LANGUAGES OF MEDIA with Professor Mark Lipton

LANGUAGES OF MEDIA

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LANGUAGES OF MEDIA F20 THST 1200 DE Professor @marklipton liptonm@uoguelph.ca This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution---Non-Commercial---Share-Alike 3.0 Unported License [CC BY-NC-SA 3.0]. NOTE: Additional information regarding Creative Commons can be found on pages 248-251.]

TEACHING TEAM includes: Mark Lipton< liptonm@uoguelph.ca> Todd Martin <tmarti11@uoguelph.ca> Charity Mensah <cmensah@uoguelph.ca> Joshua Mishaw <jmishaw@uoguelph.ca> Carey West <cwest06@uoguelph.ca>

WHO DO I CONTACT? A member of the teaching team will be assigned to you. Expect an e-mail sent to your uoguelph.ca account; the subject will contain <THST1200>.

E-MAIL COMMUNICATION As per university regulations, all students are required to check their e-mail account regularly: e-mail is the official route of communication between the University and its students.

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LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of the course, learners (1) differentiate among multiple forms of writing, communication and media by writing in at least three non-formal forms; (2) apply elements of visual/media/digital literacy to advance knowledge by analyzing and creating media products/digital artifacts; (3) create writing + media products/digital artifacts that apply communication skills by ongoing journal writings and presenting polished media/blog/portfolio; (4) demonstrate risk taking, creativity and initiative in media/digital literacy by planning, creating and (digitally) packaging media products/digital artifacts; (5) recognize uncertainty, ambiguity and the limits of knowledge by selecting and responding to course prompts and discussion questions, creating unique and responsible writing and media; (6) evaluate individual beliefs, truth claims and the credibility of media sources by researching multiple points of view for all writing and creation work; and (7) demonstrate autonomous learning by designing independent learning and reading plans which learners outline in ongoing journal writing.

TOPICS The ecologies of media; information vs. meaning; language; communication; perception; meaning making; synesthesia; privacy, copyright & creative commons; media vs. medium; media forms (speech to transmedia works; software vs. hardware; open vs. closed systems); transmedia & digital storytelling; film/video/audio languages & grammars; technology & pleasure; sex & gender; race & difference; BLM; identity & representation; consumer culture; information theory; cybernetics; media determinism; media systems; Marshall McLuhan; Neil Postman; media epistemologies; language, thought & action; media cultures; media & cognition; compassion, practice & habitual behavior; semiotics; algorithms & digital connectivity; digital in/justice; income inequality; public culture of tomorrow; media ownership; net neutrality; digital divides; free/open culture; tactics of resistance; media activism/t; audiences & modes of reception; filter bubbles; remediation & convergence culture; fake news; e/mergent media: public relations; plastic brains; future of cognition; & learning ecologies.

Note: This course is designed as a nonlinear experience with multiple units offering learners choice and flexibility to pursue individual interests while still meeting non-negotiable learning outcomes.

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ASSESSMENTS Assessment Item / Assignments

Course Weight / Value

Associated Learning Outcomes

JOURNAL

30%

1, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7

BLOG

30%

1, 2, 3, 4, 6

DIGITAL STORY + 1-2 ADDITIOANL DIGITAL creations/artifacts

30%

2, 3, 4, 5, 6

LAST WORD

10%

1, 3, 4, 5, 6

TOTAL

100%

Required Feedback: Beginning Fall 2020, instructors will need to provide undergraduate students with feedback equal to 20 per cent of their final course grade by the 40th class day. This change reflects widespread practice and builds on a previous policy requiring that instructors provide meaningful and constructive feedback prior to the 40th class day. https://news.uoguelph.ca/2020/06/june-1-senate-policy-changesprogram-additions-leadership-updates/

STANDARD FILE NAMING CONVENTIONS Make sure to include your name and date; when saving any files for submission please use standard naming procedures, i.e., <LastNameFirstNameTHST1200F20JOURNAL.pdf>.

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COURSE COMMUNICATION You are required to use your official University of Guelph email for all correspondence.

For this course, I ask you to review email protocols by reading: HOW TO WRITE AN EMAIL WITH MILITARY PRECISION

THST1200

- Please make certain that the SUBJECT header in your email includes “ .”

- Please do not email all teaching associates. One will be assigned and in touch with you.

- If there is uneven distribution of students, you may be designated to another teaching associate.

- Nothing is to be taken personally. We are all just trying our best. https://hbr.org/2016/11/how-to-write-email-with-military-precision

Review KISS & BIFF & BLUF & SEE guidelines: - Keep It Simple (silly) - Brief Informative Fair Friendly - Bottom Line Up Front - Statement, Example, Explain

DIVERSITY STATEMENT The LANGUAGES OF MEDIA with @marklipton is committed to extending and sustaining the diversity of our community, to promote an environment of equity, inclusion, and respect for difference. This course recognizes all identities and expressions of identity are a normal and healthy part of an intersectional spectrum. This course prioritizes inclusion as an ongoing collaborative process of growth that we continually address within all aspects of course content, course requirements and our language uses and habits. These language habits directly impact our thinking and behaviour, and we keep our judgments and evaluations in check. WE all deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. WE all want to promote safer and inclusive learning environments free from discrimination and harassment.

Canadians may embrace a national imaginary that holds diversity and equity under the umbrella of multiculturalism. The harsh reality, however, recognizes Canada as a settler-colonial society, defined and structured by an eradicating & silencing whiteness. & despite my best intentions, the course’s capitalist critiques and a curriculum that pays close attention to power dynamics and intersectional relations among identities, work/labour and civil rights – I DO NOT DENY my PRIVILEGE and my dominant whiteness. It behooves me to foster an environment of inclusivity in this course (and in life).

COURSE CONTENT DISCLAIMER

There is content and language used in this course that is intended to describe and encourage thought on a variety of sometimes difficult topics. Some content and language

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could be offensive. If you find this to be the case, engage with other materials in the course. The course itself is one of self-discovery and no particular material is mandatory.

COURSE MAPS STRUCTURE

This course is somewhat like a “choose your own adventure.” There are some very specific guidelines. Otherwise, your active autonomy is how to get started. You may begin anywhere, and circle through topics. Included is a detailed navigation with all the headings and subheadings [forthcoming]. Start anywhere or begin at the start.

The key for each learner, I imagine, is to have a clear understanding of what is asked of you. Assessments and assignments are described in this document & to summarize: weekly JOURNAL writing; 8-10 BLOG posts; one DIGITALSTORY; and a final LETTER. This is very reasonable. Hopefully, you’ll be engaged. If you allow for it, you might have fun.

I hope you find the work intellectually stimulating in ways that motivate your growth mindset.

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REQUIRED READINGS [All required readings are available in our course TEAMS; most are also freely available online (quick search) and/or in the University Library. If anyone experiences challenges finding materials, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Additional readings or other materials may be circulated. This list is subject to change.]

Bruner, Jerome. Life as Narrative, 2004.

Cargle, Rachel Elizabeth. When Feminism Is White Supremacy in Heels, 2018.

Coaston, Jane. The Intersectionality Wars, 2019.

D’Ignazio, Catherine. 5 Questions on Data and Indigenous Place Names with Margaret Pearce, 2020.

Di Nicola, Vincenzo. Slow Thought: A Manifesto, 2020.

Drotner, Kirsten. Leisure Is Hard Work: Digital Practices and Future Competencies, 2008.

Kendi, Ibram X. The American Nightmare: To Be Black & Conscious of Anti-Black Racism Is to Stare into the Mirror of your own Extinction, 2020.

Kluttz, Jenalee, Jude Walker and Pierre Walter. Unsettling Allyship, Unlearning and Learning towards Decolonizing Solidarity, 2020.

Lawrence, Bonita. Gender, Race, and the Regulation of Native Identity in Canada and the United States: An Overview, 2003.

Linton, Simi. What is Disability Studies? 2005.

Lorde, Audre. Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference, 1984.

McIntosh, Peggy. White Privilege & Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women's Studies, 1988.

McIntosh, Peggy. White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, 1990.

Motta, Carlos, John Arthur Peetz & Carlos Maria Romero. SPIT! (Sodomites, Perverts, Inverts Together!) Manifesto Reader, 2017.

Mulvey, Laura. Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, 1975.

Olbey, Jon, & Bryant Greenbaum. CARDED, Racial Profiling, Street Checks and Police Oversight in the Disciplinary Society, 2017.

Olbey, Jon, & Bryant Greenbaum. COPOGANDA: Pop Culture’s Bizarro World of Policing, 2020.

Rich, Adrienne. Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, 1980.

Roy, Arundhati. The Pandemic is a Portal, 2020.

Scott, Dylan. Violent protests are not the story. Police violence is, 2020.

Singal, Jesse. When Children Say They’re Trans, 2018.

Sterritt, Angela. Racialization of Poverty: Indigenous Women, the Indian Act and Systemic Oppression: Reasons for Resistance, 2007.

Williams, Charisse. A Love Letter to my Black Community on Campus, 2020.

Yue, Audrey. Sexualities/queer Identities, 2013.

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SUGGESTED READING [Most required readings are available in our course TEAMS; many are also freely available online (quick search) and/or in the University Library. If anyone experiences challenges finding materials, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hesitate to ask for help. Also note, there are several suggested readings throughout the course materials; many of these suggestions include works of fiction, selected to appeal to your interests. If you select any of these for further consideration, please let us know.]

Barthes, Roland, and Lionel Duisit. An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative, 1975.

Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo, Amanda Lewis and David G. Embrick. I Did Not Get that Job Because of a Black Man: The Story Lines and Testimonies of Color-Blind Racism, 2004.

Bruner, Jerome. A Narrative Model of Self-Construction.

Cargle, Rachel Elizabeth. How to Talk to Your Family About Racism, 2019.

Fisher, Walter R. The Narrative Paradigm: In the Beginning.

Garland-Thomson, Rosemarie. Extraordinary Bodies, 1996.

Garland-Thomson, Rosemarie. Staring: How We Look, 2009.

Hausknecht, Simone & Michelle Vanchu-Orosco & David Kaufman. Digitising the Wisdom of our Elders: Connectedness through Digital Storytelling, 2019.

Kafer, Alison. Feminist, Queer, Crip, 2013.

Mattingly, Cheryl, Nancy C. Lutkehaus, and C. J. Throop. Bruner's Search for Meaning: A Conversation between Psychology and Anthropology, 2008.

Meltzer, Marisa. Rachel Cargle; I Refuse to Listen to White Women Cry, 2019.

Mos, Leendert. Jerome Bruner: Language, Culture, Self, 2003.

Sontag, Susan. Illness as Metaphor, 1978 Sontag, Susan. AIDS and its Metaphors, 1988.

Todorov, Tzvetan, and Arnold Weinstein. Structural Analysis of Narrative, 1969.

SCHEDULE OF DATES Course Start Date: 10 September 2020 End Date: 18 December 2020 Last Day to Add: September 18th

SYNCHRONOUS INTERACTIONS One hour of SYNCHRONOUS discussion: 11:30am to 12:30pm DETAILS to be circulated

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Wednesday September 16th 11:30am to 12:30pm topic: Wednesday September 23rd 11:30am to 12:30pm topic: Wednesday September 30th 11:30am to 12:30pm topic: Wednesday October 7th 11:30am to 12:30pm topic:

Wednesday October 21st 11:30am to 12:30pm topic:

October Break October 9th â&#x20AC;&#x201C; October 14th October 12th Happy Thanksgiving Folxs October 14th no meeting

Wednesday October 28th 11:30am to 12:30pm Wednesday November 4th 11:30am to 12:30pm Wednesday November 18th 11:30am to 12:30pm

November 11th Remembrance Day: no meeting

Wednesday November 25th 11:30am to 12:30pm Wednesday December 2nd Last day of regularly scheduled classes December 2nd 11:30am to 12:30pm Wednesday December 9th Wednesday December 16th

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FILM SERIES There are thirteen selected films for your viewing pleasure and interest. You are asked, for your blog, to write about two films of your choice. Details about attending to film are provided in one of the topics. There are no formal requirements. These (mostly) mainstream films are available for you to watch through the library. The collection of media is incredible.

IF you plan a watching ‘party’ or other synchronous event, please invite us and/or include your experiences of screening these films. We look forward to watching these with you.

Watching film is a way to schedule and manage your time. Since these films may appeal to broader audiences you are also asked to watch WITH OTHERS. Group dynamics in response to film can be power learning. Welcome others in your bubble and facilitate a conversation about the selected films.

I know the two I would choose to write about. One film, selected for my own pleasure, is slightly different from the rest. Can you guess which one? It’s probably very obvious –at least once you’ve met me. Remember: self-care and self-compassion. Make some popcorn; enjoy a movie!

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DEADLINES RECOMMENDED TIMELINE AND DEADLINES JOURNAL

Initial Journal: September 30th (10pm) Final Journals: November 18th (10pm) Nothing will be graded after December 2nd, 2020.

BLOG

Initial BLOG: October 21st (10pm) Final BLOG: December 2nd (10pm) Nothing will be graded after December 8th, 2020.

DIGITAL STORY

Digital Artifact: October 28th (10pm) Nothing will be graded after November 11th, 2020.

LAST WORD

Must be submitted before December 16th, 2020 (10pm).

Nothing will be graded after December 16th, 2020.

STANDARD FILE NAMING CONVENTIONS Make sure to include your name and date; when saving any files for submission please use standard naming procedures, i.e., <LastNameFirstNameTHST1200F20JOURNAL.pdf>.

ASSIGNMENTS DOING & CREATING

For all assignments, learners engage in traditional academic scholarship. This is demonstrated by critical thinking, reasoned responses and academic writing. In other words, students of media connect practical work and traditional scholarship so as to encounter new questions, problems or issues. I described three elements in a critical approach to doing media studies. First, learners identify (& curate) media texts that require substantive study.

We create arguments about dominant, negotiated and oppositional readings of these texts.

Second, by applying knowledge about digital tools, we further investigate our arguments by

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creating our own media texts in ways that support our arguments. Finally, learners in this course consider how our readings and creations work as interventions within society and culture; doing media studies interrogates sites of struggle and advocates for change.

Given these elements, I am calling for a new kind of â&#x20AC;&#x153;digital essayâ&#x20AC;? that employs both scholarship and digital practice. There are many other examples to draw from for inspiration.

Past learners have geotagged global maps to provide information about media ownership; written and produced public service announcements about online bullying; logged social media usage followed by a week-long effort of refusing and resisting social media. I encourage learners to follow their interests, to ask questions, to do and to create.

Associated Learning Outcomes JOURNAL 10-12 entries

30%

1, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7

BLOG 8-10 entries

30%

1, 2, 3, 4, 6

DIGITAL STORY as DIGITAL ARTIFACT

30%

2, 3, 4, 5, 6

LAST WORD

10%

1, 3, 4, 5, 6

JOURNAL Description | Curation | Reflection | Contemplation 10-12 ENTRIES

Initial Review requires submissions prior to September 30th (10pm).

Final review requires submissions prior to November 18th (10pm).

No JOURNALS will be graded after December 2nd2020.

Please provide writing that demonstrates your self-reflection about the course materials, your readings/media experiences and your understanding of media. For each unit, there are multiple questions designed to promote critical thinking and reflection. This course requires students to dedicate approximately 25-30 minutes each week to journal writing. Questions can be answered directly, students may select questions to focus writing and/or students may use questions as a means to direct their own critical reflections. Journal writing is personal writing.

In personal writing there are TWO modes to be mindful of: 1) DESCRIPTIVE writing and 2) CONTEMPLATIVE writing. The former asks for details about sensory experiences, that is, what

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students see, hear and other visceral sensations; the latter invites students to contemplate ideas, thoughts, values and other meanings. In some cases, writing is exposition (expository writing without five paragraph structure) where students provide an account of their experiences and beliefs in response to the topic, issue or question.

YOUR JOURNAL SHOULD INCLUDE & SHOW EVIDENCE OF: o o o o o o o o o

Self-directed learning; Demonstrated contemplation; weekly, explanations and scholarly reflections of course tasks, readings and media; frequent reading and analysis of key articles, media, and/or other related information; sharing and review of discovered resources; attention to systematic self-evaluation; appropriately descriptive language; quality writing in terms of style and syntax; quality and pride in presentation.

Structured occasions for reflection allow students to explore their experiences and develop abstractions that may help students transfer knowledge to new situations. Awareness and reflection are not merely symptoms of developments in learners, they bring about the developments. It is through this process of reflection that learners articulate outcomes of their work.

Learners require a variety of learning situations and opportunities to be able to make fine distinctions about the significant aspects of new contexts. By identifying the differences between similar situations, learners are better able to respond appropriately. Such learning experiences are an important preparation for the unpredictable nature of the workplace. This kind of learning transfer always involves reflective thought; learners practice abstracting ideas from one context and seeking connections with others.

Learners must prepare for activities not limited to listening; they must read, write, discuss or be engaged in solving problems. Most important, to be actively involved, students must engage in higher-order thinking tasks such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Without taking away from the important role played by the TEACHING TEAM, it is helpful to remember that what learners actually do are more important in determining what is learned than any actions of the teaching team.

There are a lot of questions to help you begin. This is NOT a questionnaire. They are NOT to be answered individually. They are to help you get your thinking gears rolling so you can reflect on your symbolic responses and write with brevity and intentionality. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expect to answer all questions. Questions are the building blocks of inquiry, wonder and learning.

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JOURNAL REMINDERS

Journal writing gives you the freedom to assess what needs to be said. Some entries will be longer; others shorter. There are no word or page number requirements. <AS LONG AS NECESSARY & AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE>.

Please cite all sourcesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;use the style guide of your choice. When in doubt, look up MLA. Please follow file name conventions: Make sure to include your name and date; when saving any files for submission. Please use standard naming procedures, i.e., <LastNameFirstNameTHST1200F20JOURNAL.pdf>.

JOURNAL TOPICS/QUESTIONS and other TASKS + JOURNAL RUBRIC [attached as separate document]

BLOG

8-10 ENTRIES

Initial BLOG: October 21st (10pm) Final BLOG: December 2nd (10pm) Nothing will be graded after December 8th, 2020.

Most recent statistics cite 4,833,521,806 Internet users worldwide1 and over thirty-four million [34,558,385] Internet users were in Canada2. Asking learners to participate in digital culture allows them to make a place for themselves on the global map. Having you write blog posts is a very useful and important practice. My purpose in assigning a blog is to increase fluency with the Internet and to develop a writing practice.

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Internet usage as of June 30, 2020. <http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm>.

Internet usage as of April 30, 2019. < https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats14.htm>.

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Though blogging may seem overwhelming to many, I assume no prior knowledge of website coding or management, only minimal experience of computers and the Internet. I will not evaluate the professionalism of blogs; my assessment of your work is based on your ability to demonstrate critical thinking, self-reflection and the quality of analysis and writing.

YOUR BLOG INCLUDES AND SHOWS EVIDENCE OF: Self-directed learning; Demonstrated contemplation and critical thinking; Scholarly reflections in response to tasks, readings and media; Frequent reading and analysis of required, suggested or related articles, media and/or other related information; o Careful referencing and review of discovered resources; o Attention to systematic self-evaluation & quality professional writing; o Professional attention to language and presentation. o o o o

To find a blogging service, please make use of free services – no one receives extra credit for paying money. Part of your initiative and integrity is working within the confines of an educational institution – and saving your money for more important things. Most blogging services have grown from garage start-ups and are now owned by bigger organizations. Go with Blogger and you’re in bed with Google; sign up with Tumblr or whathaveyou and you’re giving away your information to some other corporation. I recommend WordPress though many former learners tell me there are other easier to use tools. Do take the time to consider the corporate ownership of your blogging service; media students are attentive to research and analyze media hegemonies.

Be sure to give your blog an appropriate name. Be sure to edit all writing for clarity and coherence. Remember, everything you write in your blog is considered class work.

Because most of you will be posting directly to your blogs, make sure to backup all of your writing (either by copying and pasting directly into a word processing document or by transcribing what you’ve written into a notebook). Should your work disappear online (entropy) you can always pull it up from your own personal archive. This is crucial if you would like your work to be evaluated.

LEGAL ISSUES Please be responsible. Keep in mind that this blog marks you as a publisher on an international circuit. Though your piece of the information society —at least in the form of this blog—will be very, very small, you still must adhere to all legal constraints. If you think you might run into problems with the law, it is worth doing more research or seek advice. In my mind, if you think there might be a problem, there probably is.

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The five legal issues to keep in mind as you blog include (1) copyright, (2) privacy, (3) defamation and libel, (4) adult material and ‘harm and offence’, and (5) incitement.

Please don’t get me in trouble with any irresponsible posts. I’m trusting that you will write with respect and in keeping with the values of the University of Guelph. This blog may be the beginning of your public role as the university’s ambassador. Respect your decision to attend Guelph by making sure your blog sticks to the limits of the law and acceptable use according to our University’s standards.

If you are experiencing technical difficulties or if the idea of trying to work with a blog is just too much for you to handle, you may collect your posts in a written document. This assignment is worth a shot –at least, give it a try. The TEACHING TEAM wants to be as flexible as possible. What do you need?

REQUIRED BLOG POSTS 1. COVID PORTALS to UTOPIA; COVID & ITS METAPHORS; and/or CONTACT TRACING & DYSTOPIC SURVEILLENCE REIGMES; 2. INTERSECTIONALITY & PRACTICES OF LOOKING; 3. ONE ADDITIONAL TOPIC FROM INTERSECTIONALITY; 4. WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA & THIS IS AMERICA; 5. ONE ADDITIONAL TOPIC FROM WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA; 6. ONE SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS; 7. ONE COMPARATIVE FILM ANALYSIS.

ADDITIONAL BLOG TOPICS/QUESTIONS and other TASKS + BLOG RUBRIC [attached as separate document]

DIGITAL STORY

Digital Artifact: October 28th (10pm) Nothing will be graded after November 11th, 2020.

Create a DIGITAL STORY You are asked to create a short digital artifact in the form of a digital story.

The goal is to attend to your CREATIVE PROCESS. Consider how your digital story applies metaphor/synecdoche for effect.

You MUST include at least five separate shots (5 different images, edited with transitions).

Your maximum time allowance is 150 seconds or 2.5 minutes.

Minimum time is 30 seconds.

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All work must recognize and cite a Creative Commons (cc) licence.

Work must NOT break copyright laws.

Your work must adhere to the University’s code of conduct.

Public domain images and music are freely available.

All sources must be attributed properly, following MLA guidelines.

Use the camera/microphone/technology of your choice.

If you need help accessing any of these tools please ask.

In creating this project, you must WRITE. Please consolidate your work into a SINGLE file (word document) & upload this file to COURSELINK in our class DROPBOX. Please submit one document, including all parts: i. Part A: Your imagination, intentions & production plans; ii. Part B: Your creative production (as link or .mp4 file); & iii. Part C: Your postproduction narrative.

Part A: YOUR IMAGINATION, INTENTIONS & PRODUCTION PLANS WALK us through YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS. CONCEPTION TO SUBMISSION: TRACK, CAPTURE & REPRESENT YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS Please consolidate your work into a single word document to be uploaded through COURSELINK in our class DROPBOX. Consider including any/all of the following ten suggestions: 1. Brainstorming / keyword maps 2. initial writing efforts 3. any research notes 4. a paragraph describing your intentions 5. rough storyboards 6. a working script 7. a final script – narrative (what we hear) 8. a shot list – what you wanted us to see 9. your production schedule 10. any final notes about editing;

Part B: YOUR CREATIVE PRODUCTION Please include a LINK to a very short PRODUCTION.

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Include working link in your document.

Please TEST link prior to submission.

TIME RESTRICTIONS

minimum 30 seconds maximum 150 seconds or 2.5 minutes

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

UPLOAD an .mp4 file to a public website (eg., YouTube or Vimeo).

Provide a WORKING link.

TEST your link prior to submission.

PRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS 1. a narrative; 2. five separate images, 3. dialogue and/or voice-over.

LEGAL REQUIRMENTS

All work must recognize and cite a Creative Commons license.

Work must not break copyright laws.

Public domain images and music are freely available.

All sources must be attributed properly, following MLA guidelines.

Part C: POSTPRODUCTION NARRATIVE REFLECT on the process after your work is completed (that is, after you upload a digital file).

(400-800 words)

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION Have you met all technical, production, legal and time requirements/restrictions?

How did you meet, frustrate and/or achieve your INTENTIONS? Are you satisfied with your final product?

What did you learn about videography?

What did you learn about storytelling?

What did you learn about media literacy?

What did you learn about yourself? How do you think you did?

What was your biggest area of learning?

What other ways might you have told this digital story?

What should the audience be able to tell us about your story?

What additional information might your audience need to understand your story?

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How does your attention to the acoustic environment impact the emotion content?

If we remove all sound, does the story retain its integrity? why or why not?

What questions emerged for you?

Are you proud of your work?

[assessment rubrics included]

LAST WORD LAST WORD Must be submitted before December 16th, 2020 (10pm).

Nothing will be graded after December 16th, 2020.

Please take the time to write me a letter about your response to the class. How did I do?

What should I do differently next time I get a chance to teach this class? Should I teach this class again? Tell me what you liked and what you hated. Your honest feedback will be most appreciated.

Self-assessment is a process that invites learners to reflect on the quality of their work and judge the degree to which it reflects explicitly stated goals and criteria; you are also asked to consider your chosen path-that is, the materials you examined and those passed over; did your sense of academic autonomy help you identify and select an appropriate program of study?

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This kind of self-assessment is a tool for reconsidering how you managed your own learning in changing circumstances. As an element of self-regulation, this task involves awareness of the goals of a task and checking oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s progress against the criteria. An intended outcome of selfassessment is enhanced self-regulation and increased achievement.

This assignment gives you a chance to express your intellectual assessment of the work we undertake in the class. To complete this assignment, I ask that you write me a letter that identifies key points of learning, shifts in your knowledge and a discussion of key theoretical terms. I ask that you reflect on your effort and participation, on your learning process and style and on your understanding of the theories presented in the readings. Discuss the readings. REVIEW THE COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES and determine the extent to which you reached course goals. Demonstrate what you have learned. Outline your contribution to the course in the form of a letter to me.

Be sure to include a bibliography. Due last day of class.

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REQUESTED TASKS

Our DROPBOX in COURSELINK has a section where you can submit anything within the bounds of these ten OUTDOOR activities.

I would like to insist that one and ten are completed, and if I did, I’d be sure to apply extra credit at the end of the semester, before I submit final paperwork.

TASKS TO REMIND YOU OF WHAT’S IMPORTANT

Whether tiny urban park or acres of woods—connecting with your natural world is healthy.

White and company (2019) indicate how spending time in nature [specifying one hundred and twenty minutes each week], either across small periods of time or in a single two-hour period, reduces stress level and improves wellbeing.

REQUESTED TASKS 1. HI THERE!

Upload a picture/video introductory. Say HI!

2. NOTHING

Five minutes solitude. Consider the joys of silence. Your privacy means no technology and no devices. Peace. Empty your mind. That is all.

3. DEEP LISTENING

Go outside. No technology. Nothing in your ears! Time yourself for ten minutes.

Listen. Deep listening invites a symphony. Attending to your acoustic environment has amazing outcomes. Tell us about them. & after your ten minutes, set the clock again and write for ten minutes: try to capture everything you heard; everything you can remember.

Appreciate the gifts of nature, sounds and things you are capable of completing.

4. LOOK UP

Have you ever watched the clouds? Alone or with a friend? What objects can you make out as the clouds shift over head? Do clouds inspire you to write?

5. POLE COUNTING

Find as many telephone poles (are they still called telephone poles? I mean the poles scattered along every street carrying live wires and digital codes. How many electricityrelated poles or boxes are near your home. Map the poles/boxes and other related artifacts. Consider how these poles and boxes carry your communication lines; broadband communication technologies are just over head. Reflect on your speed of service (internet &/or phone). Compare the speed of digital communication messages to moving clouds.

What does this comparison feel like?

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6. ROCK

Paint a stone. Find more stones, paint COVID-related &/or positive motivational messages.

Participate in the COVID positive stone movement. Scatter your stones. Keep a treasure map and start mapping other treasures. As your collection of rocks expands, try building an inukshuks.

7. LEAVES FALL

Fall leaves are coming. Collect unique &/or interesting leaves. Write or use media to assess similarities and differences. Draw one leaf. What makes each leaf unique?

8. SENSING INTERSECTIONALITY

Search for sensing experiences outside. It’s a five senses scavenger hunt—experience rich sensory moments OUTSIDE: rock to touch, leaf to smell, acorn to see, branch snapping to hearing, taste a raindrop; by connecting with your senses, reflect and consider how sensory experiences might related to other topics in our course. How can your senses help you unpack and understand intersectionality? Tell us.

9. INDIGENOUS GROUNDING

As an important indigenous recognition; spend time offering gratitude to the earth/land/physical spaces in which you live and roam. How can you give thanks to the earth for its bounties? Thank the air. Thank the water. Connect with the natural world. Do you know any simple grounding techniques? Try five minutes of meditative breathing on the grass in your backyard or any street corner. Breathe.

10. DIGITAL FOREST SYNTAGM Participate in this international learning experience. The task is simple: each week, for twelve weeks, photograph the same tree. Help us build a digital forest. Connect with your local natural environment.

So many changes occur in our natural environment without us even noticing. We’re so used to being in the same area all the time—especially in these pandemic times, we often don’t realize changes occur until afterwards.

Completing this requested task is to participate in a global, crowdsourced project; the plan is to stack all submitted templates (based on GPS coordinates) to reveal one gorgeous mosaic of ecological and geographical changes. LEARNERS around the world select their favourite tree to photograph as the seasons change. If you have no access to trees you can still participate. You are only limited by the limits of your imagination

Please help LIPTON build this digital forest. Detailed instructions (and safety guidelines) are available at: <http://bit.ly/ProjectTreeStudent>.

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Visualize your additions to one global (digital) forest! For example, here is a simple template to organize images:

EXAMPLE

Completing this requested task is to participate in a global, crowdsourced project; the plan is to stack all submitted templates (based on GPS coordinates) to reveal one gorgeous mosaic of ecological and geographical changes. LEARNERS around the world select their

favourite tree to photograph as the seasons change. If you have no access to trees you can still participate. You are only limited by the limits of your imagination White MP, Alcock I, Grellier J, Wheeler BW, Hartig T, Warber SL, Bone A, Depledge MH, Fleming LE. 2019.

Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Scientific Reports. 9: 7730.

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REQUIRED JOURNAL TASKS WELCOME | AANIIN | SHALOM WELCOME | AANIIN | SHALOM WRITE ONE JOURNAL POST REQUIRED READING Vincenzo Di Nicola, Slow Thought: A Manifesto, 2020.

WELCOME | AANIIN | SHALOM: ALLIANCES & AGREEMENTS DESIGN an independent study plan for this course for the semester. How do you plan to manage your time?

WRITE a letter to me (or anyone) about your plans and goals for learning. Imagine specific elements you think this course can do for you as a learner & you as a human.

Design an independent reading /course work schedule. Keep the courses’ schedule of dates in mind. Each topic provides required tasks and additional supplemental tasks if you find this topic of particular interest and want to pursue it further.

INDIGENEITY & DECOLONIZATION INDIGENEITY & DECOLONIZATION WRITE ONE JOURNAL POST REQUIRED READING 5 Questions on Data and Indigenous Place Names with Margaret Pearce, an interview by Catherine D’Ignazio with editing by Isabel Carter, DATA FEMINISM, Medium, March 29, 2020. Interviews from Data Feminism, MIT Press, 2020.

INDIGENEITY & DECOLONIZATION: COMING HOME TO INDIGENOUS PLACE NAMES MAPPING: HOME Add a “placemark” Please follow the link to the Languages of Media GOOGLE EARTH page and map your location. Where are you? Where is HOME? MAP HOME. Add a “placemark” as a “new feature” in the map/project FALL2020 MAP: WHERE ARE YOU? Include your name and email address. Can you find other people in this class who are within proximal distance? Reach out to other students and say hello.

Look up your HOME address on https://native-land.ca/ and PLAY around with its features.

What is your relationship to this territory? How did you come to be here? What do you

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know about the history of this territory? Identify some of the obvious impacts of colonialism? WRITE out the names of two Indigenous nations and learn how to pronounce them properly. Know which treaty agreement covers your HOME. WRITE out a land acknowledgement that feels right for you.

2020 THE YEAR THAT WASN’T UTOPIAN PANDEMICS, HEALTH SURVEILLANCE & TENDER BREATHING 2020 THE YEAR THAT WASN’T UTOPIAN PANDEMICS, HEALTH SURVEILLANCE & TENDER BREATHING WRITE ONE JOURNAL POST IN RESPONSE TO TOPIC + WRITE ONE BLOG POST USE ONE/ALL THEMES FROM THREE SUBTOPICS TO ORGANIZE YOUR WRITING AND ASSOCIATED LINKS THEMES: PORTALS to UTOPIA; COVID AND ITS METAPHORS; &/OR CONTACT TRACING AND DYSTOPIC SURVEILLENCE REIGMES REQUIRED READING Arundhati Roy, “The Pandemic is a Portal,” 2020.

SUGGESTED READING Susan Sontag, in Illness as Metaphor, 1978 and/or AIDS and its Metaphors, 1988.

2020 THE YEAR THAT WASN’T UTOPIAN PANDEMICS, HEALTH SURVEILLANCE & TENDER BREATHING Please share one of your COVID-19 experiences? How does the metaphor of the portal work in relation to your experiences? What does it mean to you, to hold space? Have you held space for others? When? What did you learn from the experience?

What do you make of the Radical Tenderness Manifesto? Are you able to invite radical tenderness into your life? What else in your life offers you tenderness? Have you witnessed a moment of radical tenderness? Can you describe this moment? Does your embodiment of radical tenderness impact your breathing? How? Why? THE YEAR THAT WASN’T: COVID AND ITS METAPHORS Have COVID and pandemic media messages been appropriate FOR YOU? How have you managed COVID-19? With whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How

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did these conversations work for you? What do you make of Canada’s Public Health messages? What about your local Public Health authority?

Follow Sontag’s lead and begin to write your perceptions of COVID-19 and its Metaphors.

CAN you connect your value of language and meaning within the context of COVID? THE YEAR THAT WASN’T: CONTACT TRACING AND DYSTOPIC SURVEILLENCE REIGMES Are you aware of your GPS coordinates? Do you know how to find the proper and exact location? MAP your physical isolation. Draw or digitally connect the points where you have come into contact with others is a map of your own design. What is your position on Contract Tracing? Explain with references to current research. Have you downloaded a Contract Tracing application? Do you have faith that technology is the solution to this global health challenge? Why? Do you have concerns about your health-related data?

What about other personal data, like age, sleep schedule or grades?

ATTENTION DECODING ANALYSIS ATTENTION DECODING ANALYSIS WRITE TWO BLOG POSTS: DECODING SEMIOTICS & HOW TO WATCH A FILM SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS Apply your ATTENTION & DECODING & ANALYSIS skills to one static image.

HOW TO WATCH A FILM Apply your ATTENTION & DECODING & ANALYSIS skills to two films in our course series.

STORIES LIVES TELL STORIES LIVES TELL LIFE AS NARRATIVE REQUIRED READING Bruner, Jerome. "Life as Narrative." Social Research 71.3 (2004): 691-710. ProQuest. Web. 31 Aug. 2020.

Kirsten Drotner’s Leisure Is Hard Work: Digital Practices and Future Competencies, 2008.

SUGGESTED READING

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Barthes, Roland, and Lionel Duisit. “An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative.”

New Literary History, vol. 6, no. 2, 1975, pp. 237-272. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/468419. 31 Aug. 2020. https://www-jstororg.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/stable/468419.

Bruner, Jerome. “A Narrative Model of Self-Construction.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences., vol. 818, no. 1 Self Across Psychology, The: Self-Recognition, SelfAwareness, and the Self Concept, New York Academy of Sciences, pp. 145–61, doi:info:doi/.

Fisher, Walter R. “The Narrative Paradigm: In the Beginning.” Journal of Communication., vol.

35, no. 4, Oxford University Press, pp. 74–89, doi:info:doi/. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X18000739.

Todorov, Tzvetan, and Arnold Weinstein. “Structural Analysis of Narrative.” NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction, vol. 3, no. 1, 1969, pp. 70-76. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1345003. Accessed 31 Aug. 2020. https://www-jstor-org.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/stable/1345003.

ALTERNATIVE TASK ELEMENTS OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURE Compare, contrast and discuss the essays by Barthes, Bruner, Fisher and Todorov; each addresses the structures of narrative in a particular manner. Is there an approach you prefer? Why? Are narrative structures useful outside of storytelling contexts? Why? Why not? If so, how. To what extent did/might any (or all) of these approaches to narrative structures help guide your creative process? Your life stories? As you read through these essays, consider similarities, differences and ways each might help situate your creative process.

INTERSECTIONALITY INTERSECTIONALITY WRITE ONE JOURNAL POST IN RESPONSE TO SCENARIO: FAMILY LIFE + INTERSECTIONALITY WRITE ONE BLOG POST IN RESPONSE TO TOPIC: PRACTICES OF LOOKING + INTERSECTIONALITY WRITE ONE ADDITIONAL BLOG POST THAT CONSDIERS THEMES FROM THREE SUBTOPICS TO ORGANIZE YOUR WRITING AND ASSOCIATED LINKS THEMES: NINE THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971; RISE & SPEAK: BLACK INTERSECTIONALITY; DIFFERENTLY ABLE-BODIES & INTERSECTIONALITY INTERSECTIONALITY NINE THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971

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These nine things describe legal rights in the United States of America. For this task, please research and fact check the legal rights of women in Canada.

Is this new information for you? What reactions and words came to mind as you read through this list? Are your reactions as symbolically potent as what each fact means to you after some consideration? Are you surprised by any of these facts? What do you understand when you read, “Feminism is NOT just for other women”? What does FEMINISM mean to you? Are you a FEMINIST? With whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How did these conversations work for you? What FEMINIST actions are needed in Canada? Are there any public feminists you admire? If so, who?

INDIGENOUS WOMEN & INTERSECTIONALITY REQUIRED READING Lawrence, Bonita. Gender, Race, and the Regulation of Native Identity in Canada and the United States: An Overview, Hypatia, 18(2): 2003.

Sterritt, Angela. Racialization of Poverty: Indigenous Women, the Indian Act and Systemic Oppression: Reasons for Resistance, Vancouver Status of Women, 2007.

Review the list of 9 THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971. How does it measure against the lives of INDIGENIOUS women?

Why did this consideration of INTERSECTIONALITY include INDIGENOUS WOMEN? Describe differences & similarities between FEMINISM and INTERSECTIONAL approaches? How do legal frameworks and judicial policies impact people differently?

As a form of protest and resistance, is FEMINISM inclusive or exclusive? Who is excluded? What narratives does this list serve? Are INDIGENOUS WOMEN sufficiently served by INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM? How? What are the issues that stand out for you? With whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How did these conversations work for you? Bonita Lawrence and Angela Sterritt raise a number of other related issues. Which ones stand out for you as important? Why? Are significant issues missing from this information about INTERSECTIONAL relations?

RISE & SPEAK: BLACK INTERSECTIONALITY REQUIRED READING Audre Lorde, Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference, Sister Outsider, Crossing Press, 1984.

Rachel Elizabeth Cargle’s When Feminism Is White Supremacy in Heels, Harper’s Bazaar, 2018.

Identify and discuss similarities and differences between Angela Davis and Audre Lorde.

Whose messages are more powerful for you? How does Rachel Cargle compare to Angela Davis and Audre Lorde. Consider, compare and contrast the message of these three powerful women. How is race, gender and sexuality complicated or clarified by INTERSECTIONAL approaches? What other identities rely on INTERSECTIONALITY as a political means?

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SUGGESTED READING Rachel Elizabeth Cargle’s How to Talk to Your Family About Racism, Harper’s Bazaar, 2019.

Marisa Meltzer’s Rachel Cargle; I Refuse to Listen to White Women Cry, Washington Post, 2019.

REQUIRED JOURNAL POST FAMILY LIFE REQUIRED READING Jesse Singal’s “When Children Say They’re Trans, The Atlantic, July/Aug Issue, 2018.

SCENERIO CHALLENGE Your teenaged child identifies as nonbinary and has for several years. Luckily, we live in Toronto and in a school district and public school that provides a level of support above and beyond what you expected. You worked with school supports like the therapist and social workers; last year, the team helped me manage the legal name change of your child. You child has an amazing group of friends and is happy and communicative. Please tell me more about your child.

Lately, however, your teen expresses a desire to take hormones to transition from a female body to a more androgynous or male body, saying that they don’t identify as a girl and don’t want to look like one. I am proud of their courage, but absolutely terrified. You don’t know how much of this is teenage exploration that they might later regret. What consequences scare the hell out of you?

Their therapist says that the consequences of not transitioning can also be very serious.

Can you explain this advice?

Your child has asked to talk about this tomorrow.

Write out your plans and list the topics you want to cover. Explain why these are the issues.

Write a summary of your state of mind and plans. Then write the actual conversation as a dialogue. Are you able to capture your family’s language while including links to important resources? You may also write out character/person statements for an imaginary parent-child.

What research do you look into to prepare for this conversation? What is your gut ‘reaction’?

How does that reaction manifest in your body? Once your reactivity is under control, you begin to formulate your symbolic responses. You want to make a list of the topics you want to address in this conversation. Where do you begin?

How can you support this challenging decision-making process? What tools and resources do you gather to have on hand? What are your fears? What about your child’s fears?

What would this change mean to you and the rest of your family? Who else do you want to participate in this conversation?

DIFFERENTLY ABLE-BODIES & INTERSECTIONALITY REQUIRED READING 28

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Simi Linton’s “What is Disability Studies?” 2005.

THE CHALLENGE The skill of LISTENING may be enhanced simultaneously when engaged in deep OBSERVATION. Your challenge in this task: At a distance and with the discretion of judge, identify a public building or space. Are you able to sit, silently, watching people go by? Of course, at a distance—but I’m interested in your ability to simply observe.

Watch the bodies and how they move. Watch for intersectional identities at work in public space. After a minimum of one hour, silently observing, turn to your journal and write down everything you are able to recall. This written material can instigation a great deal of other things, if done with integrity and a mindful goal of following the procedure systematically. Do you see ABLE- PRIVILEGE in any of the observations you make of people’s behaviours?

How have you experienced differently abled bodies? Are you an able body? Can you identify the privileges granted to able-bodied people in our society? This means, often unrecognized barriers and obstacles. As you identify these privileges, can you identify a corresponding or related obstacle? Do you think of your body as connected to your identity? What meanings do you make of differing bodies? How do these bodies “mean”?

How does it make you feel, to be reading and talking about, observing and watching disabilities and people who have differently abled bodies? Are you able to share any awkwardness? Where do your responses come from? With whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How did these conversations work for you?

SUGGESTED READING Rosemarie Garland-Thomson’s Extraordinary Bodies, 1996, & Staring: How We Look, 2009.

Alison Kafer’s Feminist, Queer, Crip, 2013.

REQUIRED BLOG POST PRACTICES OF LOOKING REQUIRED READING Adrienne Rich’s Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, 1980.

Laura Mulvey’s “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” 1975.

Carlos Motta, John Arthur Peetz & Carlos Maria Romero’s Collection of (56) contemporary & historical Queer Manifestos; SPIT! (Sodomites, Perverts, Inverts Together!) Manifesto Reader, Frieze Projects, 2017 THE CHALLENGE Write a politically motivated sexy letter after examining the collection of manifestos. Address the letter to one of the manifestos, to yourself (past, present future) or me.

OR Make your own political, sexy anti-capitalist ‘zine.

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When did you first recognize you were participating in the hegemonic practice of the “male gaze.” How does this “male gaze” impact your worldview? What alternatives drive your interests? Are your relationships following compulsory heterosexual norm? Are these topics of sexuality and desire of interest to you? How so? Do you have a trusted friend you share fantasies with? Make time to share and listen without judgment; we are often hardest on ourselves when it comes to issues of sexual desire. What are some of those sex behaviours made explicit in pornography that displace actual human sexual relations? What behaviours make you wonder? What behaviours can you not talk about?

WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA WRITE ONE JOURNAL POST IN RESPONSE TO TOPIC: PERCEPTIONS OF POLICE + WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA WRITE ONE BLOG POST IN RESPONSE TO SCENARIO: THIS IS AMERICA + WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA WRITE ONE ADDITIONAL BLOG POST THAT CONSDIERS THEMES FROM THREE SUBTOPICS TO ORGANIZE YOUR WRITING AND ASSOCIATED LINKS: TALKING ABOUT RACE: TERROR AND TRAUMA; SAY MY NAME; OR MY INVISIBLE KNAPSACK TALKING ABOUT RACE: TERROR AND TRAUMA REQUIRED READING Ibram X. Kendi’s The American Nightmare: To be black and conscious of anti-black racism is to stare into the mirror of your own extinction. The Atlantic, 2020.

Dylan Scott’s Violent protests are not the story. Police violence is. Vox, 2020.

WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA HOW have you prioritized learning about the root causes of current protests? HOW are you engaged in conversations about race and racism? HOW have you engaged others in conversations about race and racism? How do Kendi and Scott portray their perceptions? Do you see similarities? With whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How did these conversations work for you? Where do your values fit within this context? (YOU + talking about race=) Do government Strategic Planning Priorities (Ontario & Canada) provide related information? Give you HOPE for the future?

INTERVIEW: TERROR AND TRAUMA What are the promising practices for interviewing? What interviewing strategies do you review prior to the interview? Conduct an interview with someone who can speak about

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social justice actions. Find someone with a background in race-related activism.

Consider what Ibram Kendi means by the moments of “toil and terror and trauma”?

SAY MY NAME Say Their Names. There are two sections that list the names of people who have been subject to brutalized law enforcement violence leading to serious injury or death. Select two or three names for your further study.

Can you find NEWS stories about this violence? What date? What city? Circumstances? Are there other names that you know about that I may have missed? What will a news source tell you? Fact-Check source by confirming the story from other news outlets.

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How did these conversations work for you? Please include at least two sources per NAME. REPORT your research, findings and reflections in your JOURNAL. REQUIRED JOURNAL TOPIC PERCEPTIONS OF POLICE Contrast the report (1) “Perception of the Toronto Police and Impact of Rule Changes Under Regulation 28/16: A Community Survey” with the graphic reports in (2) CARDED & (3) COPOGANDA, with the other reports, i.e., (4) Wortley’s & (5) Tulloch’s.

In your review of the FIVE secondary sources, please answer the following: How do the different reports measure the impact of police violence and the practice of carding?

What are your options if a police officer stops you for a random check? Do you know your rights? What would you do? What is the role of the Ontario Human Rights Commission? What is the role of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association? Do police interventions involving carding promote community safety? Is carding a violation of civil liberties and personal freedoms? How? How is carding similar to or a form of surveillance?

MY INVISIBLE KNAPSACK REQUIRED READINGS Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” (1990) &/or “White Privilege & Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women's Studies” (1988).

Jenalee Kluttz, Jude Walker and Pierre Walter’s “Unsettling Allyship, Unlearning and Learning towards Decolonizing Solidarity,” Studies in the Education of Adults, 52:1, 4966, 2020.

What’s in your invisible knapsack? Is this an apt metaphor? What is the underlying tenor of its comparison? Describe key similarities between McIntosh and Kluttz, Walker & Walter.

APPLY the concept of HEGEMONY to McIntosh and Kluttz, Walker & Walter. Do you see White Privilege in any of your behaviours or observations of others? How do these readings make you feel? Are you able to share any awkwardness? Where do your responses come from? Are you open to other points of view? How do you know? With 31

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whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How did these conversations work for you? Have you noticed HEGEMONIC forces stepping into the BLM arena? Do you see statements from large companies & organizations that claim to support widescale measures for change? Do you think our current cultural hegemony is near the collapse? Why or Why not? Do you recognize how HEGEMONY works? How PROPAGANDA works?

Have you noticed any world events suggesting a perilously steep, sharp drop? CAREFUL. Are you standing too close to the edge?

REQUIRED BLOG TOPIC THIS IS AMERICA Childish Gambino’s “This Is America.” [SEE: appendix II for timecode and lyrics].

SCENARIO CHALLENGE You recently graduated high school and you are known by your high school’s vice principal (VP Harumi) to actively fight for anti-racism You are courageously outspoken when it comes to anti-racism and promoting BLACK LIVES MATTER. VP Harumi seeks you out to ask for advice. Here’s what’s happening: The cheerleading squad at your old high schools propose to learn the choreography from Childish Gambino’s This Is America and VP Harumi has some hesitations. Of note, there are no people of colour currently on the cheerleading squad. VP Harumi needs your counsel.

WRITE a letter to Vice-Principal Harumi with your advice. Point to specific shots in the video to help make your argument. The video’s time codes are included, please cite time and provide detailed descriptions of what you see on screen.

What are the various factors associated with or contributing to this problem? Given the information presented: What is your advice? How do you describe the state of race in Canada? What RESOURCES do you provide? What is your rationale for your selected RESOURCES? How might the discussion included in <WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA> support, affirm and resource your advice and letter? Can you identify other music videos, music, performance or other forms of art related to THIS IS AMERICA? Explain the relationships. Is there another music video you can suggest for the cheerleading squad? What should VP Harumi say to this group?

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TOPICS QUESTIONS PROMPTS IN SUM & REVIEW WELCOME | AANIIN | SHALOM NOW I KNOW MY As Bs Cs DECODE the images presented.

What happens in your head when you see games like these? Are these letter games of global interest or strictly North American? Who profits from your knowledge of the answers? Who consumers what these letters stand for? How much of your day is taken up with any of these ‘answers’?

LEARNING IS RELATIONAL READ Vincenzo Di Nicola, Slow Thought: a manifesto, 2020.

How can you practice SLOW THOUGHT? What does it mean to insist learning is relational? Who is your person? Who are your people? How quickly do you move through the world? What is your pace of life? Do you want/need to SLOW down?

MEANING IS RELATIONAL What do you understand about the interrelated meanings of these three statements?

CONTEMPLATION requires SLOW THOUGHT LEARNING is RELATIONAL MEANING IS RELATIONAL What does it mean to insist learning is relational?

What does it mean to insist meaning is relational?

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Who is your person? Who are your people? How do these people impact your senses of learning? You sense of meaning?

MAKE YOUR BED A Simple TASK: how to make your bed (Admiral McRaven) In an effort to begin slowing down: Make your bed. Every day for a week.

To what extent might this simple task help you? What is the improvement? Is this valuable?

THE following task is REQUIRED ALLIANCES & AGREEMENTS DESIGN an independent study plan for this course for the semester. How do you plan to manage your time?

WRITE a letter to me (or anyone) about your plans and goals for learning. Imagine specific elements you think this course can do for you as a learner & you as a human.

Design an independent reading /course work schedule. Keep the coursesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; schedule of dates in mind. Each topic provides required tasks and additional supplemental tasks if you find this topic of particular interest and want to pursue it further How can we bring out the best in each other? How do you prefer to be acknowledged?

What is good feedback to you? When is the best time to communicate with you?

What would increase trust? How can you participate in co-creating our relational environment? How can we enhance each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience of learning?

Are you open to changing your mind? What commitments do you need from me regarding confidentiality? How we make each other feel safer? If something I say or do creates conflict for you, will you try to communicate your perceptions? Will you be open to multiple points of view? How will you know I am hearing you? If an agreement is broken, how can we refresh our alliance? Should you choose to break this alliance and drop the class, will you let me know? tell me why? How can we appreciate and support each other? What do you need to feel like a champion?

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WRITE your symbolic responses to these THREE sets of questions.

USE these questions to guide your thinking and writing.

QUESTIONS I. What happens in your head when you see games like the LOGO alphabets?

Are these letter games of global interest or strictly North American? Who profits from your knowledge of the answers? Who consumers what these letters stand for? How much of your day is taken up with any of these ‘answers’?

II How can you practice SLOW THOUGHT? How quickly do you move through the world?

What is your pace of life? Do you want/need to SLOW down?

What does it mean to insist learning is relational?

What does it mean to insist meaning is relational?

What do you understand about the interrelated meanings of these three statements?

CONTEMPLATION requires SLOW THOUGHT LEARNING is RELATIONAL MEANING IS RELATIONAL Who is your person? Who are your people? How do these people impact your senses of learning? You sense of meaning?

III. In designing an independent study plan for this course for the semester, how do you plan to manage your time? As you write a letter to me (or anyone) about your plans and goals for learning, imagine specific elements you think this course can do for you as a learner & you as a human. Consider the following questions as a means to forge our learning alliance: How can we bring out the best in each other? How do you prefer to be acknowledged?

What is good feedback to you? When is the best time to communicate with you?

What would increase trust? How can you participate in co-creating our relational environment? How can we enhance each other’s experience of learning?

Are you open to changing your mind? What commitments do you need from me regarding confidentiality? How we make each other feel safer? If something I say or do creates conflict for you, will you try to communicate your perceptions? Will you be open to multiple points of view? How will you know I am hearing you? If an agreement is broken, how can we refresh our alliance? Should you choose to break this alliance and drop the

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class, will you let me know? tell me why? How can we appreciate and support each other? What do you need to feel like a champion?

ADDITIONAL or OPTIONAL TASKS A. BLOG You are invited to choose topics for your BLOG. You may select one TASK as a means to guide ONE BLOG post.

B. WIKI You are invited to participate in our course WIKI where you can provide feedback, input, editorial comments and/or your own exemplars. Is there something else that needs to be said? The course WIKI is open for your participation. Reflect on course WIKI participation in you JOURNAL. C. DIGITAL ARTIFACT You are asked to share DIGITAL ARTIFACTS. This is preliminary material to inform your work.

INDIGENEITY & DECOLONIZATION COMING HOME TO INDIGENOUS PLACE NAMES 5 Questions on Data and Indigenous Place Names with Margaret Pearce, an interview by Catherine D’Ignazio with editing by Isabel Carter, DATA FEMINISM, Medium, March 29, 2020. Interviews from Data Feminism, MIT Press, 2020.

MAPPING HOME Please follow the link to the Languages of Media GOOGLE EARTH page and map your location. Where are you? Where is HOME? MAP HOME. Add a “placemark” as a “new feature” in the map/project FALL2020 MAP: WHERE ARE YOU?

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Include your name and email address; (if you are comfortable with this request— remember <no penalties>). Can you find other people in this class who are within proximal distance? Reach out to other students and say hello.

Look up your HOME address on https://native-land.ca/ and PLAY around with its features.

I. What strikes you? What is your relationship to this territory? How did you come to be here? What do you know about the history of this territory? Identify some of the obvious impacts of colonialism?

II. WRITE out the names of two Indigenous nations and learn how to pronounce them properly. Know which treaty agreement covers your HOME. III. WRITE out a land acknowledgement that feels right for you.

IN YOUR JOURNAL WRITE your symbolic responses to these FOUR sets of questions.

USE these questions to guide your thinking and writing.

QUESTIONS I. Preparing your land acknowledgement is an ongoing and reflective process. How might an online course carve out a respectful identity–as a collective with a unique positionality? Does everyone recognize the land and its Indigenous communities—past, present, future?

Do YOU offer gratitude for the land? For the Indigenous communities and their stewardship—past, present, future? How?

II. What are the difficulties when it comes to mapping Indigenous territories? How does the modern idea of a ‘nation-state’ relate to Indigenous nations? Who defines national boundaries, and who defines a nation?

Identify some of the obvious impacts of colonialism? Consider how one might resist these intended and unintended consequences.

III. What are some of the significant differences and similarities of the two cartographic resources <Native Land Digital & Coming Home to Indigenous Place Names in Canada>?

How might these fuel Indigenous people’s resilience? How can you practice resilience?

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Are these MAPS useful or harmful? Do they contribute to or resist colonial ways of thinking about Indigenous people? In what ways might todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s digital mapping tools resist or reinforce the authority to define land? Are there other ways for you to disrupt and dismantle colonialism? How can you practice decolonization?

IV. Where is HOME? Does the 3D MAP of the earth impact your sense of HOME? Does the 3D MAP impact your understanding of INDIGENITY? If so, how? How else could you used this 3D MAP? Did you connect with other students as a result of this TASK? Tell us about it.

ADDITIONAL or OPTIONAL TASKS A. BLOG You are invited to choose topics for your BLOG. Will this be one of them?

B. WIKI You are invited to participate in our course WIKI where you can provide feedback, input, editorial comments and/or your own exemplars. Is there something else that needs to be said? The course WIKI is open for your participation. Reflect on course WIKI participation in you JOURNAL. C. DIGITAL ARTIFACT You are asked to share at least one other DIGITAL ARTIFACT. Is there something you want to CREATE related to this content?

UTOPIAN PANDEMICS, HEALTH SURVEILLANCE & TENDER BREATHING ATTENTION: THE FOLLOWING IS REQUIRED ONE ITEM IS REQUIRED FOR YOUR BLOG

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[PLEASE SELECT ONE TASK FOR YOUR BLOG: PORTALS to UTOPIA; COVID AND ITS METAPHORS; CONTACT TRACING AND DYSTOPIC SURVEILLENCE REIGMES; OR A FUTURE WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS] READ Arundhati Roy, “The Pandemic is a Portal,” 2020.

PORTALS to UTOPIA Please share one of your COVID-19 experiences? How does the metaphor of the portal work in relation to your experiences?

What does it mean to you, to hold space? Have you held space for others? When? What did you learn from the experience?

What do you make of the Radical Tenderness Manifesto? Are you able to invite radical tenderness into your life? What else in your life offers you tenderness? Have you witnessed a moment of radical tenderness? Can you describe this moment?

Does your embodiment of radical tenderness impact your breathing? How? Why?

COVID AND ITS METAPHORS Have COVID and pandemic media messages been appropriate FOR YOU? How have you managed COVID-19?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How did these conversations work for you?

What do you make of Canada’s Public Health messages?

What about your local Public Health authority?

Follow Sontag’s lead and begin to write your perceptions of COVID-19 and its Metaphors.

CAN you connect your value of language and meaning within the context of COVID? SUGGESTED READING Susan Sontag, in Illness as Metaphor, 1978 and/or AIDS and its Metaphors, 1988.

CONTACT TRACING AND DYSTOPIC SURVEILLENCE REIGMES Are you aware of your GPS coordinates? Do you know how to find the proper and exact location? MAP your physical isolation. Draw or digitally connect the points where you have come into contact with others is a map of your own design.

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What is your position on Contract Tracing? Explain with references to current research.

Have you downloaded a Contract Tracing application? Do you have faith that technology is the solution to this global health challenge? Why? Do you have concerns about your health-related data?What about other personal data, like age, sleep schedule or grades?

A FUTURE WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS The length of time, from accidental discovery to the capitalist, material abundance is longer than most expect. How much time are you able to track? What were the major obstacles? What ethical decisions were required? Would you make the same decisions?

Do you answer based on some moral model? or ethical framework? or hero’s actions?

How do you understand the threat of antibiotic resistance? Can this challenge be solved?

What UTOPIA VISION best fits a future without antibiotics?

IN YOUR JOURNAL WRITE your symbolic responses to these FOUR sets of questions.

USE these questions to guide your thinking and writing.

QUESTIONS I. PORTALS to UTOPIA Please share one of your COVID-19 experiences? How does the metaphor of the portal work in relation to your experiences?

What does it mean to you, to hold space? Have you held space for others? When? What did you learn from the experience?

What do you make of the Radical Tenderness Manifesto?

How can radical be tender – and tenderness be radical – in our alliances, our communities, and our interpersonal relationships? Are you able to invite radical tenderness into your life? What other examples of performance or poetry, art, or extravagance are you drawn to for comfort and tenderness? What else in your life offers you tenderness? Have you witnessed a moment of radical tenderness? Can you describe this moment? Does your embodiment of radical tenderness impact your breathing? How? Why?

II. COVID AND ITS METAPHORS Follow Sontag’s lead and begin to write your perceptions of COVID-19 and its Metaphors.

CAN you connect your value of language and meaning within the context of COVID?

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Have media messages been appropriate FOR YOU? How have you managed COVID-19? Describe your UTOPIA. What keeps you and your world from turning to darkness? Are all UTOPIAS DISTOPIC? Is there a future world that does not end in disaster? ICE death or exploding ball of FIRE? Have you thought about DEATH? How would you prefer to die? Why? What’s your story?

III. MAPPING YOUR MOBILITY: CONTACT TRACING & DYSTOPIC SURVEILLENCE REIGMES Are you aware of your GPS coordinates? Do you know how to find the proper and exact location? Have you downloaded a Contract Tracing application? Do you have faith that technology is the solution to this global health challenge? Why? Do you have concerns about your health-related data? What about other personal data, like age, sleep schedule or grades? What is your position on Contract Tracing? Explain with references to current research. What was it like to MAP your physical isolation since COVID.

IV. A FUTURE WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS The length of time, from accidental discovery to the capitalist, material abundance is longer than most expect. How much time are you able to track?

What were the major obstacles?

What ethical decisions were required?

Would you make the same decisions?

Do you answer based on some moral model? or ethical framework? or hero’s actions?

How do you understand the threat of antibiotic resistance?

Can this challenge be solved?

What UTOPIA VISION best fits a future without antibiotics?

ADDITIONAL or OPTIONAL TASKS A. BLOG You are invited to choose topics for your BLOG. Will this be one of them?

B. WIKI You are invited to participate in our course WIKI where you can provide feedback, input, editorial comments and/or your own exemplars. Is there something else that needs to be

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said? The course WIKI is open for your participation. Reflect on course WIKI participation in you JOURNAL. C. DIGITAL ARTIFACT You are asked to share at least one other DIGITAL ARTIFACT. Is there something you want to CREATE related to this content?

ATTENTION DECODING ANALYSIS ATTENTION: THIS TOPIC HAS TWO REQUIREMENTS WRITE TWO BLOG POSTS: DECODING SEMIOTICS & HOW TO WATCH A FILM SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS Apply your ATTENTION & DECODING & ANALYSIS skills to one static image.

HOW TO WATCH A FILM Apply your ATTENTION & DECODING & ANALYSIS skills to two films in our course series.

STORIES LIVES TELL LIFE AS NARRATIVE Bruner, Jerome. "Life as Narrative." Social Research 71.3 (2004): 691-710. ProQuest. Web. 31 Aug. 2020.

SUGGESTED READINGS Mattingly, Cheryl, Nancy C. Lutkehaus, and C. J. Throop. "Bruner's Search for Meaning: A Conversation between Psychology and Anthropology." Ethos 36.1 (2008): 1-28.

ProQuest. Web. 31 Aug. 2020.

Mos, Leendert. "Jerome Bruner: Language, Culture, Self." Canadian Psychology 44.1 (2003): 77,77: Page count = 7. ProQuest. Web. 31 Aug. 2020.

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What does Bruner mean by “worldmaking”? To what extent has the creation of your digital story helped you construct your world/s? Is this meaningful, if so how? What are your questions?

LESIURE IS HARD WORK Kirsten Drotner’s Leisure Is Hard Work: Digital Practices and Future Competencies, 2008.

LESIURE IS HARD WORK Do you know how much time you dedicate to personal and social media uses? Consider how you spend your day? Track your media use. What helps you pay attention? What digital skills have you mastered? What are your questions?

TRAUMA & COMPASSION WATCH “TEDTalks: Nadine Burke Harris—How Childhood Trauma Affects Health across a Lifetime.”

TRAUMA & COMPASSION Have you or someone you know experienced this kind of high level of trauma? Do you think Nadine Burke Harris is exaggerating or under-reporting? Regardless of you past experiences, are you able to bring a sense of self compassion to your own and others’ experiences with trauma? Can you explain the difference between compassion and empathy? Is it best to try addressing any past trauma or to try forgetting past trauma?

What are your questions?

GUIDED COMPASSION MEDITATION AND VISUALIZATION Rewire your mindset so as to experience life without any hectic frenzied distractions.

Experience either a Short Mindfulness and Compassion meditation or a Body Scan guided by one of the podcasts from the UCSD Center for Mindfulness: Short Mindfulness and Compassion meditations https://soundcloud.com/ucsdmindfulness/sets/short-meditation-sessions Body Scans meditations https://soundcloud.com/ucsdmindfulness/sets/body-scan GUIDED COMPASSION MEDITATION AND VISUALIZATION Imagine if you dedicated part of every day to (what they call) non-doing; imagine if your life was led by a sense of non-striving, setting aside all your determined efforts and ruthless ambition.

How do you think this subversive attitude and value could impact your life?

The lives of your family?

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The rest of the world?

What are your questions?

OBSERVE GOOD STORYTELLERS When listening to the stories of others: practice deep listening skills; practice focused attention skills. Enhance your listening & attention skills by observing good storytellers.

Listen & pay attention to how the story makes you feel; how does the story resonate within you. Have you experienced good storytelling?

WATCH PERFORMANCE Anna Deavere Smith’s "On the Road: A Search for American Character."

OBSERVE GOOD STORYTELLERS Which parts of Deavere Smith’s performance resonated with you? What did it feel like?

Can you connect any of her themes to you and your life? Are there any choices, images, emotions or values you need to reconsider? What details and moments speak to you?

Were there gaps in any of her stories that trouble you? What stories or characters help situate your sense of self? The notion of this layered story, with four monologues, is a sophisticated structure. What did you think of her structure?

ALTERNATIVE TASK ELEMENTS OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURE READ Barthes, Roland, and Lionel Duisit. “An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative.”

New Literary History, vol. 6, no. 2, 1975, pp. 237-272. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/468419. 31 Aug. 2020. https://www-jstororg.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/stable/468419.

Bruner, Jerome. “A Narrative Model of Self-Construction.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences., vol. 818, no. 1 Self Across Psychology, The: Self-Recognition, Self-Awareness, and the Self Concept, New York Academy of Sciences, pp. 145–61, doi:info:doi/.

Fisher, Walter R. “The Narrative Paradigm: In the Beginning.” Journal of Communication., vol. 35, no. 4, Oxford University Press, pp. 74–89, doi:info:doi/. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X18000739.

Todorov, Tzvetan, and Arnold Weinstein. “Structural Analysis of Narrative.” NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction, vol. 3, no. 1, 1969, pp. 70-76. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1345003.

Accessed 31 Aug. 2020. https://www-jstororg.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/stable/1345003.

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ALTERNATIVE TASK ELEMENTS OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURE really? you don’t want to make a digital story? as long as this is your choice: Compare, contrast and discuss the essays by Barthes, Bruner, Fisher and Todorov; each addresses the structures of narrative in a particular manner.

Is there an approach you prefer? Why? Are narrative structures useful outside of storytelling contexts? Why? Why not? If so, how.

To what extent did/might any (or all) of these approaches to narrative structures help guide your creative process? Your life stories? As you read through these essays, consider similarities, differences and ways each might help situate your creative process.

ATTENTION: THE FOLLOWING IS REQUIRED THIS ITEM IS REQUIRED FOR DIGITAL ARTIFACT DIGITAL STORYTELLING YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS Create a DIGITAL STORY You are asked to create a short digital artifact in the form of a digital story.

The goal is to attend to your CREATIVE PROCESS. Consider how your digital story applies metaphor/synecdoche for effect.

ATTENTION: THE FOLLOWING IS REQUIRED REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS You MUST include at least five separate shots (5 different images, edited with transitions).

Your maximum time allowance is 150 seconds or 2.5 minutes.

Minimum time is 30 seconds.

All work must recognize and cite a Creative Commons (cc) licence.

Work must NOT break copyright laws.

Your work must adhere to the University’s code of conduct.

Public domain images and music are freely available.

All sources must be attributed properly, following MLA guidelines.

Use the camera/microphone/technology of your choice.

If you need help accessing any of these tools please ask.

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In creating this project, you must WRITE. Please consolidate your work into a SINGLE file (word document) & upload this file to COURSELINK in our class DROPBOX. Please submit one document, including all parts: i. Part A: Your imagination, intentions & production plans; ii. Part B: Your creative production (as link or .mp4 file); & iii. Part C: Your postproduction narrative.

Part A: YOUR IMAGINATION, INTENTIONS & PRODUCTION PLANS WALK us through YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS. CONCEPTION TO SUBMISSION: TRACK, CAPTURE & REPRESENT YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS Please consolidate your work into a single word document to be uploaded through COURSELINK in our class DROPBOX. Consider including any/all of the following ten suggestions: 1. Brainstorming / keyword maps 2. initial writing efforts 3. any research notes 4. a paragraph describing your intentions 5. rough storyboards 6. a working script 7. a final script – narrative (what we hear) 8. a shot list – what you wanted us to see 9. your production schedule 10. any final notes about editing;

Part B: YOUR CREATIVE PRODUCTION Please include a LINK to a very short PRODUCTION. Include working link in your document.

Please TEST link prior to submission.

TIME RESTRICTIONS minimum 30 seconds maximum 150 seconds or 2.5 minutes

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TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS UPLOAD an .mp4 file to a public website (eg., YouTube or Vimeo).

Provide a WORKING link.

TEST your link prior to submission.

PRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS 1. a narrative; 2. five separate images, 3. dialogue and/or voice-over.

LEGAL REQUIRMENTS All work must recognize and cite a Creative Commons licence.

Work must not break copyright laws.

Public domain images and music are freely available.

All sources must be attributed properly, following MLA guidelines.

Part C: POSTPRODUCTION NARRATIVE REFLECT on the process after your work is completed (that is, after you upload a digital file).

(400-800 words)

REQUIRED REFLECTION DIGITAL STORYTELLING YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS Have you met all technical, production, legal and time requirements/restrictions?

How did you meet, frustrate and/or achieve your INTENTIONS? Are you satisfied with your final product?

What did you learn about videography?

What did you learn about storytelling?

What did you learn about media literacy?

What did you learn about yourself?

How do you think you did?

What was your biggest area of learning?

What other ways might you have told this digital story?

What should the audience be able to tell us about your story?

What additional information might your audience need to understand your story?

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How does your attention to the acoustic environment impact the emotion content?

If we remove all sound, does the story retain its integrity? why or why not?

What questions emerged for you? Are you proud of your work?

DIGITAL STORTELLING Simone Hausknecht, Michelle Vanchu-Orosco & David Kaufman’s “Digitising the Wisdom of our Elders: Connectedness through Digital Storytelling.” 2019.

DIGITAL STORTELLING Hausknecht, Vanchu-Orosco & Kaufman suggest the creation and sharing of digital stories may enhance wellness.

Do you agree? Why or why not? If so, how?

They design a ten-week course in digital storytelling. You were asked to create one in much less time with far less support. I call your experience akin to a sprint.

What was that like? What key learning happened during the sprint? Where/how did you spend most of your time? How might this experience be different if you were given ten weeks?

IN YOUR JOURNAL WRITE your symbolic responses to these SIX sets of questions.

USE these questions to guide your thinking and writing.

QUESTIONS I. LIFE AS NARRATIVE What does Bruner mean by “worldmaking”? To what extent has the creation of your digital story helped you construct your world/s? Is this meaningful, if so how? What are your questions?

II. LESIURE IS HARD WORK Do you know how much time you dedicate to personal and social media uses? Consider how you spend your day? Track your media use.

What helps you pay attention? What digital skills have you mastered? What are your questions?

III. TRAUMA & COMPASSION COMPASSION MEDITATION & VISUALIZATION 48

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Have you or someone you know experienced this kind of high level of trauma? Do you think Nadine Burke Harris is exaggerating or under-reporting? Regardless of you past experiences, are you able to bring a sense of self compassion to your own and othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experiences with trauma? Can you explain the difference between compassion and empathy? Is it best to try addressing any past trauma or to try forgetting past trauma?

What are your questions?

Imagine if you dedicated part of every day to (what they call) non-doing; imagine if your life was led by a sense of non-striving, setting aside all your determined efforts and ruthless ambition.

How do you think this subversive attitude and value could impact your life? The lives of your family? The rest of the world?

IV. OBSERVE GOOD STORYTELLERS Which parts of Deavere Smithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance resonated with you? What did it feel like?

Can you connect any of her themes to you and your life? Are there any choices, images, emotions or values you need to reconsider? What details and moments speak to you?

Were there gaps in any of her stories that trouble you? What stories or characters help situate your sense of self? The notion of this layered story, with four monologues, is a sophisticated structure. What did you think of her structure?

V. OBSERVE GOOD STORYTELLERS Give an example of one experience of good storytelling. Recall specific aspects of this past experience and try to write with descriptive language.

Who do you look to as a good storyteller? What materials do you read that you consider well written? What does it mean to write well? What does it mean to present a story well?

What did good storytelling teach you about yourself? your family? your friends?

What can a good story teach you about your community? your ethics? What about these stories was so intriguing? Which elements offered real perspective into your own life? What did this story teach you about the things that really matters to you?

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VI. DIGITAL STORTELLING Hausknecht, Vanchu-Orosco & Kaufman suggest the creation and sharing of digital stories may enhance wellness.

Do you agree? Why or why not? If so, how?

They design a ten-week course in digital storytelling. You were asked to create one in much less time with far less support. I call your experience akin to a sprint.

What was that like? What key learning happened during the sprint? Where/how did you spend most of your time? How might this experience be different if you were given ten weeks?

ADDITIONAL or OPTIONAL TASKS A. BLOG You are invited to choose ONE TASK from <STORIES LIVES TELL> for your BLOG.

B. WIKI You are invited to participate in our course WIKI where you can provide feedback, input, editorial comments and/or your own exemplars. Is there something else that needs to be said? The course WIKI is open for your participation. Reflect on course WIKI participation in you JOURNAL.

C. DIGITAL ARTIFACT You are asked to share at least one other DIGITAL ARTIFACT. DID you want to make a second DIGITAL STORY? IS there an additional artifact you would like to create?

Is there something else you want to CREATE related to this content?

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INTERSECTIONALITY SEX AND GENDER READ Jesse Singal’s “When Children Say They’re Trans, The Atlantic, July/Aug Issue, 2018.

Is your gender identity easy to define?

How do you identify today?

Does your gender identity match the sex you were assigned at birth?

Have you been given sufficient space to explore your gender expressions? Have you given others space for gender exploration? What are some ways you are expressing your gender today? How might this change on a different day? What are some ways you break gender stereotypes? How you encouraged others to freely express their gender? How? What did you do?

Are your expressions of gender ever questioned? Do you worry about daily expressions of gender and your culture’s gender stereotypes?

Is it possible to move through the world without ever thinking about gender? Is it possible to move through the world without feeling limited because of gender identity and gender expressions?

How does Singal frame the issue of transitioning? What is missing from Singal’s analysis?

FEMINISM and INTERSECTIONALITY WATCH “TEDTalks: Kimberlé Crenshaw: The Urgency of Intersectionality.” (18:15).

READ Jane Coaston’s The Intersectionality Wars, 2019.

How do you understand INTERSECTIONALITY? How is the term useful to you?

Do you consider yourself a FEMINISM? Why or why not? What is a FEMINIST? Can cis men be FEMINISM? How do you understand the relationship between FEMINISM and INTERSECTIONALITY? What does it mean “to bear witness?” How might you “bear witness” to this urgent topic?

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THIS IS ONE OPTION FOR REQUIRED COMPONENTS NINE THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971 These nine things describe legal rights in the United States of America. For this task, please research and fact check the legal rights of women in Canada.

