Sample Final Essay Proposal

Carrie Gilmore
Final Essay Proposal: The Real Crisis of the Electoral College
Advisor: Professor Donald Rogers
August 8, 2005

        During the summer of 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia created a new system of government that they believed would strengthen the Union.  There was little debate about whether the new government should include an executive, but the manner of electing the executive proved to be far more controversial.  On September 4, having considered various options, the delegates approved an executive chosen by an Electoral College made up of electors appointed by individual states; the number of electors for each state would be equal to its total number of senators and representatives.  The procedure for electing the president, found in Article 2 Section 1 of the Constitution, was modified in 1804 by the Twelfth Amendment, which required that separate ballots be cast for the president and vice-president.  No fundamental changes have been made since then, but more amendments have been proposed on the subject of presidential elections than on any other subject.[1]  In fact, since 1797, over 700 constitutional amendments have been proposed to change or abolish the Electoral College.[2]  And yet, the institution persists.  What explains its durability?  Perhaps one can only understand the enduring nature of the Electoral College, in spite of recurring arguments to reform it or get rid of it altogether, by exploring the political circumstances surrounding the events that caused citizens to question the institution. 

       Debates about abolishing the Electoral College have recurred at various moments in our nation’s history, but these debates have corresponded to political crises that have little or nothing to do with the Electoral College itself.  The debate seems to reach critical moments when citizens have lost faith in political parties and the individuals representing them, but it is not clear that Electoral College reform would have solved the problems that inspired the debate.  Loss of faith in the Electoral College, then, may have been an indication of trouble somewhere in the political system but not necessarily within the Electoral College.  The goal of my essay will be to explore the elections that have caused electoral crises and to uncover the ways in which the problems were and were not connected to the workings of the Electoral College itself.  My essay will examine: the origins of the Electoral College and the Twelfth Amendment; controversial elections in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the issues that surrounded them; lessons from past elections that are applicable today; and the impact of the election of 2000 on electoral politics.

       Unbeknownst to many voters, electors in the Electoral College, appointed by state and equal to the total number of senators plus representatives, select a president from among the candidates.  Various arguments have been made against the Electoral College, and critics like Longley Lawrence and Neal Peirce have long argued that it should be abolished.  Their legitimate criticisms have included the following concerns: first, the apportionment of electors is dictated by the census which is conducted only once every ten years, so the number of electors is guaranteed to lag behind population shifts.[3]  Second, the winner-take-all system of awarding electors for individual states disenfranchises those who voted for the losing candidate, since their choice is not reflected in the make-up of the selected electors.[4]  Third, the weight of one person’s vote is determined by the size of the state in which he lives, the voter turnout in his state, and the competitiveness of his state in a given election.[5]  Finally, in a close election, the Electoral College magnifies the impact of voting irregularities or incidents of fraud in a given state.[6]

       On the other hand, supporters of the Electoral College, of whom Judith Best has been notable, argue that the system preserves federalism, the two-party system, and heterogeneous parties.  The Electoral College was created deliberately to underline the importance of states, preserving the element of federalism so important to the Framers.  Presidential and vice-presidential candidates, under the current system, have to achieve what Daniel Patrick Moynihan called “concurrent majorities.”[7]  A candidate must win the majority of votes in a variety of regions, forcing him to garner wide appeal on a range of national and local issues.

       In a hearing before the Subcommittee on the Constitution in 1997, Judith Best pointed out that the “fact that a successful candidate must win States, not just raw, unstructured votes, means that he must create broad cross-national Federal coalitions… The vote itself must be properly distributed or the winner will note be able to govern.”[8]  Other arguments in favor of the Electoral College include the importance of discourse on local and regional issues, and the desirability of a stable, two-party system.  The current debate centers on the workings of the Electoral College, but it seems that the political circumstances of individual elections may have played a crucial role in voters’ perceptions of the institution’s effectiveness. 

       To introduce my essay, I will briefly explain how the Electoral College works and why it has been and continues to be a controversial institution.  I will summarize the arguments in favor of preserving the Electoral College and those in favor of reforming or abolishing it and will present my rationale for making it the topic of this study.  Questions to address in the introduction include: What makes the Electoral College so controversial and yet so durable?  Why has it been the subject of so much debate throughout the history of the United States up to today?  What new understanding of the institution does this essay offer?

       In the first chapter of my essay, I will provide a detailed history of the Electoral College, including the rationale behind its creation and early reforms.  I will start with the decisions of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention, seeking to understand their vision of the institution by considering their goals and fears.  I will explore the following questions: What ideological and practical considerations inspired the creation of the Electoral College?  Was the proposed system an indication of defeat or distrust, or was it a compromise encompassing the best of all possibilities?  How did acceptance of the system of slavery influence the workings of the Electoral College?  What was the importance of the election of 1800?  What ideals were sacrificed with the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment, and what new goals gained prominence?  In what sense did the Twelfth Amendment fundamentally change the electoral process and the role of the president and vice president?  The goal of this chapter will be to establish a solid historical foundation for the questions and arguments that follow.

       In the second chapter, I will look at controversial nineteenth-century elections that have called the effectiveness of the Electoral College system into question: the four-way contest and subsequent House selection of John Adams in 1824; the contested electoral votes in the post-Civil War election of 1876; and the election of 1888 in which Benjamin Harrison won the Electoral College vote despite losing the popular vote.  In the third chapter, I will examine four controversial elections in the twentieth century: the close contest in the election of 1912 which led many to fear a non-popular winner; Strom Thurmond’s third-party challenge to Harry Truman in the election of 1948 which incited fear regarding the influence of splinter parties and the role of the House in elections and also raised the worrisome question of faithless electors; the close election of 1960 which was complicated by disputed ballots in Alabama; and the election of 1968 and fear of George Wallace’s influence as a third-party contender. 

       Various questions arise out of these elections: What controversies can be attributed to problems with the electoral process and ballot counting?  What controversies are attributable to citizens’ fears that the “wrong” candidate might become president?  In what ways did the contemporary political landscape influence concerns about the Electoral College system, and to what extent could changes in the system have addressed their concerns?  The nineteenth century examples help illuminate the workings of the early system and the changes that transformed it into the present-day system.  The twentieth century examples demonstrate how popular conceptions of fundamental rights influence perceptions of the effectiveness of the Electoral College system.  In particular, the emergence of the “one person, one vote” standard has changed the way citizens understand their role in elections and has inspired much of the current criticism of the Electoral College.  Other questions to consider include the following: How have the elections above led to changes in the way the president is elected?  In what ways has the selection of Electors changed?  In what ways has the Supreme Court been involved in decisions involving the Electoral College?

       In the fourth chapter, I will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the Electoral College in the context of the elections explored in chapters two and three.  I will consider the ways in which the crisis of each election grew out of the circumstances of the election, not necessarily out of a flawed electoral process, as critics of the Electoral College claimed.  Though the supposed flaws in the system were often real, I will inquire as to whether they were at the heart of the problem or whether the Electoral College was really a scapegoat for the dissatisfied.  In this chapter, I will pinpoint lessons from the past that can be applied to present-day discussions of the Electoral College.  Some questions will include: Has the Electoral College been used as a scapegoat and why?  In what ways has it proved to be an enduring institution?  What is the far-reaching impact of the Electoral College?  For instance, how are political parties and campaigns shaped by the Electoral College system?  In what ways does the system promote broad-based parties and discourage radical ideologies? 

