February 2007 Archives

"A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." – Albert Einstein

shared by Ruth, via email, thanks. :-)

Linus throws a good party! While my own contribution of cheese, salami, and crackers was standard, most folk brought homemade dishes of delectable variety: Camaroonian, Romanian, and South Asian were my favorites. (One cannot go wrong with spinach, mushrooms, or garam masala, IMO.)

There was a nice blend of folks I know and new people to meet. The introductions would go like this: Robert and Andre (computer science), me (social science), Deniz (no science). Joseph (engineering) is working on a solar energy solution to save the planet. Rajiv "dances to live." Nicole keeps department secrets. Sarah looks to California, while Lava looks west (check out these American Deaf Fastest Hands).

I had fun recounting my four-pronged attempts to communicate with a Deaf Turk who hosted me in Istanbul last summer (a gestural combination of American Sign Language and Turkish Sign Language, handwritten English and drawings, an English-Turkish translation program, and a different Turkish-English translation program). Hey ho Recep! You've been on my mind!

What do I know about? Only what I think it means - which always gets me into trouble!

"The term ‘cultural economy’ tries to outline the ways in which the economic interrelated with the cultural. The term refers to how cultural meanings are embedded in economic life. We cannot explain how economic practices are co-ordinated without understanding the cultural meanings behind the actions." (TOWARDS A CRITIQUE OF CULTURAL ECONOMY)

The critique linked above, by Dr. Balihar Sanghera, names two major weaknesses of "this representation of culture and economy (or production and consumption)" which are
1)it "accepts ‘the market’ as a central mechanism in the economy" and
2)it "fails to provide a reasonable criterion for judging a successful cultural economy."

In relation to the first critique, that of silence concerning market effects on human values and social practices, I think certain language and social interaction methodologies can provide a bridge by working "up" from the microsocial, e.g., by providing empirical grounding.

In support of the second critique, Dr. Sanghera argues against the crude assumption that "a successful cultural economy maximises cultural meanings, lifestyles and identities, just as a successful corporate economy maximises profits and output." I am hesitant regarding this claim, if only because of my unfamiliarity with the literature, but also because it is hegemonic: ideologically - the critique is merely the dialectical opposite of its object. The examples make this clear by posing unquestioned (unquestionable?) moral standards.

If cultural economy is to be a useful theoretical tool for "political and moral critique of the market’s place in the economy" it must equally provide the basis for a political and moral critique of the culture's place in the market.

The meanings of cultural economy given by Dr. Sanghera suggest a communicational view (note added emphasis):

"It indicates that economic activities are embedded in cultural meanings. Meaning is manipulated through language, representation and discourse so that economic practices carry particular meanings and construct certain identities; e.g. students are not using education, but consuming it."

"It refers to how ‘culture’ is important to doing business...more goods and services as seen as ‘cultural goods’ in that they are deliberately written with particular meanings and associations – aestheticisation of products. Advertising, design and marketing are cultural intermediaries. Importantly, culture structures the way people think, feel and act in organisations – cultures of production" (emphasis in original).

No disagreement, however I would extend the first to the second, particularly in regard to the moral sphere. Morality and ethics are also embedded and manipulated through language, representation and discourse - how the morality of the market is constructed, maintained, and/or changed through the action of communication needs to be assessed from within its sphere of influence, not just critiqued from a place ostensibly outside.

Articles:

Appadurai's Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy: "The central problem of today's global interactions is the tension between cultural homogenization and cultural heterogenization."

The Cultural Economy: A Call for Spatialized ‘Production of Culture’ Perspectives .

The Cultural Economy OF Capitalism.

Upcoming conferences: Re-thinking cultural economy, by ESRC Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change.

Mapping the Cultural Economy in the Euro-Mediterranean Region.

Books: Cultural Economy: Cultural Analysis and Commercial Life.

The Blackwell Cultural Economy Reader.

eBook: Cultural Economy.

Applied: OpenHeritage: Enabling the European Culture Economy.

ADVERTISING IN THE CULTURE ECONOMY.

in Michigan.

