major project

Clover’s Major Project Proposal for ENG401

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“Text to Speech: An Annotated Selection of Autistic Poetry”

My aim for this project is to explore the poetic work of autistic poets, synthesize and catalogue their texts by larger themes and concepts, and provide some biography for each author in the context of my selections. I will include my own bookbinding, illustrations and print for the final anthology, though it may be published digitally as well. I will also include a foreword/afterword in which I break down some of the larger literary themes (e.g. the inner world, communication, etc.) I have observed in autistic poetry, explain why I chose each poem as representative of its category, and perhaps tie back to some of our earlier readings on disability studies. The current title I chose because one of my largest themes thus far in researching autistic poetry is ‘translation’, but that may change.

2) Central Question 

What are the rhetorical and literary parameters of an “autistic” genre of poetry? What themes occur often? What are the common style elements (e.g.  free verse, first person), and where is most poetry being produced (at an academic or personal level)? What effect does this have on the literature, and why is that important? I’ll also be looking for the rhetorical boundaries of autistic poetry that I’ve noticed in my research.

3) Product Design

Product: A hand-bound, hand-curated and illustrated annotated anthology of autistic poetry.

Design: Poems will be categorized into sections by observed thematic elements, ranked by frequency (perhaps this could manifest as section headers, i.e. ‘Communication’). Each section will have an introduction with the results of my research in it. Each poem will have an artwork to the left of it, and a rhetorical analysis and biography on the back of the right page where it sits. All my images will be drawn without reference from the imagery of the poem I am working on. This will be a variety of media; fabric arts, collage, painting, etc. So, the final product will be very multimedia. I plan to do between 20-50 poems.

4) Production Plan

How will you go about creating this product? What are the steps you have in mind? The big dates to keep in mind:

  • From November 1st to November 8th, I will be gathering poems, observing trends, categorizing poetry I find and making my selections for the anthology.
  • I’ll share what I find with Andrew so he can give me some pointers during conferencing between November 8th and 19th, and in this time I will begin to bind my blank book and afterwards I will begin to block sections and draft thumbnails of my art ideas for each poem.
  • Between November 19th and 29th, I will be drawing, painting, printing, etc. I will show Andrew my biographies, artwork, and analyses to see what he thinks. I’m a poetry student so this is very familiar to me by now, though; I’m mostly looking to streamline and do my final curations of the project’s material.
  • From December 1st through 8th, I will finish my introduction, conclusion, and section headers to paste in the book.
  • I will present the product before December 8th.

5) Consultation

  • I would prefer to meet with Andrew early on in the process, around November 5th or so, so I can get his opinion on my identification of genre parameters, and what I’m observing across gross categories.
  • I would also like to meet with Andrew midway through, for some help with rhetorical analysis of the poetry and including relevant biographical detail. Perhaps I can give some details of my introductory and concluding portions here to make sure that I’m staying on track.
  • Besides that, I feel as prepared as I could be at this point!

6) Citations

  1. https://the-art-of-autism.com/the-art-of-autisms-third-annual-art-poems-for-peace-initiative/ 

“The Art of Autism”’s annual Poems for Peace, a selection of art and poetry by autistic youth and adults. This is an excellent source to draw from.

  1. https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/the-spectrum/poems

The “National Autistic Society”’s autstic poets’ digital library. Again, very impressive library, most of what I need to begin my search is here.

  1. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/44776034-stim

The GoodReads page for Lizzie-Huxley Jones’ Stim: An Autism Anthology, which I have ordered. Not sure exactly what will be in the book, but it can’t hurt.

Major Project Proposal: The Beauty of Disabled Gods

Turnip Friend2 Comments
  1. Title:
    Disabled Gods of the Modern Age
    Why aren’t there more disabled gods in mythologies around the globe? Why are many of the ones who do exist disabled because of violence committed against them? I propose a series of paintings featuring possible new disabled gods fit to be worshipped by the modern person who values the disabled community and the power of the people within it.