       In the final chapter of my essay, I will apply lessons learned about the Electoral College to issues of concern in today’s political environment.  I will consider the election of 2000 and explore whether the Electoral College system was in fact at the root of the crisis.  After all, several problems arose, including the attempted recount of electoral votes in Florida, the involvement of the Supreme Court, and the election by the Electoral College of a candidate who lost the popular vote.  The essay will conclude with the following questions:  Does the election of 2000 offer compelling reasons to reform or abolish the Electoral College?  What lessons can be gleaned from this election regarding the political process in general?  Is it possible to view the election of 2000 as a demonstration of how the system works rather than ways in which it does not work?   The ultimate aim of the essay will be to answer these questions in order to better understand what should be done to either change the Electoral College system or to change our perception of its imperfect but invaluable function in our political system.

       Sources for my essay fall into four categories: historical works on the Constitutional Convention and the Electoral College, including both primary and secondary sources; political works that examine the functioning of the Electoral College system and the viability of alternatives; legal studies of electoral law and relevant Supreme Court cases; and historical accounts of presidential elections.

       A number of historians have contributed to the historical study of the Constitutional Convention and the Electoral College.  Max Farrand gives the definitive account of the Convention in his work, The Framing of the Constitution of the United States, providing background and context to the issues as well as the details of the issues themselves.  Paul Eidelberg explains the Founders’ reasons for creating the Electoral College and for rejecting the direct-vote option in his 1968 work, The Philosophy of the American Constitution.  Tadahisa Kuroda traces the history of the 12^th Amendment in her 1994 book, The Origins of the 12^th Amendment.  Lucius Wilmerding Jr.’s critique of the Electoral College also provides interesting insight into the origins of the 12^th Amendment in his 1958 book, The Electoral College.  He judges the system harshly, noting in particular the inconsistencies in how states have and could in the future appoint electors.  Shlomo Slonim’s 1986 article in The Journal of American History places the creation of the Electoral College in the context of the recurring debates at the Convention, suggesting that the system was a practical and effective compromise.  Richard Morris explores the fears and hopes of the three writers of the Federalist papers in his 1985 work, Witnesses at the Creation, and Garry Wills and Paul Finkelman explore the connection between the Three-Fifths Compromise and the Electoral College in “Negro President” Jefferson and the Slave Power, published in 2003, and “The Proslavery Origins of the Electoral College,” an article published in 2002.  Carol Berkin provides insight into the role the delegates envisioned for the executive in her book, A Brilliant Solution, and Jack Rakove examines the role of compromise in the creation of the Electoral College in his book, Original Meanings.

       Two primary sources provide additional historical insight: James Madison’s Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 shed light on the delegates’ thought processes in the writing of the Constitution, and numbers 39 and 68 of The Federalist papers by Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton further illuminate the origins of the system and its rationale.  

       Several important works in the field of political science contribute to an understanding of the Electoral College.  In defense of the Electoral College are two comprehensive studies of the system and how it works: Judith Best’s The Case Against Direct Election of the President and Robert Hardaway’s The Electoral College and the Constitution: the Case for Preserving Federalism.  William Kimberling explains and defends the Electoral College in a helpful primer pamphlet from the Federal Election Commission.  In addition, Dr. George Grant and Gary L. Gregg II each give a defense of the Electoral College in light of the election of 2000.  In support of the movement to abolish the Electoral College are two important studies:  Lawrence Longley’s Politics of Electoral College Reform and Neal Peirce’s The People’s President: The Electoral College in American History and the Direct-Vote Alternative.  In addition, David Abbott and James Levine as well as George C. Edwards III have written critiques of the Electoral College in light of the election of 2000.  Other helpful works include Cortez Ewing’s Presidential Elections, Wallace Sayre and Judith Parris’s Voting for President, and James Sundquist’s Constitutional Reform and Effective Government.  A transcript of the 1999 hearing before a committee of the House of Representatives on proposals for Electoral College reform provides insight into the arguments of various academic and political experts.

       Studies of electoral law and the influence of the Supreme Court provide insight into the court cases that have defined electoral law and into the more theoretical questions of individual voting rights.  In his book The Supreme Court and Election Law, Richard Hasen looks at election law cases in the Supreme Court in the last four decades, shedding light on the evolution of the “one person, one vote” standard that has influenced popular understandings of the Electoral College.  Charles Fried also examines the role of fundamental rights and the “one person, one vote” standard in Saying What the Law Is.  David Ryden and Donald Stephenson further explore the Supreme Court’s influence on the electoral process in their works, The U.S. Supreme Court and the Electoral Process and Campaigns and the Courts: the U.S. Supreme Court in Presidential Elections.    These works provide a legal perspective that is crucial to an understanding of how electoral law has been interpreted.

       A variety of works provide detailed accounts of specific presidential elections.  Editors Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Fred Israel, and William Hansen provide a comprehensive history of presidential elections in their four-volume work, History of American Presidential Elections, 1789-1968.  For each election, an analytical essay is followed by primary sources supporting the essay’s thesis.  Susan Dunn emphasizes the importance of the election of 1800 in her book, Jefferson’s Second Revolution, and a number of contributors explore this election in a collection of essays, The Revolution of 1800.  Mark Summers explores the complexities of the election of 1888 in his book, Party Games: Getting, Keeping, and Using Power in Gilded Age Politics.  James Chase tells the stories of the four candidates in the election of 1912, and Gary Donaldson and Zachary Karabell explore the lives and politics of the candidates in the election of 1948.  In his book, 1968: The Election That Changed America, Lewis Gould explores the role of race and citizens’ loss of confidence in political institutions.  Howard Gillman gives a detailed account of the legal decisions involved in Bush v. Gore in his 2001 book, The Votes That Counted, and a book of essays edited by Jack Rakove explores what the election of 2000 says about politics in the United States.  Most of these works do not focus on the Electoral College, but they provide insight into the historical and political context of each election.

       The proposed essay directly relates to two courses I have taken at Wesleyan, both with my advisor Donald Rogers: one on Constitutional History and the other on the Progressive Era in American Politics.  Four other courses are related in a broader sense because they have informed my understanding of politics and identity in America: Toleration with Lawrence Vogel, International Relations with Guilio Gallarotti, Race and Identity with Carol Wright, and the American Revolution with Sally Hadden at the Harvard Extension School.  My goal has been to achieve a greater understanding of American history and politics from a variety of viewpoints, and I will further my studies by focusing on the Electoral College within the broad context of legal, historical, and political influences.  It is particularly exciting to me that my most challenging professor, and the professor whose area of expertise relates most closely to my proposed topic, has agreed to advise me in this project.  As a U.S. History teacher at the high school level, I hope to deepen my understanding of this important part of our political process.

