3 hours 41 minutes and Freaking!!!

Ok so I know I said before (back at a luxurious 31 hours) that I'd be popping on here with updates before then end.....

...I did not predict I would be still having so much information to put into the proposal with only a few measly hours remaining however, so you will have to wait for the juicy updates - I'm sure you're clinging to the edge of your seat. 

Whilst the proposal will be completed on time, doing it at this rate is predictably resulting in me identifying gaps in MY OWN literature; how very annoying. I'd love to say I'll manage my time better from here in, but 27 years of history is not working in my favour unfortunately. 

Anyway, the quick point I did want to make before blog submission and a return to the amazing race against the clock (and I swear the clock is cheating!! - it keeps going faster!) was that the process of writing the proposal has indeed given me a great starting point for the commencement of my research for here on (ok, so maybe 'commencement' will be in a week... or so). 

I've identified several population statistics that need analysing in regards to ethnic divisions and will be looking to gather more information on both the creativity and diversity indexes as I could not find sufficient at this stage. I've also found a few policy documents related to cultural regeneration I can start to code as I continue to read in the early stages of summer before the primary research begins. 

Ok, would love to write more, but there's deadlines a calling so I'm signing out.

Ciao. 

  

31 hours and Counting

Oh how that clock ticks ever faster forward! Taunting me to type faster. 

So after much deliberation and consultation with James, my research objectives and questions were finally set in stone yesterday.

RO; To critically analyse the role of events in cultural regeneration in urban spaces

RQ1; To investigate the social impact of cultural events in areas of cultural regeneration

RQ2; To analyse the relationship between cultural events and cultural regeneration strategy and policy

My methodology is a multiple-embedded case study with inner East London as my subject. It was a round-about way we got there as I was first looking for a specific event as my 'case' but I am much happier with the locale at the centre of the paper instead as I can envision more angles from that viewpoint. 

Now that I've got there after months of dancing around catch phrases and key terms it all seems strangely logical to me; so blatantly obvious in fact that I'm slightly perturbed that it took till the wire to get it out of me! (it always damn well does) 

Looking at the majority of my colleagues topic choice the reflection of self and personal history is an undeniable theme. 

My initial response to the notion of writing something 'close to home', were less than favourable. I wanted to reach further afield, challenge myself more, learn something new! I mean, for Christ's sake, I wanted to go to Serbia! 

And then I realised the importance of two things. Passion and understanding. Yes, if I wanted to spend a couple of years researching, learn the language, immerse myself in the culture, take up residence for a time I could probably write an truly insightful and critical paper on Exit, or Carnival or Avignon for that matter, and yes, the purpose of research IS to learn and discover. 

However, the depth I will get from writing on something I've already been immersed in, have an opinion on and have unwittingly researched in daily conversation over the last 5 years will undoubtedly be better. Particularly with consideration to the fact this is my first time doing any research of this nature and not starting from total scratch is probably a good thing. 

There is no way a paper of mine would compare to Beka's on Bonnaroo or Muriel's on Taiwan Aborigines simply because of their past experiences would place them in such an advantageous position over I. 

So yes, it makes sense to me now, and I'm happy I'm on that path. 

That all being said though, those of us writing on the familiar or affiliated, must maintain a close monitor on ourselves that our research remains as authentic and objective as possible. I suppose an element of subjectivity will always slip in somewhere and will have more tendency to do so if writing on an area of personal connection.  I personally don't believe true objectivity exists to be honest - it's unachievable in totality as we are influenced subjects ourselves, however, it can be strived for. 

The most important element to me however, is passion. I do believe you need to care about what you're writing on, even from an objective perspective. Perhaps not by birthright, but a proud east London resident all the same. I've lived everywhere from Stoke Newington to Stepney, Hoxton to Haggerston and a few more stops in between and have a genuine care and interest in the history, culture and society of this part of London, and that is why I'm happy to have finally arrived at the decision to write on it.... oh... and events of course. 

Oh those minutes are still a ticking so the queen of cram must once more put her head back down and get back to writing.... you will undoubtedly see me again before the final deadline falls. 

The Beginning of the End

11th of May hey? Would someone kindly inform me how the hell that happened?! 

