hi dale,

i know you are busy with all your teaching duties, but i was
just wondering when you get a free moment if you could
let me know how my titles and abstract went. i am also currently
work on a new draft for my thesis. i'll send that out to you next week...

take care,

orlando

How's the Writing Going?

Still waiting for title brainstorms from a few of you. Remember, abstracts are due from everybody. And if you are presenting this Tuesday, your drafts should be arriving in our mailboxes Very Soon.

A Thanksgiving Prayer

Getting Into That Special Thanksgiving Spirit...

Final Workshop Presentations for Fall Term

Presentations will include your Title, a 1-1.5pp. Abstract (everybody should submit a brainstormed list of title candidates and a draft of the new abstract to me via e-mail by Thanksgiving at the latest), and an approximately 25-30pp. draft including revised, extended, cobbled together materials presented and discussed so far in workshop and individual meetings.

Tuesday, November 29 (Submit to colleagues no later than the 27th)

4.15-4.40 Isabella

4.40-5.05 Alicia

5.05-5.35 Candace

5.35-6.00 Hadass

6.00-6.25 Zoe

Tuesday, December 6 (Submit to colleagues no later than the 4th)

4.15-4.40 Nadia

4.40-5.05 Cole

5.05-5.35 Rebecca

5.35-6.00 Sheeka

6.00-6.25 Emily

6.25-6.50 Orlando

Sign-Up Sheet for Individual Meetings

Tuesday, November 15
Caffe Sapore

12.20-12.40 Cole
12.40-1.00
1.00-1.20 Nadia
1.20-1.40 Emily
1.40-2.00
2.00-2.20 Alicia
2.20-2.40 Rebecca
2.40-3.00 Isabella
3.00-3.20 Candace
3.20-3.40 Sheeka
3.40-4.00
4.00-4.20
4.20-4.40 Hadass
4.40-5.00 Orlando
5.00-5.20 Zoe

Whichever spots remain after you guys scoop up the ones you want I am going to make available to my CritB undergrads. If you haven't indicated a slot to me Friday night I'll assign the remaining slots myself. You are a tight-knit cohort so remind one another in case you notice anybody seems checked out of the process. Looking forward to talking with you all. The next few weeks may be a bit intense as you generate titles, abstracts, and drafts, but you all have plenty of material to work with. d

So I was looking at the catalog, and if it's possible, could we have our class next semester in 16b at 1:00 after Dale's undergraduate critical studies class? If not 16b, I believe 25 (the design and tech room?) is also open.

Or if that doesn't work, would it maybe work if Dale's classes on Fridays switched and we were at 9? Just thoughts.

For This Tuesday...

I've gotten a couple of texts already (thanks Cole and Alicia!), let me know how things are shaping up for this week's presentations... A reminder (scroll down for reminders about week after next):

Tuesday, November 1 (Submit to colleagues by Saturday, October 29th)

4.15-4.40 Alicia

4.40-5.05 Rebecca

5.05-5.35 Cole

5.35-6.00 Hadass?

6.00-6.25 Bella?

6.25-6.50

And Happy Hallowe'en!

If You Haven't Signed Up Yet --

You've got six days to write something 18pp. or so to get your docs to your colleagues in good time -- Any of you should be able to do that, ANY OF YOU! You should still sign up for your slots. Everybody should be writing. Get at it. Remember I'll be around at Chestnut, so come on by.

Reminder -- Sign Up for Presentations, First Come First Served

The sign-up sheet has been revised to reflect our decision to have a writing week and open office hour at Chestnut this week. Please scroll down the blog and sign up in comments under the sign-up sheet -- don't choose the last possible slot out of habit, only do so if you really feel you cannot present week after next. Remember, those presenting first need to get their excerpts to your colleagues by Saturday! I hope you have all been busy writing in preparation!

UPDATE -- Somebody shock me -- choose week one before every single second week slot is first taken!

UPDATE UPDATE -- Too late!

Reminder -- Writing Week

This week is a writing week -- we're not meeting. I'll be at Chestnut from noon to about four (I'm at Nadia's review for an hour of that, but otherwise will probably be in the courtyard) for those of you who want to talk to me about what you are working on or other issues that are afoot. Please, come seek me out!

Hi Dale!

