Final Assignment! Due Sunday, December 9th at midnight

All,

The last assignment for our class will be a review of readings and concepts from this class that you found relevant to your own life as a teacher, artist, MAE student and human being. These ideas should not be forgotten! You should apply them to your work in future classes and to your MAE thesis project. 

Ed, Future and I expect our graduate students to cite the authors of books and articles both in their thesis papers and at their thesis defense. If you do not mention any authors from books that we know you have read, we will ask to revise your thesis paper. To avoid this from happening, the final assignment for this class will give you a written record of ideas, authors and book titles we have covered. I highly recommend that you do this for other classes as well.

We read some or all of four books this semester, read three articles, viewed one film and visited several websites. We also shared a lot of ideas on the blog. Now your mission is to create a succinct document annotating the main ideas you want to take from the class. You should reflect on why these ideas matter to you more than others and how you might apply them later on in a thesis exhibition paper, professional project paper or traditional thesis. 

Your paper should be between 3-5 pages long. Include a bibliography using the APA style guidelines provided by the Purdue University Writing Lab website -

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

You should bookmark this site for use in other classes and for when you write your thesis paper. 

Please email me your final assignment in a Word Document no later than next Sunday, December 9th, at midnight. Questions about the final assignment, if you have any, should be posted to this blog. If you have a question, chances are good that others in the class have been wondering the same thing!

Thanks for being a great class, always full of interesting reflections about the readings and many, many creative teaching ideas! Your students are very fortunate to have you as a teacher.

I look forward to receiving your papers next week. Thank you again, and take care!

carolyn

Awakening Creativity by Lily Yeh, chapters 7-10

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a restful and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday. 

The home stretch of the semester is suddenly upon us. Due to last week's holiday, I've amended our schedule in a way that I hope will not present a major inconvenience. Rather than final papers/updates/comments being due next Sunday, I would like to suggest that we take this week to discuss the last two-thirds of Awakening Creativity by Lily Yeh. This would push the due date for final papers/updates/comments to December 9th (instead of the 3rd).

If you made plans ahead of time based on the dates printed in our syllabus, please do not hesitate to email me about your situation. The sooner you notify me, the better. I will work with you on an individual basis, depending on your needs.

For this week, I am looking for three students who have not yet written discussion questions for the class to give us questions and/or discussion topics based on our readings. One student can pose a topic or question for chapters 5-6, another student can address chapters 7-8, and another chapters 9-10. This is your chance to step up if you have not yet written a discussion question for this class!

Most students post their discussion topics without asking me to read them beforehand, but this is not always the case. If you would like me to go over your question/topics before you post them to the blog, please feel free to email me your questions. I am always happy to help!

In the meantime, I ask that all three question-writers identify themselves as soon as possible, and let us know which chapters you plan to address.

Thank you!

carolyn

Happy Thanksgiving!

All -

I looked at our syllabus and to my dismay, saw that I had given you a homework assignment for over Thanksgiving break. I hoped we could get all the way through Lily Yeh's book before semester's end. But we are running out of time. 

To remedy the situation, I'd like to offer a compromise. The reading assignment is the same - chapters 5 - 6, but I will not post any discussion questions this week. I trust you will do the reading anyway since it is such a pleasant book with so many beautiful pictures. 

I wish all of you the very best of holidays. I will "see" you back here on the blog early next week!

Happy Thanksgiving,

carolyn

Awakening Creativity: Dandelion School Blossoms by Lily Yeh, chapters 1-4 discussion topics & questions

Lily Yeh one of the world's leading art educators and human rights advocates. Awakening Creativity is a book with many illustrations, making it what some might call a "quick read." We only have a few weeks left in the semester so this book should be perfect. At the same time we must resist temptation to speed through the pages. To do so would be a terrible betrayal of Yeh and her students at the Dandelion School!

****

 First some background on Yeh: She came to the attention of TTU Visual Studies faculty when the editors of "Works of Heart: Building Village Through the Arts" put her on the cover and included a lusciously illustrated chapter on her extraordinary community arts work in North Philadelphia. We were so impressed with this artist-educator that I began requiring students in my ART 3372: Rethinking Art Education (a basic art ed course for non-art undergrads) to watch a video of Yeh's speech at a Bioneer's Conference - http://youtu.be/aFJkbwFllWY. This speech, if nothing else, will rock your world!