On February 19, 1942, President Delano Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 which ordered over 110,000 Japanese Americans on the West Coast and over 2500 from Hawaii sent to inland USA concentration camps. Some German Americans and Italian Americans were also apprehended in Hawaii and sent to Sand Island, Honouliuli and mainland camps. All this was done without formal charges.

In 1988, forty-three years after the end of WWII, only those Japanese Americans who were wrongly incarcerated were given an apology and $20,000. The surving family members of those who had passed on were given neither an apology nor any financial restitution. In addition none of the German Americans nor Italian Americans - whether they were living or not received apologies or money.

The Japanese Latin Americans, kidnapped and brought to Crystal City, Texas, to be used as hostages for Americans trapped in Japan were also shamefully treated.

See the 30 minutes award-winning film, UNRECT: An Untold Chapter of Hawaii's Past about the German and Italian Americans by Punahou senior high school student, Taylour Chang. The film will feature testimonies by those who were arrested and incarcerated as well as their surviving adult children. Meet and talk to two of the invited guests who experienced this injustice: Doris Berg Nye, German American and Joe Pacific, Italian American.

In addition to mark this Day of Remembrance hear guest featured speaker, Dr. Saleem Ahmed, author of Beyond the Veil and Holy War, Islamic Teachings and Muslim Practices with Biblical Comparisons. His emphasis will be on how we can live in peace together.

SPONSORED BY JAPANESE AMERICAN CITIZENS LEAGUE - Honolulu Chapter
Co-sponsored by the University of Hawaii Muliticultural Student Services Department

Sure wish I could attend! Thanks for sharing the info, Steve.

I'm using the course wiki to lead students on a bit of a treasure hunt. I almost said a goose chase, but this search is not wild or random - even though it may feel that way, and those who follow it through will find something worthwhile at the end.

We're grappling (all of us, me too) with the concept of identity. Well, I'm not sure what percentage of the students are grappling in earnest, yet, but I'm confident they will be, soon enough. Most of them still want writing to be easy, a conversation in a visual medium that requires as little effort as opening your mouth and saying what you're thinking. Writing well calls upon a wide range of skills that can be loosely categorized as critical thinking.

The wikipedia entry on identity describes it as "an umbrella term" within the social sciences, and goes on to provide different definitions based on discipline (psychology, sociology) and subfields within these fields, such as cognitive psychology and social psychology. Identity is distinguished from the self, a notion more commonly used in philosophy.

Relating to my own research interests, this article on Assimilation and Community Vitality, investigates the importance of language to identity.

Finally, I find it useful to compare the social science conception of identity with the way the term is used in mathematics.

I took a hiatus from proposing to conferences because of the big trip (upcoming) to Australia and the tentative plans (visa still in the works) to go to Iran. However, time moves along and new opportunities arise, especially in regard to my proposed dissertation topic. For instance, it would behoove me to attend INTER: A European Cultural Studies Conference in Sweden, however it is this June. I can't imagine being able to pull off this trip. :-(

Then there's Re-Thinking Cultural Economy next fall (September 5-7, 2007), and another conference in Istanbul (E/Im/Migration and Culture), which is simply tempting. :-)

Similarly, next spring is an International Communication Association conference: What is an Organization? Materiality, Agency and Discourse (May 22-26 2008 in Montreal).

I definitely, however, would like to plan to attend my second Association of Cultural Studies conference, which will be in Jamaica next summer (July 3-7, 2008). At the end of last year's conference in Istanbul, a challenge was issued to become knowledgeable of the Caribbean context. The primary organizer of next year's conference has provided a neat tool to facilitate the educational process for outsiders: Carribean Cultural Studies.

This five minute video by Professor Michael Wesch is superb: Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us.

Posted by Clifford to the aoir-listserv.

An impressive coalition is supporting this conference on media and the labor movement: Labor's Voices 3.

Thanks for the email notice from Amanda. :-)

I did not hear him give the speech, but the written text is powerful in and of itself. At best, it will raise the bar for every candidate and change the terms of the discourse.

Senator Obama’s Announcement

It hit me like an electric shock that it has been nearly a year since Sam died. February 12, 2006. I sat up last night re-reading most of the entries about him here, beginning in August of 2003 and continuing even past his death, as I have been reminded of him or felt his presence strongly enough to record here.

