Literature Across Cultures: Stevenson: Week 4

Monday, June 24, 2024

Stevenson: Week 4

My perspective on other cultures has been formed by my own experiences more than anything. I

have been fortunate to have lived in a variety of places and have been exposed to people from many cultures. I am also an avid reader, and I have read many books about people from different cultures.

I have read many books that have provided me with exposure to a variety of cultures. I know that meeting one person or family from a culture is not a representation of the culture as a whole.

When I meet others or read a book that includes exposure to a different culture, I try to make connections to my previous experiences, but also take note of the differences. Because of my age, experiences, and the way I was raised, I make these connections and comparisons intrinsically and internally. My children, however, form their perspective on other cultures through social media. TikTok and Instagram introduce them to far more than my husband and I do. They are experiencing other cultures in short clips and move one to the next video or image on their for you pages before they even question what they have seen. They literally have the world at their fingertips, but they are not taking the time to analyze what they see and reflect on the cultures they are experiencing. This is a drawback of using technology to experience other cultures. Many of these tiktoks and Instagram posts could be reinforcing negative stereotypes and viewers can misinterpret these as fact.

2 comments:

Camryn CoryJune 25, 2024 at 9:37 AM
Hi Mandy!

Being able to make connections to what we see and hear is so important. Even more so, your ability to analyze differences in your experiences and what you see is also important.

Your example of your kids using social media to watch short clips of other cultures is a good example of how our culture is quick to move from one thing to the next without considering the reality of those cultures and how they differ from ours. How might you combat this with your kids? Or with the students in your class?
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HammJune 25, 2024 at 12:25 PM
Mandy,
This is a good point about social media. I feel like our students run through very quick concepts about other cultures and do not think about the implications of what they are seeing. This can be good sometimes, but detrimental more than not. For example, one of the big things for my students to watch is "gang culture" related videos.
This may not seem like a big deal, but then the students walk up and down the halls using signs that they do not understand. In our small town, it probably doesn't matter much, but that is not true for the larger areas where violence is a way of life for gang members. This is a culture that is not processed by students because they are so focused on "race" being the prominent discussion. I am hoping to take some of the conversation from this class to them in the fall. I would like them to start looking at why they think these things are cool.
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Post Week 4: Pre- and Post-Conceptual Perspectives

Some thoughts to help you brainstorm your post: Nineteenth-century travel writing caused those who read about other cultures to formulate their ideas about those cultures directly from the writing, so much so that if a person chose to travel to a country he or she had read about prior to travel, the traveller was often disappointed in the actual country and culture. In our current technological existence, our ideas of what places and people are like can certainly be informed by how they are depicted in text and on the multitude of screens we use to interface with the world. What informs your perspective? How might the ways in which we experience people, ideas, issues, cultures, and so on, be impacted by how we learn of them? Are the benefits and drawbacks to the use of the technology available to us? What might some of those be, and why?

Your post is due Thursday at 8 pm.

Responses should be posted by Sunday at 10 pm.

Post Week 2: The Way to Rainy Mountain

The critical text which accompanies your primary reading for the week explores ways in which we as teachers might use other cultures' literatures in our classrooms to move students from superficial, stereotyped perspectives to a fuller understanding of not only individuals from other cultures, but themselves, too. In your blog post, share with your colleagues how you might incorporate ideas from the article in your own teaching.

Your post is due Thursday at 8 pm.

Your responses are due Sunday at 10 pm.

Post Week 1: Questions on Reading

You've been asked to post a question on the readings as your blog post. Here are some ideas to help you get started: You may have noted the publication dates of the readings and wondered why you're reading articles written in 2005. The reason is that the issues raised and discussion in each of the articles are applicable 16 years later. Do you agree? Disagree? Both? Explain why and pose a question to help your reader understand what you find to be the same or different. Or, if one of the two of the readings stands out to you, explain why that’s the case, but also post a question based on what stands out. Or, if something is confusing or problematic for you, what do you find confusing or problematic? With what do you agree or disagree? Be sure your question is open ended so that your colleagues can use it as a basis for discussion.

As you frame your question, be sure to summarize the article, then provide context for your question. Cite the text appropriately.

Questions to be posted by Thursday.

Responses (to at least two colleagues) to be posted Sunday.

Week 5: Toward a Social Justice Ethic: What is an American, Anyway?

How do the issues examined in the article affect you as a teacher and as a person living in today’s world? What is the importance of having a voice? Of being heard? Are there differences in your response based on the role(s) you inhabit? Teacher, parent, individual community member, brother, sister, child, global citizen, and more—we inhabit many subject positions. Are there ways to bring those needs/expectations/responsibilities together?

Posts are due by 8 pm Thursday.

There is no set number of required colleague responses this week, but you are expected to read all posts and to respond as class discussion.

Post Week 6: Article Summaries and Commentary

In this week's reading, you met a narrator who draws the reading into a short story with a decidedly hushed, slower tone. The couple introduced to us has experienced an unimaginable loss. How might that loss be affected by their cultural dislocation? Draw on the supplemental readings as you consider the question.

Your post is due Thursday at 8 pm. As was the case last week, there is not a set number of responses, but you are expected to demonstrate through responding that you have read and engaged with all class posts.