Thesis/Dissertation Sheet
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Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname/Family Name : BAILEY Given Name/s : JACQUELIENE SHARON Abbreviation for degree as give in the University calendar : PhD (Creative Writing) Faculty : FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES School : SCHOOL OF THE ARTS AND MEDIA FROM THE HEART: THE GIFT EXPERIENCE OF CREATIVE WRITING AND Thesis Title : READING Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASE TYPE) The first part of the current thesis is a novel entitled The Eulogy, which examines the nature of love and choice in situations of intergenerational trauma, bereavement and disability. The narrator, Kathy, is at a crossroads in life and examines her family’s history through the last three generations against the backdrop of World War Two, the Malayan Conflict and the Vietnam War. The novel explores whether and under what circumstances people are able to make different choices from their forebears. In writing The Eulogy, I drew on lived experience, family stories, publicly available accounts of disability, war, and intergenerational trauma, and my own imagination. The Eulogy is a work of fiction. All of the characters and events portrayed in the novel are either products of the author’s mind or are used fictitiously. The research dissertation entitled From the heart: The gift experience of creative writing and reading forms the second part of the thesis. Whilst creative writing and reading arise as objects of inquiry in a number of fields of scholarship, there has been limited examination of the experience of reading or the experience of creative writing. In this dissertation, I ask the questions: How do readers and writers describe the experience of reading and writing in their own terms? And what can this add to our understanding of modes of human interaction and being? The dissertation harnesses the conceptual power of phenomenology and interdisciplinary gift theories to deepen our understanding of creative writing and reading. I employ an empirical interpretive phenomenological methodology in this study, conducting and analysing twenty in-depth interviews with creative writers and readers who had experienced “loving” a book at some point in their lives. I look at the ways in which writers and readers describe how it feels to read a loved book, and how it feels to engage in writing fiction. The dissertation contributes to the development of a theory of creative writing and reading as gift-relations and, in a broader sense, to the development of a relational ontology of human being. Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). …………………………………………………………… ……………………………………..……………… ……….……………………...…….… Signature Witness Signature Date The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances and require the approval of the Dean of Graduate Research. FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements for Award: ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed .............. Date .............. COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ‘I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.' Signed ........................... Date ........................... AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT ‘I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format.’ Signed ........................... Date ........................... INCLUSION OF PUBLICATIONS STATEMENT UNSW is supportive of candidates publishing their research results during their candidature as detailed in the UNSW Thesis Examination Procedure. Publications can be used in their thesis in lieu of a Chapter if: • The student contributed greater than 50% of the content in the publication and is the “primary author”, ie. the student was responsible primarily for the planning, execution and preparation of the work for publication • The student has approval to include the publication in their thesis in lieu of a Chapter from their supervisor and Postgraduate Coordinator. • The publication is not subject to any obligations or contractual agreements with a third party that would constrain its inclusion in the thesis Please indicate whether this thesis contains published material or not. This thesis contains no publications, either published or submitted for publication Some of the work described in this thesis has been published and it has been documented in the relevant Chapters with acknowledgement This thesis has publications (either published or submitted for publication) incorporated into it in lieu of a chapter and the details are presented below CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION I declare that: • I have complied with the Thesis Examination Procedure • where I have used a publication in lieu of a Chapter, the listed publication(s) below meet(s) the requirements to be included in the thesis. Name Signature Date (dd/mm/yy) i The Eulogy A novel and From the heart: The gift experience of creative writing and reading Jacqueliene Bailey A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of the Arts and Media Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences UNSW Sydney 1 November 2019 Abstract The first part of the current thesis is a novel entitled The Eulogy, which examines the nature of love and choice in situations of intergenerational trauma, bereavement and disability. The narrator, Kathy, is at a crossroads in life and examines her family’s history through the last three generations against the backdrop of World War Two, the Malayan Conflict and the Vietnam War. The novel explores whether and under what circumstances people are able to make different choices from their forebears. In writing The Eulogy, I drew on lived experience, family stories, publicly available accounts of disability, war, and intergenerational trauma, and my own imagination. The Eulogy is a work of fiction. All of the characters and events portrayed in the novel are either products of the author’s mind or are used fictitiously. The research dissertation entitled From the heart: The gift experience of creative writing and reading forms the second part of the thesis. Whilst creative writing and reading arise as objects of inquiry in a number of fields of scholarship, there has been limited examination of the experience of reading or the experience of creative writing. In this dissertation, I ask the questions: How do readers and writers describe the experience of reading and writing in their own terms? And what can this add to our understanding of modes of human interaction and being? The dissertation harnesses the conceptual power of phenomenology and interdisciplinary gift theories to deepen our understanding of creative writing and reading. I employ an empirical interpretive phenomenological methodology in this 2 study, conducting and analysing twenty in-depth interviews with creative writers and readers who had experienced “loving” a book at some point in their lives. I look at the ways in which writers and readers describe how it feels to read a loved book, and how it feels to engage in writing fiction. The dissertation contributes to the development of a theory of creative writing and reading as gift-relations and, in a broader sense, to the development of a relational ontology of human being. 3 Acknowledgements I could not have written this thesis without the gifts of many. I would like to thank my supervisors, Anne Brewster and Janet Chan, for their encouragement, faith and wisdom at key moments of the process. Their calm yet keen insights helped me stay on the path to completion; without them I would still be gazing intently at the bottom of yet another rabbit hole.