So the meeting went well. Have a weekly meeting at the perfect time for me. Not a work program that I was expecting - it is going to be one big research paper and the whole unit will be the process of identifying a bunch of discrete areas of study, then slowly working through it all til I have a thesis and a paper. I am actually pretty interested in his method. He was explaining that he sees ISCs as the starting point for phds. As in you do well in a research paper, you get marked out in your dept as a possible for honours and graduate study. So he starts teaching them methods for that. Which is fair enough. I know I am marked out at law school as a possible for the honours program. Because of two research papers I wrote. So that all makes sense.
One thing I really liked from the conversation was about how much time to devote to the project. I commented that I was assuming 10 hrs most weeks and I could find a few more when needed. He was very adamant that one of the things he teaches is that these projects are long haul (phd a three year long haul) and that you need to set a work pace you can manage week in week out. Which is so so true, especially for me. So he made me promise not to do more than 10 hours each week. Umm, ok. If you insist. Kicking and screaming - yeah right.
And he had a talk to me about planning strategies now to be able to remember the enthusiasm for the topic I initially had when the 'dark days' hit. To start planning now for how to re-new energy and reinvigorate at those times. I thought that was good too.
So now I have to start working out areas of possible study. The unit is about... wait I will give you the blurb...
Our experiences of politics come through the mass media. What we see as 'politics' is a representation presented through the mass media. We cannot understand politics, then, unless we examine the ways that the mass media present politics to us. To do this, we have to start with the traditional media (television, newspapers and radio) and then consider the effects of the new media (smartphones, websites - especially blogs - and social networking technologies).
So off the top of my head...
- Gender, politics and the media. And haven't we recently had a lovely lesson in these issues?
- Possibly one 'issue' and look at the way the media deals with the politics of it. I am thinking refugees, but actually I probably need an issue where there has been a shift in how the media has presented it. Unless I want to go back to the 70s under Fraser.
- Something about MSNBC and why there isn't an australian version. I reckon there is an audience, given the circulation of Crikey and New Matilda and the Green's vote. But I also suspect this is a little too easily answered.
- Blogs - and their impact on the representation of politics (in the traditional media or as compared to traditional media)
- WTF is wrong with Murdoch media
- There is a new MSNBC show just started headed by Ronan Farrow. It is deliberately aimed at a younger audience and is going to bring in new media. They are making a big deal about how pundit shows often present a story, get you all riled up or disgusted or generally leaving you with a strong feeling - but then leave you with it. They are going to give you options on things you can do about the issue apparently. Not quite sure what I want to do with that.
- Something about how the Greens are represented ... in some part of the media.
- Alternatively look at PUP and how the media handled them in the lead up to the last election.
Anyone got any thoughts. On these or on any other topics? I am open-to-suggestion-girl for the rest of this week.
