Critical Photo-Essay Proposal

Critical Photo-Essay Proposal

The Instable Hierarchy of Writing

            For my photo-essay I want to look/research the sometimes long, and short, life of the written word. The clear that up a bit, I want to look into how writing is a powerful tool yet so often it has a fleeting life. Yet that power lies only in the human influence and interest directed towards it, however wildly different the influence is. I want to explore why some writing holds its power through the ages and why some do not; exploring not only world-wide pieces of writing, but other writing in my own town that has faded through the years.

            For this project I want to research the reasons, however apparent or unapparent, of why certain writing (ex: canonical writings, propaganda writing from different eras, ancient writings, and even old, local signs with writing) either fades or does not; and why those reasons are.

            I feel that researching critical texts through the library archives, along with other Internet research and some articles that we have read this year, will provide me with enough research to write a thorough essay. For the photo part of this I plan to insert photos alongside the text in a black and white format (I feel it provides an edge and stark flavor to text). I am not too sure how I will format this, but I am leaning towards an old-fashioned photo-essay, but I will look into seeing if I can spice it up a bit with some modern technological savvy.

            I feel that I might be biting off more than I can chew with this essay, depending how in-depth you would like it, but let me know if it is too broad and what would be the best vein to move toward. I apologize for this being a bit late, last semester of college shenanigans at work for this guy. Anyway here it is and I hope it fits into what you are looking for.