Is this new information for you? What reactions and words came to mind as you read through this list? Are your reactions as symbolically potent as what each fact means to you after some consideration? Are you surprised by any of these facts? What do you understand when you read, “Feminism is NOT just for other women”? What does FEMINISM mean to you? Are you a FEMINIST? With whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How did these conversations work for you? What FEMINIST actions are needed in Canada? Are there any public feminists you admire? If so, who?

INDIGENOUS WOMEN & INTERSECTIONALITY Review the list of 9 THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971.

How does it measure against the lives of INDIGENIOUS women?

READ Lawrence, Bonita. Gender, Race, and the Regulation of Native Identity in Canada and the United States: An Overview, Hypatia, 18(2): 2003.

Sterritt, Angela. Racialization of Poverty: Indigenous Women, the Indian Act and Systemic Oppression: Reasons for Resistance, Vancouver Status of Women, 2007.

Why did this consideration of INTERSECTIONALITY include INDIGENOUS WOMEN? Describe differences & similarities between FEMINISM and INTERSECTIONAL approaches?

How do legal frameworks and judicial policies impact people differently? As a form of protest and resistance, is FEMINISM inclusive or exclusive? Who is excluded? What narratives does this list serve? Are INDIGENOUS WOMEN sufficiently served by INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM? How? What are the issues that stand out for you?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How did these conversations work for you? Bonita Lawrence and Angela Sterritt raise a number of other related issues.

Which ones stand out for you as important? Why?

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Are significant issues missing from this information about INTERSECTIONAL relations?

THIS IS ONE OPTION FOR REQUIRED COMPONENTS RISE & SPEAK: BLACK INTERSECTIONALITY REQUIRED READING Audre Lorde, Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference, Sister Outsider, Crossing Press, 1984.

Rachel Elizabeth Cargle’s When Feminism Is White Supremacy in Heels, Harper’s Bazaar, 2018.

SUGGESTED Rachel Elizabeth Cargle’s How to Talk to Your Family About Racism, Harper’s Bazaar, 2019.

Marisa Meltzer’s Rachel Cargle; I Refuse to Listen to White Women Cry, Washington Post, 2019.

Identify and discuss similarities and differences between Angela Davis and Audre Lorde. Whose messages are more powerful for you? How does Rachel Cargle compare to Angela Davis and Audre Lorde.

Consider, compare and contrast the message of these three powerful women.

How is race, gender and sexuality complicated or clarified by INTERSECTIONAL approaches? What other identities rely on INTERSECTIONALITY as a political means?

SEXUALITIES READ Audrey Yue’s Sexualities/queer Identities, 2013.

QUESTIONS How is race, gender and sexuality complicated or clarified by INTERSECTIONAL approaches? How might BLACKTRANSLIVES experience the western world before 1971?

What other identities rely on INTERSECTIONALITY as a political means? Can you imagine identifying as transgender? What does it mean to take on this identity-even if it’s imaginary?

Where do you go? What story do you tell?

What does Yue mean when she writes “bio-politics,” “bio-power,” “sex as an instrumental target,” “politic of enunciation” and “post-identity”? How does Yue consider “identify politics”?

Do you see how your identity is political? Do you see how your body is political?

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INTERVIEWING STRATEGIES: CHALLENGES of EQUITY & the FIGHT for EQUALITY IF you could talk to one person about INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM, who would you want and why? Regardless, interview someone who identifies as feminist, transgender or genderqueer. Ensure this conversation and your interviewee is a safe and comfortable speaking about INTERSECTIONALITY. Please ask about perceptions of women living out the CHALLENGES of EQUITY & the FIGHT for EQUALITY. What. Is the difference between EQUITY and EQUALITY. How are these distinct? Interrogate their language. How do they represent themselves? Interrogate their many identities and how they experience social exclusion. How can you create a more inclusive conversation? What interviewing strategies do you review prior to the interview? What are the promising practices for interviewing?

How might Rachel Elizabeth Cargle, Audre Lorde or Angela Davis respond to their point of view? How do you understand the intersecting issues of gender, race, nationalism, oppression? What marks INDIGENIOUS women as distinct in their intersectional challenges?

What marks BLACK women as distinct in their intersectional challenges? White women are warned to be weary of a weakness of falling into the Patriarchal hegemonic system. Can you explain the challenges for powerful white women? Does it seem like this is group is under attack? How would you describe the situation of women with various and radically different intersecting identities as the CHALLENGES FOR EQUITY & THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY march forward? Can you explain how intersectional identities work towards these two related goals: THE CHALLENGE FOR EQUITY & THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY?

THIS IS A REQUIRED JOURNAL TOPIC FAMILY LIFE SCENERIO CHALLENGE Your teenaged child identifies as nonbinary and has for several years. Luckily, we live in Toronto and in a school district and public school that provides a level of support above and beyond what you expected. You worked with school supports like the therapist and social workers; last year, the team helped me manage the legal name change of your child. You child has an amazing group of friends and is happy and communicative. Please tell me more about your child.

Lately, however, your teen expresses a desire to take hormones to transition from a female body to a more androgynous or male body, saying that they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t identify as a girl

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and don’t want to look like one. I am proud of their courage, but absolutely terrified. You don’t know how much of this is teenage exploration that they might later regret. What consequences scare the hell out of you?

Their therapist says that the consequences of not transitioning can also be very serious.

Can you explain this advice?

Your child has asked to talk about this tomorrow.

Write out your plans and list the topics you want to cover. Explain why these are the issues.

Write a summary of your state of mind and plans. Then write the actual conversation as a dialogue. Are you able to capture your family’s language while including links to important resources? You may also write out character/person statements for an imaginary parentchild.

What research do you look into to prepare for this conversation? What is your gut ‘reaction’? How does that reaction manifest in your body? Once your reactivity is under control, you begin to formulate your symbolic responses. You want to make a list of the topics you want to address in this conversation. Where do you begin?

How can you support this challenging decision-making process? What tools and resources do you gather to have on hand? What are your fears? What about your child’s fears?

What would this change mean to you and the rest of your family? Who else do you want to participate in this conversation?

THIS IS ONE OPTION FOR REQUIRED COMPONENTS DIFFERENTLY ABLE-BODIES & INTERSECTIONALITY READ Simi Linton’s “What is Disability Studies?” 2005.

SUGGESTED READING Rosemarie Garland-Thomson’s Extraordinary Bodies, 1996, & Staring: How We Look, 2009.

Alison Kafer’s Feminist, Queer, Crip, 2013.

The skill of LISTENING may be enhanced simultaneously when engaged in deep OBSERVATION. Your challenge in this task: At a distance and with the discretion of judge, identify a public building or space. Are you able to sit, silently, watching people go by? Of course, at a distance—but I’m interested in your ability to simply observe. Watch the bodies and how they move. Watch for intersectional identities at work in public space. After a minimum of one hour, silently observing, turn to your journal and write down everything you are able to recall. This written material can

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instigation a great deal of other things, if done with integrity and a mindful goal of following the procedure systematically. Do you see ABLE- PRIVILEGE in any of the observations you make of people’s behaviours?

How have you experienced differently abled bodies? Are you an able body? Can you identify the privileges granted to able-bodied people in our society? This means, often unrecognized barriers and obstacles. As you identify these privileges, can you identify a corresponding or related obstacle? Do you think of your body as connected to your identity? What meanings do you make of differing bodies? How do these bodies “mean”?

How does it make you feel, to be reading and talking about, observing and watching disabilities and people who have differently abled bodies?

Are you able to share any awkwardness? Where do your responses come from?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How did these conversations work for you?

THIS IS REQUIRED FOR YOUR BLOG PRACTICES OF LOOKING READ Adrienne Rich’s Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, 1980.

Laura Mulvey’s “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” 1975.

Carlos Motta, John Arthur Peetz & Carlos Maria Romero’s Collection of (56) contemporary & historical Queer Manifestos; SPIT! (Sodomites, Perverts, Inverts Together!) Manifesto Reader, Frieze Projects, 2017 Write a politically motivated sexy letter after examining the collection of manifestos.

Address the letter to one of the manifestos, to yourself (past, present future) or me.

OR

Make your own political, sexy anti-capitalist ‘zine.

When did you first recognize you were participating in the hegemonic practice of the “male gaze.” How does this “male gaze” impact your worldview? What alternatives drive your interests? Are your relationships following compulsory heterosexual norm? Are these topics of sexuality and desire of interest to you? How so?

Do you have a trusted friend you share fantasies with? Make time to share and listen without judgment; we are often hardest on ourselves when it comes to issues of sexual desire.

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What are some of those sex behavious made explicit in pornography that displace actual human sexual relations? What behaviours make you wonder? What behaviours can you not talk about?

IN YOUR JOURNAL WRITE your symbolic responses to these TWELVE sets of questions.

USE these questions to guide your thinking and writing.

QUESTIONS I. SEX AND GENDER Is your gender identity easy to define? How do you identify today? Does your gender identity match the sex you were assigned at birth?

Have you been given sufficient space to explore your gender expressions? Have you given others space for gender exploration? What are some ways you are expressing your gender today? How might this change on a different day? What are some ways you break gender stereotypes? How you encouraged others to freely express their gender? How? What did you do?

Are your expressions of gender ever questioned? Do you worry about daily expressions of gender and your cultureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gender stereotypes?

Is it possible to move through the world without ever thinking about gender? Is it possible to move through the world without feeling limited because of gender identity and gender expressions?

How does Singal frame the issue of transitioning? What is missing from Singalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s analysis?

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II. CIS PRIVLIDGE Do you or people in your world experience CIS PRIVILEGE? How? In what ways does CIS PRIVILEGE manifest in your life? With whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How did these conversations work for you?

Do you know or have you met any TRANSGENDER people? What is your assessment of SEX and GENDER? What changes can you make to make your life and world more inclusive of transgender people?

III. BEARING WITNESS to FEMINISM and INTERSECTIONALITY How do you understand INTERSECTIONALITY? How is the term useful to you? Do you consider yourself a FEMINISM? Why or why not? What is a FEMINIST? Can cis men be FEMINISM? How do you understand the relationship between FEMINISM and INTERSECTIONALITY? What does it mean “to bear witness?” How might you “bear witness” to this urgent topic?

IV. FEMINISM and the LAW Is this new information for you? What reactions and words came to mind as you read through this list? Are your reactions as symbolically potent as what each fact means to you after some consideration? Are you surprised by any of these facts?

What do you understand when you read, “Feminism is NOT just for other women”? What does FEMINISM mean to you? Are you a FEMINIST? With whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How did these conversations work for you? What FEMINIST actions are needed in Canada? Are there any public feminists you admire? If so, who?

V. INDIGENOUS INTERSECTIONALITY Describe differences & similarities between FEMINISM and INTERSECTIONAL approaches? How do legal frameworks and judicial policies impact people differently? As a form of protest and resistance, is FEMINISM inclusive or exclusive? Who is excluded?

What narratives does this list serve?

Are INDIGENOUS WOMEN sufficiently served by INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM? How? What are the issues that stand out for you? With whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How did these conversations work for you? Bonita Lawrence and Angela Sterritt raise a number of other related issues. Which ones stand out for you as important?

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Why? Are significant issues missing from this information about INTERSECTIONAL relations?

VI. YOUR BODY IS A BATTLEGROUND How might BLACKTRANSLIVES experience the western world before 1971? What other identities rely on INTERSECTIONALITY as a political means? Can you imagine identifying as transgender? What does it mean to take on this identity-even if it’s imaginary? Where do you go? What story do you tell? How does Yue consider “identify politics”? Do you see how your identity is political? Do you see how your body is political?

VII. EQUITY & EQUALITY How do you understand the intersecting issues of gender, race, nationalism, oppression?

What marks INDIGENIOUS women as distinct in their intersectional challenges?

What marks BLACK women as distinct in their intersectional challenges? White women are warned to be weary of a weakness of falling into the Patriarchal hegemonic system. Can you explain the challenges for powerful white women? Does it seem like this is group is under attack? How would you describe the situation of women with various and radically different intersecting identities as the CHALLENGES FOR EQUITY & THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY march forward? Can you explain how intersectional identities work towards these two related goals: THE CHALLENGE FOR EQUITY & THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY?

VIII. THE TRANS IN LGBTQ+ LIBERATION What do you know about LGBTQ+ liberation? What can you tell about Rivera, based on the representation of her in this video? How does Rivera respond to her daily experiences of social exclusion? Do the people’s responses to Rivera surprise you? Why or why not? How did Rivera’s language and attitude create liberatory spaces within LGBTQ+ communities?

What is Rivera demanding? Are you surprised? What do you notice? What triggers your initial response? The film quality? Setting? Sound interference? People? What draws you to those particular signs? Do you recognize the politics in action? Do you agree or disagree with Rivera? With her approach?

IX. PASSING BEAUTY What are the HEGEMONIC values of beauty? Where did they come from? How are corporate values of beauty challenged by Tracy Norman? Do you understand the concept of passing? For all transgender folxs, how might passing be experienced differently? Is it surprising that Tracy Norman passed? How do you feel about Clairol as a company? Did the corporation respond appropriately? Why or why not?

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How is the concept of passing implicated in INTERSECTIONAL approaches?

X. DIFFERENTLY ABLE-BODIES & INTERSECTIONALITY How have you experienced differently abled bodies?

Are you an able body?

Can you identify the privileges granted to able-bodied people in our society? This means, often unrecognized barriers and obstacles. As you identify these privileges, can you identify a corresponding or related obstacle? Do you think of your body as connected to your identity? What meanings do you make of differing bodies? How do these bodies “mean”? How does it make you feel, to be reading and talking about, observing and watching disabilities and people who have differently abled bodies?

Are you able to share any awkwardness? Where do your responses come from?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How did these conversations work for you?

XI. PRACTICES OF LOOKING When did you first recognize you were participating in the hegemonic practice of the “male gaze.” How does this “male gaze” impact your worldview? What alternatives drive your interests? Are your relationships following compulsory heterosexual norm? Are these topics of sexuality and desire of interest to you? How so?

Do you have a trusted friend you share fantasies with? Make time to share and listen without judgment; we are often hardest on ourselves when it comes to issues of sexual desire.

What are some of those sex behaviours made explicit in pornography that displace actual human sexual relations? What behaviours make you wonder? What behaviours can you not talk about?

XII. INTERSECTIONAL CHANGE Do you know or can you recognize an active voice for GENDER equity and equality in your life? What/who facilitates awareness and activism for GENDER and INTERSECTIONAL justice on campus? Consider how people organize and contribute to INTERSECTIONAL change. What tools and techniques do they use to advocate for a cause? What IDEAS do you have for making INTERSECTIONAL change? With whom can you discuss your IDEAS? How did these conversations work for you?

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ADDITIONAL or OPTIONAL TASKS A. BLOG There is ONE required TASK to include in your BLOG. PLEASE CHOOSE ONE OF < NINE THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971> < RISE & SPEAK: BLACK INTERSECTIONALITY> <FAMILY LIFE> < PRACTICES OF LOOKING> You are invited to choose (any) ONE addition TASK from < INTERSECTIONALITY > for your BLOG.

B. WIKI You are invited to participate in our course WIKI where you can provide feedback, input, editorial comments and/or your own exemplars. Is there something else that needs to be said? The course WIKI is open for your participation. Reflect on course WIKI participation in you JOURNAL.

C. DIGITAL ARTIFACT You are asked to share at least one other DIGITAL ARTIFACT. Is there something you want to CREATE related to this content?

WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA TALKING ABOUT RACE READ Ibram X. Kendi’s The American Nightmare: To be black and conscious of anti-black racism is to stare into the mirror of your own extinction. The Atlantic, 2020.

Dylan Scott’s Violent protests are not the story. Police violence is. Vox, 2020.

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HOW have you prioritized learning about the root causes of current protests? HOW are you engaged in conversations about race and racism? HOW have you engaged others in conversations about race and racism? How do Kendi and Scott portray their perceptions?

Do you see similarities? With whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How did these conversations work for you? Where do your values fit within this context? (YOU + talking about race=) Do government Strategic Planning Priorities (Ontario & Canada) provide related information? Give you HOPE for the future?

INTERVIEWING STRATEGIES: TERROR AND TRAUMA What are the promising practices for interviewing?

What interviewing strategies do you review prior to the interview?

Conduct an interview with someone who can speak about social justice actions. Find someone with a background in race-related activism. Consider what Ibram Kendi means by the moments of “toil and terror and trauma”?

SAY MY NAME Say Their Names. There are two sections that list the names of people who have been subject to brutalized law enforcement violence leading to serious injury or death. Select two or three names for your further study. Can you find NEWS stories about this violence?

What date? What city? Circumstances? Are there other names that you know about that I may have missed? What will a news source tell you? Fact-Check source by confirming the story from other news outlets. With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you? Please include at least two sources per NAME. REPORT your research, findings and reflections in your JOURNAL.

PERCEPTIONS OF POLICE Contrast the report (1) “Perception of the Toronto Police and Impact of Rule Changes Under Regulation 28/16: A Community Survey” with the graphic reports in (2) CARDED & (3) COPOGANDA, with the other reports, i.e., (4) Wortley’s & (5) Tulloch’s.

In your review of the FIVE secondary sources, please answer the following: How do the different reports measure the impact of police violence and the practice of carding? What are your options if a police officer stops you for a random check?

Do you know your rights? What would you do?

What is the role of the Ontario Human Rights Commission?

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What is the role of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association?

Do police interventions involving carding promote community safety?

Is carding a violation of civil liberties and personal freedoms? How? How is carding similar to or a form of surveillance?

Tom Le v. Her Majesty the Queen What marks this case as a “landmark” for critical race lawyers?

This case was subject to three trials. How long did this procedure last for Mr. Le, from initial arrest to Supreme Court ruling? Do government Strategic Planning Priorities (Ontario & Canada) provide related information? What makes street checks or carding a racialized intervention? To what extent, will body cameras worn by police officers mitigate these challenges?

Are you aligned with the Supreme Court ruling? How is the ruling an analytic weapon for a new generation of critical race lawyers? Why did they overturn the rulings of two other courts? What would your answer be? Why? Does the case of Tom Le shed light on your understanding of BlackLivesMatter? Why does the Supreme Court ruling offer a WARNING? When it is appropriate to recognize social exclusion as a context for judgments?

RISE & SPEAK READ Charisse Williams, A Love Letter to my Black Community on Campus, University of Washington, Counseling Centre, 2020.

WATCH “Mellody Hobson—Color Blind or Color Brave?”

SUGGESTED READING Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Amanda Lewis and David G. Embrick’s ''I Did Not Get that Job Because of a Black Man...": The Story Lines and Testimonies of Color-Blind Racism, Sociological Forum, vol.19, no. 4, December 2004, pp/ 555-581.

Do you see colour? HOW CAN YOU ENABLE someone else to RISE and SPEAK? How do RESOURCES speak to your role on campus and in your community?

What are DEEP LISTENING practices? How can you sharpen and enhance your LISTENING skills? HOW can you be an ALLY for others? HOW can you work as an ACCOMPLICE against oppressive forces? ALLY or ACCOMPLICE- explain the difference.

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Identify the types of changes needed for you to be a BIPOC ALLY or ACCOMPLICE? What do you need to do so as to realign your values and actions with calls for justice?

Identify hurdles or obstacles to enacting these changes. With whom can you discuss your responses to this material? How did these conversations work for you? Do you know or can you recognize an active voice for racial equality in your life? What/who facilitates awareness and activism for BIPOC justice on campus?

Consider how people organize and contribute to social movements. What tools and techniques do they use to advocate for a cause? Do you think street protests have been or will be effective? What makes protest effective? What ideas do you have for making social movements for change successful?

MY INVISIBLE KNAPSACK REQUIRED READINGS Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” (1990) &/or “White Privilege & Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women's Studies” (1988).

Jenalee Kluttz, Jude Walker and Pierre Walter’s “Unsettling Allyship, Unlearning and Learning towards Decolonizing Solidarity,” Studies in the Education of Adults, 52:1, 4966, 2020.

What’s in your invisible knapsack? Is this an apt metaphor? What is the underlying tenor of its comparison? Describe key similarities between McIntosh and Kluttz, Walker & Walter.

APPLY the concept of HEGEMONY to McIntosh and Kluttz, Walker & Walter.

Do you see White Privilege in any of your behaviours or observations of others?

How do these readings make you feel?

Are you able to share any awkwardness?

Where do your responses come from?

Are you open to other points of view? How do you know?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

Have you noticed HEGEMONIC forces stepping into the BLM arena?

Do you see statements from large companies & organizations that claim to support widescale measures for change? Do you think our current cultural hegemony is near the collapse? Why or Why not? Do you recognize how HEGEMONY works? How PROPAGANDA works? Have you noticed any world events suggesting A perilously steep, sharp drop? CAREFUL. Are you standing too close to the edge?

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ATTENTION: THE FOLLOWING IS REQUIRED THIS ITEM IS REQUIRED FOR YOUR BLOG THIS IS AMERICA WATCH Childish Gambino’s “This Is America.”

SEE: appendix II for timecode and lyrics SCENARIO You recently graduated high school and you are known by your high school’s vice principal (VP Harumi) to actively fight for anti-racism You are courageously outspoken when it comes to anti-racism and promoting BLACK LIVES MATTER. VP Harumi seeks you out to ask for advice.

Here’s what’s happening: The cheerleading squad at your old high schools propose to learn the choreography from Childish Gambino’s This Is America and VP Harumi has some hesitations. Of note, there are no people of colour currently on the cheerleading squad. VP Harumi needs your counsel.

WRITE a letter to Vice-Principal Harumi with your advice. Point to specific shots in the video to help make your argument. The video’s time codes are included, please cite time and provide detailed descriptions of what you see on screen.

What are the various factors associated with or contributing to this problem?

Given the information presented: What is your advice?

How do you describe the state of race in Canada?

What RESOURCES do you provide?

What is your rationale for your selected RESOURCES? How might the discussion included in <WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA> support, affirm and resource your advice and letter?

Can you identify other music videos, music, performance or other forms of art related to THIS IS AMERICA? Explain the relationships.

Is there another music video you can suggest for the cheerleading squad?

What should VP Harumi say to this group?

IN YOUR JOURNAL WRITE your symbolic responses to these FIVE sets of questions.

USE these questions to guide your thinking and writing.

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QUESTIONS I. TALKING ABOUT RACE HOW have you prioritized learning about the root causes of current protests?

HOW are you engaged in conversations about race and racism?

HOW have you engaged others in conversations about race and racism?

What are the differences between race, racism and racialized people?

Define and explain systemic racism? Anti-black racism? Black Lives Matter and other activists have brought attention to police brutality. What does it mean to you? What is surprising? What is interesting? What is troubling? Do government Strategic Planning Priorities (Ontario & Canada) provide related information? Give you HOPE for the future?

II. PERCEPTIONS OF POLICE Are you surprised to learn that police officers have used force and have killed people?

What have you learned about the history of police violence against BIPOC people? What are your options if a police officer stops you for a random check? Do you know your rights? What would you do?

Do random street checks actually work? Do police interventions involving carding promote community safety? Is carding a violation of civil liberties and personal freedoms? How? How is carding similar to or a form of surveillance? Should random street checks or carding ever be allowed?

Are random street checks by police biased? What about police oversight? Who should be held accountable? Why do you think police brutality and police killings continue? Why are police officers not held accountable? Should police officers who kill be arrested, prosecuted, convicted? Identify the types of changes needed for police brutality to stop.

After all the protests, how does change actually happen?

III. RACE TO THE COURTS What marks the <Le v Her Majesty the Queen> case as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;landmarkâ&#x20AC;? for critical race lawyers? This case was subject to three trials. How long did this procedure last for Mr. Le, from initial arrest to Supreme Court ruling? Do government Strategic Planning Priorities (Ontario & Canada) provide related information? What makes street checks or carding a racialized intervention? To what extent, will body cameras worn by police officers mitigate these challenges?

Are you aligned with the Supreme Court ruling? How is the ruling an analytic weapon for a new generation of critical race lawyers? Why did they overturn the rulings of two other courts? What would your answer be? Why? Does the case of Tom Le shed light on your

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understanding of BlackLivesMatter? Why does the Supreme Court ruling offer a WARNING? When it is appropriate to recognize social exclusion as a context for judgments?

IV. RISE & SPEAK What are DEEP LISTENING practices?

How can you sharpen and enhance your REFLECTIVE LISTENING skills?

HOW can you be an ALLY for others?

HOW can you work as an ACCOMPLICE against oppressive forces?

ALLY or ACCOMPLICE- explain the difference. Which are you?

Do you see colour? How can you enable someone else to RISE and SPEAK? How do resources speak to your role on campus and in your community?

Identify the types of changes needed for you to be a BIPOC ALLY or ACCOMPLICE? What do you need to do so as to realign your values and actions with calls for justice?

Identify hurdles or obstacles to enacting these changes.

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

Do you know or can you recognize an active voice for racial equality in your life?

What/who facilitates awareness and activism for BIPOC justice on campus?

Consider how people organize and contribute to social movements.

What tools and techniques do they use to advocate for a cause?

Do you think street protests have been or will be effective? What makes protest effective?

What ideas do you have for making social movements for change successful?

V. MY INVISIBLE KNAPSACK Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in your invisible knapsack?

Is this an apt metaphor? What is the underlying tenor of its comparison?

Describe key similarities between McIntosh and Kluttz, Walker & Walter.

Apply the concept of HEGEMONY to McIntosh and Kluttz, Walker & Walter.

Do you see White Privilege in any of your behaviours or observations of others?

How do these readings make you feel?

Are you able to share any awkwardness?

Where do your responses come from?

Are you open to other points of view? How do you know?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

Have you noticed HEGEMONIC forces stepping into the BLM arena?

Do you see statements from large companies & organizations that claim to support widescale measures for change?

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Do you think our current cultural hegemony is near the collapse? Why or Why not?

Do you recognize how HEGEMONY works? How PROPAGANDA works?

Have you noticed any world events suggesting A perilously steep, sharp drop?

CAREFUL. Are you standing too close to the edge?

ADDITIONAL or OPTIONAL TASKS A. BLOG There is ONE required TASK <THIS IS AMERICA> to include in your BLOG. You are invited to choose ONE addition TASK from <WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA> for your BLOG.

B. WIKI You are invited to participate in our course WIKI where you can provide feedback, input, editorial comments and/or your own exemplars. Is there something else that needs to be said? The course WIKI is open for your participation. Reflect on course WIKI participation in you JOURNAL.

C. DIGITAL ARTIFACT You are asked to share at least one other DIGITAL ARTIFACT. Is there something you want to CREATE related to this content?

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REQUIRED TASK DIGITAL STORYTELLING Create a DIGITAL STORY You are asked to create a short digital artifact in the form of a digital story.

The goal is to attend to your CREATIVE PROCESS. Consider how your digital story applies metaphor/synecdoche for effect.

You MUST include at least five separate shots (5 different images, edited with transitions).

Your maximum time allowance is 150 seconds or 2.5 minutes.

Minimum time is 30 seconds.

All work must recognize and cite a Creative Commons (cc) licence.

Work must NOT break copyright laws.

Your work must adhere to the Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s code of conduct.

Public domain images and music are freely available.

All sources must be attributed properly, following MLA guidelines.

Use the camera/microphone/technology of your choice.

If you need help accessing any of these tools please ask.

In creating this project, you must WRITE. Please consolidate your work into a SINGLE file (word document) & upload this file to COURSELINK in our class DROPBOX. Please submit one document, including all parts: i. Part A: Your imagination, intentions & production plans; ii. Part B: Your creative production (as link or .mp4 file); & iii. Part C: Your postproduction narrative.

Part A: YOUR IMAGINATION, INTENTIONS & PRODUCTION PLANS WALK us through YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS. CONCEPTION TO SUBMISSION: TRACK, CAPTURE & REPRESENT YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS Please consolidate your work into a single word document to be uploaded through COURSELINK in our class DROPBOX. Consider including any/all of the following ten suggestions: 1. Brainstorming / keyword maps 2. initial writing efforts 3. any research notes

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4. a paragraph describing your intentions 5. rough storyboards 6. a working script 7. a final script – narrative (what we hear) 8. a shot list – what you wanted us to see 9. your production schedule 10. any final notes about editing; Part B: YOUR CREATIVE PRODUCTION Please include a LINK to a very short PRODUCTION. Include working link in your document.

Please TEST link prior to submission.

TIME RESTRICTIONS minimum 30 seconds maximum 150 seconds or 2.5 minutes TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS UPLOAD an .mp4 file to a public website (eg., YouTube or Vimeo).

Provide a WORKING link.

TEST your link prior to submission.

PRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS 1. a narrative; 2. five separate images, 3. dialogue and/or voice-over.

LEGAL REQUIRMENTS All work must recognize and cite a Creative Commons licence.

Work must not break copyright laws.

Public domain images and music are freely available.

All sources must be attributed properly, following MLA guidelines.

Part C: POSTPRODUCTION NARRATIVE REFLECT on the process after your work is completed (that is, after you upload a digital file).

(400-800 words) QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION Have you met all technical, production, legal and time requirements/restrictions?

How did you meet, frustrate and/or achieve your INTENTIONS? Are you satisfied with your final product?

What did you learn about videography?

What did you learn about storytelling?

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What did you learn about media literacy?

What did you learn about yourself?)

How do you think you did?

What was your biggest area of learning?

What other ways might you have told this digital story?

What should the audience be able to tell us about your story?

What additional information might your audience need to understand your story?

How does your attention to the acoustic environment impact the emotion content?

If we remove all sound, does the story retain its integrity? why or why not?

What questions emerged for you?

Are you proud of your work?

Assessment rubrics included

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CONSIDERATION | COURSE POLICY DIGITAL STORYTELLING

OUR POLICY INVITES YOU TO SUBMIT THIS WORK ACCORDING TO THE TIMELINES SET IN THE COURSE OUTLINE. THERE ARE NO PENALTIES IF YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS DEADLINE. HOWEVER, THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES. The timelines are designed for your benefit. As a result, the TEACHING TEAM scheduled their time according to the timeline (set for your benefit). IF you miss a deadline, you run the RISK of not receive feedback in a timely manner; IF you miss a deadline, you may NOT take an additional opportunity to review feedback, revise materials and RESUBMIT. ALL DIGITAL STORIES and related materials may be RESUBMITTED. Your assessment will NEVER GO DOWN. Your grade will rise or remain the same.

RESUBMISSIONS must be done under the guidance of the TEACHING TEAM, that is, your assigned INSTRUCTOR. RESUBMISSIONS are only assessed by Professor LIPTON. Your assigned TEAM INSTRUCTOR will inform/prepare LIPTON by explaining your situation and the day work is expected. However, resubmissions may not be returned if work is not sufficiently revised or requiring reassessment.

RESUBMISSIONS are only accepted on work SUBMITTED by the timeline.

RESUBMISSION timelines are a negotiation between you and Professor LIPTON. IF/WHEN RESUBMITTING any work, YOU MUST include: 1. your PREVIOUS assignment; 2. a note that demonstrates a review of self, work and feedback; & 3. note must highlight and/or argue what changes were made or ought to be.

ANY QUESTIONS regarding this POLICY are to be addressed to Professor LIPTON. /m

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DIGITAL STORYTELLING | RUBRIC Part A YOUR IMAGINATION, INTENTIONS & PRODUCTION PLANS /50 IMAGINATION /10 INTENTION /10 DOCUMENTING YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY /30 Part B PRODUCTION /10 Part C POSTPRODUCTION: RESPONDING, REFLECTING & WRITING /40 CONTEXT /10 STYLE & MECHANICS /10 META-COGNITION /20 /100 Part A: YOUR IMAGINATION, INTENTIONS & PRODUCTION PLANS IMAGINATION /10

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Visualize the following: (1) Point of view • who's story is it?

(2) Mood • how the story should feel (3) Theme • the meaning, moral or message of the story (4) Style • what stories do we like?

INTENTION /10

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Plan and Prepare the following: (1) Character • the characters need to tell the story • the wants of the characters • how the character looks, moves and sounds (2) Story • beginning, middle and end

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problem and solution • key image storyboard to outline story arc (3) Setting • the world of the story • location and time •

DOCUMENTING YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY /30 Please describe your creative journey in complete sentences.

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A. Context of & Purpose for Writing /10 B. Writing Style; Control of Syntax and Mechanics /10 C. Description & Documentation of Creative Journey /10

A. Context of & Purpose for Writing/Reflecting: /10

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Level 4: Demonstrates a thorough understanding of context, audience and purpose that is responsive to the assigned tasks and focuses all elements of the work.

Demonstrated proficiency applying figures of speech to visual and aural narrative.

Level 3: Demonstrates adequate consideration of context, audience, and purpose and a clear focus on the assigned tasks (e.g., the task aligns with audience, purpose and context). Use of metaphor and/or metonymy.

Level 2: Demonstrates awareness of context, audience, purpose, and to the assigned tasks (e.g., begins to show awareness of audience's perceptions and assumptions). Use of simile not metaphor.

Level 1: Demonstrates minimal attention to context, audience, purpose, and to the assigned tasks (e.g., expectation of instructor or self as audience).

B. Writing Style; Control of Syntax and Mechanics /10

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Level 4: Uses eloquent language to skillfully communicate meaning to readers with clarity and fluency; work is virtually error free.

Level 3: Uses plain language that consistently conveys meaning to readers; few errors noted.

Level 2: Uses language that generally conveys meaning to readers with clarity, although writing may include some errors.

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Level 1: Uses language that impedes meaning because of ambiguity and/or usage errors.

C. Description & Documentation of Creative Journey /10

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1. Brainstorming / keyword maps 2. initial writing efforts 3. any research notes 4. a paragraph describing your intentions 5. rough storyboards 6. a working script 7. a final script â&#x20AC;&#x201C; narrative (what we hear) 8. a shot list â&#x20AC;&#x201C; what you wanted us to see 9. your production schedule 10. any final notes about editing; Level 4: Elucidates on prior learning in depth to reveal significantly changed perspectives about media experiences. Demonstrates a developing sense of self as a learner and media consumer/user. Evaluates changes in own learning over time, recognizing complex contextual factors (e.g., works with ambiguity and risk, deals with anxiety, considers ethical frameworks). Envisions a future self, occurring across multiple and diverse contexts.

Level 3: Reviews prior learning, revealing meanings that indicate a broader perspective about media experiences. Responds to new and challenging contexts based on prior experiences.

Level 2: Considers prior learning, indicating a perspective about media. Increased selfawareness helps articulate strengths and next steps.

Level 1: Forgets prior learning. Meanings about media are ambiguous and vague.

Describes own performances with general descriptors of success and failure.

BREAKDOWN SUMMARY FOR PART A Part A: YOUR IMAGINATION, INTENTIONS & PRODUCTION PLANS IMAGINATION /10 INTENTION /10 DOCUMENTING YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY /30 A. Context of & Purpose for Writing /10 B. Writing Style; Control of Syntax and Mechanics /10 75

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C. Description & Documentation of Creative Journey /10 PREPRODUCTION /50 PART B: PRODUCTION /10

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PRODUCTION /10 REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS

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TECHNICAL: Upload .mp4 file to public website; provide working link.

PRODUCTION: Narrative; 5 shots, edited with transitions; & sound or voice over.

LEGAL: Creative Commons (cc) licence; proper attribution following MLA; LAW ABIDING; & adheres to the University’s CODE OF CONDUCT. TIME: 30 to 150 seconds (max. time=2.5 minutes).

DEMONSTRATED MEDIA LITERACY (1) Images • a shot • framing • focus/visibility (2) Structure • an editing cut (3) Sound • dialogue and narration • music/score • sound effects • ambient sound

PART C: POSTPRODUCTION /40 Responding, Reflecting & Writing A. Context /10 B. Style & Mechanics /10 C. Meta-Cognition /20 A. Context of & Purpose for Writing: /10 Level 4: Demonstrates a thorough understanding of context, audience, and purpose that is responsive to the assigned tasks and focuses all elements of the work.

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Demonstrated proficiency applying figures of speech to visual and aural narrative.

Level 3: Demonstrates adequate consideration of context, audience, and purpose and a clear focus on the assigned tasks (e.g., the task aligns with audience, purpose, and context). Use of metaphor and/or metonymy.

Level 2: Demonstrates awareness of context, audience, purpose, and to the assigned tasks (e.g., begins to show awareness of audience's perceptions and assumptions). Use of simile not metaphor.

Level 1: Demonstrates minimal attention to context, audience, purpose, and to the assigned tasks (e.g., expectation of instructor or self as audience).

B. Style & Mechanics /10 Level 4: Uses eloquent language to skillfully communicate meaning to readers with clarity and fluency; work is virtually error free.

Level 3: Uses plain language that consistently conveys meaning to readers; few errors noted.

Level 2: Uses language that generally conveys meaning to readers with clarity, although writing may include some errors.

Level 1: Uses language that impedes meaning because of ambiguity and/or usage errors.

C. Reflection & Meta-Cognitive Expressions /20 Level 4: Elucidates on prior learning in depth to reveal significantly changed perspectives about media experiences. Demonstrates a developing sense of self as a learner and media consumer/user. Evaluates changes in own learning over time, recognizing complex contextual factors (e.g., works with ambiguity and risk, deals with anxiety, considers ethical frameworks). Envisions a future self, occurring across multiple and diverse contexts.

Level 3: Reviews prior learning, revealing meanings that indicate a broader perspective about media experiences. Responds to new and challenging contexts based on prior experiences.

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Level 2: Considers prior learning, indicating a perspective about media. Increased selfawareness helps articulate strengths and next steps.

Level 1: Forgets prior learning. Meanings about media are ambiguous and vague.

Describes own performances with general descriptors of success and failure.

TOTAL SCORE: X/100 TRANSMEDIA STORYTELLING | A VIDEO | YOUR CHECKSHEET CREATING AN OVERVIEW 1. Stories are everywhere. Creators can use visual texts to share stories.

2. Creators tell stories informed by personal experiences.

3. Creating a visual text is a recursive process of production, reflection, and revision.

4. Creators recognize that their unique perspective influences the ideas expressed in their visual texts.

5. Creators understand that their visual text can be interpreted depending on each viewerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique perspective and experiences.

6. Empathetic, self-aware creators make intentional choices about visual and story elements; recognize their unique perspective; and are aware that viewers bring their own interpretation.

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LEARNING RESOURCES All readings, resources, media and other materials are available through the course, the library or other means. No books need be purchased as required for course completion.

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1 differentiate among multiple forms of writing, communication and media by writing in at least three non-formal forms; 2 apply elements of visual/media/digital literacy to advance knowledge by analyzing and creating media products/digital artifacts; 3 create writing + media products/digital artifacts that apply communication skills by ongoing journal writings and presenting polished media/blog/portfolio; 4 demonstrate risk-taking, creativity and initiative in media/digital literacy by planning, creating and (digitally) packaging media products/digital artifacts; 5 recognize uncertainty, ambiguity and the limits of knowledge by selecting and responding to course prompts and discussion questions, creating unique and responsible writing and media; 6 evaluate individual beliefs, truth claims and the credibility of media sources by researching multiple points of view for all writing and creation work; and 7 demonstrate autonomous learning by designing independent learning and reading plans which learners outline in ongoing journal writing.

GENERAL SKILLS OBJECTIVES In addition to the course outcomes, Lipton further identifies general skill objectives provided in this course. In other words, on successful completion of this course the learner will demonstrate competencies in: 1 Critical Thinking and Problem Solving – Learners use their own skills to resolve issues related to research, reading, writing and the challenges associated with collaboration. Learners are expected to engage with the course materials in an intensive, comparative and detailed manner. Keep in mind that *critical* does not necessarily mean negative but demonstrates active engagement in all aspects of the learning process.

2 Reading and Viewing – Learners need to take on an independent reading load to complete this course. In addition to weekly assigned readings, learners select appropriate readings and visual/aural texts outside of the course readings to participate in class and their own research.

3 Writing and Creating – Learners have several opportunities to write and create in this course. In addition to weekly reflections, there are larger professional blog postings where learners write independent analyses and reflections of readings 79

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4

5

6

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and class experiences. Learners are invited to create a short video or another transmedia story. All writing conforms to university-level standards and academic reference guidelines.

Personal Organization, Time Management, Resource Management – As a halfcredit course, learners are expected to work outside of class for an additional seven hours. This includes weekly reading, research and class assignments.

Learners need to balance the demands of this course with other courses and outside commitments. The goal is for learners to attain the qualities and transferable skills and characteristics necessary for further study, employment, community involvement and other activities requiring the exercise of initiative, ethical reasoning, academic integrity, social responsibility and time management.

Research – For the various BLOG tasks, learners need to engage in research that meets minimal standards. In other words, learners must work to a level that is beyond what may have been required in secondary school. While online sources are acceptable, learners also need to demonstrate an understanding of the research tools available at the library and to evaluate what types of sources are appropriate to answer questions.

Communicating Through Media – Learners must demonstrate some proficiency in media and technology. Learners experiment with a digital project of various kinds, for example, learners may need to enhance desktop publishing skills, develop and employ web production and/or video production. All assignments must be produced and stored electronically.

Knowledge is always expanding, and new applications evolve every day. This course is designed to incorporate new theories and models of teaching and learning into the curriculum. Lipton also provides sufficient flexibility to embrace learner negotiations as well as new ideas as they evolve. To this end, learners actively must seek to continue their development towards holistic maturity.

LEARNING VALUES In considering learner growth and development, learning values and attitudes are promoted through Lipton’s teaching methods and course design. Learners must consider their role in the following: 1 Active participation and involvement with class materials 2 independent ownership of the learning process 3 opportunities for self-reflexive analysis of course material 4 chances to express growing critical awareness via writing and media creation assignments 5 an ability to access and contribute to the meaningful learning of others 6 an opportunity to exercise creative skills that fit within the context of the overall degree

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COURSE STATEMENTS TECHNICAL SKILLS

You are responsible for ensuring that your computer system meets the necessary system requirements. Use the browser check tool to ensure your browser settings are compatible and up to date (results will be displayed in a new browser window). Video Assignments is a tool that facilitates the creation and use of student-created videos in course activities and assessments. You are responsible for ensuring that your computer system meets the necessary system requirements. You will need to have a microphone and a webcam to record audio and video.

As part of your online experience, you are expected to use a variety of technology as part of your learning: i. manage computer files & folders (save, name, copy, backup, rename, delete & check properties); ii. install software, security & virus protection; iii. use office applications (e.g., Word, PowerPoint, Excel or similar) to create documents; iv. be comfortable uploading & downloading saved files; v. communicate using email (e.g., create, receive, reply, send, download & open attachments); vi. navigate the CourseLink learning environment & use the essential tools, such as Dropbox; vii. access, navigate & search the Internet using a web browser (e.g., Firefox, Chrome); & viii. perform online research using various search engines (e.g., Google) & library databases.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS You are responsible for ensuring that your computer system meets the necessary system requirements. Use the browser check tool to ensure your browser settings are compatible and up to date (results will be displayed in a new browser window). Video Assignments is a tool that facilitates the creation and use of student-created videos in course activities and assessments. You are responsible for ensuring that your computer system meets the necessary system requirements. You will need to have a microphone and a webcam to record audio and video.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT If you need any assistance with the software tools or the CourseLink website, contact CourseLink Support.

COURSELINK SUPPORT University of Guelph Day Hall, Room 211 Email: courselink@uoguelph.ca Tel: 519-824-4120 ext. 56939 Toll-Free (CAN/USA): 1-866-275-1478 Walk-In Hours (Eastern Time): Monday thru Friday: 8:30 amâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;4:30 pm

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Phone/Email Hours (Eastern Time): Monday thru Friday: 8:30 am–8:30 pm Saturday: 10:00 am–4:00 pm Sunday: 12:00 pm–6:00 pm

COURSE SPECIFIC STANDARD STATEMENTS ACCEPTABLE USE The University of Guelph has an Acceptable Use Policy, which you are expected to adhere to. https://www.uoguelph.ca/ccs/infosec/aup

COURSE COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR INSTRUCTOR During the course, your instructor will interact with you on various course matters on the course website using the following ways of communication: ANNOUNCEMENTS: The instructor will use Announcements on the Course Home page to provide you with course reminders and updates. Please check this section frequently for course updates from your instructor.

ASK YOUR INSTRUCTOR DISCUSSION: Use this discussion forum to ask questions of your instructor about content or course-related issues with which you are unfamiliar. If you encounter difficulties, the instructor is here to help you. Please post general course-related questions to the discussion forum so that all students have an opportunity to review the response. To access this discussion forum, select Discussions from the Tools dropdown menu.

EMAIL: If you have a conflict that prevents you from completing course requirements, or have a question concerning a personal matter, you can send your instructor a private message by e-mail. In the SUBJECT header: Please include “THST1200” & “matter to discuss.” The instructor will respond to your e-mail within 48 to 72 hours.

You are required to use your official University of Guelph e-mail for all correspondence. For this course, I ask you to review email protocols by rereading: HOW TO WRITE AN EMAIL WITH MILITARY PRECISION Please make certain that the SUBJECT header in your email includes “THST1200.”

Please do not e-mail all teaching associates. One will be assigned and in touch with you.

If there is an uneven distribution of students, you may be designated to another teaching associate. Nothing is to be taken personally. We are all just trying our best. How to Write Email with Military Precision

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EMAIL COMMUNICATION

As per university regulations, all students are required to check their uoguelph.ca e-mail account regularly: e-mail is the official route of communication between the University and its students.

SUBMISSION OF ASSIGNMENTS TO DROPBOX All assignments for this course should be submitted electronically via the online Dropbox tool. When submitting your assignments using the Dropbox tool, do not leave the page until your assignment has successfully uploaded. To verify that your submission was complete, you can view the submission history immediately after the upload to see which files uploaded successfully. The system will also e-mail you a receipt. Save this e-mail receipt as proof of submission.

Be sure to keep a back-up copy of all of your assignments in the event that they are lost in transition. In order to avoid any last-minute computer problems, your instructor strongly recommend you save your assignments to a cloud-based file storage (e.g., Google Docs), or send to your e-mail account, so that should something happen to your computer, the assignment could still be submitted on time or re-submitted.

It is your responsibility to submit your assignments on time as specified on the Schedule. Be sure to check the technical requirements and make sure you have the proper computer, that you have a supported browser, and that you have reliable Internet access. Remember that technical difficulty is not an excuse not to turn in your assignment on time. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait until the last minute as you may get behind in your work.

If, for some reason, you have a technical difficulty when submitting your assignment electronically, please contact your instructor or CourseLink Support. http://spaces.uoguelph.ca/ed/contact-us/

Standard Naming Conventions Make sure to include your name and date; when saving any files for submission please use standard naming procedures, i.e., <LastNameFirstNameTHST1200F20JOURNAL.pdf>.

Obtaining Grades and Feedback

Unofficial assessment marks will be available in the Grades tool of the course website.

Your instructor will have grades posted online within two weeks of the submission deadline, if the assignment was submitted on time. Once your assignments are marked you can view your grades on the course website by selecting Grades from the Tools dropdown menu on the navbar. Your course will remain open to you for seven days following the last day of the final exam period.

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University of Guelph degree students can access their final grade by logging into WebAdvisor (using your U of G central ID).

Open Learning program students should log in to the OpenEd Student Portal to view their final grade (using the same username and password you have been using for your courses). https://webadvisor.uoguelph.ca https://courses.opened.uoguelph.ca/portal/logon.do?method=load

Required Feedback

Beginning Fall 2020, instructors will need to provide undergraduate students with feedback equal to 20 per cent of their final course grade by the 40th class day. This change reflects widespread practice and builds on a previous policy requiring that instructors provide meaningful and constructive feedback prior to the 40th class day.

June 1 Senate: Policy changes, program additions, leadership updates

Copies of Assignments Keep paper and/or other reliable back-up copies of all assignments: you may be asked to resubmit work at any time.

UNIVERSITY STANDARD STATEMENTS

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH: UNDERGRADUATE POLICIES As a student of the University of Guelph, it is important for you to understand your rights and responsibilities and the academic rules and regulations that you must abide by.

If you are a registered University of Guelph Degree Student, consult the Undergraduate Calendar for the rules, regulations, curricula, programs and fees for current and previous academic years.

If you are an Open Learning Program Student, consult the Open Learning Program Calendar for information about University of Guelph administrative policies, procedures and services. https://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/undergraduate/current/ http://opened.uoguelph.ca/student-resources/open-learning-program-calendar

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WHEN YOU CANNOT MEET A COURSE REQUIREMENT

When you find yourself unable to meet an in-course requirement because of illness or compassionate reasons please advise the course instructor (or designated person, such as a teaching assistant) in writing, with your name, id#, and e-mail contact. The grounds for Academic Consideration are detailed in the Undergraduate and Graduate Calendars.

University of Guelph Degree Students

UNDERGRADUATE CALENDAR: ACADEMIC CONSIDERATION & APPEALS Consult the Undergraduate Calendar for information on regulations and procedures for Academic Consideration. https://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/undergraduate/current/c08/c08-ac.shtml

Open Learning Program Students

Please refer to the Open Learning Program Calendar for information on regulations and procedures for requesting Academic Consideration.

ASSOCIATE DIPLOMA CALENDAR: ACADEMIC CONSIDERATION, APPEALS & PETITIONS https://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/diploma/current/index.shtml http://opened.uoguelph.ca/student-resources/open-learning-program-calendar

DROP DATE

Students will have until the last day of classes to drop courses without academic penalty.

The deadline to drop two-semester courses will be the last day of classes in the second semester.

University of Guelph Degree Students

Students will have until the last day of classes to drop courses without academic penalty.

Review the Undergraduate Calendar for regulations and procedures for Dropping Courses.

UNDERGRADUATE CALENDAR: DROPPING COURSES https://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/undergraduate/current/c08/c08-drop.shtml

Open Learning Program Students

Please refer to the Open Learning Program Calendar.

ASSOCIATE DIPLOMA CALENDAR: DROPPING COURSES https://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/diploma/current/c08/c08-drop.shtml http://opened.uoguelph.ca/student-resources/open-learning-program-calendar

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COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Content within this course is copyright protected. Third party copyrighted materials (such as book chapters and articles) have either been licensed for use in this course or have been copied under an exception or limitation in Canadian Copyright law.

The fair dealing exemption in Canada's Copyright Act permits students to reproduce short excerpts from copyright-protected materials for purposes such as research, education, private study, criticism and review, with proper attribution. Any other copying, communicating, or distribution of any content provided in this course, except as permitted by law, may be an infringement of copyright if done without proper license or the consent of the copyright owner. Examples of infringing uses of copyrighted works would include uploading materials to a commercial third-party web site, or making paper or electronic reproductions of all, or a substantial part, of works such as textbooks for commercial purposes.

Students who upload to CourseLink copyrighted materials such as book chapters, journal articles, or materials taken from the Internet, must ensure that they comply with Canadian Copyright law or with the terms of the University’s electronic resource licenses. Otherwise, material will be removed.

For more information about students’ rights and obligations with respect to copyrighted works, review Fair Dealing Guidance for Students. http://www.lib.uoguelph.ca/sites/default/files/fair_dealing_policy_0.pdf

RECORDING OF MATERIALS

Presentations which are made in relation to course work—including lectures—cannot be recorded or copied without the permission of the presenter, whether the instructor, a classmate or guest lecturer. Material recorded with permission is restricted to use for that course unless further permission is granted.

ACCESSIBILITY

The University promotes the full participation of students who experience disabilities in their academic programs. To that end, the provision of academic accommodation is a shared responsibility between the University and the student.

When accommodations are needed, the student is required to first register with Student Accessibility Services (SAS). Documentation to substantiate the existence of a disability is required; however, interim accommodations may be possible while that process is underway.

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Accommodations are available for both permanent and temporary disabilities. It should be noted that common illnesses such as a cold or the flu do not constitute a disability.

Use of the SAS Exam Centre requires students to book their exams at least 7 days in advance and not later than the 40th Class Day. Professor Lipton is available to help or support any accommodations; donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hesitate to request LIPTONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention via email.

For Guelph students, information can be found on the SAS website https://www.uoguelph.ca/sas For Ridgetown students, information can be found on the Ridgetown SAS website https://www.ridgetownc.com/services/accessibilityservices.cfm

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

The University of Guelph is committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity, and it is the responsibility of all members of the University community-faculty, staff, and students-to be aware of what constitutes academic misconduct and to do as much as possible to prevent academic offences from occurring.

University of Guelph students have the responsibility of abiding by the University's policy on academic misconduct regardless of their location of study; faculty, staff, and students have the responsibility of supporting an environment that encourages academic integrity.

Students need to remain aware that instructors have access to and the right to use electronic and other means of detection.

Please note: Whether or not a student intended to commit academic misconduct is not relevant for a finding of guilt. Hurried or careless submission of assignments does not excuse students from responsibility for verifying the academic integrity of their work before submitting it. Students who are in any doubt as to whether an action on their part could be construed as an academic offence should consult with a faculty member or faculty advisor.

UNDERGRADUATE CALENDAR: ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT https://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/undergraduate/current/c08/c08amisconduct.shtml

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES WHEN LEARNING ONLINE For distance education (DE) courses, the course website is considered the classroom and the same protections, expectations, guidelines, and regulations used in face-to-face

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settings apply, plus other policies and considerations that come into play specifically because these courses are online.

For more information on your rights and responsibilities when learning in the online environment, visit Rights and Responsibilities. http://opened.uoguelph.ca/student-resources/rights-and-responsibilities

NETIQUETTE For distance education courses, the course website is considered the classroom and the same protections, expectations, guidelines, and regulations used in face-to-face settings apply, plus other policies and considerations that come into play specifically because these courses are online.

Inappropriate online behaviour will not be tolerated. Examples of inappropriate online behaviour include: Posting inflammatory messages about your instructor or fellow students Using obscene or offensive language online Copying or presenting someone else's work as your own Adapting information from the Internet without using proper citations or references Buying or selling term papers or assignments Posting or selling course materials to course notes websites Having someone else complete your quiz or completing a quiz for/with another student Stating false claims about lost quiz answers or other assignment submissions Threatening or harassing a student or instructor online Discriminating against fellow students, instructors, and/or TAs Using the course website to promote profit-driven products or services Attempting to compromise the security or functionality of the learning management system; Sharing your username and password Recording lectures without the permission of the instructor

RESOURCES

The Academic Calendars are the source of information about the University of Guelphâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s procedures, policies & regulations that apply to undergraduate, graduate & diploma programs.

ACADEMIC CALENDARS: https://www.uoguelph.ca/academics/calendars

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DISCLAIMER

Please note that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may necessitate a revision of the format of course offerings and academic schedules. Any such changes will be announced via CourseLink and/or class email. All University-wide decisions will be posted on the COVID-19 website and circulated by email. https://news.uoguelph.ca/2019-novel-coronavirus-information/

ILLNESS The University will not normally require verification of illness (doctor's notes) for fall 2020 or winter 2021 semester courses. However, requests for Academic Consideration may still require medical documentation as appropriate.

STUDENT WELLNESS wellness.uoguelph.ca or call 519-824-4120 ext. 52131

STUDENT ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES SAS facilitates access to the learning environment for students with disabilities through academic accommodation and support services in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code.

COUNSELLING SERVICES Through individual and group therapy, Counselling focuses on studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; goals to facilitate self-understanding and skills that will assist with personal development and academic achievement.

HEALTH SERVICES We are a multi-disciplinary healthcare team that provides a student-centered and integrated approach to primary healthcare throughout your university career.

HEALTH & PERFORMANCE CENTRE For more than 20 years, we have been preventing and treating sports and activity-related injuries for the University of Guelph and the surrounding community. We take a comprehensive approach to rehabilitation and prevention.

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SEXUAL VIOLENCE SUPPORT & EDUCATION The coordinator of this service provides leadership in prevention and intervention programs in support of survivors of sexual violence.

WELLNESS EDUCATION & PROMOTION CENTRE We provide resources, interactive programming, and peer-to-peer education and support to the University of Guelph community. We are a student-driven unit where you can access information and support about health and wellbeing.

STUDENT SUPPORT NETWORK We are a team of approximately 40 student volunteers that are extensively trained in active listening and communication skills and provide peer to peer support to students in a private drop-in setting, with two volunteers supporting one student at a time.

STUDENT WELLNESS: FINDING HELP EXPERIENCING DISTRESS? ON CAMPUS emergency? call 519-840-5000.

Off campus dial 911.

For after-hours support: In Guelph call Here 24/7 (1-844-437-3247).

From anywhere in Ontario call Good2Talk (1-866-925-5454).

You can also text “UofG” to 68 68 68.

COUNSELLING SERVICES offers an urgent drop-in service every afternoon (Mon - Fri).

THE STUDENT SUPPORT NETWORK provides peer-based.

STUDENT WELLNESS NAVIGATORS

If you have a new mental health concern & you are not sure how to access services, consider booking an appointment with a Student Wellness Navigator.

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CHANGE THE WAY YOU RESPOND

The Stress Management & High-Performance Clinic offers a variety of workshops including: o Stress Less for Tests o Anxiety: Skills and Strategies o Relaxation and Stress Management Skills o Stop Worrying! o Better Sleep

FIND YOUR SHINE

Activities, tools and tips to help as you face new challenges and stresses. Alternatively, consider a USHINE peer mentor who can help with developing lifelong habits to boost your well-being. For information, email ushine@uoguelph.ca.

ACCESSIBILITY AND LEARNING

If you live with a medical condition, mental illness or learning disability; or if you have a disability relating to vision, hearing, neurological functioning or mobility/dexterity register with Student Accessibility Services.

last updated by @marklipton 12 | 11 | 20 | 830am

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LANGUAGES OF MEDIA COURSE CONTENT

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WELCOME | AANIIN | SHALOM WELCOME | AANIIN | SHALOM AANIIN [Ojibwe for Hello; Welcome; Greetings] SHALOM [Hebrew for Hello; Goodbye; Peace] Welcome to University; Welcome to September; Welcome to adulthood. I hope you're ready because your whole world is about to change. I have three laws for being a new university student—procedures for beginning university. And since this is a first-year class, I share these with you because I want to support your success – in every way possible.

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LIPTON’s LAWS for new university students Here they are: 1. The law of ENTROPY 2. The law of NEPOTISM 3. MORAN’S Law 1. FIRST, THE LAW OF ENTROPY. This may seem familiar to many of you as the law of entropy is the second law of thermodynamics. You might recall the first law, “matter can never be created or destroyed.” The second law states something like “all things tend toward entropy.” Entropy is a fancy word for chaos. Yes. Expect chaos. Particularly when it comes to documenting your interactions and outcomes with university bureaucratic systems. That means keeping careful track of required courses, what you need to graduate.

Etc. At some point, in about four years time, if you haven’t worked to stave off entropy, it’s possible that the university doesn’t recognize something you did, they won’t’ give you credit, and you can’t find the evidence to support your claim. It’s your responsibility to make sure you are on track, that everything is counted, and you are organized so that entropy won’t get in the way of your life plans.

2. NEPOTISM – nepotism has a bad reputation. For many, it means preferring and privileging family and close relations over other potential candidates. Nepotism often assumes avarice or greed. But I come from a world where you get to choose your family.

And some of you may feel as though this class is a competition. Stop. Learning is not a competition. When you enter the labour force, you begin competing with a global enterprise of experts and teams that you, alone, may not match. Nepotism, for me, means we help and support each other. If you’re a University of Guelph student, I will go that extra mile to support you. It’s better to think of your fellow students as team-mates – part of your group.

It’s more likely that someone from your university class will introduce you to that opportunity – so don’t go at this experience alone. At every opportunity, try to connect with other students. & 3. MORAN’S LAW: 0kay, here’s my story. Professor Moran hated me. He was a former Marine who barked commands, wore his uniform to class, and he seemed very intimidating and unapproachable. I wrote a paper for his class and thought he had graded me extra hard. The proper thing to do when you have a conflict with someone is to address that person with that conflict directly. As a delicate soul, I was terrified of all conflict. So rather than meet Professor Moran during his office hours, I took my paper directly to my department chair. The chair read it and agreed with Professor Moran. He recommended a lower grade. Professor Moran, when given this news, called me into his office. Mark, he said, if you had come to me directly, I would have increased your grade. But by going over my head, you gave the power to my boss. The moral of this story is, simply, if you have an issue with me or any professor or ta; please address me directly before going over my head. And believe it or not, I may be one of your strongest advocates here at the University of Guelph.

I hope to earn your trust in the months ahead.

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My THREE LAWS FOR NEW UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: THE LAW OF ENTROPY, THE LAW OF NEPOTISM AND MORAN’S LAW. I hope you find these helpful.

AN APOLOGY Many call for “SAFE” spaces in post-secondary education. Emerging from feminist rhetoric, I have been one of these voices for over three decades. However, my experiences working in and around this education intervention have taught me a critical lesson that I share with you: Nothing is SAFE. The language of SAFE belongs to basic human survival, safe from harm. Trust me, there are no intentions of causing any damage to anyone. And the entire concept of LEARNING is a dangerous activity. From ancient times, learning was reserved for a small group of privileged white men. When folks like me began showing up, the learning environment, at times, was a place where personal attacks were acceptable, as was ongoing harassment.

Imagine a faculty allowing name-calling?

I remember classes where my instructor (often unwittingly, nonetheless) called me blatant homophobic anti-Semitic names (including inappropriate explicative). Learning, I quickly realized, could be dangerous terrain as I had no legal recourse. However, I learned several strategies for managing these unhealthy situations, including self-care and a compassionate and courageous voice. Don’t mess with LIPTON. Much of my growth for me occurred while the HIV/AIDS pandemic swept through the queer spaces I inhabited in New York City. I lived surrounded by danger. EVERYWHERE. In my personal and professional lives, I felt unsafe, and no one could promise absolute safety.

HACKING VIRTUAL SPACES HOWEVER, I learned to DEMAND educational environments that worked to be SAFER spaces. Without wanting to shut down anyone’s sense of freedom and freedom of speech, I joined spaces where others foregrounded a standard set of values that offered a haven in a heartless world.

These VALUES emphasize providing welcoming environments where THREATENING AND EXCLUSIONARY BEHAVIOUR IS NOT TOLERATED. This represents a commitment to SAFER spaced in higher education. Simultaneously (and as an outcome), supportive environments encourage community, communication and reflection.

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Any need for greater openness or free-speech-at-all-costs is unapologetically negated.

MEET @marklipton. HI. WELCOME to my world. I insist that my LEARNING SPACES uphold these values; I favour enacting openness critically and reflectively, more conducive to welcoming those who feel marginalized in any way.

I may disagree with your opinion and will DEFEND TO THE DEATH, your right to speak. & I believe NOT ALL OPINIONS are EQUAL. I do not value some ideas more than others based on blind faith. It is a simple matter of fact and sense that those opinions with more significant evidence argue an irrefutable point of view and persuade others hold greater WEIGHT. My point: I seek to create the SAFEST learning environment possible. My outspokenness means that I raise challenging issues; I invite difficult conversations; I share my vulnerabilities and (mixed) past experiences.

I actively share my vulnerabilities, so you don't have to; you may not be as experienced telling others how your life experiences have hurt. I have many wounds. My scars only visible as shared stories.

I promise to frankly discuss challenging topics like disease, sex, bodies, poverty, addiction, pain, loss, trauma, death, suicide, oppression, injustice and other activities or behaviours others might view as bad, wrong, illegal, hurtful and downright unkind. I also work to pair these stories with a sense of POSITIVE light.

These are my experiences. This is my voice. By opening my book of life, I invite you to take in and process your own & in your own time. Never am I INTENTIONALLY playing mind games or manipulating emotions. NEVER do I violate your human rights.

AND I am sorry. Suppose I push too hard, too far, too fast. PLEASE tell me if I have hit dangerous territory for you. You can email me immediately with a response or save your writing for a journal post. If you feel a twinge of pain, please tell me so I can apologize and try to support you in the best ways I know. I come from a world of education that promotes these kinds of interactions.

This approach is CARING. I usually spend hours trying to learn everyone's name. I'm pretty good in a lecture hall of over two hundred, and my ageing brain tries its best.

And nowâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;we are virtual. I may need to see your face. That makes me sad. And I understand and have tried to respond with the most accessible, universal course design imaginable. IF you have a question, very likely, the answer is yes/and. Let's hack this space together. The TEACHING TEAM has your back.

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TRIGGER WARNINGS Ha. I wrote "trigger warning" after triggering my own tears. Teaching and learning require all kinds of labour. The emotional struggle is usually invisible, but I need to turn the tide and work to change education, change distance education, change our university, change our country & change the world. I have some ambitious goals. Sometimes, when searching for a word, or forgetting where something is – er, um. I cuss. I swear. I say 'bad' words. My habits are unexpected in higher education. Fuck.

I am sorry if you find this disgusting. Please let me know if you do, and I'll try to curb my habits. In a class about media, my use of this language hardly seems surprising in the media world. Nonetheless, I apologize and express the goals and intentions of my teaching: it all comes from a place of caring. Should we talk about this more? You let me know.

TESTING THE LIMITS

This online learning is new for many of us. The Internet, as a human communication system, has never experienced this kind of burden. Is its capacity endless? Despite digital divides, more people are online, more frequently. Our value for the platforms and networks of this technological infrastructures grows exponentially. The invisible implications are not clear. Do you recognize any unintended consequences that are radically changing the world?

I think the networks I'm plugged into are merging many symbolic systems; I am attending to critical ideological divides as public/private, state/industry–even teacher/learner differences begin to fuse into something new. As a result, our senses overtax previously held strategies for problem-solving and meaning-making. I honestly don't know the answers, so I try to ask specific questions to make clear distinctions. For example, our learning is contained in COURSELINK and is NOT controlled by any centralized authority. There is no big brother.

I conceptualize this course as polycentric and multipolar because I value and want to exploit prior informal learning. Was your smartphone your 'first curriculum'? What thing or device helped guide your sense of the world? I think television was the first tool available to me that led to learning about the world without a teacher or classroom—just me, sitting on the couch in my parents' house. I am probably eating Oreo cookies (still my favourite).

This antiauthority, polycentric, multipolar way of knowing is challenging—for you and THE TEACHING TEAM. Their past training may have followed traditional learning methods, and now, we are working to decolonize our worldviews. This means we resist authority. We may make suggestions, debate vigorously and share neat ideas—and we cannot tell you what to do or how to do it. We may point, cheer and suggest next steps. The TESTING THE LIMITS COLLECTIVE works towards an ontological subject position with no right or wrong answers.

Instead of solutions, we have more questions. And more.

Your futures are somewhat determined by the social and cultural contexts of the twenty-first century. We can ignore COVID and refuse to wear a mask, but there is this viral reality. We

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can go to bed because we can't deal. Instead, let me encourage you to play the hand you've been dealt. In this game of life, there are no winners or losers. Imagination and creativity allow humanity to find meaning in the world. Everyone is creative. The limits of your imagination only limit you. The clock keeps ticking. What are you going to do next?

(Okay, time is limited. I agree. More importantly, you are constrained by common decency and the law –please don't get me in trouble.) & HOW CAN THESE LEARNING MATERIALS ACTIVATE—TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR CREATIVITY? & & HOW CAN YOUR CREATIVITY ACTIVATE—TO MAKE THE MOST OF THESE LEARNING MATERIALS? & Regardless of where you come from, we head into a future when self-regulation and mindfulness help guide and manage our creativity and creative processes. If the pace of technological change continues, new tools will require flexibility and specializations— change management allows us to apply our imaginations to ideas you find most inspiring.

Part of the challenge (in this course and life) means you are ready & able to adapt and evolve with unpredictable fluctuations. COVID has required this of you; the pandemic demands adjusting to new social, intellectual and educational demands.

CYBER PEDAGOGY I am not happy with parts of this situation. The competing claims and complexities of democracy and capitalism still frame our education systems. This connected learning experience is no value-neutral or depoliticized utopia: we are still entangled in complex social, economic and cultural ways of thinking. I recognize how my methods may not always feel liberating or empowering for all learners. Change is no picnic.

At times, you may feel a sense of disconnection and/or dysfunctionality. IF YOUR LEARNING feels stuck in destructive conflicts, exploitative habits or other negative states, PLEASE LET US KNOW IMMEDIATELY. If you disappear and remain a faceless name on our enrollment list, you aren't taking advantage of your OPPORTUNITY to LEARN. If you PROMISE to try, we can too.

This networked and horizontal utopian vision of learning tends to flatten out and glide over persistent educational inequalities and asymmetries. As OPEN instructors, the systems that

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contain us (and learning more generally) romanticize community, respect, equal power and capitalist innovation.

In turn, the TEACHING TEAM embraces new educational concepts like complexity, connectivity, convergence, emergence, intra/inter-activities, openness, playfulness, systems and webs. This ideology is our effort to explain our new social worldâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;it helps to construct a worldview.

It is unknown how this worldview ultimately impacts LEARNING and education, save to say, LEARNING must now explore new ways of thinking, seeing and practicing in the world.

Embrace the potential of a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach; let's applied DIY to your online learning cultures and contexts. To authentically GROW, this course empowers LEARNERS (that's you) to use a do-it-yourself ethos of creative collaboration.

The emphasis on the autonomy, agency and creativity of LEARNERS can be pleasurable and playful. This approach may provide an opportunity for LEARNERS to multiply identitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; into intensely political states. Your LEARNING identities are social, personal and progressively remixable.

The self-remixing DIY discourse stems from our belief in promoting self-reflexive social practices, including self-responsibility, self-shaping and self-mastery. I sincerely object to any old-time, colonialist, elitist education requirements that claim absolute definitions of formal content and official knowledge.

This course encourages self-activation, self-focus and self-regulation. Come to this experience with a playful and adventurous spirit. Lean into what YOU loved about prior creative practices. You are cerebrally, perceptually and intellectually plastic. You are selfdirected and self-enterprising (Be BOLD). Take charge of your own life and world/s. This is your permanent project.

Take charge of your own life and world/s.

This is your permanent project.

Keep in mind that this digital age education is determined, in part, by particular kinds of design decisions and algorithmic assumptions rooted in the logic of computer engineering.

These technological constraints include embedded values that come before our intellectual concerns.

WIKI-FIED With attention and awareness, you can recognize these constraints. Sometimes constraints can be exploited. We are going to try. To this end, and to resist any rooted educational

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limitations, you're invited to participate in our course wiki. All course materials are posted in a wiki format (available through TEAMS). Come experiment, explore and play.

The future of LEARNING heads toward some hybrid of learning vernaculars & media languages where platformed, network-based discourses, the technological systems & global/local (glocal) communities provide direct links to capital, like money â&#x20AC;&#x201D;as well as social, cultural, shared, embodied and other new means of exchange.

Your networked and connected learning drive (push and shove) you to psychological competence in inquiry and creativity. A goal is to harness your abilities to make one's interests and ideas a lifelong endeavour.

SUGGESTIONS FOR LEARNING ONLINE

CREATE A PRIVATE LEARNING SPACE You need a private, quiet space to work. This is the space where you connect for lessons delivered live using Zoom and/or where you read, make notes, watch videos and do the other things required in your courses. You need a space free from interruptions; don't let other people walk through your private area; accept no interruptions. You need to create a sacred space that encourages your focused attention. This space needs natural light and light to read by, and you need an area where you can safely leave your stuff. If space is limited, I recommend finding a cardboard box and gathering your learning materials when you aren't in learning mode. If you do not have this kind of space, PLEASE LET US KNOW this challenge.

CHECK YOUR INTERNET SPEED Videoconferencing and other online activities require access to the Internet at a certain speed. What is your connection speed? The recommended minimum speed for effective video-based learning and activities is 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload (Mbps = megabits per second). Click here https://www.speedtest.net/ to test your connection speed.

If you are below the recommended speeds, you may have difficulty with downloads and live video. Let us know if this is the case.

The TEACHING TEAM knows very well that NOT ALL INTERNET IS EQUAL. We will offer some synchronous meetings; you will receive an invitation; & you are not required to attend or participate. These will be recorded, transcribed and shared with you. If you have questions, you may submit them before these dates, and the answers will be posted. We may need to try connecting multiple times. & we will figure this out.

Many other professors are recording their "lectures" and making them available to you. Try watching a recorded video and see what happens: (a) if you watch it from its location on the Internet; or (b) if you download it and watch it. Identify what method is best for you.

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COURSELINK & TEAMS It is always helpful before you have to start using them, to know more about Guelph's online learning platforms. TEAMS, COURSELINK & ZOOM, will be used for this course. It may help visit their websites, take free introductory webinars and use available tools to get familiar with them. While you are at it, you may want to make sure you are familiar with GOOGLE DOCS, MICROSOFT WORD and ADOBE ACROBAT (for pdfs).

If you do not have a computer or Internet access, connect with student support services as soon as possible. They have resources and equipment to help you.

STUDENTS' ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITIES The University of Guelph has some unequivocal statements regarding your academic responsibilities. Please review the ACADEMIC CALENDAR and the "Statement of Students' Academic Responsibilities." <https://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/undergraduate/current/c01/index.shtml>.

I know some students try to "cheat" by copying and pasting material from the Internet.

Cheating is a feature of higher education since universities began. The irony of digital materials – assignments you submit online – makes cheating much easier to detect. We can run assignments through plagiarism detection software like EasyBib, iThenticate, TurnItIn, Dupli and others.

Online cheaters are now more likely to be caught. Punishments differ, but suspension and expulsion can result. Before submitting an assignment, consider using a plagiarism tool (Plaigarisma, for example, is free to use) to check your projects. The other form of cheating is where two students submit the same piece of work. When reviewing assignments, this soon becomes apparent–there's a feature in Microsoft Word to compare two documents (it just takes a second).

The assignments are designed to be authentic and meaningful, making cheating unnecessary. What you give is what you get; if you want to get more out of your learning experiences, put more into your learning experiences. It's up to you.

PLANNING & TIME MANAGEMENT AS you review the course syllabus, please attend to the schedule and timelines. Add key dates to a diary or online calendar. DO ALL YOU CAN TO SUBMIT ALL ASSIGNMENTS ON TIME. Add the dates when we offer real-time (synchronous) sessions; you do not have to attend, but you are invited. Schedule time for yourself: self-care, self-compassion and your own anytime/anywhere activity. Plan on spending at least 3-4 hours per week or more for each course you are taking.

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MAKE AN INDEPENDENT LEARNING PLAN This course offers a great deal of choice. Outline a set of topics/subtopics that interest you.

Be open to changing your plan as you move through the course materials. Once you have a general plan, you'll want to get specific. For example, here is a template you can use each week to plan your work. Do not leave it to chance. You need to make the most of your time.

SAY HI! Introduce yourself: who you are, why you are taking this course, where you live and what you see as a career ambition. Keep it brief. But make sure others in the course know who you are. Why? Because learning online does not mean you are not connected to others.

You can make profound connections with other students in online classes, but they begin with having a sense of who is in the class and why they are. Reach out to get to know others and share who you are. It enriches your learning experience.

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR TIME I suggest a diary/calendar and an independent learning plan because you need to take control of your time. "No one else is coming to help you" so you need to help yourself. If you do not take control, time flies, and you will get behind. An online does not mean less work.

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Learning online requires you to be in control & to shape how you use your time. It takes discipline, and only you can do it.

LEARNING LOG You are asked to keep a weekly journal. Many successful students use the journal as a learning log that includes course reflections, a list of keywords and any relevant notes.

STUCK? ASK FOR HELP! As if you were in a f2f class, if you do not understand or can't something or find a particular part of the course challenging, DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK FOR HELP. Do it as soon as you can.

By all means, try and solve the problem through your efforts (search the Internet, ask your family, call a cousin.) but do not be shy in asking for help.

