How do we learn about the political process?

So this is for Priscilla and many others of us who talked about being mystified by the whole political process tonight in class... Schoolhouse Rock was a big hit in the 1970s (some of you may remember!). Its main purpose was to educate kids about everything from social studies to grammar. If you want more, go to YouTube and look up SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK. Look at all the ways we can learn (good and bad!) from popular culture!!

Photo Project Presentations

Just a reminder of the plan we made in class on Monday...

You will each have a max of 10 minutes for your presentations next week. I will have the digital projector, my laptop, and a TV cart (for VHS tapes) so you can plan for any of this technology.

Your goal is to present your photos in a coherent "story," illustrating that story in the details of your photographs. The Greenfield piece is your model.

Looking forward to seeing the stories you produce with your teenagers pics!!

LB :)

Hello? Seeking Evidence of you in the Blogisphere!

Just a reminder that your blog posts are due by noon on Mondays. Barely half of you have posted for today. Those of you that have posted have up fabulous thoughts and ideas -- all of the ones I have read have been so strong! For example, check out Alice, Nicole, and Alisha for some great insights.

See you in class!

Journey to the Motherland with Tricia Rose

I saw a few of you at the Tricia Rose talk on Friday night. I am so interested to hear what you thought of her, her words, and the event in general. Feel free to leave a comment here, or write it up on your own blog! I had a really great night. What did you think??

LB :)

Writing About Juno?

Per my proposition in class, is anyone interested in trying to pull together a critique of Juno to send off to a magazine or journal for publication? It will take a lot of work, researching where to send it off, and pulling together our arguments and evidence in a coherent way... but I am interested in doing it if you are!

Leave a comment if you think you might want to get on board for this...

LB :)

This is one possibility for submission:

A Style Nobody Can Deal With

I have heard from a few of you that the Tricia Rose reading (here online and outside my office door at HBS 207 if you weren’t in class last week!!) is a difficult read. Compelling. Fascinating. But hard to follow. Be patient with her. Seek out the big picture. What is she trying to say here.

You also might make a list of the words you don’t know and list them on your blog. Look those words up online and make links to any useful information you can find that helps you understand them. For example:

“Hip hop is an Afro-diasporic cultural form which attempts to negotiate the experiences of marginalization, brutally truncated opportunity and oppression within the cultural imperatives of African American and Carribean history, identity and community.” Check out my links (I mostly used wikipedia because the site felt rich and thorough, but you can look at any sites that help you understand the concept). Now… translation, anyone??

Also, remember to use the format I offer in the syllabus:

Some things I understand
Some things I don’t understand
Connections to texts/course themes
Questions/comments to raise in class

You can still write in a fluid, narrative form, but stay focused on making sense of the text and connecting it to other issues we have discussed. Check out Nicole’s blog for a good use of this.

I will leave you with a question to consider: how does Rose’s argument apply to 2008? Her article was published in 1994 so her examples and context are dated at this point. Do her overall claims stand up in 2008? (Sarah B sems to ask this question on her blog as well, and makes a good connection to Prensky.)

“I intend to demonstrate the importance of locating hip hop culture within the context of deindustrialization and to show how hip hop’s primary properties of flow, layering and rupture silmultaneously reflect and contest the social roles up to urban inner city youth at the end of the twentieth century” (402).

What do you think?

Pew Studies on Technology

Per our lively conversation on Monday about Prensky's article, I wanted to share with you this link to the Pew Charitable Trust Research Center. They release reports often, sometimes even weekly! If you want more information about Digital Natives and the digital culture in which we all live, check out the study on Teens and Social Media. Feel free to poke around at the other studies as well!

LB :)