How well did I capture Sam in these writings? I worry that my identity as author outweighs the unique and delightful character that Sam chose to be. I hope not, although probably this varies from entry to entry: some are more me and some are more Sam. I wanted them all to be Sam, but so goes the craft of writing (I've a ways to go, yet).

If nothing else, the power of his influence upon me as a role model and friend comes through. His life and friendships with so many people from so many places still inspire me. His willingness to forgive friends our quirks and tolerate our idiosyncracies - not to mention poke fun at them if an opportunity arose - endeared him to us all. His own quirks seemed so minor in comparison, how he would refuse conflict and avoid disagreement whenever possible, sometimes leading to various social awkwardnesses.

I miss him.

Searching for the proper citation of the ENG112 primary textbook, I came across the Annual Report of the University Writing Committee AY 2005-2006. Noted near the end:

"In Spring 2006, the UWC discussed the questions concerning online presentation of student work (such as through wikis) and the possible ramifications these may have in First-Year and Junior-Year Writing. The UWC recommended addressing this during the 2006-2007 academic year." (p. 3). Which might refer obiquely (?) to me, since I first used a course wiki in Spring of 2006.

Also, note Section 4 on the Curriculum for College Writing (ENGLWRIT 112 and 113).

I tweaked my thumb somehow - a possible overuse injury. Reports (I now see) go back at least to 2005. :-/

I began wearing a splint this week to immobilize the thumb joint. Of course it is my dominant hand, so my signing appears a bit backwards (or worse) as I attempt to switch dominance by fingerspelling with my left hand and using my right as base (except when I can't figure it out quickly enough, and revert back to dominant right, until it is clear my thumb is sticking out at an angle that obscures meaningfulness, when I switch back). I suppose it as if I suddenly became both aphasic and lispy at the same time: comprehensible, but with effort. sigh

Most of the conversations about 'what happened' occurred 'offline' - before or after an interpreting gig. Once, though, it happened during a small group discussion: one deaf and four non-deaf student completed their assignment with a few minutes to spare. Silence reigned for several seconds, with members looking around, shifting a bit in their chairs, waiting. One of the non-deaf students finally asked me, "What happened?"

I looked to the deaf student, hesitating. So many choices! "The rules" indicate I should ignore the direct query. Interpreters are not to be addressed directly by users (clients, consumers) during a job. We are working. The deaf student is gazing elsewhere....do I seek her attention? Ask permission to answer? "Interpret" the question so that the deaf student could answer on my behalf - since we had already discussed it?

I decided, instead of emphasizing the breach, to simply answer the question. For the next minute or so a round of teasing and questions went around with at least as much interactivity among all five of the students (and - yes - me too) as had occurred during the preceeding ten minutes. The deaf student was quite involved, possibly even more involved, than she had been previously. I was surprised at the change: perhaps the illicit nature of engaging the interpreter colluded with the illicit discussion of non-class related trivia? My involvement was on/off as I interpreted the interaction (sign-to-voice and voice-to-sign) and responded with answers/comments that only I (as the injured party) could provide; within thirty seconds I had fully returned to non-participatory status and was 'only' interpreting.

As most dynamics go, this all happened very quickly. In that blip of milliseconds when my instinct to check with the deaf person was thwarted, I considered that the entire group had functioned effectively, inclusively, and had in fact completed their assignment. There was no reason in that precise moment not to respond to the student's question - except for a literal application of an inflexible boundary standard.

Funny, huh? We (interpreters) respond to such side comments from deaf consumers frequently (often without giving it a second thought). But if the comment is from a non-deaf consumer....tsk tsk! See how much background and rationalization I have already provided to fend off premature judgment? The event was random, circumstantial: the group was done. The deaf person was looking elsewhere. The question was directed at me because of something unusual that invited curiosity. The topic felt safe because it was not about interpreting, how I got involved, what Deaf people are like. It was, I felt, an honest question asked at an appropriate time in a respectful way.

So I answered.

I assigned the students in ENG112 to check out the proposed course wiki site and scope out its potential via comparison with previous course wikis. Hahahahahahahahahaha! The joke's on me!

