Ducks @ Oregon - University of Oregon

Thesis Abstract

Katie D.

January 3, 2010 - 6:32 PM

For those of you who are consistent readers, you know that I'm in the process of writing my Honors College thesis, on the topic of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. You also know already that this is a massive undertaking that is a source both of considerable stress and constant inspiration.

If all goes well, I will have a full draft before spring break. That means a document I am ready to show my thesis advisors in full, for feedback, before March 20th. The scope of this project is so far beyond anything I have done before. I imagine that the completed project will be something around 75 pages long.

Working on the thesis was a huge goal of mine over winter break. Of course I didn't do quite as much as I had hoped, but I did pass a few big hurdles.

• I edited the outline and created a chapter and sections format that breaks it down into smaller projects.

• I re-wrote my abstract (more on this later)

• I created a time line for the whole project.

• I edited sections I wrote at the beginning of fall term

• I have a draft of twenty pages!

I'm writing this to you all because this is going to be a major part of my life and my blogging for the next five months or so. It's going to be something I build into every week, and hopefully into every day. I will be meeting with my thesis advisors and with other faculty members who can provide some help and structural advice. I'll be continuing my research on my topic. I'll be reading other people's theses so I can learn more about format and style. I'll be writing, rewriting, editing, and re-editing. Then I'll be sending it to other people for edits, and editing their edits.

This is a huge deal.

So I thought I'd provide you all with the abstract of my thesis. An abstract is basically a summary of your academic paper. It provides the most essential information: what your topic is, some idea of your procedure, and what you hope to accomplish. Basically, it's the first thing people read, and decide from there if they want to bother with the rest of your massive paper.

At this point, my abstract is still in the formative phase and is, of course, subject to change. But it contains the basic framework of this thesis project. So here it is:

Abstract:

This thesis will engage the theoretical framework of the Inside-Out Program to examine and evaluate the Inside-Out Program's employment of radical theories of engaged pedagogy and intergroup dialogue. Theories of engaged pedagogy (best exemplified by Paulo Freire's work Pedagogy of the Oppressed and bell hooks' book Teaching to Transgress) posit that education can spark radical transformation in the lives of students as well as in broader society. Theories of intergroup dialogue suggest that, through facilitated conversations with members of differing (and often opposing) social groups, members of each group arrive at a transformational consciousness of the experience of the Other. By drawing on these theories, the Inside-Out Program evokes a radical pedagogy of equality and individual transformation. Here I will apply this theoretical framework in examining Inside-Out classes from a participant-observer's perspective. I will then evaluate the program through its own theoretical standards and discuss both current efforts at improvement and suggestions for future action. My hope is to provide both an in-depth understanding of the experience of a student engaged with Inside-Out pedagogy and practice, as well as to offer an assessment and recommendations for how the program can better navigate the complex challenges of bureaucracy and prejudice while holding true to its radical educational philosophies.

So, readers, I have a request for you. First, that you indulge my continued fixation on this thesis project. I will try not to bore you with the ongoing discussion of this topic, but it will be a massive portion of my experiences during winter term. Second, I want to invite you to interact with this subject along with me. What do you think of my topic? Is this a paper you would read? Is a portion of this thesis more interesting than the others?

I invite you to read my other blogs about my thesis project, my internship, and the Inside-Out Program. But I also invite you to honestly tell me if this is something you are interested in hearing about during these next months.