PREPARE YOUR QUESTIONS before THE WEEKLY SCHEDULED SYNCHRONOUS WEB/APPEARANCES; if you cannot connect, still submit your queries. All synchronous materials will be recorded, captioned and posted. Book a TEAMS/ZOOM appointment with YOUR ASSIGNED EDUCATOR FROM THE TEACHING TEAM. We are here to help you succeed.

You may be alone at home or wherever you are studying, but you are not the only student taking your course. Ask other students for help. Maybe you ALREADY know someone? They may need your help one day.

WIKI COMMUNITY & PARTICIPATION One of the best ways to demonstrate your active engagement and involvement is to participate in the course wiki. Located in our TEAMS group, you are free to read, link, upgrade. A basic form of participation is helpful, insightful wiki additions or other observations with links to peer review or quality external sources.

But participation has another value: connectedness. It brings a sense of belonging to the course and a sense of community, and studies show that participating and co-creating materials improve your success online.

This material is always in development. Be the expert. Take ownership. Fix grammar, sources, anything. You can also use the wiki to add additional questions or links to related materials. If you are proud of your work â&#x20AC;&#x201C; anything you've written, please upload it to the wiki!

Most online courses reward meaningful participation in online discussion boards and ingroup activities. I think those forms of online work suck. Are you actively engaged with

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others? Don't fake it. IF you are, prove it. Document your wiki work in your journal or blog or both. Up to two posts can be related to wiki-participation.

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WHY WELCOME WONDER Hi. Let's begin. First, I don't have all the answers. Sometimes questions seem more interesting. Yes, I like to ask a lot of questions. I am one who likes to WONDER. Invite AWE, SURPRISE and INQUIRY into your approach to learning. How can you make this course INTERESTING? Are there things you can do? I wonder. . .

TWO: You are not required to answer all my questions. I recommend you consider what I ask. I hope you are open to studying these questionsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;before you rush to answer anything. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;after each question, I suggest a pause. Contemplation is SLOW. WE are in no rush.

Deadlines are suggestions. Contemplate what that means. . . slowly.

Invite WONDER. Contemplate slowly.

THREE: BOTTOM-LINE-UP-FRONT When asked, I tell people the bottom-line upfront. In this class, you understand the powerful and insidious nature of media messages & HOW TO RESPOND with meaning reflecting values you hold dear. By that statement, I point to the language habits and visual tendencies (i.e., the immediate images that come to mind) that move your life forward.

Moment to moment, how do you measure your life? How can you be sure you are moving?

Moving forward? Moving toward and not against. Is your life somehow being PUSHED forward?

How is that working for you?

Now I ask, how attached are you to your communication devices? Your phone has enough power to send a rocket to the moon. Do you know how? Maybe building rockets isn't part of who you are or who you want to be.

Present to the future. Moment to moment. Your brain somehow encodes the actions that move your day, what you do, and how you think. It's all in there. Your utterances and meanings are based on your unique past experiences.

You live in a world. You encounter other people. You probably remember driving in a family car or a beautiful sunset. You have probably consumed food in an establishment or created imaginary worlds in the comfort of your bedroom. All these parts of your past direct who you are and how you are in the world. & you are great AS YOU ARE.

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I am just asking questions.

For example, what parts of your past world are encoded in your head?

What parts of your world connect to capitalist ownership structures? & What parts of your world connect to public-facing corporate transactions? & What parts of your world connect to forms of brand marks, displays or spectacles?

Golden arches?

Xbox?

Disney?

Hockey?

Love?

Pleasure?

What's your thing?

What's you sh'peel? (That's my Yiddish grandmother speaking.)

Which powerful brands are in your consciousness?

Or is it your unconscious?

Before the next task, I remind you: I do NOT know all the answers.

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NOW I KNOW MY AS BS CS TASK I bet you know what to do.

I bet your brain has already begun.

What do each of the letters stand for or mean?

logodix.com/alphabet-brands

And here are more.

QUESTIONS What happens in your head when you see games like these?

Are these letter games of global interest or strictly North American?

Who profits from your knowledge of the answers?

Who consumers what these letters stand for?

How much of your day is taken up with any of these â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;answersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;?

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I like this FONT. Someone created a complete font set made entirely with logos.

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RESPONSE

2 KINDS OF RESPONSES TO SIGNS When your sense preceptors identify a sign, you CHOOSE what happens next. Viktor Frankl survived Nazi concentration camps by choosing to believe there was still good in the world.

Your response reveals a great deal about YOU. Words don't mean, people mean; the action of reacting/responding tells the world a story about you. I'm not talking about any sign or text or thing in particular. We can all 'see' the same sign and discover meaning in entirely different ways.

I am not describing any change or difference in the sign itself. Instead, it is essential to recognize a simple dichotomy. There is a significant difference between two types or modes of response. I name these signalic responses vs. symbolic responses. Sentient creatures make meaning of the world in two ways; there are two kinds of signification.

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SIGNALIZATION SIGNALIC RESPONSES Sign calls ideas into behaviour and results in action. This action is usually fixed, rapid and instantaneous. Signals function as a kind of a behavioural command for respondents.

Behavioural centers process the stimulus provided by a sign, and subsequent action is triggered, usually based on past experiences.

Signalic responses are conditioned responses, like Pavlov's dogs (bell = salivate). Signalic responses are extremely powerful (sensory-motor learning) in humans, often left over from pre-linguistic experiences. Animals use signs to REACT to things (as signals), providing an evolutionary advantage because one significant element conjures up the whole experience.

SYMBOLIZATION SYMBOLIC RESPONSES Sign calls ideas into mind, resulting in reflection, that is, delayed reactions, involving thought.

Sign functions to call up an idea that doesn't necessarily call up a particular behaviour stimulus. Memory and thought centers in the brain evokes a complex notion; the idea is a name for something in the world that humans use; signs REFER to things (as symbols).

Once you can choose how to respond, once you become CONSCIOUS of how you respond, it's SYMBOLIC.

EXAMPLE You walk into an office building and need to find the twenty-first floor. You walk toward a bank of elevators. How do you know what to do? How do you call or request an elevator?

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Next to an elevator is what appears to be a button. This possible button itself is neither a signal nor a symbol. A thing, in and of itself, can motivate or constrain your actions. And these are degrees of change, not direct action/reaction. Most people react to this button <signalic response> because they are often already moving when light goes on, a bell dings; it’s as if the elevator was already there.

EXAMPLE Your cell phone is ringing. Before you move a muscle – FREEZE. Are you one of Pavlov’s dogs? The ring, in and of itself, is neither a signal nor a symbol.

Scenario ONE: Phone rings. I immediately pick up phone when it rings and say, “Hello. This is Mark. What can I do for you?” SIGNALIC RESPONSE. If you respond immediately, without thinking, it's a signal.

Scenario TWO: Phone rings. I look at phone. I say to myself, “Mark, you don’t really want to talk to anyone right now.” Phone continues to ring. I continue to ponder, "who might be calling," "should I answer?" SYMBOLIC RESPONSE. If I allow myself time; if I halt my body’s tendency to jump toward the phone to answer; if I give myself a moment to think; if I pause, it's a symbol.

WORDS AS SIGNS Words are generally considered symbols. There is no actual or visual connection between the word and its meaning. Words should be symbols. Words ARE symbols.

However, frequently words function as signals, like commands. LIKE WHEN someone calls out your name & it generates a particular action – you turn around and look . . . word as signal.

SOMETIMES SIGNS FUNCTION AS BOTH SIGNALS & SYMBOLS EXAMPLE Perhaps this example may sound like something that happened to you: Sometimes, I could be in my room reading, or watching television, or outside riding my bike; my mother will call out my full (and very long) name: “Moshe Dov Barrel Pesach Labe Lipovitch – Mark Brian Lipton!!!!”

If I drop what I’m doing and yell back, “Ma, I’m here.” This is no big deal. My mother uses her Pavlovian-powers and I turn around or look to her. My response is signalic.

However, sometimes my mother has a ‘tone’ to her call, and I feel something tingle in my stomach. What does this mean? I read or understand my mother’s call of my name as a symbol because this time, I know she's mad at me, it's serious, I’M IN BIG TROUBLE (again).

My response is symbolic.

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Children start using speech sounds signalically to stand for a whole event. At first, the child is not able to categorize, compartmentalize or differentiate among the various elements of the event. In this case, a certain part of an experience becomes memorable through repetition and eventually comes to represent whole experience/event.

EXAMPLE My first word as a baby was "juicy." My mother thought I wanted juice. My grandmother thought I was repeating her favourite topic Jews. I kept saying “juicy.” If I was given juice I cried more.

As an infant, I connected the sound “juicy” with this one very memorable experience. I was in the office of my pediatrician Dr. Farber. He just gave me a needle for something, and I cried and cried and cried because something pinched my skin, and my mother was crying, and everything was scary.

A few moments later, I witnessed my mother opening a package of chewing gum. The yellow packaging was shiny, and beneath the yellow paper was shinier, silver paper. My mother gave me a piece of gum. I liked the sweet flavour and the sticky substance that changed when it was in my mouth. My mother said something like, “so you like Juicy Fruit gum? As a baby, I made the sound “juicy” to call up this entire experience. When my mother gave me more Juicy Fruit gum, I continued to say, “juicy, juicy, juicy.” My mother understood me pretty quickly. And we both love chewing gum.

My first word, the sound “juicy” allowed me to conjure up the entire experience of Dr. Farber, needles, shiny things and chewing gum. [Another odd word I remember saying “fancy” somehow stood for driving along University Avenue in Toronto, across the Hospital for Sick Children, the fountains along the boulevard. Fancy=Fountain. Weird.]

Eventually, as children we learn to separate one part from whole; at which point the sign [juicy or fancy] comes to stand for only that part of the experience [gum or fountain]. By about age 2, children start to understand that our sounds and other "noises" don't automatically summon whole event.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SIGNALIC&SYMBOLIC RESPONSES SIGNALIC responses are unavoidable; and these can be dangerous if we don't know the difference. In signalic response, we act in the presence of the sign as we would in the presence of the object; we act without reflecting.

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HOW TO TURN A SIGNALIC RESPONSE INTO SYMBOLIC RESPONSE PAUSE. Reflecting rather than acting immediately; think before acting. Work to develop habits of delaying reactions, so your thinking is more symbolic and thus your response symbolic.

DELAYED REACTIONS/RESPONSES Pausing—taking a moment of time, increases the chance that our response will be appropriate to the situation. Often, a delay can be a few seconds and that’s just enough for our thinking to pass from automatic to thoughtful.

This moment in time may mean the difference between behaving like an animal or a human.

By developing habits of delaying reaction/response—by pausing and taking a second, we avoid living at the mercy of our emotions, feelings and instincts. Delaying reaction/response helps us avoid rash decisions or actions we may later regret.

EXAMPLE Joe call Jon a “chicken.” Without thinking, Jon gets upset and takes on a posture of aggressive defensiveness. Jon is ready to starts fighting in response to being called the word chicken. Because Jon doesn't let thought take place, the response is unreasonable.

However, sometime the instantaneous signalic response is most appropriate.

EXAMPLE

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Jane sees a brick falling from building & it’s heading straight towards her friend Joan. Jane yells "Joan! Look out!" Jane saves Joan’s life. What a good friend!

You really are a responsible adult. That means you take responsibility to for actions.

Learning to delay reactions is something you actively must choose to do. Time to make a decision. What guiding principles do you look to when face with difficult decision making?

Let’s find out!

DECISION MAKING

DECISIONS BY DESIGN Welcome to university. What a difficult time to be going to university. The world is in crisis.

The world is experiencing a collective trauma. You are not alone. You are at an intersection.

DECISION MAKING drives information transmission.

DECISION MAKING drives meaning-making.

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Thank you for deciding to take this class. I want to talk with you about decision making. You have to make thousands of decisions every moment. In a world of unprecedented media changes — the need for DECISIONS-BY-DESIGN is paramount.

We are living in times of information GLUT. How do you know what to pay attention to?

What is real? What is fake? How do you manage living in a world of information overload?

Over-communication — or too many media messages, is one strategy for controlling consumer behaviour. Media messages are so insidious, and these messages live inside all of our heads. Media messages are living inside your head; and these messages guide your decision-making processes. Sometimes, you make choices based on what’s good for powerful media— not what’s good for you, for your community, for your life.

Most people don’t understand the insidious nature of media messages and the extent to which we give away our power in exchange for a little bit of pleasure and leisure. We are amused. We are amused and will be amused until our death.

You know what, the state of being amused is NOT the best way or the only way to go through life. LIFE isn’t just about being amused.

Now I ask you. Have you decided what you want from life? Can you name those values that you decided to take on and carry with you throughout your life?

I believe in maintaining a growth mindset; in being a change maker; to be open & meaningfully connected; my integrity is tied up with my values for transparency, flexibility, authenticity and a real commitment to compassion for myself, for others, and for the world. I like to be curious, to be creative; I like to problem solve; I like seeing a bigger picture.

What are your values? What decisions will you make to uphold the integrity of those values?

Most of your daily decisions are the result of unconscious processing. Like signals that tell your body what you want, how you want it, where to go, how to get there. . .

However, you have the agency to slow down some of those unconscious processes. To make sure that you’re making the right decision. Whether you’re aware of it or not, you’re responsible for every decision you make. With choice comes responsibility.

Access to higher education also comes with a responsibility . . . This adult thing —it means you are increasingly responsible. Modern life is full of choice. It’s overwhelming to have too much choice. Sometimes making difficult decisions leaves you frozen. That feeling when you slam on the brakes. When you are ready for danger at every corner, you are in a state of hyper-arousal.

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You aren’t making any mindful decisions. Your primitive brain –or your reptilian brain is looking for escape. Sometimes, this hyper/hypo freeze means you cannot make any decisions. You decide not to make a decision —to defer. Do you recall Hamlet’s great character flaw? Hamlet equivocated himself to death; his equivocation or the inability to make a decision, is what led to his ultimate demise.

Remember, media messages work to control and manipulate your behaviour, your actions.

You might think you are immune — but let me tell you, NONE of us are immune.

INCIDIOUS MEDIA MESSAGES In this class, I will point out for you, how insidious message messages are, how we have made our illusions so real and so vivid, we can actually live inside our illusions. We do live in them. We have made our illusions, our spectacles and our fantasy so real, so dimensional, we can live in these elusive illusions. We are the most illusion’ed people on earth.

I’m here to pull you back to REALITY. It’s time for you to admit that media has gotten into your head. In this class we will build strategies to get media out of your head. I want you to know how to build your own system of media languages so that you can control your life and your world. Stop letting media use you.

You use MEDIA every day & yet MEDIA is mostly using you.

Do you see how? Do you know how? Do you know what to do about it? THERE IS A LOT you can do. Resistance is an option. CHANGE is possible.

DECISION MAKING DRIVES CHANGE We are going to learn how to recognize these processes of cognitive takeover. How we surrender our cognitive powers to media. We are going to talk about how we can change to live the lives that we really want!

TO IMPROVE LIFE FOR OURSELVES AND FOR OTHERS AND FOR THE FUTURE. I don’t know if anyone has said this to you yet. Welcome to ADULTHOOD. You will get the hang of this! This is a major transition in your life. Let’s agree that there’s no time for hesitation or paralysis. All we have is right now, this moment. Have you ever found yourself at a crossroads or at an intersection and you hesitated? One who hesitates is lost. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce to you, the one, the only PAPALEGBA.

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MEET PAPALEGBA Have you heard of PAPALEGBA before? PAPALEGBA is the Haitian voodoo god of the crossroads.

PAPALEGBA is neither good nor bad. PAPALEGBA stands at the crossroads —stands at the intersections of life, directing traffic. Who do you think helps with DIRECTING ALL THOSE decision makers as they move throughout life? PAPALEGBA —this isn’t about good or bad, bad nor good.

PAPALEGBA just makes sure that life keeps moving. If you delay. If you hesitate. If you cannot make a decision, he will do it for you. PAPALEGBA will make a choice for you.

You are about to start making a great number of decisions. About your day, about your life.

In fact, every moment is made up of a series of decisions. You need to activate your prefrontal medial cortex, or that part of your brain in charge of your executive functions; so that your decision making is in line with your values.

The point of PAPALEGBA is: You cannot delay. You cannot equivocate. Equivocation is not an option. Life is not about ‘to be or not to be’; LIFE is right now. It’s about being, about actively living. About living in the moment and about recognizing that the next movement is about to come, and life is about actively choosing your life and making your world. The way that we can actively choose our life so that we can achieve our goals is to recognize we are actively making or designing decisions. DECISION MAKING. Let me ask you a question that’s on my mind. Maybe write your answer on a little piece of paper.

QUESTIONS What is your DREAM JOB? Do you have a dream job?

Do you have a dream?

Something that excites you.

That burns inside of you.

Whether you answer yes or no —it’s the process of decision making [Lipton’s plug for DECISIONS-BY-DESIGN] that help you actively work toward your goals. Designing decision making so that your choices are informed and supported by your values and your integrity.

We live in a world where media messages are so heavily controlled, we don’t see how media has a grasp on our lives, our senses of self, on our symbols systems and our processes of making meaning.

I know there is hope. There are strategies and tactics of resistance. Change is possible.

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To begin, we must first pay ATTENTION. One of the first steps in living a life of integrity is to be mindfully making decisions.

PROS + CONS STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES + CHALLENGES You may have made lists to help guide and design your decision making —asking what are the pros; what are the cons? You may have heard of a SWOC analysis —what are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges that guide (&result from) each decision.

Of course, you don’t need to do a SWOC analysis a billion times a day for each decision.

And you need to know when you must step back and slow down and design a system for your decision making so you can actively create your world. That’s what I mean by DECISIONS-BY-DESIGN. Consider this: When you aren’t designing your own decision-making processes; when you aren’t actively making a choice; you are both: (1) living in a sea of unconscious processing guided by your reptilian brain, your primitive brain; & (2) you are letting someone else make choices for you.

IF YOU DON’T SPEAK UP, SOMEONE WILL SPEAK FOR YOU. Don’t let PAPALEGBA take responsibility for your life.

You must accept and live with the consequences of all of your actions. All decisions come with outcomes, consequences and effects. You know what choices are difficult.

Don’t let PAPALEGBA interfere as you enter the crossroads, this transition of your life, transition into adulthood. Make your decisions by design. Weigh the pros and cons; consider the strengths weaknesses opportunities and challenges. Every moment is filled with thousands of choices.

You know when something stirs inside you, when your body sends you a private message, like goosebumps or shivers or a pain in the pit of your gut. You know when there is something: an issue, a project, a moment, that you really care about. Something that makes you want to take ACTION! Don’t let someone else speak for you. Don’t let someone else decide for you.

Speak or be spoken for. Decide or live with the untold consequences of someone else’s decisions. Some decisions have a lasting effect and sadly, we don't know (for the most part), when we are making unwise decisions.

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Remember if you enter the crossroads without knowing where you are going, Papa Legba will make the decision for you. It might be magical. It might be hellish. We don't know.

However, I do believe that regardless of what drives your decision –even when someone else makes a decision for you –YOU must still take responsibility for the outcomes, implications and results of each of your choices.

Adulthood comes with responsibility. Mindful, conscious decision making ensures you will make fewer errors of judgment. Don’t let PAPALEGBA get in your way.

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LEARNING IS RELATIONAL Complex thought is highly unlikely with no written text. THATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S WHY Pros/Cons LISTS or SWOC ANALYSES are useful for making difficult decisions. If you are ever to think consistently or coherently for long, I recommend you engage (in fact you need) another person as a partner in dialogue.

Many of the tasks for this course recommend you interact with another person as you move through course materials. This can be the same person each week, or a different person.

Copresence is not required; you can talk on phone or video chat. However, a SLOW conversation is suggested.

READ Vincenzo Di Nicola, Slow Thought: a manifesto, 2020.

[Peripatetic = eg., wandering or travelling, in movement.]

QUESTIONS How can you practice SLOW THOUGHT? What does it mean to insist learning is relational?

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Who is your person? Who are your people?

How quickly do you move through the world?

What is your pace of life?

Do you want/need to SLOW down?

CONTEMPLATION requires SLOW THOUGHT

CONTEMPLATE REALITY: THREE POVs I have found this model to be a very useful distinction for avoiding misunderstandings.

Perhaps we have very different philosophies of reality. Consider these three ways of looking at the world. There are: REALISTS or RATIONALISTS; TRANSACTIONALISTS; & RELATIVISTS. REALIST OR RATIONALIST These folks claim to see the world as it really is; reality is out there and is completely knowable and observable. For the realist, our job is to discover reality as it really is.

TRANSACTIONALIST These people claim to experience the world according to one’s perception of it. There is no world to be perceived as it really is because these people know that reality is only partially knowable. For the transactionalist, our job is to make our perception match reality as much as possible.

RELATIVIST These friends insist that nothing exists. Everything, and they mean everything, is a manifestation of our minds. There is no reality, or they believe that reality is completely unknowable. Reality is totally made up by humans, and always relative to humans.

METAPHOR OF THREE UMPIRES What do they have to say about balls & strikes?

REALIST/RATIONALIST: I CALLS 'EM THE WAY THEY ARE TRANSACTIONALIST: I CALLS 'EM THE WAY I SEES 'EM RELATIVIST: THEY AIN'T NOTHING UNTIL I CALLS 'EM

MEANING AND RELATIONSHIPS

I believe there is a knowable, observable world out there—but I don’t believe I can ever know it as it "really is," rather, only as I perceive it. My perceptions are limited by my senses

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& my mind; and the human mind is both conditioned and limited by our language. In my philosophy, meaning making involves RELATIONSHIPS.

MEANING like LEARNING is RELATIONAL. My point of view is TRANSACTIONALIST; By this, I want to emphasize how meaning arises from TRANSACTIONS. I say TRANS and not interaction because in this relationship there are three elements: (1) a meaning maker (respondent, creature making meaning, me or you); (2) a sign: the thing used to make meaning; & (3) a referent: object referred to by sign and its mental concepts. By mental concepts, I refer to those reactions and responses that are called up in the mind of the respondent, that is, the sounds and words for which the sign stands.

CONTEMPLATION requires SLOW THOUGHT LEARNING is RELATIONAL MEANING IS RELATIONAL QUESTIONS What do you understand about the interrelated meanings of these three statements?

What does it mean to insist learning is relational?

What does it mean to insist meaning is relational?

Who is your person? Who are your people?

How do these people impact your senses of learning? You sense of meaning?

TASK In an effort to begin slowing down: Make your bed.

QUESTION To what extent might this simple task help you?

What is the improvement?

Is this valuable?

RESOURCE A Simple TASK: how to make your bed (Admiral McRaven)

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RESOURCE TIME MANAGEMENT [04:09] Record, Analyze, Change; WatchWellCast

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ALLIANCES & AGREEMENTS My instructional plans ask all learners to design an alliance. To meet the goals of this alliance, all learners are asked to set up a weekly schedule that carves out TIME and SPACE to engage with course materials. This includes an agreement to hold regular reading/viewing times AND creating/reflecting times.

Student success invites learners to find these LANGUAGES OF MEDIA experiences as engaging and fun and challenging.

I hope you can tell that this course has been carefully planned. This reminds me of one of those things my nanny used to say: “when you plan, God laughs.” She always finished this saying with a distinct giggle that still brings a smile to my face.

As a teacher, as an educator, as a compassionate human, I know everyone struggles. Life is a struggle. We all have our struggles. For students, sometimes that struggle is with the content or with their ability to engage with the course material. This course is aware of student struggles and tries to provide flexible options and flexible challenges that let students pivot and readjust plans to maximize their own learning ecology.

This open course is particularly challenging because I cannot follow my customary ways of attending to and observing learners at work and play. I don’t have the opportunity for social interaction, which I believe is so important to the learning process. I don’t have meaningful or authentic means of engaging learners, both in and out of the classroom.

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MY CHALLENGES These are my challenges. As a result, I write directly:

I want every student to succeed in this course.

To this end, I focus on the learner as an individual.

Please do not try to get inside @marklipton’s head. There’s real chaos going on in there.

Instead look at this course as an opportunity to invest in and exploit your own interests. I might not be able to observe your learning interactions, however, the choices you make in the selection of content and materials, and the ways you combine materials and reflect help me achieve a much closer understanding of you is an individual, as a human, your prior knowledge, your struggles and your successes.

WE RESPECT YOUR LEARNING ECOLOGIES Respect is a term that refers to courtesy and esteem for another person--an other’s points of view, in deference to someone else’s rights and positions. I am challenged by the critical goal of creating a respectful learning environment. I pledge to work with sincere respect when it comes to your health, cultural background, family situations and other factors that may impact your learning ecology. Imagine the extent to which my body language signals respect: I am making eye contact; I smile, my feet are firmly grounded, and I bring my passion for this work in my movement.

Within the context of your own learning ecology, I now invite you to think a little bit about your body. To what extent is your body language something you control? observe? practice? Online learning erases or divorces the body and somatic sensations in the body from learning.

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I cannot pretend that your body language has wholly disappeared behind a screen. You are still a body. Imagine the extent to which your body language signals ‘respect.’

As you are working through this course, acknowledge the extent to which you respect the material, you respect learning and you respect yourself as a learner. For me, physical distancing means I’m likely at home, sitting at my desk in front of my computer with screen and camera; and I’d like to highlight the respect I bring to my work by dressing in a kind of learning uniform (that is, not my pajamas); I am wearing my shoes; I brushed my teeth and combed my hair. I may not see another human today. But I affirm my dignity and my respect for this work by recognizing behaviours that symbolize professional work. As a learner, this is your professional work.

I also bring my body language into this work. Forward in my chair, I am mindful of balancing on my two pelvic bones; my lower back has a small curve (lordosis) as I lift with my heart, tuck my chin. Smile. Breathe. I offer 100% of my presence to this learning experience.

NOW, I ask the following question: not for me –I do not want to know your answer.

Do you feel 100% present?

HOW MUCH OF YOUR FOCUSED ATTENTION DO YOU BRING AND PRACTICE AS YOU EXPERIENCE THIS LEARNING OPPORTUNITY? On a scale from 1 to 10. 10 means something like “I am going to do whatever I have to do to learn as much as I can possibly learn.” 1 means something like “I and going to do the bare minimum in order to achieve a grade.”

1

2

3

4

5

6

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8

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10

On this scale of one to 10; where are you now?

I would like to imagine that all of you are mindfully sitting with a dignified posture.

Relaxed.

Smiling.

Your face beaming with the attention of a perfect 10. & I know things get in the way. I respect your struggle. I recognize that we all have a life.

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This course and its associated content may not be FIRST for you. Please keep in mind that, as self-directed learners, what you put into this class directly impacts your outcomes.

The more you give, the more you get. I HOPE this is an engaging and interesting course. I HOPE you are here for more than the simple act of achieving a grade. I really believe this class can change your life. Did you know you wanted to change your life? Are you ready for change?

The best way to manage change is to have an open mind and a flexible point of view.

I want to create safer and supportive learning environments, positive learning environments respectful learning environments, challenging learning environments. To this end, I look to you and your ability to mitigate this course content with your learning ecologies.

Your views of learning and knowledge can evolve. What do you bring to bear when considering the speed, stability and authority of knowledge? Are you prepared for these beliefs to evolve as you progress through our course content?

For me, the key to creating a safe space is to encourage open and honest communication at all times, and to model this in my teaching. Please be candid about how you feel, what might be coming up and what is getting in the way.

Don’t humour me or go through the motions if I do or say something that doesn’t work or pisses you off. If you feel safe enough to share, we can both wonder and get curious together. How can I help establish the necessary trust to support our alliance? What can I do to convince you that your learning is a lifelong objective, not a final destination?

For me, trust is strengthened by clarity and meaning; we can achieve shared meanings by asking questions and listening. Research consistently indicates that learners who believe intelligence or aptitude is increasable pursue the learning goal of increasing their competence; whereas those who believe intelligence is a fixed entity are more likely to pursue the performance goal of securing positive judgments or preventing negative judgments. For example, see: Dweck, C. S., & Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological review, 95(2), 256.

BELONGING Learners can engage more fully in learning when a sense of belonging is a starting point in instruction. What do you need to feel accepted, respected, and valued? How can I enhance your sense of belonging?

I know this is important. We talk about respect and diversity, equity and inclusion – and BELONGING is often erased from social equations. By gosh, a real sense of belonging is a basic psychological need. I know from my own experiences of entering classroom and course settings; often I felt like my identities were underrepresented (and negatively

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stereotyped). I understand the psychological challenges of feeling different. Do all students face these challenges? I do not know.

Nonetheless, I try to bring my sense of compassion and acceptance to all students. I imagine that some of you are overwhelmed by a need to make sense of daily adversities and/or the state of our society. I know I felt this way. I feel a global lack of belonging and this comes with its own degrees of stress and threat. I hope you can hear this:

I ACCEPT YOU. I ACCEPT YOU. I ACCEPT YOU. THE FOUR AGREEMENTS

ALLIANCE DESIGN To this end, I invite you into an alliance for your own learning experience. Here are some questions that may be useful for you to consider in designing our learning alliance: QUESTIONS How can we bring out the best in each other?

How do you prefer to be acknowledged?

What is good feedback to you?

When is the best time to communicate with you?

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What would increase trust?

How can you participate in co-creating our relational environment?

How can we enhance each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience of learning?

Are you open to changing your mind?

What commitments do you need from me regarding confidentiality?

How we make each other feel safer?

If something I say or do creates conflict for you, will you try to communicate your perceptions?

Will you be open to multiple points of view?

How will you know I am hearing you?

If an agreement is broken, how can we refresh our alliance?

Should you choose to break this alliance and drop the class, will you let me know? tell me why?

How can we appreciate and support each other?

What do you need to feel like a champion?

DESIGNS FOR ACADEMIC AUTONOMY By asking these questions and listening intently, we can shape an alliance into an anchor that stabilizes and links our overlapping learning ecologies. The goal is to consciously design a learning system that helps you feel secure in your academic autonomy. Trust your instincts.

TASK Design an independent study plan for this course for the semester.

How do you plan to manage your time?

Write a letter to me (or anyone) about your plans and goals for learning. Imagine specific elements you think this course can do for you as a learner & you as a human.

TINKERING & TIME Gever Tulley, cofounder of the Tinkering School, a weeklong camp where kids get to play with their own power tools, is interested in helping children learn to build, solve problems, use new materials, and hack old ones for new purposes. This software engineer is also known for his creative (and sometimes mischievous) Tweets and is a certified paragliding instructor. In this presentation, Tulley spells out five dangerous things you should let your kids do and why a little danger is good for both kids and grownups.

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RESOURCE “TEDTalks: Gever Tulley—5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do.” (9:17). Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2007.

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WELCOME | AANIIN | SHALOM THIS WELCOMING UNIT and its LEARNING OUTCOMES BY the end of this unit learners o apply autonomous learning by reading and managing time to designing a plan for individual learning o improve written communication skills by practicing slow contemplation. o recognize the value of respect and discover additional ways to enhance Intercultural competence by considering how learning and meaning is relational. o acquire a metalanguage by reflecting and writing. o evaluate intellectual independence, personal responsibility and time management by engaging with course materials.

CONTEMPLATIONS REQUIRES SLOW THOUGHT.

IF YOU DONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T SPEAK UP SOMEONE WILL SPEAK FOR YOU.

Each topic provides required tasks and additional supplemental tasks if you find this topic of particular interest and want to pursue it further. Rubrics that apply to the required tasks are provided in Assessments, accessed from the Table of Contents.

REQUIRED TASKS for

WELCOME | AANIIN | SHALOM

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NOW I KNOW MY AS BS CS TASK + JOURNAL TASK DECODE the images presented.

What happens in your head when you see games like these?

Are these letter games of global interest or strictly North American?

Who profits from your knowledge of the answers?

Who consumers what these letters stand for?

How much of your day is taken up with any of these ‘answers’?

LEARNING IS RELATIONAL READ + JOURNAL READ Vincenzo Di Nicola, Slow Thought: a manifesto, 2020.

How can you practice SLOW THOUGHT? What does it mean to insist learning is relational?

Who is your person? Who are your people?

How quickly do you move through the world?

What is your pace of life?

Do you want/need to SLOW down?

MEANING IS RELATIONAL JOURNAL What do you understand about the interrelated meanings of these three statements?

CONTEMPLATION requires SLOW THOUGHT LEARNING is RELATIONAL MEANING IS RELATIONAL What does it mean to insist learning is relational?

What does it mean to insist meaning is relational?

Who is your person? Who are your people?

How do these people impact your senses of learning? You sense of meaning?

MAKE YOUR BED WATCH + TASK + JOURNAL RESOURCE A Simple TASK: how to make your bed (Admiral McRaven) 133

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TASK In an effort to begin slowing down: Make your bed.

Every day for a week.

To what extent might this simple task help you?

What is the improvement?

Is this valuable?

REQUIRED TASK

THE following task is REQUIRED ALLIANCES & AGREEMENTS TASK + JOURNAL ALLIANCES & AGREEMENTS TASK 1. Design an independent study plan for this course for the semester. How do you plan to manage your time?

2. Write a letter to me (or anyone) about your plans and goals for learning. Imagine specific elements you think this course can do for you as a learner & you as a human.

How can we bring out the best in each other?

How do you prefer to be acknowledged?

What is good feedback to you?

When is the best time to communicate with you?

What would increase trust?

How can you participate in co-creating our relational environment?

How can we enhance each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience of learning?

Are you open to changing your mind?

What commitments do you need from me regarding confidentiality?

How we make each other feel safer?

If something I say or do creates conflict for you, will you try to communicate your perceptions?

Will you be open to multiple points of view?

How will you know I am hearing you?

If an agreement is broken, how can we refresh our alliance?

Should you choose to break this alliance and drop the class, will you let me know? tell me why?

How can we appreciate and support each other?

What do you need to feel like a champion?

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WRITE your symbolic responses to these THREE sets of questions.

USE these questions to guide your thinking and writing.

QUESTIONS I. What happens in your head when you see games like the LOGO alphabets?

Are these letter games of global interest or strictly North American?

Who profits from your knowledge of the answers?

Who consumers what these letters stand for?

How much of your day is taken up with any of these â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;answersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;?

II How can you practice SLOW THOUGHT? How quickly do you move through the world? What is your pace of life? Do you want/need to SLOW down?

What does it mean to insist learning is relational?

What does it mean to insist meaning is relational?

What do you understand about the interrelated meanings of these three statements?

CONTEMPLATION requires SLOW THOUGHT LEARNING is RELATIONAL MEANING IS RELATIONAL Who is your person? Who are your people?

How do these people impact your senses of learning? You sense of meaning?

III. In designing an independent study plan for this course for the semester, how do you plan to manage your time? As you write a letter to me (or anyone) about your plans and goals for learning, imagine specific elements you think this course can do for you as a learner & you as a human. Consider the following questions as a means to forge our learning alliance: How can we bring out the best in each other?

How do you prefer to be acknowledged?

What is good feedback to you?

When is the best time to communicate with you?

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What would increase trust?

How can you participate in co-creating our relational environment?

How can we enhance each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience of learning?

Are you open to changing your mind?

What commitments do you need from me regarding confidentiality?

How we make each other feel safer?

If something I say or do creates conflict for you, will you try to communicate your perceptions?

Will you be open to multiple points of view?

How will you know I am hearing you?

If an agreement is broken, how can we refresh our alliance?

Should you choose to break this alliance and drop the class, will you let me know? tell me why?

How can we appreciate and support each other?

What do you need to feel like a champion?

ADDITIONAL OR OPTIONAL TASKS A. BLOG You are invited to choose topics for your BLOG. You may select one TASK as a means to guide ONE BLOG post.

B. WIKI You are invited to participate in our course WIKI where you can provide feedback, input, editorial comments and/or your own exemplars. Is there something else that needs to be said? The course WIKI is open for your participation. Reflect on course WIKI participation in you JOURNAL. C. DIGITAL ARTIFACT You are asked to share DIGITAL ARTIFACTS. This is preliminary material to inform your work.

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INDIGENEITY & DECOLONIALIZATION

For this topic, you explore matters associated with indigeneity and decolonization. You are challenged to think about your own perspectives, ideas and norms. Consider these questions in your self-discovery as you move through this topic: How might an online course carve out a respectful identity–as a collective with a unique positionality?

Does everyone recognize the land and its Indigenous communities—past, present, future?

Does your sense of HOME resist or reinforce colonialization?

How can you offer gratitude for the land?

How can you offer gratitude to the Indigenous communities and their stewardship—past, present, future?

WHY LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS? Territory acknowledgements are one small part of disrupting and dismantling colonial structures. For Indigenous peoples, it is a sign of respect to share who you are, who you are connected to and the land that you come from while offering gratitude to the land and people of the territory. The current practices of acknowledgement by members of the University of Guelph community are signs of respect for the historical and current realities of the land and its Indigenous stewards. Land acknowledgements are a time to consider our individual and collective roles in building relationships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and our responsibilities to the land. Amongst Canadian settler-scholar communities, land acknowledgments are an emerging ritual for signaling efforts towards decolonization and reconciliation.

QUESTIONS Preparing this land acknowledgement is an ongoing and reflective process.

How might an online course carve out a respectful identity–as a collective with a unique positionality?

How do you recognize the land and its Indigenous communities—past, present, future?

WHAT IS HOME?

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Our reasons for beginning with this land acknowledgement represents an ongoing commitment to reconciliation, holistic education and relationship building. These commitments help ground our intentions, work and action. They also help reinforce our own relationships with others living on shared land and help define what we mean by the word HOME. Canada resides on traditional, unceded and/or treaty lands of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. At the University of Guelph, we work on Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ, Attiwonderonk and Haudenosaunee land, in the territory of the Dish with One Spoon; on Treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit; and we are held to the resolutions of the Between the Lakes Purchase (Treaty 3, 1792).

Personally, I, marklipton, live and work on Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ, Huron-Wendat and Haudenosaunee land that was part of the Toronto Purchase (Treaty 13, 1805). I recognize the lands of Indigenous peoples locally, across Turtle Island and around the world. As a retreating diasporic outsider & a settler immigrant Jew, I recognize how imperial and colonial constructs shape my social identity, worldviews and privilege. My family settled on this land three or four generations ago, and I, too, choose to inhabit these spaces and land.

This is where I have chosen to call HOME. Nonetheless, I have no birthright.

I have no birthright.

There is little question that many of us benefit from colonial structures. Attending to settler colonialism requires a significant departure from traditionally understood approaches to teaching and learning. In my experiences, these past methods and conventions assumed inclusion of all identities, all bodies and all learners. In particular, media studies (for me, from the moment I began the commitment to ongoing learning and higher education) works to include all people who are gendered and address concerns of all ethnic groups including Indigenous peoples.

I was taught to think about myself (and my Self) in relation to a gendered and racialized society. I was also taught how to move toward social change for good and techniques for meaningful social action. However, (after thirty++ years) directly engaging settler colonialism with my pedagogical philosophy involves additional frameworks; our priorities shift when equity, diversity and inclusion are prioritized.

My teachings always aim to unmask gender and race as social constructions; my work in media studies exposes myths about gender, race and class –highlighting structural and inherent misogyny, racism and unequal power relations.

Yet, within this important work, a consideration of Indigenous peoples remains rooted in understanding colonialism as an historical point in time, away from today’s modern society.

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I experienced a significant perceptual hitch when I realized that more Indigenous children currently live in foster care than the sum of children forced into residential schools.

‘Indian residential schools’ operated in Canada between the 1870s and the 1990s. The last school closed in 1996. Indigenous children in Ontario under age 15 represent 4.1% of the population; they also represent about 30% of all Ontario foster children. Looking at the entire nation, 52.2% of children in foster care are Indigenous yet account for only 7.7% of the child population (according to Census 2016).

Twenty-eight thousand, six hundred and sixty-five (28 665) Canadian foster children under the age of 15 who live in private homes, fourteen thousand, nine hundred and seventy (14 970) of these foster children are Indigenous (according to Census 2016).

In Canada, 38% of Indigenous children live in poverty compared to 7% of other children who are non-Indigenous (National Household Survey 2011). For Canadian Indigenous people – quality of life is getting worse.

Navigating settler colonialism within my teaching and learning bashes and exposes the formidable, still-existing, often invisible structures that impact Indigenous peoples and others. I explore practical applications of decolonization in my learning environments (and my everyday HOME life).

I also accept the complexity of grappling in and against settler colonialism as well as the physical and emotional challenge of maintaining energy and efforts in this struggle. My pedagogical approaches target radical transformations; changing structures of higher education is possible and desirable. In the end, decolonizing our professional and personal worlds is but a first step toward radical global change, for the sake of Nature and all sentient life.

All students are encouraged to build respectful relationships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and communities. A fundamental part of decolonization requires deep listening practices, an openness to learning and a regular self-reflection practice. We all have an active role in reconciliation. The Indigenous Student Centre is a resource for students: indigenous.student@uoguelph.ca.

RESOURCE COMMUNITY LINKS Mississaugas of the Credit: www.mncfn.ca Six Nations of the Grand River: www.sixnations.ca Grand River Métis Council: www.grandrivermetiscouncil.com Toronto Inuit Association: www.torontoinuit.com Nandogikendan: https://nandogikendan.com/dish-with-one-spoon/ Nandogikendan is a word in Anishinaabemowin that means “to seek to learn”. This website was designed to help settlers and/or their descendants learn about two

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important aspects of their history and of the national identities that have been overlooked so far in the Canadian school system: treaties and settler colonialism.

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CARTOGRAPHY & HOME Maps function as colonial artifacts and represent a very particular way of seeing the world – a way primarily concerned with ownership, exclusivity and power relations. By mapping a territory, it is made known, quantifiable and controllable in a way that reflects the interests, purposes and perceptions of those who created the map. Usually (& historically), any interest in mapping and maps reflects territorial chaos and disorder, where a dispute over uncertain ownership requires resolution. Of course, this is perhaps one of the more obvious examples of colonial power, which extends the function of mapping as a tool for land appropriation in the name of military security resulting in ongoing economic dominance through taxation and resource exploitation.

In what ways might today’s digital mapping tools resist or reinforce the authority to define land ?

In contrast to colonial cartographies, Coming Home to Indigenous Place Names in Canada applies Indigenous systems of knowledge and methods of data gathering to decolonize and reterritorialize Indigenous Canada. Coming Home to Indigenous Place Names in Canada is a one-of-a-kind map designed to preserve the cultural significance of First Nations, Métis & Inuit communities of Canada by displaying landmarks, points of interest and areas of Canada in the native languages of said groups with accompanying English translations. The place names in this map are the intellectual and cultural property of the First Nation, Métis, and Inuit communities on whose territories they are located.

COMING HOME TO INDIGENOUS PLACE Names in Canada is a cartography project led by Margaret Pearce. Margaret Pearce is enrolled in the Citizen Band Potawatomi and is a cartographer based in Rockland, Maine. She holds a PhD in Geography from Clark University, where she focused on map history and cartographic design. Dr. Pearce is a faculty associate and Associate Professor in the department of Geography, at the University of Kansas. She also teaches in the Indigenous Studies Program.

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READ 5 Questions on Data and Indigenous Place Names with Margaret Pearce, an interview by Catherine D’Ignazio with editing by Isabel Carter, DATA FEMINISM, Medium, March 29, 2020. Interviews from Data Feminism, MIT Press, 2020, <https://medium.com/datafeminism/5-questions-on-data-and-indigenous-place-names-with-margaret-pearceae5d2886f37b>.

RESOURCE Coming Home to Indigenous Place Names in Canada map full size secure.pdf This map may be printed for personal or educational use only. © 2017 Canadian-American Center, University of Maine. Available at : <https://umaine.edu/canam/publications/cominghome-map/coming-home-indigenous-place-names-canada-pdf-download/>.

RESOURCE Native Land Digital is Indigenous-led organization initiating discussions of colonization, land rights, language and Indigenous history. The Native Land tool maps Indigenous territories, treaties and languages. This tool is not meant to be an official, legal or archival resource; it is a crowdsourced body of research meant to encourage education and engagement on topics of Indigenous land. https://native-land.ca/ TASK Look up your HOME address on https://native-land.ca/ and PLAY around with its features.

What strikes you? What is your relationship to this territory? How did you come to be here?

QUESTIONS What are the difficulties when it comes to mapping Indigenous territories? How does the modern idea of a ‘nation-state’ relate to Indigenous nations? Who defines national boundaries, and who defines a nation? Is it possible to imagine territory or nation outside a colonial framework?

What are some of the significant differences and similarities of these two cartographic resources?

Are these maps useful, or do they contribute to colonial ways of thinking about Indigenous people?

How can cartography function as a form of political resistance and self-determination?

In what ways might today’s digital mapping tools resist or reinforce the authority to define land?

What do you know about the history of this territory?

Identify some of the obvious impacts of colonialism?

Are there other ways for you to disrupt and dismantle colonialism beyond this territory acknowledgement?

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TASK Write out the names of two Indigenous nations and learn how to pronounce them properly.

Know which treaty agreement covers your HOME. PLAY with native-land.ca and write for ten minutes: “your understanding of what is at stake”.

Write out a LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT that feels right for you.

Practice saying your acknowledgement on camera.

Is this something you post to your blog?

INCLUDE WRITTEN DESCRIPTION & REFLECTION OF THIS TASK & ANY OUTCOMES. Image credit: Graphic from Library and Archives Canada Blog, “Treaties with Indigenous peoples: past and present,” by Elizabeth Kawenaa Montour, posted 21 June 2019. Graphic title and creator not specified.

Information provided by LAC: o o o o

On the left of the graphic, Tatânga Mânî [Chief Walking Buffalo] [George McLean] in traditional regalia on horse.

In the middle, Iggi and girl engaging in a “kunik”, a traditional greeting in Inuit culture.

On the right, Maxime Marion, a Métis guide stands holding a rifle.

In the background, there is a map of Upper and Lower Canada, and text from the Red River Settlement collection.

<https://thediscoverblog.com/tag/james-bay-and-northern-quebec-agreement/>.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES & PROMOTING RESILIENCE Despite and against all adversaries and complications, Indigenous peoples demonstrate remarkable qualities of resilience. Resilience is an adaptive response to stress; the ability to ‘bounce back’. Resilience makes it possible to overcome challenging situations or recurring setbacks. As a dynamic and essential characteristic for self-efficacy, confidence and the ability to cope, resilience is a necessary quality for our survival as humans and for all people living in times of unprecedented change.

An expert in child abuse, trauma and resilience promotion, Gail Hornor is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner at Columbus Children’s Hospital. In her work, she provides physical and psychosocial assessments of child abuse victims and their families so as to coordinate supervision/education of medical, nursing and social work students at the Franklin County Advocacy Center and the Centre for Child and Family Advocacy. In a wellcited article (2017), Hornor explains the delicate and intricate issues required for resiliency promotion. Microlevel strategies focus on the community, family and individual, while

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macrolevel strategies of intervention point to economic policy, social dogma, community and cultural beliefs and attitude that are safe, supportive and healthy. Legislation aimed at reducing social disparities such as wage, affordable education, easy access to mental health care system are examples of macro strategies of resiliency promotion. Promoting resiliency optimally covers all levels and extents of human relations including society, community, families and individuals. An integrated and multidisciplinary approach involves harmonious negotiations among government, nongovernment, national, international and intersectoral actors, partners and stakeholders.

Hornor Gail. Resilience. Journal of Pediatric Health Care. 2017;31(3):384–390.

RESILIENCE & RESISTANCE JAMES BAY & NORTHERN QUÉBEC AGREEMENT: An Agreement Without Precedent One of my favourite examples of Indigenous peoples’ success is the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement. This is one example of Indigenous peoples’ resistance and resilience worth celebrating. The James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement (JBNQA) is the first modern land claim agreement in Canada. Signed in 1975, the JBNQA sets out an environmental and social protection regime for the territorial regions of James Bay and Nunavik.

The agreement covers economic development and property issues in northern Quebec, as well as establishing a number of cultural, social and governmental institutions for Indigenous people who are members of the communities involved in the treaties.

In the 1960s, the government of Québec looked to potential hydroelectric resources in the north. By 1971, the James Bay Development Corporation (of Québec) began to pursue mining, forestry and other potential resource extractions. The initial goal was the James Bay Hydroelectric Project. Directed by an assertive government of Québec, this project began without consulting Indigenous people. No surprise, these movements of ‘progress’ were opposed by most of northern Québec’s Cree and Inuit.

An ad hoc group of Indigenous northern Québecers, representing diverse groups of Indigenous nations living in norther Québec, sued the government and, on 15 November 1973, won an injunction in the Québec Superior Court blocking hydroelectric development until the province negotiated an agreement with the Indigenous nations.

James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement Records <https://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/catalogue_resources/MS1455.htm>.

NUNAVIK & MAKIVIK MAKIVIK provides politically, cultural and economic leadership to the vibrant region called Nunavik. Between dualistic nations of Canada and Québec, Inuit have established their own distinct place and identity. Makivik, which in Inuktitut means “To Rise Up,” is a fitting name for an organization mandated to protect the rights, interests and financial compensation provided by the 1975 James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement and (the more recent

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offshore) 2008 Nunavik Inuit Land Claim Agreement. Makivik’s work demonstrates the extent that modern aboriginal treaties or land claim settlements benefits governments and Inuit. In 1975 when the first Agreement was signed, it took the position that “settling Inuit land claims” must be viewed in the context of a “new beginning” in terms of developing and implementing a new relationship and way of doing business with the governments of Québec and Canada. Makivik and the Inuit of Nunavik have remarkably positive stories to tell about Indigenous resistance, action and resilience.

RESOURCE GOOGLE EARTH Originally designed by Keyhole, Inc., Google Earth is an interactive online computer program (written in C++) that maps the entire planet. The “geobrowser” relies on Geographic Information System Mapping (GIS) data along with satellite images/aerial photos create a three-dimensional map. The scale of cities & landscapes provides a sense of proportion and typography allowing users to embark on adventures and explorations. Interactive creation tools invite users to draw on the map, add photos, stories and other customizations that can then be shared. This is a link to the particular map on GOOGLE EARTH that we are working with: That is, the LANGUAGESOFMEDIA Google Earth Map. (The link is also attached below.)

GOOGLE EARTH

UPDATED LINK https://earth.google.com/earth/rpc/cc/drive?state=%7B%22ids%22%3A%5B%221OvWuIvY2g

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zTBcIKkPq21Sjnfp3cHcjkE%22%5D%2C%22action%22%3A%22open%22%2C%22userId%2 2%3A%22109912779555482932596%22%7D&usp=sharing TASK Where are you? Where is HOME? MAP HOME. Please follow the link to the Languages of Media GOOGLE EARTH page and map your location. Add a “placemark” as a “new feature” in the map/project FALL2020 MAP: WHERE ARE YOU. Include your name and email address (if you are comfortable with this request— remember <no penalties>). Can you find other people in this class who are within proximal distance? Reach out to other students and say hello.

Any intrepid explorers? I have hidden several safe houses around the world. Can you help me find them? WHERE IN THE WORLD IS @marklipton?

INCLUDE WRITTEN DESCRIPTION & REFLECTION OF THIS TASK & ANY OUTCOMES. QUESTIONS Where is HOME? What is HOME? Does this 3D version of the earth impact your sense of HOME? Does this 3D version impact your understanding of INDIGENEITY? If so, how? How else could you use this 3D map?

SUGGESTED BOOK King, Thomas. (2012). The Inconvenient Indian: A curious Account of Native People in North America. Toronto: Random House Publishing.

Key Words: INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, GRATITUDE, STEWARDSHIP, MAPPING INDIGENOUS LANDS, NATION, TERRIT0RY/TERRITORIES, COLONIALISM, LAND APPROPRIATION, MILITARY SECURITY, ECONOMIC DOMINATION, TAXATION, RESOURCE EXPLOITATION, DECOLONIZATION, DATA FEMINISM, PERCEPTUAL HITCH, RESISTANCE, RESILIENCE, RESILIENCY PROMOTION, RADICAL TRANSFORMATION, HOME, INDIGENOUS TERRIRORIES, TREATY LANDS, MAPPING, MAPS, CARTOGRAPHY, GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM MAPPING (GIS), GOOGLE EARTH.

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Iphoto credit: m.lipton cc INDIGENEITY & DECOLONIALIZATION

You have considered many aspects of Indigeneity and de/colonization. The tasks for this topic, many of which are embedded in the previous page to guide your thinking as you engage with the content, are collected here for you. As this is a course of self-discovery, the outcomes for this topic are accomplished as you complete the tasks.

UNIT LEARNING OUTCOMES BY the end of this unit learners o apply autonomous learning by reading and managing time to both play and assess digital tools & by writing about their understandings of Indigeneity. o improve written communication skills by reading and writing with advanced fluency. o enhance information/visual/media/digital literacy by negotiating with three related resources of varying (digital) complexity. o recognize the value of respect and discover additional ways to enhance Intercultural competence by considering Indigeneity from multiple points of view. o acquire a metalanguage by reflecting and writing. o evaluate intellectual independence, personal responsibility and time management by engaging with course materials and completing tasks.

IN WHAT WAYS MIGHT TODAYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DIGITAL MAPPING TOOLS RESIST OR REINFORCE THE AUTHORITY TO DEFINE LAND? Each topic provides required tasks and additional supplemental tasks if you find this topic of particular interest and want to pursue it further. Rubrics that apply to the required tasks are provided in Assessments, accessed from the Table of Contents.

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REQUIRED TASKS for

INDIGENEITY & DECOLONIALIZATION 1. READ + JOURNAL 5 Questions on Data and Indigenous Place Names with Margaret Pearce, an interview by Catherine D’Ignazio with editing by Isabel Carter, DATA FEMINISM, Medium, March 29, 2020. Interviews from Data Feminism, MIT Press, 2020.

IN YOUR JOURNAL WRITE any key ideas or questions.

2. MAPPING + JOURNAL Look up your HOME address on https://native-land.ca/ and PLAY around with its features.

IN YOUR JOURNAL I. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: What strikes you?

What is your relationship to this territory?

How did you come to be here?

What do you know about the history of this territory?

Identify some of the obvious impacts of colonialism?

II. WRITE out the names of two Indigenous nations and learn how to pronounce them properly.

Know which treaty agreement covers your HOME. 3. IN YOU JOURNAL WRITE out a land acknowledgement that feels right for you.

4. MAPPING + JOURNAL Please follow the link to the Languages of Media GOOGLE EARTH page and map your location. Where are you? Where is HOME? MAP HOME. Add a “placemark” as a “new feature” in the map/project FALL2020 MAP: WHERE ARE YOU? Include your name and email address; (if you are comfortable with this request—remember <no penalties>).

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Can you find other people in this class who are within proximal distance?

Reach out to other students and say hello.

5.. IN YOUR JOURNAL WRITE your symbolic responses to these FOUR sets of questions.

USE these questions to guide your thinking and writing.

QUESTIONS I. Preparing your land acknowledgement is an ongoing and reflective process. How might an online course carve out a respectful identity–as a collective with a unique positionality? Do you recognize the land and its Indigenous communities—past, present, future?

Do YOU offer gratitude for the land? For the Indigenous communities and their stewardship—past, present, future? How?

II. What are the difficulties when it comes to mapping Indigenous territories? How does the modern idea of a ‘nation-state’ relate to Indigenous nations? Who defines national boundaries, and who defines a nation? Is it possible to imagine territory or nation outside a colonial framework?

Identify some of the obvious impacts of colonialism? Consider how one might resist these intended and unintended consequences.

III. What are some of the significant differences and similarities of the two cartographic resources <Native Land Digital & Coming Home to Indigenous Place Names in Canada>?

How might these fuel Indigenous people’s resilience? How can you practice resilience?

Are these MAPS useful or harmful? Do they contribute to or resist colonial ways of thinking about Indigenous people? In what ways might today’s digital mapping tools resist or reinforce the authority to define land? How can cartography function as a form of political resistance and self-determination?

Are there other ways for you to disrupt and dismantle colonialism? How can you practice decolonization?

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IV. Where is HOME? Does the 3D MAP of the earth impact your sense of HOME? Does the 3D MAP impact your understanding of INDIGENEITY? If so, how? How else could you used this 3D MAP? Did you connect with other students as a result of this TASK? Tell us about it.

ADDITIONAL or OPTIONAL TASKS A. BLOG You are invited to choose topics for your BLOG. Will this be one of them?

B. WIKI You are invited to participate in our course WIKI where you can provide feedback, input, editorial comments and/or your own exemplars. Is there something else that needs to be said? The course WIKI is open for your participation. Reflect on course WIKI participation in you JOURNAL. C. DIGITAL ARTIFACT You are asked to share at least one other DIGITAL ARTIFACT. Is there something you want to CREATE related to this content?

journal reminders JOURNAL WRITING GIVES YOU THE FREEDOM TO ASSESS WHAT NEEDS TO BE SAID. SOME ENTRIES WILL BE LONGER; OTHERS SHORTER. THERE ARE NO WORD OR PAGE NUMBER REQUIREMENTS. <AS LONG AS NECESSARY & AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE>.

PLEASE CITE ALL SOURCES FOLLOWING THE STYLEGUIDE OF YOUR CHOICE. File name conventions Make sure to include your name and date; when saving any files for submission.

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Please use standard naming procedures, i.e., <LastNameFirstNameTHST1200F20JOURNAL.pdf>.

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2020 THE YEAR THAT WASN’T

UTOPIAN PANDEMICS, HEALTH SURVEILLANCE & TENDER BREATHING 1898. A Dutch botanist Martinus Beijerinck crushed up the leaves of a diseased plant and passed its sap through a filter. The filtrate—that matter passed through the filter, still infected healthy plants. This infective agent could not be grown on a culture medium or killed using chemical or heat treatments. It wasn’t a toxin. Astonishing, it multiplied; it could grow and reproduce only within living cells. Beijernick called this agent a VIRUS (Latin for POISON).

1898. Friedrich Loeffler and Paul Frosch found the virus responsible for foot-and-mouth disease in animals.

1901. Yellow Fever was recognized as the first human viral disease.

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HUMANS DO NOT UNDERSTAND VIRUSES.

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PORTALS to UTOPIA

STRANGE & CURIOUS TIMES Reflecting on this historic moment, I turn to novelist Arundhati Roy’s public writing in The Financial Times (2020), The Pandemic is a Portal:

Roy’s image of “dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred…” gives me pause.

Breathe. Exhale. I need to breathe. I have witnessed many people around the world responding to this crisis with dead ideas, on a war-path unprepared for change. From COVID-19’s relentlessly anti-social logic, I appreciate the persistent demand to rethink failed market dogma. I want people to imagine a better world. I want to inspire and work among people to create and craft a new world.

We will never return to what was. We can only move forward. I am convinced that without deep contemplation and reflection as individuals and institutions, we most certainly will drag dead ideas and dead values with us.

READ Arundhati Roy, “The Pandemic is a Portal,” 2020.

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TASK PORTALS to UTOPIA Please share one of your COVID-19 experiences?

How does the metaphor of the portal work in relation to your experiences?

RESOURCE RADICAL TENDERNESS A living manifesto written by Dani d’Emilia and Daniel B. Chávez, 2015.

The Radical Tenderness Manifesto is an embodied poetic exercise of resistance where d’Emilia and Chávez dive into the seemingly oxymoronic term asking: how can radical be tender – and tenderness be radical – in our alliances, our communities, and our interpersonal relationships?

HOLDING SPACE

What does it mean to hold space for someone else? It means that you are willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they’re on without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them or trying to impact the outcome. If you’ve ever listened quietly and compassionately to a friend while they shared their sorrows, you were holding space. Holding space requires an open and flexible mind.

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When we hold space for other people, we open our hearts, offer unconditional support and let go of judgment and control. There are no magic words. You can HELP others when you know how to confidently HOLD SPACE. Listen with your whole heart and your open mind.

Withhold judgment. Your steadfast, compassionate presence is the greatest gift. Many people learn how to hold space as a result of loss, grief or melancholia. And the practice is valuable in your everyday life. I urge you to practice holding tender space for others.

QUESTIONS What does it mean to you, to hold space?

Have you held space for others? When? What did you learn from the experience?

What do you make of the Radical Tenderness Manifesto?

Are you able to invite radical tenderness into your life?

What other examples of performance or poetry, art, or extravagance are you drawn to for comfort and tenderness?

What else in your life offers you tenderness?

Have you witnessed a moment of radical tenderness? Can you describe this moment?

Does your embodiment of radical tenderness impact your breathing? How? Why? With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

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How did these conversations work for you?

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LETTER TO MY STUDENTS 08|08|2020 DELAYED As of 9 hours ago, coronavirus's human cost has continued to mount, with more than 18.2 million globally confirmed cases.. As of right now, more than 685,700 people have died.

The World Health Organization declared a pandemic in March 2020 just as I was arriving at the Ottawa airport.

The snow raged as I finished two fourteen-hour workday marathons with colleagues from across Canada. I watched as this one boarded an earlier flight. My flight was delayed. The gate changed. My flight delayed again. The flight now cancelled. Time stood still.

I hunched toward the wall of glass, looking out—like any airport feature, I could be anywhere. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot —I needed a moment. Breathless and flustered.

Luggage? I needed to hold space for myself. Stillness. Snow. Like herds, people arrived from the storm outside. Look – “where did this flight arrive from?” I wonder. I remained still, letting my eyes follow a group of young folks wearing facemasks. I did not understand.

The immediate public health concerns are, at times, overshadowed by the economic consequences. IF global economies don’t start generating currency, the subsequent outbreak of poverty will be unprecedented.

Say you expand capacity of a city into a megacity. Toronto, where I am from and where I live now, is the third or fourth-largest megacity in North America. Toronto is more mega than Chicago. Well, I never imagined Toronto as big as one of ‘dem American urban city-scapes.

And yet. this is possible; this ambition drives progress.

Expanded capacity equals a lot more people. It used to take me five or ten minutes to get to Toronto’s harbourfront; today, the trip takes forty-five minutes. There is no magic in traffic.

Streets that once stood quiet when I was a kid are now unrecognizable. The empty space is blustering with more people, more cars and more of everything.

The black asphalt that burnt the bottoms of your feet in summer, once solid and trustworthy, may erupt at any moment. Will my house descend into Toronto’s ancient underground waterways? Into the empty tunnels of a light railway transportation innovation infrastructure project, still in development, years overdue. This is my Eglinton Avenue. I went to high school just up Spadina; when mum was a girl, she lived across the lane, adjacent to the long-forgotten BP gas station. Yesterday, at the still unfinished, unopened light rail station near our house, the construction crew halted once again. A noose hanged from the horizontal steel girder delaying crews. Litter on my street is the wet residue of the subsequent circus, shadowed by heavy wind and rains.

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What happens here is no different from the rest of the world. Maybe Canadians are more in denial. We are sorry. I bear witness from my void of isolation. I walk my dogs, and at safe distance engage my dog friends. Fake smiles. The tone and timbre of neighbourhood prejudices squeak like the passive-aggressive sounds of a lethal sonata. Change not forthcoming. Pre-pandemic, our hospitals were at peak performance. Now, my doctor can’t see me—a paradigm shift for us both.

Once the dust settles and our shared pandemic fears are put to rest, what will be the state of my home megacity? Chaos and ultimately, even higher numbers of dead people, I fear. I predict. With wealth inequality at an all-time extreme, the very few rich people will be hard to find. Merciful few? And everyone else?

Along with the crises of exceptional poverty, we will witness violence. Chaos. There will be military zones. Martial law. Limited resources will impact supply chains and, basic survival needs will become scarce. Then, we will experience the real impact of COVID-19. If 2020 is the year that wasn’t, I predict 2030 will be worse. Time is crueller. Time for letting go. Time for reckoning.

The future of our social worlds can count on a convergence of public health, social, political and economic crises. How do we face tomorrow? I am ready to fight for a new world. As long as I survive this world—this transitory intersection. PAPALEGBA—the Haitian VooDoo God of the Crossroads cannot find me. I travel light. There’s nothing to pack.

I wish, now, my ignorance included rose-coloured glasses. I wish I didn’t understand information theory. Pandemics are the threshold concept that change everything. & this isn’t my first pandemic. I survived seroconversion in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. Pandemics, eventually, level out. That’s the mentality. You never are immune (silly thought), you adapt by learning to live with a virus—big deal. You probably have one or two.

I continue to have hope. I have faith. And I resume building my toolkit of tactics to help me maintain values and find meaning—so I can get out of bed. Between stimulus and response, I have the power and freedom and agency to do something. In 2030, I will still be working fulltime at the University of Guelph. I will be easy to find. Either way, I hope we are still in touch. I want you to laugh when you tell me how wrong I was. /ml

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YOUR ATTENTION IS YOUR KINGDOM This is a course about media. About media languages.

This is also a course about you â&#x20AC;&#x201C;as life-long learners, readers, consumers & citizens. You get to decide where to direct your ATTENTION. How do you pay ATTENTION? In 2020 all humans seem to be connected by a global pandemic. Media messages about current public health issues are difficult to ignore or avoid. Most of these messages stress the challenges and negative associations now present and part of daily life. Media institutions stir the public into a fury of opposition: mask or no mask? social distancing or physical isolation? individual or community? Numbers to identify the dead and degree of infection. There are no feel-good stories here.

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COVID-19 & ITS METAPHORS The views put forward across public media channels follow the patterns of civilization and its responses to disease and illness. Do we create diseases for ourselves? Are we victims of a world we cannot control? Is COVID-19 a result of human exploitation of our planet.

Sontag warns about the impact of language of disease and negative attitudes of yesteryear that influence our current understanding.

PREPOSTEROUS and DANGEROUS views manage to put the ONUS of the disease on the patient and not only WEAKEN the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to understand the range of plausible MEDICAL TREATMENT but also, implicitly, direct the patient away from such treatment (47).

The metaphors of disease are myths. It is fantasy to imagine escape from fatality. COVID-19 ascents into mythologizing as a vehicle for larger cultural insufficiencies. Sontag appropriately identifies troubles of humanity that rely on the myth-makings of COVID-19 to shield public attention: for our shallow attitude toward DEATH, for our anxieties about FEELING, for our reckless improvident responses to our real problems of GROWTH, for our inability to construct an advanced industrial society

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that properly regulates CONSUMPTION, and for our justified fears of the increasingly VIOLENT course of history (87).

Susan Sontag, in Illness as Metaphor (1978) and her follow-up essay, AIDS and its Metaphors (1988), precisely connect the value of language and meaning with the course of history.

Have media messages been appropriate FOR YOU? QUESTION How have you managed COVID-19?

With whom have you isolated?

What kinds of conversations took place?

TASK Follow Sontagâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lead and begin to write your perceptions of COVID-19 and its Metaphors.

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BREATHING Let’s take a moment and reflect on the current state of the world. I don’t think I’d be doing an excellent job if I didn’t invite this moment. We need a global PAUSE. We cannot ignore all the media messages about COVID-19. Sometimes, you may feel the natural temptation to hold your breath. As we PAUSE, I invite you to join me in the following task: BREATH. Breathing is a powerful activity. Although the body will take in breath involuntarily, humans can also control their breath, making breathing a voluntary action.

TASK BREATH Stand up. Ground yourself firmly on the floor by relaxing the soles of your feet. Standing very tall, broaden your collarbones and slide your shoulder blades down your back. Soften the hollows of your throat and mouth, relax all your face muscles, even the spaces under your cheeks. Breathe naturally through your nose, relaxing your lips and tongue. Remember, the nose’s primary responsibility is to smell and to breathe. Then, slowly breathe in and feel the breath working its way through your body. Breathe in through your nose, feel the breath in your throat, your chest, belly, waist, knees and toes.

This is a four-part breath. Inhale four counts hold your breath four counts, exhale four counts and pause before you inhale four counts again. Repeat four times.

QUESTIONS Do you know if you hold your BREATH? What is your experience or relationship with your BREATH? Do you enjoy the invitation to BREATHE? What things trigger you to PAUSE? How might conscious BREATHING support your goals for a changed world?

Have you enjoyed this PAUSE and BREATH? ADDITIONAL directions for improving BREATHING HABITS are included at the end of this TOPIC.

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UTOPIAN VISIONS You were invited to read George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death.

For Neil Postman, considering the imaginary world of science fiction helps a culture understand its basic values, assumptions and tendencies. Postman suggested the UTOPIAN vision presented by Huxley was a more accurate prediction than Orwell’s. Do you agree?

Why or why not?

UTOPIA/DYSTOPIA

What is a utopia and why should I care? With our present situation, EVERYTHING has CHANGED. As thinkers begin proposing how human affairs should be run after COVID-19, I encourage you to consider this great opportunity of the present – NOW – to apply practical applications to your world to create your future. What changes would you like to see? What is your UTOPIAN VISION for life after COVID-19?

The singularity of any UTOPIAN VISION spells disaster. All UTOPIAS are DYSTOPIAS. The idea of utopia/dystopia represents imaginary societies where people live either in a perfect environment governed by equitable rules to support everyone or in an oppressive society ruled by a repressive and controlling state. When I imagine the possibility of a perfect environment, my imagination quickly turns dark. How about you?

Visions of a perfect world are first recorded around 380 BCE when Plato’s political dialogue REPUBLIC gained influence. Plato’s utopian society describes an imagined ideal Greek citystate that provided a stable life for all of its citizens. Well, most of its citizens. At that time, hierarchical powers, patriarchy and slavery were part of everyday life. Not all inhabitants of Greece had citizen status. And thus, the darkness begins to unfold.

A general understanding of UTOPIA emerged in the 16th century, in the work of Thomas Moore (1516). Moore’s UTOPIAN VISIONS initiated an enormous wave of UTOPIAN thinking with ripples that continue to influence. Perhaps the most massive wave of UTOPIAN thinking and creativity are still to come? I suggest a UTOPIAN future for UTOPIAN thinking because COVID-19 pulls back the curtain onto CONDITIONS FOR POSSIBILITIES. UTOPIAN categories begin to blur. Political revolutionaries dream of possible UTOPIAN futures: What is COMMUNISM or SOCIALISM, but UTOPIAN VISIONS? Dreamers continue to dream. DISNEY, MICKEY MOUSE & DONALD DUCK are UTOPIAN VISIONS. When worlds are created without an expansive vision of TIME, dreams quickly turn nightmarish.

How does one begin a UTOPIAN VISION? The means of their creation – ecological, economic, political, religious, feminist, scientism and technologica are UTOPIA categories. How does your UTOPIA begin?

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POSSIBLEFUTURES

This pandemic is a horror. Recovery will challenge the best of us. To prevent future losses (more death), measures begin to form, plans hatched, and containment strategies fail to account for all. Nonetheless, now is the time for RADICAL THINKING. Time again, the world shakes from disasters only to recoil, almost as quickly as disaster hits.

Both world wars produced a genuine conviction that the violence ended; there simply must be lasting peace. Afterwards. But how would a renewed global system run this new world order? By the end of the Cold War, any imagined future was recognized realpolitik –the German expression for contextual diplomacy in place of any ethical or moral political ideology.

Capitalism and democracy, consumerism and materialism—are these included in your UTOPIAN VISION? What could go wrong? A tangible and ubiquitous experience of healthcare horrors and apocalyptic futures is upon us.

What are your horrors? Where are your dark nightmares? Always somewhere or someplace else, the calamities of environmental damage, climate emergency, refugee crises and poverty—there are so many more, as a constant daily display on @Insta or the social media currently open on your smartphone. Our human inability to see beyond our sightline is apparent when the world warns of toilet paper scarcity.

Now, COVID-19 seems less subject to cultural relativism. COVID-19 does not discriminate.

There are no natural human divisions that save one over another. All humans are vulnerable to this inherent problem. Especially when contagion and transmission are spread so easily.

Who are or who should be responsible for the health of humans? Standard answers point to some nation/state response to direct community/individual action.

In today’s health crisis, nationhood is meaningless. If COVID-19 is universal, its treatment and subsequent care are local. Who will you turn to for help? I acknowledge my feelings of sympathy, anxiety and sheer pain for people who are suffering. Still, when I map my mobilities in the last few months, I am surprised by my psychogeography's smallness. Health emergencies always exaggerate the hyperlocal.

UTOPIAN IMPULSES, UTOPIAN REALITIES

There will be no new global world order. We might find some useful advice, but the tendencies toward innovation, more technology or war are more likely. There’s an old tale that two of the best-selling books in history include the Bible and The Communist Manifesto.

I hear an Agatha Christie mystery is also on this list. With all, the UTOPIAN IMPULSES will come and go like breath.

We really want to end poverty, fight against injustice, foster peace and gather the world as one community. The dream of a world without oppression, the fantasy of ending materialism—these are the stuff that tells the end of history.

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The denigration of public discourse, as Neil Postman’s words attest, means that essential words like truth, liberty or justice don’t hold water. Public discourse makes explicit that order for one is complete and utter annihilation for another. Public discourse points out how good government is relative to those in power. Public discourse warns us to find peace by shutting in and through disengagement. Keep your public super small; proximal; walkingdistance. That way, public discourse envelops you in your filter bubble. Other relevant words, like equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization, are the stuff of fiction—maybe something good is on Netflix.

Is it true? There are no better alternatives to private enterprise, free markets and competitive economies. The Iron Lady (British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher) insisted this was the vision. No POSSIBLEFUTURES. The futility of technology, innovation and public discourse means no UTOPIAN IMPULSES result.

A better world may be ‘out there’ or ‘in your mind’ –what-have-you. UTOPIA, its etymology from Greek ‘ou’ + ‘topos’ or NOT + PLACE, literally means “no place.” Unrealistic. However, those committed to such UTOPIAN VISIONS often consider their dreams attainable.

DYSTOPIAN ENDS

I love a good disaster. Let me qualify, disaster fiction is one of my favourite conversations.

Will the world end with fire or ice? I think ICE DEATH is imminently possible anytime I suffer from work stress. I love a good disaster movie or television series. Any recommendations?

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Beyond dark stories of DYSTOPIC ENDS brought about by forced birthrights and class distinctions, state coercion strategies, self-harming coping mechanisms, new technologies for/of/on human brains, repressive social control systems, sexual repression and selfcensorship, loss of freedoms (like speech or life), artificial human interactions or the consequences of utter destruction, the world still feels enormous. There are multiple universes. There, you might find UTOPIA. QUESTIONS Describe your UTOPIA. What keeps you and your world from turning to darkness?

Are all UTOPIAS DISTOPIC? Is there a future world that does not end in disaster?

ICE death or exploding ball of FIRE? Have you thought about DEATH? How would you prefer to die? Why? What’s your story?

Have you ever participated in shared conversation about death?

How did it go?

HERD IMMUNITY A serious Covid-19 concern IS whether those who had it can get it a second time – and what reinfection means for exiting this crisis. Take a look at how our bodies fight coronavirus when infected, how/if we develop immunity and the science of reinfection.

RESOURCE WATCH “Can You Get Coronavirus Twice?” (5:58) Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2020.

WAR OF OUR WORLDS In just three months, the coronavirus has turned the world upside down. But how did it play out so quickly? Let’s take a closer look at COVID19 – from its origins in southeast Asia to its acceleration across Europe and North America. As infection rates increase, the world experienced a global lockdown (framed by nationalist tendencies). This short segment also considers the imaginative and inspiring ways for people coping with our new reality.

RESOURCE WATCH “How Coronavirus Changed the World in Three Months.” (8.06).

Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2020.