It does seem that the students navigated around the 'core' of courses and seriously considered the benefits and possible deterrents to using a wiki. However, besides the rap performed by a collection of Communication juniors (and me, shhh), all the really cool stuff they found was elsewhere.

For instance, a war against the Zombies almost (?) occurred last fall (perhaps they await sufficient players?) and a small world experiment might still be underway.

After class I wandered over to the Student Union Art Gallery to check out Suspicious Activity. If you need a chuckle or three, this'll do it for ya.

You may or may not be aware that Comm-Grads have an established reputation (Nov 14, 2005 Rally for our Pay!) for activism (April 22, 2005 A21 Walkout and Boycott) concerning campus labor issues.

One of our very own is President of GEO this year, Srinivas Lankala.

Many of us attended a bargaining session on March 13, 2005 that was downright rude. This is where we're headed again if we delay our show of strength.

Perry Irwin (our lighthearted GEO steward) and I are organizing two sign-making parties for one hour each on Wednesday morning (that's tomorrow) from 11:10-12:10 in the Graduate Lounge and again Thursday morning just prior to the rally (check with Perry for details on that one).

suggestions to date:

In class tomorrow, I'll use students' first two writing assignments to guide a discussion concerning how to understand the rhetorical situation in college writing. We have two different written versions (in The Text-Wrestler and the custom Penguin Handbook), both of which present an equilateral rhetorical triangle - giving the visual impression that all three elements (author, audience, context) carry the same degree of importance as the others. Here's a site that shows skewed triangles - with significance distributed unevenly, and includes the overlay of "medium" (in our case, writing, but it could be film, speech, music, etc).

Not only do students need to consider these elements, they also must learn how to assess the relative importance of each for any particular writing task. I wonder if we might be able to develop a set of criteria for deciding what 'shape' is most desirable given the entire rhetorical situation?

The Writing Program has developed a statement on using technology for teaching which encourages us to "teach with technology in considered ways." So explained the illustrious Donna to an auditorium of returning ENG112 Teachers eager to tackle the second semester. The Writing Program has put together an exceptional package of resources for students and teachers, which includes mycomplab, an online supplement to the Penguin Handbook containing loads more info and resources plus some neat features that folks might want to use, such as a built-in "exchange" for peer reviews, a "research navigator" to help direct one to useful resources, several model papers, and (for instructors only), some tips on teaching English as a Second Language. It's good stuff and students are paying for four years of access when they buy the custom Penguin edition for UMass (which, by the way, is half the price it would otherwise be).

Any teacher can get a WebCT/Blackboard/Spark(?) course set up to complement in-class instruction - this is a university-wide offering, as is the new Udrive system. A tutorial guides one through the process of loading and sharing files (another option for peer review), establishing groups, and even drafting webpages before they go public.

All of these are great and I'm definitely going to ask my students to play with them: I'm really curious if they have preferences for one or another.

Meanwhile, I'd like to keep using the umasswiki format (to the extent that students are willing) because, quite simply, it exists "outside" the bureaucratic "container" of "the university." I'm uneasy with the degree to which a public university education (in general) is geared toward certain modes of conformity, hence I am leary of uniformity in practices and tools. Let me clear, the Writing Program explicitly does not insist on extreme conformity except to the core of a common curriculum and overarching program goals. How individual teachers accomplish these goals and deliver this curriculum is - largely - up to each teacher.

I think this offers a rich palette of opportunities for undergraduates, not just in terms of becoming familiar with different kinds of technology (which is crucial), but also in the debates opened up about the public sphere, privacy rights (which differ by context), and the power of writing as a form of/forum for critical public thinking. Speaking of which, the integration of text with visual images is an increasingly powerful mode. Check out what the media scholars website, In Media Res, is up to:

This would be awesomely cool to project onto the big screen in the rooms with built-in projection equipment! Get your key from the Provost's Office, connect your laptop, select .mov at the mediacommons website, bingo. Contact AIMS on campus for assistance if necessary. (They have saved my hiney on more than one occasion.)

Meanwhile, some internet scholars have posted a teaching case on wikipedia, whose objectives are

1) To show the delicate balance between issues of authority, expertise, community consensus and norms of behavior in a distributed setting, and
2) To discuss success and failure modes in online communities.

