Salutations is my fancy way of saying hello.

Hello!
I'm Schuyler Kerby; I am an English Literature major and Women's Studies minor here at UCF. This is my fifth semester at this place. I have lived in Orlando for the same amount of time, and I recently moved downtown to a gentrified neighborhood. I didn't know that when I moved here. I talked to one of my neighbors, and he said “It used to be real bad but then the gays moved in and spruced everything up.” I didn't know how to handle that statement, so I went on my merry way up the stairs to my apartment.

I work at the UCF Library, and the only official way to pass time when you do not have a task to do is to browse the online databases. This research (i.e. passing time) usually involves cultural studies or narratives. The Journal of Popular Culture is an excellent read. Any article in it is written an accessible style, but it still provides serious analysis of something that we all interface with. Popular culture is interesting to research and analyze because by its very definition many people are familiar with it. I will post two articles from the journal about two television programs that I think would be relevant to this class's interests (Xena: Warrior Princess and The Man Show).
The other thing I like to research is narratives. I like stories, and I love storytelling. Plots are good, but what I have found interest in is the structure of the story—how they are told. That's why I have had turned a critical eye to graphic narratives, because their structure is quite visible. Self referential stories (stories about stories) are also interesting to me (like Neil Gaiman's World's End, which is a story about stories and the nature and art of storytelling).

The best tale is a framed tale. (via Apartment Therapy)

I believe the reason why I am so interested in stories is because of my mother. Not because she was the best storyteller, but because she wanted to hear my stories. She has this phrase that I have adopted: Tell me a story. I like it, because it is a sign to whoever I am speaking to that I want to listen to them. I offering to be their audience. I feel that the best way to become a good storyteller is to always listen to the stories told to you.
Because literature is what I am familiar with, I would like to analyze how gender and women are constructed in texts. I do not know how I could tie field research in with that yet, nor if would be feasible. I got interested in the theoretical nature of stories by taking a class that focused on the stories of women, so I would like to do research on that—stories. I do not know how I would go about that, but hopefully I will be able to figure it out and focus the scope of my research.


I have read, understand, and agree to the terms of the course syllabus and the blogging protocols.