SUGGESTED READING

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Coronavirus tracked: the latest figures as countries reopen. The Financial Times analyses the scale of outbreaks and the number of deaths worldwide, FT Visual & Data Journalism Team, updated regularly, 2020.

CONTACT TRACING | SURVEILLANCE | DYSTOPIC VISIONS Contact tracing as a pandemic control solution is not new. Contact tracing describes the process used to identify and monitor individuals in close contact with someone infected.

These people are (obviously) at a higher risk of infection and contagion. Infectious disease control measures often attempt public health surveillance. Such actions were deployed for illnesses like measles, SARs, typhoid, meningococcal disease. Public health surveillance has also tried contract tracing as a responsible strategy to curtail sexually transmitted infections like HIV/AIDS. From what I can see, the efforts are futile.

To curb the spread of the disease using traditional contact tracing methods and techniques would require an army of coronavirus trackers. Tracking and surveillance innovations like using location data stored on or generated by smartphone use, scanning public spaces for people potentially affected using fever detecting infrared cameras, facial recognition and newer computer vision surveillance technologies are improving rapidly. Contact tracing to combat COVID-19 has already been implemented and deployed. Sophisticated uses of smartphone technologies and artificial intelligence for tracking and public surveillance raise several privacy and compliance concerns. The extent to which COVID contact tracing violates human and/or equity rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is unclear. Is this a UTOPIAN VISION or a DYSTOPIC nightmare? If you were to map your mobility in the last few months, would you be added to the list of Public Health risk factors?

TASK: MAPPING your MOBILITY What is your position on Contract Tracing? Explain with references to current research.

MAPPING your MOBILITY MAP your physical isolation since COVID. Draw or digitally connect the points where you have come into contact with others is a map of your own design.

RESOURCES

WIKIMINIATLAS

Island map (left) and coast map (right) Wooden maps of the east coast of Greenland collected by Gustav Holm's expedition circa 1883. Original caption: "TrĂŚkort."

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GEOHACKING https://geohack.toolforge.org/ https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Ammassalik_wooden_maps&param s=66_N_36_W_dim:100000 GPS Visualizer https://www.gpsvisualizer.com/ GPS Visualizer: Do-It-Yourself Mapping GPS Visualizer is an online utility that creates maps and profiles from geographic data. It is free and easy to use, yet powerful and extremely customizable. Input can be in the form of GPS data (tracks and waypoints), driving routes, street addresses, or simple coordinates.

QUESTIONS Are you aware of your GPS coordinates? Do you know how to find the proper and exact location? Have you downloaded a Contract Tracing application?

Do you have faith that technology is the solution to this global health challenge? Why? Do you have concerns about your health-related data?

What about other personal data, like age, sleep schedule or grades?

What is your position on Contract Tracing?

Explain with references to current research.

PANDEMIC PANICS One of the first things we can do as media scholars is to look at history. What can we learn from previous pandemics? Have any of you explored how pandemics in the past have shaped our world? And what invisible technologies make what things possible? the SPANISH FLU It is 1918 and the end of WWI. Millions are dead, and the world is exhausted by war. A new horror soon sweeps the world, a terrifying virus that will kill more than fifty million people.

This virus is called the Spanish flu. Dramatic reconstruction brings to life the onslaught of the disease and the horrors of those who lived through it. The efforts of pioneering scientists desperately looking for the cure considers whether, a century later, the lessons learnt in 1918 might help us fight a future global flu pandemic.

RESOURCE WATCH â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Flu That Killed 50 Million.â&#x20AC;? (48:52).

Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2018.

LIFE TO DESTROY LIFE

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An antibiotic is a chemical substance produced by one organism that is destructive to another: life could be used to destroy life. Antibiotics are natural substances released by bacteria and fungi into their environment to inhibit other organisms. This is chemical warfare on a microscopic scale.

ABOUT ANTIBIOTICS 1921. The discovery of penicillin was an accident. About seven years prior, Alexander Fleming discovered a bacterial-dissolving substance in a nasal mucus culture, which he called LYSOZYME. He still could not purify this substance for clinical use, nor was it effective against disease-causing-bacteria.

1928. Fleming noticed that staphylococcus bacilli would not grow on a culture medium that was accidentally contaminated with the mould, PENICILLIUM NOTATUN. The bacteria grew around the mould, and colonies around the mould were watery and transparent. The evidence was clear to Fleming: the mould produced something poisonous to bacteria. He named his accidental discovery PENICILLIN. In further tests, Fleming learned that his discovery presented the growth of a range of bacteria without harming healthy tissue or interfering with the defensive role of white blood cells.

1938. Clinical trials were delayed until the unstable substance could be produced in concentrated amounts sufficient for testing. The real work to turn PENICILLIN into an effective antibiotic was created by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain (who would share the 1945 Nobel Peace Prize with Alexander Fleming).

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1940. Florey and Chain published results from their first experiments on mice, presenting penicillin as nontoxic and effective against various pathogens, including the bacteria that cause gangrene.

1941. As the Second World War continued through winter, countries also entered a race to massproduce PENICILLIN. A large quantity of PENICILLIN was needed to treat soldiers wounded in the war. PENICILLIN did not treat soldiersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; wounds, rather the poisoned blood carrying infection.

PENICILLIN demonstrated an astonishing ability to prevent and treat infections during field trials on wounded soldiers. from the Science History Institute.

1942. Howard Florey and Ernst Chain invent a manufacturing process for PENICILLIN, which can now be sold as a drug.

1944. As allied soldiers arrived in Normandy, they carried large quantities of PENICILLIN. 1945. Mass production methods made the drug available for general public use. Mass production also led to a significant decrease in the cost of PENICILLIN. Prices fell from twenty dollars per dose in 1943 to fifty-five cents per dose by 1946.

1947. PENICILLIN-resistant microbes appear.

SUGGESTED READING Bellis, Mary. The History of Penicillin and Antibiotics. ThoughtCo, 2020.

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE | ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE | DRUG RESISTANCE

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Antibiotic resistance does not mean the body is resistant to antibiotics; it is that bacteria have become resistant to the antibiotics designed to kill them. Antibiotic resistance can impact people at any stage of life, making it one of the world’s most urgent public health problems.

SUGGESTED READING CDC. Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2019. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2019.

ANTIBIOTICS AS WONDER DRUG 50 years since the development of PENICILLIN, bacteria emerged that is resistant to every known antibiotic. Is the era of antibiotic wonder drugs coming to an end? Let’s search for an answer to that question—an answer that will affect hundreds of millions worldwide.

RESOURCE WATCH “Modern Marvels: Antibiotics—The Wonder Drugs.” (46:09).

Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 1998.

QUESTIONS The length of time, from accidental discovery to the capitalist, material abundance is longer than most expect. How much time are you able to track?

What were the major obstacles?

What ethical decisions were required?

Would you make the same decisions?

Do you answer based on some moral model? or ethical framework? or hero’s actions?

How do you understand the threat of antibiotic resistance?

Can this challenge be solved?

What UTOPIA VISION best fits a future without antibiotics?

SUGGESTED READINGS NONFICTION Mary Bellis’s The History of Penicillin and Antibiotics. ThoughtCo, 2020.

Kate Bornstein’s Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and other Outlaws, 2006.

CDC. Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2019. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2019 Coronavirus tracked: the latest figures as countries reopen. The Financial Times analyses the scale of outbreaks and the number of deaths worldwide, FT Visual & Data Journalism Team, updated regularly, 2020.

Dani d’Emilia and Daniel B. Chávez’s The Radical Tenderness Manifesto, 2015.

Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, 2020.

Susan Sontag’s Illness As Metaphor, (1978) and AIDS and its Metaphors (1988).

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FICTION Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, 1998.

Jonathan Hickman’s East of West, 2013. Art by Nick Dragotta.

Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, 2005.

Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta, 2008. Art by David Lloyd.

Thomas More’s Utopia, 1516.

Rick Remender’s Tokyo Ghost, 2017. Art by Sean Murphy & Matt Hollingsworth.

Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, 2020.

José Saramago’s Blindness, 1995 & Seeing, 2004.

Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We, 1921.

KEYWORDS: UTOPIA, UTOPIAN, DYSTOPIA; ENVIRONMENT, PUBLIC, COVID, PENICILLIN, LIFE, BREATH, INNOVATE, CARE, HEALTH, DISEASE, PANDEMIC, TIME, WITNESS, CONTACT TRACEING, SURVEILLANCE, MAPS, ETHICAL, VISIONS, ANTIBIOTICS, FUTURE, TENDERNESS, BACTERIA, BRATHE, MOVEMENT, VISIONS, PAUSE, DISCOURSE, DISASTAR, DEATH. DREAM, GEOHACK.

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Don’t STOP BREATHING THE DIAPHRAGM or THE COAST IS CLEAR MUSCLE TAKING IN MORE OXYGEN beyond METABOLIC REQUIREMENTS CAN ACTUALLY TRIGGER INCREASED STRESS Breathing is a powerful activity. Although the body will take in breath involuntarily, humans can also control their breath, making breathing a voluntary action.

Stand up. Ground yourself firmly on the floor by relaxing the soles of your feet.

Standing very tall, broaden your collarbones and slide your shoulder blades down your back. Soften the hollows of your throat and mouth, relax all your face muscles, even the spaces under your cheeks. Breathe naturally through your nose, relaxing your lips and tongue. Remember, the nose’s primary responsibility is to smell and to breathe.

Then, slowly breathe in and feel the breath working its way through your body. Breathe in through your nose, feel the breath in your throat, your chest, your belly, your waist, your knees, and your toes.

This is a four-part breath. Inhale four counts hold your breath four counts, exhale four counts and pause before you inhale four counts again. Repeat four times.

BREATHING MORE PRECISION The process of normal expiration is passive, meaning that energy is not required to push air out of the lungs. Instead, the lung tissue’s elasticity causes the lung to recoil, as the diaphragm and intercostal muscles relax following inspiration. In turn, the thoracic cavity and lungs decrease in volume, causing an increase in interpulmonary pressure.

The interpulmonary pressure rises above atmospheric pressure, creating a pressure gradient that causes air to leave the lungs.

There are different types, or modes, of breathing that require a slightly different process to allow inspiration and expiration. Quiet breathing, also known as eupnea, is a breathing mode that occurs at rest and does not require the cognitive thought of the individual. During quiet breathing, the diaphragm and external intercostals must contract.

A deep breath, called diaphragmatic breathing, requires the diaphragm to contract. As the diaphragm relaxes, air passively leaves the lungs. A shallow breath, called costal breathing, requires contraction of the intercostal muscles. As the intercostal muscles relax, air calmly leaves the lungs.

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In contrast, forced breathing, also known as hyperpnea, is a mode of breath that can occur during exercise or actions that require the active manipulation of breathing, such as singing. During forced breathing, inspiration and expiration both occur due to muscle contractions. In addition to the contraction of the diaphragm and intercostal muscles, other accessory muscles must also contract. During forced inspiration, muscles of the neck, including the scalene, contract and lift the thoracic wall, increasing lung volume.

During forced expiration, the abdomen's accessory muscles, including the obliques, contract, forcing abdominal organs upward against the diaphragm. This helps to push the diaphragm further into the thorax, pushing more air out. In addition, accessory muscles (primarily the internal intercostals) help compress the rib cage, reducing the volume of the thoracic cavity.

TAKING IN MORE OXYGEN beyond METABOLIC REQUIREMENTS (OVERBREATHING) TRIGGERS INCREASED STRESS. OVER BREATHING is characterized by breathing through the mouth, able to hear breathing during rest, loud, irregular, erratic effortful breathing, feeling a shortage for air, feeling an air hunger, frequent sighs, frequent yawns, upper chest breathing. The goal is for our BREATHING to be characterized by nasal breathing. We want our breath to feel calm, gentle, relaxed and effortless.

THE FOUNDATION: BREATHING VOLUME & CONTROLLED PAUSE (CP) Invite an awareness of your breathing to ensure the breath is quiet. Controlled Pause (CP) refers to the length of time you can comfortably hold your breath. I stress the importance of nasal breathing to give you easier access to oxygen. Suppress any tendency to sighs. A habitual sigh may signal chronic hyperventilation. Reduce or stop sighing by swallowing or holding your breath. When your foundation is strong, your progress will be good. You will make improvements by keeping your mouth closed. It is also necessary to reverse any over-breathing habits.

To increase your CP from 10 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 20 seconds, STEPS 1 and 2 are necessary.

To increase your CP from 20 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 40 seconds, STEP 3 is necessary.

Changes to breathing volume can be reduced to normal levels when control pause (CP) increases. As your breathing volume reduces to more normal levels, your CP increases.

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THE DIAPHRAGM Our primary breathing muscle is the diaphragm. The diaphragm is a dome-shaped sheet of muscle that separates our thorax, home to the heart and lungs, from our abdominal cavity, which holds the intestines, stomach, liver and kidneys.

Diaphragmatic breathing is more efficient because blood flow in the lower lobes of the lungs is higher than the upper.

The fast, shallow breaths of chronically hyperventilate people result in less oxygen transfer to the blood and a more significant loss of CO2.

DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING IS EASILY LEARNED STEP 1. LOOSENING THE DIAPHRAGM Sit up straight. Lengthen the distance between your navel and sternum (chest). It is not necessary to force yourself into a straight position. Any force increases tension unnecessarily. Place one hand on your tummy and one hand on your chest. Place attention on the movements of your lower hand. While sitting up straight, gently guide your hand outwards by pushing your tummy outwards.

Push out your stomach just enough to feel the movements. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make any changes to your breathing at this point. This exercise encourages diaphragmatic movement.

Friendly note: I prefer to lie on my back with both knees bent.

Then draw (suck) in your tummy and watch your hand move inwards. Do this simple exercise for a few minutes to activate a dormant diaphragm. Continue this exercise for a few minutes, until you can move your belly in and out with ease. You are now ready to proceed to the next step.

STEP 2. BRINGING TUMMY MOVEMENTS AND BREATHING TOGETHER Place one hand on your chest and the other on your tummy. As you breathe, let your shoulders fall to a natural position. Raised shoulders increase the volume of the chest cavity, thereby increasing the amount of inhaled air. Tension increases breathing; relaxation decreases breathing. With a hand on your chest, exert gentle guidance using your mind and hand to reduce chest movements. At the same time, try to coordinate tummy movements with your breathing.

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As you breathe in, gently push your tummy outwards at the same time. Breathe as if into your belly. Do not over breath, as it might cause dizziness. As you breathe out, gently draw your tummy in.

RELAXATION THROUGH STRAIN This may help relax the respiratory muscles around the belly. To relax any tension around the chest area, deliberately tense the area in question for a few seconds. Feel the pressure firmly. Then, allow this tension to soften. If you feel tension in your shoulders, deliberately tense that area, hold that tension, and then soften it. Move through the various muscles in your body until you feel noticeably softer and more relaxed.

The Bell Jar example illustrates how inhalation and exhalation move the air. The belly moves outwards on in-breath because the diaphragm is pushing downwards and exerting a gentle force on the abdomen. On the other hand, the belly moves inwards during exhalation. The diaphragm moves upwards and reduces pressure from the stomach.

STEP 3 BRINGING REDUCED AND DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING TOGETHER Reduced breathing is more necessary & belly breathing is secondary. Together, the two work in tandem; you may notice it is easier to minimize breathing volume by changing oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s breathing pattern to diaphragmatic. This might seem odd; however, the benefits are significant.

BRING THE TWO TOGETHER Sit up straight. Place one hand on the chest and the other on the belly. Bring attention to your breathing. As you breathe in, gently guide your belly out. Use your mind and

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awareness to keep your chest movements minimal. As you breathe out, gently pull your belly in, again keeping your chest movements quiet.

Belly breath begins by concentrating on making your in-breath smaller. If your stomach gets tense or hard, the degree of air shortage is too much. Instead, relax for a moment, and when the tension dissolves, return to gentle, reduced breathing.

You feel a need for air that is tolerable. Maintain this tolerable air hunger in intervals of 3 to 5 minutes. With each breath, take in less air. Make the in-breath smaller, shorter and softer. Feel the shorter breath with your hands as your breath only fills three-quarters of your lung capacity.

Breathe out with a relaxed exhalation. While breathing out, allow the natural elasticity of your lungs and diaphragm do its work. Imagine a deflating balloon.

As your in-breath is smaller and your out-breath is relaxed, visible movements will slow and soften. Quiet your breathing.

In your PRACTICE, try reducing breathing movement by 30% to 40%. You reduce your breath as you feel a distinct and stress-free need for air. The need for air matches your Control Pause PRACTICE. The need for air should be definite but not stressful. If the need for air is not distinct, then reduce your movements further. If the need for air is too stressful, then breathe a little more and allow your body to relax.

YOU ARE NOW ON AN AIR DIET Now you have mastered relaxation of the diaphragm and feel a reduced need for air.

Every breath throughout the day is diaphragmatic and quiet. This is how we breathed when we were healthy young babies. With our lips together, our little tummies moved in and out with each breath. BREATHING, in this way, is about returning to necessary human actions. A fantastic outcome I noticed is improved metabolism. I am less hungry.

A small breath means taking a smaller or shorter breath than what you would normally do. A relaxed out-breath will tend to be slow. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worry too much about the rate.

Ideally, it should not increase. However, it might increase when your CP is less than 20 seconds. If the rate increases, try to calm and slow your breathing down. As your CP increases, your rate naturally decreases.

NOISY, LOUD, BIG, ERRATIC, IRREGULAR, EFFORTFUL, TENSE = INEFFICIENT BREATHING. QUIET, SILENT, SMALL, LEVEL, REGULAR, EFFORTLESS, RELAXED = EFFICIENT BREATHING.

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Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worry if this exercise does not work for you the first time you try it. Over time it can become more natural. PRACTICE. A gradual and relaxed approach is best.

YOUR GOAL: SUSTAIN REDUCED BREATHING BY BELLY BREATHING. FOR 3 to 5 MINUTES.

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PLAYFUL BREATHING LYNN HERSHMAN LEESON BREATHING MACHINES

Lynn Hershman Leeson Breathing Machine 1965 Courtesy the Artist and Bridget Donahue, NYC © Lynn Hershman Leeson.

Photo: Dejan Saric.

Lynn Hershman Leeson Breathing Machine 1967 Courtesy of the artist and Paule Anglim Gallery, San Francisco Bridget Donahue Gallery, New York & Waldburger Wouters, Brussels. © Lynn Hershman Leeson.

https://www.artsy.net/artwork/lynn-hershman-leeson-breathingmachine

SAŠA SPAČAL INSPIRATION AUGMENTED BREATHING https://vimeo.com/316299903

Humans need oxygen. The basic world of nature is where biotech intervenes as a source of change, and artists draw on this range of technologies to create scientific scenarios. I am a fan of Saša Spačal’s installation “Inspiration’s” because it invites different embodied experiences of breath.

Equipped with a few ‘breathing stations’ which dispense Mycobacterium vaccae bacteria-enriched air. These bacteria have a beneficial effect on the human serotonin system, improve our mood and mental states and alleviate anxiety.

Capsules of the bacteria along with soil are disintegrated in the ‘bioreactor’ of the system and unevenly diffused to the respiratory masks.

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Spačal sees this system as an opportunity to reorient our obsession with ‘romantic’ love through explorations of interspecies love, including the nonhumans and minerals. This invites a less anthropocentric sense of breathing. Intervening in a ‘respiratory exchange’ with the natural ecosystem, Inspiration’s vapers are both conceptual and technical machine. What does it mean to consume oxygen in an uncertain future?

MINSU KIM

AN AUDITORY DELUSION OF LIFE: THE SOUND OF BREATHING

Minsu Kim’s experimental project explores sensory interactions between humans and machines. The work looks like a large synthetic respiratory device and impersonates the respiratory system of a human. It simulates whispers, subtle nuances of breath like humidity and scent as well as vocalizations.

The user interacts with the device by placing a specially designed cup next to his/her ear to enables the machine to synthesize vocalisations and artificial breaths.

ADAM OVERTON SITTING. BREATHING. NO.1 FOR SOLO PERFORMER

By mapping the movements of the body into a state of meditation, you fill out an approximate numerical model of a complex system of forces which are made in the symbiosis between the physical control of the movement and the state of consciousness that flows slowly.

This system, which includes a novel distribution of energy (electrical and thermal) and fields of influence that understand the emission of brain waves from other frequencies of wakefulness. Sitting. Breathing.

No.1 for only performer is Adam Overton’s meditation; sitting while his breathing and brain are monitored by sensors with a button that allows you to send Overton a report when you think he feels distracted. The sounds are dynamically generated feedback from body movement which flow as a sort of aural amplification of the body.

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2020 THE YEAR THAT WASNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T UTOPIAN PANDEMICS, HEALTH SURVEILLANCE & TENDER BREATHING You have considered many aspects of COVID-19 and the current health pandemic.

The tasks for this topic, many of which are embedded in the previous page to guide your thinking as you engage with the content, are collected here for you. As this is a course of self-discovery, the outcomes for this topic are accomplished as you complete the tasks.

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UNIT LEARNING OUTCOMES BY the end of this unit learners apply autonomous learning by reading and managing time to both play and assess digital tools & by writing about their understandings of utopia/dystopia visions. improve written communication skills by reading and writing with advanced fluency. enhance information/visual/media/digital literacy by negotiating with three related resources of varying (digital) complexity. recognize the value of respect and discover additional ways to enhance Intercultural competence by considering COVID, pandemics and utopian futures from multiple points of view. acquire a metalanguage by reflecting and writing. evaluate intellectual independence, personal responsibility and time management by engaging with course materials and completing tasks.

YOUR ATTENTION IS YOUR KINGDOM. IS CONTACT TRACEING A UTOPIA VISION OR A DYSTOPIC SURVEILLANCE REGIME? Each topic provides required tasks and additional supplemental tasks if you find this topic of particular interest and want to pursue it further. Rubrics that apply to the required tasks are provided in Assessments, accessed from the Table of Contents.

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TASKS for UTOPIAN PANDEMICS, HEALTH SURVEILLANCE & TENDER BREATHING ATTENTION: THE FOLLOWING IS REQUIRED ONE ITEM IS REQUIRED FOR YOUR BLOG [PLEASE SELECT ONE TASK FOR YOUR BLOG: PORTALS to UTOPIA; COVID AND ITS METAPHORS; CONTACT TRACING AND DYSTOPIC SURVEILLENCE REIGMES; OR A FUTURE WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS] 1. READ + JOURNAL READ Arundhati Roy, “The Pandemic is a Portal,” 2020.

JOURNAL: PORTALS to UTOPIA Please share one of your COVID-19 experiences?

How does the metaphor of the portal work in relation to your experiences?

What does it mean to you, to hold space?

Have you held space for others? When? What did you learn from the experience?

What do you make of the Radical Tenderness Manifesto?

Are you able to invite radical tenderness into your life?

What else in your life offers you tenderness?

Have you witnessed a moment of radical tenderness? Can you describe this moment?

Does your embodiment of radical tenderness impact your breathing? How? Why?

2. JOURNAL: COVID AND ITS METAPHORS Have COVID and pandemic media messages been appropriate FOR YOU? How have you managed COVID-19?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

What do you make of Canada’s Public Health messages?

What about your local Public Health authority?

Follow Sontag’s lead and begin to write your perceptions of COVID-19 and its Metaphors.

CAN you connect your value of language and meaning within the context of COVID?

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SUGGESTED READING Susan Sontag, in Illness as Metaphor, 1978 and/or AIDS and its Metaphors, 1988.

3. MAPPING + JOURNAL: CONTACT TRACING AND DYSTOPIC SURVEILLENCE REIGMES Are you aware of your GPS coordinates? Do you know how to find the proper and exact location?

MAP your physical isolation.

Draw or digitally connect the points where you have come into contact with others is a map of your own design.

What is your position on Contract Tracing? Explain with references to current research.

Have you downloaded a Contract Tracing application?

Do you have faith that technology is the solution to this global health challenge? Why? Do you have concerns about your health-related data?

What about other personal data, like age, sleep schedule or grades?

4. JOURNAL: A FUTURE WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS The length of time, from accidental discovery to the capitalist, material abundance is longer than most expect. How much time are you able to track?

What were the major obstacles? What ethical decisions were required?

Would you make the same decisions?

Do you answer based on some moral model? or ethical framework? or heroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actions?

How do you understand the threat of antibiotic resistance? Can this challenge be solved?

What UTOPIA VISION best fits a future without antibiotics?

5. BREATHE PRACTICE THE POWER OF your BREATH QUESTIONS for your review I. PORTALS to UTOPIA Please share one of your COVID-19 experiences?

How does the metaphor of the portal work in relation to your experiences?

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What does it mean to you, to hold space?

Have you held space for others? When? What did you learn from the experience?

What do you make of the Radical Tenderness Manifesto?

How can radical be tender – and tenderness be radical – in our alliances, our communities, and our interpersonal relationships?

Are you able to invite radical tenderness into your life?

What other examples of performance or poetry, art, or extravagance are you drawn to for comfort and tenderness? What else in your life offers you tenderness?

Have you witnessed a moment of radical tenderness? Can you describe this moment?

Does your embodiment of radical tenderness impact your breathing? How? Why?

II. COVID AND ITS METAPHORS Follow Sontag’s lead and begin to write your perceptions of COVID-19 and its Metaphors.

CAN you connect your value of language and meaning within the context of COVID? Have media messages been appropriate FOR YOU? How have you managed COVID-19?

Describe your UTOPIA. What keeps you and your world from turning to darkness?

Are all UTOPIAS DISTOPIC? Is there a future world that does not end in disaster?

ICE death or exploding ball of FIRE? Have you thought about DEATH? How would you prefer to die? Why? What’s your story?

III. MAPPING YOUR MOBILITY: CONTACT TRACING & DYSTOPIC SURVEILLENCE REIGMES Are you aware of your GPS coordinates? Do you know how to find the proper and exact location?

Have you downloaded a Contract Tracing application?

Do you have faith that technology is the solution to this global health challenge? Why? Do you have concerns about your health-related data?

What about other personal data, like age, sleep schedule or grades?

What is your position on Contract Tracing? Explain with references to current research.

What was it like to MAP your physical isolation since COVID.

IV. A FUTURE WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS The length of time, from accidental discovery to the capitalist, material abundance is longer than most expect. How much time are you able to track?

What were the major obstacles?

What ethical decisions were required?

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Would you make the same decisions?

Do you answer based on some moral model? or ethical framework? or heroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actions?

How do you understand the threat of antibiotic resistance?

Can this challenge be solved?

What UTOPIA VISION best fits a future without antibiotics?

ADDITIONAL or OPTIONAL TASKS A. BLOG You are invited to choose topics for your BLOG. Will this be one of them?

B. WIKI You are invited to participate in our course WIKI where you can provide feedback, input, editorial comments and/or your own exemplars. Is there something else that needs to be said? The course WIKI is open for your participation. Reflect on course WIKI participation in you JOURNAL. C. DIGITAL ARTIFACT You are asked to share at least one other DIGITAL ARTIFACT. Is there something you want to CREATE related to this content?

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STORIES LIVES TELL

In the 20th century, identity formation emerged from fundamental questions like: where do I come from? where am I going? & how will I get there? This last question directed a generation to adapt to the needs of capitalist and commercial enterprise to their lives and stories. Does this sound like you?

In the last ten years there has been an unprecedented amount technological change.

You’ve lived this. Those kids just a few years older than you—Generation Z, digital natives, whatever popular culture calls humans born between years x to y. Their fundamental questions were nuanced: who do I think I am? what is my place in the world? & who do I want to become?

Today, the proliferation of digital media and networked communication technologies invisibly serve most aspects of public and private life. Identity questions are being rewritten and recast. BY YOU. What are the fundamental questions that address your identity? Virtual dimensions of social networks allow for the fluidity and multiplicity of identity as an ongoing creative process of constructing identities-in-action; you are and always will be a work-inprogress.

We possess one kind of identity in the analog world and several others in the digital world.

Are you asking fundamental questions implicated by multiple identities-in-action like: who do I think I am, when I’m on Facebook? what is my place in the world, in World of Warcraft & who do I want to become, in my insta-online life?

STORIES LIVES TELL What’s the story of YOU? One of the most difficult questions I ask may prompt excitement or apprehension. Are you ready?

What makes YOU an INTERESTING person?

How do you begin to answer? Because, truthfully, to know ways you find yourself interesting leads to that short story people will want to hear. They will want to know more. To begin, just imagine what makes you stand out among your peer group? The answers to this question are what will give you the competitive edge when you enter the labour market.

Really, you’ll want a job and have all the requisite skills to master the opportunity—as will millions of other young folks. Skill is the prerequisite. What makes you stand out; that’s part of the ticket. How you tell your story is what makes the difference.

Here is an opportunity to review the KISS & BIFF & BLUF & SEE guidelines.

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KEEP IT SIMPLE (silly) (KISS) KISS asks you to make sure a non-expert can understand your thinking. If you’re wondering whether something you include is necessary— train yourself to simplify. If there are any doubts, delete.

BRIEF INFORMATIVE FAIR FRIENDLY (BIFF) In business and professional matters, make certain your communication follows the BIFF conventions. Ensure your communicate information, not just rants, feelings, expression of uncertainty. We already know life is not fair, however, you still have a human obligation to be as fair as possible. And it never hurts to be friendly. In fact, one of my rules follows the pragmatics of communication: All communication messages have two functions; a content level; and a relationship level. In other words, how you communicate is as important as what you communicate. Your message works on the minds of your audience in two parallel ways—to comprehend information & to register your relationship.

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT (BLUP) Get to the point.

STATEMENT, EXAMPLE EXPLAIN (SEE) If you mastered the hamburger essay format, typically SEE helps to remember how to structure your argument. Each paragraph makes a statement to support your thesis or argument. Your examples and explanations are how you PERSUADE a reader.

LIFE AS NARRATIVE All communication is PERSUASION; one cannot not communicate. Please don’t serve up any hamburgers in this class. Let me repeat: NO HAMBURGERS. Imagine the classical idea of needing to know the rules before you can break them. I assume you know these rules. I also encourage you to break them. By break the rules, I do not mean that you fail to produce work. I encourage initiative and risk-taking. This may be the only class you take where it’s safe to fail. Because there is no failure in failing—instead I see radical resilience,

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adventurous spirits and curious creativity. You’re encouraged to query (question, probe) the world to encourage curiosity and perplexity; question everything! I also try to stimulate your symbolic responses, so that you silence instant reactions and invite wonder and awe.

Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Your life; your story.

Are you ready to “level up” in this world?

As you participate in life’s quest for meaning, cultivate robust and engaged strategies for holding attention, acquiring knowledge and applying communication tools to enhance your world. Your life is your story; no actions in and of itself are necessarily good or bad, right or wrong. Keep moving. Keep narrating your life story and worldview. It’s surely your journey.

Enjoy the ride.

READ Bruner, Jerome. "Life as Narrative." Social Research 71.3 (2004): 691-710. ProQuest. Web. 31 Aug. 2020.

QUESTION What does Bruner mean by a “worldview?”

What are your questions?

PRAGMATICS OF COMMUNICATION There are few other rules that will help you answer this question, “What makes you an interesting person?” The pragmatics of communication, again, highlight how we are always

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building relationships with our language. You may not remember what I say, but you will remember how I make you feel. I think several authors share this sentiment and, at the moment, the idea is attributed to Maya Angelou. She may have said this; she was not the first. I am certain.

In my “stuffy-theory-vestiges-of-colonialism” way, I try to share some pragmatic realities about communication messages: (1) All communication messages provide both a content and relationship level.

(2) Silence speaks volumes: one cannot not communicate.

(3) Manage compulsive and impulsive reactions; instead, invite wonder and awe into your symbolic worlds.

(4) In fact, while you’re at it, find humour when you can. Finding humour speaks to the flexibility of your mind, like your ability to resist rigid conventional use of rules.

(5) Strive for quality (as in expertise, technique and artistry) with clear and precise language and communication.

(6) To level up, as I previously wrote, you are required to acquire fluency with multiple metalanguages. What’s a metalanguage? Language about language; thinking about thinking.

Building mental models and conceptualizations that are ABOUT language and communication itself, not about a topic or subject. It’s like understanding the language of mathematics. Have you ever been able to solve a math problem without any sense of how it applies to your actual life? When learners understand this metalanguage, they experience fewer errors and less confusion.

All this to consider the question, “what makes you an interesting person?”

Here are pragmatic methods for discovering your answers: i. query your prior experiences (how can you apply prior learning in this new context?); ii. tax your creativity and imagination (this is where innovation begins!); iii. begin your adventurous quest for an answer without fear (demonstrating your ability to measure risk); iv. invite wonder and awe; v. find humour;

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vi. strive for artistry; vii. apply grit. I like that word grit. It invites you to play in the sandbox of learning. And I do not refer to sand as the meaning of grit. No. Grit refers to PERSERVERANCE. Your effort. Don’t surrender to frustration.

We are all trying our best (that is one of our course agreements). viii. write. When the writer writes, he/she/they figures out what he/she/they have to say.

Write. Write as often as you can. Build or begin a writing “practice.” Find or create your sacred writing space. A place of one’s own. And follow a schedule. Try to write for 30 minutes twice a week. That’s to get started. Sound like a lot? Sound easy? Regardless of how you react, learning will become increasingly self-directed when you are able to create and follow a schedule that clears time for your writing practice.

Sometimes, I work in two-minute intervals. Timed writing. When you are under the gun, it’s amazing what you come up with. Then, I slowly increase the time interval. Five minutes, ten minutes. Soon, thirty minutes, IN FACT, seems very easy. A writing practice may allow for point form lists of words. However, a list is not a story. Once you are able to string sentence after sentence, you discover the joys and pleasures in writing.

At first, you might discover every time you reach for a verb, you grab the closest-at-hand, in the form of to be or to have. That’s how I recognize the writing of first year students. One of our goals asks we activate our worlds with active language. Let’s see how it goes. Are you ready to give it a try?

YOUR STORY MATTERS! Anyone can tell a story. You’ve been telling stories all of your life. The challenge, now, is to develop and enhance your abilities to translate your intuitions into symbolic expressions.

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The language of your story is critical. When you ‘tell’ a story with words and images, detail and precision act as triggers to release symbolic thought in the minds of your audiences; and there’s no telling what an unknown audience will make of your narrative—whether banal fabula of artistic masterpiece.

The ‘fabula’ usually points to a traditional kind of tale like fables, legends or folklore. Many literary theorists/critics insist the deep structures of stories, helping humans understand the world, limit the amount and kinds of stories we can tell. I’m more in the camp of acknowledging structure and dismissing the goal of plotting my world in linear sequential order. This is your story and your life. And here is an opportunity to tell a story about yourself in whatever way you want. There are no formal rules. Go crazy!

In addition, you are asked to tell a story for an audience—say the unknown reader. Do you want to provide some kind of plot? That sense of structure that links and orders events, telling audiences what happened. Stories typically contain a plot, characters and narrative point of view. So what? I ask. Because I know that everyone interprets stories differently, whether consciously or unconsciously, through the lens of their experience. What you say about my story reveals a great deal more about you than it does my story. We give ourselves away, often without awareness.

Your TEACHING TEAM plans to watch all submitted your digital stories. You really have no idea what we might make of your creativity and symbolic expressions. I hope you trust that we are not here to judge you. Our job is to evaluate the outcomes of your work—which is a very different cognitive task. So really, this is your opportunity to explore.

This experience of exploring what and how you approach the task of storytelling is so important. I really can never know what or how you are thinking. The closest I get is when you express your thinking with precise language. I have been reading the writing of students for over thirty years (32, if you count my job as a Teaching Assistant (TA)). What I am excited about is how you will extend your written thoughts with sounds (the creation of your sense of an acoustic environment) and images (the creation of your visual worlds). And the format of a story, I believe, is so important because of its connection to how we see the world. All humans narrate their experiences. Your stories are directly linked to your memories. We remember not what happened but our stories about what happened.

In the words of psychologist Jerome Bruner, storytelling “operates as an instrument of mind in the construction of reality.” It is the stories we tell about ourselves that give us our sense of identity and allow us to enter into relationships with others. We learn to tell ourselves about ourselves (ah ha! A meta language.).

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SUGGESTED READING Jerome Bruner’s Actual Minds, Possible Worlds, 1986.

POSITIVE SELF TALK I encourage positive stories about what’s going on in your life. A natural human tendency is to frame the world by that “which it is not.” We measure our perceptions against previous perceptions to distinguish difference. And the process involved in that cognitive agreement is a basis of survival. Friend or Foe? In fact, I argue that most humans spend 60-80% of the day in a negative ruminating state.

What negative thoughts are you holding onto? Your language reveals your point of view. Do words like “problems” or “but” clutter your dialogue? IF so, you’re relying on cognitive strategies that are not serving your life. When your basic survival is not at risk, it’s time to change the script. I suppose this is what cognitive behavioural therapy is about.

INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION Any study of media considers how communication messages are contextual and relational.

Let’s say you have this communication message: “I’m going for a walk.” The context (where) and relation (when) dramatically impact what and how you might utter such a statement. It sounds normal within an interpersonal context (inter=between; among; in-the-midst). But is that how you “talk” to yourself? When I tell myself “I’m going for a walk” –let me tell you, there are a lot of words that move through my mind: Time for walk?; outside; dogs; leashes; or one dog; BettyRu does not need a leash to go across the street to the yard; ball; no ball; sugarbush, my aching back; my legs; can I move?; I’ve been sitting for hours; I must get up; time to move; do I hafta go outside?; maybe I can walk around the house or play inside; mask?; what time is it? Where am I? What was I supposed to do? Let me just jot down a note so I know where I am when I get back; quizzically–hun? Get back? walk; yes; I’m going to take BettyRu for a walk!

Intrapersonal contexts are very specific (intra=within, from Latin interus, modifying the object: inward); intra is always inward, within one’s on mind. The third mode of contextual and relational messages looks at situations from group dynamics to arena-sized audiences, spectators at stadiums or masses and masses of people. We cover this third mode elsewhere. Now’s the time to sail inward. How well do you understand your own thinking?

Intrapersonal communication is necessarily reflective. Your reflections may still be reactions—the goal is to improve your communication with your thinking mind and evolving ‘self’’ in ways that are symbolic, positive and meaningful.

(Ah ha! Thinking about thinking! A METALANGUAGE.)

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SYNECDOCHE Your empathy and sensory detail allow you to tap into complex situations. The minute details reveal so much. It’s the METONYMIC principle of SYNECDOCHE. You don’t need to capture the entire kitchen if you have one powerful close up shot of a kitchen-sink. I think this figure of speech is especially impactful when applied to a character’s desires. What initiates you or your character’s quest? Human emotions and desires mobilized action. Without our great longings and hungers, life would seem stale and inert. When you can connect with your emotional vocabulary, you can mobilize a story or life to actions.

IMPROVISATION Storytelling: the art of conveying events in words, images and sounds, often including IMPROVISATION and/or EMBELLISHMENT. Both IMPROVISATION and EMBELLISHMENT are the elements that make you and your story authentic—actually your story. This is important because storytelling holds that rare and universal aspect of shared humanity, recognizable across cultures. Always present, the art of telling a story is germane regardless of where or when you are living. The act of telling—through improvisation and embellishment, defines all human experiences: since the beginning of history; through the tides and epochs of time; & storytelling will continue until the end.

ATTENTION & LISTENING Our brains are far more engaged by storytelling than by just cold, hard facts. Stories are often used to reflect on the past and interpret the future. Your stories can be anything. YOU ARE ONLY LIMITED BY THE LIMITS OF YOUR IMAGINATION! (oh, and there’s a time limit.

Oh, and you cannot break the law, or I will get into a lot of trouble.) Your stories can blur the boundaries of reality and fiction and/or represent some aspect of history or a fantasy world.

A common form of digital storytelling is a narrated personal story of overcoming obstacles, achieving a dream, honoring a deceased family member.

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Storytelling includes the social and cultural practice of sharing an experience with others.

Someone is always LISTENING. As we attend to stories, like a gift, listening permits us to bear witness. LISTENING acts as support and encouragement, marking other people’s lived experiences as important. Engaging with other people’s stories, even fictional ones, can foster empathy and improve social skills.

Storytelling allows people to make sense of the world and derive deeper meaning from their lives. The techniques and delivery methods of good storytelling may have changed since over the years, but the power of storytelling to move people and provoke a deeper sense of connection between people is consistent.

Mixing digital tools with your narrative can function as a motivating and mighty form of expression for both the creator and the audience. In this partnership of creators and listeners, let me share my observations of inviting learners to play with media tools:

Digital storytelling can break the lonely isolation and existential dread many of us live—daily. Whether creating or listening, learners realize they are not alone. Within this context, any learner can overcome their anxiety with technology and nervousness about what someone else might think. In addition, the expressive capabilities of working with technology accelerated personal and community knowledge.

This digital sharing of information, I suggest, is a primary means of communicating, especially as access the tools and techniques becomes more quotidian. I find digital storytelling appealing for its ability to engage traditional storytelling, critical thinking, creative practices and computational technologies so to prompt multiplatform, interactive and immersive narratives.

LESIURE IS HARD WORK For all these reasons (and more), stories play a valuable role in your learning. With access to a range of media tools, people around the world are remixing, appropriating and sampling texts to create new forms of expression. Kirsten Drotner (2008) suggests “young people’s digital practices promote the formation of competencies that are absolutely vital to their future, in an economic, social, and cultural sense” (167). Drotner considers the relationship between these digital practices and your learning and education.

Media educators have long called for and understood the educational uses of tools that produce media messages. You may already use media production tools for leisure or pleasure or for the sake of playing with tools in and of itself. This course asks you to engage in this technical play with an intention of applying critical thinking and symbolic work.

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Here is the challenge: use the tools of production to critique, explore, examine and analyze media texts of all kinds. Digital storytelling, with its potential for layering multiple modes of expression (words, images, sound, movement), invites you to play with media tools as creator. YOU have the POWER! Usually, you are situated within media messages and media systems as a passive consumer. In fact, despite the amounts of time we spend with our digital devices, as Darrin Barney (2005) explains,

for some people access to the internet is a source of empowerment, autonomy and agency, for many it simply means connection to a technological infrastructure in relation to which they remain significantly disadvantaged and powerless (pp. 155-156).

As we learn about media, you are encouraged to work with and through media so as to redress this imbalance; an objective is to seek greater understanding of the terms “empowerment,” autonomy” and “agency.”

These terms are most clearly visible within the context of Canada’s digital divide, between those who have access to media tools and those without. Of course, there are many ways to divide people when it comes to media. At this point, regardless of your background, your experience, your expertise, your access to digital tools or any other situation, you are asked to create a short digital story.

Using the camera of one’s choice (bring your own device!), learners express the essence of their self and share a unique personal story in less than 3 minutes. These digital essays invite you to reflect upon core values, strengths and passions, while illustrating the complexity of self, identity and what it means to be human.

Barney, Darin. (2005). Communication Technology. Vancouver: UBC Press.

Drotner, Kirsten. (2008). Leisure is hard work: Digital practices and future competencies. In David Buckingham (Ed.), Youth, identity, and digital media. (pp. 167–184). The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

LESIURE IS HARD WORK READ Kirsten Drotner’s Leisure Is Hard Work: Digital Practices and Future Competencies, 2008.

QUESTION Do you know how much time you dedicate to personal and social media uses?

Consider how you spend your day? Track your media use.

What helps you pay attention?

What digital skills have you mastered?

What are your questions?

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YOUR CREATIVE OPTIONS Learners are invited to engage in a digital media, arts-based practice. Digital tools now make the oldest form of storytelling—oral narrative—easy to create and circulate. digital storytelling can be as simple as you might imagine; five pictures in a sequence, shot on any video platform with a voice over. And by no means are you limited to video.

Storytelling with digital tools, in my memory, dates to a time when word processing machines included networking capabilities. The era of personal computers and dial-up networks, gosh, I can still hear the sound of my first computer as it connected to the network. It was slow and very noise.

The first book I had ‘digital’ access to were Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. When hypertext was introduced the meaning of narrative exploded! Hypertext is the ability to link one text to another. Linked lexia (specific hypertext links) invited me into digital worlds of co-creation, I chose the path a story would take. Reading was like playing a game.

Many of you were born into worlds where hypertext is common—it’s how you experience the internet. But thirty or so years ago, I witnessed the digital world discover new ways of creating and experiencing stories. Using a rich combination of media tools, narratives could be nonlinear. My world changed forever. KaBoom!

TWO RELATED DETOURS BEFORE I invite you to play with explosives, I want to honour the art storytelling and the artsbased-practice of media art by taking two important detours.

I would be remiss if I did not provide an exemplar performance. To this, I invite you to attend to a PERFORMANCE; watch and listen to MacArthur “genius” Anna Deavere Smith share her story “On the Road: A Search for American Character.”

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WELTSCHMERZ And first: let me be honest, I’m having a hard day. How about you? In fact, I can’t make it one day without some trigger setting off my reactive inclinations— whether the physical isolation or forced screen-time, daily death-toll and reports that rate infection like some cheap game of battleship; with my survival senses readied, I can’t dial down my hyper-arousal and acute awareness of what’s going on in my immediate vicinity.

It’s not a constant state of anxiety or depression—besides those are diagnoses and I promised to bracket any medical pathologies in place of detailed descriptions of what my body senses, whether externally or from the inside, like fog brain and muscle strain.

To this end, I ask for patience and more of your time and attention because it is important to acknowledge that our world is in crisis. We are all experiencing our own crises. Things are not working “as usual.”

We all struggle.

We are living in collective TRAUMA. These are curious times. The world seems steely and calm. Neighbours are friendly. At the same time, I’m trapped in a boisterous amusement park, billions of people reach for my attention. All media messages push and jar me to access very important information, ostensibly without wanting anything in return.

Of course, attention is money for those in power. I don’t want to amplify anyone’s selfserving messages. The textures of life, less predictable, provoke my restlessness. Will the sun rise again tomorrow? Aren’t you exhausted from the current state of the world? This is what my grandmother would call “weltschmerz.”

Her voice is prominently in my head, “markie, come here. Don’t be sad. You know the world will never be perfect.” My grandmother’s oral expressions are rich in both prosody and meaning.

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“tdis ‘is weltschmerz,” she sighs, turning away from the window. “V’we know weltschmerz.”

Weltschmerz [pronounced: velt-schmer-itze], my grandmother taught me, refers to the pain I experienced at the unlikely state of the world. World weary was her Yiddish translation. Are all the people of the world, like me, in a state of weltschmerz? I wouldn’t be surprised. Can you identify with this physical state of world-weariness?

Grandmother would pull me closer, “markie. Time for a story.” And so, it would begin, a story she or I would share about our day or a memory. Grandmother taught me to turn from the pain and use my imagination to generate new feelings.

I now encourage learners to create their own media messages. And I don’t ask you to do anything I am not willing to do myself. I spent part of the summer creating some video work.

I dance on camera. Ha! Take that weltschmerz. My work is available for you to review on vimeo, if you are interested. I felt a need to express my vulnerability.

I am always off in my own world, thinking, reflecting. The last thing I want to do is add to the mountains of information available. And, at the same time, I discovered there is always someone who resonates with my work. There is always someone who can relate to your story, who needs to hear your words in that moment.

Let’s participate in the global networked conversation. Isn’t this better than another hamburger? I mean, I know that’s probably easy or something. And time for new. Time to put yourself out there.

stock image from Public Domain; remix’d

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I know what it feels like to not believe in yourself; you doubt yourself; you stop your creative work; and later, you feel some sense of regret; the unfinished work. Here is my secret at the root of my insecurities: I live among collections of incomplete projects, scattered at my feet.

“Look markie, what a mess. And oh my, haven’t you been busy.” Other than my grandmother, who wants to experience my work? Do I even want to? My voice trails off in an archive of fragmentary stories. WELTSCHMERZ. The collective trauma challenges me further. Yet, I know I have a voice. I know my voice can make a difference. And maybe, one of you will connect with my recent outpouring of short video art. The sum of my discoveries leads me to tell you this: THE WORLD NEEDS YOUR VOICE. YOU ARE ESSENTIAL. There a lots of ways humans experience and embody past trauma. I see childhood trauma as another pandemic. More children in the world live among situations of isolation, exclusion, abuse, pain, violence and worse. I invite you to learn a little more about trauma and, in tandem, I invite your compassion. For yourself and for others.

TRAUMA & COMPASSION TRAUMA is an urgent public health issue, and we have the knowledge to respond effectively. The choice is ours to act on what we know. I stumbled on a study while doing some research about violence prevention. This study, released by the Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), looked at child abuse and trauma. It’s called the ACE study to refer “Adverse Childhood Experiences.” Even before COVID, isolation and this week’s anxiety, children are living in conditions that make me sick.

To quickly summarize some of the study’s findings: 10% lived with a parent or other adult in home often or very often swore at them, insulted them or put them down; 25% said a parent often or very often pushed, grabbed, slapped or threw something at them; 28% of women and 16% of men experienced some sexual misconduct and abuse; 12.5% witnessed their mother sometimes, often or very often pushed, grabbed, slapped or had something thrown at her; 12.5% of children witness their mother sometimes, often or very often get kicked, beaten, hit with a fist or with something hard.

Writing these words to you—I feel queasy. Child abuse and neglect, as defined within the ACE study, is identified as the gravest and most costly public health issue.

The CDC explains that the three-year study began twenty-five years ago, in two waves of data collection, with over 17,000 participants. An ACE scores account for types of abuse, neglect and other hallmarks of a rough childhood. The rougher your childhood, the higher

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your score, and an increased risk for health problems later in life. Take the test. Or just take a look at the questions.

You can also look at the original study “Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults; The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study” and review related research.

Trauma is often lost in time, shame, blame, secrecy, silence, social taboo, chronic depression, alcoholism, drug use, addiction, suicide attempts; trauma increases the probability of other health concerns like cancers. Trauma isn’t simply something that happens to you; the shock of each event lives in your bearing and body, further impacting your mind and your world.

In other words, early abuse devastates health and social functioning. Can you imagine all children having equitable access to high quality day care? Imagine a school that cultivated cooperation, self-regulation, perseverance and concentration (not focusing on passing tests, stilted curiosity, anxiety to excel or complete shutdown from hopelessness, fear and/or hyper arousal).

RESOURCES The CDC’s ACE STUDY <https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/about.html>.

The CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control The CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention The original study is also included in the course reading library.

Vincent J Felitti MD, FACP & Robert F Anda MD, MS, Dale Nordenberg MD, David F Williamson MS, PhD, Alison M Spitz MS, MPH, Valerie Edwards BA, Mary P Koss PhD, James S Marks MD, MPH. “Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults; The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study,” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, VOL. 14; ISSUE 4, P245-258, MAY 01, 1998. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(98)00017-8

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Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains, childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. The repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues have tangible effects on the development of the brain. This unfolds across a lifetime, to the point where those who experienced high levels of trauma are at triple the risk for heart disease and lung cancer. Burke Harris’s talk is an impassioned plea for pediatric medicine to confront the prevention and treatment of trauma, head-on.

RESOURCE WATCH “TEDTalks: Nadine Burke Harris—How Childhood Trauma Affects Health across a Lifetime.”

(16:02). Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2015.

https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod-infobasecom.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=104666&xtid=114600

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<iframe height='698' frameborder='0' style='border:1px solid #ddd;' width='885' src='https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod-infobasecom.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?token=114600&wID=104666&plt=FOD&loid=0&w=865&h=648&fWidt h=885&fHeight=698' allowfullscreen allow="encrypted-media">&nbsp;</iframe> TED WEBSITE https://www.ted.com/talks/nadine_burke_harris_how_childhood_trauma_affects_health_across_a_lifetime?utm_campaign =tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare <div style="max-width:854px"><div style="position:relative;height:0;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe src="https://embed.ted.com/talks/nadine_burke_harris_how_childhood_trauma_affects_health_across_a_lifetime" width="854" height="480" style="position:absolute;left:0;top:0;width:100%;height:100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div>

QUESTIONS Have you or someone you know experienced this kind of high level of trauma?

Do you think Nadine Burke Harris is exaggerating or under-reporting?

Regardless of you past experiences, are you able to bring a sense of self compassion to your own and othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experiences with trauma?

Can you explain the difference between compassion and empathy?

Is it best to try addressing any past trauma or to try forgetting past trauma?

RESOURCE GUIDED COMPASSION MEDITATION AND VISUALIZATION I highly recommend the guided audio and video materials at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, Center for Mindfulness in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health. A number of different practices have been prepared and are available on SoundCloud.

The Short Mindfulness and Compassion meditations are a good place to begin. They also have mediations that help you visualize your body so as to reduce tension and pain and promote relaxation and inner peace. These are call Body Scans and can really help all of us

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connect with our physical bodies in peaceful and meaningful ways. All meditations aim to help rewire your mindset so as to experience life without any hectic frenzied distractions.

Imagine if you dedicated part of every day to (what they call) non-doing; imagine if your life was led by a sense of non-striving, setting aside all your determined efforts and ruthless ambition. How do you think this subversive attitude and value could impact your life? The lives of your family? The rest of the world?

TASK I urge you to try one of these meditations. Let me know if you do and how it works for you.

RESOURCES Short Mindfulness and Compassion meditations https://soundcloud.com/ucsdmindfulness/sets/short-meditation-sessions Body Scans meditations https://soundcloud.com/ucsdmindfulness/sets/body-scan The Center for Mindfulness in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego. https://medschool.ucsd.edu/som/fmph/research/mindfulness/programs/mindfulnessprograms/MBSR-programs/Pages/audio.aspx <iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playlists/1014915556&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=tr ue&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sansserif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/ucsdmindfulness" title="UCSD Center for Mindfulness" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">UCSD Center for Mindfulness</a> ¡ <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ucsdmindfulness/sets/short-meditation-sessions" title="Short Mindfulness &amp; Compassion Meditations" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Short Mindfulness &amp; Compassion Meditations</a></div> <iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playlists/806248152&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=tr ue&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sansserif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/ucsdmindfulness" title="UCSD Center for Mindfulness" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">UCSD Center for Mindfulness</a> ¡ <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ucsdmindfulness/sets/body-scan" title="Body Scan" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; textdecoration: none;">Body Scan</a></div>

Mark Lipton's TIP of the DAY!

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STORY OF YOU YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT I remember hearing this notion, “you are what you eat,” from multiple voices. I can’t tell you who say this first, but the idea behind it makes a lot of sense. If you want a healthy body, eat healthy foods. Does that make sense to you?

Then it follows “if you want to be a good writer, read good writing.” I have been saying this line since I began teaching. We live in a world where most people are unaware of what they read and how it impacts their minds. I strongly believe that if you give some attention to what you see as “good writing” you will have a sense of what you need to do in order to ‘level up.’

Likewise, if you want to be a good performer, storyteller or leader, you need to attend to good performances, stories and leaders. This leads me to my second detour; here is an opportunity for you to observe good storytellers.

OBSERVE GOOD STORYTELLERS Your personal stories are yours. Your stories are unique and specific to you. And there is no better way to learn how to craft and deliver a narrative than by watching storytellers you admire. Do you know people you regard as articulate public speakers? Are these people engaging storytellers? Chances are you’ve come across a handful of talented storytellers.

Look at good storytellers and learn through observation. How do they craft a successful story?

When listening to the stories of others: PRACTICE DEEP LISTENING SKILLS. PRACTICE FOCUSED ATTENTION SKILLS. If you want the outcomes, you have to be prepared to do the required work.

There are no easy answers in life. You can enhance your listening and attention skills by observing good storytellers. Listen and pay attention to how the story makes you feel; how does the story resonate within you. Have you experienced good storytelling?

TASK Give an example of one experience of good storytelling.

Recall specific aspects of this past experience and try to write with descriptive language.

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QUESTIONS Who do you look to as a good storyteller?

What materials do you read that you consider well written?

What does it mean to write well?

What does it mean to present a story well?

What did good storytelling teach you about yourself? your family? your friends?

What can a good story teach you about your community? your ethics?

What about these stories was so intriguing?

Which elements offered real perspective into your own life?

What did this story teach you about the things that really matters to you?

PERFORMANCE Anna Deavere Smith uses her solo performances as a public medium to explore issues of race, identity, and community in America. Inspired by her grandfather who told her, “Say a word often enough, and it becomes you,” Deavere Smith has interviewed more than 2,000 people across the country for 20 years.

Without props, sets, or costumes, she translates these encounters into profound performances, each drawing verbatim from the original recorded interview. Her uncanny ability to inhabit the characters she’s representing onstage regardless of race, gender, or age has made her the master of the form.

She was the recipient of two Obie’s, a MacArthur “genius” grant and several Tony nominations. Deavere’s performance gives life to author Studs Terkel, convict Paulette Jenkins, a Korean shopkeeper and a bull rider from her show “On the Road: A Search for American Character.”

RESOURCE PERFORMANCE Anna Deavere Smith’s "On the Road: A Search for American Character."

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“TEDTalks: Anna Deavere Smith—Four American Characters.” (23:03).

Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2007. https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod-infobase-com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=104666&xtid=48313 <iframe height='698' frameborder='0' style='border:1px solid #ddd;' width='885' src='https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fodinfobasecom.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?token=48313&wID=104666&plt=FOD&loid=0&w=865&h=648&fWidth=885&fHeight= 698' allowfullscreen allow="encrypted-media">&nbsp;</iframe> <div style="max-width:854px"><div style="position:relative;height:0;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe src="https://embed.ted.com/talks/anna_deavere_smith_four_american_characters" width="854" height="480" style="position:absolute;left:0;top:0;width:100%;height:100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div>

QUESTIONS Which parts of Deavere Smith’s performance resonated with you?

What did it feel like?

Can you connect any of her themes to you and your life?

Are there any choices, images, emotions or values you need to reconsider?

What details and moments speak to you?

Were there gaps in any of her stories that trouble you?

What stories or characters help situate your sense of self?

The notion of this layered story, with four monologues, is a sophisticated structure.

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What did you think of her structure?

RESOURCE “Dave Isay—Everyone around You Has a Story the World Needs to Hear.” (21:38).

Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2015.

Dave Isay opened the first StoryCorps booth in New York’s Grand Central Terminal in 2003 with the intention of creating a quiet place where a person could honor someone who mattered to them by listening to their story. Since then, StoryCorps has evolved into the single largest collection of human voices ever recorded. His mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.

Ultimately, Isay does this to remind people of our shared humanity, to strengthen and build the connections between people, to teach the value of listening and to weave into the fabric of our culture the understanding that everyone’s story matters.

RESOURCE https://storycorps.org/stories/

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YOU ARE A STORYTELLER Storytelling is a powerful tool. Political leaders tell stories to motivate their constituents; talented writers harness the power of stories to create the gift of literature. Your story reveals something about your life. Whether the story is about you or totally outlandish, you’re sharing a piece of yourself. Does this feel more challenging or more intimate than producing a standard five-paragraph essay you mastered in high school?

As a learner and a human, developing your skills in written and oral communication—as writer and storyteller, are important for your future, as you navigate how to understand your own experiences. This attention to storytelling aligns with the labour-market’s growing demand for graduates with competence in a number of professional practices; the language of 21st century skills seems a little late. These are these skills you need for NOW.

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Recalling memories or manipulating ideas into a story requires practice. The possibilities for practice are endless. Be mindful of when and how you integrate writing and storytelling into your daily life. Consider who you write for. There are so many people waiting for you to show up in the world; the world needs to learn YOUR STORY. RESOURCE “The Digital Storytelling Process.” [02:20].

Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2019. https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod-infobase-com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=104666&xtid=195604 <iframe height='698' frameborder='0' style='border:1px solid #ddd;' width='885' src='https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod-infobasecom.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?token=195604&wID=104666&plt=FOD&loid=0&w=865&h=648&fWidth=885&fHeight=698' allowfullscreen allow="encrypted-media">&nbsp;</iframe>

“Developing 21st Century Skills through Storytelling.” [02:09].

Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2019. https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod-infobase-com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=104666&xtid=195603 <iframe height='698' frameborder='0' style='border:1px solid #ddd;' width='885' src='https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod-infobasecom.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?token=195603&wID=104666&plt=FOD&loid=0&w=865&h=648&fWidth=885&fHeight=698' allowfullscreen allow="encrypted-media">&nbsp;</iframe>

YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS: PLAUSIBLE LIVES, POSSIBLE WORLDS When you hear the word “story” what comes to mind? What is a story? Character, plot and setting. I recall a moment in high school when that was my answer. I wasn’t as clever as you.

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Consider story as a sequence of action, details arranged in an order according to time or some other measure. Then what? A conclusion? What does that really mean? Some new realization? An AH HA moment? And ending or moment of reflection?

How do you begin YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS? Is this very question manageable in your mind? Awe-inspiring? Soul crushing? Whatever your answer, that’s where you begin.

FOLLOW WONDER & CURIOSITY When did you start asking why? WHY? Curiosity is usually followed by interesting questions.

Sincerely, I am not interested in your abilities to recall ‘the correct answer.’ I am fascinated by the questions people ask. Other people’s questions can lead me to wonder. And wonder. And wonder. I can be slow. I something think I must seem unusually forceful (if not downright peculiar) by replying to your question with another question—by inviting wonder.

Good stories answer questions. Are you interested in something? Do you find yourself wondering about the details? You cannot be wrong. This is YOUR creativity. I try to create the conditions for you and your creativity to flourish—to take flight. The mind soars.

I know the sage wisdom, storytellers must mine their own memories and life experiences.

Are there events in your life that you believe will make for a great story? Are there moments that represent your experiences building resilience? Recall the details of a moment when an absolute disaster led to some new knowledge or other success.

HONEST AS THE DAY IS LONG Embrace your fear or anxiety. These are very normal emotional reactions. IF you are excited and think you’re ready to go, consider the next few key ideas as cues or prompts. We know “you got this” and we are always improving with practice. I know the first time I was asked to create a video – a digital story, I was not pumped. I felt terror. Do I share a true story? I barely speak to other people; I am an introvert. I cannot tell the world my secrets. Do I even have a story? There is usually a natural tendency to resist sharing personal details.

Anecdotes that illustrate struggle or failure or stories about overcoming obstacles are what make people appear authentic and accessible. How comfortable are you showing vulnerability? Elsewhere I have written, and I will repeat, I share my vulnerability with you – so you don’t have to. No one is suggesting you cross personal boundary lines and surrender to the authority of the professor. PERSONAL SHARING IS NOT A REQUIREMENT. Honest! –as the day is long.

I am always one to push the limits. Again, risk-taking is one of the learning outcomes in this course. You may have a low risk-taking threshold. Think of our teaching team as YOUR TESTING THE LIMITS COLLECTIVE. It’s our job to push. It is not your job to reply, “how hard should I push, sir?” Ha. That makes me laugh. . . It’s your task to experiment, engage in symbolic play, touch technologies of storytelling and try to create work with intention and artistry.

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Failure is an option; failure builds your resilience. As a team, we aren’t interested in how professional your work appears. We are preparing to assess your creative process: from preproduction; storyboarding; script writing; project planning, camera use, experimentation with editing; finalizing a product; uploading an .mp4 file to DROPBOX (interoperable standardization); writing about your intentions; and writing your metacognitive reflections.

Whether you share a real personal experience or something totally different, it’s always useful to look to your life for inspiration. Sharing stories may reveal hidden fears, emotions or dreams. Putting your everyday life under a microscope is both frightening and enlightening.

COURAGE MY LOVE Everyone knows it’s easier to talk about what’s on the surface, like sharing your best selfies or those optimal posts of your amazing life. Collect Likes. Like. Thumbs Up. Smiley face. Big heart. These are surface-level communicative acts. And it’s much easier to stay on the surface of your life: The sun is hot; Neat; Great hair day; Be my valentine?

To dive below the surface takes courage. It takes courage to raise unfamiliar topics. We support your courageous storytelling! Applying courage to this task can help improve your storytelling skills. Remember, we are not judging you—our job is to assess your output.

These are not the same thing—by a longshot.

Honesty can hurt. The worst thing a bully can say is something true; the truth stings!

Truthfully, there are enough judgmental people in the world. Resist taking the path of instant judgments. These reactions do not and will not serve you! Here’s where I ask you to be honest (as the day is long): is the invisible voice in your head extremely self-critical? Are we not our own worst critics? Your reflective efforts can describe efforts at supressing (or overcoming) this self-critical voice.

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It is too easy to take other people’s words and create pretty cards (I have a few of them in this curriculum—it’s super easy). Don’t let someone else speak for you; don’t let someone else’s words speak for you. They don’t showcase your unique identity, sense of self or authentic voice.

Look, I enjoy referring to the words of others for inspiration or when those words led me to new visions or perceptual hitches. You are allowed to cite others—as long as the greater part of your content (5:95) is yours. Find a voice that show audiences who you are and what makes you, YOU.

Finding an authentic voice is like dressing for a “smart casual” party. I see this expression and I begin to panic. I like dressing up. What is casual? What is smart? Simply put, the party invites you to use languages to sound smart, as long as your language can work in informal settings.

If you met me at a cocktail party (is that a thing?), I’d probably talk about a book I’m reading; would you rather hear about the latest murder mystery like Murder on the Orient Express? or might you prefer to learn about the Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind? Let’s say you’ve had a long day and already finished your first drink.

I am always confused by wordy jargon. Tell a story with words everyone can understand and follow. Encourage your audience to listen and engage. If your audience doesn’t understand your language, you’ve lost their interest. Manipulate your words so people consider you relatable and your information relevant. When you’re able to engage and stay relevant to your audience, storytelling transforms into the kind of meaningful experience all introverts crave.

The truth of this matter is consistent: not everyone is going to love you. HATE-ERS GONNA HATE. Don’t feed a hateful public. &Let’s say you did everything perfectly (whatever that looks like), there will still be people who do not like you. Why spend time and energy on haters? Focus your time, energy and love on the people already cheering you on. Pay attention to the people who like you. It’s pretty simple (in theory).

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In the end, what matters most is that you like yourself. When you like yourself, it doesn’t matter what you wear (smart-casual-my-ass). Your people will find you. Keep showing up with your authentic voice and find joy in your community and the stories their lives tell.

RESOURCE “Why Tell Digital Stories.” [01:55].

Series: Digital Storytelling; Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2019.

Still not convinced. Check out this animated exploration about the significance of storytelling in the digital age. https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod-infobase-com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=104666&xtid=195600 <iframe height='698' frameborder='0' style='border:1px solid #ddd;' width='885' src='https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod-infobasecom.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?token=195600&wID=104666&plt=FOD&loid=0&w=865&h=648&fWidth=885&fHeight=698' allowfullscreen allow="encrypted-media">&nbsp;</iframe>

TRUTH or STORY? Jerome Bruner’s “Life as Narrative” (2004) points to Peter Winch’s 1958 proclamation on the veracity and validity of knowledge; Bruner writes:

it is not so evident in the human sciences or human affairs how to specify criteria by which to judge the rightness of any theory or model, especially a folk theory like an account of “my life.” All verifications criteria trunk slippery, and we surely cannot judge rightness by narrative adequacy alone. A rousing tale of a life is not necessarily a “right” account (694).

Here’s my grandmother again. As an oral storyteller, she knew how to improvise. She implicitly understood how improvising creates strong connections. If she knew you loved the colour green, she’d find a way to work that into her story. Are you wearing a hat? My grandmother would start by looking at your hat and unfold into a complicated narrative that—somehow in the end, returned to your hat. She loved to exaggerate every detail. In her sunlight, weaving a tale about our day I might recognize small embellishments.

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“Hey, that’s not what happened,” my young voice might raise from my corner. “Phaa,” she’s spit. “Du zalst nisht lozn dem ams bakumen in di veg fun a gute dertseylung.” Yiddish—a completely oral language, can only be written phonetically. My sounds never capture the melody and humour of a native Yiddish speaker.

As I write out these words, I utter sounds cursed by my assimilated-Canadian accent. I didn’t know what my grandmother was saying when she was in her prime, sharing a story. If I persisted, “that wasn’t how it really happened,” someone would eventually repeat, “Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.”

The upshot of this lesson crystalized as I practiced my own stories. Stories are specific.

Stories invite images, visuals and pictures. Stories evoke a particular time and place. With specific and descriptive language about small details, stories conjure mood, color, sound, texture, taste and other visceral and sensory responses. With specificity, stories suggest worlds with the power to engage the minds of others. The specificity of an experience helps access universal sentiments or insights. It’s the small things that make a world. The devil’s in the details.

READ Walter Fisher’s “The Narrative Paradigm: In the Beginning.”

Jerome Bruner’s “Life as Narrative.” 2004.

SUGGESTED READINGS Mattingly, Cheryl, Nancy C. Lutkehaus, and C. J. Throop. "Bruner's Search for Meaning: A Conversation between Psychology and Anthropology." Ethos 36.1, 2008.

Mos, Leendert. "Jerome Bruner: Language, Culture, Self." Canadian Psychology 44.1, 2003.

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ON THE LEVEL? “Stop telling such outlandish tales” is a passage from a story my mum could recite at will, to my great delight. “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” was Theodor Seuss Geisel's first children's book. Dr. Seuss makes me smile. I relished his embellishments and musical style. Can you hear it?

Marco, keep your eyelids up And see what you can see.

Poor Marco, I thought as a child. No one will ever give him the benefit of doubt. The name of the main character echoed mine and every time I heard my mother’s voice seize Seuss’s prosody my mood lifted. Elated.

When I moved to New York City in the late 1980s, my mother gave me a new, clean edition of our shared memories. Inside the cover I see her script, “Mulberry Street is on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. When you find it, promise you’ll call home and tell me what you see.”

In Manhattan’s Little Italy, Mulberry Street is below the standard street grid New York City is known for (I lived at 77th&3rd; A&9th; 23rd&10th), where zig zagging roads crisscross with no

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apparent order. I think it was mid-September—I clearly remember the dreadful humidity.

Every movement dragged in moist air. Trashcan odors hung like Christmas lights.

I crossed an Avenue and suddenly, I walked into a street festival. The street was filled with Manhattanites of all shapes and sizes. Vendors in carnival trailers seduced a slow-moving crowd: whack-a-mole, ring toss, hot pretzels with yellow mustard, a mini-donut machine and homemade gelato. My frozen pistachio cream had real pistachios! Served in a small paper cup, I scooped the melting delight with a wooden spoon as I worked my way through the hot crowd.

At the corner, the festival ended. Another few steps and I returned to regular traffic. As I am apt to do, I made my way to the corner so I could shimmy my back against the dark brick building, looking for north. Looking up, the street sign astonished my blinking eyes and disoriented head; I dropped my gelato! I was on Mulberry Street. I later learned it was the Feast of San Gennaro. That night I called home, super excited, mum was going to love this.

“On my god, mum, you won’t believe it. You won’t believe what happened today!”

My mother knew a good story was coming. “I was walking downtown, and I stumbled upon Mulberry Street.”

Yes, Yes. Mom wanted details, “so, what did you see?”

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I wanted to build her anticipation. Mimicking her methods, like all those times she recited this tale of Mulberry Street, was not easy. My story sounded “outlandish,” like “turning minnows into whales.” When my story ended my mom retorted, “is that all?” I smiled into the phone, recounting:

I've looked and I've looked And I've kept careful track.

But all that I've noticed, Except my own feet Was a horse and a wagon on Mulberry Street.

Now that is a true story. In this section, as I write to you, the imaginary readers/learners, I clutter my prose with English idioms. As a figure of speech, idioms are one of the most perplexing—often the meanings are deep beneath the surface. An idiom is a word or group of words with a figurative meaning not easily deduced from its literal meaning. Confounding, I know. In recalling the oral wisdom from my mostly matriarchal family, I match the beauty of Yiddish (for me) with a classic idiom from literature.

Miguel de Cervantes published Don Quixote in the early 17th century. I learned the ‘experts’ consider this ‘masterpiece of literature’ the first modern novel. During that time, theatre and the play genre were more common and accessible for greater numbers of people.

Nonetheless, Cervantes hit the genre tipping point; the novel’s main character is enamored with the notion of chivalry, and spends his time fighting with windmills. He imagines windmills as giants and “tilting at windmills” was Don Quixote’s exercise in futility. Tilting at windmills means fighting imaginary enemies.

I remember rereading last summer and underlining words that spoke to my grandmother’s sagacity. Don’t tell a librarian because from their point of view marginalia is destructive —I snapped a pic of the page to further provoke my memory.

I see two hand drawn pentangles in the top and bottom corners of the page; the page number is circled: 77; the underlined last few words on the page are spoken by Don Quixote’s companion Sancho Panza: “—and no story is bad if it is truthful.”

From my grandmother’s oral wisdom to Cervantes’ literary classic Don Quixote: the lines drawn around truth or fiction blur. When you try to adjust your perspective on the world, you are trying to analyze how ideas are perceived by others who don’t share own same

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assumptions or backgrounds. People respond to a story not so much because it is true, but because they find it meaningful.

BY HOOK OR BY CROOK You are your story’s narrator. Before you start telling a story, you need a hook to attract audiences—invite their interest. At the same time, your listeners are listening and watching to determine why your story is important. What is your key message?

It’s important to be very clear on the central theme or plot point that you are building your story around. To amplify the challenges of your creative process, begin this storytelling exercise by answering two key elements: MESSAGE & AUDIENCE. All decisions about your story result from your key message and audience.

A great story progresses towards a central message. Begin knowing your message. Then, you can play around, figuring out the best way to illustrate it to you audience. A challenge is how you determine the best means to guide audiences to your message. The expressiveness of your voice and your ability to convey emotions, for example, are powerful ways to connect with an audience.

If it’s a funny story, build tension to a surprise or twist to leave your audience in stitches.

Engaging stories increase dramatic suspense until its narrative peak. Regardless of what type of story you want to tell it’s important to be very clear on the central theme or plot point that you are building your story around.

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Captivating stories don’t just share what happened and when — they also reveal how you felt, what motivated you, what helped you persist. Emotional story elements don’t have to be complicated. Try something as simple as these “troublesome” first lines: RESOURCE SENTENCE STARTERS: It wasn’t your fault. You’re not leaving, are you? Don’t leave. Don’t do this to yourself. I can’t just sit by and do nothing when you’re suffering so much. Just talk to me, please. You need help. Let me help you. Stop pushing everyone away. You haven’t been yourself lately. I’m not going anywhere. You’re hurting me. I can’t do this anymore. I need help. There’s nothing you can do. I need some time to myself. Leave me alone. It’s better this way. I can’t promise.

Don’t make this harder than it already is. Stay with me. I don’t want your apology. You know I have feelings for you. Yeah, I remember the drill. I don’t believe it. This is breaking my heart.

You met me a very strange time in my life. What keeps you up night? I let you down.

Something strange happened. You’re not safe here. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. We are not the same, and never will be. . .

MADNESS OR METHOD? Tzvetan Todorov’s (1969) ideas about narrative highlight the importance of applying rigour to your approach or method. We ask about your creative process because, ultimately, we are looking to see “the exactness of the method” – that is, your method and much of this takes place “prior to the establishment” of your story.

When we ask about your “preproduction” we want to know what language, thoughts and actions took place before you finalized your digital story. Take us on your journey of digital

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creation. How you structure this journey is up to you & there are at least three ingredients to your stories and your journeys: a beginning, middle and end.

Digital storytelling offers creative people (like you) opportunities to reflect on themselves and their ideas while expanding digital literacy skills. These skills are powerful tools to explain points of view, visualize evidence and frame arguments—and dissemination can occur across multiple platforms.

