Dear Stephanie:
Bogging down on a dissertation project is a common phenomenon, so first--do
not get discouraged. This happens to everyone. Many years ago, I went through
several changes of topic in my own dissertation before I finally figured out what I
wanted to do. The important thing is not to give up.
Might I suggest my book, _Writing the Successful Thesis and Dissertation: Entering
the Conversation_, published by Prentice Hall. It is based on genre theory, which I
think you are probably familiar with, since you are working with Catherine Schryer.
There are several suggestions in it that you might find helpful.
Also--I think the topic of how writing assignments contain unstated assumptions
about citation and enculturation expectations would be a very interesting topic. I
touch on this issue myself in an article titled "A Genre Approach to Writing
Assignments" (Composition Forum 14.2, Fall 2005), and I can send you an online
copy of this article if this direction interests you.
Good luck.
Irene Clark
Irene L. Clark Ph.D.
Director of Composition
Professor of English
California State University, Northridge
---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:11:19 -0500
>From: Stephanie Bell <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Dissertation Woes
>To: [log in to unmask]
>
>Hello all and happy Friday,
>
>I'm a PhD student in composition theory & pedagogy working under the
>supervision of Dr. Catherine Schryer at the University of Waterloo. I've
>recently completed my field exams and have moved on to transforming my pile
>of previous grant proposals into a viable (and, ideally, useful)
>dissertation project on some aspect of citation practices and/or academic
>misconduct. Thus far, I haven't been very successful.
>
>Since I'm not getting particularly far with the invention stage of my
>dissertation on my own, I've decided to seek input on the gaps in the field
>of citation/misconduct that (writing) instructors would be interested in
>having filled.
>
>My current interest (and work at WLU's Writing Centre) is in teaching the
>complex citation practices involved in an author's critical engagement with
>source material as a means of facilitating student access to academic
>discursive communities as well as preventing student misconduct.
>
>I am open to *any* project ideas regarding any aspect of citation and/or
>misconduct. I've been mulling over possible projects on citation from the
>following perspectives:
>
> - Student enculturation/community membership
> - Assignment design
> - Course design – specifically writing-intensive course design
> - Discipline-specific citation practices (i.e., Hyland, 2000)
> - Policy & institutional frameworks for dealing with plagiarism (i.e.,
> Price; Howard; Park)
> - Current approaches to teaching citation (i.e., content courses,
> bibliography courses, writing-intensive programs, texts like Graff,
> Birkenstein, Durst's They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic
> Writing)
> - Theories of idea ownership and language (Foucault; Bloom, 1973;
> Volosinov; Bakhtin)
> - The history of citation practices (Ong, 1982 (although it's not the
> focus, it does touch upon practices of repetition and formula as mnemonic
> devices in oral cultures); Macfarlane, 2007)
>
>
>Thanks for your help,
>
>Stephanie
>
>
>--
>Stephanie Bell
>PhD Candidate
>English Language & Literature
>University of Waterloo
>[log in to unmask]
>
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For the list archives and information about the organization,
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