Tag Archives: proposal

Final Project Thesis

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For the final I have decided to circle back to my midterm, on the book from special collections-  De Magorum Daemonomania. De Magorum Daemonomania uses its material and visual technologies– its blackletter typeface and authoritative printing style– to demonstrate a false sense of credibility and institutional authority. 

This time I want to focus more heavily on the work as a media object rather than its text itself. The book’s typography and format creates this false illusion of legal structure, legal scholarship, and legal format. I am going to bring in these points from my midterm, but expand on  them with outside sources, with a focus specifically on the authority of the typeface and how it shaped how De Magorum Daemonomania was read and interpreted. This aspect of legal formatting functions as a tool of persuasion that is aimed at legal scholars and people with positions of power, in order to prosecute feared witches and demons of the time this was published. The authoritative formatting of this book changes the tone of the text, as well as who was most likely reading this book. In this sense, De Magorum Daemonomania exemplifies how early modern print culture could manufacture cultural belief—and cultural fear—through design. Design is more important than we think, and De Magorum Daemonomania does a good job demonstrating this. I also am going to bring in some outside sources that analyze ideas of witchcraft in early European times, as well as works that analyze the significance of typeface. Both of these factors also affect the interpretation of the book and how those in early Europe were reading. Borsuk’s The Book will also bring in aspects to support my thesis and claim, touching on the history of typeface and typography. I am excited to expand on my midterm, as I was very intrigue about the history of this book and the history of typography. 

Bibliography

Anna Borsuk- The Book

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373512460_The_Perception_of_Qualities_in_Typefaces_A_Data_Review

https://archive.org/details/thinkingwithdemo0000clar/page/n1/mode/2up

Final Project Proposal – A Poem for The Divan of Hafez

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For my final project, I want to write a poem about The Divan of Hafez, that I used for my midterm. When I first saw it, it didn’t feel like just an old object. It felt alive. The red ink, the gold borders, the small tears in the pages all seemed to tell a story. I want my project to be a way of answering that feeling with my own words. My idea is to write a poem that speaks to the book, almost like a conversation. I want to describe what it felt like to hold it, to look at its pages, and to think about all the people who touched it before me. The poem will be in English, but I want to keep the rhythm and softness that I feel when I read translations of Hafez’s. Each part of the poem will focus on something from the manuscript the red ink, the miniature paintings, the worn leather cover. These small details will become symbols for love, time, and memory. The purpose of my project is to show that The Divan of Hafez is more than a historical artifact. It is a living bridge between people and generations. Writing a poem feels like the best way to express that connection.

Final Project Proposal

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Proposal Thought Process:

For my final project, I was interested in analyzing and making a creative version of a passport. My original thought was to look into how passports might be representative of identity, but they also are much more than that. Yes, passports are Identity Documents, but they are symbols of power, freedom, and much more. In order to discover more about passports, I came up with several questions I would look into.

How do passports serve as both modes of freedom and limitations? What changed these perspectives based on the accessibility of passports and the rights and restrictions of foreign travel, specifically in the United States? Why do passports represent these juxtaposing principles?

How does the passport serve to free its holders? 

How does the passport serve to restrict its holders?

What historical events have caused/influenced the accessibility of passports?
Who has the right to a passport and how has that changed over time?

Thesis: The United States passport is a booklet that serves as a symbol of great power and freedom, giving foreign immunity and national protection to its holders. Like any other book, it has a history of social, political, and economic affairs and, without human influence, would otherwise cease to exist. However, this booklet has also served as a symbol of restriction and control, limiting who has access to foreign travel and which countries one may visit. Having a passport in any country comes with its privileges as well as disadvantages, which is what makes this a book worthy of close-reading.

Creative Project:

Make a “universal passport.”

Examine components and how they pertain to the holders, nation of origin, and their implications. I will be using similar materials to create my own version of a universal passport that tries to challenge the implications of the U.S. passport.