And Choirs of Angels Sang from on High

Ah-ah-AH!

I figured out my independent study tonight. Mille grazie to Amity for letting me keep her up until she could only get five hours of sleep so I could work this out. I gave four classes the same final exam: a five-page analytical paper related to one of the cultural themes emerging from the Virginia Tech massacre on April 16, 2007.

The themes we have identified to date are: issues of campus security, gun control, freedom versus security, mental illness and privacy, warning signs and personal liberties, comparison and contrast to similar past events (Columbine, etc)., cultural responses: virtual communities, Korean, campus, American;, communications and campus administrators, the efficacy of email versus text messaging in notifying the campus in an emergency, the role of Facebook and MySpace in communicating amongst the victims almost instantaneously, text messaging to friends and loved ones from inside Norris Hall, etc.

I have decided to frame the study around my thesis, so that I may examine the role of popular media in the consumption of information around major cultural events. By having the students follow the themes of the event in the three weeks after they unfold, they must consume information from the culture around them and process the information. But all the while, they are conscious of the fact that they are consuming this information and must be able to analyze it.

The best part is that I told everyone to email their finals to me, so I have a data set of up to 60 papers all filed electronically. I can print working copies and save the originals. The exams will be the data I analyze qualitatively. So what I need now is a kick-ass outline and the proper amount of detail to present a case to Dr. Mbilizi by May 15.

But now I have a plan. Woo woo!