  2. Central Question:
    Through this series of paintings, I want to explore how disabled people are represented in various religious traditions by features some well known ones including Greek god Hephaestus, Egyptian god Bes, and the Hindu god Aruna. However to supplement these existing gods, I will make up gods of all races, sexualities, genders, sizes, ages, and disabilities. Through working on this project I hope to better understand how media representation influences our culture’s view on disabled people, taking care to make their godly domains and powers influenced by their relationships with their disabilities in ways that highlight the beauty of their disability. My aim is to be respectful of existing polytheistic religions while simultaneously recognizing a lack of deities in world religions that have disabilities, due to the widespread levels of hostility towards disabled people throughout the world.

  3. Production Design:
    My collection of paintings will be in a quasi-zine format in the sense that they will all be bound together in a booklet. I’m not sure about the sizes of the paintings but my projection is that they will be around 6 inches by 9 inches each. When the booklet is opened, on the left side there will be an in depth description of the god as well as quotes and analyses taken from some of the readings we’ve consumed in this class. On the right side will be the painting so the viewer can reference the information on the left as they view the image. Ideally, I will make ten different paintings, some being real gods from world religions, and others being the ones I have invented. The beginning few pages I will introduce the concept of the piece, how it is influenced by disability studies, and what I hope to achieve with its creation.

  4. Production Plan:
    My first course of action will be deciding which disabilities these gods will have, how best to represent them in a respectful manner as well their other intersecting identities after researching their specific disability. I will decide how to represent any prosthetics or tools they use such as wheelchairs, canes, and other equipment. Next I will decide upon their names and domains of power. I will collect images off of the internet for inspiration concerning the aesthetics of each god as well as how to visually represent their disability based on the real people with the disability. I may take inspiration from some of the stories featured in the book Disability Visibility while making sure to give those writers credit.

    -By November 13th, I will have the general information on each god solidified and a general structure for the presentation of my research.
    -By November 20th, I will have done at least one rough draft of each of the paintings.
    -By December 4th, I will have all of the final drafts of the paintings completed as well as my writing done.
    -By December 8th, I will have the booklet put together and the finishing touches done.

  5. Consultation:
    My biggest concern with this project is the possibility of accidentally representing any of the disabilities I choose to feature poorly, and so I would love to check in with you on my ideas for each one once I have them, to make sure I’m being respectful. My goal and intent will be to use person/god first language as well as with the way they are depicted because the last thing I want is for them to look like a fantasy-world versions of medical images. I worry that the premise of this project might be skewed by my perspective as a non-physically disabled person, and so if you have any concerns with any part of this project I would love to go over them. My proposed project is very art-based, and less research-based focused mainly to inform my choices in the production of the pieces, so if the level of research I plan to do at any point seem subpar, I want to supplement it to the best of my ability using the readings we’ve gone over in class as well as outside readings I’ve found on my own. I can also have a conclusion section at the end of the booklet where I go into more depth on the research that informed the project if you think that would be beneficial.

  6. Citations:
    A few possible readings that may influence my project:

https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Figures/Teiresias/teiresias.html

Disabled Gods: A Critical Disability Studies Analysis of Ancient Greek Myths (umsl.edu)

What is Metis? | Dolmage | Disability Studies Quarterly (dsq-sds.org)

A Major Proposal Monster

DellFrog2 Comments
  1. Title: The “Monster” Within: An Analysis of Disability as “Monstrous” in Literature
  2. Central Question: In early literature, monsters or monstrous figures were often caricatures of disability. These caricatures led to generalizations of disability that when replicated led to widespread misunderstandings of how disability is experienced and perceived. How did early literature characterize disability and what are the modern repercussions?
  3. Product Design: I will be creating the beginnings of a thesis essay, estimating 15-20 pages of research and analysis of literary works and modern interpretations. Many of the literary works will come as a result of the analysis portions, provided by the Disability Studies Quarterly journal and academic essays published by universities.
  4. Production Plan: This product will be a result of hours of research and culminating analysis which will have to be done over a long stretch of time. I plan to meet with the professor on either the 10th or the 17th to present initial findings and the general structure of the essay. The work-in-progress will hopefully be the second or third draft of the thesis, with only minor adjustments and citations to be added.

