Proposal & Bibliography

Date: February 21st

This assignment is simple—you submit a three-page research proposasl and a 15-item bibliography (no annotations necessary) that will serve as a guide in writing your final research paper. Topics might take one of several possible paths:

Exploration of a fairly new technology within the print industry and how it might be used to improve organizational goals and communication. An example might be how XML is being used within technical communication to produce both web and print publications from a single source. One caveat: the newer the technology, the less likely it is that in-depth information will be available.
Examination of a historical period in the print trade. This could include focusing in detail on one particular historical period, or describing the evolution of one particular technology—such as fonts—over many different periods. One might also examine advancements in print technology across multiple cultures, comparing and contrasting how the technology was developed.
A detailed ethnographic case study of how a particular business or group of businesses uses print technology to support their organizational goals. This involves hanging out with a print-intensive business in the area and observing how they use print technologies to manage their organizational goals and communication.

If you have a different idea, now is the time to pitch your idea to me.

Your annotations do not need to be very long—in fact, they should be non-existent, as shown here:

James, William. The Variety of Colors in Religious Experience. Boston: Harvard University Press, 1903.

You can use any style system you want, such as MLA or Chicago, but please be consistent. There is no need to double-space these papers, so assuming you can place seven or eight bib items per page, your final bibliography would be about two pages.

The criteria for evaluating the bib will be adherence to style format, which will be extremely strict now that you don't have to write any annotations. The criteria for the proposal is how well you explain your intentions and the scope of your planned research.

If you have any questions, please let me know.