I was trying to send you my review portfolio but this attempt failed (email was returned). Could you please send me an email so I could forward the materials with the reply? I want to make sure you get those on time. Thank you and sorry everyone to post it here - don't know how else to reach Dale.

N.

A Couple of Things

So, is it my imagination, or is it really true that I have received just one of the four pieces we are workshopping tomorrow?

The sign-up sheet for the next, longer excerpts has been posted. I may consider giving you a writing week between now and the next workshops, which would mean nudging each of those workshop days up a week -- but I'm not doing it unless you tell me you need for me to do it and unless you actually convince me you'll use the extra time to actually write something and get it out in a timely way. Feedback welcome.

Those of you presenting tomorrow, get the excerpts to me asap. Please remember I teach in the morning and have no access to the intrawebs all the livelong day Tuesday.

Sign Up Sheet for 12-18pp. Excerpt Presentations and Workshopping

Tuesday, November 1 (Submit to colleagues by Saturday, October 29th)

4.15-4.40 Alicia

4.40-5.05 Rebecca

5.05-5.35 Cole

5.35-6.00 Hadass?

6.00-6.25 Bella?

6.25-6.50

Tuesday, November 8 (Submit to colleagues by the 5th)

4.15-4.40 Sheeka

4.40-5.05 Emily

5.05-5.35 Candace

5.35-6.00 Nadia

6.00-6.25 Zoe

6.25-6.50 Orlando

The Weekend Is Upon Us -- How's the Writing Coming?

Remember -- we want to avoid a repetition of last week's late entries. Excerpts should be arriving in your colleagues' mailboxes any time now so we can read the last four pieces for workshopping. I'm going to put up a sign-up sheet very soon for the second round of workshopping so nobody should be resting on their laurels -- you should be fleshing out your first pieces into longer ones, or striking out into new territory if you prefer. But everybody should be writing! Hope your weekends are going swimmingly. d

Where's the Writing?

It's Monday and I haven't received everybody's writing yet for workshop. You have to give your colleagues time to read the pieces you would workshop, and this means that they should arrive during the weekend before our discussion at the latest. Do go ahead and get the work in for tomorrow as soon as possible! I am also preparing for my lecture tomorrow morning, and I am away from my computer all day from about 7.30am tomorrow through to well past the end of our workshop (I possess no laptop, cellphone, handheld multimedia devices of any kind, so when I'm away from the cyberspatial sprawl I am well and truly away from it), so I cannot provide comments for work I do not receive asap. See you soon, d

Thanks Everyone

I just wanted to write and say thank you for all of your feedback and support yesterday. I wish all of you the best with your reviews and writing. Take care. Cole

Tomorrow's Meeting --

Even though nobody signed up for the first scheduled slot, do be sure to arrive on time for the beginning of workshop anyway. We can use the first minutes together to talk through Reviews now that some of you have been through them already and others are on the verge. Tips, tirades, talking cure -- whatever it takes! See you all tomorrow back on third street, d

Reminder -- No Meeting This Upcoming Tuesday -- Everybody Should Be Writing!

I will be available at Chestnut Street to meet with those of you who need me (e-mail me to confirm a meeting time/place), otherwise you should be preparing 8-12pp. written excerpts for our first workshopping presentations.

***Since we meet on Tuesdays, it is important that you get your excerpts to your colleagues by Saturday night (midnight at the latest), preferably earlier than that, in order to ensure everybody has the time to read your excerpt and comment on it in a helpful way.***

Many of you are having your mid-term reviews over the next three weeks while we are doing presentations, so please choose a date for presenting that takes all that into consideration. Please don't just choose the latest possible date so that you can put off work to the last possible moment, thus forcing colleagues of yours who really do need to present later to get stuck with an earlier date.

Everybody should be writing already, but if you aren't start now. Many of you will be doing an initial reading of one of your objects, others of you will be writing more general pieces mapping out the conceptual terrain you are addressing yourself to or providing a sketch surveying the literature that precedes your own piece. What you do is up to you, everybody's process is different. Don't worry about perfection in early drafts, it is early in the process and everybody will benefit from the comments of your colleagues. What matters is that you sit down and get down to actual writing!

