BR/>It also has a kind of elegance about it that makes using it actually pleasant.<BR/><BR/>Finally, the developer -- Mark Bernstein -- is very active adding new features and is one of the most literate bloggers I've read.<BR/><BR/>Peruse his site and the TB site. Even if it doesn't fit your needs, you should know about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-31253162748938641862009-02-19T15:24:00.000-05:002009-02-19T15:24:00.000-05:00Have I ever told you that I am allergic to Venn di...Have I ever told you that I am allergic to Venn diagrams? I have been sneezing and nauseous all day.<BR/><BR/>I admire you for being able to think spatially like that, something I am unable to do. I have sometimes outlined work, but never diagrammed anything. <BR/><BR/>By the way, Ken Tompkins brought my attention to this fascinating visual note taking system, Tinder Box:<BR/>http://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/Jeffrey Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17346504393740520542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-76842181525719864422009-02-18T10:46:00.000-05:002009-02-18T10:46:00.000-05:00Certainly this diagram is both cool (or pleasing) ...Certainly this diagram is both cool (or pleasing) and helpful. Of course nothing works for everybody.Steve Muhlbergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18136005762428407135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-68233855719595809092009-02-18T00:18:00.000-05:002009-02-18T00:18:00.000-05:00MKH: All is well again. I agree with EJ! I think...MKH: All is well again. I agree with EJ! <BR/><BR/>I think diagrams are usually a big help when they <B>map</B> broadscale ideas--as yours has done here. <BR/><BR/>Since reading on the page is such a linear process in which ideas must unfold over time, the imagistic representation can make an impact all at once. Of course, that doesn't work sometimes: Lacan's diagrams mean absolutely nothing to me, and I don't know anyone else who feels they actually aid in understanding what he's saying.prehenselhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04801371989123252511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-65654320177215964372009-02-17T21:47:00.000-05:002009-02-17T21:47:00.000-05:00When I was writing my Cambridge, dismembered-body-...When I was writing my Cambridge, dismembered-body-parts-as-stage-properties dissertation, I made a map of any and all theories I could read pertaining to bodies and objects in terms of their relation to what I wanted to talk about. It was ultimately useful for figuring out my "X" in the map (in terms of, "X marks the spot") -- but as it ended up reading somewhat like a pirate's treasure map (take four large strides backwards through prosthetic theory, turn right at the palm tree), I ended up expressing most of it in prose in the final product.<BR/><BR/>Include diagrams! You could be the next Latour! Though what puzzles me about the diagram you've included here is the neatness of it all (like Paulus O is contained by the translator, and like the levels don't infect one another), especially given the messiness you describe in the prose version. My idea is that a diagram could be useful to establish large, schematic blocks of information so that you might then move on to more in-depth arguments -- the question is, where do you want to *take* the diagram?Liza Blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05105726464955172469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-72248827615786929232009-02-17T21:09:00.000-05:002009-02-17T21:09:00.000-05:00Mary Kate: welcome to my world. When I was writing...Mary Kate: welcome to my world. When I was writing my dissertation, I can't tell you how many diagrams I drew [I shared one here on the blog a while back], but I kept them mainly to myself as a way of thinking through some of my metaphors and ideas more imagistically, so essentially, they were just for me, but I do think diagrams can be really really useful sometimes, and when it comes to complicated transmission & translation histories [and sometimes, complicated theoretical moves], I think they're helpful to readers. The real question would be: can you say/show more succinctly in a diagram what it is much more complicated/lengthy to articulate only with words? Or, does the diagram clarify relationships between texts/stages of transmission & translation that, in your words only, remain a bit fuzzy? And finally, what can a diagram *not* show? What gets left out in the diagram--anything? Are there any relationships that might be obscured, or left just to the side, by the diagram? But generally, I think thinking imagistically like this is really smart, but just keep in mind that no diagram could ever capture all of the possible relationships [or maybe, could ever really show how some elements in your analysis--historical, linguistic, material-textual, and otherwise--could ever really be represented separately], but that's also what makes this useful--because, with your diagrams, you can begin to *see* that, too.Eileen Joyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756965845120441308noreply@blogger.com