Nick Jameson's Academic Showcase, a Portfolio from ASU's MA in English
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Selected work
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Quality of life economics vs. free market economics
Thanks to ASU's MA in English permitting its students the ability to pursue their passions within the context of many course assignments, I've been able to explore, refine and add depth and academic credibility to a paradigm-shifting economic theory that has made its way into many personal literary projects. The idea is to provide a moral foundation to the study and consideration of 'success' in economics; one in which, rather than economic theory seeking indicators of success, or a 'healthy economy,' that often are mutually-exclusive with the quality of life of the total population, making the study of economics and barometer of success based upon the economic service of life in total.
Research Project Proposal - Quality of Life Economics.docxJameson - Quality of Life Opportunity Cost.docxEarly in the MA in English program I took the course Approaches to Research. ENG 501 presented me with the opportunity to both learn the tools of the researcher and to apply them to the further refinement of and creation of credible supporting evidence for my socioeconomic theory "Quality of Life Economics." This paper explores the foundational concepts behind the theory, compares the theory's differences in indicators of 'success' with 'free market economics' and proposes a research project design as a means to further delve into the theory and glean supporting data.
Ideally, this paper will be read along with the paper from Approaches to Research next to it. Drawn from what may well have been my favorite course in the MA in English program, Contemporary Critical Theories, a course which seemed to me to verge upon an advocacy for socialism and political revolution (which is a good thing), this paper makes the claim that the more things of financial and quality of life value are consolidated in fewer hands and holdings, the less their utility, the less they are worth. The value of anything should be based upon its service to life.
What's-A-Collective_-The-Ideology-of-Collective-Best-Interest.mov**************************************************************************
literary review and critical analysis
Excellence in writing begins with excellence in reading, analysis and critical thought.
Jameson - ENG 536 Final Paper.docxENGLISH 598 FINAL EXAM, Jameson.docxThe Study of Pre-1900 American Literature focused upon what are deemed 'captivity narratives,' including those of inhumanly-treated African slaves, Native Americans murdered, forced off their lands and often enslaved themselves, and early feminists essentially held captive by their husbands with the support of societal mores at the time. In this final paper for the course, I examine how 'captivity' is a loose term that has become more and more subtle and mental over time as the plutocratic oppressors have been forced to adapt to the push-back of progressives. This paper plots a course between the inseparable disturbances of past and present.
As students of English, we gradually learn to discern what good writing of great potential impact looks like. Yet we all too commonly fail to ask questions like: Why do we think this is good writing, or that this book is important? What is it about this writing that grants it its value? The course History of Literary Criticism forced its students to ask these questions, and thereby become far better acquainted with how and why works are judged. Essentially, the course was about bias in literary assessment, its prevalent perspectives, and the self-identity revealed through our reading. Looking through others' eyes allows us to better see ourselves.
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shakespeare and sex
No study of English is complete without the challenge of interpreting the master bard.
Jameson Nicholas A - ENG 534 Final Paper.docxWhile it's foolhardy to assert that there can ever be such a thing as 'the greatest writer who ever lived,' it may be equally foolish not to include Shakespeare in such a discussion. A true master of the English language during the latter part of its development, the poetry, metaphor and lessons embedded in his work are unparalleled. This paper probes his seemingly conflicting positions on sexuality, considering the impact of such pressures as the cultural mores of his period and his need to hide his beliefs to preserve his position.
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supporting language with the visual arts
Making an impact in English is a multi-faceted art requiring more than words to master.
Mt Rose Herbs Media Observation Log and WriteUp.docxIn Methods and Issues of Teaching Composition, we examined a range of theories and opinions pertaining to the best possible means to effectively teach writing. This particular assignment required the production of an 'infographic,' or 'snapshot,' which would allow anyone, especially instructors, considering using the book Writing Instruction That Works to perform an overview of said work in facilitation of such consideration.
In the Technologies of Writing course, we examined the overlap between writing and digital presentation, especially for the purposes of marketing a product, idea, and increasingly relevant in the digital age, ourselves. The course was geared towards marketing, most tactics of which I associate with the manipulation of the ignorance and vulnerabilities of a mass market conditioned to consume and, thus, which I consider largely reprehensible. That said, it could not have been more relevant to someone attempting to build and promote a website and small publishing brand, and I was forced to search for a middle ground between my own ambitions and the often unethical manipulations of marketers. This particular project enabled us to examine the marketing strategy of a company of choice. As a long time proponent of herbal medicine and patron of Mountain Rose Herbs, I was granted the opportunity to study the promotional strategy of a company that I respect.
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from academia into the entrepreneurial realm
My convictions and love of philosophy, poetry, theory and the art of the raconteur motivated me to pursue an MA in English which, in turn, fed right back into the motivation, bringing me full circle.
I couldn't conclude this portfolio project without presenting that which it is all feeding into: a website built to broadcast my ideas, including papers, books and discussion forums (as of yet mostly un-promoted and still being refined) which I've been building concurrent with my academic work through Arizona State University. It is amongst the first and foremost rules of philosophy that absolute separation is an illusion built upon a limitation of mind, sensory perception and the tools and compilation apparatuses necessary to see all the connections between things; yet even with these obstacles it is crystal clear that there is no separating my academic work and currently personal, aspiring-to-be-professional writing, creative and entrepreneurial endeavors. Not one of the courses showcased in this portfolio presentation failed to make an impression somewhere on this site. In one way or another they helped me to refine my ideas, develop the means to add academic and research support to their credibility, produce a plan for effective promotion of the site and its presented works, challenge myself to look at my ideas and overall philosophy in a newer or brighter light and, in some cases, even contributed directly to the content, as with the novel I recently completed called "Avant Garde," a fictional, philosophical and metaphorical treatment of low-regulation capitalism.
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an analysis of the previous work
The student reflects upon the trajectory of the program pursuant to the future.
Jameson_ENG597_Portfolio_Analysis.docx