i come to you fresh from the hallowed halls of my brain. my thesis proposal (draft) is written and complete. i have decided, after much consultation with friends and mulling of my options over a hot cup of lemon tea, that i’m going to write a book on my travels. exciting, no?
Where I’ve Been
Douglas Van Bossuyt
Introduction
For time immemorial, people, upon returning from vacations, have subjected their friends and families to things such as e-mails detailing every aspect of the trip, a slideshow of every single picture taken, Christmas cards that go on for pages, all of these wonderful modes of communication are wasted because there is no real interesting and coherent content. On the other hand, books such as John Muir’s Steep Trails provide the consumer with a wealth of meaningful writings and photos, or in John Muir’s case, sketches. This gap between the average traveler and the travel author is wide and getting wider. In my personal endeavors to record past experiences, I’ve come up lacking. That sweet spot between the death spiral of inner thought and a glossed over narrative with no meat or for that matter, potatoes, is the prize.
Thesis Statement
I will research various styles of recording a trip, distill that information into my own personal style of presentation, and then create a record of a trip in such a fashion that people who have never met me before will want to behold the result.
Approach
As I don’t feel that my writing and photography skills are up to par with the people whom I strive to make my peers, I will conduct research in photography. This photographic research will include both theoretical textbook style learning and hands-on acquisition of knowledge from both my own experimentation and working with experienced photographers. To improve my writing, I shall read what other people have written. My professors will be an invaluable resource for suggesting authors and texts that I might take away the most from.
While on the trip, photos will be taken willy-nilly with little or no regard to the amount of film that is used. I will keep a journal of notes documenting my experiences with the intent of returning to the notes and using them as the basis for the body of work that shall be the result. Other forms of media might also warrant exploration, such as sound recordings, writings of others, videos, and other as of yet un-thought of media.
Expected Results and Significance
The final product will be a presentation, in a format appropriate to the content, of a specific trip that I have taken. Some potential formats include a book containing only text, a photo journal, an audio diary, a website with multiple modes of media and delivery, or a slideshow. It is my intent to contribute another work to the vast body of travel material. The whole goal of is endeavor is to create a document that is engaging, interesting, and above all, addictive to read. Personally, this will address my need to grow beyond my major and to enhance my abilities as a writer. Rather than handing the typical resume over to my future employer, I’ll be able to plop a book down on the desk and proudly state “I wrote that, oh and I’m also an engineer”. Composing this work will also be highly beneficial to the College of Engineering as they are on a quest to prove to the world that all engineers aren’t square. To reach the top 25 goal that my college has set for itself, more outside the box thinking is required. This will fit the bill.
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Carol Ann Crateau Douglas Van Bossuyt
University Honors College University Honors College
10/28/03 10/28/03
thanks a bunch to
sleep now. tomorrow is a new day destined to be filled with arabic studying. huzza for arabic! huzza for school!