NCTE on Visual Literacy in the Classroom

NCTE's latest blog; yet again, relevant to our class (PEOPLE).

Howard's causing a crisis.

Ugh. I'm going through a sort of crisis with Howard's article. Not because I disagree with anything she says, but because postmodernists (typically the theorists/friends I'm drawn to and love) absolutely delight in jarring me out of complacency. And sometimes, even as a self-proclaimed queer, I just want life to be easy; this is one of those times that I'm feeling very resistant to the idea that something is simply a social construct that we can only make sense of through our own rhetorical designs.

I want, in this case, for things to be "cut and dry" as Josh said in his post; whenever I run into one of these crises caused by pomos, I immediately get flustered--What? How can I be a feminists if women don't exist! Well, then I'll just have to quit everything! Of course I eventually come to terms, understanding that, just because something is a social construct, doesn't mean very real, lived experiences don't develop from them.


But I'm still in crisis mode.

How do we teach students to write their own-original-but-heavily-influenced-and-perhaps-not-original-at-all-but-that's-ok sentences rather than being "gatekeepers" of a gated community to which we don't even belong?

Picture Projects

First image NO copyright. Second image FREE!
Check out Dick and Jane and Sally.

Words, words, words (c)

"Berit Kjos compares the Harry Potter books with Dungeons and Dragons (1975) in that regard:

• Both immerse their fans in a plausible, well-developed fantasy world, replete with an evolving history, a carefully mapped geography, and wizards that model the thrill-packed and power-filled way of the mythical shaman.

• In this fantasy world, adults and children alike are led into imagine experiences that create memories, build new values, guide their thinking and mold their understanding of reality.

(Jenkins, 1993) (c)

What is not protected by Copyright?

• Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship
  

JOE HOVAUGH settled into the garden on his knees and began pulling at the wet, slippery weeds that had sprung up between the neat rows of beets. He trowelled his way around the zucchini and up and down the lines of carrots, and he did not notice the big Indian at all until he stopped at the tomatoes, sat back, and tried to remember where he had set the ball of twine and the wooden stakes.

The big Indian was naked to the waist. His hair was braided and wrapped with white ermine and strips of red cloth. He wore a single feather held in place by a leather band stretched around his head, and, even though his arms were folded tightly across his chest, Joe could see the glitter and flash of silver and turquoise on each finger. "If you build it, they will come," said the big Indian. Joe rolled forward and shielded his eyes from the morning sun. "If you build it, they will come," said the big Indian again.

"Christ sakes," Joe shouted. "Get the hell out of the corn, will ya!" "If you build it..." "Yeah, yeah. Hey! This is private property. You people ever hear of private property?"
Excerpt from Thomas King's short story "A Seat in the Garden"

I'm not sure if my intentions are going to come across with this post; it's probably obvious that I'm playing around with the concepts we're discussing in class --- (re)re)appropriation, intertextualtiy, and so on.
I also want to think(link) more about the intersections of Capitalism and Christianity...I'm thinking about the concept of ownership, property, rights, power...

I was thinking in class that I may need to get the names of Judith Butler, Leslie Feinberg, Jacques Derrida, Allison Bechdal, Riki Wilchins, Kevin Kumashiro, Dorothy Allison, Ani Difranco, and, and, and...tattooed on me if we want to think about how culture shapes identity. We cannot separate ourselves from the culture we live in; I used to think I was authentic, but the people around me, the ones wearing Nike logos, were not--but truthfully...nothing about me is original, really. The words I use, the way I've come to understand my idenity has been informed by the theorists, friends, and writers and artists and activists I've come to know. So, how do i give credit where credit is due?