Why do you tell stories? Do you have a purpose other than completing a required assignment? Is this a possible way to transfer knowledge, make sense of human experience, teach values and beliefs? Beyond your purpose, consider this collection of a half-dozen elements of digital stories; then, organize your story by adopting or adapting five basic and standard elements of narrative structure. First – some creative considerations: HEROS, CHARACTERS, VOICES Are you planning to tell a story about yourself? You are a complex human with a unique perspective on the world. It’s almost impossible to tell your audience everything about yourself. Instead, you have to identify some key aspects that can represent the larger set of values you and/or your character strive for. To really define the character, many creative writing practices encourage that you design short character profiles, for you/your hero and everyone else—every other body included within the frame of your production.

What key questions might you put to all characters? Why kinds of questions reveal those details you hope to exploit. For example, consider the words, ideas or language your hero avoids at all cost. What limitations would this exercise place on a character? Writing a brief character sketch helps the actors, directors and editors stay focused and on message. You can design profound questions for organizing your characters (Appendix I includes links to resources, if you need inspiration) or look to resources that help guide your work.

POINT OF VIEW in STORYTELLING With these brief character profiles, you can now bring characters to life by consistently recognizing their worldviews, that is, how they see the world. Highly focused creative work can provide a single point of view. Chris Milk’s (2009) digital story accomplishes this task; in Last Day Dream, a man watches his life pass before him. Produced for a festival that specified topic and time, the 42 Second Dream Film Festival archives the best of these short digital stories. In Milk’s short film, we see the world through a single point of view. This success is more challenging when you are given more time and a broader topic—as with this assignment.

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RESOURCE WATCH LAST DAY DREAM, written & directed by Chris Milk

[Additional credits: Produced by Samantha Storr; Associate Producer Brad O'Connor; Music Chris Milk; Photography Chris Milk; Editor Livio Sanchez; Production Designer Matthew Holt; Wardrobe Stylist Lydia Paddon; Makeup & Wardrobe Molly Paddon; Production Assistance Jason Baum; Production Assistance Clint Caluory; Telecine Dave Hussey; Sound Design Eddie Kim; Shot entirely on Lensbaby Lenses and Canon 5D Mark II SLR Camera.]

<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/4155700?color=ffffff&title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&badge=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="https://vimeo.com/4155700">Last Day Dream</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/chrismilk">Chris Milk</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

A reason we ask for a digital story with a clear time stamp [you are limited to 2.5 minutes] is to give you an opportunity to include other points of view. Multiple points of view (POVs) often lead to richer and deeper experiences. Sharing another point of view with your audience helps verify and clarify their symbolic interactions with your work. Calling for multiple truths is akin to checking multiple sources.

Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2009) observes the danger of a single point of view; inherent in the power of stories, she argues, is a danger: “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”

Inspired by Nigerian history mostly forgotten by or invisible to westerners, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s stories, like jewels, lend sparkle to her creative process and diasporic storytelling.

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RESOURCE Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s The danger of a single story.

<div style="max-width:854px"><div style="position:relative;height:0;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe src="https://embed.ted.com/talks/lang/en/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story" width="854" height="480" style="position:absolute;left:0;top:0;width:100%;height:100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div>

In our era of fake news, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie powerful words highlight an impending threat:

“Our lives and our cultures are composed of a series of overlapping stories, if we hear only a single story about another person, culture or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.”

Many agree that today we live in times of multiple critical misunderstandings. In the arena of social media and digital technologies, critical misunderstandings mean that others are able to seize control over our digital information with implications far reaching and beyond current popular discourse. [oh dear, I fear I’m sounding all doom and gloom again.]

PATHETIC FALLACY FORSHADOWS Here it comes. Now may be the best time to tell you about that perfect storm at the end of summer, when trees shed their first leaves to a brutal wind, whispering low as it hurls through trees. Heavy rain begins and windows around the neighbourhood are sealed, holding the secrets taking place insider. What could possibly happen next?

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Pathetic fallacy refers to the creative attribution of human feelings and responses to aspects of nature – like weather. It was a dark and stormy night . . . Figures of speech enliven writing and enrich the experience for audiences. Weather, for example, can evoke your desired resolution without giving away the end.

SHOW DON’T TELL If find this idea confusing: A picture is worth a thousand words. Have you heard that idea before? Imagery can replace a lot of unnecessary verbiage. And there are other times when a single word can conjure thousands and thousands of pictures.

When ideas are concrete, a picture makes sense. Why tell you about my greying hair or my sweet dog-child BettyRu, when I could show you pictures? Verbiage. However, abstract ideas, words that might represent our core values like democracy, freedom, love –these words lead to thousands of different images. Knowing when your ideas are more concrete and/or more abstract help you make decisions about your use of words and pictures.

What powerful images can help convey your story? You are asked to apply other figures of speech like metaphor and metonymy to your work. Here is where you make the best use of concrete imagery to stand for more abstract concepts, idea and goals. A good story uses imagery and evocative language to show audiences what’s at stake rather than tell the audience what to think.

EMBRACE CONFLICT I’m not a fan of melodrama. Like when my fussy parents make a scene in a restaurant because the music is too loud, the chair too hard, the food too salty. This happens every time our family eats at a restaurant. At first, I would blush, step back or look away from embarrassment. Now, it’s a game I play with my brother and sister; at what point will mum call over a server with a complaint, instigating a dispute? Like my mum at a restaurant, a good storyteller cannot shy away from conflict.

The art of a good story includes the crafting of narratives with obstacles and hardships strewn in the path of their protagonists. When characters struggle to achieve their goals, you strengthen your connection with audiences; for an audience to enjoy your work to the very end, compelling experiences of overcoming obstacles help audiences accept your resolutions with a sense of satisfaction.

Conflict in are acts of kindness for audiences. Any cruelty makes for a compelling narrative.

What is the problem or conflict in your story? How is conflict framed; what does that frame omit? Conflict also helps create action and motion in your story. ACTION is necessary. The medium of digital video invites action to move a story forward. How else can you move audiences from your beginning, to your middle, to your ending?

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Typically, the ACTION in a story looks something like this:

This image depicts the traditional narrative arc: from beginning, through middle, to the end.

Here are standard plot points, to the various points of crisis as the action rises; the traditional climax marks the beginning of the end, which fall to an ultimate resolution. To map your story, these indicators are the elements of traditional narrative structures.

ELEMENTS OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURE Here is another way to map your structure. Think of your beginning as the opportunity to engage your audience; your middle is when you show the challenge; and a satisfying end that shows a change.

Remember your purpose for telling your story. Begin with a problem or challenge that required a decision. The story really begins when a character confronts an unexpected challenge. Both the character and your audience feel an urgent need to pay attention.

Every choice yields an outcome. Every outcome teaches some kind of lesson.

A good story is drawn from a series of choice points that have structured the “plot” of your life; the challenges you faced, choices you made and outcomes you experienced. The story of your protagonist and the efforts to make choices encourages audiences to think about their own values, and challenges, and inspires them with new ways of thinking about how to make choices in their own lives.

When audiences can empathetically identify with the character, they are open to your storytelling triggers that actually make them feel. Visceral sensations experienced in the body, in response to a story, means you’ve been triggered. Storytelling is a very powerful tool; storytelling can move humans in emotional and instinctual ways.

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THE FIVE Cs of STORY STRUCTURE Narrative structure is a crucial element for creators and critics alike. Rather than encourage a simple three-part structure: beginning, middle, end, I point to another way to organize your story. For mapping your plot & moving the story forward, consider the following five words: CONTEXT, CATALYST, COMPLICATION, CHANGE & CONSEQUENCE I remember drawing this ‘story structure’ diagram when I was in my first year of university and the steps stayed with me. I do not know, nor do I have a formal source for the five Cs, save my old notebooks. Copied from a copy of something, my first year of university was rife with confusion, a sense of feeling lost—I had no sense of direction. My neat handwriting, doodling and colourful diagramming point (for me, at lease) to this structure as a beacon of light—a language for mapping my own story. Herein I share with you my notes and embellishments.

CONTEXT: THE BRIGHT LINE When a story first begins, your audience will sit silently, in the dark, open to knowing what might happen next. Imagine them in a dark theatre –eating popcorn, getting comfortable. Don’t keep you audience completely in the dark; shed some flickering light on the background to your story: where are we? What year is it? What time is? Who do we meet? Invite your audience to wonder. Providing contextual information situates time and place for audiences.

For years my father would come home from work and ask, “son, what’s the bright line today?”

And for years, I had no idea what he was talking about. I would sulk. Silently. Now I understand the metaphor. My father is a lawyer—his metaphors usually relate to the law & legal affairs.

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Within this CONTEXT, the bright line refers to a “clear distinction.” My dad was asking for some story about an event of the day. The bright line indicates a clear line when sulking ends and a fresh beginning unties a new narrative, bringing dad and me into some new world. [I was young. Poor dad. I must have sounded like, “Just a plain horse and wagon…”]

CATALYST: SHOT IN THE ARM Recall a memory, if you can, of when you received your first injection. Likely a vaccination of some kind. Perhaps, in a pediatrician’s office? a worried parent bearing witness? tears? maybe a lollipop, if you were lucky?

This shot in the arm (or leg—some part of your body) functioned as a CATALYST to teach your body to recognize new diseases. That shot in the arm stimulated your body to make antibodies against antigens of pathogens, also priming your fighting immune cells to remember those antigens that cause infection for quick responses to future diseases.

Sorry if those were bad memories.

Sometimes we think of injections and vaccines as problems. Maybe these problems are simply “challenges” for us to confront. You need a needle? No big deal. In any event, these are not stories of misfortune. Okay, maybe someone cried. However, a challenge can also be something of your own choosing—you chose to give this class a try. Climbing towards a summit can be similar to climbing out of a hole, and whatever the source of your challenge, there might be a good story to inspire others?

If injection metaphors don’t work for you, how about challenges that led you to RISE to the occasion? A protest? A standing ovation? Catalysts and challenges are what lead you or your protagonist toward change. Events or experiences that lead something or someone to change in your (or your character’s) world. Can you identify a catalyst in your life? Or a challenge you accepted? How are these ideas specific to you and your story?

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COMPLICATION: TOUGH NUT If the catalyst is an event, then the COMPLICATION is the obstacle that presents choice.

What are the options? Complications are always about some kind of struggle.

COMPLICATIONS are conflict. What obstacles have you overcome?

Walking down the path of life, you confront a fork in the road. Which path will you take? Is this an interesting conflict? You take the high road and I’ll take the low road. . . A story without sufficient struggle or conflict isn’t very interesting. A story without a challenge – really, takes you nowhere.

CHANGE: DRUG OF CHOICE Have you heard the expression “plus ça change”? The more things change, the more thing stay the same. “PLUS ÇA CHANGE.” I like the idea that, from moment to moment, the world is a completely different world and yet so much feels familiar and knowable. There are those things that remain constant. Like, for example, a rock. Do you want to sit through a story by and about a rock? Good stories take up complications as opportunities for transformation. CHANGE is a result of the decisions made when confronted with choice.

Maybe you had to decide between the University of Guelph or the University of Toronto?

You made a judgment call! The choice you made is going to transform you. Every experience, any new transactions will change you. CHANGE is inevitable. Your selection of this university, of this class, etc. represent your plan to overcome life’s current obstacles.

[Welcome to UofG! You made the CORRECT choice, btw. —I left UoT (in 2004) for this job at Guelph because . . . Let’s just say, like you, I made the correct choice. & let’s keep this between us. Sh. thanx/m]

When a doctor makes a diagnosis and when this doctor prescribes some medical remedy— that doctor demonstrates courage. Why this disease? Why that pill? In truth, there might be

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many possible options. Where does the doctor get the courage to diagnose a patient? Medical school and experience help. [even then, how do you know your doctor wasn’t a C student?]

These credentials (hopefully) give both doctor and patient courage and hope to carry on.

Wellness plan in place.

CONSEQUENCE: MATTER OF COURSE Yes, life goes on. And every good story comes to a final resolution that closes the experience. The CONSEQUENCES in your story often highlight how (you or) your character's world and worldview are altered.

Let’s say you’re on a ship and there’s a shiny brass bell. The sign above the bell reads “do not touch.” You cannot un-ring that bell. You are responsible for the choices you make.

Now, you must live with short term outcomes as well as far-reaching, unintended consequences. Still tempted to ring the bell? what could be so bad?

What emotional responses do you want audiences to experience? What lesson do you want to teach your audiences? What did you learn from the outcome? How did it feel? Why? With contextual knowledge, hook your audiences’ attention as they situate your story and settle in, ready to be taken to another world; arrest their attention with some catalyst that challenges your hero and audience—what will happen next? Present an interest obstacle to your audiences that complicates your story; let the audience follow your hero’s logical plan to meet and overcome this difficulty and show how your hero is transformed as a result.

Finally, your audience wants some resolution, ending your story with an outcome that follow orderly narrative structure.

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ELEMENTS OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURE READ Barthes, Roland. “An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative.”

Bruner, Jerome. “A Narrative Model of Self-Construction.”

Fisher, Walter R. “The Narrative Paradigm: In the Beginning.”

Todorov, Tzvetan. “Structural Analysis of Narrative.”

These four essays each present narrative structure in ways that have impacted critics, teachers and thinkers alike. Some of the ideas are currently in vogue; others have fallen away. As you read through these essays, consider similarities, differences and ways each might help situate your creative process.

ALTERNATIVE TASK Compare and contrast the four essays that consider and address the structures of narrative.

To what extent did any (or all) of these approaches to narrative structures help guide your creative process?

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THE LANGUAGES OF DIGITAL STORYTELLING MEDIA LITERACY For the last 30 years, I’ve witnessed teachers, policy makers and other stakeholders bounce around the term media literacy. It means different things to different folxs. If you are coming from an Ontario high school, media literacy was a required part of your Language Arts curriculum. In fact, I worked very hard with grassroots organizations fighting for the inclusion of media literacy.

Nonetheless, my research (also about media literacy and Ontario teachers) highlights how most teachers take an interpretive approach to the media literacy requirement. This means that you arrive in this class with a range of experiences and skills. And everyone comes from and starts at a different place. If you know your media literacy and are itching to make your video, you’ve already skipped through to the required parts of the assignment.

For anyone still unsure of how to approach the task of making a short digital story, this next section outlines some key ideas and points to useful resources.

Let me begin with seven key elements that are characteristic of effective digital stories.

Please keep in mind that this process is open to your creative input and suggestions. Trust your instincts.

Creating a digital story is more purposeful than standard photography or moviemaking.

Hopefully, you feel motivated to think critically and apply the knowledge and skill you currently possess to move forward. Whatever your interests or majors or past experiences, here is an opportunity to follow your curiosity and lean into your passions, values and strengths.

You are asked to document your creative process. The steps for you might begin with a brainstorming session; give yourself a short amount of time (20 minutes) to write out any and all ideas. Then, take time to sort and organize your ideas. Map them into themes and categories. Is there one set of ideas that really stand out? Follow your instincts. Learn to trust yourself. Follow your own hunches.

Step two. I suggest you give yourself two or three brief, timed-writing exercises. Set a timer to ring or beep after 15 minutes. When you begin, start writing out your story. Try this timedwriting at least three times. You can start over each time or continue where you left off; you are in charge. Your writing can include poetry, dialogue, detailed descriptions and/or standard narration.

YOU ARE ONLY LIMITED BY THE LIMITS OF YOUR IMAGINATION (oh, & time & the law).

Once you have two or three pages of a story, you’re ready for the next step. In my day, one page of typed script was equal to one minute of screen time. You know your screen time is 237

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limited. You have two-and-a-half minutes to work with. Begin this step with a timeline. Was does 150 seconds look like? Keep in the required used of titles, credits and some marking of copywrite. How much time should you dedicate to titles?

Sketch out this timeline and consider how 150 seconds contains or limits the structure of your narrative. Will you have the standard rising action? Do you have a hook? Consider your story and which elements will work best within this timed schedule. Of course, you’re always free to start back at step one. Imagination and innovation are usually ITERATIVE; you often get so far before you need to stop and start again. This is all part of your creative process.

You cannot do this wrong. As long as you persist.

The next step is to create some kind of storyboard of the key ideas. I request that your video include at least FIVE separate shots. Perhaps you draw five boxes and imagine your story as a comic book. Have you ever read comic books? Do you know HOW to READ comics? If this sounds interesting, please take a moment to enjoy the work of Scott McCloud.

Scott McCloud’s graphic essay, “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art” is known around the world. Now published in thirteen languages, he is the key spokesperson for the genre of comics as a valid literary genre, not just pulp or kids' stuff. Even if you have a favourite comic and have been reading the form all your life, McCloud’s presentation and book will help you imagine how to turn your sketch of an idea (based on your brainstorming, timedwriting and limited timeline) into a plan for a well-structured digital story.

COMICS If not for Scott McCloud, graphic novels and webcomics might be enjoying a more modest Renaissance. The flourishing of cartooning in the ‘90s and ‘00s, particularly comic smithing on the Web, can be traced back to his major writings on the comics form.

His comic book about comics made him an evangelist for comics as an authorized literary form. McCloud coined the term “infinite canvas” for the new comics medium made possible with Web browsers. In this captivating look at the magic of comics, McCloud bends the format into a cartoon-like experience, where colorful diversions whiz through childhood fascinations and imagined futures.

RESOURCE SUGGESTED READING Scott McCloud. “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art.” Tundra Publishing, 2000 RESOURCE WATCH

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“TEDTalks: Scott McCloud—Understanding Comics.” (17:01).

Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2009.

“TEDTalks: Scott McCloud—Understanding Comics.”

Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2009. <iframe height='698' frameborder='0' style='border:1px solid #ddd;' width='885' src='https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod-infobasecom.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?token=48395&wID=104666&plt=FOD&loid=0&w=865&h =648&fWidth=885&fHeight=698' allowfullscreen allow="encrypted-media">&nbsp;</iframe>

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STORYBOARDS Above is an example of my creative process. I drew out five boxes and started to keep track of details; what will the audience SEE? What will the audience HEAR? What ACTIONS can you describe? What specific details can you include that help tell the story? For example, the character has a stethoscope over his shoulders; I see lab coats; I see what hospital staff would wear, scrubs in pink and green. From these small parts, my story is already taking shape.

You don’t need to draw pictures. Remember, you cannot do this wrong. The point of the storyboard in your creative process is to help you vision your digital story and to make some decisions about what gets included, and what gets left out.

Your storyboard helps you imagine your audience and how they might begin to perceive your ideas. Make sure you appeal to an audiences’ sense of sight and hearing. Telling us it smells like a hospital gives no information.

Don’t forget to give your work a title. You still have lots of time to change your mind. Don’t be afraid of trying something out.

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After this storyboard is something you are happy with, it’s time to really refine your script.

Leave out all unnecessary information. In 150 seconds, there isn’t a lot of time for improvisation. Improvisations, for example, between you and a friend, can help you determine the right way to say something or provide new ideas.

Try to have a working script with dialogue. Your script only includes direction for what the audience can see and hear. As you review and practice your script, recall some of the earlier ideas about storytelling.

Does your script have an intentional point of view or are there too many characters in your story? If you are suggesting multiple scenarios or ideas, you may be detracting from your best idea. Stay focused.

Your script accounts for your introductory titles and has some kind of hook to pique your audience’s interest; does this hook connect to a dramatic question or problem? If not, you may have written a draft without enough drama. Ask others for their input and listen carefully. Thank anyone who listens without reactions. Every step in this process requires symbolic thought and its representative responses.

If your introduction has a strong dramatic hook, does your entire script stir an emotional connection for your audiences? In other words, is your story suitable relatable? How might you check and recheck your script before you prepare the next step?

Finally, as writers, we must learn to edit work for economy and clarity; 150 seconds is not a lot of time. Stay on message while eliminating all unnecessary words. Remember the power of a dramatic pause.

If you are completely happy with your script, it’s time to prepare a list of the shots you want to capture with your camera. Of course, any video camera will be fine. Almost all smart phones have video capture as will most laptops. If you cannot find any access to a video camera, you can still tell a story with still images.

As long as you are still able to edit these images along a timeline in an editing program, you can create a script and digital story that is compelling and interesting while meeting all the requirements.

If you continue to experience difficulties, please let us know. You may be surprised by our acceptance and willingness to help.

Funny, when I was an undergraduate, video cameras were the size of dinosaurs and we struggled to make a two minute “card show” made from five still images. With some ingenuity and creativity, you’ll be able to make anything work.

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RESOURCE THE TECHNOLOGY OF STORYTELLING In 6,000 years of storytelling people have gone from depicting a bison hunt on cave walls to deploying Shakespeare on Facebook walls. The art of storytelling has remained unchanged, the story lines are largely recycled, but the media that humans use to relay tales has evolved with pure, consistent novelty. Joe Sabia, celebrated iPad storyteller, demonstrates how new technology has enlivened the art of narrative.

“TEDTalks: Joe Sabia—The Technology of Storytelling.” (3:47).

Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2011. https://www.ted.com/talks/joe_sabia_the_technology_of_storytelling?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedc omshare

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<div style="max-width:854px"><div style="position:relative;height:0;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe src="https://embed.ted.com/talks/joe_sabia_the_technology_of_storytelling" width="854" height="480" style="position:absolute;left:0;top:0;width:100%;height:100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div> https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=104666&xtid=48242 <iframe height='698' frameborder='0' style='border:1px solid #ddd;' width='885' src='https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod.infobase.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?token=48242&wID=104666&plt=FOD&loid= 0&w=865&h=648&fWidth=885&fHeight=698' allowfullscreen allow="encrypted-media">&nbsp;</iframe>

VISUAL & TECHNICAL GRAMMARS What I call grammar, really, refers to a set of guidelines to facilitate effective and efficient communication. In this sense, all media and all languages have some kind of grammar.

Much of this is already familiar given the huge amounts of media we consumer each day.

The goal, in tinkering with this media grammar is for you to get some idea what goes into the creation of daily global communication messages.The degree of expertise and technical skills is mostly invisible unless you’ve had an opportunity to play with the tools. As you do, I expect there will be challenges along the way. Hopefully, each challenge will be an opportunity for you to learn, build resiliency and communication skills.

Your TEACHING TEAM ask you try everything within your power to make our experiences of assessing your work as easy as possible. Of course, we expect to find some work rife with distractions or bumps-along-the-way.

Distractions or bumps are those places (most usually in learner-writing) that force us to stop, squint and/or reread as we try to comprehend what the writer is trying to say. Do you know what it is like to feel miserably mystified? When examining your work, we don’t want to feel annoyed. Sincerely, we want to enjoy your ideas and your work.

There does seem to be a connection between distractions and grammatical challenges. We are accustomed to learners who are still developing a command of grammars and language commensurate with the complexity of their ideas. Stories crafted in line with our suggestions, that create a personal connection with the audience can often overcome any grammatical challenges Regarding images and cameras: you are asked to demonstrate an ability to select an appropriate camera; to focus your camera on a subject; to demonstrate purposeful use of different camera angles; to apply knowledge of visual framing for maximum impact; and demonstrated knowledge of visual composition. By this, please avoid visual NOISE. Make certain everything visible in your digital story is intentionally visible. Don’t distract your viewer with too much noise.

RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT Your script is also the place where you plan out the pacing of your story. In 150 seconds, the pacing will move quickly. The goal is to create a rhythm that keeps your audience interested. When this notion of the rhythm is forgotten, a great deal of time (along with digital

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data and memory) is wasted hoping that everything will be fixed when editing. In fact, if your preproduction planning is effective, the shooting and editing of your story will be the fastest part of this process.

As you track your creative process and in your postproduction reflections, consider the rhythm of your creative process as a whole. For some, this project can take less than an hour; for others, you can continue working on it for the rest of your lives. There is this idea that ‘time expands to fill the work you have to do.’ However, when you have a strong sense of time management and are a self-directed learner, you’ll find a pace and rhythm that is reflected in the final product.

Considerations of timing, pacing and rhythm are important to mind; often, here is where an interesting story can emerge revealing something about your personality and sense of creative spirit. That said, the goal is not to rush or speed through the process. Rather, make time for each step and try your best to stick to your plan.

FULL MOTION VIDEO & CAPACITY When you watch cable television, on a television set, you likely experience what’s called full-motion video, that is, 30 frames per second. That speed is fast enough for moving images to appear lifelike, which is why television is so powerful.

Most computers sacrifice full motion for the sake of storage and speed. Video on a computer is not full motion; more like half-motion or 15 frames per second. At less than 30 frames per second, and especially if your video clips or shots are longer than necessary, you will soon discover the resulting sound and synchronization challenges. That’s when the video and voice fail to sync, and the effect is a video with poor dubbing.

A one-minute clip that plays in a window half the size of your screen might require about 10 megabytes. One minute is a long time for a video clip when you consider that television commercials are 15-30 seconds. In other words, attention to storage and speed are important; soon you will discover this common issue when working with video.

The solution is a carefully crafted script, a production plan and a list of needed shots. If you discover other ways to limit the length of video clips during this process, please share.

If you are not sure the extent to which your computer can handle video files, please let us know. When a video is downloaded by your computer, you may attend or know how this slows your computer and takes up valuable storage space. Technology continues to get smaller and faster and new processors address (and will continue to address) speed and memory challenges. In the meantime, be mindful not everyone has the same access to the tools to store and edit video files.

We have compassion for you and your technical limitations. Your computer’s capacity and its ability to store video will not impact your creative process. In fact, technical challenges are often the mother of invention.

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EDITING & TRANSITIONS This assignment requires a minimum of five separate shots. That means between your titles and your first shot, you are required to ‘edit’ a transition from one frame to another. Digital tools simplify these processes, like cross dissolve, fade out face in or other transition techniques. Each transition requires some aspect of editing.

Editing refers to a great deal more than transitioning from shot to shot. Some might argue, it’s in the editing phase that digital stories really follow a particular grammar. In short, there are styles of editing and editing conventions that follow rules of film language. Editing is how you control the final structure and pacing of your work.

Digital stories that observe sound organizational grammar are well paced, employ effective rhythm and are structured in ways that make these codes and conventions invisible to audiences. Most editing programs facilitate the editing process and embed many of these codes and conventions, offering more artistic freedom to users.

Digital storytelling grammars require only a basic knowledge of digital and media literacy.

Within the context of self-representation, our focus is chiefly on planning the development and reflecting on the processes of media creation.

Learners are invited to screen films (like the ones included in the course film series) and consider how professional techniques inspire or help you exercises film language activities.

In your storyboarding, note when a film or its director led you to experiment in one way or another. Your reflections will reveal a great deal about your tendancies to think according to the organizational and visual grammars of digital video.

With an eye toward providing compelling narrative experiences, all LEARNERS are invited to engage in symbolic play and imagine some new world (in the creation of an individual digital story.

TO THE LIGHT Did you know that a great deal of professional filming occurs just as dawn breaks? There are lots of rules about how to use lighting to make your message stronger. But demonstrating this skill is not a crucial element of this project. Suffice to say, we have to be able to watch your digital story with our eyes.

If your understanding of lighting is way off, your outcome will be more of a podcast. Keep in mind that all cameras capture different kinds of light in distinct ways. This is why there are so many image filters in social media applications. If filmmaking is your thing, you’ll want to start learning about uses of light and the time of day, along with the time of year.

Light is an evanescent material, always changing and always impacting how each of us can perceive the world.

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RESOURCE FREE OPEN SOURCE VIDEO EDITING APPLICATIONS Go ahead and use iMovie, Final Cut or other program you have experience with or easy access to. Regardless, all LEARNERS are encouraged to experiment & try FREE online tools like: Adobe Spark ClipChamp WeVideo Lightworks Hitfilm Express Shortcut Movie Maker Online VSDC Video Editor CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? A human’s first working sense preceptor is the ear. Even before you were born, you could hear the soft echo of mother’s tender voice as she carried you from place to place. Sound grounds our experiences, provides a sense of balance and can influence our perceptions.

This power is often underestimated by nascent digital storytellers. Saving the best for last, the final element to the digital storytelling process includes the uses of sounds, audio and the acoustic environment.

You may know what it feels like to hear your own voice on a recording; it’s destabilizing and disorienting because the technology always has an impact on what it’s capable of capturing and recording. Early microphone technology functioned at lower frequencies, thereby lowering the pitch and tone of the human voice. Sound recording is also subject to ambient noise and other unwanted audio inclusions. It’s best to record sound inside, in a quiet room.

As soon as you try recording sound outside, your microphone will capture sounds of the wind or other noises related to the movement of the microphone.

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In fact, it may be possible to record all the sound necessary to tell your story, laying it over the visual tracks in the editing software. If you need to record outside, make sure you test the sounds of your recording during your final assemblage of the digital story. Even intermittent or periodic sounds distract your audience. ‘ Continuity in sound is better than periodic or intermittent sound. Continuous sounds are processed naturally, invisibly –like listening to music while traveling with ear buds, containing your environment. When you hear non-continuous sounds like a police siren or car horn, your attention is immediately side-tracked. That’s why intermittent sounds can feel like a distraction.

Your sense of hearing is turned on and working all the time. As a result, we expect and prefer continual sound. Consider the acoustic environment you want your digital story to create; as much as sound can be manipulated in micro-detail, also apply a holistic assessment to your soundtrack as it’s being produced. Noise reduction tools may be available to diminish audio distractions.

SOUNDS AMAZING We suggest your digital story include some kind of voice over. You have the gift of voice— who better to narrate your story? Plan to listen to your recorded voice before you decide to try another take; before a second attempt at recording your voice, listen to what you have captured so you are able to identify those perfect moments and others calling for a script revision or a rethinking of your vocal emphasis.

Audiences are accustomed to looking for consistent visual codes to facilitate an emotional connection and help unravel the story; equally important, audience listen for anchors to be drawn into the world your digital story creates. Your voice functions like an anchor.

Audiences adjust to your volume, pitch and tone to associate your story, its message and other related meanings to its creator: YOU. Other sounds, like background echoes and hums need to be included at lower levels. To maintain your acoustic connection with audiences, use background sounds to provide a consistent sound experience. Royalty-free, instrumental music played at a low volume provides this continuous experience. As long as you can be heard as the primary soundtrack, your uses of music can serve as filler, playing a secondary role.

When using sound effects, your story has to justify its use within context. If these sounds are used for effect or as extended metaphor the use of repetition can justify and anchor audio cues. Digital editing software usually includes a well-stocked library of sounds. Review what is possible prior to beginning your sound or before you finalize your creations. Remember, the rule of simplicity—less is more.

When sounds are linked to visual elements the impact is often ineffective. For example, the sound of a cash register as a symbol for money or a roar of applause signifying

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achievement are clichéd, one-time distractions; typical sounds like these, especially when repeated, can feel inauthentic. Silence can be powerful; it can also be represented by metaphor like sounds of quiet, chirping crickets in the distance.

RESOURCE AUDACITY Audacity is your go-to open source audio editing tool. Audacity has been around for a while and has been part of the Ontario curriculum for a decade. If you’re familiar with another program, by all means—use what works. If this is your first time playing with sounds, audacity is a great place to start.

REQUIRED TASK Create a DIGITAL STORY You are asked to create a short digital artifact in the form of a digital story.

The goal is to attend to your CREATIVE PROCESS. Consider how your digital story applies metaphor/synecdoche for effect.

You MUST include at least five separate shots (5 different images, edited with transitions).

Your maximum time allowance is 150 seconds or 2.5 minutes.

Minimum time is 30 seconds.

All work must recognize and cite a Creative Commons (cc) licence.

Work must NOT break copyright laws.

Your work must adhere to the University’s code of conduct.

Public domain images and music are freely available.

All sources must be attributed properly, following MLA guidelines.

Use the camera/microphone/technology of your choice.

If you need help accessing any of these tools please ask.

In creating this project, you must WRITE.

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Please consolidate your work into a SINGLE file (word document) & upload this file to COURSELINK in our class DROPBOX. Please submit one document, including all parts: i. Part A: Your imagination, intentions & production plans; ii. Part B: Your creative production (as link or .mp4 file); & iii. Part C: Your postproduction narrative.

Part A: YOUR IMAGINATION, INTENTIONS & PRODUCTION PLANS WALK us through YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS. CONCEPTION TO SUBMISSION: TRACK, CAPTURE & REPRESENT YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS Please consolidate your work into a single word document to be uploaded through COURSELINK in our class DROPBOX. Consider including any/all of the following ten suggestions: 1. Brainstorming / keyword maps 2. initial writing efforts 3. any research notes 4. a paragraph describing your intentions 5. rough storyboards 6. a working script 7. a final script – narrative (what we hear) 8. a shot list – what you wanted us to see 9. your production schedule 10. any final notes about editing; Part B: YOUR CREATIVE PRODUCTION Please include a LINK to a very short PRODUCTION. Include working link in your document.

Please TEST link prior to submission.

TIME RESTRICTIONS minimum 30 seconds maximum 150 seconds or 2.5 minutes TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS UPLOAD an .mp4 file to a public website (eg., YouTube or Vimeo).

Provide a WORKING link.

TEST your link prior to submission.

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PRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS 1. a narrative; 2. five separate images, 3. dialogue and/or voice-over.

LEGAL REQUIRMENTS All work must recognize and cite a Creative Commons licence.

Work must not break copyright laws.

Public domain images and music are freely available.

All sources must be attributed properly, following MLA guidelines.

Part C: POSTPRODUCTION NARRATIVE REFLECT on the process after your work is completed (that is, after you upload a digital file).

(400-800 words) QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION Have you met all technical, production, legal and time requirements/restrictions?

How did you meet, frustrate and/or achieve your INTENTIONS? Are you satisfied with your final product?

What did you learn about videography?

What did you learn about storytelling?

What did you learn about media literacy?

What did you learn about yourself?)

How do you think you did?

What was your biggest area of learning?

What other ways might you have told this digital story?

What should the audience be able to tell us about your story?

What additional information might your audience need to understand your story?

How does your attention to the acoustic environment impact the emotion content?

If we remove all sound, does the story retain its integrity? why or why not?

What questions emerged for you?

Are you proud of your work?

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Assessment rubrics included CANADIAN COPYRIGHT LAWS, FAIR DEALING & CREATIVE COMMONS It is important to distinguish ‘fair dealing’ from ‘fair use’. The fair use exception in U.S. copyright law is NOT the equivalent of fair dealing in Canadian law. The wording of the two exceptions is different. It is important to make sure that you consider the Canadian law and are not relying on U.S. information, which has no jurisdiction in Canada.

In Canada, consumers have certain rights to use copyrighted material without permission or license from the owner of the copyright To determine if something is Fair Dealing, a two-part test is applied.

The first test is whether or not the use falls under one of the exemptions: research, private study, criticism or review, news reporting, parody and satire or education.

RESEARCH most often involves academic research but the courts have defined it more broadly to include nearly any kind of research; for instance, posting 30-second clips of songs on a website that sold digital music was determined to be fair use because it enabled consumers to do research in deciding whether or not to buy the songs.

PRIVATE STUDY is just that: the making of a single copy for your own use (for example, photocopying or hand-copying sections of a book for reference). Private study explicitly does not include work done for a class or training program.

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CRITICISM OR REVIEW includes examples such as quoting from a novel or film (in which case the “quote” might be a video clip) in a review or quoting from an academic work in order to argue against its point. Court rulings have suggested that to fall under criticism or review, the use must be critical of the work being used; for instance, it was ruled that a biography of Shania Twain could not use an interview with the singer taken from another book because it was simply reprinting the interview without critiquing it.

NEWS REPORTING is perhaps the most self-evident exemption. It applies to reporting in any medium and users do not have to be recognized journalists; bloggers, for instance, could claim this exemption if they were engaged in news reporting.

PARODY AND SATIRE means either the “spoofing” or sending-up of a particular work (such as the parodies of movies and TV shows found in places such as Mad Magazine and This Hour Has 22 Minutes) and, more broadly, the use of a work to make a social or political point through humour.

EDUCATION is, obviously, the exemption most relevant to learners. Although there are more specific detailed exemptions for education laid out in other sections, how education applies to Fair Dealing is not explained in the Act. It seems certain that it will include formal education in a classroom but whether and how it will apply to online and distance education, homeschooling or other contexts is not yet clear.

RESOURCE A Fair(y) Use Tale [10:26].

Eric Faden of the Media Education Foundation.

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Despite the American context, this short film provides contextual information about copyright laws and practices. The values it represents, in terms of the corporate takeover of ownership laws, art practices and the arts, parallel the Canadian situation. The corporation this film attends to has the worst record of resisting the limits of law and of shutting down any trespasses with their brand, brand identity and visual arts collections.

If a use falls under one of the exemptions defined in the Copyright Act, six factors are then considered.

1. What is the purpose of the dealing? In general, the more worthwhile the use is seen to be, the more likely it is to be considered Fair Dealing. This includes non-commercial purposes and purposes where the public good is served, though commercial purposes may still be Fair Dealing.

2. What is the character of the dealing? This question asks what was done with the work. If the work was copied, how many copies were made? How widely were they distributed or made available? Were copies destroyed after use? Did the use follow standard industry practice?

3. What is the amount of the dealing? Contrary to popular belief, there is no “safe” amount of any text that can be used without infringement. How much of a work is used is one of the questions considered, but “it may be possible to deal fairly with a whole work” – particularly in the case of texts such as photographs or advertisements.

4. What alternatives to the dealing are available? How important was the copyrighted work to the use? Could the same purpose be achieved with a work that was not under copyright?

(Note, however, that the Court ruled that the possibility of using a licensed work was not relevant to determining whether a use was fair or not.)

5. What is the nature of the work? There are two issues here. First, the Court found that it was more likely to be Fair Dealing if a work was unpublished, rather than published (since it would make the work more widely available). However, a use was less likely to be Fair Dealing if the work was confidential.

6. What is the effect of the dealing on the work? If the value of the original work, or the market for it, is likely to be harmed by the use, then it is less likely to be Fair Dealing. This is particularly true if the new work competes directly with the original. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that this is only one of the factors under consideration, so a use that fails this test – quotations from a book in a negative review, for instance, or a parody of a film – can still be Fair Dealing.

COPYRIGHTED WORKS

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Anything created in any form (e.g. text, music, video, image) is automatically protected under copyright law—whether the creator wanted it protected or not! Copyright law restricts others’ abilities to use, display, or share that creation.

PUBLIC DOMAIN Something that has passed out of copyright protection. For example, Mozart’s symphonies, which are old enough to no longer be copyrighted (although a particular performance of them might be!).

CREATIVE COMMONS The alternative to blanket copyright protection. If a creator wants to give more freedom to how people use his/her material, they can license it as creative commons.

When CITING sources please include: Title of the work; author or creator; year; source <where you found the source, specifically, so we can find it too.>; license <tell us what kind of license the source uses. If we know the license, we know if we can use it too. Licenses include: ©copyright; (cc) Creative Commons CC; & public domain>.

QUESTIONS What is meant by the commons?

What is the state of the commons?

Do you know how to give attribution & assign licensing?

RESOURCE https://creativecommons.org/use-remix/

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READ Simone Hausknecht, Michelle Vanchu-Orosco & David Kaufman’s “Digitising the Wisdom of our Elders: Connectedness through Digital Storytelling.” 2019.

QUESTION Hausknecht, Vanchu-Orosco & Kaufman suggest the creation and sharing of digital stories may enhance wellness. Do you agree? Why or why not? If so, how?

They design a ten-week course in digital storytelling.

You were asked to create one in much less time with far less support.

I call your experience akin to a sprint.

What was that like?

What key learning happened during the sprint?

Where/how did you spend most of your time?

How might this experience be different if you were given ten weeks?

The digital storytelling course is intended to give participants an opportunity to explore their life stories and create a digital artefact, so they can easily share a piece of wisdom or a legacy story from their life with course participants and others. The process requires each participant to reflect on their past and choose a short story that represents a moment of their life. Not only are stories shared, but the aesthetic quality of the past is explored through incorporating aspects such as visuals and sound. The shared experience, during the course, of designing and digitising personal stories may

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have unique affordances for increased social connectedness and self-understanding.

Thus, wellbeing may be enhanced through the shared experience, increased social connections and lifelong learning (2719).

Citing the University of Winnipeg Oral History Center (2012) A typical digital story takes a minimum of 20 hours to create, not including time spent sharing work and learning about the storytelling process (2720).

University of Winnipeg Oral History Centre (2014) Nindibaajimomin: Creating and Sharing Digital Stories on the Legacy of Residential Schools – Guide 2. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation. Available at http://nindibaajimomin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Guide2Planning.pdf.

READ Bruner, Jerome. "Life as Narrative." Social Research 71.3 (2004): 691-710. ProQuest. Web. 31 Aug. 2020.

QUESTION What does Bruner mean by “worldmaking”?

To what extent has the creation of your digital story helped you construct your world/s?

Is this meaningful, if so how?

SUGGESTED READINGS Mattingly, Cheryl, Nancy C. Lutkehaus, and C. J. Throop. "Bruner's Search for Meaning: A Conversation between Psychology and Anthropology." Ethos 36.1 (2008): 1-28.

ProQuest. Web. 31 Aug. 2020.

Mos, Leendert. "Jerome Bruner: Language, Culture, Self." Canadian Psychology 44.1 (2003): 77,77: Page count = 7. ProQuest. Web. 31 Aug. 2020.

READ Barthes, Roland, and Lionel Duisit. “An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative.”

New Literary History, vol. 6, no. 2, 1975, pp. 237-272. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/468419. 31 Aug. 2020. https://www-jstororg.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/stable/468419.

Bruner, Jerome. “A Narrative Model of Self-Construction.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences., vol. 818, no. 1 Self Across Psychology, The: Self-Recognition, SelfAwareness, and the Self Concept, New York Academy of Sciences, pp. 145–61, doi:info:doi/.

Fisher, Walter R. “The Narrative Paradigm: In the Beginning.” Journal of Communication., vol.

35, no. 4, Oxford University Press, pp. 74–89, doi:info:doi/. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X18000739.

Todorov, Tzvetan, and Arnold Weinstein. “Structural Analysis of Narrative.” NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction, vol. 3, no. 1, 1969, pp. 70-76. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1345003.

Accessed 31 Aug. 2020. https://www-jstor-org.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/stable/1345003.

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ALTERNATIVE TASK Compare, contrast and discuss the essays by Barthes, Bruner, Fisher and Todorov; each addresses the structures of narrative in a particular manner.

Is there an approach you prefer? Why? Are narrative structures useful outside of storytelling contexts? Why? Why not? If so, how.

To what extent might any (or all) of these approaches to narrative structures guide your creative process?

Suggested READING Chimamanda Ngozi Adichieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Thing Around Your Neck, 2009 and We Should All Be Feminists, 2014.

KEYWORDS: ACCESS; ATTENTION; AUDIENCE; AUDIENCES; AWE; BODIES; BODY; CATAYLST; CHALLENGES; CHANGE; CHARACTER; CHARACTERS; CHOICE; CODES; COMICS; COMMUNICATION; COMPASSION; CONFLICT; CONVENTIONS; COPYRIGHT; COURAGE; CREATE; CREATIVE; CREATIVE COMMONS; DETAILS; DIGITALSTORY; EDITING; EXPERIENCE; EXPERIENCES; FAMILY; HUMAN; IDEAS; IDENTITY; IMAGES KNOW; KNOWING; LANGUAGE; LIFE; LISTENING; LITERACY; MAKE; MAKE; MAKING; MEDIA LITERACY; MEDIA; PEOPLE; MEMORY; MESSAGES; MINDFULNESS; NARRATIVE;NARRATIVIES; OUTCOME; OUTCOMES; PERSONAL; PLAY; PRACTICE; PRACTICES; PRODUCTION; PUBLIC; PUBLICS; QUESTIONING; QUESTIONS; QUESTION; RELATIONSHIPS; RHYTHM; RULES; SENSE; SENSEMAKING; SENSES; SHARING; SKILL; SKILLS; SOCIAL; SOUND; STORIES; STORYTELLERS; STORYTELLING; STRUCTURE; STUDY; SYMBOLIC; SYMBOLS; THINKING; TOOLS; TRAUMA; VALUES; VISUAL; VISUAL LITERACY; VOICE; WELTSCHMERZ; WONDER; WORDS; WORK; WORLD; WORLDMAKING; WRITING;

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STORIES LIVES TELL You have considered many aspects of narrative; digital storytelling as well as attention to important concerns like childhood trauma and ways to manage such as building a writing practice and by practicing mindfulness and compassion. The tasks for this topic, many of which are embedded in the previous page to guide your thinking as you engage with the content, are collected here for you. As this is a course of self-discovery, the outcomes for this topic are accomplished as you complete the tasks.

UNIT LEARNING OUTCOMES BY the end of this unit learners o apply autonomous learning by reading and managing time to both play and assess digital tools & by writing about trauma, compassion, narrative and digital storytelling. o improve written communication skills by reading and writing with advanced fluency. o enhance information/visual/media/digital literacy by creating a digital story. o recognize the value of respect and discover additional ways to enhance Intercultural competence by considering the stories of others and listening. o acquire a metalanguage by reflecting, mindfulness, creating and writing. o evaluate intellectual independence, personal responsibility and time management by engaging with course materials and completing tasks.

THE WORLD NEEDS YOUR VOICE. YOU ARE ESSENTIAL. COURAGE MY LOVE.

YOUR STORY MATTERS.

YOU ARE ONLY LIMITED BY THE LIMITS OF YOUR IMAGINATION. Each topic provides required tasks and additional supplemental tasks if you find this topic of particular interest and want to pursue it further. Rubrics that apply to the required tasks are provided in Assessments, accessed from the Table of Contents.

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TASKS STORIES LIVES TELL 1. READ + JOURNAL LIFE AS NARRATIVE READ Bruner, Jerome. "Life as Narrative." Social Research 71.3 (2004): 691-710. ProQuest. Web. 31 Aug. 2020.

SUGGESTED READINGS Mattingly, Cheryl, Nancy C. Lutkehaus, and C. J. Throop. "Bruner's Search for Meaning: A Conversation between Psychology and Anthropology." Ethos 36.1 (2008): 1-28.

ProQuest. Web. 31 Aug. 2020.

Mos, Leendert. "Jerome Bruner: Language, Culture, Self." Canadian Psychology 44.1 (2003): 77,77: Page count = 7. ProQuest. Web. 31 Aug. 2020.

JOURNAL: LIFE AS NARRATIVE What does Bruner mean by “worldmaking”?

To what extent has the creation of your digital story helped you construct your world/s?

Is this meaningful, if so how?

What are your questions?

2. READ + JOURNAL: LESIURE IS HARD WORK READ Kirsten Drotner’s Leisure Is Hard Work: Digital Practices and Future Competencies, 2008.

JOURNAL: LESIURE IS HARD WORK Do you know how much time you dedicate to personal and social media uses?

Consider how you spend your day? Track your media use.

What helps you pay attention?

What digital skills have you mastered?

What are your questions?

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3. WATCH + JOURNAL + TASK: TRAUMA & COMPASSION WATCH “TEDTalks: Nadine Burke Harris—How Childhood Trauma Affects Health across a Lifetime.”

JOURNAL: TRAUMA & COMPASSION Have you or someone you know experienced this kind of high level of trauma?

Do you think Nadine Burke Harris is exaggerating or under-reporting?

Regardless of you past experiences, are you able to bring a sense of self compassion to your own and others’ experiences with trauma?

Can you explain the difference between compassion and empathy?

Is it best to try addressing any past trauma or to try forgetting past trauma?

What are your questions?

TASK + JOURNAL TRAUMA & COMPASSION GUIDED COMPASSION MEDITATION AND VISUALIZATION Rewire your mindset so as to experience life without any hectic frenzied distractions.

Experience either a Short Mindfulness and Compassion meditation or a Body Scan guided by one of the podcasts from the UCSD Center for Mindfulness: Short Mindfulness and Compassion meditations https://soundcloud.com/ucsdmindfulness/sets/short-meditation-sessions Body Scans meditations https://soundcloud.com/ucsdmindfulness/sets/body-scan TRAUMA & COMPASSION GUIDED COMPASSION MEDITATION AND VISUALIZATION Imagine if you dedicated part of every day to (what they call) non-doing; imagine if your life was led by a sense of non-striving, setting aside all your determined efforts and ruthless ambition.

How do you think this subversive attitude and value could impact your life?

The lives of your family?

The rest of the world?

What are your questions?

4. WATCH + TASK + JOURNAL: OBSERVE GOOD STORYTELLERS When listening to the stories of others: practice deep listening skills; practice focused attention skills. Enhance your listening & attention skills by observing good storytellers.

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Listen & pay attention to how the story makes you feel; how does the story resonate within you. Have you experienced good storytelling?

WATCH PERFORMANCE Anna Deavere Smith’s "On the Road: A Search for American Character."

TASK + JOURNAL OBSERVE GOOD STORYTELLERS Which parts of Deavere Smith’s performance resonated with you?

What did it feel like?

Can you connect any of her themes to you and your life?

Are there any choices, images, emotions or values you need to reconsider?

What details and moments speak to you?

Were there gaps in any of her stories that trouble you?

What stories or characters help situate your sense of self?

The notion of this layered story, with four monologues, is a sophisticated structure.

What did you think of her structure?

5. READ + JOURNAL + ALTERNATIVE TASK ELEMENTS OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURE READ Barthes, Roland, and Lionel Duisit. “An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative.”

New Literary History, vol. 6, no. 2, 1975, pp. 237-272. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/468419. 31 Aug. 2020. https://www-jstororg.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/stable/468419.

Bruner, Jerome. “A Narrative Model of Self-Construction.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences., vol. 818, no. 1 Self Across Psychology, The: Self-Recognition, Self-Awareness, and the Self Concept, New York Academy of Sciences, pp. 145–61, doi:info:doi/.

Fisher, Walter R. “The Narrative Paradigm: In the Beginning.” Journal of Communication., vol. 35, no. 4, Oxford University Press, pp. 74–89, doi:info:doi/. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X18000739.

Todorov, Tzvetan, and Arnold Weinstein. “Structural Analysis of Narrative.” NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction, vol. 3, no. 1, 1969, pp. 70-76. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1345003.

Accessed 31 Aug. 2020. https://www-jstororg.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/stable/1345003.

ALTERNATIVE TASK ELEMENTS OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURE really? you don’t want to make a digital story? as long as this is your choice:

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Compare, contrast and discuss the essays by Barthes, Bruner, Fisher and Todorov; each addresses the structures of narrative in a particular manner.

Is there an approach you prefer? Why? Are narrative structures useful outside of storytelling contexts? Why? Why not? If so, how.

To what extent did/might any (or all) of these approaches to narrative structures help guide your creative process? Your life stories?

As you read through these essays, consider similarities, differences and ways each might help situate your creative process.

[ESSAY guidelines: 3500 – 4500 words.]

ATTENTION: THE FOLLOWING IS REQUIRED THIS ITEM IS REQUIRED FOR DIGITAL ARTIFACT 6. TASK DIGITAL STORYTELLING YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS Create a DIGITAL STORY You are asked to create a short digital artifact in the form of a digital story.

The goal is to attend to your CREATIVE PROCESS. Consider how your digital story applies metaphor/synecdoche for effect.

ATTENTION: THE FOLLOWING IS REQUIRED REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS You MUST include at least five separate shots (5 different images, edited with transitions).

Your maximum time allowance is 150 seconds or 2.5 minutes.

Minimum time is 30 seconds.

All work must recognize and cite a Creative Commons (cc) licence.

Work must NOT break copyright laws.

Your work must adhere to the University’s code of conduct.

Public domain images and music are freely available.

All sources must be attributed properly, following MLA guidelines.

Use the camera/microphone/technology of your choice.

If you need help accessing any of these tools please ask.

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In creating this project, you must WRITE. Please consolidate your work into a SINGLE file (word document) & upload this file to COURSELINK in our class DROPBOX. Please submit one document, including all parts: i. Part A: Your imagination, intentions & production plans; ii. Part B: Your creative production (as link or .mp4 file); & iii. Part C: Your postproduction narrative.

Part A: YOUR IMAGINATION, INTENTIONS & PRODUCTION PLANS WALK us through YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS. CONCEPTION TO SUBMISSION: TRACK, CAPTURE & REPRESENT YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS Please consolidate your work into a single word document to be uploaded through COURSELINK in our class DROPBOX. Consider including any/all of the following ten suggestions: 1. Brainstorming / keyword maps 2. initial writing efforts 3. any research notes 4. a paragraph describing your intentions 5. rough storyboards 6. a working script 7. a final script – narrative (what we hear) 8. a shot list – what you wanted us to see 9. your production schedule 10. any final notes about editing;

Part B: YOUR CREATIVE PRODUCTION Please include a LINK to a very short PRODUCTION. Include working link in your document.

Please TEST link prior to submission.

TIME RESTRICTIONS minimum 30 seconds maximum 150 seconds or 2.5 minutes TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

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UPLOAD an .mp4 file to a public website (eg., YouTube or Vimeo).

Provide a WORKING link.

TEST your link prior to submission.

PRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS 1. a narrative; 2. five separate images, 3. dialogue and/or voice-over.

LEGAL REQUIRMENTS All work must recognize and cite a Creative Commons licence.

Work must not break copyright laws.

Public domain images and music are freely available.

All sources must be attributed properly, following MLA guidelines.

Part C: POSTPRODUCTION NARRATIVE REFLECT on the process after your work is completed (that is, after you upload a digital file).

(400-800 words)

REQUIRED REFLECTION DIGITAL STORYTELLING YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS Have you met all technical, production, legal and time requirements/restrictions?

How did you meet, frustrate and/or achieve your INTENTIONS? Are you satisfied with your final product?

What did you learn about videography?

What did you learn about storytelling?

What did you learn about media literacy?

What did you learn about yourself?)

How do you think you did?

What was your biggest area of learning?

What other ways might you have told this digital story?

What should the audience be able to tell us about your story?

What additional information might your audience need to understand your story?

How does your attention to the acoustic environment impact the emotion content?

If we remove all sound, does the story retain its integrity? why or why not?

What questions emerged for you?

Are you proud of your work?

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7. READ + JOURNAL DIGITAL STORTELLING READ Simone Hausknecht, Michelle Vanchu-Orosco & David Kaufman’s “Digitising the Wisdom of our Elders: Connectedness through Digital Storytelling.” 2019.

JOURNAL DIGITAL STORTELLING Hausknecht, Vanchu-Orosco & Kaufman suggest the creation and sharing of digital stories may enhance wellness.

Do you agree?

Why or why not?

If so, how?

They design a ten-week course in digital storytelling.

You were asked to create one in much less time with far less support.

I call your experience akin to a sprint.

What was that like?

What key learning happened during the sprint?

Where/how did you spend most of your time?

How might this experience be different if you were given ten weeks?

QUESTIONS for your review I. LIFE AS NARRATIVE What does Bruner mean by “worldmaking”?

To what extent has the creation of your digital story helped you construct your world/s?

Is this meaningful, if so how?

What are your questions?

II. LESIURE IS HARD WORK Do you know how much time you dedicate to personal and social media uses?

Consider how you spend your day? Track your media use.

What helps you pay attention?

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What digital skills have you mastered?

What are your questions?

III. TRAUMA & COMPASSION COMPASSION MEDITATION & VISUALIZATION Have you or someone you know experienced this kind of high level of trauma?

Do you think Nadine Burke Harris is exaggerating or under-reporting?

Regardless of you past experiences, are you able to bring a sense of self compassion to your own and othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experiences with trauma?

Can you explain the difference between compassion and empathy?

Is it best to try addressing any past trauma or to try forgetting past trauma?

What are your questions?

Imagine if you dedicated part of every day to (what they call) non-doing; imagine if your life was led by a sense of non-striving, setting aside all your determined efforts and ruthless ambition.

How do you think this subversive attitude and value could impact your life?

The lives of your family?

The rest of the world?

IV. OBSERVE GOOD STORYTELLERS Which parts of Deavere Smithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance resonated with you?

What did it feel like?

Can you connect any of her themes to you and your life?

Are there any choices, images, emotions or values you need to reconsider?

What details and moments speak to you?

Were there gaps in any of her stories that trouble you?

What stories or characters help situate your sense of self?

The notion of this layered story, with four monologues, is a sophisticated structure.

What did you think of her structure?

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V. OBSERVE GOOD STORYTELLERS Give an example of one experience of good storytelling.

Recall specific aspects of this past experience and try to write with descriptive language.

Who do you look to as a good storyteller?

What materials do you read that you consider well written?

What does it mean to write well?

What does it mean to present a story well?

What did good storytelling teach you about yourself? your family? your friends?

What can a good story teach you about your community? your ethics?

What about these stories was so intriguing?

Which elements offered real perspective into your own life?

What did this story teach you about the things that really matters to you?

VI. DIGITAL STORTELLING Hausknecht, Vanchu-Orosco & Kaufman suggest the creation and sharing of digital stories may enhance wellness.

Do you agree?

Why or why not?

If so, how?

They design a ten-week course in digital storytelling.

You were asked to create one in much less time with far less support.

I call your experience akin to a sprint.

What was that like?

What key learning happened during the sprint?

Where/how did you spend most of your time?

How might this experience be different if you were given ten weeks?

ADDITIONAL or OPTIONAL TASKS A. BLOG You are invited to choose ONE TASK from <STORIES LIVES TELL> for your BLOG.

B. WIKI

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You are invited to participate in our course WIKI where you can provide feedback, input, editorial comments and/or your own exemplars. Is there something else that needs to be said? The course WIKI is open for your participation. Reflect on course WIKI participation in you JOURNAL.

C. DIGITAL ARTIFACT You are asked to share at least one other DIGITAL ARTIFACT. DID you want to make a second DIGITAL STORY? IS there an additional artifact you would like to create?

Is there something else you want to CREATE related to this content?

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APPENDIX I VEGAS’S LINKED WRITING RESOURCES REFERENCEFORWRITERS EDITING SOFTWARE StyleWriter 4 Editminion Pro Writing Aid AutoCrit Paper Rater Grammarly WRITING SOFTWARE WriteRoom Scrivener Pages MS Office for Mac Google Docs My Writing Nook Bubbl.us Freemind XMind Liquid Story Binder SuperNotecard yWriter JDarkRoom AutoRealm ZenWriter BigHugeLabs More Free Software GENERATORS Plot Scenario Generator Script Frenzy’s Plot Machine GotPoetry.com’s Short Story Starter Fictiongen’s Genre-Fiction Generator Nine.FrenchBoys.net’s List of Generators

GENERATORS (cont.)

Warpcore SF’s Science Fiction Plot Generator Ugoi.net’s Regency Romance Generator Teresa Nielsen Hayden’s Random Plot Generator Squidoo’s Step-By-Step Story Plot Generator CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRES 113 Character Development Questions 30 Character Questions 40 Child Character Questionnaire 32 Adult Character Questionnaire The Mother of All Character Questionnaires (382 Q’s) 50 Generic Character Questionnaire Character Outlines Character Questionnaire Tag WRITING COMMUNITIES FictionPress Figment Wattpad Archive Of Our Own BBC English Literature Message Board Scribophile Writer’s Cafe Writing Community: Writer’s Workshop Book Country GreatWriting Flickspin Writing.com

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ORGANIZATION Storyboard Template Realtimeboard PRODUCTIVITY BOOSTS AND BACKGROUND SOUNDS Challenge Accepted!

Coffitivity Music For Writers Creating a City From Scratch

WORLD BUILDING Eplans (visualizing apartments, houses, etc; floorplants) Planet Maker (visualize a whole planet) TimeAndDate (timelines, dates) RoomSketcher Fractal World Generator (maps of worlds)

Source: <https://referenceforwriters.tumblr.com/post/74890744513/writing-resources-masterlist>.

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APPENDIX II

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DIGITAL STORYTELLING | YOUR CHECKSHEET AN OVERVIEW 1. Stories are everywhere. Creators can use visual texts to share stories.

2. Creators tell stories informed by personal experiences.

3. Creating a visual text is a recursive process of production, reflection, and revision.

4. Creators recognize that their unique perspective influences the ideas expressed in their visual texts.

5. Creators understand that their visual text can be interpreted depending on each viewerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique perspective and experiences.

6. Empathetic, self-aware creators make intentional choices about visual and story elements; recognize their unique perspective; and are aware that viewers bring their own interpretation.

CONSIDERATION | COURSE POLICY DIGITAL STORYTELLING

OUR POLICY INVITES YOU TO SUBMIT THIS WORK ACCORDING TO THE TIMELINES SET IN THE COURSE OUTLINE. THERE ARE NO PENALTIES IF YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS DEADLINE. HOWEVER, THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES.

The timelines are designed for your benefit. As a result, the TEACHING TEAM scheduled their time according to the timeline (set for your benefit). IF you miss a deadline, you run the RISK of not receive feedback in a timely manner; IF you miss a deadline, you may NOT take an additional opportunity to review feedback, revise materials and RESUBMIT. ALL DIGITAL STORIES and related materials may be RESUBMITTED. Your assessment will NEVER GO DOWN. Your grade will rise or remain the same.

RESUBMISSIONS must be done under the guidance of the TEACHING TEAM, that is, your assigned INSTRUCTOR. RESUBMISSIONS are only assessed by Professor LIPTON. Your assigned TEAM INSTRUCTOR will inform/prepare LIPTON by explaining your situation and the day work is expected. However, resubmissions may not be returned if work is not sufficiently revised or requiring reassessment.

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RESUBMISSIONS are only accepted on work SUBMITTED by the timeline.

RESUBMISSION timelines are a negotiation between you and Professor LIPTON. IF/WHEN RESUBMITTING any work, YOU MUST include: 1. your PREVIOUS assignment; 2. a note that demonstrates a review of self, work and feedback; & 3. note must highlight and/or argue what changes were made or ought to be.

ANY QUESTIONS regarding this POLICY are to be addressed to Professor LIPTON. /m

DIGITAL STORYTELLING | RUBRIC Part A YOUR IMAGINATION, INTENTIONS & PRODUCTION PLANS /50 IMAGINATION /10 INTENTION /10 DOCUMENTING YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY /30 Part B PRODUCTION /10 Part C POSTPRODUCTION: RESPONDING, REFLECTING & WRITING /40 CONTEXT /10 STYLE & MECHANICS /10 META-COGNITION /20 /100 Part A: YOUR IMAGINATION, INTENTIONS & PRODUCTION PLANS IMAGINATION /10

#

Visualize the following: (1) Point of view • who's story is it?

(2) Mood • how the story should feel (3) Theme • the meaning, moral or message of the story (4) Style • what stories do we like?

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INTENTION /10

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Plan and Prepare the following: (1) Character • the characters need to tell the story • the wants of the characters • how the character looks, moves and sounds (2) Story • beginning, middle and end • problem and solution • key image storyboard to outline story arc (3) Setting • the world of the story • location and time DOCUMENTING YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY /30 Please describe your creative journey in complete sentences.

#

A. Context of & Purpose for Writing /10 B. Writing Style; Control of Syntax and Mechanics /10 C. Description & Documentation of Creative Journey /10

A. Context of & Purpose for Writing/Reflecting: /10

#

Level 4: Demonstrates a thorough understanding of context, audience and purpose that is responsive to the assigned tasks and focuses all elements of the work.

Demonstrated proficiency applying figures of speech to visual and aural narrative.

Level 3: Demonstrates adequate consideration of context, audience, and purpose and a clear focus on the assigned tasks (e.g., the task aligns with audience, purpose and context). Use of metaphor and/or metonymy.

Level 2: Demonstrates awareness of context, audience, purpose, and to the assigned tasks (e.g., begins to show awareness of audience's perceptions and assumptions). Use of simile not metaphor.

Level 1: Demonstrates minimal attention to context, audience, purpose, and to the assigned tasks (e.g., expectation of instructor or self as audience).

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B. Writing Style; Control of Syntax and Mechanics /10

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Level 4: Uses eloquent language to skillfully communicate meaning to readers with clarity and fluency; work is virtually error free.

Level 3: Uses plain language that consistently conveys meaning to readers; few errors noted.

Level 2: Uses language that generally conveys meaning to readers with clarity, although writing may include some errors.

Level 1: Uses language that impedes meaning because of ambiguity and/or usage errors.

C. Reflection & Meta-Cognitive Expressions /20

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Level 4: Elucidates on prior learning in depth to reveal significantly changed perspectives about media experiences. Demonstrates a developing sense of self as a learner and media consumer/user. Evaluates changes in own learning over time, recognizing complex contextual factors (e.g., works with ambiguity and risk, deals with anxiety, considers ethical frameworks). Envisions a future self, occurring across multiple and diverse contexts.

Level 3: Reviews prior learning, revealing meanings that indicate a broader perspective about media experiences. Responds to new and challenging contexts based on prior experiences.

Level 2: Considers prior learning, indicating a perspective about media. Increased selfawareness helps articulate strengths and next steps.

Level 1: Forgets prior learning. Meanings about media are ambiguous and vague.

Describes own performances with general descriptors of success and failure.

BREAKDOWN SUMMARY FOR PART A Part A: YOUR IMAGINATION, INTENTIONS & PRODUCTION PLANS IMAGINATION /10 INTENTION /10 DOCUMENTING YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY /30 A. Context of & Purpose for Writing /10 B. Writing Style; Control of Syntax and Mechanics /10

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C. Description & Documentation of Creative Journey /10 PREPRODUCTION /50 PART B: PRODUCTION /10

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PRODUCTION /10 REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS

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TECHNICAL: Upload .mp4 file to public website; provide working link.

PRODUCTION: Narrative; 5 shots, edited with transitions; & sound or voice over.

LEGAL: Creative Commons (cc) licence; proper attribution following MLA; LAW ABIDING; & adheres to the University’s CODE OF CONDUCT. TIME: 30 to 150 seconds (max. time=2.5 minutes).

DEMONSTRATED MEDIA LITERACY (1) Images • a shot • framing • focus/visibility (2) Structure • an editing cut (3) Sound • dialogue and narration • music/score • sound effects • ambient sound

PART C: POSTPRODUCTION /40 Responding, Reflecting & Writing A. Context /10 B. Style & Mechanics /10 C. Meta-Cognition /20 A. Context of & Purpose for Writing: /10 Level 4: Demonstrates a thorough understanding of context, audience, and purpose that is responsive to the assigned tasks and focuses all elements of the work.

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Demonstrated proficiency applying figures of speech to visual and aural narrative.

Level 3: Demonstrates adequate consideration of context, audience, and purpose and a clear focus on the assigned tasks (e.g., the task aligns with audience, purpose, and context). Use of metaphor and/or metonymy.

Level 2: Demonstrates awareness of context, audience, purpose, and to the assigned tasks (e.g., begins to show awareness of audience's perceptions and assumptions). Use of simile not metaphor.

Level 1: Demonstrates minimal attention to context, audience, purpose, and to the assigned tasks (e.g., expectation of instructor or self as audience).

B. Style & Mechanics /10 Level 4: Uses eloquent language to skillfully communicate meaning to readers with clarity and fluency; work is virtually error free.

Level 3: Uses plain language that consistently conveys meaning to readers; few errors noted.

Level 2: Uses language that generally conveys meaning to readers with clarity, although writing may include some errors.

Level 1: Uses language that impedes meaning because of ambiguity and/or usage errors.

C. Reflection & Meta-Cognitive Expressions /20 Level 4: Elucidates on prior learning in depth to reveal significantly changed perspectives about media experiences. Demonstrates a developing sense of self as a learner and media consumer/user. Evaluates changes in own learning over time, recognizing complex contextual factors (e.g., works with ambiguity and risk, deals with anxiety, considers ethical frameworks). Envisions a future self, occurring across multiple and diverse contexts.

Level 3: Reviews prior learning, revealing meanings that indicate a broader perspective about media experiences. Responds to new and challenging contexts based on prior experiences.

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Level 2: Considers prior learning, indicating a perspective about media. Increased selfawareness helps articulate strengths and next steps.

Level 1: Forgets prior learning. Meanings about media are ambiguous and vague.

Describes own performances with general descriptors of success and failure.

TOTAL SCORE: X/100

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ATTENTION, DECODING & ANALYSIS I JUST SAW THE IRON LADY. IT WAS GREAT! I hate Meryl Streep. I know, for some of you that must seem like a crazy proposition. Hate is a bad word. But I hate her. I hate her like I hate cats. And I’m allergic to cats. I know she’s won every acting trophy. Yet I have a strong reaction to seeing Meryl Streep as a popular culture text and I’ve been conditioned to reinforce my reaction in the years since I’ve been watching her on the Hollywood scene. Maybe you like her. That’s okay. I don’t mind. You’re entitled to your opinion. I like to say to my students that freedom of expression in the classroom is an undeniable right. I may disagree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to your opinion. So you like Meryl. Go ahead. She still bugs me. Nonetheless I was dragged to see the biopic Iron Lady where I get to spy Meryl slowly losing her marbles, as the character emerges with Alzheimer’s disease. The character in this film is Margaret Thatcher, known to many as the longest serving Prime Minister of United Kingdom from 1979-1990; she was the first female Prime Minister as well as the Leader of the Conservative party. Thatcher, however, is not one of the U.K.’s most cherished Prime Ministers. Thatcher was expelled from office, forced out of government by her own cabinet members and succeeded by John Major. Perhaps it was because of her ultra conservative values; maybe it was due to a public backlash against many of her policies (particularly an unpopular Poll Tax). Nonetheless, this Thatcher is a sad lady. And there is Meryl. Good old Meryl. Meryl now has another gold trophy. Lucky her. I begin my chapter here with this story of Meryl, Margaret, and the movie because the film’s author (screenwriter Abi Morgan) penned some powerful lines of dialogue that encapsulate some of my pedagogical practice when it comes to doing media studies.

In the film, an elderly Thatcher remarks to her doctor, “People don’t think any more, they feel. One of the greatest problems of our age is that we are governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about thoughts and ideas. Now, thoughts and ideas, that’s what interests me.” Thatcher continues, “Watch your thoughts, for they become words.

Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits.

Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

I repeat these spoken lines of dialogue throughout the semester using my worst possible Meryl Streep accents. My point is to introduce to media students a critical principle when

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taking up the challenge of doing media studies. Here it is; when looking at media messages or “texts” your brain generally engages in two actions: you either ignore the text (because it doesn’t matter to you) or you react to the thing. Oh, there’s Meryl again. I hate her. I am responding uncritically. This is simply how I feel. I want to offer two axioms of communication about the ways in which humans respond to media texts and messages. First, your response will most likely be analogous to the way you responded to a similar text in your past. Second, the way you respond to that text will say a lot more about YOU then the actual text. These two axioms about response are how I introduce students to critical analysis.

To reiterate: I hate Meryl Streep. Not because she’s a good or bad actor. Her skill at her craft has nothing to do with my response. Hate is a feeling. I’m not engaging in thoughtful critical analysis when I write how I hate Meryl. I am feeling. To some, my feelings are funny; to others, insulting, rude, vacuous, insincere. Please don’t think Ms. Streep’s ability as an actor has anything to do with my personal feelings. My feelings are based on an entirely different set of personal connotations that, at this point, I’d like to remain a mystery. There are more interesting questions to ask that redirect my response away from feelings toward critical analysis—thinking. In forming a critical analysis of Meryl one might ask: Why has Meryl won all those awards? What is it about her performance in this film that led her peers to celebrate her achievements? What evidence can you discover that reveals how she embodies a character? What are the criteria for outstanding actors? My feelings, however, prevent me from careful analysis that would provide me with an exacting answer to these questions.

The point I need to make is that feelings don’t help me as a student of media when formulating opinions about texts. When I want my opinions to count, they need to be based on a solid foundation of reading texts and constructing meaning in significant ways. By significant ways, I refer to the process of critical thinking. “Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness” (Scriven and Paul, 1987). When doing media studies, begin by noting the intellectual differences between feeling and critical thinking. I cannot say I really hate Meryl Streep when I apply critical thinking to her as a text. I notice, for example, her ability to adopt the verbal and nonverbal distinctiveness of a character; Meryl captures the qualities of a frail old lady with a twitch of her chin while reflecting the character’s hot temper by regulating the tenor of voice. When I watch this actor on screen, Meryl Streep (the human, the celebrity) disappears and I am welcomed into the world of the film.

Scriven, Michael and Richard, Paul. (1987). Critical thinking as defined by the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking. Proc. of 8th Annual International Conf. on Critical Thinking and Education Reform.

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The Iron Lady. (2012). Dir. P. Lloyd. Screenwriter Abi Morgan. Perf. Meryl Streep. The Weinstein Company. Film.

LANGUAGE THOUGHT & ACTION

Watch your thoughts, for they become your words; Be careful of your words, for they become your actions; Watch your actions for they become your habits; Be careful of your habits for they form your character and Mind your character because it becomes your destiny!

QUESTIONS What assumptions do you bring to bear as a student?

What assumptions direct your understanding of this course?

What are your expectations for this course?

So far, how are you feeling? What are you thinking?

Consider the relationships among these three words: language, thought & action.

DESCRIPTION VS REFLECTION Learning to journal & enhance your writing practice.

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VISIBLE EVIDENCE <lipton video> I’m going to show you a text. And before you tell me what you think, or what you feel, i ask you to identify the evidence. What are you looking at? What are your sense perceptors sensing? Learning to pay attention is an important skill.

TASK Please write about the similarities and differences among the following words: thinking feeling experiencing sensing

TWO REQUIRED TASKS FROM THIS TOPIC ONE SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS; ONE COMPARATIVE FILM ANALYSIS.

WHAT IS MEDIA LITERACY? Media literacy is the process of making sense of, or decoding media. It allows us to critically view media. It also allows us to evaluate the role that media play in our lives. When someone is media literate, he or she interprets the ways in which media have been manipulated to get the viewer to think a certain way. By understanding the ways that media try to exploit their viewers, we gain the power to resist the media’s influence.

When becoming media literate, we must develop awareness that people create all media.

Those people have many motivations and constraints that they must use to spread their ideas. As people who are media literate, we learn to examine the ideas and the values that are portrayed in the media product.

Everyone uses interpretive processes when viewing media. Media literacy simply allows the viewer to be critical and careful when confronted with media. To address the serious disconnect between young people’s media practices and the official media/literacy education in schools, this course addresses concerns about appropriate use of the media and communication and information technologies (ICTs). Opportunities and challenges of digital media within an educational context engaged through media and performance theory provide a framework for examining the operations of curriculum and pedagogy within a complex web of attitudes and cultural practices.

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The ramifications and assumptions of media pedagogy that look more closely at the underlying claims of difference, identity, and non-hierarchical teaching and knowledge suggest the need for new approaches to critical practice and interpretation.

This course explores how media and ICTs can be powerful tools of communication, creativity, critique, persuasion, performance and education. This semester addresses: (1) the uses of media in schools, (2) the application of new media to advances in curriculum and pedagogy, (3) pedagogy as performance, performing education, (4) introduction to transformation in education, and (5) application and assessment of transformative teaching.

DECODING PAY ATTENTION To begin, once you have selected the text that you want to decode you need to look at it really carefully. There are many things going on in every media message but most people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look carefully enough. So to begin any decoding, you need to be a keen observer.

Nothing you see in media is there by accident. For example, advertisers spend a great deal of money for each ad to make sure that the ad you see is exactly what they want you to see.

Make a list of all the things that you see in the text. Call this your list of textual elementsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; that is, a list of all the things you can observe. This requires great skill at description.

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VISUAL AND MEDIA LITERACIES Second, you need to consider the visual and technical elements. In any media message, creators’ want to arouse the viewer’s interest. To help capture your attention creators’ rely on visual elements such as color, texture and balance. In addition to these visual elements, creators rely on sophisticated technology like cameras that further enhance and manipulate what you see. Technical elements of the camera like lighting, camera angles, focus and framing also help capture your attention and help creators ensure that the message you receive is the message they intend. Keep close track of these lists of elements because they represent the fruits of your observation and description skills.