Lily Yeh is not a trained art educator, and to my knowledge she never taught in the U.S. public school system. She is an artist who has a tremendous gift for connecting with people unlike herself and motivating them to do the most amazingly creative things. Because she is so uniquely gifted, I think that we can learn a lot from her. 

Because she is so unusually gifted, it's important to pay close attention to her process. Read carefully as she describes her first interactions with the teachers and students at the Dandelion School, a school for children of migrant workers on the outskirts of Beijing. Pay close attention to the decisions she makes early on in her process. It is quite fascinating- not only to study her, but to learn about the schooling process in a culture with a very different history, political structure and social system than that found in the U.S.  

Through it all, remember that Yeh was born in China, but she is not "home" in contemporary Beijing any more than she was at home in Philadelphia when she first arrived there as a college student. If you read the blurb on the back cover of the book, you'll see that she has worked extensively in Ghana, Kenya, Syria, Ecuador and Haiti. Yeh is a teacher-travellor, a woman who speaks a universal language through art, who somehow finds a way to communicate meaningfully to people whose languages she does not know and whose backgrounds she does not share. How does she do it???

This book provides a glimpse into her process. I will try to draw your attention to this with my questions.

There are 5 questions below. Please respond to at least 2 of the 5. Some of the questions lead into each other, so if you can catch two or more birds with one stone, go for it!

Question #1

Notice that very early in the book, Yeh pays her respects to a mentor who shaped her as an artist, a teacher and as a person of Chinese/Taiwanese ancestry. Why does she mention him? Who was he?

Ed, Future and I have noticed that MAE students often do not mention their teachers or the authors they read in their classes at their thesis presentations. We decided to make more of an effort to point out the importance of naming the authors, artists, and/or artist-educators who influenced you. Remember those names, just as Lily Yeh remembers the name of her mentor at the start of her book. If not for her mentors, she would not be the person she is today.   So - once again - who is the mentor she mentions in Chapter One? Why was he important to her development?

Question #2

In Chapter Two, Yeh carefully constructs a picture of the social world she has just entered. She pays close attention to recent events in China's history, especially the social impact of the great migration from the rural provinces to the cities. The United States also went through a population shift of this magnitude. Before WWII, the U.S. population was mostly rural; after WWII it became predominantly sub/urban. In China, this migration began in the recent past and is still going on today.

Can you think of a social group in the United States today whose economic conditions resemble that of the rural migrants in China? As in China, it is the children of this social/ethnic group who are most at risk of dropping out of school because their family's economic and social situation. As in China, the members of this group have very little in the way of rights, land or legal protection.

Question #3

Lily Yeh describes, in detail, a couple of "home visits." Do you think home visits would improve teacher-student-parent relations in this country? What effect did they have on teacher-student-parent relations at the Dandelion School? What did she learn?

Question #4

Yeh realizes that to be effective in a school, you have to establish good relations with other teachers. She knows that as an outsider (coming from the U.S.) this isn't going to be easy. How does she "size up" the teachers at Dandelion School? How does this differ from her "sizing up" process with students?

Question #5

Notice her keen observation of the teachers, students, parents and other people she encounters in the early stages of her work at this location. What does this tell you about the role of listening, observing, and reflecting in adapting to a new work environment?

Again, respond to at least two of the five questions, and please be sure to read them all. Thank you and enjoy the reading!!!

Carolyn         

"The Line Between Us," Bigelow, pp. 83-122 Questions, Activities & Topics

In this week's reading, I'd like to focus on techniques of helping students "step into the picture" of the lived realities of people with whom they may seem to have little in common. As Bob Peterson and Linda Christensen point out in their chapters, building empathy with the Other (the person unlike oneself) is necessary to see beyond stereotypes, assumptions and other shortcuts to reading the complex "bigger picture." Both Peterson and Christensen use visuals in their teaching to nurture deeper understanding and cultivate ethical values.