       Because I live in Boston, I plan to communicate with my advisor primarily through email and the postal service, though I will drive to Connecticut when in-person meetings are preferable.  I plan to do research in the fall of 2005, write the introduction and chapters one through five in the spring and early summer, and then do revisions in August.  Following is a tentative timetable:

Preliminary Bibliography

1.) History of the Electoral College

Berkin, Carol.  A Brilliant Solution.  New York: Harcourt Inc., 2002.

Eidelberg, Paul.  The Philosophy of the American Constitution: A Reinterpretation of the Intentions of the Founding Fathers.  New York: The Free Press, 1968.

Farrand, Max.  The Framing of the Constitution of the United States.  New Haven: Yale University Press, 1913.

Finkelman, Paul.  “The Proslavery Origins of the Electoral College”.  Cardozo Law Review 23 (2002): 1145-1157.

Hamilton, Alexander; John Jay; James Madison.  The Federalist.  New York: The Modern Library, 1937.

Keyssar, Alexander.  The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States.  New York: Basic Books, 2000.

Kuroda, Tadahisa.  The Origins of the 12^th Amendment: The Electoral College in the Early Republic, 1787-1804.  Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994.

Madison, James.  Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787.  Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 1966.

Morris, Richard B.  Witnesses at the Creation.  New York: Penguin Books, 1985.

Rakove, Jack N.  Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997.

Slonim, Shlomo.  “The Electoral College at Philadelphia: The Evolution of an Ad Hoc Congress for the Selection of a President.” The Journal of American History 73 (1986): 35-58. 

Wills, Garry.  “Negro President” Jefferson and the Slave Power.  Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.

Wilmerding, Lucius Jr.  The Electoral College.  New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1958.

2.) Political Studies of the Electoral College

Abbott, David W. and James P. Levine.  Wrong Winner: The Coming Debacle in the Electoral College.  Westport, CT: Praegar Publishers, 1991.

Best, Judith.  The Case Against Direct Election of the President.  Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1971.

Edwards, George C. III.  Why the Electoral College is Bad for America.  New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004.

Epstein, Edward.  “Feinstein Wants End to Electoral College” in San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/200/12/23/MNG M3AGB2L1.CTL, 8 January 2006.

Ewing, Cortez.  Presidential Elections.  Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1972.

Glennon, Michael J.  When No Majority Rules: The Electoral College and Presidential Succession.  Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1992.

Gregg, Gary L. II., ed.  Securing Democracy: Why We Have an Electoral College.  Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2001.

Hardaway, Robert M.  The Electoral College and the Constitution: the Case for Preserving Federalism.  Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1994.

Kimberling, William C.  The Electoral College.  Washington, D.C.: National Clearinghouse on Election Administration, 1992.

Longley, Lawrence and Alan Braun.  Politics of Electoral College Reform.  New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972.

Michener, James A.  The Presidential Lottery.  Buffalo: Associated Reprinting Company, 1969.

Peirce, Neal R.  The People’s President: The Electoral College in American History and the Direct-Vote Alternative.  New York: Simon and Schuster, 1968.

Sayre, Wallace S. and Judith H. Parris.  Voting for President.  Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1970.

Stanwood, Edward.  A History of Presidential Elections.  Boston: Ticknor and Company, 1884.

Sundquist, James L.  Constitutional Reform and Effective Government.  Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1986.

Proposals for Electoral College Reform.  Hearing Before the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives One Hundred Fifth Congress.  Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1999.

3.) Legal History of Electoral Law

Fried, Charles.  Saying What the Law Is.  Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2004.

Hasen, Richard L.  The Supreme Court and Election Law.  New York: New York University Press, 2003.

Ryden, David K., ed.  The U.S. Supreme Court and the Electoral Process.  Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2000.

Stephenson, Donald Grier.  Campaigns and the Courts: the U.S. Supreme Court in Presidential Elections.  New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.

4.)  Historical Accounts of Presidential Elections

Chase, James.  1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs – The Election That Changed the Country.  New York: Simon and Schuster, 2004.

Donaldson, Gary A.  Truman Defeats Dewey.  Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky, 1999.

Dunn, Susan.  Jefferson’s Second Revolution: The Election Crisis of 1800 and the Triumph of Republicanism.  Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.

Gillman, Howard.  The Votes That Counted.  Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2001.

Gould, Lewis L.  1968: The Election That Changed America.  Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1993.

Horn, James, Jan Ellen Lewis, and Peter S. Onuf, eds.  The Revolution of 1800: Democracy, Race, and the New Republic.  Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2002.

Karabell, Zachary.  The Last Campaign: How Harry Truman Won the 1948 Election.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.

Morris, Roy Jr.  Fraud of the Century: Rutherford B. Hayes, Samuel Tilden, and the Stolen Election of 1876.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003.

Rakove, Jack N., ed.  The Unfinished Election of 2000.  New York: Basic Books, Inc, 2001.

Rehnquist, William H.  Centennial Crisis: The Disputed Election of 1876.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.

Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr., Fred L. Israel, and William P. Hansen, eds.,  History of American Presidential Elections, 1789-1968.  New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971.

Summers, Mark W.  Party Games: Getting, Keeping, and Using Power in Gilded Age Politics.  Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004.

Sample Final Project Proposal 1 - Science Project

CRAYFISH IN OUR MIDST: A STUDY OF CRAYFISH DIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE IN LEBANON, CONNECTICUT
by Carol L. Morris-Scata

Submitted to Wesleyan University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Liberal Studies.

January 2008
Geoffrey Hammerson, PhD.
Wesleyan University
GLSP Instructor

ABSTRACT
Crayfish are regarded as both keystone species and environmental engineers because of the relationships that they have with other organisms in freshwater ecosystems. Invasive species of crayfish, entering ecosystems as a result of migration or human activities, have disrupted native populations of macroinvertebrates, fish, and crayfish due to competition for resources, higher reproductive rates, or tolerance to environmental change. Two crayfish species, Cambarus bartonii bartonii and Orconectes immunis, were identified as historical species in Connecticut by Hobbs in his comprehensive study of crayfish for the Environmental Protection Agency (1972). However since the publication of Hobbs’s study, five introduced species have been documented in Connecticut’s waters. This study for Wesleyan University’s Master of Liberal Arts Program seeks to determine the presence of crayfish populations in Lebanon, Connecticut and particularly to examine whether recent invaders to Connecticut’s freshwater systems have replaced the historical species of crayfish in the Lebanon area. By utilizing barrel traps and hand collection methods, I will document the abundance and diversity of crayfish species in specific ecosystems in Lebanon, Connecticut and assess their relationship to abiotic factors such as pH, water temperature, water velocity and depth and electrical conductivity. From this data, a map of crayfish densities within Lebanon, Connecticut can be drawn; the two major drainage systems in Lebanon, Connecticut may also be compared for population patterns. Through statistical analysis of the data, I will discuss whether the historical species are indicative of this area of the state, and if the targeted abiotic features are limiting factors for the establishment and flourishing of the those crayfish species that are present.

