Here is my initial plan for my final project
Intro: I want to start with a short discussion of the 1960's. I know that when I think about drugs and art I think about the 1960's and 70's. During this time there was the explosive popularity of LSD. Writers like Thompson and Burrough's wrote drug induced works, as well as the Beat generation of poets. Yet, drugs have been used for inspiration for hundreds of years, dating back, I believe, to Ancient Greece. We think of the 1960's as the major drug era, but what about the 1800's and the popularity of opium? Many great writers and thinkers of the 19th century abused opium.
Do drugs help writers tap into creativity, or do they ultimatley lead to addiction and mental decline? This is what I want to find out by exploring the effects of opium, and using two writers as a case study.
Part 1: Opium: I plan on looking into the history and science of opium. When did it become popular? What are it's uses? What are the psychological and physical effects? What happens to the body and mind after long term use? I may also add a list of artists that used the drug
Part 2: Coleridge and opium. I will look at his poetry and biography. Apparently opium had a very negative effect on Coleridge's life as he became a raging addict.
Part 3: Poe (I still need to do research into Poe's opium use, so I may or may not use him). I would like to use him to show that opium use was not only popular in England, but also in the U.S. I would be examining biographical information of his drug use, and exploring how it effected his writing.
Closing: : I haven't gotten this far, but I will add to it when I know...
Comments (2)
This sounds pretty promising so far. Don't stress the intro too much. Do your body first, then do the framework (intro, conclusion).
What texts do you plan to talk about in accordance with Coleridge and his opium addiction (in terms of primary sources: his written works)? Let me know if you're doing Poe or not.
Closing doesn't have to be thought of too intensely, since that'll pretty much be a summary of what's been discussed.
Thanks for your comments. I plan to actually post a couple of parts of the story that I am working on at the moment before that second draft is to be sent out (prob by Tuesday night or so).
Which makes me think: When is the second draft supposed to be posted on the blog? I know the due date for it (e-mailed to everyone) is next Tuesday, but I remember that there was another earlier due date (I think this Friday or Sunday, I'm not sure)for it to be posted onto the blog (I believe).
I'm not sure if you were there when we discussed all this, so no pressure if you don't know.
I'll bring it up in class on Tuesday.
Happy writing (?)! lol
Posted by Rebecca Pesantez | December 2, 2007 9:27 PM
Posted on December 2, 2007 21:27
Hey Jessica
When do you feel comfortable sending me your draft? I was thinking: is Saturday too soon? I'm cool with Sunday or Monday, if you need time.
I'm prob going to send mine's around that time anyway (but I will definitely shoot for sooner rather than later).
Heard from Chris yet? I'm going to check his blog now to see if he has anything, and to leave him a message about what I just told you.
Good luck. Looking forward to reading your stuff :)
Posted by Rebecca Pesantez | December 5, 2007 5:42 PM
Posted on December 5, 2007 17:42