User:Kiara/Research/draft thesis outline

thesis_outline.md

## actual outline

## draft

**first draft**

1_ Want do you want to write?

1_a What will the text be about?

It is about the various forms and shapes of magic. It is about wxmen and femininity (more magic). It is about internet and the world wide web (magic with a kick). (((shady reference to that Avengers: Infinity War scene))) More specifically, the aim is to explore the inherent magic wxmen bear, the one that internet bears and how they resemble one another, communicate, build space for community and sharing. Then, approaching the figure of the woman online, maybe starting from macho clichés, to end in the true essence of the web's feminine presence. Magic, femininity and hyperlinks are alike, (I cannot yet point how, but I do have a hunch :) The thesis will outline the virtuous circle of feminine-magic-internet.

1_b How will that story be told?

02-10-2025 THAT is a very good question looking from the prism of magic-related publications is out of the range of that subject. It is an interested form for experiments and prototypes, but not for the final way of addressing.

2_ Outline 3 key issues you want to explore/address

The very nature of magic, femininity and internet/www How those 3 entities are tied and intertwine, communicate Witchcraft and web: how women populate the web, take part in it, hold power over it and the power of cyber-isms tied to femininity and magic (obscure ref?: Ghost in the Shell) Wxmen as holders of the humanity of the web (community, care, etc.) Some history: how wxmen have been present in computer science from the beginning (e.g.: Hedy Lamarr; When computers were women by Jennifer S. Light; etc.) The web: an omniscient magic entity Indie web and indie culture, witches and fairies (((this is not making much sense in my head...)))

**second draft**

1_ Want do you want to write?

1_a What will the text be about?

The text will approach the web/internet with a sort of feminist view linked to magic. How those 3 entities are tied and intertwine, communicate. The web/internet as a protocol, a software, a network, but also a space with its materiality, its languages (code in all sorts of meanings). Sort of feminist because the aim is to avoid the stereotypical. Here we are not about claiming or fighting, it is about the factual presence and influence of feminininity in the www. It is about an investigation, almost scientific. The definition of magic is the most important one here, and the most difficult to write. What is magic? What could magic be (and what could be magic)?

1_b How will that story be told?

11-10-2025 There is a part of investigation/scientific approach; something quite analytical, but I also don't want to fall into the academic/stating-facts-for-universal-truth jibber-jabber. The three main themes are serious, yes, but they also bear a certain lightness, almost vaporous and very subtil. This has to be transcribed somehow. Something about non-linearity makes sense as well, but it might reveal more adequate to the project than to the writing.

2_ Outline 3 key issues you want to explore/address

Caring and healing: how women populate the web, take part in it, hold power over it and the power of cyber-isms tied to femininity and magic (obscure ref?: Ghost in the Shell); Wxmen as holders of the humanity of the web (community, care, etc.); Some history: how wxmen have been present in computer science from the beginning (e.g.: Hedy Lamarr; When computers were women by Jennifer S. Light; etc.) The web, an omniscient magic entity: rituals and incantations (code & languages >> indie web and indie culture) A hyperlink is a she: Madame Web; versatility; guides & guardians The very nature of magic, femininity and internet/www (definitions - red thread)

Random extra notes
cherish the hunch
emotion/feeling is the magic
forms of magic: practice | folklore
formulate better by precising the field of research: femininity is the glue, linking internet and magic together to become one (can a Venn diagram be made? like a meme?)

References to explore
- Sigil Séance from the Institute of Diagram Studies

> Participate to one

> Have a chat with Lucile Haute about her work (this and more globally)

- Magics

> Sigil & Chaos Magic

> Witchcraft