Proposed Schedule:

November Week 1: Outline and First Draft of Sources

November Week 2: First Draft of Content -perfect citations

November Week 3: Second Draft of Content: After meeting with professor and finalizing Chicago Style sources at the RWS

November Week 4: Third Draft and Final Edits

  1. Consultation: I will hopefully be in contact during several points of the essay, but mostly using the professor as a touchstone of major ideas. I tend to get carried away with either too much research or too much analysis, so getting feedback on whether I am finding a good balance will be helpful. This will likely come after the first draft of the essay.

Special Questions: Thinking of formatting of research and analysis, I think that it is best to go via topic vs. via source (ie: multiple sources on the topic of mobile disability vs. analyzing Shakespeare, then Hugo, then Wordsworth, etc.) Would this be preferable for an academic paper? Is it considered too “passe” if my “modern perceptions of disability” look at how Disney has taken literary stereotypes and morphed them further? Or should I just be looking at how the stereotypes are repeated in modern literature?

  1. Citations: I have about 20 gathered right now, not that I will use all of them. But these are some I have come across.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Disability, and the Injustice of Misrecognition https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/7109

Aesthetic Traces in Unlikely Places: Re-visioning the Freak in 19th-Century American Photography https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/613 

Disabling Imagery and the Media: An Exploration of the Principles for Media Representations of Disabled People https://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/library/Barnes-disabling-imagery.pdf 

Disabled Literature—Disabled Individuals in American Literature: Reflecting Culture(s) https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/58432/1/574.pdf 

Major Project Proposal

Tuesday1 Comment

Tentative title:

“Wardrobe of Masks”– a visual for the interaction of passing and masquerading in relation to identity and society

Central Issue:

How do different societal interactions affect one’s expression of identity? My Exploration will mainly focus on the impact outside perspectives have on personal expression when it comes to disability intersecting another minority status. In particular, I plan to investigate potential reasons for changes and hierarchy in performances.

Product Design:

Drawing inspiration from Tobin Seibers’ “Disability as Masquerade”, the product will be a literal mask. This is partially to evoke the idea of masking, a term referring to passing in the Nuerodivergent spheres, and to directly reference what Seibers refers to as ‘Masquerade’. The mask will have three to four layers, each layer representing a different community and the fictional mask wearer’s performance of identity in that community. Underneath all the masks, though still in the works, the mask wearer’s actual face will be represented by sculpted creature. I am reserving the right to change how the core person is represented. To help enrich the different masks, I plan to reference quite a few chapters from Visibility Disability in each layer. At the moment, I am still deciding on my other major sources for the overall final product. These sources will probably impact how I display the masks. They also might impact the dialog which I plan to write to represent interactions between the masks.

I also think it will be fun to play with an idea that people change up their performance like clothes depending on the situation. This may result in the masks being stored in a box made to look like a wardrobe or closet. This will probably be where the dialogs will be displayed.

Production Plan:

Week 1(11/1-11/7): Gather materials, finalize main sources.

Week 2(11/8-11/14): Start constructing the masks, and draft the thematic dialog, meet with Andrew to review project so far.

Week 3(11/15-11/21): Finish constructing the bases of the masks, have completed drafts of all dialog.

Week 4(11/22-11/28): review dialog drafts (other people besides myself), start adding the finishing touches to each mask.

Week 5(11/29-12/5): add final details, complete any last minute changes.

Consultation:

Ideally, the meeting would be in the earlier stages of the project, before a structure has been fully committed to. The Masks will take some effort to make and there will point where I cannot make any changes to a layer without remaking the whole layer. Ideally I would like to meet on November 10th as I will probably have not started making the masks, but will have completed the bulk of my research. I would like to know if there are any other sources on passing or similar to the readings we have done by Dolmage. I think readings more focused on general themes rhetoric surrounding disability would work well in informing the dialogs’ structure and content.

Citations:

Kuppers, Petra. “performance”, Keywords for Disability Studies.  Edited by Adams, R., Serlin, D., & Serlin, D. H. (2015). NYU Press.

O’Toole, Corbett Joan. “Celebrating Crip Bodyminds” Fading Scars: My Queer Disability History, 1st ed., Autonomous Press, June 9th, 2015, pp.13-53

Dolmage, Jay. Disability Rhetoric. First edition., Syracuse University Press, 2014(. Pp.93-125)

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories From The Twenty-First Century, edited by Alice Wong, Vintage, June30th, 2020.