Oh, Interrogating TEXTS

So I jumped the gun a little bit on this assignment, but now I totally get how to read the due dates on the Moodle site.

I spoke in class about how in academic jargon (at least in my experience in the Cultural Studies paradigm) the term "text" refers to any artifact which can be "read". Appropriately enough, the term "read" is loaded in the same lexicon (herein it refers to analyzing and interrogating within context) This provides a perfect example of the generation of knowledge, and conveniently aligns with this blog's theme. It seems fair to deduce that in developing definitions for the same words in different contexts, empirical knowledge is malleable. Therefore, when approaching a "text", it is imperative to take into consideration the context in which that text exists.

Take this Covergirl ad for example:

When being read from the context of a typical female consumer, this ad can be read as a hilarious attempt at altruism by the cosmetics industry to let women "enhance their beauty" while maintaining a natural appearance

When read from a feminist standpoint, it can be viewed as an appropriation of feminist ideology wherein Covergirl is valiantly defending our sex in the war of superficiality.

And when read from the context of a male consumer...I have no idea, why don't you fill in the blank for me, fellas?

In my opinion (for what it's worth), a serious consideration of who is generating the knowledge that we deem empirical is essential to being an informed member of society who can then be defensive toward, for lack of a better term, mind control.

Interrogating Texts?

I have to deal with this conundrum a lot. Pretty much all of my classes are text-heavy, and we always have to come in to class prepared to throw down some decent rhetoric. In my opinion, the difference between a good and a bad response to a text lies in the commitment of the reader. If you go into reading a text with a relatively open mind, half a brain, and a bit of focus, having a genuine response should come naturally.

(don't mind me, I just came from 3 excruciating hours of "anyone? Come on guys...someone who hasn't said anything yet...*crickets chirping*...")

I suppose as far as tactics go...

1. I find it really useful to firstly write comments down (I'm sorry, I feel as if this should be a no-brainer) in the margins when they pop into my head.
2. It helps me, at least, to take some sort of notes, or even better to try to write a summary of the main points. This way you're engaging the text post-consumption, instead of the notorious "in one ear and out the other" method. Reinforcement can do amazing things in the human brain.
3. Talk with your classmates before class about the text-it gets the dialog going and gives you some common ground content for conversation other than "man, those elevators sure are terrible..."
4. This is the most important, and often not utilized even though it's super easy and painless and effective: Review. In those 5 minutes before class when you're checking facebook on your iPhone or smoking a cigarette, or just doing nothing at all of value...take out your text, your notes, whathaveyou, and look over it. Easy Peasy. It refreshes the subject matter in your brain, and maybe you'll realize or notice something you didn't last night because you were half-awake and just wanted to get it done.

Way to be on top of your homework, Laura.

So here I am, scrambling on Thursday morning to create this blog after sleeping in an hour following 3 days of sleeping 3 hours each night. Don't you hate it when your body just decides it has authority over your schedule? I can't complain all too much, I feel quite refreshed.

Why am I sleeping 3 hours a night? Because I'm a middle child. Because I'm an overachiever, but just not very good at it. Because, above all, I started the second semester of my Capstone thesis for Cultural Studies this week and I've spent the last week cramming in research on US Foreign Policy in Haiti over the last hundred years.

Which is why this class's acceptance of "double-dipping" makes me oh-so-happy.

I knew right away what to do with my PWP. For the Capstone, we're required to create a resume website about our thesis and our ongoing work and interests as "public intellectuals"(I kid you not, that's what academics participating in the 'real world' are calling themselves these days. It's the actual title they use, and I think it's hilarious).

Here's my website thus far: LauraStrait.com

It's pretty bare-bones, it's pretty clunky as far as links and fluidity goes, and the template really isn't appropriate for what I want to do with the site (though the options that WebAgent gives you are less than vast).

Therefore, for my PWP, I want to create a super-fantastic resume website that also doubles as my personal hub for political and cultural interests to share with anyone that will have them. I want multimedia, and links, and essays, and pictures, and I want a golden goose now, Daddy!

(I'm running out of time, but I also wanted to mention how excited I am for the challenge of web-writing, as I've been brutally beaten and conditioned into being an "academic" writer over the course of my Cultural Studies career, and I just don't find that style very accessible for the kind of content I want to be writing about.)

For the sake of avoiding a "text wall", here's a link to the news I listen to every morning (as well as right now) and I think everyone should check it out: DemocracyNow