Introduction
Looking over the lightly ruffled waters of Brewster Pond, I stand smug, basking in the knowledge that this peaceful waterway and I share a secret. From its cool waters, a sparkling collage of blues, browns and greens, behind its ancient dam of algae-covered concrete, is fed a meandering stream: Bartlett Brook. Here slower moving water, the pools and eddies that give refuge from turbulent riffles, hiding beneath the surface, is an active world of fish, macro-invertebrates, and crayfish. I had swum in this pond before, in younger years; I had sledded with my children over the steep ruts of Meeting House Road, stopping at the brook’s edge. But I had never really wondered about that world beneath its surface, nor realized that whole societies of creatures existed, with their own rules and regulations, their relationships, their give and take economies; an ecosystem in which crayfish form an integral part.

Proposal
Crayfish, those lobster-like creatures with their bulging eyes and somewhat frightening front claws, seem like an unlikely topic for a Master’s thesis. Yet it is crayfish and their watery world that is to be the subject of my final project. My goal is to determine what varieties of crayfish exist in Lebanon, Connecticut and their relative concentrations. In particular, I am interested in whether the two historical species of crayfish recognized by Horton H. Hobbs (1972), Cambarus bartonii bartonii and Orconectes immunis, dominate Lebanon’s waters or have been replaced by five introduced species now known to exist in Connecticut: Cambarus robustus, Orconectes limosus, Orconectes rusticus, Orconectes virilis, Procambarus acutus acutus (http://iz.carnegiemnh.org/crayfish/country_pages/state_pages/connecticut.htm). Because introduced species often change the ecosystems that they have entered (Capelli and Munjal 1982), and can negatively impact endemic organisms, I suspect that fewer specimens of the historical species in Connecticut will be present in Lebanon’s waterways because of species migration and invasion.

Specific water resources within each of the four USGS quadrangles that comprise the town of Lebanon, Connecticut, including parts of the Yantic and the Shetucket drainage systems, will be surveyed using a systematic sampling plan. In addition to measuring, photographing, and identifying crayfish specimens, I will also collect data regarding water temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, water flow, and water depth to investigate whether these abiotic variables are contributing factors to the establishment of specific species of crayfish in Lebanon’s wetlands. Research by Paglianti and Gherardi (2004), for example, indicates that temperature and diet affected growth and survival rates of indigenous and invasive crayfish species, whereas Rabalais and Magoulick (2006) looked at current velocity, water depth, and substrate composition and determined their impact on crayfish densities of invasive and native species. I intend to share the results from this GLSP Master’s project with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection in the hopes that my findings will become part of a larger study on crayfish that is currently being conducted.

Review of the Literature
When I tell someone that I am studying crayfish, the usual response is a wrinkled up nose and a look of disgust. “Why study crayfish?” I am asked. First the presence of crayfish in freshwater ponds, streams and wetlands is an indicator of biomass, or living matter and energy availability within an ecosystem (Dorn, Urgelles, and Truxler 2005). Crayfish, for example, are shredders, and they can strongly influence the amount of leaf breakdown that occurs within a stream, thereby affecting the organisms that rely on stream detritus for food (Creed and Reed 2004). Secondly crayfish have a distinctive appearance, and as they are larger animals that occur in a variety of freshwater habitats, they are easier to capture and identify than other aquatic arthropods such as insects. Therefore they are an excellent choice for a study of interactions within a freshwater ecosystem because they are so visible.

According to Helms and Creed (2005), “Crayfish have strong trophic and nontrophic effects in many freshwater systems.” This means that crayfish can influence the nutritional relationships within an ecosystem as well as change the physical environment of that ecosystem through their behavior. Depending on the species, crayfish can fulfill an ecological role as an herbivore, carnivore, detritivore, or omnivore (McCafferty, 1981). Therefore their foods can range from snails, worms, tadpoles, salmon eggs and insect larvae to algae, water vegetation, and dead fish (Crocker, 1968). Furthermore they are an important prey species, the favorite food of larger aquatic predators such as trout, bass, cod, pickerel, and eels, as well as land-dwelling animals that rely on water habitats for food. These other predators would include painted turtles, otters, minks, rat, and some birds such as grackles (Barr 1994).

As a result, crayfish are an important part of the freshwater food chain, and their abundance and variety gives important information regarding the community structure and function within a particular area. In many respects they are a “keystone species” because they directly and indirectly influence so many other living creatures that are linked above and below them in an aquatic food web (Flinders and Magoulick 2005). Additionally they are have been regarded as “ecosystem engineers” (Jones 1997) (Helms and Creed 2005) because their unique role within an aquatic community determines the biotic relationships throughout that system.

Crayfish play a role in human activities as well, yet they are also affected by human activities. Crayfish are a source of food in many societies, including the southern states of the United States where a greater number of “crawdad” varieties may be found in comparison to the northeast region (Rabalais and Magoulick 2006). They have also been used as bait for fish, and are popular as a lure for trout and bass. Because bucket bait is often released, different varieties of crayfish have been introduced to non-native waters. The effects of these introduced species on aquatic habitats have been substantial and sometimes detrimental.

There have been numerous studies that have investigated the effects of invasive species on habitats and on pre-existing crayfish. The decline of the white-clawed crayfish (Austropotomobius pallipes) in England, the UK’s only native crayfish, is perhaps one of the most well known instances of species takeover. Austropotomobius pallipes has been given protected status because the signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus), an introduced species, has flourished in UK waters, thereby threatening native populations through competition for resources and habitat. The signal crayfish was found to be more aggressive in its quest for food and shelter, and reproduced more rapidly with greater numbers of offspring (http://www.jncc.gov.uk/protectedsites/sacselection/species.asp?FeatureIntCode=S1092).
The introduction of disease is another repercussion that may occur from an influx of non-indigenous species, like the signal crayfish, to a water habitat. Pacifastacus leniusculus was shown to transmit crayfish plague that destroyed many populations of the white-clawed crayfish across England.

In the United States and Canada similar concerns have been raised about the impact of invasive crayfish on aquatic ecosystems. Fast growth, high reproductive rates, and high tolerance for environmental changes have been the hallmarks of success for invasive species (Paglianti and Gherardi 2004) (Herbert and Gelwick 2001). In Wisconsin the invasion of rusty crayfish Orconectes rusticus has greatly reduced the presence of fish in Spring Lake. Rusty crayfish ate fish eggs as well as devoured aquatic plants, thereby limiting food and shelter resources for fish (Roth, Hein and Vander Zanden 2006). Similar patterns have been discovered in other lakes in Wisconsin (Capelli and Munjal 1982) where large shifts in crayfish populations and decline in fish populations have occurred.

A final point to consider about the importance of studying crayfish is their role as indicators of water quality. Generally crayfish have been shown to exhibit moderate pollution tolerance (http://www.epa.gov/owow/monitoring/rbp/app_a.html), although some species are more successful in polluted conditions than others. In the case of the white-clawed species Austropotomobius pallipes , Lyons and Kelly-Quinn (2003) have shown that populations of these native crayfish were totally eliminated in known habitation sites in Ireland when water quality greatly diminished, although no correlation was established for particular pollutants and white-clawed crayfish demise. Introduced species, however, expanded their domain. While extinctions can occur over long periods of geological time, this loss of biodiversity as a result of human activities is a major concern.

