Blog Assignment!

The famous linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf stated that "language is not simply a reporting device for experience, but a framework for it."

Our America begins with a “Ghetto Glossary” or a list of esoteric terms, terms that someone from within the community in the book would likely use and understand that someone from outside the community might not understand.

If you were to write a book chronicling the life of people from your own community, what terms and words would you include in a glossary at the beginning of your book? That is, what terms and words do people in your own community frequently use that people from outside of your community might not be familiar with or understand?

Another Assignment! Re: Devil's Playground

In the first class, we discussed the significance of college as a rite of passage in your life. As you’re in the liminal (in-between) stage of your life rite now, the individuals in the film Devil’s Playground are in a liminal period of their own life, or Rumpspringa. They aren’t fully Amish, or English (American). Most Amish who go through this rite of passage decided to become fully Amish and to join the Amish church. Respond and discuss at least one of the following questions:

Why is this liminal period so confusing to these Amish? Is the liminal period of college confusing to you? Why? How do these individuals negotiate between their own individual freedoms and their communal responsibilities? What are the consequences of their decisions? Why do you think that so many Amish decide to join the church although they are exposed to so many of the conveniences of American life during Rumpspringa?

If you go into a discussion or discourse with other members of the class then those posts also count towards your participation grade so think about this.

John Baldessari Video

Here's a video on John Baldessari that will give you some insight into his creative process. Thanks to Mariela for the link.

Watch Systems on PBS. See more from ART:21.

Blog Assignment for Wednesday

For the course blog, respond to the following question(s):

Persepolis both tells a story and comments about the importance of stories in our lives. The book tells a number of stories, for example Uncle Anoosh’s story, Marji’s grandfather’s story, Niloufar’s story. Is there any story in your own life that has shaped who you are or given some sort of meaning to your life? Explain.

To Post Here....

This semester, we'll be trying to establish a class 'discourse' by creating a class blog. I'd like you to interact with each other and respond to each other's posts when appropriate.

Hopefully....it will be fun too.

First, I'll need to invite you to the blog.

Next, you'll have to log in through blogger.
After you've done this, your email address should appear in the top right corner of this page, along w/ the option to make a "new post."

When you've created a new post, click "publish post" and check to make sure it's up.

Make sure that you publish your posts.