A long time between drinks…

… but I have been busy busy busy.

Objectives:

This research is interested in the role of online writing for the construction of self and exploration of place-identity. The central research question asks, “How do we construct a sense of self and negotiate our understanding of place in the traditionally non-spatial, mediated online world?”. I will address this question through an examination of the genre of personal blogging, by addressing the following objectives:

1. Explore the construction of self on the Internet through an interrogation of the influence of blogging and community (i.e. the awareness of audience) upon the performative subject.
2. Investigate the influence of place upon the awareness of self and subjectivity in relation to blogging and other online experience.
3. Analyse the narratives constructed through online writing, particularly blogging, and the subsequent awareness of self as gained by writer and audience.
4. Investigate the role of ‘place’ in blogging and how it is conceptualised in relation to the narration of both offline embodied and virtual experiences.

Or perhaps…

What is the role of blogging–a way of reconciling experience in the form of narrative–in the construction of self and the understanding of place?

In other news, I’m feeling really guilty for not having emailed my supervisor any work. But I am getting somewhere!!

Okay, seriously…

The question I just posted. Is it good enough?

Is blogging a way of reconciling experience in the form of narrative as a means of constructing self and understanding place?

It has my three main themes: narrative, self, and place. It refers to the central focus: blogging. It kind of refers to my major discussion point: that blogging is a way of documenting experience and keeping a record of past positioning and opinion in order to have something to look back on in the future, and that the blog itself operates as a space in which one can thrash out and work through the issues buzzing around in ones mind.

The wording needs a little tweaking: it’s too … wordy. But I’ll get there.

Thesis question, v2.0-2.6

How are bloggers using narrative as a means of exploring notions of self and the construction of identity?

How does writing for narrative storytelling online contribute to the construction of self and the exploration of place amongst bloggers?

Do bloggers use storytelling and narrative as a means of constructing self and reconciling with a particular identity?

How does the desire to narrate one’s life story influence the writing of bloggers?

Is it fair to say that bloggers write (i.e., employ narrative storytelling) as a means of reconciling identity and constructing self?

Does blogging influence the construction of self and an awareness of place through the employment of narrative as a means of connecting with an audience?

Is blogging a way of reconciling experience in the form of narrative as a means of constructing self and understanding place?

(For those playing at home: I like the last one best. But – I’m still not sure.)

Research question – urgh!

I’m really super super struggling to come up with a central research question. It just seems like such a massive job, having to encapsulate a 100,000 word thesis in a one-sentence question. I’m just not finding anything that really makes me excited; all my questions begin with “how” or “why”, and it just seems like any question beginning with those words will be way too broad.

My original question was, Can we regard blogging as a kind of narrative in which the writer engages in a storytelling of selfhood as a means of uncovering and fostering a sense of belonging, both on- and offline?

Asides from being way too long, that is kind of wanky, but it will more than likely work nicely (with some tweaking) as an objective/sub-question. After some last-minute fopping about today (I haven’t done much work at all for the past three weeks, to be honest, but I have a meeting with my supervisor this afternoon), I’ve come up with this:

(How) does writing for the purpose of blogging contribute to the construction of identity and the awareness of self?

The “how” is in brackets because I’m just not sure yet whether I’d rather start with “how” or “does”; to be perfectly honest, I’d rather start with neither, but I can’t really think of anything other than “can” or “why”, and they aren’t very good options, either.

I have all these things buzzing around in my head – must define the scope, what happens if the examiner thinks this, is the question too vague, do I need to define that, should I add “amongst bloggers” to the end of my question (or is that superfluous), etc. I’m sure that’s all the kind of stuff that will be worked out as I go along, but shit – it’s still a bit difficult, you know? I haven’t done anywhere near enough reading or writing (that is set to change as of Monday, given that I will be on a scholarship and supposed to be studying full time*), and I just feel so damn lost still, you know?

* I say “supposed to” because unfortunately $25000 a year just isn’t quite enough to live off (or rather, it is, but I know I’ll struggle), so I’ll be at uni all day Monday/Wednesday/Friday, and for a half-day on Tuesday & Thursday, as dammit – I just have to work. So I guess I’ll get my 38-40 hours per week in over those days.