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FROM ATTENTION TO ANALYSIS Once you have completed lists of the things you see, you must try to account for why these things are included in the selected media message. Remember, nothing you see is there by accident. To determine why these elements may be included, what questions do you ask yourself?

WHAT QUESTIONS DIRECT YOUR MEDIA LITERACIES?

1 Who is communicating and what is their point of view? Why are they sending this message?

Every media message is communicated for a reason — to entertain, to inform, and usually to persuade. Yet the basic motive behind most media programs is profit through the sale of advertising space and sponsorships.

2 What are the intended or underlying purposes and whose point of view is behind the message?

Behind every message is a purpose and point of view. The advertiser’s purpose is more direct than a program producer’s, though both may seek to entertain. Understanding their purposes and knowing WHOSE point of view is being expressed and WHY is crucial to being media literate.

Every media message is communicated for a reason—to entertain, to inform and usually to persuade. Yet the basic motive for most media is profit. To assess the motives of any form of media you must understand that every message has a purpose and a point of view. By considering the point of view behind the message you will often uncover its underlying purposes and intentions. For example, if you understand that every tobacco advertisement is designed with the tobacco company's point of view then you will understand that the intention of its messages is to sell cigarettes. Understanding an ad’s purposes and knowing whose point of view is expressed is crucial to the process of decoding.

3 Who owns, profits from, and pays for media messages?

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Media messages are owned. They are designed to yield results, provide profits, and pay for themselves. All news and entertainment programming, including film and television, try to increase their audiences to attract advertising dollars. Understanding the profit motive is key to analyzing media messages.

Media messages are owned. They are designed to yield results, provide profits and pay for themselves. The implications of ownership are enormous. Consider the example of Kraft Foods. Did you know that Philip Morris owns Kraft? Knowing that this company has lied to the public about tobacco so that it could increase its profits should make you cautious about their other products. Understanding the profit motive is key to analyzing media messages.

4 Who are the target audiences for media messages and what meanings are made?

All messages are made with some sense of the people receiving them. People filter these messages based on their beliefs, values, attitudes, behaviors, and past experiences. Identifying the target audience for a given message and knowing how its audience may interpret it will help make you more media literate.

All media try to increase their audiences to attract more money. All messages are made with some sense of the people receiving them. People understand these messages based on their beliefs, values, attitudes, behaviors and past experiences. Identifying the target audience for a given message and knowing how its audience may interpret it will provide you information about the intended message and its goals.

5 How are media messages communicated?

Messages are communicated through the use of elements like sound, video, text, and photography.

But most messages are enhanced by the use of visual and technical elementsâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; through camera angles, special effects, editing, or music. Analyzing how these features are used in any given message is critical to understanding how that message attempts to persuade, entertain, or inform.

Messages are communicated through sound, video, text and photography. But most messages are enhanced by visual and technical elementsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;camera angles, special effects, editing or music. These elements enhance the emotional impact of any media message.

Analyzing how these features are used in any given message is critical to understanding how that message attempts to persuade its audience.

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6 What is NOT being said and why?

Because messages are limited in both time and purpose, rarely are all the details provided.

Identifying the issues, topics, and perspectives that are NOT included can often reveal a great deal about the purposes of media messages. In fact, this may be the most significant question that can uncover answers to the other questions.

Because messages are limited in both time and purpose, rarely are all the details provided.

Identifying the issues, topics and perspectives that are not included can often reveal a great deal about the purposes of media messages. In fact, this may be the most significant part of finding answers to the other questions.

7 Is there consistency both within and across media?

Do the political slant, tone, local/national/international perspective, and depth of coverage change across media or messages? Can you escape your filter bubble and fact-check? Because media messages tell only part of the story and different media have unique production features, it helps to evaluate multiple messages on the same issue. This allows you to identify multiple points of view, some of which may be missing in any single message or medium.

Decoding any media message is like being a detective. Keeping in mind the preceding questions, you have to be on the lookout for clues. When you find them you have to try to figure out what they mean. Then you have to piece them all together so that you can reconstruct what exactly the media message is trying to get you (or mislead you) into believing.

CONSUMER CULTURE CAPITALISM AND ADVERTISING YOU ARE NOT IMMUNE Most intelligent people think they are not subject to or impacted by consumer and commercial advertising. Ads are pretty, silly; ads donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fool me! No one wants to be duped or fooled into making unwittingly corporate driven decisions. And Advertising, as an industry, is happy to profit from this foolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paradise. When is the last time you really examined the messages of popular culture? What does it mean to examine advertising claims critically? There are techniques of social propaganda and persuasion and our best defense against the driving forces at work in advertising is attention and awareness.

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What does it mean to apply persuasive techniques? Because advertising uses every trick in the book. These are folks who have carefully studied and systematically apply critical judgment and behavioural research so as to understand the power of symbols and the process of meaning-making. To this end, there is a heavy reliance on non-discursive forms of communication & particularly on connotations and myth to transform pseudo-propositions into sound truth claims. The masters of FAKE frequently rely on affective techniques, i.e., to appeal to emotion rather than reason. Their uses of symbolic forms rely on presentational & non-discursive signs, in tandem with slanting language contexts & fallacious emotional appeals. For example, I offer ten techniques used by advertising to claim some kind of superiority. (How patriarchal and colonial!)

CLAIMING SUPERIORITY

Most consumer products are relatively similar; the PARITY among most consumer products, like soap, are only differentiated by advertising. Sure, one soap may smell differently, but the techniques of advertising can trick you into believing one is better than another. To create an illusion of superiority, all products try to claim superiority.

There are many names for these techniques of persuasion, deception and delusion.

Let’s take a closer look at some methods for persuading consumer publics into choosing one product over another.

CLAIM THE WEASEL CLAIM

FEATURES OF THE CLAIM “Weasel words” are used to avoid outright lies.

EXAMPLE “HELPS control dandruff,” but does not STOP it; “leaves dishes VIRTUALLY spotless,” but not TOTALLY; “costs less than MOST,” but not ALL; “FIGHTS bad breath,” but does not fully ELIMINATE it.

WATCH: LISTERINE ADVERT COMMERCIAL MOUTHWASH (YouTube)

UNFINISHED / These claims often use INCOMPLETE weasel words while CLAIMS claiming superiority, though they don't say to what they are superior.

“Cineplex gives you MORE,” but more than who?; “Scott makes it BETTER”, but makes what better?; “Cheese makes dishes taste BETTER,” but better than what?; “Coffee Mate gives you MORE,” but more what?

WATCH: NESCAFE COFFEE MATE (YouTube)

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DIFFERENT, UNIQUE, NEW & IMPROVED

“WATER IS WET” CLAIM

“SO WHAT?”

Propose the idea that different, unique, new, and/or improved is always better than another company’s product or compared to a previous version of a product.

These present as statements of real quality of a product, but they are misleading because the statement is true of all products in its class. The quality pointed out in the ad is characteristic of all products.

Often state “There's nothing like it…”; These products claim they are “The only...”

These claims point out a characteristic that is irrelevant and unconnected to the product’s user.

“Heinz ketchup is thicker;” Twice as much iron as ordinary vitamins;” “Secret deodorant: strong enough for a man but made for a woman.”

WATCH: Gillette Fusion: Comfort of 5 Blades, Precision of 1 | Gillette India Commercial (YouTube) “Mobil detergent gasoline,” which is true of all gasolines; “Coors beer is made with grain,” which is characteristic of all beer; “the perfume that smells different on everyone,” which is true of all perfumes; “Great Lash Mascara increases length of lashes,” which is characteristic of all mascara.

WATCH: Gwen Stefani Commercial for L'Oreal Paris Voluminous False Fiber Lashes Mascara (YouTube)

WATCH: Secret Deodorant Seeks Women Who Embody “All Strength, No Sweat” for New Campaign (YouTube) VAGUE CLAIM

The claim is neither provable nor disprovable, so the claim becomes unclear.

TESTIMONIAL These claims appeal to CLAIMS some kind of authority or glamor figure. They often appear as some kind of celebrity testimonial and/or endorsement.

“Coke is it;” “NIKE: Just do it.”

WATCH: Nike Running Commercial | “Steps” (YouTube) I hate Gwenthy Paltrow and Joop (ml); Jennifer Aniston for Smart Water.

WATCH: Jennifer Aniston SMART WATER (YouTube)

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SCIENTIFIC OR STATISTICAL CLAIM

These claims offer, what appears to be, “evidence,” thereby making the claim sound “scientific” and/or “precise.”

COMPLIMENT These claims appeal to THE the consumer's ego.

CONSUMER

“Wonder Bread builds strong bones;” “Easy Off has 33% more cleaning power;” “Certs contains a sparkling drop of Retsyn;” “OB Tampons: created by woman gynecologist.”

WATCH: PLUMP AND REDUCE WRINKLES WITH L'Oréal Paris HYALURONIC ACID SERUM (YouTube) American Express Gold Card: “You choose how, when and where to use your points;” Volvo: “You value safety.”

WATCH: Beyoncé for L'Oréal Because I'm Worth It 2005 HQ (YouTube)

RHETORICAL QUESTION

This claim presents a question that doesn't really call for answer.

“shouldn't you use...”; “shouldn't you switch…”; “What do you want most from coffee?”

WATCH: GEICO Rhetorical Questions “Does the buck stop here?” Commercial (2011) (YouTube)

EMOTIONAL TRANSFER BY ASSOCIATION

Advertising also relies on associative techniques of persuasion to convince consumers to spend their money. Often, an unconscious connection between the product and its means of signifying meaning is assumed to be transfer to consumers, impacting consumer behaviour. By setting up possible associations, consumers can experience positive sensations about a particular context and these positive feelings are transferred to you when you buy that product. Think of this as the emotional transfer that occurs between an advertised product and those who purchase it. What products or brands do you “associate” with? Are you a MAC or PC? When the entire persuasive force of an advertisement relies on emotional associations, the advertisement rarely says anything about the product directly.

What might beer have to do with ‘good times’? What do cars have to do with female sexuality?

I recall feeling angry when watching #EatTogether; I didn’t want our consumer culture taking over my ‘dreams.’ Watch and identify the product or the thing for sale. I also encourage you to watch another advertisement from the same company to see how they position their place in the consumer market.

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“#EatTogether“ (2019) [1:30].

“Food lovers unite“ (2019) [1:00].

Here, I share techniques. This time, I ask you to find the related examples.

seven

BOGUS (FAKE/PHONY) INFORMATION The information given appears to be significant but really isn't; the ad doesn't really tell us anything relevant or reliable. Instead, it gives feeling of informing us without actually informing. By providing meaningless claims and/or technical language, the ad appeals to our taste for logic. We think claim is rational, but it really isn't. Like FAKE news, if it sounds rational, it seems rational.

Watch or dubious scientific information because any use of science has positive connotations in consumer culture: “tests show” “experts believe” “4 out of 5 dentists recommend Trident.”

Watch for language claims with fancy-sounding terminology like

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riboflavin, hydrocortisone, anti-lock brakes. Ads sometimes coin a special name for a feature of a product, then claim their product is only one with this feature: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Colgate with MFP fluoride.â&#x20AC;?

FALLACIES There are many fallacies that impact human thinking. Fallacies are, perhaps, most popular in advertising and this function of illogical thinking is at work in most media messages. By appealing to an authority or glamour figure, the bandwagon fallacy, for example, create a fear of missing out.

SLANTING BY SELECTION Of course, advertising will tell us the good things about a product & leave out any bad things. This creates a misleading impression the product is unique; slanting occurs when an ad mentions particular features of a product, when other products have the very same features

Watch for fallacies when advertisements make claims about things that trigger human insecurities, e.g. ring around collar, bad breath and dandruff.

Are side effects, for example, every part of the advertising pitch? For example, aspirin takes away pain, but it can also upset your stomach.

EMOTIVE WORDS There are words that sound good but have unclear meanings. What make a product new, superior, better or different? When imprecise denotations are connected to rich connotations, something is wrong.

Watch for the adjectives used to describe products.

How does the use of language create an emotional response?

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SLOGANS We all recall advertising slogans from our past experiences. These short statements or phrases are usually repeated many times. Slogans do not relay important information; however, the mnemonic value often replaces any need for information. When consumers remember a slogan, the product is planted firmly in the minds of consumers.

Slogans often require no real logic.

What powerful is the product’s connection to an image or sound.

Are there products for which you can recall a jingle or a logo without really knowing what the product stands for?

EXAGGERATIONS OR FALSEHOODS Government regulation calling for “truth in advertising” or other advertising standards means advertisers usually try to avoid outright lies; instead they concentrate on permissible lies like exaggerations or distortions.

Can you find examples of ‘outright’ falsehood in advertising? In our times of FAKE news and DEEP FAKES, it’s increasingly challenging to identify direct violations of advertising regulations or standards.

THE MYTHS OF MULTITASKING Simply put, multitasking (1) Limits your focus of attention; and (2) Limits your ability to retain knowledge (information retention).

Multitasking means a “switch of focus” resulting in cognitive overload (limiting learning and the learning brain by) dividing cognitive attention, which results in an increased limit in the ability to retain all necessary and important information.

See Monochronic vs polychronic cultures

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Multi- or dual-task conditions were proven to reduce declarative memory. ALSO: areas of the brain that are involved in the learning process with specific focus on declarative memory and habit-learning memory.

Declarative memory is having the ability to know a piece of information off the top of one's head; it is forever ingrained into one's memory and can be recited upon command.

Habit-learning memory is different; it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t rely on understanding the concept, just the action or process involved. (Foerde et al. 11778).

CALCULATING THE COST OF MULTITASKING Image: Inc

For some tasks, such as identifying the gender of a face, and then switching to identifying the facial expression, the switch only takes only about 200 milliseconds. But even this small cost can reduce productivity by 40 per cent if you try to study while watching a movie.

COGNITIVE LOAD Ideally, instruction should be reviewed/received in a way that reduces the processing of information that does not contribute to learning (extraneous load) and increases cognitive processing that contributes to learning (germane load).

A way for learners to effectively manage extraneous load is by designing learning and reading plans that control the flow of information. How do your time management skills modulate you viewing/listening/learning strategies? Do your learning strategies mediate the relationship between extraneous load and germane load? How so? The negative correlation between extraneous load and germane load can be mitigated when learners engage in thoughtfully planned (i.e., specific) strategies to better understand the content.

YOU CAN OVERCOME the CHALLENGES of

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DISTRACTION, MULTITASKING AND EXTRANEOUS COGNITIVE PROCESSING SELF REGULATION VS SELF CONTROL Teaching learners to have self-regulation is one of the most important character traits we can teach. Experts believe that people who master self-regulation become masters of their learning, are more critical thinkers, and make healthier choices; and the benefits are lifelong. I am sure we have observed others or ourselves with minimal self-regulation!

Apparently, adults have developed this self-regulation over time. While it is something that develops as we mature, should we leave the ability to self-regulate up to nature alone, or is there something we could do at home to help kids develop or strengthen this important skill?

Some exciting research says self-regulation is something kids can learn. And the best part?

It can be taught through play. Note: I've interchanged the terms self-regulation and selfcontrol only for the sake of understanding. However, â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a profound difference between self-regulation and self-control. Self-control is about inhibiting strong impulses; selfregulation, reducing the frequency and intensity of strong impulses by managing stress-load and recovery. In fact, self-regulation is what makes self-control possible, or, in many cases, unnecessary. The reason lies deep inside the brainâ&#x20AC;?

RESOURCE (Stuart Shanker, Reframed: Self-Regulation for a Just Society, University of Toronto Press, 2020. Roots of Empathy Research Symposium, 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84GHcfzXsmw>.)

QUESTIONS What are some of your self-regulating habits and behaviours?

Why are self-regulating behaviours important for learning?

How might you begin to support a young child with anxiety through self-regulation? What would you do? Why?

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THE FELT SENSE: FEELING SENSATION Take two 20 minute periods to mindfully try to assess and articulate what you feel in your body. e.g.., tired feet, stiff neck, tight chest, acidic belly, cloudy head. . . what words (metaphors) do you rely on to sense the world via your body? openly reflect, in writing, what this experience is like. writing activity that may help activate the felt sense: I see . . .

I hear . . .

I smell . . .

I taste . . .

I feel . . .

I see . . .

I hear . . .

I smell . . .

I taste . . .

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I feel . . .

I see the light of the snow reflected behind me in the computer screen; I hear the sounds of my fingers typing as the heater generates hot air; I smell that familiar dog door, now that she has come in from the cold; I taste the remains of a cookie, eaten hours ago, but surrounded with bitter dryness on my tongue; I feel the tightness of my ribs, squeezing my chest, telling me to breathe deeply but reminded me how cold it is.

This is a writing activity I like to return to when I feel writer’s block & when I feel like I’m not experiencing the world or not present. let me know what you think!

MARK’S RULES OF COMMUNICATION MESSAGES The focus in this course on languages points to our individual uses of language as a tool for communication, creativity and critique. In my world. LANGUAGE IS THE MOST BASIC TOOL OF COMMUNICATION; LANGUAGE provides the basis for all other media. We study how language works, the worlds of MEANING-MAKING. I remind you about my particularly point of view. I see meaning making as a process of TRANSACTIONS. Languages do not mirror human experiences, instead, languages construct our worlds and worldviews. There is a world out there, but we can never know it as it “really is” only as we perceive. Our perceptions are limited by our senses & minds; and our minds are conditioned/limited by our language. Language is central to our thinking, behavior and lives; to understand any kind of communication or media, we must understand language Here are some of general and pragmatic rules for understanding meaning-making and worldviews. Let me know if any of these help you.

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1. One cannot not communicate.

2. All communication message serve two functions: there is a purpose to the message & the message serves to relay information about the sender and receiver’s relationship.

3. Signals and symbols are very different; they function in/as your response system/s.

4.The way you respond to a text: – i. says more about you than the text; – ii. will always be based on your past experiences with similar texts.

4. Don’t confuse your maps with the actual territory. We live in two worlds: words things (non-words) (map) (territory) The more your maps correspond to territory, the better.

5. Words don't have meanings. People make meaning. The word is not the thing.

6. Language reflects & conditions our thinking & behavior. Changing the way we use language can change our patterns of thought & behaviour.

7. Your language defines your world.

8. A technology is to a medium, as a brain is to a mind.

9. Remember what’s a stake when looking at media messages; our very real world.

VER·I·SI·MIL·I·TUDE: THE APPEARANCE OF BEING TRUE OR REAL. When media messages and forms capture the verisimilitude of the world, you are living in a fake world. Don’t forget how technology manipulates the world, leading many (most) to confuse reality with artifice. [Like that time my husband took in the awesomeness of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and exclaimed, “it’s like a picture!”]

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SOME LAWS OF COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA It's not enough to list different media and say when they developed if you want to understand the relationship between media and culture. What we need are some principles about how media evolve in particular cultural contexts. Consider some of these ideas to understand the relationships between media and culture.

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Media arise as attempts of humans to solve problems of information. Essential questions to ask are: â&#x20AC;&#x153;What and whose problem does a medium answer?

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Those media survive and are most widespread that solve the greatest number of questions about information for the greatest number of people.

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But humans are imperfect, fallible creatures; therefore, solutions to information problems are never completely adequate.

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Every solution to a problem of information changes the state of information. Every change produces a new set of problems.

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TEN PRINCIPLES OF TECHNOLOGY Neil Postman, in his assessments of technologies, media and larger frames of meaning related to culture, identifies ten principles that help us make meaning of technology, media and its influences on global culture.

1. All technological change is a Faustian bargain. For every advantage a new technology offers, there is always a corresponding disadvantage.

2. The advantages and disadvantages of new technologies are never distributed evenly among the population. This means that every new technology benefit some and harms others.

3. Embedded in every technology there is a powerful idea, sometimes two or three powerful ideas. Like language itself, a technology predisposes us to favour and value certain perspectives and accomplishments and to subordinate others.

4. A new technology usually makes war against an old technology. It competes with it for time, attention, money, prestige and a â&#x20AC;&#x153;worldviewâ&#x20AC;?.

5. Technological change is not additive; it is ecological. A new technology does not merely add something; it changes everything.

6. Because of the symbolic forms in which information is encoded, different technologies have different intellectual and emotional biases.

7. Because of the accessibility and speed in which information is encoded, different technologies have different political biases.

8. Because of their physical form, different technologies have different sensory biases.

9. Because of the conditions in which we attend them, different technologies have different social biases.

10. Because of their technical and economic structure, different technologies have different content biases.

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SEMIOTICS Have you heard this word prior? The science of sign systems. Signs. Like stop signs. Also including abstract meaningful ideas. A study of mind. A study of self. A study of the material and evanescent sparks the make our worlds meaningful.

Semiotics as a branch of intellectual thought begins at a time when linguists, across a wide degree of specificity in subject: from simpliest morpheme (the smallest meaningful unit in a language) to intercultural, intersectional, symbols (including utterances, language, thought and action) jump to meaningful contributions to all subsequent philosophy. Simply put, ongoing attention to language and meaning is a skill across the disciplines.

No need to dig deep, yet. This science requires a particular skill in hand and evidence of your practice, prior to meaningful learning. This skills, simply, asks for attention. Hey, LOOK HERE! What are symbols for you that trigger ATTENTION of mind, focus of vision, still and calm throughout the body. Eveything currently at hand is open as material for the semiotician. What are you looking at? What are you listening to—right now?

Human sense receptors, i.e., our senses—are pretty much the only way humans can make sense/meaning of the world. Are you aware all of your senses are WORKING for you—ALL THE TIME. These senses know no time.

I focus on leaves, the maple branch closest to me, and just beyond the window, I feel the air. Oh thank you air for sustanence. And the sound of the wind in the leaves hits me in waves; ripples of autmunal breeze through the window.

ATTENTION – and I mean SUSTANED ATTIONTION is a skill that, when exercised and practiced, is consistentently improving. This is the skill that, with ongoing exercise and practice, promises to enhance your abilities for all other learning skills.

ATTENTION requires practice. The more you pracrice, the more you sesne—see, experience your world.

ATTENTION REQUIRES PRACTICE.

SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS

MADONNA’s ON TOP 0:11 Beginning a semiotic analysis can be an action in search of meaning; given the polysemic nature of media – that is, a media message can mean a number of things – it’s people that

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mean, so it depends on who is engaged in the semiotic analysis. This is where the point of EVIDENCE or FACTS become important.

We can all watch the same commercial and each viewer discovers a different meaning.

THEN, the point is to make a strong ARGUMENT about WHY your meaning is more accurate. I may disagree with your opinions, but I WILL DEFEND TO THE DEATH, your right to your opinion. AND I still think some opinions ARE BETTER than others because a link to EVIDENCE makes one opinion more PERSUASIVE than another.

HERE IS a television commercial for THE GAP. It features Madonna and Missy Elliot. OF course, the point of this commercial is to SELL. Without denying CONSUMER CULTURE, I wonder, what ELSE is this commercial promoting? After I watched it (say, a couple of hundred times) I came to the conclusion that this commercial REINFORCES Madonna’s SUPREMACY over Black popular culture as represented by Missy Elliot. In short, this commercial REINFORCES systemic racism and the oppression of Black culture in favour of White privlidge.

You’re going to watch this commerical and say – “Whoo, mark has gone NUTS!” GAP COMMERCIAL “Where’d You Get ‘dem Jeans” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0luGz4_NbLk But after following a few systematic methods for deconstructing the meaning of a text. AND RECOGNIZING that in ADVERTISING, nothing is there BY ACCIDENT. This is a multibillion

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dolloar business and everything you can possible see has been tested again and again. BE CERTAIN if consumer culture is involved, there are no accidents.

By SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS I completed several detailed actions: 1. [LOG] TIME CODE + CAPTIONS ; the commercial is only [01:15] or 75 seconds. So that’s not too bad.

Time code requires the words to be matched to time eg. 0:00 – 0:04 Everybody comes to Hollywood ; 0:04- 0:08 They want to make it in the neighbourhood 00:08 – etc etc.

2. [DESCRIPTION] LIST, Count and identify everything you see. . . the textual elements. Try to be as thorough as possible, even fuzzy things in the background may be important. If you think any of the elements are particularly important – circle them; this is the visual literacy piece. You can include things like colour, soft/hard lines, etc.

3. [TECHNICAL LITERACY] LIST, Count and identify things like camera movement and angles; the framing; the use of lights, focus . . . anything connected to the media/technology that is used to create the ad. Can you also count the number of shots; the edits? This is montage. e.g., 0:00 – 0:04 Extreme close up of the letter M; quick pan out to a medium-long shot of woman in chair, centred; soft light from above – to the left; shot two: close up of Madonna.

Eyes looking directly at camera, soft light from above left. The faming includes her sholders, neck and face- the top of her head and her hands are cut out of the frame; she turns to the right and dramatically throws her weight to emerge from her chair; the next shot is a long shor, there is dark shadow, . .

4. Then, anything you can DISCOVER about the main players via research: about 1. The Gap (who owns them, origins? Timeline? ; 2. Madonna, a bit of her story; and 3. Missy Elliot . . . keep these short and make sure to cite ALL sources.

5. Now, let’s point to the best EVIDENCE that supports my ARGUMENT regarding the MEANING of this advertisement. To reiterate, my argumentL In this commercial for Gap jeans, the uses of Madonna work to REINFORCE systemic racism highlighting White privlidge. I title my ARGUMENT “Madonna’s on Top.”

GAP COMMERCIAL “Where’d You Get ‘dem Jeans” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0luGz4_NbLk

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LOG WHERE’D YOU GET’DEM JEANS GAP COMMERCIAL TIME CODE & CAPTION 0:00 - 0:04 Everybody comes to Hollywood 0:04 – 0:08 They want to make it in the neighborhood 0:08 – 0:13 They like the smell of it in Hollywood 0:13- 0:16 How can it hurt you when it looks so good 0:16 – 0:20 Ohhhhhhhh, who that be?

0:20 – 0:23 Misdemeanor on that MIC. I got a fresh kick, thick hips, best believe 0:23 – 0:25 Me and Madonna about to hurt them like a tag team 0:26 – 0:27 You're going to love us in our new GAP jeans 0:27 – 0:30 We walk by, people ask, where'd you get those jeans?

0:30 – 0:34 On fire, call emergency. G-A capital P, you should know how we 0:34 – 0:37 Let me go and do my thing. I bring it hard on the track if you know what I mean 0:37 – 0:41 Hollywood and New York, Madonna is the queen and misdemeanor say 0:41 – 0:42 ‘Y’all is the best’ 0:42 – 0:44 Get into the groove 0:44 – 0:47 Let me show you some moves 0:47 – 0:50 Best to take it from me, yeah 0:50 – 0:53 Get up on your feet 0:53 – 0:55 Let me step to the beat 0:55 – 0:58 Show you how it should be 0:58 – 1:00 Get into the groove 1:00 – 1:02 Let me show you some moves 1:02 – 1:05 Best to take it from me 1:05 – 1:08 Get into the groove, yeahah 1:08 – 1:13 Woo, I can do that [01:15] or 75 Seconds Total

VISUAL LITERACY: DESCRIPTIONS - Black background with gold star and black cursive M on it representing Madonna’s Logo - Description above is the design on a director’s chair - Madonna sits on the directors’ chair wearing gap jeans, black belt, beaded jewelry hangs off the belt, white tank top, curled hair, hoop earrings, large circle bracelets, and a silver necklace - They are in front of a black building on the street with white windows and three small stairs to the two narrow front doors - There is a black or grey mailbox attached to the building - There is a brown crate in the background - Above the brown crate is a large black light on a silver stand/tripod with wheels - There is a black fire hydrant next to a circular sewage grate on the ground

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There is an unpainted, light wood wall set leaned against the black building In the distance there is a white building with a palm tree There is also a man dressed in beige with keys attached to his hip fixing a large light on a large stand with wheels Madonna is wearing silver or white closed toe heels Another man dressed in a beige shirt and pants, black belt and baseball hat, wheels in another large light on a stand with wheels Madonna walks next to a white building that has black wires down the side, a power outlet and two large white circular objects attached to the side Madonna walk on a road next to a yellow line with white letters that spell ‘stop’ and a white line above the word stop Two trailers are parked outside a white building, the building has a door on the left with a black window, a palm tree, a satellite, a big planter with long grass inside and appears to be its own small building or room with a roof and spout that trails down the wall.

There is trailer to the right of this building that has a red, yellow, red strip horizontally across the whole trailer, there is writing on it in black ink, you can see two black wheels, a stand that holds it in place, a white opened window Beside the trailer on the right is the second beige door with no windows and a door stopped on the top right side Beside the second beige door is another trailer, exact same horizontal strip, writing and window. This door appears to have its own small room with roof and spout trailing down the wall. This trailer has two large cylinders at the back where the hitch would be. Beside the trailer is another beige door with black windows, a planter box with long grass and a palm tree.

To the right of the third beige door is a yellow post next to an open garage which cars and equipment inside.

There are two astronauts on the street walking towards the white ‘stop’ on the road dressed in a white astronaut suits and bubble helmets There is a yellow line on the left side of the road and two big black circles high up on the side of the white building at the back of the scene A billboard is pushed as a scenery behind Madonna on a black stand. The billboard is of an ocean with white sand, dark blue calm water, and light blue skies The billboard keeps moving and we see another man dressed in a beige shirt and pants with a black belt and baseball hat There is a beige door opening with a white star and cursive M on it. There is a gold door nob and white door frame.

Missy Eliot comes through the door in light blue baggy jeans, an oversized shirt with a black male on it, a long gold chain, a white or grey sweater under and jean vest, gold hoop earrings, a blue jean baseball hat with a blue durag under it.

Behind Missy is a red mirror with white light bulbs on the side (2), a red side table with red flowers on top

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The back of a scene billboard rolls behind Missy and it is a checkered form of plain wood pushed by a man with brown hair in a ponytail and beige shirt and pants with black belt Madonna does a handshake with a black male in a white shirt and black pants that is sitting on a gold car with a big front vent and lights Behind them is a big black box, a brown building with approx. eight different horizontal details. There are two brown circular objects on the building and four white stairs up a white staircase into the building Missy and Madonna walk on sidewalk, behind them is 1 white car, 1 white light post, three buildings behind them, 1 red brick, one white with a blurry sign, one black trim.

There is a man in all beige riding a black bike, there is two big lights on stands, one is being moved Three people sit together on the stairs, 1 Asian male in a golf hat, white tank top and gold chain, one black female in a red tank top, beige pants with a black belt, a white woman with a white undershirt, black and blue sweater and backwards baseball hat.

Missy and Madonna hit hips together and their back pockets have a black design on them There are five people dancing. In the background there is one large raised square hollow box made of wood, there is one lower raised box made of wood, and there is a large triangle ladder on a stand with a middle ladder between the triangle ladders.

In the background there is 1 giant white light, approx.

5 burry posters, a long mirror wall, a big concreate door with an electrical â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;exitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sign above it, there a small storage area in the back left side of the room with a big cylinder clear bin, three empty tripods/stands, 5 small wall lights, on the right side of the room, there appears to be slim emergency stairs to the top of the building.

There is an entire wall built of steel pieces (6) with steel frames, could be the back of a garage door.

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There is now approx. 12 people including Madonna and Missy dancing.

White screen with words “a new groove, a new jean”

TECHNICAL LITERACY 0:00 – 0:04 Extreme close up of the letter M; quick pan out to a medium-long shot of woman in chair, centred; soft light from above – to the left.

0:04 – 0:11 shot two: close up of Madonna. Eyes looking directly at camera, soft light from above left. The faming includes her shoulders, neck, and face- the top of her head and her hands are cut out of the frame; she turns to the right and dramatically throws her weight to emerge from her chair.

0:11 – 0:16 the next shot is a long shore, there is dark shadow, 0:16 – 0:18 the next shot is close up of a door with a white star and the letter M and gold door nob centered. Missy Elliot slowly exits from the door beginning with her leg then head and body. The framing includes her shoulders, neck, head and right arm and hand. Soft light from above 0:18 – 0:22 Next shot is quick cut to Missy Elliot centered in the doorway. Framing includes her whole body except for her shins to feet.

0:22 – 0:25 the next shot is a wood background, there is a dark shadow. A dark lit body crosses in front of the camera shot.

0:25 – 0:26 Camera cut to side view with male on hood of car and Madonna walking onto sidewalk to meet Missy. Full body of Madonna and Missy in framing, hood of the car excluding the wheels are in frame. Dark shadow.

0:26 - 0:27 next shot is Missy centered on a street and Madonna walking into shot from left side. Soft light from above. Framing includes Missy and Madonna’s upper body such as arms, hips, chest, shoulders, head, no lower legs.

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0:27 – 0:28 quick close up of Madonna and Missy’s upper body including shoulders, neck and head some hands in frame.

0:28 – 0:30 Camera pans to the right quickly. Three people cantered in shot, soft light to the right. Camera continues to pan till people are on the left of the shot.

0:30 – 0:31 Camera cuts back to Missy and Madonna centered on the street. Soft light from above to the left. Framing includes whole body except below the knees.

0:31 – 0:33 Camera cut to close up of Madonna and Missy’s shoulders neck and head. Soft light from above to the left.

0:33 – 0:34 Camera cut to Madonna and Missy’s hips hitting each other. Quick pause to see letter M embroidered on jean pockets. Low light from above. Framing includes top of jeans to just blow jean pocket.

0:34 – 0:36 Quick cut to dark room with dancers who are moving from outside the frame to opposing sides.

0:36 – 0:37 Quick pan left to a centered upside-down dancer. Framing includes elbows, stomach/chest, and top of legs. Low light from above to the left.

0:37 – 0:38 Camera cuts to centered dancers. Dark shadows. Framing includes full body.

0:38 – 0:39 next shot is a dancer spinning from right scene to left. Dark shadow. Framing includes torso such as top of jeans, stomach, no shoulders.

0:39 – 0:40 next shot is one centered dancer and three other dancers moving in and out of shot. Dark shadows. Framing starts with just hips and below until dancer drops to the ground where their full body is in frame.

0:40 – 0:40 quick cut to a close up of someone’s legs in the air. Centered. Dark shadows.

0:40 – 0:42 next shot is five dancers. three centered dancers, one dancer on left and one dancer on the right of shot. Dark shadows. Framing includes whole body.

0:42 – 0:44 next shot is Madonna and four dancers centered. Framing is full body except feet. Dark shadows.

0:44 – 0:45 next shot pans out quickly to 12 dancers including Madonna dispersed across the shot. Low light from above. Framing including whole body.

0:45 – 0:45 close of Madonna’s upper body centered. Framing includes shoulders, part of arm, neck, and face. Low light from above.

0:45 – 0:47 next shot is a quick pan out to Madonna and 5 dancers centered slightly to the right. Dark shadows. Framing includes full body.

0:47 – 0:48 next shot is Missy dancing centered with four other dancers in shot. Two closer and two further. Framing includes Missy’s whole body, one dancer on right partial side view of whole body and dancer on left except for feet.

0:48 – 0: 48 next shot is a quick cut to the right to Madonna centered dancing. One dancer on the right. Dark shadow. Framing is head to knees.

0:48 – 0:49 Quick cut back to Missy, throws arms to cross each other and leans back. Low light from above. Framing is head to hips.

0:49 – 0:50 Quick cut back to Madonna and two others dancing. Low light from above.

Framing includes head to knees. Dancers move in and out of frame. Moves to a close up of Madonna* turning, frame includes torso, shoulders, neck, arms, and head.

0:50 – 0:50 Quick pan out of Madonna turning to a big wide shot of all 12 people dancing.

Framing includes whole body and wall in background. Dark shadows.

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0:50 – 0:51 Quick shot to Missy dancing centered with 3 others dancing in and out of frame in background. Low light from above. Framing includes whole body.

0:51 – 0:52 Camera pans to the right by following Missy to centre of shot to Madonna while dancing. Pans out wide to show 12 people dancing. Framing is whole body. Low light from above.

0:52 -0:52 Quick close up of someone jumping in the air. Dark shadows. Framing is one person small in background, one-person up-close whole body in jump.

0:52-0:53 Quick cut to 5 people jumping. Framing is full body. Dark shadows.

0:53 – 0:55 Quick cut back to Madonna and Missy dancing centered with 10 other dancers around them. Framing is whole body. Dark shadows.

0:55 – 0:56 Close up on Madonna jumping down to the ground. Framing stays still and Madonna’s body lowers, but her head remains in frame. Low light above.

0:56 – 0:57 Madonna and Missy dancing with dancers in background. Frame is full body.

Low light from above.

0:57 – 0:58 Close up of Missy and Madonna centered. Low light from the right. Framing is upper body cut off at hips.

0:58 – 0:58 Madonna centered close up. Low light from above. Framing of shoulders, neck, and head.

0:58 – 1:01 Madonna on right and Missy on left space in the middle with background dancers. Low light from above. Framing is full body for background dancers and hips up to head.

1:01 – 1:03 pan out shot of Madonna and Missy dancing with background dancers. Framing is full body. Low light from above to the right.

1:03 – 1:04 close up on a person doing a flip. Dark shadows. Framing is shoulders, head, hips, upper thighs 1:04-1:05 Madonna and Missy centered dancing. Low light from above. Framing is whole body.

1:05 – 1:06 white background with words “a new groove.” Screen flips to another white screen.

1:06 – 1:08 white screen with words “a new jean”. Screen flips to a screen with the gap log and words “cord *gap logo* jeans” and gap.com on the bottom.

1:08 – 1:14 Missy and Madonna centered with background dancers. Lowlight from above.

Framing is whole body.

RESEARCH The Gap: - Founded in 1969 by Don and Doris Fisher in San Francisco to make more affordable jeans available. In 1983 the Gap purchased Banana Republic. In 1986 they introduced the first Gap Kids. The first Gap store in Canada opened in Vancouver BC in 1989 and in 2000 Old Navy outlet opened online. Don Fisher stepped down as Chairman of the Board in 2004 and died in 2009. In 2019 the Gap celebrated 50 years.

- Further history available here https://www.gapinc.com/en-ca/about/history - Owners remain Doris Fisher and her three sons: William, Robert, and John.

- Net worth of $7.3 billion 311

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https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/gap-billionaires-personal-fortune-drop-sales-slump-2019-11 028686286#:~:text=The%20Fisher%20family%20now%20has,of%20%247.3%20billion%2C%20Forbes%20estim ates.

- DEEPER RESEARCH - John F. Fisher (son of Gap founder) and president of familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s investmanet management company Pisces Onc. -Top ontributor to the McCarthy Victory Fund (247 000$ contributed for so18 election cycle) joint fund for relection of Keven McArthy, R-Calif + -Majority Committee PAC, political action committee keeping House majority in hands of GOP lawmakers.

-Like others, gives to both sides, however, fisher, largest contribution tof 5400$ to Sen Dianne Feistein, D-Calif.

- Direct backer of Natiaonal Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) fundraising for House of Representatives. Since 2015, given more than 500000$ Schwartz, B. 2018. Fox Business <https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/as-oakland-as-struggle-tocompete-gap-founders-son-lavishes-funds-on-gop>.

- Stock plummeted by over 1 Billion in 2019. Hoever, Old Navy still stock still strong.

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Madonna - Pop legend Madonna is known for her constant reinvention as a performer. Her biggest hits include “Papa Don't Preach,” “Like a Prayer,” “Vogue,” “Secret,” and “Ray of Light,” among many others. Born in 1958, Madonna is 62 years old today.

- Became a sensation in a male dominated industry in 1980s and by 1991 she had achieved Top 10 hits 21 times in the US. - She attended University of Michigan on full scholarship to their dance program, Alvin Ailey American Dance theater. https://www.biography.com/musician/madonna Net worth of $850 Million https://wealthygorilla.com/madonna-networth/#:~:text=Madonna%20is%20one%20of%20the,worth%20is%20roughly%20%24850%20million.

Missy Elliot - A Grammy Award winning singer, rapper, producer, and songwriter - Some of her biggest hits include “Get Ur Freak On”, “Work It,” and “Sock It 2 Me” - Born in 1971 and nicknamed herself “Misdemeanor” - Completed high school and left her girl group to find individual success - Along with her Grammys, Missy has received American Music Awards, multiple BET Awards for best female hip-hop artist and several MTV Video Awards for her iconic music videos. https://www.biography.com/musician/Missy-elliott

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Net worth of $50 Million https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/singers/missy-elliott-networth/

MY ARGUMENT: Madonna’s on Top A screen shot from GAP COMMERCIAL “Where'd You Get 'Dem Jeans?” with Madonna and Missy Elliot. LOG TIME 0:11/1:14. Madonna is walking toward camera in centre of frame. To her right, we see two small astronauts wearing silver space suits. To her left, she walk parallel to a yellow line drawn on pavement; when line ends we can read the word “TOP” with a white line above the word.

My argument is about the FISHER’s family’s ideological values as presented in the video, reinforce white suprememacy by featuring Madonna in more dominant ways in contrast to Missy Elliot.

screen shot from GAP COMMERCIAL Where'd You Get 'dem Jeans, LOG CODE: 0:11/1:14

As evidence, I point to this shot at 0.11, what I call Madonna’s on TOP! Nothing is by accident!

YOU ARE NOT IMMUNE Most intelligent people think they are immue to the persuasive messages in popular culture the direct consumer behaviour. “Ads don’t fool me! Ads are silly remenants of someone else’s culture. I am smarter than advertising; I won’t be fooled into accepting a false

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ideology.â&#x20AC;? I get home to discover my gap jeans. Crap. Foiled again. The best defense against the persuasive techniques of advertising is critical and focused attention and an awareness of these very techniques.

TASK For your blog, write one semiotic analysis of some popular culture phenomena.

FILM SERIES

TASK For your blog; write a short analysis that compares two films included in the courseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s film series. Attend to the processes and questions below to help guide your thinking.

HOW TO WATCH A FILM

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Have you written about film before? Perhaps you think writing about film is the same as a book report or writing about some topic of social concern? Film analysis has its specific approaches to meaning making—in terms of what critics declare excellence in film production. Here, I offer a few tips on how to get started, what to prepare for, and then, I provide more detailed guidelines for film analysis.

To begin, consider how you are accessing the film. You will want to be able to pause the film, so you can examine materials more closely. How will you ‘freeze-frame’? You may also want to include screen shots with your writing. Know how to pause and capture images before you get started.

There are some standard film categories and ways of classifying film elements. Begin by identifying these codes of film language. These include such things as film genre; theme(s); locations or settings; film conventions / cliches; production values; quality; style and tone.

You goal is not to retell the plot. You must condense the story into a one or two sentence summary. This is how you begin to organize your thinking. Examine the film’s titles & credits to identify contextual information. It is often useful to research the initial reception of the film, its audiences and how it was received at the time of its release. Read reviews and critical opinions to get a sense of the film’s influence and status in popular culture.

In your assessment of the story and script, consider the film’s narrative origins, whether it’s fact or fiction, and how these elements impact its plot, structure and overall story. Pay attention to interesting dialogue. At what point do characters move the story forward; is the acting seamless or is this a film where the performance of one character is stereotyped and cliché.

Attending to the director, cinematography, and other visual cues that lead you to acclaim or dismiss a work. Mis-en-scene or all the material elements you can see in the film are careful constructions of a world. Like in advertising, nothing is by accident. Film editing and its uses of montage (editing for effect) reveal a skill a storytelling. Finally, listen carefully. How is the film’s score, soundtrack or other audio clues presented to help tell the story?

In what follows, I review these basic steps in point form to help you organize your viewing and thinking. Then, I provide more analytic and detailed guidelines for advanced analysis.

IDENTIFY the following: o film's title (and alternate titles or production titles, if any) o year of release o main stars/performers o director o studio o rating o running time

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o o o o

genre classification brief summary tagline(s) awards

PAUSE & FREEZE-FRAME Be prepared to pause (the freeze technique allows one to see how everything is positioned in a frame) and to replay various scenes, shots or sequences.

WRITE A ONE-TWO SENTENCE SUMMARY Write a short one-two summary to describe the film (often called a synopsis or film treatment).

AUDIENCES & INITIAL RECEPTION What was the film's original reception? How is the film perceived today?

READ REVIEWS AND CRITICAL OPINIONS Find reviews and consider critical ratings (stars, â&#x20AC;&#x153;thumbs-upâ&#x20AC;?, tomatoes, number ratings).

QUALITY View the film as a whole, realizing that it is composed of the sum of all of its parts. Individual parts may be great; however, the film must be cohesive and meaningful in its entirety.

CONTEXT What was the social, political, and/or historical context for the film? Was there any controversy surrounding the film's release?

FILM GENRE Decide on the film's principal type, its genre and sub-genre categories (such as action, adventure, musical, comedy). Identify its combination/integration of two or more genres.

How does the film fit (or not fit) into its conventional, recognizable classifications?

STYLE AND TONE Decide the overall style and tone of the film (noir, sophisticated, suspenseful, slapstick).

FILM CONVENTIONS / CLICHES Notice the typical conventions used in the film, for instance: (1) cars that crash will almost always burst into flames; or (2) all telephone numbers in America begin with the digits 555.

PRODUCTION VALUES Does the film have o high-production values (with a glossy and expensive look); o low-production values (it's a low-budget, amateurish, B-film).

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TITLE & CREDITS Consider a film's main title and its opening credits: o Why was the specific title chosen (were there any other alternatives considered?), and how do the credits establish a tone or mood? o What are the first sounds and images in the film? o Can you find any motifs in the credits? o Do the end credits have any unusual features (e.g., out-takes, gags, additional footage)?

LOCATIONS OR SETTINGS Identify the settings for each scene. Are they each appropriate and effective?

Note the different kinds of settings: o geographical (place) o temporal (time period) o locations (on-site) o studio sets FILM'S INFLUENCE Learn if the film had an influential impact on future films. Did it pay homage to (or reference) a previous film in some way?

THEME(S) Look for the film's central theme, motif, idea or dominant message, as well as the film's subtext (the message 'beneath the surface'). o Identify prominent symbols and metaphors within the film and determine their purpose and overall effect. o What popular ideologies are reproduced and reinforced in the film? o Does the film have an original theme or a traditional one? o Is the film's theme adequately or successfully supported by the story, acting and other film elements?

NARRATIVE ORIGINS AND SCRIPT Learn about the script-screenwriter (and other works). If a screenplay is available, compare it to the actual film. Does the film's screenplay effectively communicate the story through action and dialogue? Read about the narrative origins of the film (literary or otherwise): o Is it adapted from some other work, or based on an original idea? If adapted, how well does it follow the original? o If original, how fresh and innovative is it?

FACT OR FICTION? o If the film is based upon an historical event or person, how true to life is the film? o Is the film fact or fiction? o Does it mythologize an historical event or period?

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PLOT & STRUCTURE & STORY How is the film structured? Determine the film's pivotal scene(s) and sequencing. How is the story's plot told? o through normal exposition o by flashback o with a narrator (by voice-over) o chronologically or linearly o character-driven o objectively, subjectively or otherwise ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS o What is the vantage point from which the film is presented? o Does parallelism (the film cuts back and forth between two scenes that are happening simultaneously or at different times) exist between two or more scenes? o Are the transitions between scenes effective? o Is there a climax and resolution (and denouement)? o Does the film's narrative provide continuity from scene to scene? o Is there closure by film's end?

DIALOGUE Identify the most important line(s) of dialogue and identify any lengthy monologues or speeches. Note how the dialogue is delivered (fast, mumbled, overlapping, loud/soft).

Are there any recurring lines of dialogue and how do they function?

CHARACTERS & ACTING & PERFORMANCES Identify: o the film's main characters (are their names significant?) o consider a few of the minor characters and how they are used o a brief description for each one o their major motivations or ethical values/assumptions o their character development Consider: o o o o o o o o o o

Is there a hero or anti-hero?

Are the characters believable and three-dimensional?

Is the acting memorable, exceptional or inferior?

Ask yourself about star quality; why were specific performers chosen (cast)?

Were they appropriately cast (the right age or with the proper accent)?

Were any of the performers cast against type?

Were there any debut performances?

Were their performances appropriate for the roles?

Was the acting professional or non-professional?

Does one performer steal the spotlight from others?

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STEREOTYPING Were the popular stereotypes (attitudinal or imagined) about different kinds of people challenged or reinforced? Were there any caricatures?

DIRECTING Learn about the director's entire repertoire of films, stylistic characteristics & favorite techniques. Is the director a veteran or a novice? How has the director (auteur) shaped, interpreted or controlled every aspect of the film?

CINEMATOGRAPHY & VISUAL CUES Identify the film's cinematographer, stylistic and visual characteristics, use of lighting and color (or black and white) to create a mood, use of a static or moving camera, amount of closeups, and favorite techniques. Compare screen time to story time. Be attentive to various visual clues, such as o establishing shots (the initial shot in a scene) o camera lighting (diffuse, high-key, low-key, muted, highlighting, spotlighting, use of light and dark areas) o focusing (zooms, rack-focus, blurry, deep-focus) o camera distance and framing (full shots, medium shots, closeups) o compositions (positioning of elements, symmetrical vs. asymmetrical, use of shadows, doors, low ceilings, windows & mirrors) o camera angles (tilted, wide angle, telephoto, POV shots, low/high angled) o camera movements and shots (dolly shots, crane shots, pans, tracking, handheld, freeze-frames, reaction shots, the number and order of shots, the use of shot/reverse shots in conversations or interviews) o colors used (or color filtering) o film speed (reversed, or fast/slow-motion) Overall, what makes the cinematography effective?

MIS-EN-SCENE Mis-en-scene can include the setting, costumes, make-up, lighting, and camera positioning and movement. Understand the 'mis-en-scene' of the film. How were the scenes 'orchestrated' or set up for the camera?

EDITING Is the film seamlessly and smoothly edited?

Note the film's transitional edits: o jump cuts o wipes o fade-ins o fade-outs o fade-to-black, dissolves o lap dissolves o mixes

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o use of montage or rapid cutting between shots o juxtapositions (cross-cutting, cutaways, match cuts) o aural editing (how music, noise, or transitional dialogue create the illusion of continuity between cuts) o the pace and rhythm of editing (the typical length and speed of sequences or shots) SCORE Identify the film's composer and any previous similar works. Note any memorable songs (and their lyrics) and/or dances. Listen carefully to how the music/score functions within the film to underscore the action, to move the story along, or to provide an emotional tone or mood. Is the film's soundtrack appropriate, subtle and effective? or inappropriate, overwhelming and domineering? Note if/how silence is used, at times, in place of sound SOUNDTRACK Prepare to listen carefully to the film's soundtrack and how the music, songs and score enhance the actions of the characters and the film's mood.

LISTEN TO AUDIO CLUES: Listen for the film's audio clues, including one of more of the following: o sound effects o music o dialogue or voice o silence Study and distinguish the use of the following: o sound bridges o on-screen vs. off-screen sounds (to provide an impression of 3-D space) o post-synchronized sound vs. direct sound o diegetic sound (i.e., dialogue and sound effects) o non-diegetic sound (i.e., the musical score, narrative voice-overs) o Note when sound transitions do not match shot transitions.

RESOURCE THE LANGUAGE OF FILM AND TV. [25:52].

Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2004 <iframe height='698' frameborder='0' style='border:1px solid #ddd;' width='885' src='https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod-infobasecom.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?token=146229&wID=104666&plt=FOD&loid=0&w=865& h=648&fWidth=885&fHeight=698' allowfullscreen allow=“encrypted-media”>&nbsp;</iframe>

<iframe height='698' frameborder='0' style='border:1px solid #ddd;' width='885' src='https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod-infobasecom.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?token=146229&wID=104666&plt=FO D&loid=0&w=865&h=648&fWidth=885&fHeight=698' allowfullscreen allow=“encryptedmedia”>&nbsp;</iframe>

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GUIDELINES FOR ADVANCED ANALYSIS This section reviews five kinds of advanced analysis. These include formal; genre; auteurist; comparative aesthetics; and sociological/political. Each category asks a number of questions. Do any of these questions resonate with your viewing of the film? Consider how these questions might help invigorates your analysis, providing a richer set of meanings and critical components.

FORMAL 1. What seems to you to be the special quality of this film's form? How would you characterize the look of the movie -- its imagery, its patterns of light and darkness, its overall visual texture?

2. What kinds of reality does the film present? Objective, subjective, fantastic, subconscious? Are there varieties of reality within the film? If so, how does the film signal the level of reality at any given point? (Distortion? Fades?)

3. Consider the organization of materials. Does the film follow a strict linear and/or chronological order? Or does it shatter traditional notions of continuity? Are there flashbacks or flashforwards?

4. Is the cinematography naturalistic or stylized? Is there any use of slow motion or accelerated motion? Are there any freeze frames, superimpositions, zoom shots, etc.? If so, to what effect are these devices put?

5. Consider the camera angles, the organization of space in the various shots. Does there seem to be a particular pattern in the use of close-ups and/or distance shots? Is there any sequence or shot that seemed to you especially noteworthy? Why? 6. To what extent does the film use visual motifs--images, symbols -- to establish and express its themes, to convey its attitudes towards its materials?

7. Consider the film's editing. Does it seem â&#x20AC;&#x153;invisible,â&#x20AC;? the flow between shots and sequences smooth? Or does the film make use of transitional devices that call attention to themselves? (Wipes? Irises? Jump Cuts?) To what extent does the tempo of the editing serve to expand or condense time?

8. How would you characterize the film's overall rhythm or tempo? How is it established?

9. What part do music, silence, sound effects play in the total effect of the film?

10. In what ways can the form of the film be said to carry its meaning?

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GENRE 1. To what â&#x20AC;&#x153;genreâ&#x20AC;? does the film belong and in what ways is it typical of its kind? (Consider patterns of plot, character, setting, iconography.)

2. In what ways does the film depart from the typical patterns of its genre?

3. If genre is, as many believe, an important manifestation of a psychological aspect of mass culture, what does this particular genre (coming at this time and this place) tell us about ourselves and our culture?

4. Artistically and intellectually, what criteria can you apply to evaluate this film? Is it a lesser or superior instance of its kind by virtue of its originality (departure from generic elements) or typicality (faithfulness to the patterns of its kind)?

AUTEURIST 1. In terms of this film and others by the same director, how would you describe this filmmaker's style? (e.g.: intellectual and rational or emotional and sensual? calm and quiet or fast-paced and exciting; polished and smooth or rough and crude-cut; tightly structure or loosely structured; realistic or romantic; restrained or exaggerated; etc.)

2. What basic similarities does this film have to other works by the same director? How is it significantly different? (Take theme, character, story, visual elements, and sound effects into account here.)

3. What is the quality of this film as compared to other works in the director's canon? As compared to his other films, how well does this film seem to reflect the philosophy, personality, and artistic vision of the person who made it?

4. Does the film suggest a growth in some new direction from the director's other films? If so, describe that new direction?

COMPARATIVE AESTHETICS 1. Is the film version a close or a loose adaptation of the novel (play, short story)? If it is a loose adaptation, does the departure from the original seem due to the problems caused by changing from one medium to another, or by the change in creative personnel?

2. Does the film version seem to you to successfully capture the spirit or essence of the original? If not, why not and how do you think it fails?

3. What are the major differences in structure between the novel (play) and film? Consider point of view, sequence, temporal elements, etc.

4. Did having read the novel (seen the play) enhance your experience of seeing the film, or do you believe it took away from it? How? Why? 323

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5. How well do the actors fit your preconceived notions of the characters? Which actors fit your mental image best? Which least? How do your responses to these performers affect your response to the film as a whole?

SOCIOLOGICAL/POLITICAL 1. What is the social/political problem the film treats? What attitudes are we being asked to take towards it? How do you know? (Consider story line, characters, cinematography, etc.)

2. To what extent does this social problem have a universal or timeless quality, affecting all people in all time periods, or is it restricted to a relatively narrow time and place?

3. How much of the film's impact seems to you to depend upon its relevance to a current problem and its timing in attacking this problem? Would you say that the film is attempting to influence beliefs and actions? (Be sure to cite evidence for your claim.)

4. How would you describe the film's ideological stance? Does it seem to you to be consistent or at odds with the dominant ideology of its time and place?

5. Does the film seem to you polemical in texture? If so, how persuasive are its arguments?

Do you agree or disagree with its views? How does your agreement (or disagreement) affect your assessment of a) its aesthetic values b) its social impact?

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INTERSECTIONALITY SEX AND GENDER The very moment babies are born, their assigned sex is announced. For some of us, this assignment of sex as male or female matches our subjective experience (“gender”). Gender is far more complicated than “boys” and “girls,” but not too complicated for learners of any age. All people have a gender, express that gender each day and are affected by gender stereotypes.

For some of us, the assigned sex at birth creates confusion and/or dissonance. The assignment doesn’t match our internal gender experience. Gender does not follow Aristotelian login; gender is not a binary. Instead, gender is a spectrum with masculine at one end, feminine at the other and androgynous or genderqueer somewhere in the middle.

Given different points on the spectrum, it’s no surprise that gender identity (one’s subjective experience of their own gender) and gender presentation (one’s external performance of their gender) can be open and fluid.

GENDER IDENTITY is how you identify and see yourself. Everyone gets to decide their gender identity for themselves. You may identify as a girl or a boy. Suppose you don’t feel like a boy or a girl. In that case, you might identify as agender, genderqueer, nonbinary or just as a person. You have a right to identify how you want, and your identity should be respected.

SEX assigned at birth is a medical label. If your gender identity matches the sex assigned to you at birth, then you are CISGENDER. For example, if you identify as a girl and you were assigned female at birth, then you are CISGENDER. People whose gender identity does not match their sex assigned at birth may be TRANSGENDER. Regardless of our GENDER IDENTITY and SEX assigned at birth, people express their GENDER in various ways. This includes the way that we talk, our mannerisms, how we interact with others, our clothing, accessories, hairstyles, activities we enjoy and much more.

Never use a person’s GENDER EXPRESSION to guess their GENDER IDENTITY. READ Jesse Singal’s “When Children Say They’re Trans, The Atlantic, July/Aug Issue, 2018. <https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/07/when-a-child-says-shes-trans/561749/>.

QUESTIONS Is your gender identity easy to define?

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How do you identify today?

Does your gender identity match the sex you were assigned at birth?

Have you been given sufficient space to explore your gender expressions?

Have you given others space for gender exploration?

What are some ways you are expressing your gender today?

How might this change on a different day?

What are some ways you break gender stereotypes?

How have you encouraged others to freely express their gender? How? What did you do?

How does Singal frame the issue of transitioning?

What is missing from Singalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s analysis?

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CIS PRIVILEGE CISGENDER MALE/FEMALE are the words that describe people with a gender identity that matches their sex assignment—cisgender folks match the dominant cultural names of sex and gender. As a result, cis gender people experience the benefits of belonging to dominant cultural messages. Participating and reinforcing dominant cultural messages comes with a degree of privilege.

Let’s imagine a scenario: Victor identifies as a boy. At birth, doctors’ sex assignment was male. As he grew up, Victor’s gender expressions maintained masculine definitions in his culture. Picture the people in Victor’s life who perceive his gender expressions as male.

OKAY—I want to change the scenario slightly.

You are Victor.

Are your expressions of gender ever questioned?

Do you worry about daily expressions of gender and your culture’s gender stereotypes?

Is it possible to move through the world without ever thinking about gender?

Is it possible to move through the world without feeling limited because of gender identity and gender expressions?

When sex assignment, gender identity and gender expression are aligned, the CIS GENDER identity experience benefits from CIS PRIVILEGE. Do you or people in your world experience CIS PRIVILEGE? How? In what ways does CIS PRIVILEGE manifest in your life?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

Do you know or have you met any TRANSGENDER people?

What is your assessment of SEX and GENDER? What changes can you make to make your life and world more inclusive of transgender people?

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INTERSECTIONALITY Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality” 30 years ago. At first, INTERSECTIONALITY was a relatively obscure legal concept. In the years since the idea of INTERSECTIONALITY is heralded as one of the most important contributions to feminist scholarship.

To simplify this topic, I define INTERSECTIONALITY as the interactions of multiple identities and subsequent experiences of exclusion and subordination. INTERSECTIONALITY refers to the interaction between and among one’s lived categories of DIFFERENCE (like gender and race) in individual lives, social practices, institutional arrangements and cultural ideologies and the outcomes of these transactions in terms of POWER. I cannot deny how the term, like most academic jargon, is not precise. I see how INTERSECTIONALITY helps to understand individual experiences and functions in my attempts to theorize IDENTITY. I am still working to understand how this concept functions within social structures and cultural discourse and ideology. Kimberlé Crenshaw conceptualizes INTERSECTIONALITY as a CROSSROAD, and her metaphor supports my knowledge and use of the term.

INTERSECTIONALITY extends feminist thought by exploring how categories of race, class and gender are intertwined and mutually constitutive. This gives a central position to such questions as: How is race is gendered?

How is gender racialized?

How are gender and race connected to social class?

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How can identity categories resist the status quo and structures of POWER? How can identity categories transform POWER structures and the world?

Now more than ever, it’s important to look boldly at the reality of race and gender bias; it’s important to recognize & understand how the two often combine to create even more harm.

Kimberlé Crenshaw uses the term INTERSECTIONALITY to describe this phenomenon; as she says, if you are standing in a path of multiple forms of exclusion, you are likely to get hit by both. In this moving talk, she calls on us to bear witness to this reality and speak up for victims of prejudice.

RESOURCE “TEDTalks: Kimberlé Crenshaw: The Urgency of Intersectionality.” (18:15).

Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2016.

<iframe height='698' frameborder='0' style='border:1px solid #ddd;' width='885' src='https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod-infobasecom.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?token=133347&wID=104666&plt=FOD&loid=0&w=865&h=648&fWidt h=885&fHeight=698' allowfullscreen allow="encrypted-media">&nbsp;</iframe>

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READ Jane Coaston’s The Intersectionality Wars, 2019. <https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/5/20/18542843/intersectionality-conservatism-law-race-gender-discrimination>.

QUESTIONS How do you understand INTERSECTIONALITY? How is the term useful to you?

Do you consider yourself a FEMINISM? Why or why not?

What is a FEMINIST? Can cis men be FEMINISM? How do you understand the relationship between FEMINISM and INTERSECTIONALITY? What does it mean “to bear witness?”

How might you “bear witness” to this urgent topic?

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FEMINISM Last summer (2019), Americans celebrated the 100th ANNIVERSARY of the 19th Amendment to the American Constitution. The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. At the time, perhaps you witnessed social media carousing and circulating a list of NINE things WOMEN could not do until 1971. My team and I did our best to fact check the VERACITY each item on the list.

SNOPES is a reliable fact-checking website. I check SNOPES to verify information Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve discovered on the Internet. SNOPES is recognized as a source for validating and/or debunking stories circulating in popular culture.

RESOURCE NON-PARTISAN FACT CHECKING WEBSITES

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FACTCHECK.ORG Annenberg Public Policy Center hosts this political fact-checker, which monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political actors.

FACTCHECKER (Washington Post) A weekly blog from the Washington Post.

POLITIFACT.COM The St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly hosts a fact-checking ‘Truth-OMeter’ scorecard scrutinizing attacks on political candidates and includes explanations.

SNOPES.COM The oldest and largest fact-checking site on the Internet.

PUNDITFACT Dedicated to checking the accuracy of claims by pundits, columnists, bloggers, political analysts, hosts and guests of talk shows and other media members.

SNOPES confirms and explains the VERACITY of NINE THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971.

FEMINISM IS NOT JUST FOR OTHER WOMEN

NINE THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971 In 1971 a woman could not:

1. OBTAIN CREDIT When the United States Senate passed the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in October 1974, banks could no longer discriminate against women applying for credit or credit cards.

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questions. They were often required to be accompanied by a man (husband) to co-sign.

Even then, women’s credit was assigned lower limits and/or higher rates. Social movements for equal civil rights focused on credit cards when women produced evidence to document the discrimination they faced. In 1974, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act made it illegal to discriminate against someone based on their gender, race, religion and national origin.

2. WORK WHILE PREGNANT Although on-the-job sex discrimination was outlawed more than a decade earlier, pregnancy was not legally recognized as a type of sex discrimination. Women working in the United States won the legal protection to become working mothers in October 1978, when Congress enacted the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. No longer could employers deny a woman a job, promotion, higher pay or any other opportunity — because she was pregnant. Before this, if women revealed a pregnancy, the consequences usually ended with a pink slip (loss of job). Some employers enacted formal policies prohibiting pregnancy outright because female employees were expected to conform to the company’s image.

For example, most airlines expected flight attendants to suggest sexual availability to businessman customers; most teachers learned to represent purity and chasteness as expected by school districts.

3. SERVE ON A JURY Women were excluded from jury service for many reasons. For example, a woman’s primary obligation was to be a caregiver to their children and families. Men believed women to be fragile and required shelter from criminal details, particularly offences involving sex. In 1975, the US Supreme Court ruled in an 8-1 decision that it was constitutionally unacceptable for states to bar women from juries. The ruling argued shifting economic and changing social patterns made it constitutionally unacceptable for states to deny women equal opportunity to serve on juries. Women’s social roles were changing. This ruling recognized women’s growing economic independence and women’s abilities to assess and fight for their legal rights.

4. SERVE IN MILITARY Since the US Revolutionary War in 1775, women could aid military operations in noncombat positions as support staff, cooks or nurses. In 1976, the first women were admitted to the United States Military Academy at West Point; other military academies followed. However, women were still restricted from serving in artillery, armour, infantry and other combat roles.

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In 2013, the Pentagon’s military sanction against women in combat was reversed when the US military officially lifted the ban. At that time, women made up about 14% of the military’s 1.4 million active members. More than 280,000 women soldiers were on duty in Iraq, Afghanistan or overseas. And some 152 women were killed in these war conflicts.

5. IVY LEAGUE EDUCATION The Ivy League is comprised of eight universities in the northeastern part of the United States. Yale and Princeton did not accept female students until 1969. Harvard did not admit women until 1977. Brown finally admitted women in 1971. A year later, Dartmouth offered admission to women. The last all-male school in the Ivy League, Columbia College, became coeducational in 1983. No laws require post-secondary institutions to admit both men and women.

6. TAKE LEGAL ACTION AGAINST WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT No one knew the term SEXUAL HARASSMENT until 1975 when a group of students at Cornell University formed a group called WORKING WOMEN UNITED. The organization’s activism defined sexual harassment as “the treatment of women workers as sexual objects.”

Carmita Wood resigned from her role as an administrative assistant to a professor at Cornell University because she had been physically ill from the pressure of avoiding unwanted sexual advances. Subsequently, she was refused unemployment benefits.

WORKING WOMEN UNITED quickly grasped the extent of this problem and its habituation beyond the university setting. By 1977, three legal rulings confirmed that a woman could sue her employer for harassment under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (formed in 1965), the federal agency that administers and enforces civil rights laws against workplace discrimination) was responsible for redress and compensation. Carmita Wood became one of the first women in the US to sue her employer because of SEXUAL HARASSMENT.

Extremely litigious, the public battleground these cases defined sexual violence and misconduct. However, it was not until 1986 when The US Supreme Court upheld the claim between Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson. Michelle Vinson, a bank employee, complained about a supervisor who intimidated her into having sex. Like many litigants in pioneering

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SEXUAL HARASSMENT cases, Michelle Vinson was African American. The success of racial discrimination cases encouraged women of colour to vigorously pursue their rights at work.

7. SPOUSAL RAPE Spousal rape was not criminalized in all 50 US states until 1993. Most state criminal codes defined rape in ways that explicitly excluded spouses. Before 1979, the criminal code assumed that marriage constituted permanent consent that could not be retracted. This assumption was often paired with the belief that a woman’s past sexual experiences could be used by the defence in a rape case. The first official conviction of spousal rape was in 1979, in Massachusetts, a man who broke into the home of his estranged wife and raped her. Despite this victory, advocates continue to argue against legal loopholes that allow spousal rape to be treated differently than rape.

8. OBTAIN HEALTH INSURANCE at the same monetary rate as men Women seeking individual health insurance typically pay higher premiums because gender rating is commonplace among American health insurance companies. The National Women’s Law Center argues the industry practice of gender ratings means women spend one billion dollars more than men on health insurance premiums each year. In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) sought to remove this practice; sex discrimination was not prohibited in health insurance until 2010. Under the health care overhaul, the ban started in 2014. There are still sitting elected officials in the US who publicly feel women don’t mind paying more money.

9. REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM Birth control means a woman can complete her education, join the workforce, and plan her own life. Issues like REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM and a woman’s right to decide when and whether to have children entered public discourse in the 1960s and continue to be debated in public and private forums.

The birth control pill (the pill) contains two hormones (estrogen and a progestin) to stop the ovaries from releasing eggs. The birth control pill (combination oral contraceptives) also thickens the cervical mucus to prevent sperm from reaching the egg. The mini pill is an oral

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contraceptive with only one hormone (progestin) and may prevent the ovaries from releasing eggs.

In 1957, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first birth control pill (Enovid) for â&#x20AC;&#x153;severe menstrual distress.â&#x20AC;? In 1960, the pill was approved as a contraceptive; yet, the pill was illegal in some states. Its prescription was limited to married women, for purposes of family planning. By 1965, almost 6.5 million American women were taking the pill. The vague nickname is a result of associated stigma as women spoke to their doctors as discreetly as possible. That same year, the Supreme Court struck down state laws prohibiting contraception use, though only for married couples. It was not until 1972 that birth control was approved for all women, regardless of marital status.

FEMINISM IS NOT JUST FOR OTHER WOMEN

NINE THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971 Lisa Bialac-Jehle (2016); D. Evon, Snopes, (2019). 9 THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971. <https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/9-things-women-could-not-do/>.

REQUIRED TASK These nine things describe legal rights in the United States of America. For this task, please research and fact check the legal rights of women in Canada.

QUESTIONS Is this new information for you?

What reactions and words came to mind as you read through this list?

Are your reactions as symbolically potent as what each fact means to you after some consideration?

Are you surprised by any of these facts?

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What do you understand when you read, “Feminism is NOT just for other women”?

What does FEMINISM mean to you?

Are you a FEMINIST?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

What FEMINIST actions are needed in Canada?

Are there any public feminists you admire? If so, who?

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ANGELA DAVIS & MAINSTREAM FEMINISM INTERSECTIONALITY

IIA is for Angela; as in Angela Davis.

From Kate Schatz & Miriam Klein Stahl. 2015. Rad American Women A-Z; Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries Who Shaped Our History and Our Future! An illustrated childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book.

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Angela Davis. "Mainstream Feminism," or Bourgeois Feminism. 2018. [08:27]. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzQkVfO9ToQ>.

JAXMYN. White Feminism,â&#x20AC;? Women of the World Poetry Slam, 2018. [03:15]. Jaxmyn is representing the Eclectic Truth Poetry Slam in Baton Rouge, LA. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg1dGS-jwRE>.

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QUESTIONS Who is excluded? What narratives does this list serve?

Are INDIGENOUS WOMEN sufficiently served by INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM? How? What are the issues that stand out for you?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

Bonita Lawrence and Angela Sterritt raise a number of other related issues. Which ones stand out for you as important? Why? Are significant issues missing from this information about INTERSECTIONAL relations?

READINGS Lawrence, Bonita. Gender, Race, and the Regulation of Native Identity in Canada and the United States: An Overview. Hypatia 18(2): INDIGENOUS INTERSECTIONALITY In Canada today, First Nations, MĂŠtis and Inuit people (collectively referred to as Indigenous people) face many socio-economic issues because of the effects of colonization. In addition to the loss of their territories in the 19th century, Indigenous people experience social, economic and political marginalization and discrimination. Racial stereotyping, paired with the loss of culture and language, means Indigenous people in Canada hold little social or political power, contributing to increasing economic inequality and poverty. Urban and rural Indigenous communities struggle with a lack of education, employment, opportunities and income equity. Indigenous people lost most of their traditional livelihood and self-sufficiency.

Nonetheless, many INDIGENOUS WOMEN are on the front lines working to heal their communities, still profoundly wounded by colonization. For Indigenous people, the longterm effects of colonial domination force them to grapple with challenging and damaging issues like residential schools, missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, abuse and violence, and substance addictions.

Applying an intersectional approach to INDIGENOUS WOMEN and their experiences of oppression and discrimination acknowledge the complexity of their lives and recognize the broader social and historical contexts. An intersectional approach addresses the changing nature of discriminationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;how subtle, multi-layered, systemic, environmental and institutionalized discrimination impacts the present and future. For example, INDIGENOUS

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WOMEN’s experiences of a colonial, male-controlled government and society (PATRIARCHY) contribute to a system of oppression that delegitimates INDIGENOUS WOMEN’s identities and desires. The language of discrimination and the culture it fosters act as a tool of assimilation.

The 1876 Indian Act disadvantaged INDIGENOUS WOMEN by enforcing discriminatory measures that removed Indian Status rights and excluded Indigenous women from band council government.

INDIGENOUS WOMEN AND THE INDIAN ACT To begin unpacking the current and historical socio-political situation in Canada for INDIGENOUS WOMEN, I urge you to review The Indian Act. Created by the federal government in 1876, The Indian Act is legislation that pertains to First Nations people. (Inuit and Métis do not fall under the Act.)

The Indian Act took away the rights of INDIGENOUS WOMEN with Indian Status if they married someone without status. The colonial idea of PATRIARCHY (men are leaders; men are heads of households) denies INDIGENOUS WOMEN the right to possess land and marital property. A widow could possess land under the reserve system. However, she could not inherit her husband’s personal property—everything, including the family house, legally went to his children.

Government agents modified the Act in 1884 to allow estates to be willed to a wife if an agent determined she was of “good moral character.” This particular amendment remained in the Indian Act until 1951. And to this day, men still hold exclusive property rights. Such legal ideas have far-reaching implications for the lives and safety of INDIGENOUS WOMEN.

1985. Bill C-31 modified the Indian Act to align with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. An amendment allows women who “married out” and those who lost their Indian Status by other means to apply for the restoration of their status and rights. Bill C-31 also allows their children to apply for registration as Status Indians. The Act no longer requires (or allows) INDIGENOUS WOMEN to follow their husbands into or out of status.

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Through “reinstated” status and a growing birthrate, the 1985 modification to the Indian Act saw the number of registered Indigenous people more than doubled, from approximately 360,000 (in 1985) to more than 778,000 (in 2007).

However, while the amendment addressed discrimination against INDIGENOUS WOMEN, the unintended consequences create more significant problems. By placing these women and their children on First Nations band membership lists, the government stretched already limited lands and funds that now must serve more people. The scarcity and inadequacy of resources and supports cause resentment toward these people by First Nations members.

The backlash against these changes is still being realized.

Bill C-31 created two categories of Indian registration that have had consequences on the number of people entitled to Status Rights. The first, known as sub-section 6(1), applies when both parents are or were allowed to register. The second, known as sub-section 6(2), applies when one parent is entitled to registration under 6(1). After two generations of intermarriage with non-status partners, children are no longer eligible for status. This is known as the “Second-Generation Cut-Off” rule. The amendment, therefore, significantly limits the ability to transfer status to one’s children.

INDIGENOUS WOMEN HEROS Many Indigenous peoples have brought cases against the Indian Act to Canadian courts.

Let’s review and celebrate the courageous efforts of some INDIGENOUS WOMEN HEROS.