Art educators are especially well positioned to promote visual literacy for purposes that include, and exceed, aesthetic experience/creative expression. Visual literacy is an important part of what Paulo Freire called "reading the word and the world." How can we, as art educators, harness the power of images to help our students develop a stronger ethical imagination? 

For this week, I'd like you to view two interesting photo essays. The first is a set of 6 images comparing the U.S.-Mexican border at Nogales and images of the Berlin Wall (before it was torn down). An interesting article accompanies the work.

http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/The-border-fence-is-a-wall-by-any-other-name-2334567.php#photo-1845027

The second is a set of 85 photographs taken along the U.S.-Mexico border by photographer Todd Bigelow (any relation to Bill?).

 http://toddbigelow.photoshelter.com/gallery/G0000SA.p6lh3Ock

Lastly, I want to direct your attention to John Craig Freeman, an artist who creates public memorials on mobile devices. Like the set of 6 photos comparing two walls from different locations and moments in time, Freeman's work looks at/works with the U.S.-Mexican border, Tiananman Square in Beijing, North Korea's Bridge of No Return and other sites of concern in regards to human rights. 

http://johncraigfreeman.wordpress.com/vera-list-center/

Freeman's work suggests a correlation between Tiananman Square, the Bridge of No Return and current events on the U.S.-Mexican border. Since your students (or you yourself) may not know very much about Tiananman Square or N. Korea's Bridge of No Return, this would be an opportunity to explore the history of each place. You might then ask what each symbolizes, and what they may/may not have in common. Freeman's work puts the U.S.-Mexico border in a strikingly different context that may shock, surprise or possibly even upset some students. The first litmus test should be your own reaction, so pay attention. Are you shocked, surprised, upset, angered, irritated, inspired, saddened, etc.? Be sure that you know how you feel before bringing it into the classroom!

Like last week, I'd like you to select a group of images from the resources above and design an art project around them. Your objectives are to 1) promote visual literacy, critical thinking and ethical values, 2) create awareness of contemporary and/or historic events, and 3) design an art project that helps students view their own lives from the perspective of an inside and as an outside observer. 

For example, you could ask students to consider how they, themselves, might be (or already are) stereotyped by people who know nothing about them. You might challenge them to reduce themselves, their lives and their community to a single stereotyped image. This image could then be challenged by a scene or set scenes expressing the students humanity.

I know you'll come up with ingenious ideas of your own, so please don't worry about doing it "right" or "wrong." We're here to share ideas, learn from each other and gain from each other's perspectives.  

Best of luck with this week's reading and let me know if you have any questions! Thank you!  

"The Line Between Us," Bigelow, pp. 41-80, Due on Sunday at Midnight

Howard Zinn's essay, "We Take Nothing by Conquest, Thank God," alludes to the "romance" of recruiting posters in the U.S.-Mexican War of 1846-48 (see p. 57).  This week, I'd like to draw attention to the persuasive power of war posters and other mass-circulated images that present a particular view of a political/ideological issue. Since we're in an election season, it's not hard to find examples of the latter. Most political advertising falls into this category. 

Use the web resources below to design an art project for your students. If you are not teaching at this time, design an art project for the students in this class.

"War Propaganda Posters from Around the World" - 
http://creativefan.com/war-propaganda-posters/

"11 Best U.S. Presidential Campaign Posters of All Time"-
http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2012/05/25/11-best-u-s-presidential-campaign-posters-of-all-time.html#viewAll

"Posters from the United States of America Mexican-American War" -
http://www.war-stories.com/war-posters-mexican-war-posters.htm


The aims of this project will be to: a) promote critical visual literacy of images designed to persuade, b) develop student insight into the significance of historical events (especially the U.S.-Mexican War) and their continuing relevance today, c) teach design elements of persuasive visual images, d) encourage students to explore, communicate and debate their own position on current issues such as Mexican immigration, border violence and economic exploitation of undocumented workers, and e) provide an opportunity for students to represent their views in a visual image designed to persuade and win over skeptics.