Crayfish, therefore, are signalers; the presence or absence of historical species can indicate that conservation management is needed to protect water resources for wildlife and humans alike. Here in the United States, the Nature Conservancy estimates that 51% of 330 known crayfish species are in jeopardy due to environmental degradation and resource mismanagement, including water quality changes, habitat alteration or fragmentation (http://www.natureserve.org/library/1997speciesreportcard.pdf ).

Methodology
For this final project, I will conduct my study in different streams, shallow pools, lakes, and ponds of Lebanon, Connecticut from late June 2008 through October 2008. I will obtain crayfish by using barrel traps, purchased from Cabellas, which have been baited with wet cat food. Crayfish are notorious for being able to escape from traps, however, and it may be possible that traps will only capture a few adult crayfish. As a result, a kick net and handpicking will function as a second, back-up method of collection, particularly in the narrower and shallower streams and pools where it is feasible. Both slow and fast moving water resources within each of the four USGS quadrangles that comprise the total area of Lebanon will be tested, for a minimum of 8 test sites. Within each test site, I will use a 10 ft by 10 ft roped grid to define the trap location or hand collection area. Traps will be moved around this square to ensure that the results are reliable for that site. By using these methods, I will be creating a map of Lebanon that identifies crayfish diversity and abundance. In addition I may be able to compare population patterns within the two major drainage systems in Lebanon, the Yantic system and Shetucket system.

As noted earlier I will be testing the water at each site for pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, water flow, and water depth to determine if there is any correlation between these factors and the development of crayfish communities. Electrical conductivity (EC) shows the amount of dissolved solids in water, hence the quality of that water resource. An increase in total dissolved solids (TDS), as indicated by increasing EC, is an indicator of pollution from natural or man-made sources. Probes for temperature, pH, and electrical conductivity from Hanna Instruments, Inc. will be utilized for this data collection. I expect to find variations in species by area, due to differences in the above factors; however only data collection will tell if this hypothesis can be supported.

I trapped throughout October and November 2007 to gather some initial information about crayfish locations and to practice using traps, bait, scientific equipment, as well as data collection. These test locations in three different quadrangles of Lebanon included: 2 sites on Brewster Pond, 3 sites on Bartlett Brook, 1 site on Pease Brook, 1 site on Williams Pond, 1 site on Cabin Brook, and 1 site on Exeter Brook. A total of 10 specimens with hard exoskeletons were caught that ranged in size from 4-5.5 inches in length. It appeared that two different species were caught near the dam at the headwaters of Bartlett Brook, but these identifications will have to be verified with the experts at Connecticut DEP. As fall is the mating period for crayfish, it is reasonable to expect that these were adults, and that smaller crayfish will be in these vicinities in late spring.

Water velocity was estimated as slow, medium, or fast, in each of these locations. However an exact method for measuring water flow will have to be determined. In addition, it will be important to choose a statistical model that best shows the relationships between these abiotic features and crayfish populations.

Data collection sheets and an identification key were devised prior to trapping, and I also began a field notebook. The experiences this autumn already show that the key and data sheet model will need to be modified. Although the identification manual, Crayfishes (Astacidae) of North and Middle America, by Horton H. Hobbs, Jr. (1972) continues to be a valuable resource, the discovery of many species since its publication, and the regional differences that occur within species will require that my original identification sheet, which I created using color photographs from several crayfish databases, will have to be revised to include more morphological examples and specific identifying features for each of the target species.

It has been my coursework at Wesleyan that has guided me to this final project, particularly the three courses that I have taken with my adviser, Geoffrey Hammerson, PhD.: SCIE 619 The Biology of Mammals, SCIE 638 Conservation Biology, and SCIE 616 Biology of Marine Mammals. Those experiences in Geoff’s classes spurred my interest in the natural world and its intricate relationships; his courses made me see that there is much to study, literally right in my own backyard.

SCIE 614 Classic Studies in Animal Behavior with Dr. Joyce Powzyck was instrumental in introducing me to the many permutations that exist in animal behavior and the attempts by human observers to understand them. With Professors Suzanne O’Connell (SCIE644 Oceanography) and Professor Jelle Zeilinga de Boer (SCIE 641 Earth Resources) I learned that geological processes shape the natural resources upon which animal and human cultures are founded. Yet Michael Pestel’s course, Green Architecture (ARTS 623), demonstrated the disastrous effect that human civilizations can have on the environment, and the need for a paradigm shift, an embracing of “green living” if our Earth is to continue to be home for so many creatures.

Finally my courses with Professor Michael McAlear (SCIE 680 Genetics Lab, SCIE 681 Recent Advances in Biotechnology, SCIE 68O Molecular Biology of Emerging Diseases) helped me to develop an understanding of, and appreciation for, the tiniest members of our environment, bacteria and viruses; in many respects they are the power brokers of the natural world.

I chose my coursework at Wesleyan carefully, and I feel that my proposed project reflects the broader understanding that I have developed as a result of the differing viewpoints and expertise offered by my instructors in the GLSP program.

Adviser Meeting Plan and Timetable
Because I live here in Lebanon, Connecticut and my adviser lives out of state, I plan to communicate with him by email and the post office. When Geoff returns to Wesleyan to teach this summer, I will of course meet with him to discuss my progress. Over the winter months and into the spring, I plan to continue to do research and to write the review of literature/introduction section for my scientific study. I also will finalize my research plan by determining specific trap sites. The majority of the resources that I need are available through Wesleyan’s library and databases. However I will also utilize the Connecticut DEP for additional information and support. The following is a tentative timetable:

Timetable
Proposal Submitted: January 2008
Work to be submitted to adviser as follows:

January through March 2008
Find a reader for project
Continue research on crayfish
Complete Introduction for Scientific Study
Complete study/ practice of probes and other water quality indicators from Hanna.
Obtain GPS system and water flow meter

March through late May 2008
Firm up research methods and materials
Prepare equipment; edit data sheets
Obtain collector’s license from CT Fisheries Dept.; prepare ID badges for equipment
Finalize trap drop locations

Late June through October 2008
Begin weekly trapping and recording data from chosen sites
Compile digital photography record
Prepare voucher specimens for identification

November, December 2008
Review/determine statistical models to be used; locate personnel at Wesleyan who can assist with computer-generated statistics
Write Methods section of scientific study
Begin developing tables, graphs, charts etc. from data

January through March 2009
Complete statistical analysis
Complete Results section of scientific study

April, May 2009
Complete Discussion, Literature Cited sections

June 2009
Send complete scientific study to adviser for review
Send complete study to reader for review

July, August 2009
Revised final version submitted to adviser: July 31, 2009
Revised final version submitted to reader: July 31, 2009

Project completed and submitted to GLSP: August 15, 2009

Literature Cited

Capelli GM, Munja BL. 1982. Aggressive interactions and resource competition in
relation to species displacement among crayfish of the genus Orconectes. J
Crustacean Biology 2(4): 486-492.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 2004 Nov 4. State of Connecticut crayfish species checklist. <http://iz.carnegiemnh.org/crayfish/country_pages/state_pages/connecticut.htm> Accessed 2007 Oct 28.

