6 WKs w/o WIKI

I think I'm really struggling to understand some of what's going on in this class. I've finally wrapped my head around "how" to do a wiki. In as much as I know that say, houses can be made from wood. And that people live in houses because they need somewhere to sleep (among other things).

But, what I don't get is WHY I'd want to communicate with a wiki, when I have all kinds of other cool optionsl? Just like I don't really know which building materials would be the best for a house in every case. I mean--I'm pretty sure I don't want to live in a mud hut in Seattle. Okay, screw the annoying analogy!

What I'm trying to say is that I have no real understanding of the wiki as a genre. That's important in Language Arts. I can understand now why some students are completely puzzled by the thought of "how" to write a poem or short story. Having my students put together a wiki would be a great idea, but I just don't get it. Is it merely an extensive encyclopedia entry? Where do you place your commentary? Is it really appropriate? It seems more separate, sterile than some of the other things I would otherwise do.

So far, I've been focusing on the potential technological barriers I would have in mastering and then teaching my students about creating wikis, but now I see that will probably be the least of my issues. It's possible that I just haven't come in contact enough with other wikis to fully understand the genre. My experience is limited to Wikipedia and various wikis that contain information about subjects such as video game or website easter eggs, etc.

How would I use that in my classroom? Possibly each student would create a page about a different poet/author in a certain literary period? Ideas anyone?

Anorexic Beauty

Media Constructions: ProAna, ProMia

When I think about media distortions and representations of daily life I can't help but think of how our problems, illnesses, the worst we have to offer is put in front of us every day. For better or worse, mass communication spreads news more quickly than before. There seems to be more of everything now and of course it's been argued if what's happening is really new at all, or if we're just hearing about it now. (Did you know that 9 out 10 people put their peanut butter on before their jelly? Isn't that cool? I would never have know that if not for the internet.)

Anyway, this week I did some thinking about what MIGHT have been created by the media, and the one thing that came to me was the "pro-anorexia pro-bulimia" trend that has surfaced in the last several years and is still going strong. In this case I can almost see what Beach describes as media creating its own reality. However, I would claim instead, that the distorted message strongly influenced young girls and women who in turn put a new spin of those existing mental illnesses.

There seems to be a strong connection between celebrities and media representations of eating disorders and their victims that makes them very appealing in a way, which has lead to this wave of "pro ana" and "pro mia" groups. In addition, these groups flourish in the cyber-community, yet another facet of how media effects this trend. This probably isn't news to some of you, but I felt it was particularly appropriate for those of us who do plan on educating adolescents who are facing this new trend. I searched around for links I thought you guys might find interesting, which are listed below.

Pro Ana Nation (You can't get into this one without clicking through two disclaimers.)
World's Largest Pro Anorexia Site (This is the name, I don't know if that's true.)
bluedragonfly.org
shiveringnaked.org

Wiki-ty Whack

I am quickly developing a love/hate relationship with creating this wiki entry. At least I no longer "fear" the wiki, right? Is annoyance better than fear?

I don't like:

1. It's obviously easier to click that to type code
2. I hate that people can see what my edits are, so I'm having to totally create my page somewhere else.
3. I can tell there will be more of a learning curve than w/blogging, etc, if I want to add some cool stuff to any future entry.

What I like:
1. It looks like there are a lot of options for making my entry really unique even though it will take me awhile to remember the code, etc.
2. Once I figure this out for myself I'll be able to help my students do it.
3. If I can do this I will definitely feel more confident about creating my homepage, etc, which I am DETERMINED to do by the end of the semester!

So, I'm off to work on the text, which I'll have to write in MS Word. V. annoying to me as I really like that I can start a blog entry and save it as a draft, search for links, info, whatever, come back and polish it up, edit and then post it. When I'm all done I'll post the link here at "home base."

This is my brain on Deconstruction

This deconstruction thing with Beach is killing me. If it doesn't stop it, I may have to jump from my balcony--which wouldn't be very effective because it's only about 10 to the ground.

Maybe I'll jump from the Empire State Building instead. Of course, I'm assuming that exists, but I've actually only seen it represented in the media, so it may not exist because there is no "true and fixed meaning associated with external reality. (45)" True, there is a website that claims it exists. AND it may have looked real in that movie Sleepless in Seattle. But, they were probably filming that in front of some cardboard decorated with glitter and elbow macaroni and held together with Elmer's glue and duct tape. (It's true. You can make ANYTHING out of duct tape.)

Oh, isn't this ironic, I am both reinforcing Beach's argument and showing how clearly bizarre it is!

Seriously, although I'm sure there is a logical fallacy or two in there, I really DO believe that "media representations," as Beach refers to them are connected to a fixed reality. Just because societal norms change over time doesn't mean they hold no concrete truth in this time and place, that is, the present state when we are having our discussion. Right now. As I'm typing. And then, as you're reading this. I'm guessing we're still pretty much on the same page about, say, who the president of The United States is, that the world has 7 continents, etc. (It does have 7 doesn't it? One time I totally forgot Australia during a game of Trivial Pursuit. I was SO embarrassed.) Anyway--it seems ridiculous to me to suggest that messages put forth in any medium created by people who live in this reality are removed from our reality or furthermore, that the messages/ideologies could be considered amoral. The representation can never be completely separated from it root source because outside of each particular social construct it never would have been created. The two are inseparable. Married. You can't divorce them. And there is no reality polygamy going on here, so don't even suggest it!

The conclusion being: applying Deconstruction as a whole to the concept of media studies is a bad, bad thing. And I hate it. You must not do it. I command it!

Regarding the whole "chicken and egg" issue, I'm just going to put my opinion out there because that's what I like to do. (And because Beach clearly states his). Generally speaking, the problem came first, not any media representations. Yes, media effect our lives and values, but they don't directly cause our problems. Social problems existed well before this concept of "mass media." These problems have evolved as a consequence of mass communication. While media, in general, have produced gross distortions of reality because their creators have personal agendas, they are not the direct cause of society's problems.

Avast, ye landlubbers, youtube is da bomb.

It's not just for pirates and/or those of questionable moral values.

Check out this original student film I found on youtube. It's art set to an original dramatic reading of Emily Dickinson's I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died.

I've also embedded a video with voice over of Plath herself reading Daddy, which is appropriately titled Sylvia Plath Reads "Daddy" and was posted on youtube.com by mishima1970 approximately one month ago, and has already been viewed nearly 4,000 times.

This is something I would love to do with my students. You could also have them create original work.

With Plath, I've always hoped to pair some of her poems with either Letters Home: Correspondence 1950-1963 or The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath. They explain a lot of the background behind her poems. Particular journal entries can even be paired with some of the poems to explain where her ideas came from.

For example, if I remember correctly Letters Home tells about a plaster cast that was made of her head, which was the inspiration for In Plaster. It was only after reading the letter she wrote to her mother about it that the poem seemed to hold real meaning for me.

Anyway, enjoy the videos, it's definitely a resource I'll be considering in the future.