Sign Up Sheet for 8-12pp. Excerpt Presentations and Workshopping

Tuesday, October 4

4.15-4.40

4.40-5.05 Sheeka

5.05-5.35 Bella

5.35-6.00 Cole

6.00-6.25 Rebecca

6.25-6.50 Zoe

Tuesday, October 11

4.15-4.40 Alicia

4.40-5.05 Candace

5.05-5.35 Nadia

5.35-6.00 Emily

6.00-6.25 Hadass

6.25-6.50 Orlando

Reminder -- Library Tomorrow

Reminder to everybody -- we're meeting tomorrow at Chestnut rather than third street. Jeff's going to walk us through library research resources especially useful to thesis work. Again, it's a great idea to let Jeff know in advance what some of your topics are so he can tailor his presentation directly to your interests. It's probably not to late to give that a go. After the presentation we'll gather to talk through general issues around committees reviews and our first upcoming writing assignment for the workshop. Let's try to meet together at the courtyard by the fountain a little after four and we can overflow together in the direction of the library, shall we? Hope all's well in your worlds, d

The Latest For Tomorrow... and Later

I've been updating my information as your e-mails come in letting me know about committee changes and MA Review schedulings and so on. Things are looking pretty good in general. Remember, our next meeting all together is taking place at Chestnut. It's just more individual meetings for tomorrow. Since you all seem to be in fairly regularly contact with one another, do make sure everybody is up to speed on everything. I can't find copies of proposals for Hadass and Orlando... this is very likely my fault, but could you guys e-mail these to me again even if you have already done so? We've got six meeting scheduled for tomorrow -- even at nearly a half hour for each one we usually get a bit behind so don't get impatient, I'll get to everybody! Best to you all.

Updates --

Remember, this week and next just come in time for your individual meeting. Otherwise, keep me up to date on developments, writing drafts, and so on via e-mail or through this blog. Also, though this is a couple of weeks in advance, I want to remind everybody that on week four we are meeting at the library at the Chestnut Street campus at regular class time, Jeff is going to take you through the collections and research tools available to you. Some of you might want to e-mail him in advance about your projects and he may use your topics as examples in his presentation -- it's usually much more useful than you might expect. I think I'm still missing somebody for individual meetings, and it's getting late to sign up for tomorrow (I won't be able to check the web tomorrow, I'm teaching all day, so maybe any stragglers can e-mail me to arrange making a meeting time a little earlier or later the following week -- which is otherwise all booked up now). Hope all is well with you all -- I realize meeting individually rather disperses us as a cohort here at the beginning, but believe me, we'll knit together a writerly community soon enough. d

Sign Up Sheet for Individual Meetings Over the Next Two Weeks

Tuesday, September 6

4.15-4.40 Emily

4.40-5.05 Cole

5.05-5.35 Sheeka

5.35-6.00 Candace

6.00-6.25

6.25-6.50

Tuesday, September 13

4.15-4.40 Rebecca

4.40-5.05 Orlando

5.05-5.35 Hadass

5.35-6.00 Zoe

6.00-6.25 Alicia

6.25-6.50 Nadia

Syllabus, Fall 2011

Thesis I: Independent Investigations
EMS-590-02 / ARTH-590-02 / US-590-02

Thursdays, 4:15-7 LH 3

Instructor: Dale Carrico
Contact: dcarrico@sfai.edu; ndaleca@gmail.com
Blog: http://thesespieces.blogspot.com

Course Description:

This course marks the next stage in the fulfillment of the degree requirements for an MA in Exhibition and Museum Studies, History and Theory of Contemporary Art, and Urban Studies at the San Francisco Art Institute. Students will participate in a host of writing and peer review workshops as well as intensive consultations with the instructor. We will explore methodologies for academic research and writing together as well as work our way through the administrative, conceptual, analytic, political, and existential turmoil that inevitably gurgles up over the course of extended academic writing projects. The various assignments and their due dates are designed to shepherd you through the optimal timeline for completion of the sequence of requirements for your degree this term.

Provisional Schedule of Meetings

Week One -- August 30
Introductions

Contact your Committees, begin the process of setting a date for Convening your Committee.

Everybody submit your Draft Abstract, Preliminary Work Plan/Outline, Annotated Bibliography to me by the Monday immediately preceding your Individual Meeting with me Weeks 2-3.

