MEMORANDUM

To: From: Subject: Date: Betsy Birmingham Jacob Ritteman Capstone Project Proposal 10/19/12

This memo features the proposal for my capstone project titled, Fictional Dreaming. The topics covered in this memo are as follows: the proposal, objectives, methods, timeline and reading list. Proposal Fictional Dreaming will ultimately address Salvador Dalis technique of tapping into dreams as a means to creatively express. However, the project will also undertake indepth research on what dreams actually are. My main sources for research other than Dali will include Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Aside from these popular names, I will also look at journals either commenting on their work and ones which feature independent studies or ideas. On top of this, Ill look into the views of their opposition. Once adequate research has been conducted, I will be able to define the backbone of the final product: a short story based on a personal dream journal. Dreams are said to be products of the unconscious, and an intimate understanding of ones dreams is noted to provide the key to inner wisdom. My audience will receive a detailed understanding of dreams, and experience a creative piece produced directly from my personal dreams. My final presentation will most likely only include an excerpt from the creative piece, being it will primarily address the findings of my research. Aside from an excerpt and research, I will cover certain recurrences that surface throughout my dream journal. These recurrences will provide the central themes for the creative piece. Objectives My number one passion is writing. That is, fiction writing. Ive spent a great deal of time here at NDSU working on personal projects that will hopefully see publication. However, most of this fiction has been a product of my conscious self. While conducting research on a separate project last year, I came across Dalis method of capturing dreams for his surrealist paintings. Since then, Ive increasingly become more and more infatuated with the notion of developing a written piece based solely upon the unconscious. My primary objective is to finally tackle this desire, but to do so through an academic route. In order to fully understand my desired project, I must first research what dreams exactly are. Fictional Dreaming will allow me to study the work of the pioneers who delved

into dreams. My research of Freud and Jung will give me the tools necessary to decipher the recurrences within my dream journal. This research is my secondary objective. Aside from tackling a personal desire and conducting research, I want to make my audience aware of the importance of dreams. I feel that if I deliver the work of Dali, Freud and Jung along with my own experience, I just might inspire at least part of the audience to look into the topic themselves. If inner wisdom is truly possible via decoding the unconscious, it will be very beneficial for all to undertake such a project. Methods The methodology of my project has already gone underway with my dream journal. Essentially, the journal consists of daily entries which recount every recollected detail of the previous nights episode. The journal has been active for almost a week now, and will continue to be so until November 7th. After the final entry, I will scour each entry and determine recurrences as a means to discover the alleged inner wisdom. Once this has been completed, I will create the creative piece based on the entries, with its central theme(s) focusing on any recurrence(s). Granted, for the short story to take a coherent shape, I will have to inject conscious thought. This conscious thought will be a result of the unconscious, and will merely provide smooth passage between transcribed dream entries. The final story will undoubtedly take surreal form. Simultaneously, I will conduct my research of dreams. I intend to This research will involve Dalis method of implementing dreams as a means to creatively express to aid me in crafting the final fiction, and also the works of those who have tackled the topic; namely Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. While Dali explored the creative potential of dreams, Freud and Jung explored the personal potential. While these three men will be my primary focus, I will also take a look at journals and other scholarly mediums for commentary and original thoughts on dreams. Not only will I search for ones complementary of my primary research, but also ones which attempt to denounce the idea that dreams are raw, unconscious thought. This will provide a very interesting contrast, and will ideally create a sort of suspense as to what my personal findings will be. The last method of my project will be developing the final written text and transforming it into a presentation. I hope to combine the fiction with the research findings for the final paper, but only as long as the research has an adequate length. I think the presentation will be a smooth transition being the content is quite interesting. Timeline To complete this project within our class time constraints, I will have to be on schedule and meet deadlines. The time line goes as follows, according to our syllabus, and will only occur if this proposal memo should be accepted: 11/7/12: Finish up dream journal 11/8/12: Finalize in-depth research 11/13/12: Hand in annotated bibliography 2

11/20/12: Hand in presentation abstract 11/27/12 12/6/12: Presentation of project 12/10/11: Hand in final portfolio

Reading List The following is an annotated list of current sources: Jung, Carl. "Dream-Analysis in Its Practical Application ." Trans. Array Modern Man in Search of a Soul. W.S. Dell and Cary F. Baynes. Orlando: Halcourt Books, 1955. 1-27. Print. Peterson, Margaret. "High School Dreamers: Using Mind Movies as Inspiration for Artwork." Art Education. November (2002): 33-40. Web. 19 Oct. 2012. Tyson, Lois. "Psychoanalytic Criticism." Trans. Array Critical Theory Today: A UserFriendly Guide. . 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2006. 11-52. Print. Wegner, Daniel M., Richard M. Wenzlaff, and Megan Kozak. "Dream Rebound: The Return of Suppressed Thoughts in Dreams." Psychological Science. 15.April (2004): 232-36. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.