This should be an art project you can use. As part of the assignment, you might design your own poster to share with the class! If you do, please send me the image and I will post it to the blog.

This assignment is due next Sunday at midnight. I've noticed that many of you are not posting by the scheduled deadline. Please do not let this continue. It could have an effect on your final grade.

"The Line Between Us" by Bill Bigelow, pp. 1-39 Discussion questions & topics

This week we are moving on to what I believe may be the most challenging text of this class. The challenge lies not in the book's content - U.S. - Mexican border issues - but in the author's point of view. Yet Bigelow is one of our nation's most highly respected educators and scholars of critical pedagogy. In his books, he explores classroom strategies and practices from a first-person standpoint and critically assesses his own teaching. In this way he models the ever-unfolding learning process that goes with the territory of teaching.

In the first 39 pages, Bigelow takes us through a very ambitious curriculum unit he designed for his students in an Oregon public high school. He makes his own position on border/immigration issues very clear, and makes no apology for the fact that he wants to move students beyond the familiar "us" vs. "them" dichotomy that prevails in America today. At the same time, he seems unaware that his left-of-center position is a minority view that for many Americans, would seem to defy common sense. 

Did he miss an opportunity to engage his students in a critical inquiry of how and why certain views become accepted as common sense and why other positions are rejected as false? Does he underestimate the power of ideas and assumptions that students already hold to be true, and try too hard to get them to accept a position that runs counter to popular beliefs?  

Bigelow takes on highly contested issues in his teaching. He passionately believes in human rights, and supports the work of activists who organize against environmental and economic injustice. Like many true believers, he has trouble understanding why other people do not share his point of view. Inevitably, he feels frustrated by his inability to win students over.  Can you relate to him? Do you hold passionate views on a controversial topic? If so, would you attempt to directly tackle this topic in your teaching or would you rather avoid it?

On p. 33, Bigelow mentions a pre-writing strategy he calls "metaphorical drawing" or "thinking in pictures." Although his border/immigration curricular unit incorporates role-play, improvisation and writing, this appears to be the only use of visual art. How might you turn this around so that writing plays a minor role in a challenging unit that approaches a controversial topic primarily through the visual arts? To answer this question, you may find it helpful to identify an issue on which you have strong (if not passionately held) views, and at least one artist whose work deals directly with the issue.

Let me know if you have questions regarding any part of this reading or blog assignment. Best of luck and happy reading! 

carolyn

"Grave of the Fireflies" (1988), Isao Takahata

All,

This week please watch the classic 1988 Japanese anime feature film, "Grave of the Fireflies" by director Isao Takahata. Watch the English dub version on Youtube -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpeHc7h7CaE

As Gail mentioned, this film depicts a tragedy. I watched it with my middle school Life Skills students while they were learning about WWII in their Social Studies and English classes (the school did not offer history). Because it's an animated film, the students expected a Disney plot. However, it is not a Disney production. The students were therefore shocked. However, they appreciated the unsugar-coated quality of the film and the fact that a teacher thought they could handle it. After this film we watched more by the same director and several by Hayao Miyazaki, Takahata's famous student.

Here are some questions we can answer or discuss after viewing "Grave of the Fireflies."

- How might this film help American students who are learning about WWII consider issues, problems or possibilities that are outside the standard (state and federally-mandated) curriculum?

- How might you use this film as the basis of an art project? How might this art project help students think critically about history and the way histories are written?

- Another topic of your choice.

As always, I look forward to hearing your ideas and reading your responses!

carolyn

Mid-Term Update

Hello All,

It’s Mid-Term time again! For those of you who have taken my classes before, you know that I take a unique approach to the Mid-Term and Final. I call the blog assignments that we do at these magic moments “updates” or “challenges.” I don’t call them papers. Rather, they are working documents that are designed to help you think through and integrate ideas from the class readings into your (newly evolving) thesis idea. 

Yes, I realize that some of you are new in the program and have barely begun to think about a thesis. As you know, the MAE program at TTU offers three different thesis options. These options are, 1) traditional (research-based) thesis, 2) professional project paper, and, 3) an exhibition of your artwork and short exhibition paper explaining the work. 

