Who wants to fund my research institute?
Oct. 4th, 2010 09:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
apple_pathwaysOne of the courses I'm taking this semester is Social Research Methods. I'm a little peeved that I have to take this course, considering I already have lots of experience and have even presented my research at symposia, but whatever, I have to take it, it's fine.
Our major assignment for the semester is a review of literature on a topic of our choosing. I need to choose a topic, do some preliminary research, and write up my proposal by Wednesday. And I still haven't picked a topic.
I can think of plenty topics I'd like to cover, but either they're psychology and not sociology-related, or they're so obscure that it's unlikely I'll be able to find enough research. Some ideas I'm DYING to use:
Idea #1: I'm very interested in examining how people's tea-drinking habits relate to their feelings of national or ethnic identity. As a white American tea drinker with no immediate ties to my ancestors' heritage, there is no prescribed way for me to drink my tea; in fact, whether or not I choose to drink tea at all is a socially-neutral choice. I ascribe most types of tea (black, green, white, herbal, etc.) equal weight, and don't have any particular feelings about what sort of person would choose which sort of tea. (For an example of the reverse, there's the Doctor Who "Big Questions" interview wherein Karen Gillan asserts that her character, Amy, is a lover of green tea; Matt Smith's reaction "WHY?!" hints at a deeper cultural evaluation of her tea choice. British tea is strong black tea, and very closely associated with national identity; choosing "green tea" says something about the chooser, and I'd be interested in exploring exactly what that is.)
Of course, not all Americans are bereft of tea-drinking culture. I grew up with a lot of Asian-American friends, and two of my closest friends are first generation Chinese-American. The default tea of choice in their parent's homes (or restaurant, in one case) is green tea. When I drink tea with them, there's no mention of sugar or milk, which is fine with me, as I drink all kinds of tea plain, with no additions. If I'm drinking tea with a white friend, I'll be offered milk and sugar or honey. (If they're drinking tea at my house, I'll forget to offer it to them, forcing them to ask and rendering me a bad hostess.) Even though most of my asian friends eating habits have become thoroughly Americanized, tea drinking habits tend to remain largely unaffected.
Basically, I'm interested in how people feel about tea, and how different tea-drinking habits might be viewed in terms of national and ethnic identity. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that anyone else has wondered the same thing.
Idea #2: I'm fascinated by "slash fiction" as a cultural phenomenon. When I say "slash", I mean: fiction about (mostly) heterosexual male characters participating in homosexual relationships, written (largely) by women for other women. (Of course femslash exists, but it's not as popular and I'm not sure it's motivated by the same forces as slash-slash.)
It's amazing for several reasons; for one, it's almost exclusively confined to the internet and fandom, and totally ignored (and largely invisible) to the mainstream media. For another, it's dominated by heterosexual women. I'd love to examine how women get into slash, what they get out of it, and what it says about internet culture that it's so prevalent.
Idea #3: I'm crossing my fingers this one will work out, and I'm having some luck finding sources. I want to examine how the proliferation of the internet has influenced people's real life sexual practices.
When you think about it, we have SO MUCH access to information about private sexual habits. Last week I was talking with a friend and her roommate, and I mentioned that I read and write fandom-based porn, which has exposed me to sexual habits and preferences I never in a million years could have dreamed up on my own. I couldn't imagine a woman of my age and social position knowing what omorashi was 15 years ago. (And for those of you who don't know what it is, Google makes it possible for you to find out in about five seconds.)
My friend's roommate is into BDSM, and socializes with other people who are as well. Again, 15-20 years ago, if you wanted to be part of a BDSM "community", you had to know people; you had to place ads, and search free papers, and rely on word of mouth to find others with your interests. Now, I could find and join a BDSM online community in under five minutes.
All of this available information has to influence people's actual sex practices. So I want to know: are we kinkier? More knowledgable? More willing to experiment?
I hope I find the research to get the answers, because I don't want to think of another topic!
Our major assignment for the semester is a review of literature on a topic of our choosing. I need to choose a topic, do some preliminary research, and write up my proposal by Wednesday. And I still haven't picked a topic.
