Invention Module

1) Ideas:

Well, as I've previously mentioned, I'd like my focus to emphasize women and entrepreneurship, but another idea I've batted around lately is how linguistics often reinforces the gender binary and cultural constructions of gender. Example: in Spanish, the word "kitchen" is female, and most electronics are male. The gendering of language, to me, is quite problematic and dated, but perhaps my sensibilities are just too liberal to understand the utility of it. Additionally, I was listening to NPR the other day and there was an interview with a linguist about constructed languages through the ages and one she mentioned specifically was Láadan, a language created by American science fiction writer Suzette Haden Elgin in 1982 to test the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. It focuses specifically on feminizing communication to counter its male-centered limitations. While I don't encourage this sort of default gender separatism, it fit perfectly with what I had already been considering concerning transcultural linguistics. I don't PLAN to make this my topic, but since we're already listing our ideas, I thought I would mention it.

2) Research:

Back to my original plan: I think my emphasis should be specifically in government grants because I'll most likely be working with Leandra's nonprofit for my field research, and also, because it's easier to quantify the statistical inconsistencies in a macro scheme than working within a specific community. Also, it will better inform my personal interests, as I have no intention of using this information while living even remotely close to Florida. Professor Tweed mentioned also the possibilities for perspectives involving women in a capitalist society, and I also believe this would be highly valuable. With this level of specificity and ability to act as a direct corollary to my original, rather vague idea, I don't feel the need to list other possibilities, unless further specificity is requested.

3) Previous paper ideas:

As I've mentioned, I just changed my major from English Literature, and I highly doubt that my papers on German Enlightenment thinkers, Tolstoy, and the like would relate in the least, though I wish they would. I almost considered returning to my most immediate comfort zone and doing a deconstruction of some of the horrible women in Shakespearean plays and their inexplicable cultural glorification (read: Cleopatra, whom I absolutely abhor), but I thought working completely outside of what is familiar to me would be a more challenging and ultimately rewarding academic experience.

Skipping straight to eight: research journals

I'm struggling to find where my research would fit because it combines the quantitative with what is obviously qualitative, and only strictly fits into the Women's Studies discipline and nowhere else. The only possible journal, beyond the UCF URJ, that I can come up with is Gender & Society, but obviously, for now, this seems rather lofty, though this can be reevaluated when I consider if I'm going to turn this into a thesis project.