When this class began I hadn’t thought one bit about what I would like my project to be about. This is a multigenre research project, which is simply a more creative way of writing a standard research paper. Very early in the semester an assignment was given to join a mailing list. There were several options and I was overwhelmed. The only one that really stood out to me was dementia. I chose one of the mailing lists and realized that I had just committed myself to a topic!
After choosing the topic I had to create a question that I would be answering throughout the project. I wanted to focus on the communication aspect and with that in mind, and with my instructor’s help, I came up with an appropriate question; “How does a person’s communication change from early to late dementia?” We also had a list of genres to choose from and I tried to choose the ones that I was the most comfortable with and the ones that would be the best ways to provide answers to my question. I chose to complete a poem, a pamphlet, a power point presentation, a podcast, an e-mail exchange, a webliography, and journal entries. They are written from different views such as a clinician, a wife, a daughter, and a person with dementia. I think my favorite genre might be the poem. It allowed for creativity and emotion which are incorporatd into other genres but the poem captured thoughts and feelings in a very intimate and personal way.
By completing the project in this way (multigenre) I have gained an understanding of how everyone is affected, not just the person diagnosed with dementia. I have enjoyed learning about this topic and feel I have good understand of the disease and its affects on communication.