I can think of plenty topics I'd like to cover, but either they're psychology and not sociology-related, or they're so obscure that it's unlikely I'll be able to find enough research. Some ideas I'm DYING to use:
Idea #1: I'm very interested in examining how people's tea-drinking habits relate to their feelings of national or ethnic identity. As a white American tea drinker with no immediate ties to my ancestors' heritage, there is no prescribed way for me to drink my tea; in fact, whether or not I choose to drink tea at all is a socially-neutral choice. I ascribe most types of tea (black, green, white, herbal, etc.) equal weight, and don't have any particular feelings about what sort of person would choose which sort of tea. (For an example of the reverse, there's the Doctor Who "Big Questions" interview wherein Karen Gillan asserts that her character, Amy, is a lover of green tea; Matt Smith's reaction "WHY?!" hints at a deeper cultural evaluation of her tea choice. British tea is strong black tea, and very closely associated with national identity; choosing "green tea" says something about the chooser, and I'd be interested in exploring exactly what that is.)
Of course, not all Americans are bereft of tea-drinking culture. I grew up with a lot of Asian-American friends, and two of my closest friends are first generation Chinese-American. The default tea of choice in their parent's homes (or restaurant, in one case) is green tea. When I drink tea with them, there's no mention of sugar or milk, which is fine with me, as I drink all kinds of tea plain, with no additions. If I'm drinking tea with a white friend, I'll be offered milk and sugar or honey. (If they're drinking tea at my house, I'll forget to offer it to them, forcing them to ask and rendering me a bad hostess.) Even though most of my asian friends eating habits have become thoroughly Americanized, tea drinking habits tend to remain largely unaffected.
Basically, I'm interested in how people feel about tea, and how different tea-drinking habits might be viewed in terms of national and ethnic identity. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that anyone else has wondered the same thing.
Idea #2: I'm fascinated by "slash fiction" as a cultural phenomenon. When I say "slash", I mean: fiction about (mostly) heterosexual male characters participating in homosexual relationships, written (largely) by women for other women. (Of course femslash exists, but it's not as popular and I'm not sure it's motivated by the same forces as slash-slash.)
It's amazing for several reasons; for one, it's almost exclusively confined to the internet and fandom, and totally ignored (and largely invisible) to the mainstream media. For another, it's dominated by heterosexual women. I'd love to examine how women get into slash, what they get out of it, and what it says about internet culture that it's so prevalent.
Idea #3: I'm crossing my fingers this one will work out, and I'm having some luck finding sources. I want to examine how the proliferation of the internet has influenced people's real life sexual practices.
When you think about it, we have SO MUCH access to information about private sexual habits. Last week I was talking with a friend and her roommate, and I mentioned that I read and write fandom-based porn, which has exposed me to sexual habits and preferences I never in a million years could have dreamed up on my own. I couldn't imagine a woman of my age and social position knowing what omorashi was 15 years ago. (And for those of you who don't know what it is, Google makes it possible for you to find out in about five seconds.)
My friend's roommate is into BDSM, and socializes with other people who are as well. Again, 15-20 years ago, if you wanted to be part of a BDSM "community", you had to know people; you had to place ads, and search free papers, and rely on word of mouth to find others with your interests. Now, I could find and join a BDSM online community in under five minutes.
All of this available information has to influence people's actual sex practices. So I want to know: are we kinkier? More knowledgable? More willing to experiment?
I hope I find the research to get the answers, because I don't want to think of another topic!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-10-05 01:45 am (UTC)http://bookshop.livejournal.com/1018576.html
http://bookshop.livejournal.com/1044495.html
http://justcallmejust.livejournal.com/36650.html (She also did her thesis on how people perceive their sexuality and how it relates to fandom. I can send you a copy because it has some great resources.)
http://users.livejournal.com/_leareth/545114.html
As for the tea research... LOL! It's a southern thing too. Did you know that? What do you want to know? Give me some questions, I'll give you some answers.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-05 02:15 am (UTC)I know quite a bit about sweet tea, and the difficulties of ordering "un-sweet" tea in the deep south. I love iced tea, but hate the taste of tea with sugar in it, and I've had some hilarious encounters with southern waitresses. I've also met southerners who come up north and bemoan the lack of "sweet tea". I pointed out that Snapple is sweetened, but apparently it's not the same. ;)
As for questions: is there the same sort of identity associated with hot tea in the south? Do you associate a like/dislike of sweet tea with a connection to southern identity/southern pride?
