TRANSMEDIATED TEXT: A Strategy to Promote Students’ Understanding of Qualitative Information

Prose is ordinary language people use in speaking or writing. Most textbooks are written in prose, including qualitative research methods textbooks. Creating Transmediated Text is a strategy I adopted and employ in which my students work individually, in pairs, or in small groups. They transform text readings written in prose to alternative semiotic systems of their choice (poetry, drama, visual art, technology, etc.,) to make deeper meaning through a generative cognitive process. Then they share their work to glean classmates’ ideas and opinion. We will lead the audience through this process. For example in the poem portrays a transmediated text chapter written in prose about Michel Foucault to poetry, Michel Foucault My name is Michel Foucault; And I think you’ll find I’m worth getting to know. I was born the son of an illustrious doctor; So, my interest in medical discourse is no shocker. I decided to pursue an academic career at a young age – A choice that filled my father with rage. He wanted me to continue the family tradition; But, I could never see myself as a physician. I moved Paris to study at a distinguished school of philosophy, Where I also became a teacher of psychology. Derrida was one of my pupils; I’m really not sure how I earned his disapproval. Yet he wasn’t the only one of my contemporaries To turn into an adversary. It took me a while to come to terms with my homosexual inclinations; My time at École Normale was wrought with frustration. I went through a deep depression; And this led to a scary transgression. I made a suicide attempt – A decision I would later lament. After overcoming this period of intense sadness, I wrote my first major work on the history of madness. It was around this time that I fell hook line and sinker For a handsome military man and adamant left winger. The love of my life was stationed in Tunisia before we had a chance to talk wedding rings; So, I took a job at the University of Tunis and published The Order of Things. I moved back to France and started a militant Marxist congregation; But, scandals led to us losing our accreditation. This didn’t stop me from becoming chair at an esteemed institution Where I would continue to make philosophical contributions. I became a political activist and advocated for those in prison. Deleuze and I even collaborated on an English book edition. When my home country experienced a slowdown of political turbulence, I became a journalist. I covered the Iranian Revolution, And thought the new government posed a good solution. I started spending a lot of time in the United States – It was here that I would meet my fate. I contracted the dreaded HIV, Causing my health to decline rapidly. I was born in 1926 and died in ‘84; Some say I was destined for so much more. My beloved partner, Defert, was left to manage my estate; For only he could be trusted to honor my wish not to posthumously disseminate. My last work on ancient sexuality never made it to publication. The reasons for this can be left to your own interpretation. Still not convinced my life should be celebrated? It was I who said knowledge and power are inextricably related. What, you’ve never been to confession? They’ll trick you into revealing all of your indiscretions. Discipline isn’t just getting grounded by your parents – It also includes government surveillance. That’s right, Big Brother’s always watching you; And there isn’t a whole heck of a lot you can do. Discourse defines the realities of our planet – Everything we know to be true is created through practice of knowledge and power, damn it! Poem Inspired By: Barry, T. F. (2013). Michel Foucault. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia. Jackson, A.Y., & Mazzei, L.A. (2012). Thinking with theory in qualitative research: Viewing data across multiple perspectives. Routledge. Kelly, M. (n.d.). Michel Foucault (1926-1984). In Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: A Peer-Reviewed Academic Resource. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/foucault/#H7 Mastin, L. (2008). Michel Foucault. Retrieved from http://www.philosophybasics.com/philosophers_foucault.htm