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I just can't find a good topic for my thesis...

Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

treanir said:
And just to clarify: I'm in literature and, sadly, I can't venture from that too much. I needs to be a literary thesis and nothing else. (believe me, I've tried going somewhere different, but my supervisor just won't let me)

I'm somewhat closer to a topic that I think will be approved. I still need to discuss it with him though.
Click to expand...

OK, then, when your supervisor says this:

"I think you might look at, say, 'shame and sharing' as a topic, showing how each text affirms the need for sharing, even if it is only with a very few people. You could look especially at generic differences, e.g. between autobiography, novel, and film, and how each has its own limitations and possibilities in creating this bond of trust and solidarity with the reader/viewer."​

I'm guessing you're really going to need to understand what he means by "sharing" vis a vis the "text" and the "reader/viewer". Is he talking more about this relationship, than any relationships displayed/narrated in the 'text'?
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

^ I really don't know. And I asked someone last night who is, like, way smarterder than me, but he didn't have a clue either. I think it is because my supervisor talks about an author-centred thesis in the first sentence and switched to a reader-centred thesis in the next. It's confusing.

I'm going to give my supervisor a ring tomorrow morning.
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

That sounds perfect! :lol:
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

If you do your thesis on this topic, I might suggest you mention the shift in focus from medical to politcal concerns. I've notice that the HIV culture media for instance is saying much less about the medical issues surrounding research and treatment, but more about the politics and legalities of disclosure and discrimination. In my opinion, that shift is a knife that cuts both ways. Interesting to explore.
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

I don't think much of your thesis advisor's suggestions.

It sounds like he wants you to pursue his focus, but doesn't explain himself clearly at all.
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

I'm not sure if you're at all interested in French literature, but if you look at some of the criticism of Herve Guibert (sorry, don't know how to do accents on my new computer...), you might find something interesting. When I studied his novel "Mon valet et moi," it was in the context of the corps sidaique (AIDS-infected body) as occupying a liminal space in society. Perhaps you could look at the historical shift of AIDS literature from marginal to mainstream.
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

rareboy said:
I don't think much of your thesis advisor's suggestions.

It sounds like he wants you to pursue his focus, but doesn't explain himself clearly at all.
Click to expand...

So RB, are you going to step in and grant him his degree? ;-)

Actually, i'm with you in terms of the advisor's lack of clarity. At least, that's what it appears, from this perspective, now.
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

Good research requires several things to happen at once - a good topic, a supervisor who understands you and your topic, and the time and space to do the work. If your supervisor is experienced enough, he may let the topic coalesce, so to speak, while you work on it. Many theses change direction - some subtly, some completely, mid-way. I take it your area is sociology? If you'd like to change to mathematics, I'll supervise you - and I have several topics just waiting for students!

I think the idea of coming up with a "topic" right at the beginning, is the wrong approach. So you want to work in AIDS - good: plenty of material, a vast area for research. But you and your supervisor need more sitting down and chatting time. Have you written a literature review - when looking at the list of materials you've read or otherwise used, is there any connections between them?

This is too hard in a general forum. But good luck.

-T.
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

^ English literature. :) Which is why I have to limit myself to literature about AIDS.

You're right. I should allow for some leeway in the topic. A mate of mine who wrote his thesis on John Hersey's article on Hiroshima shifted focus while he was in New York for archival research (from changes in the article due to a quick edit to international reception). Still, something more defined than 'AIDS literature' is in order. What's my focus? What will be my (initial) general direction? etc etc etc

I'll jot down some ideas and call my supervisor. See what happens.
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

Good sci-fi vs bad sci-fi.

Someone NEEDS to write a definitive text for all the bad sci-fi writers out there to check out.