Creed RP, Reed JM. 2004. Ecosystem engineering by crayfish in a headwater stream
community. J North Am Benthological Society 23(2): 224-236.

Crocker, DW, 1957. The crayfishes of New York state (Decapoda, Astacidae). Bulletin of the New York State Museum and Science Service 355: 1-97.

Crocker DW, Barr DW. 1968. The handbook of crayfishes of Ontario: U of Toronto
Press. 158 p.

Dorn NJ, Urgelles R, Trexler JC. 2005. Evaluating active and passive sampling methods to quantify crayfish density in a freshwater wetland 24(2): 346-356.

Flinders CA, Magoulick DD. 2005. Distribution, habitat use and life history of stream dwelling crayfish in the Spring River drainage of Arkansas and Missouri with a focus on the imperiled Mammoth Spring crayfish (Orconectes marchandi). Am Midland Naturalist 154(2): 358-374.

Helms BS, Creed RP. 2005. The effects of 2 coexisting crayfish on an Appalachian river Community. J N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 24(1): 113-122.

Herbert ME Gelwick FP. 2001. Spatial variation of headwater fish assemblages
explained by hydrologic variability and upstream effects of impoundment. Copeia 2003 (2): 273-284.

Hobbs HH Jr., 1972. Crayfishes (Astacidae) of North and Middle America. Biota of freshwater ecosystems identification manual no.9. Washington, D.C.: Department of Environmental Protection. 173 p.

Joint Nature Conservation Committee. 2007 Nov. 1092 White clawed crayfish
Austropotomobius pallipes. <http://www.jncc.gov.uk/protectedsites/sacselection/species.asp?FeatureIntCode=S1092> Acessed 2007 Nov 11.

Lyons R, Kelly-Quinn M. 2003. An investigation into the disappearance of
Austropotamobius pallipes populations in the headwaters of the Nore River, Ireland and the correlation to water quality. Bull. Fr. Peche Piscic. 370-371: 139-150.

McCafferty WP, 1981. Aquatic entomology: the fishermen’s and ecologists’ illustrated
guide to insects and their relatives. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. 448 p.

The Nature Conservancy. 1997. 1997 Species report card: the state of US plants and animals.
<http://www.natureserve.org/library/1997speciesreportcard.pdf >. Accessed 2007 Dec 2.

Paglianti A, Gherardi F. 2004. Combined effects of temperature and diet on growth and survival of young-of-year crayfish: a comparison between indigenous and
invasive species. J Crustacean Biology 24(1): 140-148.

Rabalais MR, Magoulick DD. 2006. Influence of an invasive crayfish species on diurnal habitat use and selection by a native crayfish species in an Ozark stream. Am Midland Naturalist 155: 295-306.

Roth BM, Hein CL, Vander Zanden, MJ. 2006. Using bioenergetics and stable isotopes to assess the trophic role of rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) in lake littoral zones. Can J of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences 63: 335-344.

US Dept of Environmental Protection. 2005 Aug. 10. Use of biological information to better define aquatic life uses in state and tribal water quality standards: tiered aquatic life uses. <http://www.epa.gov/owow/monitoring/rbp/app_a.html>. Accessed 2007 Dec.1.

Bibliography of Additional Resources

Charlebois PM, Lamberti GA. 1996. Invading crayfish in a Michigan steam: direct and indirect effects on periphyton and macroinvertebrates. J N Am Benthological Soc 15: 551-563.

Claussen DL, Hopper RA, Sanker AM. 2000. The effects of temperature, body size, and hydration state on the terrestrial locomotion of the crayfish. J Crustacean Bio. 20(2): 218-223.

Creed RP Jr. 1994. Direct and indirect effects of grazing in a stream community. Ecology 75: 2091-2103.

Cronin G, Lodge DM, Hay ME, Miller M, Hill AM, Horvath T, Bolser RC, Lindquist N, Wahl W. 2002. Crayfish feeding preferences for freshwater macrophytes: the influence of plant structure and chemistry. J Crustacean Bio. 22(4): 708-718.

DiStefano RJ, Gale CM, Wagner BA, Zweifel RD. 2003. A sampling method to assess lotic crayfish communities. J Crustacean Bio. 23(3): 678-690.

Dukat H, Magoulick DD. 1999. Effects of predation on two species of stream dwelling crayfish (Orconectes marchandi and Cambarus hubbsi) in pool and riffle habitats. J Ark Acad of Sci 53: 45-49.

Englund G., Krupa JJ. 2000. Habitat use by crayfish in stream pools; influence of predators, depth, and body size. Freshwat Biol 43: 75-83.

Flinders CA. 2000. The ecology of lotic system crayfish in the Spring River Watershed innorthern Arkansas and southern Missouri. M.S. Thesis, University of Central Arkansas, Conway Arkansas. 107p.

Hazlett BA, Acquistapace P, Gherardi F. 2006. Responses of the crayfish Orconectes Virilis to chemical cues depend upon flow conditions. J Crustacean Bio. 26(1): 94-98.

Harvey BC, Stewart AJ. 1991. Fish size and habitat depth relationships in headwater streams. Oceologia 87: 336-342.

Hobbs HH Jr. 1981. The crayfishes of Georgia. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. 549 p.

Huxley TH. Raymond SA (editor). 1880. Crayfish: an introduction to the study of zoology.  London: C. Kegan & Paul Co. 33p.

Lodge DM, Hill AM. 1994. Factors governing species composition, population size, and productivity of cool-water crayfishes. Nordi J Freshwa Res 69: 111-136.

Mundahl ND, Benton MJ. 1990. Aspects of thermal ecology of the rusty crayfish Orconectes rusticus (Girard). Oecologia 82: 210-216.

Rader RB, Batzer DP, Wissinger SA (edited). 2001. Bioassessment and management of North American freshwater wetlands. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 480 p.

Whitledge GW, Rabeni CF. 1997. Energy sources and ecological role of crayfishes in an Ozark stream. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 54: 2555-2563.

 

Sample Final Project Proposal 2 - Art Project

Terri A. Tibbatts
Final Project Proposal:  Water for Tea: An Artist's Book
Advisor: Robin Price
January 2003

The Way of Haiku arises from concentration and lack of distraction.  Look well within yourself.   – Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)

        Basho’s advice is simple but following it in my own life has been difficult. Basho, a haiku poet from seventeenth century Japan, lived a nomadic life, traveling over the countryside observing nature and writing poetry.  My days are full of distraction and interruptions and the needs of other people.  I rarely have large blocks of time and have had to become more skilled at using snatches of time to be creative and to be fulfilled as an artist.  My final project, a limited edition artist’s book, is a response to my personal journey of looking within myself and outwardly at the world.  It will incorporate skills and inspiration from my life as a whole and from my time at Wesleyan.

