Wow!

I spent two hours at the Regenstein Library in the caverns upon caverns of book stacks today. I left when my bag was full. All I have to say is, "WOW!!"

The literature search

As you know, I have been stalled on progress towards my thesis, in large part because I did not structure my research question very well. After attending CB's research seminar last week, I have a revised question that may focus me better.


"What are the similarities between Plato being the mouthpiece of Socrates and Paul being the mouthpiece of Christ, and is one more significant to life in the 21st century?"

CB's feedback: "The "mouthpiece" concept is vague and implies that neither Plato nor Paul added anything to their masters' messages of originality or value."

I have shifted it from:

"What is the transmutation process for oral, charismatic teaching to become written, documentary teaching, and how do the cases of Plato and St. Paul reflect, and subvert, this dichotomy?"

to:

"What is the change process for oral, charismatic teaching to become written, documentary teaching, and how do the cases of Plato and St. Paul reflect (and/or overturn) this dichotomy?"

According to CB, there is a great literature on oral-to-written knowledge, including the processes of canon-formation. I also need to find Max Weber's paper, "The Routinization of Charisma." Both Plato and St. Paul contribute charismatic, intuitive ideas to the teachings of their masters, AND develop a formalized, static model.

I am headed to the library on this beautiful Sunday afternoon. I am fine with it, however. I must keep moving forward. Documenting my progress is why blogging is helpful. Things may continue to shift on my question, but I love the links it has to my idea of including teaching and Socrates' impact on the 21st century adult educator.

A one hour search last night online gave me thirteen sources at the Regenstein. Off to Hyde Park I go!

From topic to question

I have moved from a list of topics to a narrowed down list of possible research questions for my thesis. They are all in the same genre. I now need to find some literature, do an annotated bib, and revise my research question to one that is tightly hammered down so I do not sidetrack during the process.

My goal is to have my proposal finished by Labor Day. Given that today is the 4th of July, I better keep moving!

Here they are so far
• What was the impact of Plato to the Apostle Paul as mouthpiece to Christ?
• How was Plato significant to Socrates in alignment to the significance of Paul to Christ?
• Did Plato influence Paul in his carrying of the word of Christ?
• How were Plato’s dialogues of Socrates influential to the letters of the Apostle Paul?
• How can one perform a structural analysis of Plato’s Socratic dialogues and the letters of the Apostle Paul?
• How do the texts of Plato align to the letters of Paul?
• What is the impact of Plato’s dialogues to the message of Christianity shared by Paul?
• Was Plato as important to Socrates as Paul was to Christ?
• Did Plato carry as strong of an influence to Socratic philosophy as Paul carried to Christianity?
• Which is more significant to life in the 21st century: Plato’s message of Socratic dialogue or Paul’s message of Christianity?