So I sit, with 48 hours to go,  The Final Countdown on incessant internal repeat, upon a sea of highlighter scrawled papers and illegible notes ready to write. Apparently. It's clarity through chaos. I just have to get that first word out. 

I willfully admit that the dissertation slipped to the wayside in the face of the blinding wall of coursework that has been the last month but that was to be expected I suppose. It's back to the forefront and I am ever so glad to no longer be segmenting my brain as were it an orange feeling as though there were only 6 pieces to feed 10 hungry mouths clawing at my legs. 

Finally, one thing to focus on. 

 

Reading and Ranting

The presentation is done and despite panicking prior it was helpful to be forced to put my 'kinda, something, sortas' into a slightly more coherent structure. Unfortunately it didn't seem as coherent when vocalised as I thought it did on paper but I'm going somewhere, I think. I was happy with my feedback and it was helpful to see the direction my fellow students are taking also. I have just sat down to fill in my written proposal and am finding it hard to pin down objectives as they seem to change day by day as I read more or get stuck on another tangent. I suppose this is the natural progression of research however I'm almost feeling a little overloaded with possibilities and fear a good lot of time could be sacrificed exploring a path which I will later decide I don't want to include - I never was a particularly decisive person. 

I know I'm in the early stages at the moment, but it's fast becoming apparent how much research immerses you. I've caught myself a few times recently in the midst of normal conversation with friends that I manage to turn into some sort of topic investigation, or in one case, an argument. A close friend of mine looking to buy a flat in the near future told me how he would never buy a flat in a 'new-build' because local housing policy states that 50% of the flats must be filled with local residents... which he doesn't want to share his halls with... but he doesn't want to live in any other postcode... what!? A subsequent rant by me ensued about social integration, community development and gentrification where before I knew it I was spitting out all sorts of academic babble at him. I'm not quite sure when I will next be invited to dinner there but the passion with which I started my little tirade did demonstrate how involved I'm becoming with what I'm reading. I do genuinely care about it and I don't believe I'll be able to write 15,000 words on something I don't about so that's good to know I guess.... now I just have to figure out how to squeeze events into all that somehow. 

Serbia

WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!?

Changed my mind again... I'm not going to Serbia. Crazy idea Bronwyn, pull yourself together woman!

London... yes, something in London.... but what???

Belated Blog

I started this blog about 4 months ago and still haven't posted... I've been thinking about it, really I have. And now, the hour is upon us and the dissertation topic presentation is tomorrow and I can't stop changing my mind on what I'm doing! Thus, I thought it was a good opportunity to write some areas of interest down to try and piece something vaguely coherent together out of the the jumble in my head. 

My broad area of interest began with social regeneration through events. I wanted to look at the impact major events/festivals (arts and cultural) have on the local community - do they identify with the event? has it effected social change in any way? I was interested if perhaps, through events led development of social and cultural capital in a community could areas such as education and crime rates be influenced. However, I never really decided on what community and event I wanted to focus on.

I then found out about a music festival in Serbia called Exit that occurs in July and will be in its tenth year this year. The festival began as a protest again the regime of Slobodan Milosevich and ran for 100 days, climaxing with a 'Get Out and Vote Party' just prior to the elections that ended Milosevich's reign. The festival has evolved massively since then and its present incarnation it is a 4 day music festival with approximately 30% of attendees being international. (More info at http://eng.exitfest.org). Despite the fact that Milosevich's reign has long been over, the festival has continued to have a strong political agenda aimed at governmental and social change raising issues such as visa abolishment, trafficking, exploitation, and environmental awareness. I had a strong interest in political theatre during my first degree and I'd really like to explore the capacity of events such as Exit as political forums perpetuating change, and equally, their capacity to promote propaganda. There are some criticisms that the commercialisation of the event in recent years has led to a compromise of the original agenda. This led me to start thinking about authenticity and sponsorship and I once again got distracted from the topic. 

I'm concerned that tackling a festival in Europe will be making things harder than they need to be perhaps and I have still not defined what exactly it is I want to investigate... which is a slight problem. That's it for now, I don't think I'm any further ahead after writing it down but maybe someone out there can offer some direction while I go back to the books in search of inspiration.