Building on My Dissertation Proposal

I have come to some major decisions this week. My work with Centennial College and Seneca College will be sporadic because I will be focusing on my PhD. The aim is to get it done ASAP. Other possibilities will still come up, however like anyone else - I am extremely interested in working less hours for higher pay so I can devote the time to my PhD studies, as well s the graduate assistantship position I will have with a professor.

I have completed a preliminary draft of a research proposal that is very brief - about 10 pages in terms of actual content. I have gathered a lot of research material pertaining to the politics of the black hair. It is amazing how writing and research on this topic has just exploded over the last decade that I have not been actively researching in the field. The movie Good Hair by Chris Rock really just touches the surface. His name recognition is what creates a situation where everyone associates the topic with him more recently.

I'm still waiting to hear the word from my professor for the Foundations of Curriculum course at OISE about my research proposal. I have gone ahead and started to work on a draft of the dissertation. It may seem premature, however I had been reading a lot of other dissertations over the summer, as well as I have read my Dad's. He did his back in the early 1970s on fresh water by the Great Lakes. His master's and PhD were on the same subjects and he graduated from the University of Waterloo.

I now feel a lot more secure about the mixed research methods I will be using. I plan to incorporate comparative personal narrative, comparative media interviews as my qualitative research, an online participatory action research (PAR) project in the spirit of Julio Cammarato and Michelle Fine (2008), I will be framing my theory around a particular film or group of films from a specific genre such as Cammarato and Fine (2008) have done. As well, I am including survey research as qualitative research. I have posted a survey that anyone can do at: http://kakonged.wordpress.com. I will also be using Reporter Connection to get the word out about people doing the survey, as well as people to take part in my online PAR. I'm really excited about the whole thing and I am hoping to have all the key elements (including my committee) firmed up ASAP.

This PhD entry is such a blessing from God for me. The fact I am receiving funding is also a blessing. The way I see it, I am getting paid to read, take notes, research and write. The extra work I want to do essentially goes towards my savings plan so I do not end up old and poor, being the freelancer that I am. It truly is a blessing. Thank you to all of you who believed in me.