Week Two -- September 6
Individual Meetings (Committees, Abstracts, Bibliographies)

Week Three -- September 13
Individual Meetings Continued

Week Four -- September 20
Introduction to Library Resources and Research Methods at Chestnut
Roundtable discussion of ongoing and upcoming MA Reviews, other issues.

Everybody should have scheduled their MA Review by now, and by next week all of these reviews should have taken place.

Week Five -- September 27
Peer Review Workshop (8-12pp. Excerpts)

Week Six -- October 4
Peer Review Workshop Continued.

Week Seven -- October 11
Individual Meetings (Taking stock, moving on)

Week Eight -- October 18
Individual Meetings Continued.
Everybody should have conclusively passed their MA Reviews at this point.

Week Nine -- October 25
Writing, Editing

Week Ten -- November 1
Title Brainstorming, Abstract Peer Review Workshop

Week Eleven -- November 8
Peer Review Workshop (10-12pp. Excerpts)

Week Twelve -- November 15
Peer Review Workshop Continued.

Week Thirteen -- November 22
Off for the Thanksgiving Holiday -- no rest for the weary, however!

Week Fourteen -- November 29
Peer Review Workshop (25-35pp. Drafts)

Week Fifteen -- December 6
Peer Review Workshop Continued.
Everybody should submit their latest Thesis Draft to their Committee Chair at this point.

Course Objectives:

One. The development and refinement of an abstract, a preliminary work plan/outline and annotated bibliography by the fourth week of the term.

Two. The convening of Thesis Committees by the fifth week of the term and completion of the MA Review for all students in the cohort no later than the eighth week of the term.

Three. The submission of a working title and abstract for the thesis by the eleventh week of the term.

Four. The completion and submission to Committee Chairs of a thirty-five page draft by the fifteenth week of the term.

The Hall is Reserved for Next Tuesday

Thursday's class is canceled, and in its stead we'll be rehearsing presentations on Tuesday in the actual space where the Symposium will be held. The space is reserved from 10am to 4pm. I realize that some of you have commitments that make it impossible to be present the entire time, but I do expect everybody to stay as long as possible, to support your colleagues and get a better feel for the way a long-form event really feels. Ideally, you would be presenting in roughly the same order with the same folks you will in the Symposium itself, but only one of two cohorts have reserved the space and in any case some of you have scheduling conflicts you are working with. Still, as you sign up keep in mind your locations in the Symposium program and if you can manage it, try to present next to folks who will share your panel, to get a sense of the dynamic and anticipate questions that might arise from it. If conflicts arise, please start reconciling them right here in this blog-space over the weekend. We'll be working through media issues with Kent in the space, so have all your materials ready to work with, and in as close to the shape they'll be in for the Symposium itself as possible. See you all soon.

10.00-10.30 settling in, initial A/V consultations
10.30-11.00 Allison
11.00-11.30 Kim
11.30-12.00 Bokyung
12.00-12.30 Claudia
12.30-1.00 Melina
1.00-1.30 Lunch Break -- half an hour, strictly enforced
1.30-2.00 Marly
2.00-2.30 Emily
2.30-3.00 >>> Frida? <<<
3.00-3.30 Meredith
3.30-4.00 Charlotte

Next Week Rehearsal in the Lecture Hall

So, the word is that the auditorium where the Symposium will be held is available -- as of now -- next Monday (the 2nd) or Tuesday (the 3rd), but only before 4pm each day. The rest of the week is busy and there are only little one and two hour pockets of time available, which wouldn't be enough time for all of you to present in conditions that reasonably approximate the symposium itself. I'm going to confirm the booking of the hall with Kent Long after we meet, but I wanted you to think about and weigh in on the two choices. I'm thinking we'll need five continuous hours, roughly, and even if neither of these times are ideal, perhaps we can find a way to scrunch everybody in? Comments here are welcome, and we'll talk about it tomorrow as well.

This is Sasha's note to Kent about getting everybody's presentation materials in the same place to help the event proceed more smoothly:

"Kent, the spiel is that everyone should put their materials on some kind of portable media to be loaded onto a master laptop for the presentation date. In the past, students have generally decided to alter their files after the rehearsal, so final versions can be loaded the morning of (the 9th or 10th) and staff will be here to accommodate that."

Sasha also said she'll try to be around to help should we need her, but that Kent is the go-to person this year for most of this stuff.

