“Can this clever idea carry anything”
The thing is, its a clever idea but can it carry anything?
A methodology needs something more.
A literature review in the form of books, articles, websites, but also looser collections: quotes, snippets, etc.
Materials and their story.
Things that become physically and digitally part of the bag(s)…
Interviews with artists, teachers, researchers, community members….
Does a bag sabbatical literature review need to be in a traditional format? An annotated bibliography? Or is that too linear? Too much work, also, in the context of a 6 month sabbatical?
Not really the point?
Or can it just be a collection of quotes, books, papers? Links to further exploration?
Is this scholarship? Art? Is it actually just lazy? How to I justify this? \^466k06
The literature review is not the main outcome.
The interviews and the analysis of the interviews? That is scholarship if done well.
Thematic analysis. Narrative analysis? Is that what I really want to do? What about the raw audio? the transcripts? Alone that doesn’t seem like enough.
Is the bag itself the outcome?
It is original. Nobody can say its “just” curation. It isn’t traditional scholarship, but it fits as a creative outcome.
If so, the bag needs to be… justifiable on its own. It needs to be explanatory. Not just a carrier for content, but content itself.
The bag must be information.
How can a bag be information?
Is a pocket information?
A zipper?
Colour choice?
Textile choice?
Thread?
Visible repair seems like information. It shows history and purpose. It is also aesthetic.
Is function information?
Load lifters on straps show that the bag is framed, that it is meant to carry weight over long distances, on hips not shoulders. That it is made for hips that are upright.
Hidden pockets. Water bottle holders. Ice axe strap. Hiking pole strap. Water bladder attachments. Cell phone attachments. Whistle. Camera bag. Locks. Hanging laptop pocket.
(Bags aren’t just backpacks. I happen to like backpacks, so that is what I think about when I think about bags.)
So… the actual outcome is the bag and the contents of the bag. But the bag is the most original and noticeable thing.
What else could there be?
Ways of activating or enacting the bag (the lessons learned in the making, the content of the bag, the idea of a bag sabbatical)
Instructions for how to make the bag so others can replicate it.
Instructions for how to make your own bag.
Outcomes:
- a literature review in the form of curated sources, quotes, highlights, links, etc.
- interviews with others. Different perspectives. Something between semi-structured interviews and a podcast.
- a bag whose structure and function carry information about the questions that prompted the bags creation and my exploratory answers.
- instructions for designing your own bag.