-d-
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

AIDS-scifi? :confused::lol:

And you think it's possible to decide for everyone what good scifi is? Different streaks for different geeks, you know. :p


My supervisor's teaching right now, and I have to leave in about an hour. Guess I'll shoot him an e-mail, then.
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

What about the Pope being raped by Jesus and getting AIDS?
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

^ Oh no, you didn't! [-X
;)

Let's say you write the book and then I will take a psychoanalytical approach to it. :p
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

treanir said:
^ Oh no, you didn't! [-X
;)

Let's say you write the book and then I will take a psychoanalytical approach to it. :p
Click to expand...

How should we call the book? "When you've been blessed", by The Pope?
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

Be a bit more creative. I'm sure there's a suitable Bible verse you could use as a title.

But lest this topic derail completel (and turns into something yet more insulting), let us get off this particular train of thought and re-board the Thesis Train. I just sent an e-mail to my supervisor and now all I can do is wait. He usually e-mails me back on the same day, so let's hope for that.

In the meantime, I'm off to the gym. Mens sana in corpore sano, and all that.
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

treanir said:
And you think it's possible to decide for everyone what good scifi is? Different streaks for different geeks, you know. :p
Click to expand...

Well, obviously, if I like it, it's good. If I don't, it's shit.

It's especially shit if abuses my intelligence by pulling a deus ex machina. Admittedly this is more common in movies than books, but hey.

-d-
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

blackbeltninja said:
Well, obviously, if I like it, it's good. If I don't, it's shit.

It's especially shit if abuses my intelligence by pulling a deus ex machina. Admittedly this is more common in movies than books, but hey.

-d-
Click to expand...

Sir, you have a thesis title:
"If I like it, it's good. If I don't, it's shit."

You now have 15,000 words to explain and argue your case. :p

Didn't go to the gym 'cause I forgot my towel (bad intergalactic traveller) and it's too long a trek now to go (long story). But I did come home to an e-mail from my supervisor. My message and his response (heavy cuts and changes by me):

=====================================================================
Dear supervisor,
it struck me that AIDS literature, more than most other types of literature, always seems to have one or perhaps more purposes. The first four I could identify, from the limited amount of reading I have done, are: getting your story across (e.g. Holding the Man), epitaph (e.g. Holding the Man, In Memory of Angel Clare, most poems I have read), a way to enforce the community (e.g. The Normal Heart and in some ways Holding the Man), and a call to arms (e.g. The Normal Heart)
The first two are deeply personal (author-centred), while the latter two are more general (audience-centred). I am sure there are more purposes of AIDS literature and I think (and hope) that they fall into either of those two categories (personal/general). I thought I could look at how these two are rendered in literary devices such as use of language, symbolism, common themes, imagery, perspective etc. Should I find that my personal/general approach breaks down at some point, then I can still look at these things from a different angle. I would, once again, very much like to hear your thoughts on this. I do hope you see something in this topic, as I am getting rather anxious to start.

Kind regards,
treanir

=====================================================================

Dear treanir,
Your remarks seem perceptive, and they may well lead towards a good
theme and thesis.
You could structure your thesis along a contrast between personal vs.
communal approaches, which might well be related to novel vs. drama.
The best way to tackle the literary form of your chosen texts is to find
some specific distinguishing formal feature that reflects the content.
E.g. if the play is centered around a death bed which is constantly
there onstage, that is not only a matter of setting but a statement of
theme, and will somehow influence every speech, action and character in
it. It probably becomes a metaphor for all sorts of meanings. See if you
can find such metaphoric formal features--they are good keys towards
meaning and intention.

Best wishes,
supervisor
=====================================================================


I have a topic. (!)
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

Congrats! Now start writing, dammit! ;)
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

That would be step three or four. :p
 
Re: I just can't find a good topic for my thesis..

(_|_)

You know what I meant. Do your research, write the proposal, and write the fucking thesis.

And then write my disseration for me. "Pornographies of War: Violence, Eroticism, and Communal Healing in Women's Writings of Postcolonial Warfare." Please demonstrate a thorough knowledge of Algerian, Lebanese, and Vietnamese literature, as well as all relevant theories. Be sure to footnote all translations of texts written in French and Arabic.

Thanks!
 
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