doctoral candidate in rhetoric and scientific and technical communication
identity
On being skeptical
0I’m often asked what I teach, and when I respond, it is often with “I teach thinking.” Some people nod, without asking what I mean, while others look at me quizzically, and still others engage. “What do you mean by that?” they may ask.
I teach thinking through the exercise of writing and reading. Ok, so officially I teach writing. But when a student walks into my class , I can guarantee that there is far more deep critical thinking going on than there is writing and even reading.
Why do I think this?
First, I’m interested in what students think about issues – and this means any issues. I’ve learned about the best places to buy vinyl (and why they are the best places) in Saint Paul. I’ve discovered that volunteerism means different things to different students and they can give strong arguments for their ideas. And just this week, I had discussions about why Ironman is better than Batman, why the 99% of the US is the 1% of the world, and why Ritalin is not a performance enhancing drug – all instigated by FYW students.
Second, I grew up in a blue collar household where skepticism was encouraged. We we encouraged to think differently than our peers, to think outside the box, and to question everything. While this has led to difficulty in fitting in with peers at times, it has also given my siblings and me the strength to not only believe in what we thought, but to be able to argue it effectively because we would know both sides of an argument and know them in depth. I grew up watching more news programs than anything else, and it showed when I wrote papers or engaged in formalized debate on the various debate teams I was on. What all of this means is that I encourage the same in students I work with. If we watch a documentary, we spend far more time on what we didn’t see than what we did because it’s as important to the story as what was included.
Third, while I am skeptical, I also give the benefit of the doubt when it comes to students exploring their ideas. I want the classroom to be a safe place to explore all kinds of ideas, not just the comfortable ones. While I may not agree with them, I work hard to assist them in thinking through their ideas and their arguments. I throw opposition at them while giving them ideas on how to bolster their own arguments.
All of this sounds so simple and matter of fact when I read it, but I think that anyone who teaches knows that this is often much more difficult than it would appear. And if I wasn’t skeptical when reading back through this, I would be disappointed in myself. The skepticism forces me to think more critically and challenge myself more stringently in each class period. I hope that never ends.
the looking glass
02 years ago
This is a presentation I’ll be giving on identity of the self in a psychology class this week.
I know, I know. I used Foucault. How could I not since he talks about mirrors? Damn him. ;-)
the collateral of words
32 years ago
On twitter and facebook I recently wrote:
Words have become my main form of collateral, and now I think I fear using them. It’s more than writer’s block. It’s about identity.
I wrote this in the midst of struggling with a paper. I’ve been thinking about it a lot since this and these are some of the issues that have arisen from it:
Because this is the first time in my life that my words and my thoughts are REALLY paying my bills, I’m much more cognizant of them than I’ve been in the past. I fear speaking out and/or writing in public now more than I have because I will be held accountable for my words, and people may challenge them. What if I can’t hold my own in the challenge? What if I just don’t have the knowledge and/or skills to do so? I have great fears of disappointing people I respect and, conversely, not being respected for who I am and what I think. This manifests itself in problems with writing. Academics can be snarky. As I’ve followed recent tweets by academics at one of the largest conferences in my field, I’ve noticed that so many of them were snarky, negative complaints about silly things. They weren’t issues with theory, but personal digs. Why do we do this to ourselves, to people who actually *get* us? Recently I was told that I talk too much in class. I like to add to discussions, but if others think I’m talking too much, I shut down. I choose seminars because there is discussion and they are interesting and engaging. I need to find that place of medium existence in which I can feel safe expressing my words and not intrude on others’ spaces. I’m not sure where that is or if it is possible.
Finally, Peter Elbow, a respected and controversial professor in my field, said this at a recent conference:
Nobody can write well unless they are able to make a fool of themselves.
In the end, maybe most of us, especially those of us who are engaged in social mediums in online spaces, are willing to make fools of ourselves. It may be the degree in which we do so that makes us better writers.
crawford
13 years ago
Hulu recently premiered its first movie. Crawford began as an expose into the ways the Bush campaign took the image of a rustic cowboy, smalltown American man and turned him into a President (when he wasn’t really from a small town, nor really a rustic cowboy). What this movie turned into was a great insight into what makes a nation function: its people.
This is really a film about identity: the identity of a President, a town, the people of the town, and the visitors. The most obvious, of course, is the identity of the President. Look closer though and you’re going to see how a town’s identity changes because of the historic events that take place within it. You’re going to see how the locals shape their identities around not only the town, but the events that occur within that town. The visitors change not only the identity of the town, the people, and the President, but we see such a small piece of them that their identity is set up to establish the idea of “other” within the town.
So much of our personal identities are constructed from where we’ve lived, how we’ve lived, who we call “our people,” and other factors. I think that this movie is an excellent look into that phenomenon, in a microcosm sort of way.
