In this seminar we were exploring how the concept of a genealogy can be applied as a method; for example within essay writing.
METHOD- is the way of going about something/ or a way of doing something.
METHODOLOGY- is the knowledge of the method. With the 'ology' representing the knowledge of X- in this case, X is the method. Other examples include zoology, cosmology, and sociology etc.
Using this we can decipher that the 'methodology of genealogy' is the knowledge of the way in which you compose a genealogy.
A way of 'working back' to find meanings involves looking at the history of the thing in question. This could be explained to be done by "examining the pre-conceived and questioning the phenomenon that we tend to feel (without it having an obvious history").
In laymen's terms we should aim to uncover 'why we have and do things the way they are?'.
Even when things appear to have no history- e.g. a colour, a mindset or a physical mundane object, they will still have a history behind them which makes the what they are today. This history is the expanded genealogy of it, nothing is absolute.
To illustrate that nothing can be absolute is the idea of Good and Bad. If we link this to the two oppositional tones of black and white its easier to identify that nothing is simply one or the other- there is always grey tones within the middle.
For designers this grey area allows for creativity as there is a scope to deviate from the strict opposing ideas. Exploring the grey areas leads to the fabrication of concepts in particular.
Because of this, expanded genealogies are very subjective; the researcher is close to the enquiry and therefore each person thinks uniquely about the past of the phenomenon.
Summing this up is Michel Foucalt stating his believe that "historians actually don't have the right to seek an absolute of what happened in the past", instead we should explain its dissipation (the fragmented pieces leading separately to the meaning something has now.)
An example used here is an advert by the Guardian, in which they claim to have the 'full picture', having this entire 100% claims an objective, absolute truth- however this is never possible, there is always room for interpretation or to expand even further on a deeper meaning.
In short no one or nothing can truly have an eternal truth.
Here is the video
one singular perspective shows the banker being attacker, looking again you can see him pushing him to save him injury, however this still might not be all it appears to be- the mod may have an accomplice who disables the bricks to fall?
Historians seek roots while dissipation of history gives a better picture.
Equally important in presenting a picture in writing (essays for example) is the introduction. As a graphic designer this can be linked to how an establishing shot works in animation opening titles. Example of family guy, american dad, the simpsons, south park, bobs burgers etc. In these the main characters and the main locations are presented to the audience early. Similarly this should be done in the first couple of sentences in writing.
To summarise, this can be condensed in to 4 main points to incorporate in to writing.
- establish parameters of research (like an establishing shot); where are you? whats similar? what is the tone?
- What are the conditions and contingencies (history) of the enquiry? (like a background context e.g. the Star Wars crawler of opening film introduction) are these relevant to enquiry? (American Beauty film, opening minutes show narration, characters, scene and foreshadow the upcoming story)
- What has occurred? (unrevealing of what has come before it and what concept started the fabrication) e.g. Disney conspiracy that they are all linked, interconnectedness?
- Analyse the fabrication; e.g. in the case of Disney films,could be argued to be linked to 'Burroughs' description of paranoia, that individuals then intentionally seek links as an explanation, e.g. future disney films must also henceforth fit within this- people seek even the smallest links no matter how vague.
An example incorporating all this in a verbalised essay form is an individuals analysis of Gotham city from Batman. There is history, character identification, subjective interpretation, research in to initial concepts, then future films and tv series still fitting to the themes of the fabrication as well as being modified to each producers image of this fiction city.
The example in which I thought of in relation to unpicking a history is the concept of the TV program 'how i met your mother'. In this the past is explored fragmented piece by fragmented piece in order to build up a full picture of a 'how i met...' story.
However in discussing this idea with the lecturer, we decided that this did not thoroughly reflect an expanded genealogy as one would expect for a history to live behind a person, as opposed to the un-thought-about history of an object for example.