        The working title for this book is Water for Tea, a phrase from one of the first haikus I ever wrote.  It will be a combination of written and visual poetry including my own haiku poems and sumi-e paintings, and will be printed letterpress at the Middletown studio of my advisor, Robin Price.  The poems themselves began as an inspiration from my class at Wesleyan on Zen Buddhism.  As part of the class reflection son meditation I began to write haiku on small colored cards from a paint store.  Almost without any conscious intent or plan my collection of cards grew as I moved through the seasons and through my days as a mother and wife, gardener and cook, chauffeur and volunteer, student and artist.  After the class ended I continued to write the poems and continue to this day.  These poems and the haiku experiences they reflect are most definitely a part of my quest to be observant and in the present moment.

        A major component of the book will be the ability of the reader to manipulate the experience of “reading” it, making each reading unique and fresh.  The poems will be printed on loose cards and will not be bound in the conventional manner of most books but will instead be housed in a wooden box.  The images too will be printed and mounted on a variety of stiff material including wood and Plexiglas.  The box itself will be the stage for these images with a design that allows the “card pictures” to slide in and out of grooves much like a sliding door or shoji screen.  Some images will be translucent and will be able to overlap other cards.  A layered effect that builds as one reads the book will be achieved.  The reader will be able to read the poems in any order and also be able to choose what images will be viewed with the poems chosen.  This choice is very important to the design and conception of the book.  Each time the book is experienced it will be unique to that particular reader.  Each reader will have to take the time to experience the book and interpret the poems.  William Higginson writes in his book The Haiku Handbook:

The writer of the short poem – and particularly a haiku – invites the reader to take off, to become dynamically involved in the poetic process. As with music, the poem only begins in the writing, and finds its completion in a process that includes the sounding of the poem in the reader or hearer’s mind, and the echoes it awakens there.

        The design of the book will encourage the reader to become dynamically involved, to take time, to have fun and to bring their own thoughts and memories into the experience.

        The exact details of the design of the book are still being formulated in my head but the following is a brief description of the book as I envision it at this time.  The book will be printed in an edition of fifty copies with no two being exactly alike.  Texture, pattern and the tactility of the piece, especially the cards, will be important design considerations.  Color will play an important role in signifying mood and seasonal changes along with elements of translucency and iridescence.  The paper will be of a high quality and will be handmade when appropriate for the process.  Subtle patterning will be incorporated with the possible use of embossing, stamping and collage. The images will be hand colored in some cases to give dimension and depth and the elements of immediacy and spontaneity.  The images themselves will be of simple everyday objects such as a tea cup, a broom or a book.  Other images will be from nature such as morning glories, a shooting star and dragonflies.  The images will support and amplify the haiku but will not be illustrations of the poem per se.  I will be doing the hand binding and will work with my husband who is a woodworker to design and fabricate the box.  Some of the materials I would like to include in this book are hand-woven fabric, wood, vellum and Japanese handmade paper.

        Books and the making of books have been a part of my life for over twenty-five years.  As an undergraduate at Smith College I studied calligraphy and learned about the history of letter forms and the use of typography.  I wrote and illustrated a research paper on the history of carved letter forms on early gravestones in the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts.  Upon graduating with a degree in art history, I began working as a photo editor at Grolier Publishing, helping to produce books on a wide variety of subjects and learning more about the making of books on a large, mass-produced scale.  Frustrated by the lack of real creativity and expression in modern publishing I moved to Japan to study Japanese calligraphy and brush work and to learn more about the long tradition of Japanese book arts including woodblock printing, papermaking and bookbinding.  I lived in Tokyo for less than a year and in that short time was exposed to art on a daily basis in the form of pottery, painting, textiles and written words.  I learned to use the brush to create calligraphy and became entranced with the spontaneity and vibrancy of this ancient art form.  After returning to Connecticut I began a job at the Meriden – Stinehour Press in Meriden and learned the business of fine art printing, helping to produce limited edition books on photography and art.  My next book experience was in the joy of reading my favorite childhood books to my two young sons.  I was happy being a mother but needed a way to continue to grow as an artist.

        Having been intrigued by the Graduate Liberal Studies Program for some time, I signed up for my first GLSP class on Japanese woodblock printing taught by Keiji Shinohara and knew almost immediately that the GLS Program would help me in finding my way as an artist.  Keiji taught me how to do Japanese woodblock printing and how to use color.  His class and all the subsequent classes that I took through the Graduate Liberal Studies Program have contributed to the formulation and design of my final project.  Many of my classes have culminated in a final class project that has involved the book form, including the most recent one – a writing class with Anne Greene.  I submitted a series of memoirs in the form of a photo album, tying in the written memories with visual memories in the form of old snapshots.  I also created an artist’s journal as the final requirement for my course work on Zen Buddhism, a class I took with Lou Nordstrom.  Illustrating the journal with sumi-e brush work, I also wrote haiku as part of the experience of Zen meditation and awareness.  These poems combined with responses to the lectures and the readings became the basis for the daily journal entries.

        Some of the art classes I took involved the book itself as a the basis for study including Sue Berry’s “Bestiaries and Herbals,” Kitty Winslow’s “Land Echoes: An Artist’s Book” and Robin Price’s “Letterpress Printing and Typography.”  In each of these classes I learned more about the actual making of a book and also about the history of bookmaking.  For Sue Berry’s class I produced a series of hand bout, hand illustrated books and worked on a collaborative book with other class members.  In Kitty Winslow’s class I made a one-of-a-kind artist’s book using birch bark and hand dyed paper, using the Connecticut River as inspiration.  In Robin Price’s class I learned to set type and use a press, creating a limited edition book interpreting a poem by Pablo Neruda.  All three of these classes exposed me to the unique resource libraries in Connecticut that are collecting fine press books and artist’s books, including Wesleyan’s Special Collections and Yale’s Arts of the Book Collection.  Seeing examples of book work done in the past and exciting innovations in the recent past has been very helpful and inspiring to my own work.

        Other art classes at Wesleyan, while not about books or bookmaking, have helped me learn more about the creative process and other aspects of the visual arts.  Mary Barnes’ class on “Working with the Figure” and Jerry Zinser’s class “Expressive Drawing” taught me much about composition, use of materials, color and drawing.  Both teachers were well versed in giving honest and helpful critiques of my work as were many fellow students.  These classes gave me confidence and taught me many skills that can be applied to book work or any other artistic endeavor I do in the future.

        Finally, the two classes that relate most directly to the medium and process that I will be using to make my final project were Keiji Shinohara’s sumi-e painting class and Robin Price’s class on letterpress printing.  Keiji’s class reacquainted me with the use of the brush and taught me much about the quiet determination it takes to create ink paintings.  Using simple objects as our subject matter I learned how subtle gradations in ink color bring life to the monochromatic pieces.  This class required more than the ability to draw.  It required that the artist be able to quiet the mind and be in the present moment.  There was no way to correct mistakes by erasing or painting over them.  Each painting was a reflection of just that moment in time.  I drew bamboo, orchids, plum branches and eggplant.  I was able to continue my journey of the brush that had started in Japan.  This way of painting will form the basis for the visual part of my final project.  In Robin’s letterpress class I was able to expand my interest in hand drawn letter forms to that of fine typography and was introduced to the exacting work of setting type and using a flat bed press.  I learned more about typographic design and most importantly the process of making a book from start to finish.  It was very challenging and as a result was also extremely rewarding.  I will use the process of letterpress printing for both the poem cards and for reproducing the sumi-e images.