Basically, I would find any anecdotes you have fascinating. <--is a nerd
I am going to check out your links now! I'm finding more information on sexual behavior/attitudes and fandom than I thought I would (though not specifically the ideas I outlined above), so I'm going to see how far I can skew my research idea toward fandom. Any info you have at your fingertips would be much appreciated!
no subject
Date: 2010-10-05 02:31 am (UTC)An article detailing and chronicling what she found out when she asked the same question you asked above about slash and women.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-05 02:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-05 01:51 am (UTC)I love all these ideas- the slash idea appeals to me most, only because I view the world through a pair of slash goggles on so tight it will be a wonder if they can ever come off. But they are all quite brilliants.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-05 02:20 am (UTC)I have come across a couple articles pertaining to slash fiction (I haven't read them, as they're not pertinent to my chosen topic), but nothing really getting down to the nitty gritty of why women enjoy it, and how it's become such a huge (if limited) phenomenon.
See, I'm not a slasher, but have grown to appreciate it through my participation in fandom. (It's unavoidable!) So, while I can enjoy a slash story (and have written a couple), I don't have the same identification with it that a lot of fans have. I just find it fascinating!
no subject
Date: 2010-10-05 02:27 am (UTC)Lol kind of like how I'm paying much more attention to the internet then studying for my exam?!
The amount of slash in my life is getting ridiculous. Like, there's this commercial for one of the major electrical companies in Canada, and they follow these two guys- one of them has Rogers and one of them doesn't, and it just shows how the one with Rogers has an easier life. AND I SWEAR TO GOD I'M STARTING TO SHIP THEM. IT'S SUCH AN ISSUE.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-05 02:46 am (UTC)What class is your exam for? (She asked, completely ignoring the exam she has coming up this week.)
no subject
Date: 2010-10-05 07:28 pm (UTC)It was for psych. I have no idea how I did on it... :/
no subject
Date: 2010-10-05 02:51 am (UTC)I find the fact that it is, as you mentioned, largely dominated by heterosexual women absolutely fascinating. And more than a little...counterintuitive.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-05 11:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-05 02:54 pm (UTC)But don't think you're going to get away without participating in my research! So:
-How do you take your tea? Would you say that's typical for someone of your age, gender, socioeconomic status and regional affiliation?
-What type of tea do you drink? Do you enjoy other types, such as flavored blends, herbal, or green teas?
-Any associations (positive or negative) with other tea drinking habits?
I NEED TO KNOW (for no other good reason than that I'm nosey and a bit of a social science nerd)
no subject
Date: 2010-10-05 03:07 pm (UTC)I do enjoy other types of teas. I like a lot of black teas, for example Kenyan. Not a fan of lighter blends like Darjeeling, because I prefer my black tea quite strong. Not a big fan of green tea. I drink herbal and fruit teas too, though I don't think of them as "tea" really since they're infusions of various flora and fruit rather than tea. But I basically like hot drinks so they're all good.
Positive and negative associations... It's poor form to put milk in a cup before you pour in the tea (urban legend claims this is because being able to pour boiling liquid into a cup without fearing it cracking proves you have quality goods, but I'm sceptical). Most teas that aren't your basic supermarket black blend are still seen as a bit middle class. I'm always a bit suspicious of Brits who don't like tea, because it's the drink for every situation - shock, heartbreak, morning, evening, relaxation, invigoration. :D
no subject
Date: 2010-10-05 03:17 pm (UTC)I drink herbal and fruit teas too, though I don't think of them as "tea" really since they're infusions of various flora and fruit rather than tea.
I was totally going to mention this! I'm glad you confirmed my suspicions. I always think of Hercule Poirot and his "tisanes" that Hastings viewed so skeptically.
When I talk about drinking tea, I include all types with equal weight. Out of every ten cups of "tea" that I drink, only 1 or 2 of them will actually be black tea. Most will either be a green or white tea blend, or an herbal concoction. (I make my own blends from my herb garden.)
I am going to stop blathering on about tea now. I've been doing it all morning, and I REALLY need to get some work done and run some errands before I go to work! (And before I give in to the temptation to build an Excel spreadsheet to store everyone's responses...)