With these options in mind, please use the Mid-Term Challenge to flesh out your particular aims and interests in relation to critical pedagogy. The pedagogical issues we have discussed so far in this class encompass a range of school- and community-based initiatives and issues facing teachers of art, media and critical thinking. Please integrate your reading of Rethinking Popular Culture & Media  pp. 201-213, 226-234, 247-252 into your Mid-term response.

The Mid-Term Update asks you to consider and specify your interests in critical pedagogy in relation to the readings we have covered so far.  I do not expect you to have a clear picture of how these interests may or may not influence your thesis. I do recommend that you think about your longterm goals in the MAE program and how particular readings, activities and discussion threads align with your goals.

You can write this in about 3 paragraphs. The first paragraph will explain the issues that interest you the most in the field of Art Education. You may not know what you're going to do for a thesis, but this paragraph will give you a chance to start thinking and writing about it. If you have more than one idea and can't decide which way to go, write them all down. The group will offer you guidance!

The second paragraph will address specific discussion topics or threads from our readings. Explain why they resonate. If nothing has resonated, explain why/why not.

In the third paragraph, state how the ideas in paragraph 2 might inform or eventually lead to a thesis (i.e., traditional, professional project or exhibition paper) dealing with a specific issue or topic. The aim of this assignment is to twofold: 1) For you to clarify what interests you about critical pedagogy, and 2) For you to integrate ideas from this class into your longer-range plans.

You may post your Mid-term Updates right here on the blog. If you want to include a work of visual art, video performance or poetry, you may send me the file via email. Let me know if you want to share it with the class.

I expect and welcome your questions about this assignment. Please, feel free to post your questions here. If you are uncertain about something – anything! - chances are that someone else in the class feels the same way. So don’t be self-conscious. (If you are self-conscious and can’t help it, you can email me.)

Since I am posting this assignment one day late, you have until next week Tuesday at midnight to complete your Update. Best of luck with your Mid-Term Update. I can’t wait to read what you come up with!

Rethinking Popular Culture & Media, pp. 120-128, 138-146 & 163-171

Question writers, please post your questions in the response area below. You are not required to answer your own question - only the questions written by other students.

Rethinking Popular Culture & Media, pp. 1-16, 24-30, 46-48 & 77-90

This week we switch gears and start a new book. Hopefully I won't get so worked up this time. 

To give my reaction to last week's reading some context, it might help to know that I teach courses on research methods. Upholding ethical standards is key to responsible research. I was flabbergasted that a book recommended by my colleagues contained such a horrible example of research-like education. By "research-like" I mean that KOS and Shooting Back are very similar to research projects done by students at the doctoral level. A doctoral student, however, would never be able to operate in the free-wheeling manner of Rollins or Hubbard. Federal laws protect research subjects from psychological or physical harm. Universities strictly enforce these laws to protect themselves from lawsuits. Any research project involving human beings must first be approved by the University's Institutional Review Board (the IRB). Getting IRB approval for research involving minors is notoriously difficult.

I hope this makes sense.

************

Rethinking Popular Culture & Media is useful to the study of critical pedagogy for a variety of reasons. First, it was published by Rethinking Schools - an organization that promotes critical pedagogy and anti-bias education. Materials produced by Rethinking Schools, including its monthly magazine, are heavily used by Visual Studies faculty at the undergrad and graduate level. Anyone who goes through our programs will be exposed to Rethinking Schools. 

Second, one of the goals of critical pedagogy is to engage with students in ways they find culturally relevant. It doesn't get much more culturally relevant than popular culture. Most if not all of our students are totally saturated with popular media by the time they are 3. This makes them savvy consumers of popular media, but not necessarily capable of understanding the social/political/economic factors encoded within it.

Third, popular culture and media are overwhelmingly visual. This makes it relevant to art educators. We can do a lot with popular culture. It makes a great starting point for art projects that address pressing social concerns, question norms, learn about the role of corporations in our lives and spark critical dialogue. 