You know you're in trouble when they remember you. "Oh, she's back!" I was greeted with such an anticipatory grin. "As if getting poked is one of my favorite things," I replied. "Not." Hahaha.

Anemia is not fun. The first week, every time I tried to think of what it was I had, amnesia is what kept coming to mind. yeah, whatever.

I've noticed the painting on the wall previous times in the "lounge chair" where they tourniquet your arm, pump up your fist, and swipe however many tubes they need for whatever battery of tests they're gonna run on the precious lifeblood they draw from your veins. It's a van Gogh reproduction of Starry Night.

Maybe it's the angle, or the colors, or maybe it is just the context that always make me think it's Edvard Munch's The Scream. I guess they don't really look that much alike, but the rock outcropping somehow lends itself to the appearance of that poor screaming man.

I figure it's just their sense of humor, but maybe it just shows how deeply I feel about giving up parts of my flesh.

What would you do if your reality was suddenly altered? Would you have the presence of mind to stay calm, to assess the situation, to act strategically while facing pain and the knowledge of your own upcoming death? The Jacket presents a model in the character of Jack Starks, who also manages to act kindly even as he pursues his own preservation. "Don't act like I don't know what's real!" Starks asserts to (mad scientist) Dr. Becker. Later, he clarifies to the good Dr. Lorenson as she tries to calmly describe his court-diagnosed delusional state: "The real events that have happened to me have been f*cked up, not my mind!"

The elements of consciousness and time are interwoven to generate a metaphor for the individual human life here on earth. In certain ways, we are all "trapped" in a jacket, prone on a slab, closed within a morgue drawer. Society dictates the boundaries: if we err in our interpersonal or professional relations punishment ensues. Similarly, we encounter strangeness and surprise. Sometimes unspeakable, the horrors of what can be done to us and of what we may participate in doing to others form the backdrop of everyday tasks and routines.

The test of our humanity is the degree to which we develop our perception and awareness of always having a choice of response, no matter what the provocation. Jack's life as "Everyman" - as anyone - is stark, laid bare by events and circumstances beyond his control. Instead of resisting the evidence of his perception, Jack accepts it - he trusts what he knows. Not only does he waste no time, he works within it, generating conditions for his own and others' survival.

"This is not the kind of publicity we would ever seek," said Phil Kent (no relation) about the Cartoon Network's publicity stunt in Boston yesterday that inspired the headline story: Froth, Fear, and Fury in the Boston Globe.

I wasn't there, so I cannot attest to the felt experience of the people who were frightened by the advertising or the city officials who rushed to the rescue. It occurs to me, however, that the function of comedy is to show a society its own foibles. Whether intentional or not, this event exposes the skein of our political economy.

While Americans bask in economic plenty (relative to most of the rest of the world's populations, with indifference toward our own poor), the cost of our national security policies (over decades) begins to infringe on daily peace-of-mind. Hence, marketing-gone-awry. Suspicion lurks, pervasive. We know we are at risk.

Yet, accompanying this knowledge are many choices. We can assess when fear is reasonable or an overreaction. We can decide on limits to escalation and invest in alternative interventions. We can gauge the repressive mechanics of the law against the widening impulses of human cooperation. We can choose to lay tracks to peace or to perpetuate wars in which young people are warped by soldiering and disproportionate percentages of civilians die.

The Boston Globe published a photo of the two 'masterminds' giggling at their arraignment. I can imagine they are incredulous at the extreme reaction they have unwittingly invoked. I can imagine their defense: We were just doing our job! Yes. If we're lucky, perhaps they will end up having done their job so well that stern, legalistic, and patronizing powers-that-be must take a pause.

There is an official apology/disclaimer posted on the Adult Swim website to appease those who didn't appreciate being scared or inconvenienced. A toonzone blog has a few entries as the event has developed and a reaction article, Aqua Teen Hoaxing Force? How a Cartoon Brought a City to a Halt. As of today at 8:57 EST there are 362 replies to a thread started by nick23: Promotion Sparked Bomb Scare in Boston.

The kids know we have to poke fun at some of this crap because if we keep taking it all so dang seriously we're never gonna be able to turn this planet around.