Ryan's blog

Final Manual

Ryan — Thu, 03 May 2007 11:41:27 -0400

Here is the Conferencing Group's final manual.

Mirror Neurons Final Paper

Ryan — Wed, 02 May 2007 17:41:33 -0400

Attached is my final paper on mirror neurons and the theories of Kenneth Burke. Though the paper is still rough, I am pleased with the way the focus is shaping up, especially the final argument about mirror neurons and identification. I would appreciate any commentary or suggestions about this work.

Intro, Organization, Involvement

Ryan — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 13:22:08 -0400

Here's some pages

Organization Page

Ryan — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 11:40:15 -0400

Here is the new organization chart.

Sample Page

Ryan — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 12:04:50 -0400

Here is the sample page.

Repetition in Vertigo

Ryan — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 11:36:29 -0400

I liked this list referencing instances of reflection and repetition in the film from imdb.com:

"Numerous uses of repetition and reflection throughout, including:

* The mirror on the way out of Ernie's restaurant; Scotty sees Madeleine reflected in it right after he has seen her for the first time.
* The numerous reflections and repetitions of Madeleine throughout, including at least two women whom Scotty mistakes for her.

Film Identification

Ryan — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 12:48:26 -0400

The analysis of Vertigo stressing identification is important because this is an often overlooked facet of film. Blakesley writes "Film is an especially powerful medium for cultivating this desire for identification, and of course, not just between film and spectator, but among characters on screen" (117). While Vertigo is an excellent example of this, identification is at play in pretty much every film, as I believe the job of a film narrative is to create identification between audience and protagonists.

Conferencing Submissions

Ryan — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:57:34 -0400

I've attached everything we're received from people about conferencing so far. Thinking about this some more, I might suggest the following sections for our document:

-Getting Organized
A section about how to structure conferences, and the advantages of each
-Student Involvement
A section including some of the strategies people suggested for having students bring/do things before conferences to prep

Conferencing Project Ideas

Ryan — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 10:46:06 -0500

After our brownbag session yesterday, I had some ideas for the conferencing manual our group hopes to produce. I envision this being broken down into sections that cover different aspects or topics of conferencing. Right now, I imagine including the sections:

Purpose of Conferences
Conference Organization
Brainstorming
Revision
Research
Computer Use
Visual Rhetoric
Excursions
Activities

Information Project: Annotated Bibliography

Ryan — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 10:37:21 -0500

Dave-

Attached is my annotated bibliography for the information phase of the project. My research is going well - I'm starting to find some interesting sources, and these have led me to even more great sources yet to be explored. I read two chapters of Steven Pinkert's The Language Instinct, but have not yet included it in the bibliography. I have also found two fantastic collections, Action to Language via the Mirror Neuron System and Mirror Neurons and the Evolution of Brain and Language, but both are extremely expensive and I've had to order them through interlibrary loan.