Hope that's clarifying. See you all soon.

oops

Momentarily posted here something intended for another blog -- corrected, disregard.

Can Everybody Send Me Their Final Abstracts?

Krista is going to do a talk at the beginning of the Symposium making connections and observations about all the thesis projects, and has asked for everybody's latest abstracts to get a better sense of the whole scene. If everybody can just send those abstracts to me, I can put them all in some kind of order and send the whole thing on to her.

Thesis Titles Today

Be sure to contact Claire some time today if you have not yet done so, to let her know the very latest version of your thesis title for the symposium program we're sending to the printer any time now.

Sign Up to Present

Like, now.

Advice for the Coming Weeks

If you have images that you expect to project during your talk, it's a good idea that have them up on your laptops so we can actually view them while you do your Presentations. There will be glitches, but it's good to do a few dry runs of this sort of thing. For the actual symposium we usually put everybody's presentations and images on the same laptop to minimize prep time confusions and so on. But for our first read-throughs things will be a bit more ramshackle.

Remember, nine pages of text is probably all you will have time to read, so cull and edit from your theses carefully. Please, read the nine pages you choose a couple of times the night before you present, to get the hang of things. TIME YOURSELF each time you read.

There are pieces of advice about posture, projection, reading, hand placement and so on that everybody will benefit from hearing, and which I will be repeating over and over again if past is prologue.

Sign-Up Sheet for Presentations

Thursday, March 3, 2010

4.15-4.20: Settling in.
4.20-4.45 Marly
4.45-5.10 Claudia
5.10-5.35 Charlotte
5.35-6.00 Allison
6.00-6.25
6.25-6.50

Thursday, March 10, 2010

4.15-4.20: Settling in.
4.20-4.45 Melina
4.45-5.10 Bokyung
5.10-5.35 Meredith
5.35-6.00 Frida
6.00-6.25 Emily
6.25-6.50 Kim

Syllabus, Spring 2011

Thesis I: Independent Investigations
EMS-590-02 / ARTH-590-02 / US-590-02

Thursdays, 4:15-7 LH 3

Instructor: Dale Carrico

Contact: dcarrico@sfai.edu

Blog: http://thesespieces.blogspot.com

Course Description:

This course marks the last stage in the fulfillment of the degree requirements for an MA in Exhibition and Museum Studies, History and Theory of Contemporary Art, and Urban Studies at the San Francisco Art Institute. Students will participate in a host of writing and peer review workshops as well as intensive consultations with the instructor. The various assignments and their due dates are designed to shepherd you through the optimal timeline for completion of the sequence of requirements for your degree this term.

Provisional Schedule of Meetings

Week One -- January 20
Introductions

Reconnect with your Committees, incorporate feedback concerning 30pp. drafts completed by the end of last term.

Week Two -- January 27
Individual Meetings

Week Three -- February 3
Individual Meetings Continued

Week Four -- February 10
Peer Review of Latest Drafts

Week Five -- February 17
Peer Review of Latest Drafts

Final reviews should be scheduled by this point.

Week Six -- February 24
Optional Open Meetings -- problems in the final phase.

Week Seven -- March 3
Peer Review: Conclusions, Revisions

Week Eight -- March 10
Peer Review: Conclusions, Revisions

Week Nine -- March 17
Spring Break -- no class meeting.

Week Ten -- March 24
Individual Meetings (Finishing up, turning to Symposium)

Week Eleven -- March 31
Individual Meetings (Finishing up, turning to Symposium)

Week Twelve -- April 7
Filing Date is APRIL 8. Scheduling open office hours as desired.

Week Thirteen -- April 14
MFA Reviews -- no class. Possibly open hours will be available off-campus, depending on interest level.

Week Fourteen -- April 21
Presentations of Symposium Drafts

Week Fifteen -- April 28
Presentations of Symposium Drafts

Dress Rehearsal for Symposium to be scheduled some time around about here.

Tuesday, May 3: Symposium

Course Objectives:

One. Revise thesis 30 pp. draft in peer workshop and consultation with thesis instructor drafts to accommodate critiques by Committee Members.
Two. Schedule and complete final thesis Committee Review.
Three. Complete and submit thesis by April 8.
Four. Prepare and practice a fifteen minute talk presenting material from the thesis to be delivered May 3 at MA Thesis Symposium event.