JEANNETTE CORBIERE LAVELL | YVONNE BÉDARD SANDRA LOVELACE NICHOLAS | SHARON MCIVOR 1971. Yvonne Bedard took the federal government to court after losing her rights as a Status Indian because of a marriage to a Non-Status man. Her lawsuit challenged section 12(1)(b) of the Indian Act, concerning the rights of Status Indian women in Canada.

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1971. Jeannette Corbiere Lavell filed a lawsuit against the federal government after receiving a legal notice that she had lost her status. Contending the Indian Act violated the 1960 Canadian Bill of Rights by discriminating on the basis of sex.

1971. A York County Court judge concluded Jeannette Corbiere Lavell’s equality under the law had not been deprived. The Bill of Rights afforded her the same protections as other non-status women. Unsatisfied, she petitioned and won her case in the Federal Court of Appeals. The judges outlined that the Indian Act did not afford equality to Indigenous women and recommended that the Indian Act be repealed for failing to adhere to the laws established in the Bill of Rights.

However, these INDIGENOUS WOMEN met with resistance from within their Indigenous communities. The National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations) argued against women who challenged the law as selfish and anti-Indian. For the Brotherhood, these INDIGENOUS WOMEN fought against the very law (the Indian Act) that guaranteed the right of Indigenous self-determination.

1973. These two claimants pressed on to the Supreme Court of Canada, concerning gender discrimination in the Indian Act.

August 1973. The Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s ruling in a controversial and much-questioned decision, stating that the Bill of Rights did not invalidate the Indian Act. Nevertheless, these legal battles inspired future litigation regarding women’s rights and the Indian Act. INDIGENOUS WOMEN continued to fight by bringing this issue to the fore.

1981. Sandra Lovelace Nicholas, a Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) woman, attracted international attention with her court case against the federal government. She raised concerns with the UN Human Rights Committee, who ruled that gendered status provisions in the Indian Act were contrary to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

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1982. These INDIGENOUS WOMEN directly contributed to section 35 of the Constitution Act, which was further amended in 1983 to guarantee that Aboriginal and treaty rights are equally accessible to men and women under the law.

By 1985, INDIGENOUS WOMEN’s efforts guided the parliamentary assent of Bill C-31, which repealed section 12(1)(b) of the Indian Act to bring this element of legal code into accordance with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

JEANNETTE CORBIERE LAVELL | YVONNE BÉDARD SANDRA LOVELACE NICHOLAS | SHARON MCIVOR SEX/GENDER DISCRIMINATION & INDIGENOUS WOMEN 2007. Sharon McIvor v. Canada. Sharon McIvor regained status rights after the passing of Bill C-31 in 1985. However, she could not pass on those rights to her descendants in the same way as a man. The British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that section 6 did, in fact, deny McIvor’s equality rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The British Columbia Court of Appeals ruled that the Indian Act discriminated against the descendants of Indigenous women who married non-Indigenous men.

2011. In response to Sharon McIvor v. Canada, the federal government introduced new legislation (Bill C-3) to counter gender discrimination in the Indian Act.

2015. Stéphane Descheneaux v. Canada. Stéphane Descheneaux, an Odanak man, was unable to pass on his Indian status to his three daughters because his First Nations descent came from his grandmother. She lost her status when she married a non-Indigenous man. A Québec Superior Court judge found that subtle forms of sexual discrimination persisted under the Indian Act and comprehensively ordered the government to reform the law.

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2017. Canadian Parliament passed Bill S-3, an Act to eliminate sex-based inequities in Indian registration. The courageous work of Sharon McIvor and StĂŠphane Descheneaux underscore sex-based discrimination in the Indian Act. This discrimination directly violates Indigenous womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s equality rights as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and international human rights law.

Bill S-3 designates the date September 4, 1951, when the Indian register came into effect.

After that date, children of status-fathers and non-status mothers can obtain status and pass it to their offspring. Before that date, the children of status women who married non-status men cannot receive status. The legislation is intended to eliminate long-standing discrimination against Indigenous women. The goal is for Indigenous women and their descendants to the same status rights as their male counterparts. The government has now promised to amend this provision. Still, it remains intact for now, and no specific deadline has been set for its change. This means that for Indigenous women and their descendants, full equality is, once again, postponed.

For details, see openparliament.ca for a full historical overview.

RESOURCES Openparliament.ca.

Assembly of First Nations.

First Nations in Canada.

Index to Indian Acts, 1876-1978.

Indian Acts and amendments, 1868-1950.

References to Aboriginal Rights in the Constitution Act, 1982.

The Constitution Act, 1982.

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

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Why did this consideration of INTERSECTIONALITY include INDIGENOUS WOMEN? Describe differences & similarities between FEMINISM and INTERSECTIONAL approaches?

How do legal frameworks and judicial policies impact people differently?

As a form of protest and resistance, is FEMINISM inclusive or exclusive?

TASK Review the list of 9 THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971.

How does it measure against the lives of INDIGENIOUS women?

Lawrence, Bonita. Gender, Race, and the Regulation of Native Identity in Canada and the United States: An Overview. 2003.

Sterritt, Angela. Racialization of Poverty: Indigenous Women, the Indian Act and Systemic Oppression: Reasons for Resistance. Vancouver Status of Women, 2007.

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I REFUSE TO LISTEN TO WHITE WOMEN CRY REQUIRED READING Audre Lorde, Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference, Sister Outsider, Crossing Press, 1984. <https://www.colorado.edu/odece/content/women-redefining-difference>.

Rachel Elizabeth Cargle’s When Feminism Is White Supremacy in Heels, Harper’s Bazaar, 2018.

<https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a22717725/what-is-toxic-white-feminism/>.

Rachel Elizabeth Cargle’s How to Talk to Your Family About Racism, Harper’s Bazaar, 2019. <https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a25221603/ thanksgiving-dinner-conversation-how-to-talk-to-family-about-politics/>.

SUGGESTED READING Marisa Meltzer’s Rachel Cargle; I Refuse to Listen to White Women Cry, Washington Post, 2019.

<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2019/09/11/feature/how-activist-rachel-cargle-built-a-business-by-calling-outracial-injustices-within-feminism/>.

QUESTIONS Identify and discuss similarities and differences between Angela Davis and Audre Lorde. Whose messages are more powerful for you? How does Rachel Cargle compare to Angela Davis and Audre Lorde.

TASK Consider, compare and contrast the message of these three powerful women.

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#BLACKTRANSLIVESMATTER The Black transgender community is already a vulnerable population. Since 2013, at least 118 Black trans women have been murdered in the United States. Witness the rise of antitransgender stigma enhanced by systemic racism. Along with limited access to essential resources and ongoing denial of opportunities, the Black transgender community’s wellbeing is in danger.

Where is the infrastructure? Where is the policy? Where are the resources?

Summer 2020. Within EIGHT DAYS, SIX young Black transgender women were KILLED.

BRAYLA STONE | MERCI MACK | SHAKI PETERS DRAYA MCCARTY | TATIANA HALL | BREE BLACK At least 22 Black transgender women have been KILLED in the US in 2020. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) tracks fatal violence against the transgender community; this is the deadliest period HRC has ever recorded.

I AM HORRIFIED BY THESE RAMPANT AND REPEATED MURDERS. I AM HORRIFIED BY THESE RAMPANT AND REPEATED MURDERS. I AM HORRIFIED BY THESE RAMPANT AND REPEATED MURDERS.

BRAYLA STONE | MERCI MACK | SHAKI PETERS DRAYA MCCARTY | TATIANA HALL | BREE BLACK READ Audrey Yue’s Sexualities/queer Identities, 2013.

< https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9780203066911.ch7>.

QUESTIONS How is race, gender and sexuality complicated or clarified by INTERSECTIONAL approaches?

How might BLACKTRANSLIVES experience the western world before 1971?

What other identities rely on INTERSECTIONALITY as a political means?

Can you imagine identifying as transgender?

What does it mean to take on this identity-even if it’s imaginary? Where do you go?

What story do you tell?

What does Yue mean when she writes “bio-politics,” “bio-power,” “sex as an instrumental target,” “politic of enunciation” and “post-identity”?

How does Yue consider “identify politics”?

Do you see how your identify is political?

Do you see how your body is political?

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TASK = INTERVIEW INTERVIEWING STRATEGIES IF you could talk to one person about INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM, who would you want and why? Regardless, interview someone who identifies as feminist, transgender or genderqueer. Ensure this conversation and your interviewee is a safe and comfortable speaking about INTERSECTIONALITY. Please ask about perceptions of women living out the CHALLENGES of EQUITY & the FIGHT for EQUALITY. What. Is the difference between EQUITY and EQUALITY. How are these distinct? Interrogate their language. How do they represent themselves? Interrogate their many identities and how they experience social exclusion. How can you create a more inclusive conversation? What interviewing strategies do you review prior to the interview? What are the promising practices for interviewing?

QUESTIONS How might Rachel Elizabeth Cargle, Audre Lorde or Angela Davis respond to their point of view? How do you understand the intersecting issues of gender, race, nationalism, oppression? What marks INDIGENIOUS women as distinct in their intersectional challenges?

What marks BLACK women as distinct in their intersectional challenges? White women are warned to be weary of a weakness of falling into the Patriarchal hegemonic system. Can you explain the challenges for powerful white women? Does it seem like this is group is under attack? How would you describe the situation of women with various and radically different intersecting identities as the CHALLENGES FOR EQUITY & THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY march forward? Can you explain how intersectional identities work towards these two related goals: THE CHALLENGE FOR EQUITY & THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY?

MEET SYLVIA RIVERA Sylvia Rivera, “Y’all Better Quiet Down” Original Authorized Video by LoveTapesCollective, 1973 Gay Pride Rally, NYC. [05:28]. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbJIOWUw1o>.

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QUESTIONS What do you know about LGBTQ+ liberation?

What can you tell about Rivera, based on the representation of her in this video?

How does Rivera respond to her daily experiences of social exclusion?

Do the people’s responses to Rivera surprise you? Why or why not?

How did Rivera’s language and attitude create liberatory spaces within LGBTQ+ communities?

What is Rivera demanding? Are you surprised? What do you notice? What triggers your initial response? The film quality? Setting? Sound interference? People? What draws you to those particular signs? Do you recognize the politics in action?

Do you agree or disagree with Rivera? With her approach?

TASK SCENERIO Your teenaged child identifies as nonbinary and has for several years. Luckily, we live in Toronto and in a school district and public school that provides a level of support above and beyond what you expected. You worked with school supports like the therapist and social workers; last year, the team helped me manage the legal name change of your child.

You child has an amazing group of friends and is happy and communicative. Please tell me more about your child.

Lately, however, your teen expresses a desire to take hormones to transition from a female body to a more androgynous or male body, saying that they don’t identify as a girl and don’t want to look like one. I am proud of their courage, but absolutely terrified. You don’t know how much of this is teenage exploration that they might later regret. What consequences scare the hell out of you?

Their therapist says that the consequences of not transitioning can also be very serious.

Can you explain this advice?

Your child has asked to talk about this tomorrow.

What research do you look into to prepare for this conversation?

What is your gut ‘reaction’?

How does that reaction manifest in your body?

Once your reactivity is under control, you begin to formulate your symbolic responses. You want to make a list of the topics you want to address in this conversation. Where do you begin?

How can you support this challenging decision-making process?

What tools and resources do you gather to have on hand?

What are your fears?

What about your child’s fears?

What would this change mean to you and the rest of your family?

Who else do you want to participate in this conversation?

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Write out your plans and list the topics you want to cover? Explain why these are the issues.

Write a summary of your state of mind and plans.

Then write the actual conversation as a dialogue.

Are you able to capture your familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s language while including links to important resources?

You also write out character/person statements for an imaginary parent-child.

#BLACKTRANSLIVESMATTER MEET TRACEY AFRICA

The REAL TRACEY NORMAN, Real Color Stories with Tracey Norman Clairol Nice n Easy, 2018. The first Black transgender model. [3:20]. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA8LBWs9w9w>.

QUESTIONS What are the HEGEMONIC values of beauty? Where did they come from?

How are corporate values of beauty challenged by Tracy Norman?

Do you understand the concept of passing?

For all transgender folxs, how might passing be experienced differently?

Is it surprising that Tracy Norman passed?

How do you feel about Clairol as a company?

Did the corporation respond appropriately? Why or why not?

How is the concept of passing implicated in INTERSECTIONAL approaches?

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#BLACKTRANSLIVESMATTER MEET LEIOMY MALDONADO

VOGUE LEGEND LEIOMY MALDONADO & NIKE

Amazon Mother Leiomy for Nike #betrue collection, [1:00]. 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=6MvZjWjV5tk&feature=emb_logo>.

LEIOMY MALDONADO

ICONIC LEIOMY PERFORMING AT CLUB BBB IN PARIS, 2015. [05:23].

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zseX-UXIwqw>.

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#BLACKTRANSLIVESMATTER BRAYLA STONE | MERCI MACK | SHAKI PETERS DRAYA MCCARTY | TATIANA HALL | BREE BLACK

STOP KILLING US: BLACK TRANSGENDER WOMEN'S LIVED EXPERIENCES Complex News, August 2020. [17:51]. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzMI3JUNp7c>.

In STOP KILLING US, Black transgender women share their lived experiences, amplifying the call to action & battle cry that #BLACKTRANSLIVESMATTER.

#BLACKTRANSLIVESMATTER SUMMER 2020.

SIX YOUNG BLACK TRANSGENDER WOMEN WERE MURDERED.

BRAYLA STONE | MERCI MACK | SHAKI PETERS DRAYA MCCARTY | TATIANA HALL | BREE BLACK I AM HORRIFIED BY THESE RAMPANT AND REPEATED MURDERS. I AM HORRIFIED BY THESE RAMPANT AND REPEATED MURDERS. I AM HORRIFIED BY THESE RAMPANT AND REPEATED MURDERS.

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SUGGESTED VIEWING DISCLOSURE Official Movie Trailer, Netflix, 2020. [02:40]. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyacDekvUW8>.

#BLACKTRANSLIVESMATTER KISSING DOESNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T KILL. GREED & INDIFFERENCE DO.

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DISABILITY STUDIES

Alison Kafer, author of Feminist, Queer, Crip (2013) helped me recognize the currency of critical disability studies. Her writing points to people living with chronic illness, pain and fatigue as among the most forgotten. As a person with chronic illnesses, my eyes lit up when I read a scholar who recognized my ALTSCHMERZ (this part of me), among the crowd.

ALTSCHMERZ Old Pain.

At times, it doesn’t matter whether our culture’s systemic and structural changes will actively change the world. Accessibility changes and other accommodations for differently abled folks, whether in architecture or attitude, do nothing to heal diabetes or cure cancer.

My LEBENSMÜDE. I can’t fight, I can’t move. These kinds of changes do nothing to make my hands stop trembling or bring my feet back to life or alleviate my crushing back pain.

LEBENSMÜDE Weary or tired of life.

I find it off-putting when some doctor refers to “my impairment” and how “I will compensate” or adapt. I am not impaired. The world is. My physical and social environments, like those architectural barriers that, at times limit some of my actions, are what needs changing. It’s these barriers found in my environment that cause me challenges. I don’t have a problem; I

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live in a challenging world that does not always recognize my needs. Life’s not fair. No one ever said life was fair. Nonetheless, I count my blessing and practice positive self-talk; now that makes a difference!

UNIVERSAL ABILITIES There seems to be, at this moment, an awareness of disabling barriers, like access to bathrooms or buildings, and I think that’s great. But it’s not enough. If critical disability studies plan to maintain its momentum as a theoretical apparatus, scholarship must consider a fuller range of political actors who have a stake in these ultimate outcomes. As a social model, and as a relatively new and emerging area of studies in academic and popular circles, current attention to the differently abled often renders pain, fatigue and other invisible obstacles irrelevant to the project of disability politics.

The oppression, prejudice and discrimination experienced by people with disabilities is often a result of the visible disability. Simi Linton, a key figure and founder of Disability Studies lives with her wheelchair, other equipment and specialized gear. When a person is trying to resist hegemonic definitions of normal, at times, fighting for something normal is a goal.

Here is where disability studies and sexuality intersect—for me. Between my invisible obstacles and active resistance of our culture’s pathologizing tendencies, especially of anything related to queer sexualities, I am forced into an intersectional double bind. A paradoxical subject position where my abled-bodied community is often adjacent to my queer worlds and sensibilities. Some of my queer friends, after living a generation fighting for acceptance in a heterocentric world, need to keep some distance between their lives anything that smacks of “sick.” My identity was labelled as disease/disorder in the psychiatric diagnosis manual until 1972 (DSM-1-3; current update is version 5). I was sent for conversion. Other than the many laws against my differing sexuality, my queer identity fights—daily—fears of being perceived as sick—as in loss of cognitive function and in looking like a sick body. Let me tell you. Sick bodies look different. Sick bodies “look” disabled.

I am at St. Vincent’s Hospital, ground zero for Manhattan AIDS deaths. I visit and volunteer twice a week. Men, in a previous week, that looked hardy, beefy and strong, turned sick and disabled. I watched sickness ravage their bodies—quickly. My memories of holding up this friend or heavy lifting for another. HIV/AIDS, prior to antiretrovirals was both devastating and frightening. I’m not sure I’m capturing the issue of how my queer world, at times, works in opposition to my body-mobilities community. Guilt by association. A heavy challenge given the political project of equity and inclusion.

This foray into critical disability studies is taking me into unexpected places. I am haunted.

St. Vincent’s is now closed. Empty. The result is a haunting trauma that I must work to be mindful of. Otherwise, I can get lost in memories of things past.

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REQUIRED READING Simi Linton’s “What is Disability Studies?” 2005.

Neel Burton’s When Homosexuality Stopped Being a Mental Disorder, Psychology Today, 2015, revised 2020.

TASK : OBSERVATION The skill of LISTENING may be enhanced simultaneously when engaged in deep OBSERVATION. Your challenge in this task: At a distance and with the discretion of judge, identify a public building or space. Are you able to sit, silently, watching people go by? Of course, at a distance—but I’m interested in your ability to simply observe.

Watch the bodies and how they move. Watch for intersectional identities at work in public space. After a minimum of one hour, silently observing, turn to your journal and write down everything you are able to recall. This written material can instigation a great deal of other things, if done with integrity and a mindful goal of following the procedure systematically. Do you see ABLE- PRIVILEGE in any of the observations you make of people’s behaviours?

QUESTIONS How have you experienced differently abled bodies?

Are you an able body?

Can you identify the privileges granted to able-bodied people in our society?

This means, often unrecognized barriers and obstacles. As you identify these privileges, can you identify a corresponding or related obstacle?

Do you think of your body as connected to your identity?

What meanings do you make of differing bodies? How do these bodies “mean”?

How does it make you feel, to be reading and talking about, observing and watching disabilities and people who have differently abled bodies?

Are you able to share any awkwardness?

Where do your responses come from?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

SUGGESTED READING Rosemarie Garland-Thomson’s Extraordinary Bodies, 1996, & Staring: How We Look, 2009.

Alison Kafer’s Feminist, Queer, Crip, 2013.

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LETTER TO MY STUDENTS 08|18|2020 SEX FOR ALL Writing this letter, I hope, is my way of condensing hundreds of years of history and theory that I could never teach in a single semester. These details, which I need you to know, are my transformative educational stories. There are metamorphic moments (for me). For example, I love to read and reread Audre Lord & Angela Davis; meeting Audre Lord & Angela Davis. I met them both. One at an ACTUP meeting, and Angela Davis visited our university campus just last year. Still on the circuit. Angela is so lucky, I imagine. Lucky for having a community. Lucky that Audre Lorde’s writing and actions build a scaffold upon which Angela stands. Picture Audre writing while Angela walked streets, dodging bullets and getting arrested. I hear Audre’s words when Angela speaks. I wonder if you can hear what I hear? This curiosity – about you, makes me feel awkward. It’s uncomfortable imagining you, the invisible reader, to whom I bare my burdens. Like a young tender knee scratched against hot cement, lines of red—clearly visible and distinct, soon cool over with dried blood and then, fall away. Some invisible calloused memory remains and promises to lie or keep your secret. I almost feel awkward turning attention to sex matters and sexuality.

Might I blush?

Sex and sexuality have been a grounding force in my life—all of my life. I have no trouble talking about sex matters, in fact, a related collaborative art project BLACK GOLD, is included in the next ARS ELECTRONIA Festival. ARS ELECTRONIA is one of the longest running media art festivals in the world (since 1979) and its history maps the digital revolution. These folks in Linz, Germany are some of the most innovative people in the world. The first work of mine ever included begins with a story about sex. I condense a long history of the body as sex object; and as normatively male or female (MorF). I capture our health and medical industrial complex (a dispositive) work of pathologizing and diagnosing human bodies. This medical dispositive is rooted with the patriarchal colonial instincts and need to conquer. So not that. What would happen if we refused these normative conventions? I have. I have tried.

I have watched men conquer women’s bodies. I have no words to share that can adequately capture my history of bearing witness. There are no acceptable behaviours I condone—save the slow, small, self of survival. Yet, there I was: in hiding, alone in the dark, my behaviours were my private business. I keep to myself because my body hides the vestiges of a previous night’s trauma. My body is broken. The able world keeps me invisible. I am a body that is invisibly differently abled.

Invisibly, I lived next to and near the sex trade; in and out of pornographer’s studios; among live sex acts and pleasure palaces; in dirty theatres on 42nd street; in parks and cars; incognito and insitu—my sex and its histories related to sex and sexuality, I describe, simply, as intersectional. I don’t mean to point to sex and gender, ability and race as my intersectional story. No. That would be a lie and an incomplete story.

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My identities abut or adjoin others and morph yet again. Male or Female? (MorF) This binary, as I have come know, spells change. To MorF or morph. I know who I am. Yet, this thing called our life— is made up with moments as lessons. When I am learning, I know I am alive; this is what life is. A series of lessons. You really never know if you’re rounding life’s last curve or at the critical height of your climax just before your downward denouement.

When there is an inability to efficiently predict what’s next, you are left in moments of utter uncertainty, ambiguity. What you do with this time builds character and is yet another lesson.

In time, you come to accept ambiguity or fix time within your system. You choose. I choose both, and . . . Ah, this is what makes TIME so precious and beautiful. Your intellectual growth and your spirited wise mind participate in evolution. Time for another lesson. Time for more growth by learning new things about the world. The lessons of time never finish. Well, at some point there is a final end—as in you’re dead and gone. Poof. Puff of smoke.

Until then, my friends, every day is a gift! Every day is an opportunity and a lesson. You may believe you need a job and to make money or something along those lines. The rat race isn’t worth running. I insist all currency and capital is completely artificial and unnecessary.

Money is a metaphor. TIME is far more precious. Be mindful of your time and your attention and you’ll soon discover how to find the means when you really need it. Or you die. My best evidence: I’m still here.

Don’t chase a dream of glory based on a capitalist economy that pins and pits you against all odds until you feebly forget your very glorious dream. As a teenager, I preferred to chase my desires, which led to this very conversation about sex, bodies and sexualities. What a gift!

My views on sex and sexuality have both opened doors and barred me from entry. I have written on this topic for the last thirty years. I can tell you the history of many sexualities from condoms (in Ancient Rome) to teledildonics (not ancient). I participate in a professional society of scholars; the Canadian Sexuality Studies Association. Each year we gather, and the most interesting curated ideas circulate. This is time to participate in conversations, screenings, presentations and workshops with cutting edge research and a diverse group of very interesting folxs. [Here’s an important lesson: “everything you really know; you learn at lunch.]

May 2020, I edited the Association’s COVID/conference proceedings. I love this job because I now am up-to-date on all the trends and topics current scholars pursue and in circulation. Let me share this with you: <http://ssaaes.org/files/2020_SSA_PROCEEDINGS_FINAL.pdf>.

Take a look. Tell me what you think. The errors are all mine; in fact, the only errors are in my abstract. Silly me. Checking every other word, but if my name is on it, I turn away as conditioned. My body, my work —abject objects. Look away. However, my teaching & its

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pedagogy include that uncanny art of performing my vulnerabilities (so you don’t have to). In good faith, I cite my (proofread and corrected) writing: Mourning, Melancholy, Militance and Meaning @marklipton, University of Guelph This work uncovers some of the scars that resulted from pandemics and disasters of past. From trans-generational trauma, depression (era) hording, ennui and meaninglessness (including pandemic pleasures and meaningless sex) the queer experience demands attention and respect only visible through acts of militance or mourning. The party-frenzy fake-sugary frosting of Pride and the privatization of Drag (race) and capitalist exposures are like wolves, ripping our historical flesh to the bone. Where are the melancholia queers in black as resistance? Is civic engagement unnecessary in these homonormative & homonational times? Queer communities must face the misogyny, colonial, racist, xenophobic histories that prejudice our stories or prevent them from getting told. Lives lost is the penultimate sacrifice. What are you willing to give up so you can remember? or so you can make for a more meaningful life, being and self?

And I will get to work on this writing as soon as time permits. However, at the moment I need to share my histories of living among Black trans friends. Tracy never passed my inspection. Tracy and I connected when our eyes locked, I took her hands and she knew that I knew and no words needed to bind our friendship. We preferred to dance. I disappointed all 1980s drag/trans. I know semiotics. I know how to tell. I see you. I can help you pass.

There are some unmistakable tells that are difficult to hide completely. Like my scars, I know what the small details signify. I am attuned to seeing bodies as books to read. Hands, eyes and a quick-passing movement—I sense what others miss. Do you want to hear my stories of passing and not passing? Of helping others pass and then pass-away. I have lived among people found at every facet of society. The very rich are not more interesting than the very well read.

From my earliest memory, my worlds were contained by sex, in that I watched the world make assumptions about my sex and sexuality and felt horribly low that these violent expressions of hate were probably accurate. Will you be able to tell which of these true voices did the most damage?

“Look at that femme, swishy fuck boy. Hey faggot…”

“What a gaylord.”

“A real degenerate.”

“Look honey, that’s what a sodomite, queer pervert looks like.”

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“that boy’s a batty hot mess” “Easy cum dump?”

“—yep.”

“My goodness, what is the world coming to?” “nelly sinner” “Hey there little fella. . .”

I was an object. I am an object. My body is an object. People look at me. When I finally understood these statements, my world transformed. But that didn’t happen until university when I discovered the writing of Laura Mulvey, my eyes readjusted to a new world. Please read Mulvey’s Visual Pleasure in Narrative Cinema. In this thick psychoanalytic fog of academic (jargon) discourse, the sea parted, the clouds opened, and I found words to help explain my intersecting selves.

Sexual imbalance meant I was on side with Mulvey’s accounts of pleasure. She introduces the concept “the male gaze” and feminists everywhere held a mirror up to the world so reflections and echoes might disrupt hegemonic traditions. The root of this misogynist echolalia is that moment when our hegemonic world order discovered pleasure in looking— that is, an active male gaze is directed at the passive female subject. When we look, we appoint and project a fantasy (or meaning) onto the object. The female figure (whether live

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or representational) is set as exhibitionist, simultaneously ‘looked at and displayed” for erotic impact. Women are contained by a male gaze, always ready to connote “to-be-looked-atness;” from a subject with intersectional identities, women are displayed as object. Look at that thing. Look at the picture. Look at women in popular culture. As Mulvey describes, what I experienced as violation and violence was this transition into a body with desires. I wanted to be contained by the male gaze and its erotic outcomes. Sex. I displayed myself as sexual object and was coded a “leitmotif of erotic spectacle” because I wanted to be desired.

Don’t we all, at some level, want to be desired and held and touched?

As a young gay thing, I read all objectification as violence, from every encounter with other humans. I asked for violence, in code, and was ready to receive any gaze, from anywhere, any place and anyone. This openness invited violence as with hate, and violence as in physical pain, roughed up, beaten and bloody. It didn’t matter where I was or who I was with, I felt it. The violence. I finally let go of fear around twelve years old. Don’t think me brave, for the other side of fear is shame. I am and always will be a weed. How does your garden grow? Is there a place in your garden paradise for the likes of me?

The copresence of teaching, in a classroom, tries to hide this body of mine. Have you ever wondered if you teacher – just had to go to the bathroom? I’m sure of it. Bodies spill liquids and fluids. Is that something to be ashamed of? Let’s pretend we don’t all have bodies that need to move, to breathe, to feel, to sense, to touch. Golly gee – I AM MISSING TOUCH. How about you? Are my articulations of gender, sexuality and representation second nature to you? Sometimes I wonder whether exposure to screens and media grant today’s young people access to this knowledge.

I would come home after school and watch bad television with my brother; I wonder, does a younger generation choose different media to engage and think? Is this scenario familiar: you come home after school, go to some private or sacred space (your bedroom?), find the latest zines or games or other leisure/pleasure– are your aware that a hegemonic society is shaping your life in oppressive and repressive ways? As I watched Leave it to Beaver, I dream that in your leisure time, you are accessing a world ripe with rebellion and selfdetermination.

I am a great proponent of sex positivity and positive sexual relations. Unsolicited, I advise with vigor: no one should agree to a lifetime of marriage without seeing at least two penises or two vaginas. At least look. Does that sound radical? I don’t know whether you require basic sexual health education, or plan to teach me a few moves. I am old. I don’t move the way I used to. Nonetheless, my interest in positive sex and sexual representations can get me in trouble. For example, I began 2020 embroiled in a legal debate about a (very bad) Netflix show that I argue, portrayed sex acts without concern for consequences or its impact on young audiences. Lawyers write letters. Legal threats are meaningless. I am not easily intimidated by such things. To your lawyer I am gangster. The writer/director finally twitter’d that I was an old anti-sex hag. I’m not anti-sex.

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My trigger. We are currently living through a global pandemic. This is not my first. In the 1980s I was a sexually active boy able to dissociate himself into the most precarious situations. By my 19th birthday I had buried three lovers/husbands. No-not husbands. That was only imaginary fantasy talk. Denied attending funerals. Locked out. And yet, I was there to clean the sheet. Fold the clothes for donation. Pack the apartment so no parent had to pay rent for a dead son. My scars may be invisible to you, but I know where they are and what each signifies. Meaning is powerful.

Back to 2020. Hi. For this pandemic, not surprisingly, I am isolating and hiding. I am keeping to myself and this time, no secrets. I am happily married to my husband Todd and we have two dogs that run my life: BettyRu and Vegas. I LOVE my life. The LOVES of my life help me love life more.

Oh dear. Perhaps you heard me say, elsewhere, love does not exist. Love is not real. It’s in this course materials & part of my curriculum. Now is not the moment for love. Because loving sexual relations really have nothing to do with radical sexualities and sex positions.

Desire is not love. During a pandemic I think it irresponsible to discuss or describe acts of sex. Besides, I am unable to tell if you really care. Does this pandemic keep you from touch? From bodies? From desire?

The last time, at the height of the AIDS/HIV crisis I moved to ground zero—Manhattan’s little village where I thought I was cool, now in graduate school. I survived. My drive to do my work keeps me moving and learning and growing. These years, that pandemic, I felt forced to bear witness for myself by writing myself. Now, I share myself and my words and this feels as violent and as deviant as my queer sexuality was to my very religious parents.

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I never had a transformative coming out experience. It’s true what that say, coming out as gay or lesbian or trans isn’t a single event—there, done, finished. Whenever I meet anyone new, the coming out starts all over again. All this to say that I never really came out. I was always just gay. Even when I didn’t want to be. So there’s that. I know sex and sexuality to be more fluid than gender; fluid like melting ice that’s cold and hard and always evolving into some other form of matter.

There seem to me to be very little work considering intersectionality within a context of the act of sex. There is nothing easy about sex, from the first itch to the volumes of words or ancestors, it all requires so much focused attention. Your attention is your kingdom; your attention is your domain.

I just near fell over when I first read Adrienne Rich’s words “compulsory heterosexuality.” I frown whenever I hear that compulsory word: compulsory. I was raised to ask questions. I was taught to break rules. Until my father questioned my sexuality, facing facts. Afterwards, I was sent away. A trip to school among the hills. Then I learned, really, it wasn’t a secret if you didn’t have the words. I remain silent. Until now: today I hear compulsory heterosexuality whenever I hear any mention of homonormativity; or isn’t is great that queers can marry each other. If things begin following order, adopting the new normative, I feel a tiny wretch in the back of my throat. To their normal I bring in the queer. More queer.

Queer as action-verb. Queer the thing. Queer as in fuck-you and fuck-me. I want it both ways; I want it all; cake by the ocean.

READ Adrienne Rich’s Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, 1980.

Laura Mulvey’s “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” 1975.

Carlos Motta, John Arthur Peetz & Carlos Maria Romero’s Collection of (56) contemporary & historical Queer Manifestos; SPIT! (Sodomites, Perverts, Inverts Together!) Manifesto Reader, Frieze Projects, 2017 [If this stuff interests you, I invite you to consider taking one of my graduate courses. If you’re lucky and the moon is full, we will read Julia Kristeva together and I can share my stories of meeting this Kristeva in furs as she embodied those academic movie stars of a cinema long past. The abject horror I learned from Kristeva boosted my confidence and helped overcome old fears and old shame. I’m just saying.]

TASK Write a politically motivated sexy letter after examining the collection of manifestos. Address the letter to one of the manifestos, to yourself (past, present future) or me.

OR Make your own political, sexy anti-capitalist ‘zine.

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PRACTICES OF LOOKING QUESTIONS When did you first recognize you were participating in the hegemonic practice of the “male gaze.” How does this “male gaze” impact your worldview? What alternatives drive your interests? Are your relationships following compulsory heterosexual norm? Are these topics of sexuality and desire of interest to you? How so? Do you have a trusted friend you share fantasies with? Make time to share and listen without judgment; we are often hardest on ourselves when it comes to issues of sexual desire. What are some of those sex behaviours made explicit in pornography that displace actual human sexual relations? What behaviours make you wonder? What behaviours can you not talk about?

SEXUAL HEALTH I believe to talk of such matters as these, to act responsibly and with integrity, I need to include the important issue of sexual health. If you’re having sex, you’re ready to take charge of your body and your sexual health. Please, practice self-care and self-compassion.

Please make sure you are caring for your sexual health. As young people, you are now completely responsible for your bodies, your actions and behaviours and your care and maintenance.

If people are sexually active with more than one partner—even if it’s just a suspicion or insecurity, it is important to have your sexual health assess by a professional health care worker. Get tested for all STIs every six months. Keep fear and shame at bay by proactively choosing actions that match your values for your health.

SELECTED NOVELS Sapphire, PUSH. 1986.

Sapphire, The Kid. 2011.

Jeanette Winterson Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. 1985.

SELECTED VIEWING PRECIOUS, dir. Lee Daniels, 2009.

KEYWORDS: WOMEN, FEMALE, GENDER, GENDER QUEER, TRANSGENDER, SEXUAL, SEX, SEX ASSIGNMENT, CLASS, RACE, FEMININE, MASCULINE, INDIGENOUS, RIGHTS, STATUS, SEX, SEXUALITY, NONBINARY, DISCRIMINATION, INEQUALITY, INEQUITY, CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS, EXCLUSION, INCLUSION, INTERSECTIONALITY, IDENTITY, IDENTIFY, IDENTITITES, COMMUNITY, COMMUNITIES, STEREOTYPES, STIGMA, MARRIAGE, PATRIARCHY, OPPRESSION, HARASSMENT, FACT CHECK, FEMINISM, FEMINIST, REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS, OPPORTUNITY, PRIVILEGE, OPPORTUNITES, TRANSGENDER, LEGAL, CODE, POLITICAL, PREGNANCY, LIBERATION,

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CONSTITUTION, OPENPARLIAMENT, CIS GENDER, SPOUSE, NATION, PROPERTY, VIOLENCE, SOCIAL CHANGE, COLONIZATION, MOTHERS, FATHERS, PASSING, COURAGE, VERACITY, RESPECT, BEAUTY, HOME, HOUSEHOLD, LIVELIHOOD, ASSIMILATION, DESIRE, DISCLOSURE.

INTERSECTIONALITY You have considered many aspects of GENDERS, SEXES, INTERSECTIONAL IDENTITIES, FEMINISIMS, SEXUALITIES, SEXUAL RELATIONS, SEX BEHAVIOURS and my insane stories that lead to a series of QUEER political manifestos. The tasks for this topic, many of which are embedded in the previous page to guide your thinking as you engage with the content, are collected here for you. As this is a course of self-discovery, the outcomes for this topic are accomplished as you complete the tasks.

IN this collection of TASKS; you are required to select AT LEAST one (of three) assigned and marked out as an option. You are REQUIRED to JOURNAL about one topic; you are REQUIRED to write one BLOG post based on your reflections. There are two different kinds of writing asked of you.

UNIT LEARNING OUTCOMES BY the end of this unit learners o apply autonomous learning by reading and managing time to both play and assess digital tools & by writing about their understandings of the issues that drive intersectional identities and relations, as well as sex/gender/sexuality and related actions. o improve written communication skills by reading and writing with advanced fluency. o enhance information/visual/media/digital literacy by negotiating with three related resources of varying (digital) complexity. o recognize the value of respect and discover additional ways to enhance Intercultural competence by considering sexual, gendered, feminist and intersectional cultures from multiple points of view. o acquire a metalanguage by reflecting and writing. o evaluate intellectual independence, personal responsibility and time management by engaging with course materials and completing tasks.

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FEMINISM IS NOT JUST FOR OTHER WOMEN. SHE WAS ALONE & NEEDED SOMEONE TO BEAR WITNESS TO HER LIFE, SHE DECIDED IT WOULD HAVE TO BE HER. SO SHE WROTE ABOUT IT. & STILL DOES. Each topic provides required tasks and additional supplemental tasks if you find this topic of particular interest and want to pursue it further. Rubrics that apply to the required tasks are provided in Assessments, accessed from the Table of Contents.

INCLUDE WRITTEN DESCRIPTIONS & REFLECTIONS OF COMPLETED TASKS & ANY OUTCOMES IN YOUR JOURNAL. TASKS INTERSECTIONALITY 1. READ + JOURNAL SEX AND GENDER READ Jesse Singal’s “When Children Say They’re Trans, The Atlantic, July/Aug Issue, 2018.

Is your gender identity easy to define?

How do you identify today?

Does your gender identity match the sex you were assigned at birth?

Have you been given sufficient space to explore your gender expressions?

Have you given others space for gender exploration?

What are some ways you are expressing your gender today?

How might this change on a different day?

What are some ways you break gender stereotypes?

How you encouraged others to freely express their gender? How? What did you do?

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Are your expressions of gender ever questioned?

Do you worry about daily expressions of gender and your culture’s gender stereotypes?

Is it possible to move through the world without ever thinking about gender?

Is it possible to move through the world without feeling limited because of gender identity and gender expressions?

How does Singal frame the issue of transitioning?

What is missing from Singal’s analysis?

2. READ + WATCH + JOURNAL: FEMINISM and INTERSECTIONALITY WATCH “TEDTalks: Kimberlé Crenshaw: The Urgency of Intersectionality.” (18:15).

READ Jane Coaston’s The Intersectionality Wars, 2019.

How do you understand INTERSECTIONALITY? How is the term useful to you?

Do you consider yourself a FEMINISM? Why or why not?

What is a FEMINIST? Can cis men be FEMINISM? How do you understand the relationship between FEMINISM and INTERSECTIONALITY? What does it mean “to bear witness?”

How might you “bear witness” to this urgent topic?

THIS IS ONE OPTION FOR REQUIRED COMPONENTS 3. JOURNAL + BLOG: NINE THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971

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THE CHALLENGE These nine things describe legal rights in the United States of America. For this task, please research and fact check the legal rights of women in Canada.

Is this new information for you?

What reactions and words came to mind as you read through this list?

Are your reactions as symbolically potent as what each fact means to you after some consideration?

Are you surprised by any of these facts?

What do you understand when you read, “Feminism is NOT just for other women”?

What does FEMINISM mean to you?

Are you a FEMINIST?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

What FEMINIST actions are needed in Canada?

Are there any public feminists you admire? If so, who?

4. JOURNAL: INDIGENOUS WOMEN & INTERSECTIONALITY THE CHALLENGE Review the list of 9 THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971.

How does it measure against the lives of INDIGENIOUS women?

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READ Lawrence, Bonita. Gender, Race, and the Regulation of Native Identity in Canada and the United States: An Overview, Hypatia, 18(2): 2003.

Sterritt, Angela. Racialization of Poverty: Indigenous Women, the Indian Act and Systemic Oppression: Reasons for Resistance, Vancouver Status of Women, 2007.

Why did this consideration of INTERSECTIONALITY include INDIGENOUS WOMEN? Describe differences & similarities between FEMINISM and INTERSECTIONAL approaches?

How do legal frameworks and judicial policies impact people differently?

As a form of protest and resistance, is FEMINISM inclusive or exclusive?

Who is excluded? What narratives does this list serve?

Are INDIGENOUS WOMEN sufficiently served by INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM? How? What are the issues that stand out for you?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

Bonita Lawrence and Angela Sterritt raise a number of other related issues. Which ones stand out for you as important? Why? Are significant issues missing from this information about INTERSECTIONAL relations?

THIS IS ONE OPTION FOR REQUIRED COMPONENTS 5. READ + JOURNAL + BLOG: RISE & SPEAK: BLACK INTERSECTIONALITY REQUIRED READING Audre Lorde, Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference, Sister Outsider, Crossing Press, 1984.

Rachel Elizabeth Cargle’s When Feminism Is White Supremacy in Heels, Harper’s Bazaar, 2018.

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SUGGESTED Rachel Elizabeth Cargle’s How to Talk to Your Family About Racism, Harper’s Bazaar, 2019.

Marisa Meltzer’s Rachel Cargle; I Refuse to Listen to White Women Cry, Washington Post, 2019.

THE CHALLENGE Identify and discuss similarities and differences between Angela Davis and Audre Lorde. Whose messages are more powerful for you? How does Rachel Cargle compare to Angela Davis and Audre Lorde.

Consider, compare and contrast the message of these three powerful women.

How is race, gender and sexuality complicated or clarified by INTERSECTIONAL approaches? What other identities rely on INTERSECTIONALITY as a political means?

6. READ + JOURNAL: SEXUALITIES READ Audrey Yue’s Sexualities/queer Identities, 2013.

QUESTIONS How is race, gender and sexuality complicated or clarified by INTERSECTIONAL approaches?

How might BLACKTRANSLIVES experience the western world before 1971?

What other identities rely on INTERSECTIONALITY as a political means?

Can you imagine identifying as transgender? What does it mean to take on this identity-even if it’s imaginary? Where do you go? What story do you tell?

What does Yue mean when she writes “bio-politics,” “bio-power,” “sex as an instrumental target,” “politic of enunciation” and “post-identity”?

How does Yue consider “identify politics”?

Do you see how your identify is political?

Do you see how your body is political?

7. JOURNAL: INTERVIEWING STRATEGIES CHALLENGES of EQUITY & the FIGHT for EQUALITY IF you could talk to one person about INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM, who would you want and why? Regardless, interview someone who identifies as feminist, transgender or genderqueer. Ensure this conversation and your interviewee is a safe and comfortable

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speaking about INTERSECTIONALITY. Please ask about perceptions of women living out the CHALLENGES of EQUITY & the FIGHT for EQUALITY. What. Is the difference between EQUITY and EQUALITY. How are these distinct? Interrogate their language. How do they represent themselves? Interrogate their many identities and how they experience social exclusion. How can you create a more inclusive conversation? What interviewing strategies do you review prior to the interview? What are the promising practices for interviewing?

How might Rachel Elizabeth Cargle, Audre Lorde or Angela Davis respond to their point of view? How do you understand the intersecting issues of gender, race, nationalism, oppression? What marks INDIGENIOUS women as distinct in their intersectional challenges?

What marks BLACK women as distinct in their intersectional challenges? White women are warned to be weary of a weakness of falling into the Patriarchal hegemonic system. Can you explain the challenges for powerful white women? Does it seem like this is group is under attack? How would you describe the situation of women with various and radically different intersecting identities as the CHALLENGES FOR EQUITY & THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY march forward? Can you explain how intersectional identities work towards these two related goals: THE CHALLENGE FOR EQUITY & THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY?

THIS IS ONE OPTION FOR REQUIRED COMPONENTS 8. JOURNAL + BLOG: FAMILY LIFE SCENERIO CHALLENGE Your teenaged child identifies as nonbinary and has for several years. Luckily, we live in Toronto and in a school district and public school that provides a level of support above and beyond what you expected. You worked with school supports like the therapist and social workers; last year, the team helped me manage the legal name change of your child. You child has an amazing group of friends and is happy and communicative. Please tell me more about your child.

Lately, however, your teen expresses a desire to take hormones to transition from a female body to a more androgynous or male body, saying that they don’t identify as a girl and don’t want to look like one. I am proud of their courage, but absolutely terrified. You don’t know how much of this is teenage exploration that they might later regret. What consequences scare the hell out of you?

Their therapist says that the consequences of not transitioning can also be very serious.

Can you explain this advice?

Your child has asked to talk about this tomorrow.

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Write out your plans and list the topics you want to cover. Explain why these are the issues.

Write a summary of your state of mind and plans. Then write the actual conversation as a dialogue.

Are you able to capture your family’s language while including links to important resources? You may also write out character/person statements for an imaginary parentchild.

What research do you look into to prepare for this conversation?

What is your gut ‘reaction’?

How does that reaction manifest in your body?

Once your reactivity is under control, you begin to formulate your symbolic responses. You want to make a list of the topics you want to address in this conversation. Where do you begin?

How can you support this challenging decision-making process?

What tools and resources do you gather to have on hand?

What are your fears?

What about your child’s fears?

What would this change mean to you and the rest of your family?

Who else do you want to participate in this conversation?

9. READ + JOURNAL + OBSERVATION: DIFFERENTLY ABLE-BODIES & INTERSECTIONALITY READ Simi Linton’s “What is Disability Studies?” 2005.

SUGGESTED READING Rosemarie Garland-Thomson’s Extraordinary Bodies, 1996, & Staring: How We Look, 2009.

Alison Kafer’s Feminist, Queer, Crip, 2013.

THE CHALLENGE The skill of LISTENING may be enhanced simultaneously when engaged in deep OBSERVATION. Your challenge in this task: At a distance and with the discretion of judge, identify a public building or space. Are you able to sit, silently, watching people go by? Of course, at a distance—but I’m interested in your ability to simply observe. Watch the bodies and how they move. Watch for intersectional identities at work in public space. After a minimum of one hour, silently observing, turn to your journal and write down everything you are able to recall. This written material can instigation a great deal of other things, if done with integrity and a mindful goal of following the procedure systematically. Do you see ABLE- PRIVILEGE in any of the observations you make of people’s behaviours?

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How have you experienced differently abled bodies?

Are you an able body?

Can you identify the privileges granted to able-bodied people in our society?

This means, often unrecognized barriers and obstacles. As you identify these privileges, can you identify a corresponding or related obstacle?

Do you think of your body as connected to your identity?

What meanings do you make of differing bodies? How do these bodies “mean”?

How does it make you feel, to be reading and talking about, observing and watching disabilities and people who have differently abled bodies?

Are you able to share any awkwardness?

Where do your responses come from?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

THIS IS ONE OPTION FOR REQUIRED COMPONENTS 10. READ + JOURNAL + BLOG: PRACTICES OF LOOKING READ Adrienne Rich’s Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, 1980.

Laura Mulvey’s “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” 1975.

Carlos Motta, John Arthur Peetz & Carlos Maria Romero’s Collection of (56) contemporary & historical Queer Manifestos; SPIT! (Sodomites, Perverts, Inverts Together!) Manifesto Reader, Frieze Projects, 2017 THE CHALLENGE Write a politically motivated sexy letter after examining the collection of manifestos.

Address the letter to one of the manifestos, to yourself (past, present future) or me.

OR

Make your own political, sexy anti-capitalist ‘zine.

When did you first recognize you were participating in the hegemonic practice of the “male gaze.”

How does this “male gaze” impact your worldview?

What alternatives drive your interests?

Are your relationships following compulsory heterosexual norm?

Are these topics of sexuality and desire of interest to you? How so?

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Do you have a trusted friend you share fantasies with?

Make time to share and listen without judgment; we are often hardest on ourselves when it comes to issues of sexual desire.

What are some of those sex behaviours made explicit in pornography that displace actual human sexual relations? What behaviours make you wonder? What behaviours can you not talk about?

QUESTIONS for your review I. SEX AND GENDER Is your gender identity easy to define?

How do you identify today?

Does your gender identity match the sex you were assigned at birth?

Have you been given sufficient space to explore your gender expressions?

Have you given others space for gender exploration?

What are some ways you are expressing your gender today?

How might this change on a different day?

What are some ways you break gender stereotypes?

How you encouraged others to freely express their gender? How? What did you do?

Are your expressions of gender ever questioned?

Do you worry about daily expressions of gender and your cultureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gender stereotypes?

Is it possible to move through the world without ever thinking about gender?

Is it possible to move through the world without feeling limited because of gender identity and gender expressions?

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II. CIS PRIVLIDGE Do you or people in your world experience CIS PRIVILEGE? How? In what ways does CIS PRIVILEGE manifest in your life?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

Do you know or have you met any TRANSGENDER people?

What is your assessment of SEX and GENDER? What changes can you make to make your life and world more inclusive of transgender people?

III. BEARING WITNESS to FEMINISM and INTERSECTIONALITY How do you understand INTERSECTIONALITY? How is the term useful to you?

Do you consider yourself a FEMINISM? Why or why not?

What is a FEMINIST? Can cis men be FEMINISM? How do you understand the relationship between FEMINISM and INTERSECTIONALITY? What does it mean “to bear witness?”

How might you “bear witness” to this urgent topic?

IV. FEMINISM and the LAW Is this new information for you?

What reactions and words came to mind as you read through this list?

Are your reactions as symbolically potent as what each fact means to you after some consideration?

Are you surprised by any of these facts?

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What do you understand when you read, “Feminism is NOT just for other women”?

What does FEMINISM mean to you?

Are you a FEMINIST?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

What FEMINIST actions are needed in Canada?

Are there any public feminists you admire? If so, who?

V. INDIGENOUS INTERSECTIONALITY Describe differences & similarities between FEMINISM and INTERSECTIONAL approaches?

How do legal frameworks and judicial policies impact people differently?

As a form of protest and resistance, is FEMINISM inclusive or exclusive?

Who is excluded? What narratives does this list serve?

Are INDIGENOUS WOMEN sufficiently served by INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM? How? What are the issues that stand out for you?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

Bonita Lawrence and Angela Sterritt raise a number of other related issues. Which ones stand out for you as important? Why? Are significant issues missing from this information about INTERSECTIONAL relations?

VI. YOUR BODY IS A BATTLEGROUND How might BLACKTRANSLIVES experience the western world before 1971?

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What other identities rely on INTERSECTIONALITY as a political means?

Can you imagine identifying as transgender?

What does it mean to take on this identity-even if it’s imaginary? Where do you go?

What story do you tell?

How does Yue consider “identify politics”?

Do you see how your identify is political?

Do you see how your body is political?

VII. EQUITY & EQUALITY How do you understand the intersecting issues of gender, race, nationalism, oppression?

What marks INDIGENIOUS women as distinct in their intersectional challenges?

What marks BLACK women as distinct in their intersectional challenges? White women are warned to be weary of a weakness of falling into the Patriarchal hegemonic system. Can you explain the challenges for powerful white women? Does it seem like this is group is under attack? How would you describe the situation of women with various and radically different intersecting identities as the CHALLENGES FOR EQUITY & THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY march forward? Can you explain how intersectional identities work towards these two related goals: THE CHALLENGE FOR EQUITY & THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY?

VIII. THE TRANS IN LGBTQ+ LIBERATION What do you know about LGBTQ+ liberation?

What can you tell about Rivera, based on the representation of her in this video?

How does Rivera respond to her daily experiences of social exclusion?

Do the people’s responses to Rivera surprise you? Why or why not?

How did Rivera’s language and attitude create liberatory spaces within LGBTQ+ communities?

What is Rivera demanding? Are you surprised? What do you notice? What triggers your initial response? The film quality? Setting? Sound interference? People? What draws you to those particular signs? Do you recognize the politics in action?

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Do you agree or disagree with Rivera? With her approach?

IX. PASSING BEAUTY What are the HEGEMONIC values of beauty? Where did they come from?

How are corporate values of beauty challenged by Tracy Norman?

Do you understand the concept of passing?

For all transgender folxs, how might passing be experienced differently?

Is it surprising that Tracy Norman passed?

How do you feel about Clairol as a company?

Did the corporation respond appropriately? Why or why not?

How is the concept of passing implicated in INTERSECTIONAL approaches?

X. DIFFERENTLY ABLE-BODIES & INTERSECTIONALITY How have you experienced differently abled bodies?

Are you an able body?

Can you identify the privileges granted to able-bodied people in our society?

This means, often unrecognized barriers and obstacles. As you identify these privileges, can you identify a corresponding or related obstacle?

Do you think of your body as connected to your identity?

What meanings do you make of differing bodies? How do these bodies “mean”?

How does it make you feel, to be reading and talking about, observing and watching disabilities and people who have differently abled bodies?

Are you able to share any awkwardness?

Where do your responses come from?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

XI. PRACTICES OF LOOKING When did you first recognize you were participating in the hegemonic practice of the “male gaze.”

How does this “male gaze” impact your worldview?

What alternatives drive your interests?

Are your relationships following compulsory heterosexual norm?

Are these topics of sexuality and desire of interest to you? How so?

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Do you have a trusted friend you share fantasies with?

Make time to share and listen without judgment; we are often hardest on ourselves when it comes to issues of sexual desire.

What are some of those sex behaviours made explicit in pornography that displace actual human sexual relations? What behaviours make you wonder? What behaviours can you not talk about?

XII. INTERSECTIONAL CHANGE Do you know or can you recognize an active voice for GENDER equity and equality in your life?

What/who facilitates awareness and activism for GENDER and INTERSECTIONAL justice on campus?

Consider how people organize and contribute to INTERSECTIONAL change.

What tools and techniques do they use to advocate for a cause?

What IDEAS do you have for making INTERSECTIONAL change?

With whom can you discuss your IDEAS? How did these conversations work for you?

ADDITIONAL or OPTIONAL TASKS A. BLOG There is ONE required TASK to include in your BLOG. PLEASE CHOOSE ONE OF < NINE THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971> < RISE & SPEAK: BLACK INTERSECTIONALITY> <FAMILY LIFE> < PRACTICES OF LOOKING> You are invited to choose (any) ONE addition TASK from < INTERSECTIONALITY > for your BLOG.

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B. WIKI You are invited to participate in our course WIKI where you can provide feedback, input, editorial comments and/or your own exemplars. Is there something else that needs to be said? The course WIKI is open for your participation. Reflect on course WIKI participation in you JOURNAL.

C. DIGITAL ARTIFACT You are asked to share at least one other DIGITAL ARTIFACT. Is there something you want to CREATE related to this content?

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Sorry Belinda Yes, all good.

Would an overview of Intersectionality be appropriate?

1. SEX & GENDER Jesse Singal’s “When Children Say They’re Trans, The Atlantic, July/Aug Issue, 2018.

2. CIS PRIVILEGE 3. Kimberlé Crenshaw : Difference. & Power Kimberlé Crenshaw: The Urgency of Intersectionality.”

Crenshaw, Kimberlé, "Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics," University of Chicago Legal Forum: Vol. 1989: Iss. 1, Article 8. Available at: http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf/vol1989/iss1/8 Jane Coaston’s The Intersectionality Wars, 2019.

4. FEMINISM AND BEARING WITNESS Nine things women could not do in 1971 5.ANGELA DAVIS & MAINSTREAM FEMINISM Angela Davis. "Mainstream Feminism," or Bourgeois Feminism. 2018.

6. INDIGENOUS INTERSECTIONALITY Indigenous Women and the Indian Act Indigenous women heros Indigenous sex/gender discrimination Lawrence, Bonita. Gender, Race, and the Regulation of Native Identity in Canada and the United States: An Overview. Hypatia 18(2): 2003.

Sterritt, Angela. Racialization of Poverty: Indigenous Women, the Indian Act and Systemic Oppression: Reasons for Resistance. Vancouver Status of Women, 2007.

7. FROM ANGELA DAVIS & AUDRE LORDE TO RACHEL ELIZABETH CARGLE Audre Lorde, Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference, Sister Outsider, Crossing Press, 1984.

Rachel Elizabeth Cargle’s When Feminism Is White Supremacy in Heels, Harper’s Bazaar, 2018.

Rachel Elizabeth Cargle’s How to Talk to Your Family About Racism, Harper’s Bazaar, 2019.

Marisa Meltzer’s Rachel Cargle; I Refuse to Listen to White Women Cry, Washington Post, 2019.

8. INTERSECTING SEXUALITIES Audrey Yue’s Sexualities/queer Identities, 2013.

9. #BLACKTRANSLIVESMATTER Meet Sylvia Rivera: “Y’all Better Quiet Down” Original Authorized Video by LoveTapesCollective, 1973 Gay Pride Rally, NYC. [05:28].

Meet Tracey Africa: The REAL TRACEY NORMAN, Tracey Norman, the first Black transgender model Clairol Nice n Easy, 2018.

Meet Leiomy Maldonado 10. Disability Studies

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Simi Linton’s “What is Disability Studies?” 2005.

Neel Burton’s When Homosexuality Stopped Being a Mental Disorder, Psychology Today, 2015, revised 2020.

Rosemarie Garland-Thomson’s Extraordinary Bodies, 1996.

Rosemarie Garland-Thomson’s Staring: How We Look, 2009.

Alison Kafer’s Feminist, Queer, Crip, 2013.

Carrie Sandahl’s Performing Disability in Daily Life, 2005.

Carrie Sandahl’s Using Our Words: Exploring Representational Conundrums in Disability Drama and Performance. Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies, Liverpool University Press, 12.2., 2018.

Siebers, Tobin. In/Visible: Disability on Stage, in Sherri Irvine (ed.) Body Aesthetics, Oxford, 2016. https://doi.org/10.3828/jlcds.2018.11 11. SEXUALITIES : THE PERSONAL IS POLITICAL Adrienne Rich’s Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, 1980.

Laura Mulvey’s “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” 1975.

Sexuality Studies ASSOCIATION: <http://ssaaes.org/files/2020_SSA_PROCEEDINGS_FINAL.pdf>.

My work: Mourning, Melancholy, Militance and Meaning Carlos Motta, John Arthur Peetz & Carlos Maria Romero’s Collection of (56) contemporary & historical Queer Manifestos; SPIT! (Sodomites, Perverts, Inverts Together!) Manifesto Reader, Frieze Projects, 2017 Suggested FICTION Sapphire, PUSH. 1986.

Sapphire, The Kid. 2011.

Jeanette Winterson Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. 1985.

Suggested FILM PRECIOUS, dir. Lee Daniels, 2009.

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WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA HOW have you prioritized learning about the root causes of current protests?

HOW are you engaged in conversations about race and racism?

HOW have you engaged others in conversations about race and racism?

NOW it’s time to reflect on our shared humanity.

NOW it’s time to come together, listen, learn, share in grief & in hope.

NOW it’s time to act for a more just, equitable and racially conscious world.

The destructive power of racism & its brutality is a plague.

Failure to address these issues can be deadly.

Fear and discomfort about race and racialized discussions usually lead to our SILENCE, which indirectly sanctions all our learning as false and privileged labour.

SILENCE = DEATH In any post-secondary context, SILENCE on issues of BIPOC racism and oppression is insulting. If any of your learning contexts FAIL to include contextual attention to the complexities of race, IT IS YOUR JOB TO DEMAND IT. Imagine young BIPOC learners watching us loving and appreciating BIPOC culture —finding pleasure and leisure in BIPOC music, food, fashion, celebrity and culture—but remaining silent about BIPOC oppression.

SILENCE is a refusal to recognize the resilience of BIPOC people and how its cultures are often born out of necessity. It hurts learners when powerful people FAIL to acknowledge what BIPOC people have done for our worlds and what these same worlds have done to them.

#SAYTHEIRNAMES Before we try to foster productive conversations about race and civil disobedience, we need to remember what is at stake, what has been lost and who has been lost.

Join me in saying the names of BIPOC killed by police in the last decade. I know this list is focused on the US. Are things different in Canada? Have you heard these names?

|| REGIS KORCHINSKI-PAQUET || CHANTEL MOORE || || RODNEY LEVI || D’ANDRE CAMPBELL || EJAZ AHMED CHOUDRY || 388

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|| ALLOURA WELLS || SUMAYA DALMAR ||

The rate at which black Americans are killed by police is more than twice as high as the rate for white Americans. This is a non-comprehensive list of deaths at the hands of police in the U.S. since Eric Garner's death in July 2014. LA Johnson/NPR

|| REGIS KORCHINSKI-PAQUET || CHANTEL MOORE || || RODNEY LEVI || Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ANDRE CAMPBELL || EJAZ AHMED CHOUDRY || || ALLOURA WELLS || SUMAYA DALMAR || Are there other names I missed? Please help me maintain this list. Say Their Names.

TASK Say Their Names.

TASK RESEARCH & REPORT Select two or three names for further study.

Can you find NEWS stories about this violence?

What date? What city? Circumstances?

Fact-Check source and/or two sources per NAME

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QUESTIONS How have you prioritized learning about the root causes of current protests?

How are you engaged in conversations about race and racism?

How have you engaged others in conversations about race and racism?

How do Kendi and Scott portray their perceptions?

Do you see similarities?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

Where do your values fit within this context? (YOU + talking about race=) Do government Strategic Planning Priorities (Ontario & Canada) provide related information?

Give you HOPE for the future?

BLACKLIVESMATTER Black Lives Matter is an activist movement that began as a hashtag (#BlackLivesMatter) after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African American teenager killed in Florida in July 2013. Shortly after Zimmermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s release, two other high-profile events of police brutality and murder received global attention. Both unarmed, Eric Garner (in Staten Island, NY) and Michael Brown (in Ferguson, MO) were murdered by law enforcement officers, who were not indicted.

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Born out of a social media post, BLACK LIVES MATTER (BLM) founders Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi sparked discussions about race and inequality across the world.

Since August 2014, ongoing local and national protests—often sparked by additional deaths of other unarmed African Americans—have brought the issue to the public consciousness and conversation. As of August 2015, more than 1000 Black Lives Matter demonstrations have been held worldwide.

The movement's three founders share what they've learned about leadership and what provides them with hope and inspiration in the face of painful realities. Their advice on how to participate in ensuring freedom for everybody:

JOIN SOMETHING, START SOMETHING & SHARPEN EACH OTHER,

SO THAT WE ALL CAN RISE. AN INTERVIEW WITH THE FOUNDERS OF BLACK LIVES MATTER Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, TEDWomen, 2016. [16:05].

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BIPOC & OTHER FORMS OF HATE ARE ONGOING, OPPRESSIVE & VIOLENT. THE IMPACT OF THIS HATE HURTS OUR CAMPUS & COMMUNITIES. SUPPORT BIPOC JUSTICE BIPOC = BLACK, INDIGENOUS & PEOPLE OF COLOR RACE MATTERS If we hope to heal the racial tensions that threaten to tear the fabric of society apart, we're going to need the skills to openly express ourselves in racially stressful situations. Through racial literacy—the ability to read, recast and resolve these situations—psychologist Howard C. Stevenson helps children and parents reduce and manage stress and trauma. In this inspiring, quietly awesome talk, learn more about how this approach to decoding racial threats can help youth build confidence and stand up for themselves in productive ways.

RESOURCE “TEDTalks: Howard C. Stevenson—How To Resolve Racially Stressful Situations.” (17:38).

Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2018. <iframe height='698' frameborder='0' style='border:1px solid #ddd;' width='885' src='https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod-infobasecom.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?token=160733&wID=104666&plt=FOD&loid=0&w=865&h= 648&fWidth=885&fHeight=698' allowfullscreen allow="encrypted-media">&nbsp;</iframe>

THE LONG FIGHT FOR RACIAL JUSTICE

In more than 580 cities and towns, hundreds of thousands have gathered together to protest the police killing of an African American man named George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Protestors’ call for justice, police accountability, and for an end to the systemic racism deeply embedded in the laws, practices, and institutions mark some of the most widespread protests in the last fifty years. The protests should be seen in the long arc of history and as part of the long black freedom struggle, a struggle that began when the first black people arrived as captive slaves more than four hundred years ago.

Racial injustice is not a new phenomenon, and neither is black activism. In fact, the black activism taking place today builds on organizing strategies from the civil rights movement.

BlackLivesMatter champions and extends idea of and values for racial equity.

As Black Lives Matter and Indigenous organizing capture public attention about white privilege and the systemic nature of racism and colonialism, major Canadian institutions (eg, Prime Minister’s Office, RCMP) have finally started acknowledging that they, too, are structured

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by racism. These institutions include Canadian universities. Previously, the University of Guelph, like most other institutions of higher learning across Canada, deflected accusations of ignoring racism and colonialism and failing to take meaningful and actionable steps to make necessary systemic changes.

The brutal violence committed against the Black community and the increased burden placed on Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals, compounded by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to a pivotal moment in our history. In solidarity with the Black community and for the sake of all BIPOC students (past and present) I unequivocally affirm that BLACK LIVES MATTER. Violence against Black people must stop.

We join the international uprising led by Black people against police killings and violence in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by Minnesota Police, Breonna Taylor’s fatal shooting by Louisville Police and the killing of Tony McDade, a Black Trans man by Tallahassee Police.

Police violence and killings are a pressing issue across Canada.

The death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a Black-Indigenous woman in the presence of Toronto police in May 2020.

The New Brunswick police killing of Indigenous woman Chantel Moore during a ‘wellness’ call in early June 2019.

THIS YEAR—2020 so far The RCMP shooting of Rodney Levi of the Metepenagiag Mi’kmaq Nation.

The Peel police shootings of mental health survivors D’Andre Campbell in April.

The shooting of Ejaz Ahmed Choudry in June.

These are the most recent manifestations of systemic racist deaths of Black, Indigenous and racialized people at the hands of police forces in Canada. Systemic, institutionalized, violent, anti-Black racism and settler colonialism shape Canadian society and its policing practices.

Too many of the people shot and killed by police are people with disabilities. THIS CANNOT CONTINUE. The past ten years alone have seen increases in routinized killings of Black, racialized and Indigenous people across this country. Toronto has a documented record of anti-Black, antiIndigenous, racist police killings by Police. Violent racist police practices are enmeshed with homophobic, misogynist, anti-trans, anti-disability and anti-poor police violence.

The ongoing oppression and neglect of Black, Indigenous and racialized people, sex workers, homeless and poor people are often visible on the streets of Toronto. This is shockingly illustrated in the botched investigations of the McArthur disappearances and serial killings of Brown gay men in Toronto’s Gay village and the unsolved murders of sex workers and trans women such as Alloura Wells, a multiracial trans sex worker and Sumaya Dalmar, a Somali-Canadian transgender woman. SAY THESE NAMES.

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|| REGIS KORCHINSKI-PAQUET || CHANTEL MOORE || || RODNEY LEVI || D’ANDRE CAMPBELL || EJAZ AHMED CHOUDRY || || ALLOURA WELLS || SUMAYA DALMAR ||

READ Ibram X. Kendi’s The American Nightmare: To be black and conscious of anti-black racism is to stare into the mirror of your own extinction. The Atlantic, 2020. <https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/american-nightmare/612457/>.

Dylan Scott’s Violent protests are not the story. Police violence is. Vox, 2020.

<https://www.vox.com/2020/5/30/21275507/minneapolis-george-floyd-protests-police-violence>.

TASK Conduct an interview with someone who can speak about social justice actions. Find someone with a background in race-related activism. Consider what Ibram Kendi means by the moments of “toil and terror and trauma”?

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RESOURCE LISTEN

A DECADE OF WATCHING BLACK PEOPLE DIE

<CODE SWITCH> Podcast, NPR, 2020. [22:00].

What's CODE SWITCH? It's the fearless conversations about race that you've been waiting for! Hosted by journalists of colour, our podcast tackles the subject of race head-on. We explore how it impacts every part of society â&#x20AC;&#x201D; from politics and pop culture to history, sports and everything in between. This podcast makes ALL OF US part of the conversation â&#x20AC;&#x201D; because we're all part A still from video of George Floyd with of the story.

Minneapolis police officers, 2020. <IFRAME SRC="HTTPS://WWW.NPR.ORG/PLAYER/EMBED/865261916/866048444" WIDTH="100%" HEIGHT="290" FRAMEBORDER="0" SCROLLING="NO" TITLE="NPR EMBEDDED AUDIO PLAYER"></IFRAME> MAPPING POLICE VIOLENCE (MPV) Global protests demanding an end to police violence have shifted public opinion over the past five years. An estimated 45 million Americans have adopted more progressive views on race and racism since the protests began in 2014. While public opinion has changed, policing outcomes have not. The police killed more people last year than the year before, racial disparities in outcomes such as arrests and deadly force persist, and the criminal justice system is not more likely to hold police accountable.

The US has approximately 18,000 distinctive law enforcement agencies, each with different issues and outcomes. Changing the behaviours of law enforcement requires sustained organizing and advocacy.

A recent report from the US Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated approximately 1,200 people were killed by police between June 2015 and May 2016. The MPV database identified 1,106 people killed by police over this time period. While there are undoubtedly police killings that are not included in our database (namely, those that go unreported by the media), these estimates suggest that the MPV database captures 92% of the total number of police killings that have occurred since 2013.

The MPV database provides greater transparency and accountability for police departments as part of the ongoing campaign to end police violence.

RESOURCE MAPPING POLICE VIOLENCE https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/ HOT RESOURCE: ANNUAL MAPS 396

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Police have killed 598 people in 2020. <iframe width='100%' height='520' frameborder='0' src='https://samswey.carto.com/viz/e1005588-93d247b6-9a61-f4c0ed001163/embed_map' allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>

RESOURCE READ/LISTEN POLICE VIDEOS AREN'T GOING AWAY. HOW CAN WE LEARN FROM THEM? <EMBEDDED> PODCAST. Kelly Mcevers & Tom Dreisbach, NPR, 2020.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s EMBEDDED? Long-form, sound-rich field reporting from around the country and around the world with NPRâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reach and perspective and with a new emphasis on longform narrative and emotional ideas not common in the regular news cycle. Reporters will say "I." They will admit they are scared or confused. They will wonder what to make of something they're experiencing for the very first time. In doing this, listeners grow to understand not just what happened in a place, but what it felt like to the people who are in that place.

Shaun Leonardo, "Freddy Pereria," charcoal on paper with mirrored tint on frame, 2019.

Kelly Mcevers & Tom Dreisbach, Police videos aren't going away. How can we learn from them? EMBEDDED, NPR, 2020.

ONE: Charlotte, N.C.: Confirmation Bias. [43:41]. <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/521102557/521239383" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"></iframe>

TWO: Flagstaff, Ariz.: A Video That Takes On A Life Of Its Own. [40:08].

<iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/521102557/521239406" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"></iframe>

THREE: New Richmond, Ohio: How Videos Change Us. [27:44].

<iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/521102557/521239990" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"></iframe>

QUESTIONS Black Lives Matter and other activists have brought attention to police brutality.

What does it mean to you? What is surprising? What is interesting? What is troubling?

Are you surprised to learn that police officers have used force and have killed people?

What have you learned about the history of police violence against BIPOC people?

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Why do you think police brutality and police killings continue?

Why are police officers not held accountable?

Should police officers who kill be arrested, prosecuted, convicted?

Identify the types of changes needed for police brutality to stop.

Identify hurdles or obstacles to enacting these types of changes.

Do you know or can you recognize an active voice for racial equality in your life?

What/who facilitates awareness and activism for BIPOC justice on campus?

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TEN POLICY SOLUTIONS From Campaign Zero Campaign Zero’s policy intervention was developed in conjunction with activists, protestors and researchers across the country, integrating community demands, input from research organizations and the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Under sustained pressure, elected officials have begun to enact legislation to address police violence. Their web tools track the progress of federal, state and local legislation that addresses police violence.

TRACKING BODY CAMERA IMPLEMENTATION Campaign Zero also researches and writes a number of reports and actionable directives.

For example, one area examines the use of body cameras by law enforcement. As body cameras become a policing norm, militarizing surveillance regimes, Campaign Zero examined available police policies regarding the changing uses of this technology. With data from thirty cities, Campaign Zero’s thorough report addresses how and to who extent, these surveillance operations ensure accountability and fairness while protecting and respecting privacy.

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CANADIAN CONTEXT CANADIAN HISTORY In Canada, Black people were considered “property” well into the 1800s. Surprised?

Canada has its own legacy of slavery. Despite Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe 1792 call for its abolition, the “practice” of slavery continued in Canada. In fact, a system of slave patrols, sanctioned by the United States Congress’ Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, pursued slaves and monitored Black people in general. It is within this historical context that the Black communities’ relationship with the police was formed and initially defined.

TORONTO’S BLACK POPULATION According to the 2016 Census, the population of Toronto was 2,731,571. “Visible minorities” made up 51.5% of population. The largest “visible minority” groups were South Asian (12.6%), Chinese (11.1%) and Black (8.8%). There were 239,850 Black people in Toronto. Racial profiling and racial discrimination of Black people by the Toronto Police Service (TPS) is an expected practice, as demonstrated in its use of force; stops; questioning and searches; and charges.

SAY THEIR NAMES

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HEGEMONIC VALUE of BLACK PEOPLE We must understand dominate hegemonic views of Black people. HEGEMONY refers to a dominant groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social, cultural, ideological and/or economic influence and power. When assessing anti-Black racism (like what you might read in government policy statements, academic commentaries, Black Canadiansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; viewpoints and legal rulings) we must start with an acknowledgement of Canadian slavery. Against a backdrop of Canadian celebrations of 150 years of nationalism, for about 200 years, slavery was legal in New France and in Lower Canada. Slaves were owned by governors, bishops, military officers, merchants, priests, blacksmiths and tailors. The commodification of Black bodies lays the groundwork for how people of African and Caribbean descent experience Canadian law enforcement and its

agents and officers. The intergenerational impact of slavery and a long history of overt and ongoing systemic racism continues to shape poorer outcomes for Black people today.

POLICE USE OF FORCE & WORTLEY REPORT In 2016, Black people made up 8.8% of the Toronto population. However, from 2013-2017, they made up: 25.4% of Special Investigations Unit investigations;

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28.8% of police use of force cases; 36% of police shootings; 61.5% of police use of force cases that resulted in civilian death; 70% of police shootings that resulted in civilian death.

The Wortley Report notes that over-representation of Black civilians increases with seriousness of police conduct. Wortley confirms that Black people are much more likely to experience force against them by Toronto Police, often leading to serious injury or death.

