The following dialogue response postings on the topic of "developing collaborative research projects" indicate how one research project began to be imagined and resulted in a blog....
RO:
Here is the link to the blog I created to use in my presentation and research project on bodily transformation.
RO's DR:
One theme in science fiction that I think would be a really great research topic is body horror/physical transformation. There are two sides of this story that sci fi tends to focus on: the biological transformation/alien takeover, as well as the mechanical. This is a theme that is abundant in the films of David Cronenberg. Both 'The Fly' (Cronenberg) and 'Altered States' (Ken Russell) deal with scientists/academics performing experiments that ultimately cause a complete physical transformation. In 'Altered States', the main character's physical transformation occurs through psychological experimentation and drugs; he seems to emerge from his experience a better person, more "human". The outcome of 'The Fly' is much more bleak. In Cronenberg's "Videodrome", the protagonist undergoes hallucinatory body transformation as the outcome of technology and the media. Many films that deal with an alien taking over a body are heavy on anxiety/loss of individualism/loss of masculinity. Both Alien and The Thing deal with (primarily) men being invaded by an alien force; metaphors abound for reproduction, gender anxiety, and fear of disease. The protagonist in the film 'District 9' is physically changed by aliens as well, yet ultimately leads to a new life and identity for him; his entire person and way of thinking has been changed. He becomes the "other". There are also COUNTLESS books, films, and TV shows that deal with the idea of man becoming part machine, from the Borg of 'Star Trek', to "Robocop". This is a pretty broad overview, but I think that one specific aspect of body transformation could be addressed in depth; what about our society does it reflect, and why do we fear it? Most of these films deal primarily with the transformation of men, as opposed to women; why?
SC:
Rell - I'm not gonna lie, I'm a litle jealous of how fantastic your topic is. I would add that the superhero genre often overlaps here - Hulk, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and countless super villains have gained super powers by transforming into something else. Sometimes it's benign - Spider-Man - and sometimes not - MAN-SPIDER!!!
WM:
I really like the idea of focussing on physical transformation; man to part machine as Rell said. There are a number of films that demonstrate how technology has transformed the human figure, from replacement body parts in iRobot, to limbs that are purely machine or weapons in Hayo Miyazaki's collection of anime films. Also, I think it would be a great idea to incorporate some short stories in the future of our course as we can experience a broad range of topics discover some that we may not have thought of yet. Im not sure how I would turn these ideas into projects but I look forward to discussing it with you all in class
PB:
This is a great topic / question, Rell! As we saw in our discussion of The Thing (as well as in our conversations around the subject / object / abject, and "dirt" or "garbage") such questions are key both to the genre as well as to cultural reproduction more generally. This sort of question could be applied to a wide range of texts, and gets to the political effects of the narratives, as well as to what makes them so grossly entertaining, so seductive for a range of audiences.
RP:
Rell - Yessssss. I love it. I think this could go into a really cool place that would add a lot to the final product. I think that this theme is best explored through multi-media, and not so much through writing a paper, so it would be nice to figure out how to incorporate both written, visual, and auditory examples and explanations. I'd be really stoked if you went ahead with this.
LB:
I really like you noticed that it is almost always men who go through these body transformations. I think that would be something that would be cool to discuss-- how women naturally transform through childbearing years and how if someone went to "transform" a women into something else it would be pushing certain boundaries.
RO:
I think that it could be useful if each research group (or individual) created some sort of blog for the project, that is actually separate from the e-portfolio. It would look a bit more streamlined and user-friendly, and perhaps more conducive to multimedia as well? Just a thought.
PB:
That would work if a link could be made to the e-portfolio so that these blogs and other student work were tied together through the e-portfolio site.