It’s free. It’s online. It’s a great piece of documentary work.
it’s raining…shoes?
33 years ago
The new Chevy Traverse commercial disturbs me. It takes a stereotype (all women like a lot of shoes) and tries to sell a car through that stereotype. Now, it’s not a nearly naked woman selling the vehicle to men. Oh, no…it’s a women scooping up armfuls of shoes into the back of the Traverse — selling, I suppose, to women. Because we all love, love, love shoes. Don’t we?
Frankly, I’m not really a shoe person. Ask anyone. You’ll see me more in Tevas, Birks, or Croc sandals than anything else. High-heels, especially those shown in the this commercial or immortalized in Sex and the City (I wouldn’t even know what Manolo Blahniks are were it not for that show), look uncomfortable and, let’s face it, too expensive for someone like me to buy.
Is this ad sexist? Is it feeding on a negative or a positive stereotype? Do you think it’s all in good fun, or should we be finding a fault with it?
I like the music. It’s catchy. I’m not too keen on the premise, though. It bothers me a bit.
(BTW, their ad that shows a man ironing, cleaning a toilet, etc., bothers me because of its sexist bent, as well.)
wordle identity
03 years ago
I love this little tool. It’s not only a cool way to look at the things we’re doing, but it’s a great way to talk about clouds, topics, and the ways things are organized.
click image for larger view
I had created a wordle for my flickr tags. It was fun. So I thought it would be fun to take another look at something I’ve been working at as long as my flickr tags (yes, dear reader, I had actually been working on my thesis topic since 2005).
This is only chapter one of my thesis, but it gives a strong overview of the language I use, the concepts I’m dealing with, and the areas of importance within the thesis. I chose that chapter mostly because it doesn’t have the case studies in it, and partly because it’s a great overview of the thesis.
What I like about wordle is that you can also choose the font, colors, and directions of your cloud. And, being the crazy semiotics lover that I am, I think that this says something about what I’m trying to share with you. So I chose tones that are indicative of the tones that are usually associated with my blog, but that are also very natural colors. I chose a font in which everything fits neatly within one another, showing the overlapping concepts, but that is also very easy to read. I chose the 1/2 and 1/2 horizontal/vertical directions because I wanted to show the ways that these concepts fit in neatly with one another.
That’s my interpretation of it. What do you see?
tidbits
04 years ago
I wanted to share a few things, today, that I’ve been saving to share.
“Should buying sex toys be as easy as buying a gun?”
Yes, that is the byline to an image of a gun seller in response to the change in the Texas law allowing the sale of sex toys. Is there a disconnect here? Are sex toys *really* on the same level of destruction as guns? Don’t you love the pathos being employed in this situation?
Check it out at viz, where there is a whole blog post about it.
the way I am
I love this video/song because it’s really what love should be about. Things suck, but I still love you. You’re falling apart, I’m a mess, but I still love you. It’s not a conditional love.
the future of reputation
I haven’t read it yet, but I love that the entire book is online and I have the opportunity to read it this way. If you are interested in identity, reputation, technology, and / or law, you might want to check out this book by Daniel Solove.
youtube as portfolio
I was actually up late enough to see a segment on Jimmy Kimmel Live (which is an odd occurrence for me because I don’t watch that show and I’m rarely up late enough anyway). However, what I did see, I really enjoyed. This young man, Brandon Hardesty, is using YouTube for his acting portfolio, and is being featured on Kimmel’s show. What a great use of social media.
This is something instructors should look in to for their portfolio needs. How can YouTube, blogging, wikis, podcasts, etc. be used to promote your students?
New Directions in Critical Theory
This conference, held at the University of Arizona in Tucson, has extended its call for papers. While the extension dates are not listed, I just received this on Friday from the University so I know that it didn’t close on the 15th. You may want to check it out if you’re interested in presenting a paper this year.
lio-fen-conda-fro-elly-ish-stingray
0This little bit of fun, brought to you courtesy of Build Yourself Wild by the New York Zoos and Aquarium, is
conglomeration of several bits (click on the image to see the larger size). You start off creating an image of yourself that is decidedly human (and I tried to get as close to my real self as possible) and then the real fun starts. You get to add animals parts to your image to create a “wild you.”
What struck me as interesting is that I chose so many animals with the word “lion” in them without really planning it that way. They just seemed to look good together (to me). I chose the African Lion mane (male, of course), the Fennee fox ears, the Anaconda snake tongue (isn’t that the coolest thing?), the Giant tree frog arms, the Lion’s mane jelly body, the Lion fish fins, and the stingray tail. All in all, it’s a fun piece of work (with glasses and all!).
While I’m sure this is meant more for kids (I forwarded it to Willow so she could have some fun), I found it to be a nice diversion from what I am supposed to be doing (rewriting my thesis).
link found via cogdogblog who found it via Chris Betcha.