        While I am able to elaborate on most details of my plan for this project I would be remiss if I did not mention the variables in creating any work of art.  In all my art classes at Wesleyan the form of my final projects changed sometimes gradually and sometimes drastically as the creative process evolved.  Chance, mistakes, materials, critique, stepping away and coming back to the work have all altered the initial plan.  I expect this project to be no different and in fact have learned to welcome the serendipitous nature of making art and the freedom that it gives to the artist.  There are many variables to making a book and I hope to play with these and have fun with the process.

        I have done preliminary research as to what precedents there are to this type of book design and content.  I have researched at both Special Collections at Wesleyan and at Yale’s Arts of the Book Collection.  I have looked at books that contain elements of randomness determined by the reader interacting with the book, the use of a card format, translucency and also books that use brush work as a design element.  While I found interesting examples of some of these elements I would like to use, none of the work combined them in the way I envision.  I investigated the more traditional books on haiku in Wesleyan’s main stacks and it reinforced my decision of not wanting to make a book that had a poem juxtaposed to an image with a traditional spine binding.  There are also historical references to the use of reader interaction, specifically with a card format, although these have been a bit more difficult to locate.  In the book Devices of Wonder: From the World of the Box to Images on a Screen by Barbara Stafford and Frances Terpak there are references to small “cabinets” of cards from the early 1800’s the contained images from natural history that were used as teaching devices.  The Japanese also have a long history of the use of cards, images and poetry in the popular game hyakunin isshu (a hundred poems by a hundred poets).  This game, almost a thousand years old, is played by matching the first seventeen syllables of poems that are on one set of cards with the remaining fourteen syllables on cards in a separate deck.

        This project excites me and I am sure to gain confidence, discipline and skill as I work on this book over the next few months.  I look forward to the process of creating a book of my own words and thoughts combined with images that have special meaning to me.  It truly is a culmination of my time in the Graduate Liberal Studies Program along with being an expression of myself.  I hope to continue working in the book arts after this degree is completed, drawing on ideas and inspirations from my time at Wesleyan.  For now, I will concentrate on this book, looking well into myself as Basho advised while continuing on my journey as an artist and as a person.

Final Project: Schedule of Work and Advisor Meetings

        I will be meeting with my advisor, Robin Price, on a weekly basis to get feedback and help on this book project.  Since the book will be printed at her studio in Middletown, I will work there one full day a week until the cards and drawings are printed and cut.  After this time, I will check in with her at least every other week while I am working on the final binding of the book and finishing the process paper that will accompany the final project.  I have chosen to use The Chicago Manual of Style as the publication style for the written portion of the project.  I have explored several exhibition sites at libraries and art associations in my area but have not yet had any confirmation of gallery space.  Since this is no longer a requirement for the degree, I may have to wait until 2004 to have a show of the book.  I would like to have it at my local library in Washington, Connecticut and perhaps would plan a show that includes book work from my other classes at Wesleyan.  The following is a rough outline of the work/advisor schedule for my final project:

February 2003:
One day a week meeting with Robin and working at her letterpress studio to design a book as a whole including type trials, setting type, ordering plates, choosing and ordering paper, experimenting with color washes, calligraphy patterning, embossing and collage.
Home: work on sumi-e drawings, begin to design box and make prototypes, start to take notes and photographs for the process paper and finalize poems for the text sheets. Visit Yale and Wesleyan Libraries to research reference material and relevant artists’ books.

March, April:               
Continue to spend one day a week working at the letterpress studio to print and cut cards and meet with Robin.
Home: work on sumi-e drawings, write and design the part of the book that will include a short introduction about haiku, acknowledgements and colophon, continue to work on process paper notes and writing.

May, June:                   
Continue to spend one day a week working at the letterpress studio to print and cut images and meet with Robin, print intro/colophon.
Home: begin to build boxes, cut backing material for images, continue process paper and notes.

July, August:                
Meet with Robin at least every other week to discuss possible binding problems and to get feedback on process paper and to review for publication style compliance.
Home: adhere images to backing, continue to work on boxes, continue to write process paper and finalize organization and writing for final submission to GLSP.

September, 2003:
Final draft to Robin Price and Graduate Liberal Studies Office, one finished book to be submitted with draft in lieu of photographs.  Visual documentation of the work as it progressed will be included in the process paper.

Timetable for Final Project

February 2003: begin work on Final Project pending approval of proposal

March, April, May: continue to work on Final Project

May 5: register for Final Project for Summer Semester

June, July, August: continue to work on Final Project

September: finish binding of at least five books and submit final draft of project narrative for approval by advisor and GLSP

October, November: comments incorporated

December 15, 2003: deadline for submission of final drafts for graduation in spring 2004

Bibliography

Books

Berry, W. Turner, and A.F. Johnson. The Encyclopedia of Type Faces. 4^th ed. London: Blandford Press, 1970.

Blyth, R.H. A History of Haiku, Volume One. Japan: Hokuseido Press, 1964.

Brandon, Reiko and Barbara Stephan. Spirit and Symbol: The Japanese New Year. Honolulu: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994.

Higginson, William J. The Haiku Handbook. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1985.

Hoffman, Yoel. Japanese Death Poems. Tokyo: Charles Tuttle Company, 1986.

LaPlantz, Shereen. Cover to Cover: Creative Techniques for Making Beautiful Books, Journals and Albums. Asheville, North Carolina: Lark Books, 1995.

Lewis, Richard. The Way of Silence: the Prose and Poetry of Basho. New York: The Dial Press, 1970.

Okamoto, Naomi. Japanese Ink Painting: The Art of Sumi-e. New York: Sterling Publishing Company, 1993.

Seo, Audrey Yoshiko. The Art of Twentieth-Century Zen: Paintings and Calligraphy by Japanese Masters. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1998.

Stafford, Barbara and Frances Terpak. Devices of Wonder: From the World in a Box to Images on a Screen. Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2001.

Van den Huevel, Cor. The Haiku Anthology. 3d ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company,  Inc., 1999.

Webberly, Marilyn and JoAn Forsyth. Books, Boxes and Wraps: Binding and Building Step-by-Step. Kirkland, Washington: Bifocal Publishing, 1995.

Yasuda, Kenneth. Japanese Haiku: Its Essential Nature and History. Tokyo: Charles Tuttle Company, 1957.

Libraries

Arts of the Book Collection, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.

Olin Memorial Library, Special Collections and Archives, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut.

Exhibitions

By Chance: Serendipity and Randomness in Contemporary Artists’ Books. Curated by Robin Price and Jae Rossman, August 12 to November 6, 2002. Arts of the Book Collection, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.