Ideas for dissertation.

<p>Hey all,<br>

Wonder if anyone can help me with some ideas.<br>

Basically, Im writing a dissertation about doccumentary photography and how laws and legislations have changed the face of it over the years.<br>

Im planning on writing three chapters based on<br>

1. early 1900s<br>

2. 1950's to 1990's<br>

3.1990s to present day<br>

Im clued up about the third chapter (which will focus on anti terrorism laws etc and how theyve effected photographer taking photos) but not too sure about the previous two and how doccumentary photography has changed or been affected by laws/legislations etc and how it could have played a role on politics maybe.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

 

<p>Check out all the street photographers from those eras, especially Henri Cartier-Bresson</p>

<p>Alan, that may be a tough dissertation. I'm not a lawyer, but I pay a lot of attention to these matters. I'm not aware of any significant laws, pre or post the terrorist era, that have been written that limit documentary photography, besides an executive order regarding photographs of caskets of soldiers.</p>

<p>1) Do you have a strong thesis statement? "Laws have changed the face of documentary photography." I really don't know that this is a strong enough thesis statement.</p>

<p>2) Is your thesis statement suffciently (or even better, overwhelmingly) supported by facts? Not sure, but IMHO unlikely.</p>

<p>3) As with any dissertation, be objective. If facts prove your thesis statement to be false, be prepared to change the thesis altogether.</p>

<p>-Keith</p>

 

<p>Keith and Damon,I don't know what the general academic habits or rules are where Alan is writing his dissertation but statements or hypotheses are not there for being right, but for being tested. If the analysis proves that the hypothesis is wrong it has still played its full role. No reason to change the hypothesis as such, we just then know that it is false, if his dissertation is of excellence.<br>

<br /> I think that Damon is right that it will be difficult to prove the validity or invalidity of your statement, first of all because probably it is an area that has been rarely regulated by law apart from recently in some countries and secondly it will be extremely difficult to prove that it influenced or did not influence photography of a period in question.<br /> There are obviously two subjects of analysis that you will have to cover: the subject of "regulations and laws" and the subject of the "changing face of documentary photography".<br /> Concerning the first question, I would suggest that you enlarged your attention to any rules, regulations and jurisprudence and you might look into either criminology and the use of photographs in courts cases or court decisions on photography (privacy issues f.ex)); or police practices and court decisions concerning pornography; or rules of armed forces to photography during war time; or even the use of photography in scientific research. Some of all this is documented and can clearly be researched and has surely been subject to previous research of many different disciplines.<br /> Concerning the second subject of the "changing face of documentary photography", probably there are theories and models that I'm not aware of on the subject, that you can draw on. If not I would find it very difficult to create and document such theories within the scope of your dissertation.<br /> However, as mentioned, whether you on the basis of the analysis of each of these two areas can "prove" that one influenced the other, or did not, is obviously anything but obvious. <br /> As you might know yourself, the main present challenges is for you to limit the scope of your dissertation to a maximum - or you will get stuck.<br>

<br /> I would without discouraging you, believe that the "face of documentary photography" has changed mainly because of the technical development of the photographical equipment, because of the development of modes of transport and because of changes on the market for documentary photography - and little by law and regulations.</p>

<p> </p>

<p><em>"but statements or hypotheses are not there for being right, but for being tested. If the analysis proves that the hypothesis is wrong it has still played its full role. No reason to change the hypothesis as such, we just then know that it is false, if his dissertation is of excellence." - Anders</em></p>

<p>That would be inaccurate. A thesis is a hypothesis or conjecture. The dissertation is the document that defends the thesis; thus, by definition, if your dissertation actually disproves your thesis, you would have to change your thesis, and argue in defense of the new thesis accordingly. </p>

<p>Alan - Is this dissertation somehing that you will be defending in front of a dissertation committee? If so, you may want to ask for their guidance in selecting a thesis and researching your dissertation. The two most important guiding principles in writing a dissertation are: 1) it should be original and 2) it should be substantial. While your proposal may arguably meet #1, I don't know if it will meet #2.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>No, Keith it is actually correct. The exercise to be able to do when writing dissertations is to prove to able to make a scientific investigation using scientific methodologies with reference to available research results in the field. You do that by orientating your work around a series of working hypothesis. These can be based on already published research results or be totally original if no research has been done in the field. By invalidating, refuting, a hypothesis, our knowledge increases in the field as much as by validating a hypothesis.<br>

If working hypotheses should prove to be correct for the research, or the dissertation, to be worthwhile, 99% of research could be thrown in the dustbin. </p>

<p>Interesting responses, but maybe the absence of laws is also a factor. There were laws which covered content (pornography) which is about the photographs and not the photographer, but it did impact photography. Laws governing voyeurism have impacted photography prior to the current laws on surveillence. And laws governing or controlling access to places has impacted the work of photographers. So there is something there beyond just the obvious.</p>

<p>I don't think a dissertation, presuming it's for a PhD (theses for MA/MS degrees), has to propose, let alone prove, a hypothesis. The dissertation can provide a history or overall view of something. It could simply be "The history of laws governing still photography in the [insert couuntry]." The history will provide the impact with the enforcement. The overall purpose of a dissertation varies with the academic department, but mostly it has to provide something new to the subject. Proving anything isn't a requirement with some departments, but merely a larger or more complex view is sufficient.</p>

<p>Alan,<br>

If you are intending to write a dissertation on documentary photography it would be wise to master the correct spelling of 'documentary'. It's also worth mastering the difference in meaning between 'effect' and 'affect', among other things.</p>

<p>Applying the rules of correct spelling and grammar will help you to marshal your thoughts in a logical order. This will make the whole process of research much easier for you, and will improve vastly the quality of the finished dissertation.</p>

<p>I wish you well in what sounds like a very interesting project.</p>

<p>Nice catch, Mr. Brown. "Documentary" is indeed spalled with only one C. ;)</p>

<p>Alan, your idea sounds like an interesting research project. I would offer several ideas.<br>

1. How about offering a chapter on the history of documentary photography going back to say the American Civil War?<br>

2. Find the librarian of the closest law library near you, and befriend that person. Or get to know an attorney or paralegal or legal researcher and get them to offer you some "keywords" for research. A law library is the place to start, but legal research can be much trickier than one first believes.<br>

3. You might consider the effect that libel and privacy laws have had on photography. Especially look at the much stricter libel laws of England, compared to the U.S. and the chilling effect that is having over there.<br>

4. Hopefully consider various international viewpoints from varied governing regimes. <br>

5. Google for documentary photography law. /legal issues<br>

Keep us posted, this sounds interesting.<br>

Roger</p>

<p>Are you writing in relation to a certain place or country?</p>

<p>I hate to be one of those jerks that surf forums for the sole purpose of raining on somebody else's parade, but after a lot of thought, I gotta say it. This sounds like a rather DULL topic for a dissertation! (Okay, color me the bad guy!)<br>

That said, I concede that it could be a very useful piece of scholarship if you get it right. <br>

I don't know any specific sources, but I wonder if any books by the great Look, Life, WPA, or Magnum photographers might touch on this subject. In those eras, most photos were posed. Lots of luck! </p>

 

<p>Hi,<br>

Make sure your topic and thesis statement has all the power to attract potential readers. A good dissertation is one that contains thorough research. Best of luck for your dissertation.<br>

Regards,<br>

<a href="http://www.dissertationprovider.co.uk">Amaris</a></p>

 

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