Finally, the essays in Rethinking Popular Culture & Media were written by committed, practicing educators. Most of these educators, however, are not art educators. This creates an unique opportunity for us to envision how ideas presented in the essays can be adapted to the art classroom. The aim of this week's blog questions will be to do just that.

One note of caution.  I do not expect you to agree with each author's viewpoint. You might find the views expressed in the readings disagreeably left-of-center. Your assignment is to try to understand the argument the author is making. Understanding is not the same as agreeing. Please avoid making ideological arguments, if possible. 

*******

Question #1

What is critical media literacy? What distinguishes it from media literacy?

Question #2

If you are a public school educator, how many corporate logos are present in your school building? To your knowledge, does the school or school district benefit financially from the corporations whose logos and products appear in your building? If you don't know, see if you can find out.

Challenge!

Suggest at least 2 art lessons, units or projects that would address critical issues discussed in at least 2 different chapters from this week's reading. Don't forget to say how you would integrate research, critical thinking and art-making in these lessons. 

Some questions to ponder as you prepare  -

- How can I challenge students to critique commercial/consumer culture in creative yet thoughtful ways? 

- How might I help students see and question "normal" (i.e., taken-for-granted) ways of thinking about race, class and/or gender? 

- How might I help students detect bias and omission in school textbooks by examining and playing around with images in their books?

- How can art help students notice how they identify with and build social identities around specific corporate brands, logos, images and styles? Who gains the most from what marketers call "brand loyalty" and who loses?

- How might Facebook or some other social networking site be used for making art?

You might think of other questions to ask. I hope that you do!

Good luck!!!

carolyn

Watch Frontline on PBS tonight!

Hello everyone ~

Tonight's the PBS investigative news program, Frontline, looks at our nation's high drop-out rate. The show airs at 8 pm Central Time. Watch if you get a chance!

PBS maintains a great online archive of articles and videos about education. Here is the link -

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/topic/american-graduate/

Hope you get a chance to watch tonight's Frontline!  

Thanks,

carolyn

Finding Art's Place by Nicholas Paley, pp. 117-163 Discussion Questions/Topics

This week we are reading the third and final section of Paley's book, the section titled "Shooting Back." You may also want to read some or all of "Partitives," pp. 167-184, if you have questions about Paley's research methods or analysis. I don't know about you, but by the end of section 3 I definitely had questions.

Here are some questions or topics I'd like to explore this week in our blog conversation -

Question/Topic #1

All three sections of Paley's book expressed a very negative viewpoint of public schooling. I myself made some negative comments that I wish I had not, out of respect for those whose dedicated service makes the public education in the U.S. possible. Several of you are public school teachers. How did  Paley's, Rollins', Bennings' and the Shooting Back participants' condemnation of public schooling made you feel? Several of you are not public school teachers. How did the negative judgement of public schooling affect you?

Question/Topic #2

The Shooting Back project involved hundreds of participants working in different areas and serving various roles in the program. Paley's research exposed a multitude of diverse, competing and/or contradictory viewpoints. What does this tell you about the benefits and potential pitfalls of making "socially conscious" art with young people in non-school community settings?

Question/Topic #3

In my reading of the text, I felt the author turned up evidence that warranted further investigation. In at least two places, I felt the author failed his responsibility as a researcher to ask critical questions of the programs and people he was researching. The interview in the "Partitives" section, like the interview with Jim Hubbard before it, gives some insight into the author's thought process. 

At what point or points in the text do you think Paley overlooked evidence that a more "socially conscious" individual - someone like you - would have recognized? What would you have done differently?

I look forward to hearing your responses to these questions. It should be an interesting conversation~!

carolyn

Finding Arts Place (Paley) - pp. 66-112 discussion topics/questions

Nothing highlights the radical social and cultural changes of digital technology quite like this chapter on the work of Sadie Benning. Rather than cringe at the datedness of Paley's book, I think we should approach this as an opportunity to examine how new communication technologies impact our lives and especially the lives of young people. Of course, digital technologies were immediately adopted by artists to create whole new genres of creative production, much of it interactive and highly innovative. Rhizome is the major organization that presents, discusses and archives net art. See http://rhizome.org/  for examples of recent and classic works of digital media.

