Examples of Alternatively Formatted Dissertations!
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Click on the above link to see what Amanda Visconti, University of Michigan iSchool, is doing. Her dissertation is one of participation, discourse, literary analysis, and digital communication. Without audience participation and technology, Visconti's dissertation project would not be possible.
A graduate of Columbia University's Teachers College, Nick Sousanis and his dissertation, which just happens to be in the form of a graphic novel, has received much critical acclaim. His work, Unflattening, uses images to support his ideas on knowledge construction. His dissertation, the first of its kind, was published by Harvard University Press.
Rebecca Zak, Brock University Ontario Canada, has chosen video as her weapon of choice. Her quest: to slay tradition that quashes creativity. Zak's videos, blogs, and publications revolve around "unschooling," and her alternative dissertation is just one example of that theme.
Although not created as an alternative dissertation, John Bohannon's choreographed TED talk illustrates the potential for dance as discourse and shows the power of using unique and creative ways to aid in the understanding of complex ideas and data.
As a person with severe dyslexia, it would have been a challenge for Spencer J. Harrison to complete a traditional dissertation. Instead, Harrison proposed, and was permitted, to create a dissertation on canvas. Not only did this project demonstrate scholarly understanding of LGBT issues, it also serves as a traveling piece of social justice. This brings the dissertation out of the library and into the public's eye.