However, this chapter in Paley's text is about an artist who emerged on the eve of the digital revolution. Ironically, a relatively low-tech instrument - a toy Pixelvision camera - was used to create a look that became the defining feature of her art. The bedroom studio and diaristic format revealing intimate details of her life, including her sexual orientation, were novel for the time. Her struggle to survive as a lesbian teen in a world that is hard enough for a heterosexual woman/girl to navigate made for perfect '80s-style identity art. (Caveat - the modern LGBTQ movement has always been closely linked with identity politics. This particular form of identity politics, which required LGBTQ individuals to embrace their sexual identities, was necessary to put LGBTQ issues on the national political agenda - issues such as discrimination in the workplace, gay bashing/sexual harassment and hate crimes.) 

Bennings' work is not available on Youtube, perhaps because she is an established art star whose work should not be confused with, or compared to, the pedestrian bedroom-studio teenage video diaries of today. Even though we haven't seen Bennings' work, it's clear that aesthetically it bears no resemblance to those Youtube productions. So we do not confuse this with that. However, we will compare because many of us work closely with teenagers. Some of these teens may be social media queens or kings with hundreds or even thousands of fans. Sadie Benning is relevant to us because her work could be relevant to them.

The authenticity of Sadie Bennings' video personae was never in doubt. Today, however, some of the biggest Youtube celebrities in the teenage diary category have been accused of faking their entire identity. The most famous case I can think of right now is lonelygirl15 - see
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyqnJLFiriE&feature=fvwrel
but you may know others. For teenagers this may be old hat. But you can shed new light on it by exploring the topic of "exhibiting the self as screen and secret" (Paley, 105), or, in plain language, examining the relationship between performance and identity.

Topic - How does presenting yourself as "yourself" to a public audience become a performance? To understand this phenomenon, it really helps to have firsthand experience. Make a short video of yourself talking about your life as if you were talking into a mirror. Then watch yourself and look for subtle changes in your self-presentation as you video yourself doing the same thing several days in a row. Make sure to watch your own videos. It's important that others watch them too, because their comments will affect your performance in your next video. It's human nature to want to please other people, even if they are strangers. Younger people have an easier time with this concept than Gen X or Baby Boomers. Older people tend to ask that annoying question, "who cares?" 

I am interested in exploring with you the strange drift that occurs when we speak to a camera in front of an audience. We know this drift occurs with Hollywood stars and other famous people. We criticize them when they "start to believe their own b.s.," i.e., lose the ability to distinguish between their on and off-screen personas. 

The distance between movie stars and fans is much greater than that of bedroom video diarists, whose popularity depends on their ability to close the gap between self and viewer. That is why authenticity matters. But you can see how easy it would be for a creative person to be gradually transformed by this process.  

Ideally we'd all make video diaries and share them in a closed discussion group. Realistically I cannot and will not ask students to divulge personal information for a class assignment.

A more reasonable assignment might entail videoing (or photographing) ourselves in different interior settings, using different lighting techniques, vantage points, etc. It helps if you know how to do it, but don't worry if you don't. If you do, then you know you can manipulate settings to make yourself look younger or older than you actually are. So you could try to pass yourself off as a much younger or much older person. But would it pass the authenticity smell test? 

People believed Sadie Benning. Would they believe you? For a second let's suspend disbelief and pretend someone cares (!) The point - the main point - is that teenagers believe people care, and maybe people of that generation really do care as long as they think you are real. But what is "real" and how do we recognize it? What are the parameters of the "real," the "real you?" At what point do you stop being you? 

Play around with this assignment. See what emerges. You can respond entirely in writing, as we have in previous weeks, or you can respond visually. If you choose the latter, have something ready to share by this Sunday at midnight, our usual deadline. 

Be mindful of the fact that we don't know what you look like. How you represent yourself visually is a performance by you as the "real you." With slight tweaking, you become less you. I'd like to see the "real you," the "slightly less you," the "noticeably less you" and the "really not real you" you. 

So what is this assignment "really" about? You guessed it - the identity politics of the digital age and our social immersion in digital communication technologies. Have fun!