The data is disturbing and raises serious concerns about racial discrimination and the use of force. Little to no change is noted since early 2000, when explicit evidence identified how Black people are over-represented in police use of force. | LET THE RECORD STAND | LET THE RECORD STAND | LET THE RECORD STAND |

TORONTO POLICE’S HISTORY OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION & RACIAL PROFILING OF BLACK PEOPLE. | ANDREW “BUDDY” EVANS | ALBERT JOHNSON | MICHAEL SARGEANT | | LEANDER SAVOURY | LESTER DONALDSON | SOPHIA COOK | MARLON NEIL | | JONATHAN HOWELL | ROYAN BAGNAUT | RAYMOND LAWRENCE | IAN COLEY | | ALBERT MOSES | TOMMY ANTHONY BARNETT | ANDREW BRAMWELL | | HENRY MUSAKA | ALEXANDER MANON | REYAL JENSEN JARDINE-DOUGLAS | | ERIC OSAWE | MICHAEL ELIGON | FRANK ANTHONY BERRY | SAMMY YATIM | | DANIEL CLAUSE | ANDREW LOKU | KWASI SKENE-PETERS | ALEXANDER WETLAUFER | | DAFONTE MILLER | ANDREW HENRY | | LET THE RECORD STAND | LET THE RECORD STAND | LET THE RECORD STAND | LET THE RECORD STAND SAY OUR NAMES 1978 ANDREW “BUDDY” EVANS (24) 1979 ALBERT JOHNSON 1979 MICHAEL SARGEANT 1985 LEANDER SAVOURY 1988 LESTER DONALDSON (44) 1989 SOPHIA COOK (23) 1990 MARLON NEIL (16) 1991 JONATHAN HOWELL (24) 1991 ROYAN BAGNAUT (21) 1992 RAYMOND LAWRENCE (22) 1993 IAN COLEY 1994 ALBERT MOSES (41) 1996 TOMMY ANTHONY BARNETT (22)

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1996 ANDREW BRAMWELL (24) 1999 HENRY MUSAKA (26) 2010 ALEXANDER MANON (18) 2010 REYAL JENSEN JARDINE-DOUGLAS (25) 2010 ERIC OSAWE (26) 2012 MICHAEL ELIGON (29) 2012 FRANK ANTHONY BERRY (48) 2013 SAMMY YATIM (18) 2103 DANIEL CLAUSE (33) 2015 ANDREW LOKU 2015 KWASI SKENE-PETERS (21) 2016 ALEXANDER WETLAUFER (21) 2016 DAFONTE MILLER (19) 2017 ANDREW HENRY (43) REVIEW TORONTO POLICE VIOLENCE in the LAST TEN YEARS 2010 ALEXANDER MANON, 18, died in custody of Toronto Police officers.

REYAL JENSEN JARDINE-DOUGLAS, 25, died after being shot several times by a Toronto Police officer.

ERIC OSAWE, 26, was killed in his Etobicoke apartment by a Toronto Police officer.

2012 MICHAEL ELIGON, 29, was fatally shot by a Toronto Police officer.

FRANK ANTHONY BERRY, 48, was fatally shot by Toronto Police officers.

From 2013-2017, the Black use of force “death” rate (3.34 per 100,000) was 11.3 times greater than the White rate (0.30 per 100,000) and 37.1 times greater than the rate for other racial minorities.

2013 SAMMY YATIM, 18, was fatally shot by a Toronto Police officer. The officer shot him eight times, six of which reportedly occurred once Yatim had already fallen to the ground.

DANIEL CLAUSE, 33, was killed by a Toronto Police officer after being shot four times.

2015 ANDREW LOKU was shot and killed by a Toronto Police officer.

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KWASI SKENE-PETERS, 21, was killed by Toronto Police officers.

2016 ALEXANDER WETLAUFER, 21, was shot and killed by Toronto Police officers.

DAFONTE MILLER, 19, suffered serious injuries after being beaten in Durham region by an off-duty Toronto Police officer.

2017 ANDREW HENRY, 43, was arrested after allegedly assaulting Toronto Police officers. While he was face-down on the pavement, he was Tasered twice and repeatedly stomped on by a Toronto Police sergeant.

With the exception of Sammy Yatim, all of the victims were Black. This is not an exhaustive list of incidents and activities.

Between 2013 and 2017, a Black person was far more likely than a white person to be involved in an incident involving Toronto Police use of force that resulted in serious injury or death. A Black person was: 3.1 times more likely than a white person to be involved in a Special Investigations Unit investigation; 3.6 times more likely than a white person to be involved in police use of force; 4.9 times more likely than a white person to be involved in a police shooting that resulted in serious civilian injury or death; 11.3 times more likely than a white person to be involved in police use of force that resulted in civilian death; 19.5 times more likely than a white person to be involved in a police shooting that resulted in civilian death.

Between 2013 and 2017, a Black person in Toronto was nearly 20 times more likely than a White person to be involved in a fatal shooting by the Toronto Police Service (TPS). Despite making up only 8.8% of Toronto’s population, data obtained by the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) from the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) shows that Black people were over-represented in use of force cases (28.8%), shootings (36%), deadly encounters (61.5%) and fatal shootings (70%). Black men make up 4.1% of Toronto’s population, yet were complainants in a quarter of SIU cases alleging sexual assault by TPS officers.

RESOURCES Scot Wortley’s Report: Race & Police Use of Force: An Examination of Special Investigations Unit Cases Involving the Toronto Police Service, Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies, University of Toronto. Submitted to the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC): November 2018.

Scot Wortley and Owusu-Bempah. Akwasi’s “Crime and Justice: The Experiences of Black Canadians,” in Barbara Perry (Ed.) Diversity, Crime and Justice in Canada. Oxford University Press. Pp. 140-167, 2016.

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Scot Wortley’s Police Use of Force in Ontario: An Examination of Data from the Special Investigations Unit – Final Report. Toronto: Attorney General of Ontario (Ipperwash Inquiry), Government of Ontario. 2006.

Ontario Human Rights Commission’s A COLLECTIVE IMPACT, 2018.

“Interim report on the inquiry into racial profiling and racial discrimination of Black persons by the Toronto Police Service.” Ontario Human Rights Commission, Government of Ontario, 2018. <www.ohrc.on.ca>.

POLICE PROFILING & CARDING Reports reveal a lack of legal basis for police stopping or detaining Black civilians in the first place; inappropriate or unjustified searches during encounters; and unnecessary charges or arrests. The information analyzed by the OHRC also raises broader concerns about officer misconduct, transparency and accountability. Courts and arms-length oversight bodies have found that Toronto Police Service officers have sometimes provided biased and untrustworthy testimony, have inappropriately tried to stop the recording of incidents and/or have failed to cooperate with the Special Investigations Unit (SIU).

TULLOCH REPORT The Honourable Michael H. Tulloch is a judge of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Tulloch conducted an independent review of Regulation 58/16 (Ontario Reg. 58/16) and its implementation. Regulation 58/16, introduced in 2016, outlines Ontario’s new rules on the collection of identifying information by police in certain circumstances, a practice that is commonly known as street checks (and sometimes referred to as carding). The Honourable Michael H. Tulloch considers emergency situations and threats to public safety and still finds that the tools police already have, without random street checks, allow them to effectively address its mission. He recommends discontinuing the use of random street checks altogether.

RESOURCE Michael H. Tulloch, “Independent Street Checks Review.” Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2018.

<www.ontario.ca/page/ministry-community-safety-and-correctional-services>.

Ontario Human Rights Commission’s A COLLECTIVE IMPACT. 2018.

“Report on the inquiry into racial profiling and racial discrimination of Black persons by the Toronto Police Service,” Ontario Human Rights Commission, Government of Ontario, 2018. <www.ohrc.on.ca>.

Ontario Human Rights Commission “Human rights and policing: Creating and sustaining organizational change,” 2011.

<www.ohrc.on.ca/en/human-rights-and-policing-creating-and-sustaining-organizational-change>.

Ontario Human Rights Commission Count Me In! Collecting human rights-based data (2009)

< http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/count-me-collecting-human-rights-based-data>.

Ontario Human Rights Commission Policy [on Racism] and guidelines on racism and racial discrimination, 2005.

<www.ohrc.on.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/Policy_and_guidelines_on_racism_and_racial_discrimination.pdf>.

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Ontario Human Rights Commission Paying the price: The human cost of racial profiling, Inquiry Report, 2003.

<www.ohrc.on.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/Paying_the_price%3A_The_human_cost_of_racial_profiling.pdf>.

LEGAL DEFINITIONS ATTEMPT TO OBTAIN IDENTIFYING INFORMATION: A face-to-face encounter in which a person is asked to identify themselves or to provide information for the purpose of identifying themselves, whether or not the information is actually collected. An attempt to collect identifying information, therefore, includes an actual collection of identifying information.

CARDING: Situations in which a police officer randomly asks an individual to provide identifying information when there is no objectively suspicious activity, the individual is not suspected of any offence and there is no reason to believe that the individual has any information on any offence. That information is then recorded and stored in a police intelligence database.

RACIAL PROFILING In May 2019, Gervan Fearon (Brock University President) and Carlyle Farrell (Ryerson Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School of Management) submitted a review of the Toronto Police, including community perceptions and adherence to regulations related to the practice of carding.

Regulation 58/16 (O. Reg. 58/16) refers to Ontarioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2016 updated rules for the police collection of identifying information also called street checks and carding. Police officers would record the information provided by those stopped on contact cards which would subsequently be entered into a database for possible use in future criminal investigations.

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Roughly 50% of those interviewed did not know the details of new legislation—Regulation 28/16. The right of refusal is not universal. Nonetheless, the new procedures ensure this right; police officers now have an obligation to inform those stopped of their right to refuse.

Citizens have the right to disengage from any officer who stops and solicits personal information; Toronto police officers must inform individuals why their information is being collected; and anyone stopped must be offered a receipt, which documents the details of the episode. Despite these changes, the report highlights a community skepticism that the implementation of new legislation can effectively eliminate police bias

11% of respondents indicated they were carded by Toronto police (170 from a total of 1 503 individuals); the reporters seem surprised that 42% of these participants are black, “the highest of any of the other ethnic groups under study” (54). Differences in perception of the police fluctuate among the city’s demographic groups. Blacks and other minority groups clearly do not view the city’s law enforcement in the same light as white citizens. Of course, being Black or South Asian significantly increases one’s chance of being stopped by police; in addition, men and lower income brackets increase one’s odds. Personal income is of note—for every twenty-thousand dollar decrease in income, the odds of being carded increase by 7%.

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Study results suggest 52% of the city’s residents think the Toronto police should have the legal right to card individuals. When couched in terms of community safety support for carding increases by 12%. As a result, the report infers a focus on how this intervention is framed. Police practices of carding led Toronto residents to imply “a perceived arbitrariness and abuse of power” (65), yet, the practice of carding for community safety trumps individual freedom.

Half of black respondents believe that Toronto police officers hold racial biases or prejudices; the report contrasts this finding with the overall population estimate, pointing out that Blacks were 30% more likely to believe racial biases are held by Toronto police. The report also notes that Black residents report the second highest incidence of interactions with Toronto police. From another point of view, survey participants were asked about their perceptions of Toronto Police’s tendency to demonstrate favoritism based on ethnic variables. There are widely held beliefs that Toronto Police show favouritism; whether Black, Latin American, Asian or white –more than half support the notion of police favoritism. 42% of Torontonians agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that police officers may at times have to use force against members of the respondents’ community.

TASK PERCEPTIONS OF POLICE I ask that you contrast this report “Perception of the Toronto Police and Impact of Rule Changes Under Regulation 28/16: A Community Survey” with the graphic reports in CARDED

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& COPOGANDA. How do the other reports (Wortley’s & Tulloch’s) measure the impact of police violence and the practice of carding? What is the role of the Ontario Human Rights Commission? What is the role of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association?

As Jon Olbey unpacks glorified media portrayals of cops – and deeply ironic casting choices, his legal expert, Bryant Greenbaum, raises the case of 19-year-old DaFonte Miller and the PUBLIC EXPECTATION of HOW LAW is applied.

The Dafonte Miller matter affected everyone in the Black community because it was so egregious. Yet, it was hidden and was allowed stay hidden; all of this makes up the community’s collective experience. When someone in your family experiences some sort of trauma with the police, we are all triggered back to that event and its collective impact.

RESOURCES Gervan Fearon and Carlyle Farrell’s FINAL REPORT, “Perception of the Toronto Police and Impact of Rule Changes Under Regulation 28/16: A Community Survey”, 2019. *Jon Olbey & Bryant Greenbaum’s CARDED, Racial Profiling, Street Checks and Police Oversight in the Disciplinary Society, 2017. *Jon Olbey & Bryant Greenbaum’s COPOGANDA: Pop culture’s bizarro world of policing.

NOW magazine, Toronto. 2020. <nowtoronto.com/culture/jon-olbey-copaganda-comic>.

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*HOTRESOURCE

TASK Read CARDED & COPOGANDA in comparison with data presented in the three shared reports (TULLOCH REPORT, WORTLEY REPORT and FEARON & FARRELL REPORT).

QUESTIONS Of the three reports shared and reviewed (TULLOCH REPORT, WORTLEY REPORT and FEARON & FARRELL REPORT), how do account for similarities and differences?

What are the differences between race, racism and racialized people?

Define and explain systemic racism? Anti-black racism?

Do random street checks actually work?

Do you think police interventions involving carding promote community safety?

Is carding a violation of civil liberties and personal freedoms? How? How is carding similar to or a form of surveillance?

Should random street checks or carding ever be allowed?

Do you believe that random street checks by police are biased?

What are your options if a police officer stops you for a random check? Do you know your rights? What would you do?

What about police oversight? Who should be held accountable?

After all the protests, how does change actually happen?

RACIAL JUSTICE: RACE to the COURTS! v A.K., 2014 ONCJ 374: The Ontario Court of Justice found that a Black youth, who was arbitrarily detained, carded, dropped face first to the ground and searched, had his Charter rights breached, specifically sections 8, 9 and 10 of the Charter.

R v Smith, 2015 ONSC 3548: The Ontario Superior Court found that Mr. Smith was stopped

by Toronto Police officers because he was a young Black male driving a Mercedes in an area known for gangs, drugs and guns.

R v Ohenhen, 2016 ONSC: The Superior Court of Ontario found no legal basis for Toronto Police officersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; detention, arrest, and search of a Black man.

R v Thompson, [2016] OJ No. 2118: The Ontario Court of Justice found the stop of a Black man was racially motivated, and a result of racial profiling. The evidence from the illegal stop was excluded, and the charges dismissed.

Elmardy v Toronto Police Services Board, 2017 ONSC 2074: In a civil proceeding, the Superior Court of Ontario found that a Toronto Police officer committed battery against Mr. Elmardy, and violated his ss. 8, 9 and 10 constitutional rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He was awarded $25,000 in punitive damages for the police conduct. Elmardy appealed the decision and argued that the trial judge should have made a finding that he was racially profiled, and the damages were not enough to deter and

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punish police officers who engage in racial profiling. The Divisional Court agreed and awarded Elmardy damages of $80,000. To date, this is the largest damage award in history for a victim of racial profiling.

REX vs LE: A WIN for CANDADIAN RACIALIZED MINORITIES This case highlights how small differences in the ways that judges appreciate the facts of a case cause radically different consequences for the parties involved. What is missed from this discussion is any lesson about how police or citizens might want to understand the content of their s. 9 rights. When the analysis is so precise and dependant on the facts, the jurisprudence can lead to confusing results that make it difficult for police to determine how to govern their interactions with individuals.

At the third trial, at the Supreme Court of Canada, this was the first ruling to highlight the ways that race and socioeconomic status impacted encounters between racialized people and the police. This example of attention to a “social context” requires a reassessment of police procedures and actions. The final decision considered the situation from Mr. Le point of view. When three officers entered a small, private backyard, without warrant, consent, or warning, late at night, to ask questions of five racialized young men in a Toronto housing cooperative, these young men would have felt compelled to remain, answer and comply.

SUPREME COURT OF CANADA [Docket 37971: R. v. Le] Tom Le v. Her Majesty the Queen

<https://www.scc-csc.ca/case-dossier/cb/2019/37971-eng.aspx>.

CASE IN SUM from Supreme Court Docket 37971: Evidence found on a young racialized man who was detained by police without reasonable suspicion cannot be used against him the Supreme Court has ruled.

One evening in 2012, Mr. Le and four friends were hanging out in a backyard talking.

Three police officers saw them. The officers had not been called for any specific reason.

They didn’t have a warrant. They were told this was a problem address for drug dealing.

They did not see the men doing anything wrong. Even so, the officers came into the yard without asking permission. They questioned the men, told one of them to keep his hands visible, and asked for ID. Mr. Le said he didn’t have ID with him. The officer asked what was in the bag he was carrying. At that point, Mr. Le ran away. He was arrested and found to have a gun, drugs and cash. He was charged with ten crimes related to these items.

At his trial, Mr. Le said the items found on him could not be used as evidence against him.

He said police breached his rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Section 9 says that “everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.”

This means that police can’t detain people, or put them in jail, without a legal reason.

Section 24(2) says that evidence taken by breaching someone’s rights cannot be used if it “would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.” That means the evidence cannot be admitting because it could make people lose faith in the justice system and the laws meant to protect them. Everyone agreed the police had no legal authority to make Mr. Le

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and his friends answer questions, follow directions or show ID. Everyone agreed that Mr. Le was detained at some point.

The question was exactly when, and whether there was a legal reason for it.

The first trial judge said Mr. Le wasn’t detained until he was asked about his bag. He said the detention was legal because the officers had reasonable suspicion of a crime by that point (they thought Mr. Le might have a gun). He found Mr. Le guilty. On his initial appeal, a majority of the Court of Appeal agreed.

However, the Supreme Court ruled that the detention was illegal.

It said the police actions were so shocking that the items they found by detaining Mr. Le couldn’t be used against him in court. The majority of judges ruled that someone is “detained” when an ordinary person in the same situation would think they weren’t free to leave and had to comply with police demands. Mr. Le was a member of a racialized community in a low-income area. Members of racial minorities and people living in lowincome areas often have more negative police contacts. This social context justifies the ruling: Mr. Le was detained as soon as the officers entered the backyard. The officers came in without warning and without any reasonable suspicion of a crime. Since there was no reasonable suspicion, what they did was illegal.

This is exactly the kind of thing the Charter is meant to protect people from. Police have to follow the Charter in all neighbourhoods and for all people, no matter their racial background or income. This helps people trust the law and the police and makes our communities safer. The Supreme Court ruling said the evidence that police found on Mr. Le could not be used against him. It entered not-guilty verdicts for the charges. This result wasn’t because the Charter doesn’t care about violence, drugs or community safety. It was because the illegal police actions were so serious.

BREAKDOWN OF THE DECISION 3/2 Majority: Justices Russell Brown & Sheilah Martin allowed the appeal (Justice Karakatsanis agreed). Dissenting: Justice Michael Moldaver said the trial judge’s findings about how the police acted should stand, and since their actions weren’t serious and there was a strong public interest in prosecuting the charges, he would have dismissed the appeal (Chief Justice Wagner agreed). DECISION from MAY 31ST 2019. <https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scccsc/en/item/17804/index.do>

IN SUM: THE FINAL RULING 1. focused on how the lived experiences as racialized men would inform their lived experience of police interactions; 2. provides a new generation of critical race lawyers with analytical weapon to combat biased policing;

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3. held that a detention, and most other police interactions are experienced differently by racialized people; 4. police encounter triggered only one reasonable response from the accused and his companions: COMPLIANCE; 5. set the reasonable person test, which accounts for the beginning on a detention, as it exists in detained person eyes; 6. set the objectively reasonable test, which accounts for the lived experience of conducting oneself in a structurally racists society, which results in social exclusion, loss of trust, perpetuated criminalization and that any investigative detention is arbitrary.

HOWEVER, the RULING WARNS 7. that the deployment of this new case law must be strategically aligned with suspected racial profiling and if psychological detention is at its nexus, based on racialization. Be warned the deployment of this case, if applied otherwise, can generate ‘a boy who cried wolf’ type resistance to race.

QUESTIONS What makes street checks or carding a racialized intervention?

To what extent, will body cameras worn by police officers mitigate these challenges?

Are you aligned with the Supreme Court ruling?

How is the ruling an analytic weapon for a new generation of critical race lawyers?

Why did they overturn the rulings of two other courts? What would your answer be? Why? Does the case of Tom Le shed light on your understanding of BlackLivesMatter?

Why does the Supreme Court ruling offer a WARNING? When it is appropriate to recognize social exclusion as a context for judgments?

RESOURCES CASE IN BRIEF R. v. Le (2019). <https://www.scc-csc.ca/case-dossier/cb/2019/37971-eng.aspx> Judgment of May 31, 2019; on appeal from the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Docket 37971: Tom Le v. Her Majesty the Queen. R. v. Le, 2014 ONSC 2033 (CanLII), <http://canlii.ca/t/g6d75>. <https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2014/2014onsc2033/2014onsc2033.html>.

DECISION & CASE INFORMATION < https://www.scc-csc.ca/case-dossier/info/dock-regi-eng.aspx?cas=37971>.

LOWER COURT RULINGS: TRIAL (Ontario Superior Court of Justice) <https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2014/2014onsc2033/2014onsc2033.html>.

APPEAL (Court of Appeal for Ontario)

<https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2018/2018onca56/2018onca56.html>.

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RESOURCES MEDIA COVERAGE Steph Brown, “Setting the Scene: R v Le and the Importance of Context in s. 9 Analysis.” <theCourt.ca>. Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, 2019. <https://www.thecourt.ca/setting-the-scene-r-v-le-and-the-importance-of-context-in-s-9-analysis/>.

CANADIAN CIVIL LIBERTIES ASSOCIATION & RIGHTS WATCH Ali Imrie, “SCC Excludes Evidence Obtained Through Unlawful Police Detention in R v Le.” Rights Watch, CCLA, 2019.

<http://rightswatch.ca/2019/05/31/scc-excludes-evidence-police-detention/>.

BIPOC = BLACK, INDIGENOUS & PEOPLE OF COLOR Help build a bank of RESOURCES that support the collective goal to dismantle systemic racism (in the arts and beyond). This list is forever growing!

I identify the RESOURCES listed as incomplete; there are so many other rich RESOURCES not captured here. Our collection of RESOURCES is a living, non-exhaustive list intended to

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help us develop a deeper understanding of anti-Black racism, racism toward Indigenous folks and people of colour; as well as provide tools to engage in anti-racism work across our campus and community.

RESOURCES COMMUNITY LINKS Graham Slaughter and Mahima Singh’s Five Charts that Show What Systemic Racism Looks like in Canada, CTV News, 2020.

Canadian Race Relations Foundation’s Addressing Anti-Black Racism in our Schools—a webinar.

Charisse Williams, A Love Letter to my Black Community on Campus, University of Washington, Counseling Centre, 2020.

Corinne Shutack’s 100 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice, Medium, Equality Includes You, 2017.

Amanda Parris’s 31 Black Canadian female playwrights you need to know, CBC, Arts, 2020.

Aly Seidel’s A Diverse #SummerReading List For Kids, NPR & nprED, 2014. Like us, Seidel recognizes how her list is limited. She writes, “A search of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks and #DiversifyYourShelves hashtag brought up some wonderful ideas.”

To ALLIES&ACCOMPLICES reviewing these RESOURCES How do these RESOURCES speak to your role on campus and in your community?

Consider ways RESOURCES can inform your active commitment to embedding anti-racism into all spaces you occupy. Reviewing RESOURCES and attending training are a great first step in working toward anti-racism and equity and are tools to inform your present, ongoing and life commitments.

TASK READ AND RESPOND TO Charisse Williams, A Love Letter to my Black Community on Campus, University of Washington, Counseling Centre, 2020.

RESOURCE SUGGESTED READING Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Amanda Lewis and David G. Embrick’s ''I Did Not Get that Job Because of a Black Man...": The Story Lines and Testimonies of Color-Blind Racism, Sociological Forum, vol.19, no. 4, December 2004, pp/ 555-581. <https://link-springer-com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/article/10.1007/s11206-004-0696-3>.

GOVERNMENT ANTI-RACISM STRATEGY Ontario 3 Year Anti-Racism Strategic Plan <https://files.ontario.ca/ar-2001_ard_report_tagged_final-s.pdf>.

Federal Anti-Racism Plan <https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/pch/documents/campaigns/anti-racismengagement/ARS-Report-EN-2019-2022.pdf>.

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I DON’T SEE COLOUR The subject of race can be very touchy. As finance executive Mellody Hobson says, it's a "conversational third rail." But, she says, that's exactly why we need to start talking about it.

In this engaging, persuasive talk, Hobson makes the case that speaking openly about race - and particularly about diversity in hiring -- makes for better businesses and a better society.

RESOURCE “TEDTalks: Mellody Hobson—Color Blind or Color Brave?” (14:11).

Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2010.

<iframe height='698' frameborder='0' style='border:1px solid #ddd;' width='885' src='https://subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login?url=https://fod-infobasecom.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?token=66142&wID=104666&plt=FOD&loid=0&w=865&h=6 48&fWidth=885&fHeight=698' allowfullscreen allow="encrypted-media">&nbsp;</iframe>

QUESTIONS What are DEEP LISTENING practices?

How can you sharpen and enhance your LISTENING skills?

HOW CAN YOU ENABLE someone else to RISE and SPEAK? Do you see colour?

ALLY or ACCOMPLICE- explain the difference. Which are you?

HOW can you be an ALLY for others? HOW can you work as an ACCOMPLICE against oppressive forces?

Identify the types of changes needed for you to be a BIPOC ALLY or ACCOMPLICE? What do you need to do so as to realign your values and actions with calls for justice?

Identify hurdles or obstacles to enacting these changes.

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

How do RESOURCES speak to your role on campus and in your community?

Do you know or can you recognize an active voice for racial equality in your life?

What/who facilitates awareness and activism for BIPOC justice on campus?

Consider how people organize and contribute to social movements.

What tools and techniques do they use to advocate for a cause?

Do you think street protests have been or will be effective? What makes protest effective?

What ideas do you have for making social movements for change successful?

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THE INVISIBLE WEIGHT OF WHITENESS This current social movement for a more just society—including Black Lives Matter & BIPOC people in our communities—asks white people (including me) to DECENTRE our point of view. WE ALL NEED TO PRACTICE our LISTENING skills.

What are DEEP LISTENING practices? How can you sharpen and enhance your REFLECTIVE LISTENING skills? LISTENING to understand; not to quizzically figure out what you have to say. To DECENTRE our white experiences, we must first learn to LISTEN. Learn how to SAVE or PARK your opinions about white supremacy. You may not need to utter any words about racial justice and related issues like capital, colonialism, heteropatriarchy, law enforcement.

HOW CAN YOU ENABLE someone else to RISE and SPEAK? You may feel offended for not "having a say." You may feel awkward. You may still want help processing negative reactions. Engage your personal communities in conversations about these challenging issues—in private spaces. In private spaces, find people to trust. In private spaces, ask your trusted people how they are feeling? In private space, share your feelings. LEARN to LEAN into these spaces as sacred. Don’t demand your BIPOC community to listen to you; don’t demand your BIPOC community account for larger social moments. Don’t confuse private discussions with public discourse.

White supremacy & hate HAVE NO ALLIES. Our communities and institutions must work against white supremacy & hate.

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HOW can you be an ALLY for others? HOW can you work as an ACCOMPLICE against oppressive forces? Set your mind to these tasks. What do you need to do so as to realign your values and actions with calls for justice? REALIGN yourselves with the calls for BIPOC justice.

Anyone who feels disconnected from this tide spring of change is invited to learn. Everyone possesses the capacity to grow into a compassionate person, able to care for others and the world. Black Lives Matter & BIPOC people invite you. You have access to the many opportunities for learning and growth.

REQUIRED READINGS Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” (1990) &/or “White Privilege & Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women's Studies” (1988).

Jenalee Kluttz, Jude Walker, and Pierre Walter’s “Unsettling Allyship, Unlearning and Learning towards Decolonizing Solidarity,” Studies in the Education of Adults, 52:1, 4966, 2020.

QUESTIONS What’s in your invisible knapsack?

Is this an apt metaphor? What is the underlying tenor of its comparison?

Describe key similarities between McIntosh and Kluttz, Walker & Walter.

APPLY the concept of HEGEMONY to McIntosh and Kluttz, Walker & Walter.

Do you see White Privilege in any of your behaviours or observations of others?

How do these readings make you feel?

Are you able to share any awkwardness?

Where do your responses come from?

Are you open to other points of view? How do you know?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

Have you noticed HEGEMONIC forces stepping into the BLM arena?

Do you see statements from large companies & organizations that claim to support widescale measures for change?

Do you think our current cultural hegemony is near the collapse? Why or Why not?

Do you recognize how HEGEMONY works? How PROPAGANDA works?

Have you noticed any world events suggesting A perilously steep, sharp drop?

CAREFUL. Are you standing too close to the edge?

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IN A RACIST SOCIETY, IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO NOT BE NON-RACIST, WE MUST BE ANTI-RACIST. Angela Davis FROM NON-RACIST TO ANTI-RACIST

BIPOC lives DESTROYED by the hands & minds of white supremacists and law enforcement.

You have BENEFITED from BIPOC suffering.

NOW IS WHEN things change. SPECTACULAR! WELCOME to the REVOLUTION. Black Lives Matter is NOW mainstream. This is a revolution looking for alternatives to the capitalist status quo. (OR alternatives to BRAIN SURGERY).

FACE your PRIVILEGE. You are BRAVE. BEGIN deconstructing current systems that oppress BIPOC people.

Our conversations about racial oppression and white privilege are a beginning. A first step.

MAINTAIN course. You are on the path with others who seek a better world.

AVOID LIP SERVICE. To continue this journey, we must apply a concerted effort to KEEP our conversations HONEST. Does your value for white supremacy TRUMP your value for equality or justice? HONEST? The next step is to close the gap between words & actions.

THE OLD WORLD IS DYING AWAY & THE NEW WORLD STRUGGLES TO COME FORTH. NOW IS THE TIME OF MONSTERS. Antonio Gramsci Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci introduces the concept of HEGEMONY to stand for the ideological or moral leadership of society. Simply, HEGEMONY refers to a dominant groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social, cultural, ideological and/or economic influence and power. HEGEMONY describes how the ruling class (its authority) maintains and exerts its dominance and influence over society.

HEGEMONIC dominance plays out in two distinct ways: (1) COERCION & (2) CONSENT. COERCION: By using the military, police, prisons and court systems of the capitalist state to force others to accept its role;

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CONSENT: Through media messages and other communication systems (propaganda), dominant ideas and values are disseminated and persuade subordinate classes that its rule is legitimate.

The current hegemonic system in the west refers to the entrenchment of capitalism by repeated acts of state force and mind-numbing ideology transmitted through social and political propaganda. Capitalist ideology is reinforced and propagated by the bourgeoisie as “common sense” to ensure it remains the status quo —a hegemony over culture.

As long as the capitalist rulers hold dominion over major cultural concepts (like, what is normal? civil? natural?) OUTSIDER ideas (like socialism or sharing) can never break through into legitimate public discourse because OUTSIDER VALUES are seen as the antithesis to the dominant DESIRABLE values.

Have you noticed HEGEMONIC forces stepping into the BLM arena?

Do you see statements from large companies & organizations that claim to support widescale measures for change? HEGEMONIC powers use all channels of communication, like social media platforms, to affirm an ideological stance.

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BE ANTI-RACIST FOCUS ON INACTION If you asked Microsoft, for example, if they are a company that believes Black Lives Matter, they certainly will agree: YES. In fact, Microsoft uses its corporate Twitter account to post powerful statements, like how systemic racism impacts its Black employees. However, only 4.4% of their massive workforce is black. ACTIONS speak louder than words. What testimony speaks louder? Microsoft’s propaganda or the number of BIPOC employees?

This isn’t just Microsoft. This is HEGEMONY. Countless companies engage in the same corporate tactics. This is how social and political PROPAGANDA works.

QUESTIONS Do you think our current cultural hegemony is near the collapse? Why or Why not?

Do you recognize how HEGEMONY works? How PROPAGANDA works?

Have you noticed any world events suggesting A PERILOUSLY steep, sharp DROP? CAREFUL. Are you standing too close to the edge?

Every person must begin this challenge by looking inward. First, address and update your own implicit biases. Only then can we unite to change the systems around us. To create a world that works for all, we must realize that it is not enough to be non-racist. We have to be actively and vehemently anti-racist.

NON-RACISM OR ANTI-RACISM To be non-racist is to be passive (COMPLICIT) in issues of social justice; it is to believe in the humanity of your BIPOC neighbours but take no steps towards change. Passive non-racism (otherwise known as, "I'm not racist!") has no place in a progressive society. As things stand, non-racism means you are COMPLICIT. To be ANTI-RACIST requires ACTION. ANTI-RACISM requires folxs to be proactive and demonstrate ANTI-RACIST initiatives. To be ANTI-RACIST means you are ready and willing to do the work to destroy the structures that marginalize BIPOC people, even if it means going out of your way to having tough conversations that dismantle oppressive systems.

You are going to feel very uncomfortable along the way.

To be ANTI-RACIST means that you understand that a threat to the freedom of one of us is a threat to all of us. Injustice for one of us is an injustice for all of us. It's the responsibility of every citizen to fight back against unjust systems. THIS IS NOT NEGOTIABLE.

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THIS IS AMERICA

TASK WATCH Childish Gambino’s “This Is America.”

SEE: appendix II for timecode and lyrics TASK SCENARIO You recently graduated high school and you are known by your high school’s vice principal (VP Harumi) to actively fight for anti-racism You are courageously outspoken when it comes to anti-racism and promoting BLACK LIVES MATTER. VP Harumi seeks you out to ask for advice.

Here’s what’s happening: The cheerleading squad at your old high schools propose to learn the choreography from Childish Gambino’s This Is America and VP Harumi has some hesitations. Of note, there are no people of colour currently on the cheerleading squad. VP Harumi needs your counsel.

WRITE a letter to Vice-Principal Harumi with your advice. Point to specific shots in the video to help make your argument. The video’s time codes are included, please cite time and provide detailed descriptions of what you see on screen.

QUESTIONS What are the various factors associated with or contributing to this problem?

Given the information presented: What is your advice?

How do you describe the state of race in Canada?

What RESOURCES do you provide?

What is your rationale for your selected RESOURCES?

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How might the discussion included in <WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA> support, affirm and resource your advice and letter?

Can you identify other music videos, music, performance or other forms of art related to THIS IS AMERICA? Explain the relationships.

Is there another music video you can suggest for the cheerleading squad?

What should VP Harumi say to this group?

SUGGESTED RESOURCE I Am Not Your Negro.

Dir. Raoul Peck. [01:33:00].

Documentary, Kino Lorber, 2016.

Trailer: https://www.imdb.com/video/vi1122743833?

In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, "Remember This House." The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin's death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of this manuscript. Filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5804038/

SUGGESTED READINGS Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist.

Michelle Alexander’s the New Jim Crow.

Ijeoma Oluo’s So You Want to Talk About Race.

Carol Anderson & Tonya Bolden’s We Are Not Yet Equal.

Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility.

Saphire’s PUSH. KEYWORDS: BLACKLIVESMATTER, BIPOC, INDIGENOUS, RACE, RACIALIZED, SYSTEMIC RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION; RACIAL VIOLENCE; CANADIAN CHARTER OF HUMAN RIGHTS; STREET CHECKS; CARDING; RACIAL PROFILING; DECENTER, HEGEMONY, HEGEMONIC, POWER, DOMINANT, DOMINANCE, DOMINION, INJUSTICE, OPPRESSION, PROPAGANDA, COERCION, CONSENT, COMPLICT, VIOLENCE, HATE, IDEOLOGY, WHITE SUPREMACY, WHITE PRIVILEGE, LISTEN, LISTENING SKILLS, CONVERSATIONS, EQUALITY, EQUITY, CHANGE, FREEDOM, JUSTICE, ACCOUNTABILITY, ACTIVISM, PROTEST, POLICY, DISCOURSE, PUBLIC, PRIVATE SPACES, POLICE, LAW ENFORCEMENT, LAW, BODY CAMERAS, SURVEILLANCE, BRUTALITY, WORK.

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WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA You have considered many aspects of Systemic Racism, Anti-Racist Action and the Canadian context. The tasks for this topic, many of which are embedded in the previous page to guide your thinking as you engage with the content, are collected here for you. As this is a course of self-discovery, the outcomes for this topic are accomplished as you complete the tasks.

UNIT LEARNING OUTCOMES BY the end of this unit learners o apply autonomous learning by reading and managing time to both play and assess digital tools & by writing about their understandings of systemic racism and anti-racist actions. o improve written communication skills by reading and writing with advanced fluency. o enhance information/visual/media/digital literacy by negotiating with three related resources of varying (digital) complexity. o recognize the value of respect and discover additional ways to enhance Intercultural competence by considering systemic racism and white privilege from multiple points of view. o acquire a metalanguage by reflecting and writing. o evaluate intellectual independence, personal responsibility and time management by engaging with course materials and completing tasks.

IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO NOT BE NON-RACIST, WE MUST BE ANTI-RACIST. JOIN SOMETHING, START SOMETHING & SHARPEN EACH OTHER, SO THAT WE ALL CAN RISE.

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Each topic provides required tasks and additional supplemental tasks if you find this topic of particular interest and want to pursue it further. Rubrics that apply to the required tasks are provided in Assessments, accessed from the Table of Contents.

INCLUDE WRITTEN DESCRIPTIONS & REFLECTIONS OF COMPLETED TASKS & ANY OUTCOMES IN YOUR JOURNAL. TASKS WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA 1. READ + JOURNAL TALKING ABOUT RACE READ Ibram X. Kendi’s The American Nightmare: To be black and conscious of anti-black racism is to stare into the mirror of your own extinction. The Atlantic, 2020.

Dylan Scott’s Violent protests are not the story. Police violence is. Vox, 2020.

JOURNAL: TALKING ABOUT RACE HOW have you prioritized learning about the root causes of current protests?

HOW are you engaged in conversations about race and racism?

HOW have you engaged others in conversations about race and racism?

How do Kendi and Scott portray their perceptions?

Do you see similarities?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

Where do your values fit within this context? (YOU + talking about race=) Do government Strategic Planning Priorities (Ontario & Canada) provide related information? Give you HOPE for the future?

2. TASK + JOURNAL: SAY MY NAME Say Their Names. There are two sections that list the names of people who have been subject to brutalized law enforcement violence leading to serious injury or death. Select two or three names for your further study.

Can you find NEWS stories about this violence?

What date? What city? Circumstances?

Are there other names that you know about that I may have missed?

What will a news source tell you?

Fact-Check source by confirming the story from other news outlets.

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With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

Please include at least two sources per NAME. REPORT your research, findings and reflections in your JOURNAL.

3. TASK + JOURNAL: INTERVIEWING STRATEGIES TASK = INTERVIEW What are the promising practices for interviewing?

What interviewing strategies do you review prior to the interview?

Conduct an interview with someone who can speak about social justice actions. Find someone with a background in race-related activism. Consider what Ibram Kendi means by the moments of “toil and terror and trauma”?

4. TASK + JOURNAL: PERCEPTIONS OF POLICE Contrast the report (1) “Perception of the Toronto Police and Impact of Rule Changes Under Regulation 28/16: A Community Survey” with the graphic reports in (2) CARDED & (3) COPOGANDA, with the other reports, i.e., (4) Wortley’s & (5) Tulloch’s.

In your review of the FIVE secondary sources, please answer the following: How do the different reports measure the impact of police violence and the practice of carding?

What are your options if a police officer stops you for a random check?

Do you know your rights? What would you do?

What is the role of the Ontario Human Rights Commission?

What is the role of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association?

Do police interventions involving carding promote community safety?

Is carding a violation of civil liberties and personal freedoms? How? How is carding similar to or a form of surveillance?

5. JOURNAL: TO THE COURTS Tom Le v. Her Majesty the Queen What marks this case as a “landmark” for critical race lawyers?

This case was subject to three trials. How long did this procedure last for Mr. Le, from initial arrest to Supreme Court ruling?

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Do government Strategic Planning Priorities (Ontario & Canada) provide related information?

What makes street checks or carding a racialized intervention?

To what extent, will body cameras worn by police officers mitigate these challenges?

Are you aligned with the Supreme Court ruling?

How is the ruling an analytic weapon for a new generation of critical race lawyers?

Why did they overturn the rulings of two other courts? What would your answer be? Why? Does the case of Tom Le shed light on your understanding of BlackLivesMatter?

Why does the Supreme Court ruling offer a WARNING? When it is appropriate to recognize social exclusion as a context for judgments?

6. READ + JOURNAL RISE & SPEAK READ Charisse Williams, A Love Letter to my Black Community on Campus, University of Washington, Counseling Centre, 2020.

WATCH “Mellody Hobson—Color Blind or Color Brave?”

SUGGESTED READING Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Amanda Lewis and David G. Embrick’s ''I Did Not Get that Job Because of a Black Man...": The Story Lines and Testimonies of Color-Blind Racism, Sociological Forum, vol.19, no. 4, December 2004, pp/ 555-581.

Do you see colour?

HOW CAN YOU ENABLE someone else to RISE and SPEAK? How do RESOURCES speak to your role on campus and in your community?

What are DEEP LISTENING practices? How can you sharpen and enhance your LISTENING skills?

HOW can you be an ALLY for others?

HOW can you work as an ACCOMPLICE against oppressive forces?

ALLY or ACCOMPLICE- explain the difference.

Identify the types of changes needed for you to be a BIPOC ALLY or ACCOMPLICE? What do you need to do so as to realign your values and actions with calls for justice?

Identify hurdles or obstacles to enacting these changes.

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

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How did these conversations work for you?

Do you know or can you recognize an active voice for racial equality in your life?

What/who facilitates awareness and activism for BIPOC justice on campus?

Consider how people organize and contribute to social movements.

What tools and techniques do they use to advocate for a cause?

Do you think street protests have been or will be effective? What makes protest effective?

What ideas do you have for making social movements for change successful?

7. READ + JOURNAL MY INVISIBLE KNAPSACK REQUIRED READINGS Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” (1990) &/or “White Privilege & Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women's Studies” (1988). & Jenalee Kluttz, Jude Walker and Pierre Walter’s “Unsettling Allyship, Unlearning and Learning towards Decolonizing Solidarity,” Studies in the Education of Adults, 52:1, 49-66, 2020.

What’s in your invisible knapsack?

Is this an apt metaphor? What is the underlying tenor of its comparison?

Describe key similarities between McIntosh and Kluttz, Walker & Walter.

APPLY the concept of HEGEMONY to McIntosh and Kluttz, Walker & Walter.

Do you see White Privilege in any of your behaviours or observations of others?

How do these readings make you feel?

Are you able to share any awkwardness?

Where do your responses come from?

Are you open to other points of view? How do you know?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

Have you noticed HEGEMONIC forces stepping into the BLM arena?

Do you see statements from large companies & organizations that claim to support widescale measures for change?

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Do you think our current cultural hegemony is near the collapse? Why or Why not?

Do you recognize how HEGEMONY works? How PROPAGANDA works?

Have you noticed any world events suggesting A perilously steep, sharp drop?

CAREFUL. Are you standing too close to the edge?

ATTENTION: THE FOLLOWING IS REQUIRED THIS ITEM IS REQUIRED FOR YOUR BLOG 8. TASK + Journal THIS IS AMERICA WATCH Childish Gambino’s “This Is America.”

SEE: appendix II for timecode and lyrics SCENARIO You recently graduated high school and you are known by your high school’s vice principal (VP Harumi) to actively fight for anti-racism You are courageously outspoken when it comes to anti-racism and promoting BLACK LIVES MATTER. VP Harumi seeks you out to ask for advice.

Here’s what’s happening: The cheerleading squad at your old high schools propose to learn the choreography from Childish Gambino’s This Is America and VP Harumi has some hesitations. Of note, there are no people of colour currently on the cheerleading squad. VP Harumi needs your counsel.

WRITE a letter to Vice-Principal Harumi with your advice. Point to specific shots in the video to help make your argument. The video’s time codes are included, please cite time and provide detailed descriptions of what you see on screen.

QUESTIONS What are the various factors associated with or contributing to this problem?

Given the information presented: What is your advice?

How do you describe the state of race in Canada?

What RESOURCES do you provide?

What is your rationale for your selected RESOURCES? How might the discussion included in <WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA> support, affirm and resource your advice and letter?

Can you identify other music videos, music, performance or other forms of art related to THIS IS AMERICA? Explain the relationships.

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Is there another music video you can suggest for the cheerleading squad?

What should VP Harumi say to this group?

QUESTIONS for your review I. TALKING ABOUT RACE HOW have you prioritized learning about the root causes of current protests?

HOW are you engaged in conversations about race and racism?

HOW have you engaged others in conversations about race and racism?

What are the differences between race, racism and racialized people?

Define and explain systemic racism? Anti-black racism?

Black Lives Matter and other activists have brought attention to police brutality.

What does it mean to you? What is surprising? What is interesting? What is troubling?

Do government Strategic Planning Priorities (Ontario & Canada) provide related information? Give you HOPE for the future?

II. PERCEPTIONS OF POLICE Are you surprised to learn that police officers have used force and have killed people?

What have you learned about the history of police violence against BIPOC people?

What are your options if a police officer stops you for a random check?

Do you know your rights? What would you do?

Do random street checks actually work?

Do police interventions involving carding promote community safety?

Is carding a violation of civil liberties and personal freedoms? How? How is carding similar to or a form of surveillance?

Should random street checks or carding ever be allowed?

Are random street checks by police biased?

What about police oversight? Who should be held accountable?

Why do you think police brutality and police killings continue?

Why are police officers not held accountable?

Should police officers who kill be arrested, prosecuted, convicted?

Identify the types of changes needed for police brutality to stop.

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After all the protests, how does change actually happen?

III. RACE TO THE COURTS What marks the <Le v Her Majesty the Queen> case as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;landmarkâ&#x20AC;? for critical race lawyers?

This case was subject to three trials. How long did this procedure last for Mr. Le, from initial arrest to Supreme Court ruling?

Do government Strategic Planning Priorities (Ontario & Canada) provide related information?

What makes street checks or carding a racialized intervention?

To what extent, will body cameras worn by police officers mitigate these challenges?

Are you aligned with the Supreme Court ruling?

How is the ruling an analytic weapon for a new generation of critical race lawyers?

Why did they overturn the rulings of two other courts? What would your answer be? Why? Does the case of Tom Le shed light on your understanding of BlackLivesMatter?

Why does the Supreme Court ruling offer a WARNING? When it is appropriate to recognize social exclusion as a context for judgments?

IV. RISE & SPEAK What are DEEP LISTENING practices?

How can you sharpen and enhance your REFLECTIVE LISTENING skills?

HOW can you be an ALLY for others?

HOW can you work as an ACCOMPLICE against oppressive forces?

ALLY or ACCOMPLICE- explain the difference. Which are you?

Do you see colour?

How can you enable someone else to RISE and SPEAK? How do resources speak to your role on campus and in your community?

Identify the types of changes needed for you to be a BIPOC ALLY or ACCOMPLICE? What do you need to do so as to realign your values and actions with calls for justice?

Identify hurdles or obstacles to enacting these changes.

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

Do you know or can you recognize an active voice for racial equality in your life?

What/who facilitates awareness and activism for BIPOC justice on campus?

Consider how people organize and contribute to social movements.

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What tools and techniques do they use to advocate for a cause?

Do you think street protests have been or will be effective? What makes protest effective?

What ideas do you have for making social movements for change successful?

V. MY INVISIBLE KNAPSACK Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in your invisible knapsack?

Is this an apt metaphor? What is the underlying tenor of its comparison?

Describe key similarities between McIntosh and Kluttz, Walker & Walter.

Apply the concept of HEGEMONY to McIntosh and Kluttz, Walker & Walter.

Do you see White Privilege in any of your behaviours or observations of others?

How do these readings make you feel?

Are you able to share any awkwardness?

Where do your responses come from?

Are you open to other points of view? How do you know?

With whom can you discuss your responses to this material?

How did these conversations work for you?

Have you noticed HEGEMONIC forces stepping into the BLM arena?

Do you see statements from large companies & organizations that claim to support widescale measures for change?

Do you think our current cultural hegemony is near the collapse? Why or Why not?

Do you recognize how HEGEMONY works? How PROPAGANDA works?

Have you noticed any world events suggesting A perilously steep, sharp drop?

CAREFUL. Are you standing too close to the edge?

ADDITIONAL or OPTIONAL TASKS A. BLOG There is ONE required TASK <THIS IS AMERICA> to include in your BLOG. You are invited to choose ONE addition TASK from <WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA> for your BLOG.

B. WIKI

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You are invited to participate in our course WIKI where you can provide feedback, input, editorial comments and/or your own exemplars. Is there something else that needs to be said? The course WIKI is open for your participation. Reflect on course WIKI participation in you JOURNAL.

C. DIGITAL ARTIFACT You are asked to share at least one other DIGITAL ARTIFACT. Is there something you want to CREATE related to this content?

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APPENDIX I

THIS IS AMERICA –Childish Gambino <https://www.nolala.com/en/current/an-analysis-of-the-meaning-of-the-lyrics-and-officialmusic-video-of-childish-gambino-this-is-america/>.

LOGGED Time Codes & Lyrics The song opens with a gospel choir.

At this point, the lyrics aren’t especially defined, but the fact that traditional African American music is used makes for a clear context. ‘Gospel’ comes from the old English goð (good) spell (news, message), so it literally means ‘good news’. Its roots lie in the cotton fields of the American South during the era of slavery. Religious music carries hopeful messages and has helped people cope with the challenges of life for centuries.

0:05 – 0:08 - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah, go, go away 0:08 – 0:12 – Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah, go, go away 0:12 – 0:17 - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah, go, go away 0:17 – 0:20 - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah, go, go away 0:20 – 0:21 – We just want to party 0:21 – 0:23 Party just for you 0:23 – 0:26 We just want the money 0:26 – 0:28 Money just for you 0:28 – 0:32 I know you wanna party (yeah), Party just for free 0:32 – 0:35 Girl, you got me dancin', Dance and shake the frame 0:35 – 0:38 We just wanna party (yeah), Party just for you (yeah) 0:38 – 0:44 We just want the money (yeah), Money just for you (ooh) 0:44 – 0:48 I know you wanna party (yeah), Party just for free (yeah) 0:48 – 0:52 Girl, you got me dancin', Dance and shake the frame (SHOT) 0:52 – 0:54 This is America 0:52 – 0:57 Don't catch you slippin' now 0:57 – 0:58 Don't catch you slippin' now 0:58 – 1:01 Look what I'm whippin' now Does this refers to corrupt police / weapon ownership ?

TENDERNESS? after shooting the man, his treatment of his weapon reminds me of something?

1:01 – 1:03 This is America (woo) 1:03 – 1:04 Don't catch you slippin' now 1:04 – 1:07 Don't catch you slippin' now 1:07 – 1:09 Look what I'm whippin' now 1:09 – 1:10 This is America (skrrt, skrrt, woo) 436

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1:10 – 1:13 Don't catch you slippin' now (ayy) 1:13 – 1:14 Look at how I'm livin' now 1:14 – 1:16 Police be trippin' now (woo) 1:16 – 1:18 Yeah, this is America (woo, ayy) 1:18 – 1:20 Guns in my area (word, my area) 1:20 – 1:23 I got the strap (ayy, ayy) 1:23 – 1:24 I gotta carry 'em Does he really need to carry a gun because of police brutality & gang warfare in America.

1:24 – 1:27 Yeah, yeah, I'ma go into this (ugh) 1:27 – 1:28 Yeah, yeah, this is guerilla, woo What is guerilla warfare? Semiotic warfare?

1:28 – 1:30 Yeah, yeah, I'ma go get the bag 1:30 – 1:32 Yeah, yeah, or I'ma get the pad 1:32 – 1:34 Yeah, yeah, I'm so cold like yeah (yeah) 1:34 – 1:37 I'm so dope like yeah (woo) 1:37 – 1:39 We gon' blow like yeah (straight up, uh) 1:39 – 1:44 Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, tell somebody 1:44 – 1:47 You go tell somebody 1:47 – 1:48 Grandma told me 1 :47 – 1:54 Get your money, black man (get your money) Get your money, black man (get your money) Get your money, black man (get your, black man) Get your money, black man (get your, black man) 1:54 – 1:55 Black man 1:55 – 1:59 This is America (woo, ayy) In the video, I think there is a reference to the mass shooting in a Charleston Church in 2015. Maybe more?

1:59 – 2:01 Don't catch you slippin' now (woo, woo, don't catch you slippin', now) 2:01 – 2:03 Don't catch you slippin' now (ayy, woah) 2:03 – 2:05 Look what I'm whippin' now (Slime!)

2:05 – 2:07 This is America (yeah, yeah) 2:07 – 2:09 Don't catch you slippin' now (woah, ayy) 2:09 – 2:11 Don't catch you slippin' now (ayy, woo) 2:11 – 2:12 Look what I'm whippin' now (ayy) 2:12 – 2:14 Look how I'm geekin' out (hey) 2:14 – 2:16 I'm so fitted (I'm so fitted, woo) 2:16 – 2:18 I'm on Gucci (I'm on Gucci)

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2:18 – 2:20 I'm so pretty (yeah, yeah) Is he pretty? Why are there so many references to a superficial, consumerist society?

In background, some strange things are going on. Can you make it out? Is this a riot?

2:20 – 2:22 I'm gon' get it (ayy, I'm gon' get it) 2:22 – 2:24 Watch me move (blaow) 2:24 – 2:26 This a celly (ha) 2:26 – 2:28 That's a tool (yeah) 2:28 – 2:30 On my Kodak (woo, Black) In the US, the over incarceration of black men (one in three) is part of Black lives.

Is the video referring to BLM violence? I think the chaos is getting recorded cellphones, the activist’s new tool: cell phone camera.

Is tool slang for weapon? Celly mean cellphone?

A phone can be thought of as a weapon, as when 22-year-old Stephon Clark was shot dead in his backyard because police thought his phone was a gun.

2:30 – 2:32 Ooh, know that (yeah, know that, hold on) 2:32 – 2:34 Get it (get it, get it) 2:34 – 2:36 Ooh, work it (21) 2:36 – 2:38 Hunnid bands, hunnid bands, hunnid bands (hunnid bands) 2:38 – 2:40 Contraband, contraband, contraband (contraband) 2:40 – 2: 42 I got the plug on Oaxaca (woah) Is plug a reference to drugs?

Oaxaca is a Mexican state. I am sure about that. I visited once. But I don’t follow. . . why is this Mexican sign included?

2:42 – 2:44 They gonna find you like blocka (blaow) 3:00 – 3:03 Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, tell somebody 3:03 – 3:05 (America, I just checked my following list and) 3:05 – 3:06 You go tell somebody 3:06 – 3:07 (You mothafuckas owe me) 3:07 - 3:08 Grandma told me 3:08 - 3:16 Get your money, black man (black man) Get your money, black man (black man) Get your money, black man (black man) Get your money, black man (black man) Black man (one, two, three, get down) 3:16 – 3:20 Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, tell somebody 3:20 – 3:22 You go tell somebody 3:22 – 3:33 Grandma told me, "Get your money, " black man

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Get your money, black man (black man) Get your money, black man (black man) Get your money, black man (black man) Black man 3:41 – 3:42 You just a black man in this world 3:42 – 3:44 You just a barcode, ayy 3:44 – 3:46 You just a black man in this world 3:46 – 3:49 Drivin' expensive foreigns, ayy 3:49 – 3:50 You just a big dawg, yeah 3:50 – 3:52 I kenneled him in the backyard 3:52 – 3:54 No proper life to a dog 3:54 – 3:56 For a big dog Why is he a dog?

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JOURNAL TOPICS + REQUIRED TASKS 10-12 JOURNAL ENTRIES + 8-10 BLOG POSTS

WELCOME | AANIIN | SHALOM

REQUIRED READING Vincenzo Di Nicola, Slow Thought: A Manifesto, 2020.

WRITE ONE JOURNAL POST ALLIANCES & AGREEMENTS DESIGN an independent study plan for this course for the semester. How do you plan to manage your time? WRITE a letter to me (or anyone) about your plans and goals for learning. Imagine specific elements you think this course can do for you as a learner & you as a human. Design an independent reading/course work schedule. Keep the courses’ schedule of dates in mind. Each topic provides required tasks and additional supplemental tasks if you find this topic of particular interest and want to pursue it further.

INDIGENEITY & DECOLONIZATION REQUIRED READING 5 Questions on Data and Indigenous Place Names with Margaret Pearce, an interview by Catherine D’Ignazio, 2020.

ONE JOURNAL POST COMING HOME TO INDIGENOUS PLACE NAMES: MAPPING HOME Add a “placemark” Please follow the link to the Languages of Media GOOGLE EARTH page and map your location. Where is HOME? MAP HOME. Add a placemark in the map/project FALL2020 MAP: WHERE ARE YOU? Include name and email address. Find other people in this class within proximal distance? Reach out to other students and say hello.

Look up your HOME address on <https://native-land.ca/>. WRITE out the names of two Indigenous nations and learn how to pronounce them properly. Know which treaty agreement covers your HOME. WRITE out a land acknowledgement that feels right for you.

2020 THE YEAR THAT WASN’T REQUIRED READING Arundhati Roy, “The Pandemic is a Portal,” 2020.

SUGGESTED READING Susan Sontag, in Illness as Metaphor, 1978 and/or AIDS and its Metaphors, 1988.

UTOPIAN PANDEMICS, HEALTH SURVEILLANCE & TENDER BREATHING ONE JOURNAL POST + ONE BLOG POST USE ONE/ALL THEMES FROM SUBTOPICS: PORTALS to UTOPIA; COVID AND ITS METAPHORS; &/OR CONTACT TRACING AND DYSTOPIC SURVEILLENCE REIGMES

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ATTENTION DECODING ANALYSIS TWO BLOG POSTS: DECODING SEMIOTICS & HOW TO WATCH A FILM Apply ATTENTION & DECODING & ANALYSIS skills to (1.) one static image & (2.) two selected films.

STORIES LIVES TELL REQUIRED READING Bruner, Jerome. Life as Narrative, 2004.

Kirsten Drotner’s Leisure Is Hard Work: Digital Practices and Future Competencies, 2008.

DIGITAL STORYTELLING guidelines available ALTERNATIVE TASK: ELEMENTS OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURE In place of one digital story, you are invited to write an essay. Compare, contrast and discuss the essays by Barthes, Bruner, Fisher and Todorov.

REQUIRED READING Barthes, Roland, & Lionel Duisit. An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative, 1975.

Bruner, Jerome. A Narrative Model of Self-Construction.

Fisher, Walter R. The Narrative Paradigm: In the Beginning.

Todorov, Tzvetan, & Arnold Weinstein. Structural Analysis of Narrative, 1969.

INTERSECTIONALITY SCENARIO: FAMILY LIFE ONE JOURNAL POST + PRACTICES OF LOOKING ONE BLOG POST + ONE ADDITIONAL BLOG POST USE ONE/ALL THEMES FROM SUBTOPICS: NINE THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971; INDIGENOUS WOMEN RISE & SPEAK; &/or DIFFERENTLY ABLE-BODIES SCENERIO: FAMILY LIFE REQUIRED READING Jesse Singal’s “When Children Say They’re Trans, 2018.

Your teenaged child identifies as nonbinary and has for several years. Luckily, you live in Toronto and your public school provides a level of support above and beyond expectations. Last year, a school support team, including a therapist and social workers, helped manage the legal name change of your child. Your child has an amazing group of friends and is happy and communicative. Lately, however, your teen expresses a desire to take hormones to transition from a female body to a more androgynous or male body, saying that they don’t identify as a girl and don’t want to look like one. You don’t know how

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much of this is teenage exploration. What consequences scare the hell out of you? Your child has asked to talk about this tomorrow.

NINE THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971 These nine things describe legal rights in the United States of America. For this task, please research and fact check the legal rights of women in Canada.

INDIGENOUS WOMEN REQUIRED READING Bonita Lawrence’s Gender, Race, and the Regulation of Native Identity, 2003.

Angela Sterritt’s Racialization of Poverty: Indigenous Women & Systemic Oppression, 2007.

Review the list of 9 THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971. How does it measure against the lives of INDIGENIOUS women?

RISE & SPEAK REQUIRED READING Audre Lorde, Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference, 1984.

Rachel Elizabeth Cargle’s When Feminism Is White Supremacy in Heels, 2018.

WATCH Angela Davis White Feminist Privilege.

Identify & discuss similarities/differences among Angela Davis, Audre Lorde & Rachel Cargle.

DIFFERENTLY ABLE-BODIES REQUIRED READING Simi Linton’s What is Disability Studies? 2005.

CHALLENGE: The skill of LISTENING may be enhanced simultaneously when engaged in deep OBSERVATION. Your challenge in this task: At a distance and with the discretion of a judge, identify a public building or space. Are you able to sit, silently, watching people go by? Of course, at a distance—simply observe. Watch the bodies and how they move. Watch for intersectional identities at work in public space. After a minimum of one hour, silently observing, turn to your journal and write down everything you are able to recall. This written material can instigation a great deal of other things, if done with integrity and a mindful goal of following the procedure systematically. Do you see ABLE- PRIVILEGE in any of the observations you make of people’s behaviours?

BLOG POST: PRACTICES OF LOOKING REQUIRED READING Adrienne Rich’s Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, 1980.

Laura Mulvey’s “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” 1975.

Carlos Motta, John Arthur Peetz & Carlos Maria Romero’s, SPIT! (Sodomites, Perverts, Inverts Together!) Manifesto Reader, 2017.

CHALLENGE: Write a politically motivated sexy letter after examining the collection of manifestos. Address the letter to one of the manifestos, to yourself (past, present future) or me &/or make your own political, sexy anti-capitalist ‘zine.

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WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA PERCEPTIONS OF POLICE ONE JOURNAL POST + SCENARIO: THIS IS AMERICA ONE BLOG POST + ONE ADDITIONAL BLOG POST: TALKING ABOUT RACE: TERROR AND TRAUMA; SAY MY NAME; &/OR MY INVISIBLE KNAPSACK PERCEPTIONS OF POLICE REQUIRED READING Olbey, J., & Bryant Greenbaum. CARDED, Racial Profiling & Police Oversight in the Disciplinary Society, 2017.

Olbey, J., & Bryant Greenbaum. COPOGANDA: Pop Culture’s Bizarro Policing World, 2020. [comix] + review (three) related reports: Wortley; Tulloch & Perception of Toronto Police Under Regulation 28/16.

TALKING ABOUT RACE: TERROR AND TRAUMA REQUIRED READING Ibram X. Kendi’s The American Nightmare: To be black and conscious of anti-black racism is to stare into the mirror of your own extinction, 2020.

Dylan Scott’s Violent protests are not the story. Police violence is, 2020.

SAY MY NAME Say Their Names. There are two sections that list the names of people who have been subject to brutalized law enforcement violence leading to serious injury or death. Select two or three names for your further study. .

MY INVISIBLE KNAPSACK REQUIRED READING Peggy McIntosh’s White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, 1990.

Peggy McIntosh’s White Privilege & Male Privilege, 1988.

Jenalee Kluttz, J.Walker & P.Walter’s Unsettling Allyship:Unlearning Decolonizing, 2020.

SCENARIO “THIS IS AMERICA” BLOG POST WATCH Childish Gambino’s This Is America, 2019. [please see additional info. w/timecode & lyrics.]. You recently graduated high school and you are known by your high school’s vice principal (VP Harumi) to actively fight for anti-racism You are courageously outspoken when it comes to anti-racism and promoting BLACK LIVES MATTER. VP Harumi seeks you out to ask for advice. Here’s what’s happening: The cheerleading squad at your old high schools 443

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propose to learn the choreography from Childish Gambino’s This Is America and VP Harumi has some hesitations. Of note, there are no people of colour currently on the cheerleading squad. VP Harumi needs your counsel.

WRITE a letter to Vice-Principal Harumi with your advice. Point to specific shots in the video to help make your argument. The video’s time codes are included, please cite time and provide detailed descriptions of what you see on screen. What are the various factors associated with or contributing to this problem? Given the information presented: What is your advice? What should VP Harumi say to this group?

8-10 BLOG POSTS including 1. COVID PORTALS to UTOPIA; COVID & ITS METAPHORS; and/or CONTACT TRACING & DYSTOPIC SURVEILLENCE REIGMES; 2. INTERSECTIONALITY & PRACTICES OF LOOKING; 3. ONE ADDITIONAL TOPIC FROM INTERSECTIONALITY; 4. WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA & THIS IS AMERICA; 5. ONE ADDITIONAL TOPIC FROM WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA; 6. ONE SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS; 7. ONE COMPARATIVE FILM ANALYSIS.

TOPICS & RELATED QUESTIONS + other detailed information available.

This is an abridged syllabus.

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SUMMARY

JOURNAL TOPICS + REQUIRED TASKS 10-12 JOURNAL ENTRIES + 8-10 BLOG POSTS

WELCOME | AANIIN | SHALOM

REQUIRED READING Vincenzo Di Nicola, Slow Thought: A Manifesto, 2020.

WRITE ONE JOURNAL POST ALLIANCES & AGREEMENTS DESIGN an independent study plan for this course for the semester. How do you plan to manage your time? WRITE a letter to me (or anyone) about your plans and goals for learning. Imagine specific elements you think this course can do for you as a learner & you as a human. Design an independent reading/course work schedule. Keep the courses’ schedule of dates in mind. Each topic provides required tasks and additional supplemental tasks if you find this topic of particular interest and want to pursue it further.

INDIGENEITY & DECOLONIZATION REQUIRED READING 5 Questions on Data and Indigenous Place Names with Margaret Pearce, an interview by Catherine D’Ignazio, 2020.

ONE JOURNAL POST COMING HOME TO INDIGENOUS PLACE NAMES: MAPPING HOME Add a “placemark” Please follow the link to the Languages of Media GOOGLE EARTH page and map your location. Where is HOME? MAP HOME. Add a placemark in the map/project FALL2020 MAP: WHERE ARE YOU? Include name and email address. Find other people in this class within proximal distance? Reach out to other students and say hello.

Look up your HOME address on <https://native-land.ca/>. WRITE out the names of two Indigenous nations and learn how to pronounce them properly. Know which treaty agreement covers your HOME. WRITE out a land acknowledgement that feels right for you.

2020 THE YEAR THAT WASN’T REQUIRED READING Arundhati Roy, “The Pandemic is a Portal,” 2020.

SUGGESTED READING Susan Sontag, in Illness as Metaphor, 1978 and/or AIDS and its Metaphors, 1988.

UTOPIAN PANDEMICS, HEALTH SURVEILLANCE & TENDER BREATHING ONE JOURNAL POST + ONE BLOG POST

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USE ONE/ALL THEMES FROM SUBTOPICS: PORTALS to UTOPIA; COVID AND ITS METAPHORS; &/OR CONTACT TRACING AND DYSTOPIC SURVEILLENCE REIGMES

ATTENTION DECODING ANALYSIS TWO BLOG POSTS: DECODING SEMIOTICS & HOW TO WATCH A FILM Apply ATTENTION & DECODING & ANALYSIS skills to (1.) one static image & (2.) two selected films.

STORIES LIVES TELL REQUIRED READING Bruner, Jerome. Life as Narrative, 2004.

Kirsten Drotner’s Leisure Is Hard Work: Digital Practices and Future Competencies, 2008.

DIGITAL STORYTELLING guidelines available ALTERNATIVE TASK: ELEMENTS OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURE In place of one digital story, you are invited to write an essay. Compare, contrast and discuss the essays by Barthes, Bruner, Fisher and Todorov.

REQUIRED READING Barthes, Roland, & Lionel Duisit. An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative, 1975.

Bruner, Jerome. A Narrative Model of Self-Construction.

Fisher, Walter R. The Narrative Paradigm: In the Beginning.

Todorov, Tzvetan, & Arnold Weinstein. Structural Analysis of Narrative, 1969.

INTERSECTIONALITY SCENARIO: FAMILY LIFE ONE JOURNAL POST + PRACTICES OF LOOKING ONE BLOG POST + ONE ADDITIONAL BLOG POST USE ONE/ALL THEMES FROM SUBTOPICS: NINE THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971; INDIGENOUS WOMEN RISE & SPEAK; &/or DIFFERENTLY ABLE-BODIES SCENERIO: FAMILY LIFE REQUIRED READING Jesse Singal’s “When Children Say They’re Trans, 2018.

Your teenaged child identifies as nonbinary and has for several years. Luckily, you live in Toronto and your public school provides a level of support above and beyond expectations. Last year, a school support team, including a therapist and social workers, helped manage the legal name change of your child. Your child has an amazing group of friends and is happy and communicative. Lately, however, your teen expresses a desire to

446

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take hormones to transition from a female body to a more androgynous or male body, saying that they don’t identify as a girl and don’t want to look like one. You don’t know how much of this is teenage exploration. What consequences scare the hell out of you? Your child has asked to talk about this tomorrow.

NINE THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971 These nine things describe legal rights in the United States of America. For this task, please research and fact check the legal rights of women in Canada.

INDIGENOUS WOMEN REQUIRED READING Bonita Lawrence’s Gender, Race, and the Regulation of Native Identity, 2003.

Angela Sterritt’s Racialization of Poverty: Indigenous Women & Systemic Oppression, 2007.

Review the list of 9 THINGS WOMEN COULD NOT DO IN 1971. How does it measure against the lives of INDIGENIOUS women?

RISE & SPEAK REQUIRED READING Audre Lorde, Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference, 1984.

Rachel Elizabeth Cargle’s When Feminism Is White Supremacy in Heels, 2018.

WATCH Angela Davis White Feminist Privilege.

Identify & discuss similarities/differences among Angela Davis, Audre Lorde & Rachel Cargle.

DIFFERENTLY ABLE-BODIES REQUIRED READING Simi Linton’s What is Disability Studies? 2005.

CHALLENGE: The skill of LISTENING may be enhanced simultaneously when engaged in deep OBSERVATION. Your challenge in this task: At a distance and with the discretion of a judge, identify a public building or space. Are you able to sit, silently, watching people go by? Of course, at a distance—simply observe. Watch the bodies and how they move. Watch for intersectional identities at work in public space. After a minimum of one hour, silently observing, turn to your journal and write down everything you are able to recall. This written material can instigation a great deal of other things, if done with integrity and a mindful goal of following the procedure systematically. Do you see ABLE- PRIVILEGE in any of the observations you make of people’s behaviours?

BLOG POST: PRACTICES OF LOOKING REQUIRED READING Adrienne Rich’s Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, 1980.

Laura Mulvey’s “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” 1975.

Carlos Motta, John Arthur Peetz & Carlos Maria Romero’s, SPIT! (Sodomites, Perverts, Inverts Together!) Manifesto Reader, 2017.

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CHALLENGE: Write a politically motivated sexy letter after examining the collection of manifestos. Address the letter to one of the manifestos, to yourself (past, present future) or me &/or make your own political, sexy anti-capitalist ‘zine.

WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA PERCEPTIONS OF POLICE ONE JOURNAL POST + SCENARIO: THIS IS AMERICA ONE BLOG POST + ONE ADDITIONAL BLOG POST: TALKING ABOUT RACE: TERROR AND TRAUMA; SAY MY NAME; &/OR MY INVISIBLE KNAPSACK PERCEPTIONS OF POLICE REQUIRED READING Olbey, J., & Bryant Greenbaum. CARDED, Racial Profiling & Police Oversight in the Disciplinary Society, 2017.

Olbey, J., & Bryant Greenbaum. COPOGANDA: Pop Culture’s Bizarro Policing World, 2020. [comix] + review (three) related reports: Wortley; Tulloch & Perception of Toronto Police Under Regulation 28/16.

TALKING ABOUT RACE: TERROR AND TRAUMA REQUIRED READING Ibram X. Kendi’s The American Nightmare: To be black and conscious of anti-black racism is to stare into the mirror of your own extinction, 2020.

Dylan Scott’s Violent protests are not the story. Police violence is, 2020.

SAY MY NAME Say Their Names. There are two sections that list the names of people who have been subject to brutalized law enforcement violence leading to serious injury or death. Select two or three names for your further study. .

MY INVISIBLE KNAPSACK REQUIRED READING Peggy McIntosh’s White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, 1990.

Peggy McIntosh’s White Privilege & Male Privilege, 1988.

Jenalee Kluttz, J.Walker & P.Walter’s Unsettling Allyship:Unlearning Decolonizing, 2020.

SCENARIO “THIS IS AMERICA” BLOG POST WATCH Childish Gambino’s This Is America, 2019. [please see additional info. w/timecode & lyrics.]. You recently graduated high school and you are known by your high school’s vice 448

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principal (VP Harumi) to actively fight for anti-racism You are courageously outspoken when it comes to anti-racism and promoting BLACK LIVES MATTER. VP Harumi seeks you out to ask for advice. Here’s what’s happening: The cheerleading squad at your old high schools propose to learn the choreography from Childish Gambino’s This Is America and VP Harumi has some hesitations. Of note, there are no people of colour currently on the cheerleading squad. VP Harumi needs your counsel.

WRITE a letter to Vice-Principal Harumi with your advice. Point to specific shots in the video to help make your argument. The video’s time codes are included, please cite time and provide detailed descriptions of what you see on screen. What are the various factors associated with or contributing to this problem? Given the information presented: What is your advice? What should VP Harumi say to this group?

REQUIRED BLOG TOPICS 8-10 BLOG POSTS including 1. COVID PORTALS to UTOPIA; COVID & ITS METAPHORS; and/or CONTACT TRACING & DYSTOPIC SURVEILLENCE REIGMES; 2. INTERSECTIONALITY & PRACTICES OF LOOKING; 3. ONE ADDITIONAL TOPIC FROM INTERSECTIONALITY; 4. WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA & THIS IS AMERICA; 5. ONE ADDITIONAL TOPIC FROM WE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN CANADA; 6. ONE SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS; 7. ONE COMPARATIVE FILM ANALYSIS.

TOPICS & RELATED QUESTIONS + other detailed information available.

This is an abridged syllabus.

DIGITAL STORY 30%

Digital Artifact: October 28th (10pm) Nothing will be graded after November 11th, 2020.

The goal is to attend to your CREATIVE PROCESS. Consider how your digital story applies metaphor/synecdoche for effect. You MUST include at least five separate shots (5 different images, edited with transitions). Your maximum time allowance is 150 seconds or 2.5 minutes.

Minimum time is 30 seconds.

All work must recognize and cite a Creative Commons (cc) licence. Work must NOT break copyright laws. Your work must adhere to the University’s code of conduct. Public domain

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images and music are freely available. All sources must be attributed properly, following MLA guidelines.

Use the camera/microphone/technology of your choice. If you need help accessing any of these tools please ask.

In creating this project, you must WRITE. Please consolidate your work into a SINGLE file (word document) & upload this file to COURSELINK in our class DROPBOX. Please submit one document, including all parts: i. Part A: Your imagination, intentions & production plans; ii. Part B: Your creative production (as link or .mp4 file); & iii. Part C: Your postproduction narrative.

Part A: YOUR IMAGINATION, INTENTIONS & PRODUCTION PLANS Conception to submission: track, capture & represent your creative process. Please consolidate your work into a single word document to be uploaded through COURSELINK in our class DROPBOX. WALK us through YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS. Consider including any/all of the following ten suggestions: 1. Brainstorming / keyword maps 2. initial writing efforts 3. any research notes 4. a paragraph describing your intentions 5. rough storyboards 6. a working script 7. a final script – narrative (what we hear) 8. a shot list – what you wanted us to see 9. your production schedule 10. any final notes about editing; Part B: YOUR CREATIVE PRODUCTION Please include a LINK to a very short PRODUCTION. Include working link in your document.

Please TEST link prior to submission.

TIME RESTRICTIONS minimum 30 seconds; maximum 150 seconds or 2.5 minutes TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS UPLOAD an .mp4 file to a public website (eg., YouTube or Vimeo). Provide a WORKING link.

TEST your link prior to submission.

PRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS 1. a narrative; 2. five separate images, 3. dialogue and/or voice-over.

LEGAL REQUIRMENTS

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All work must recognize and cite a Creative Commons license. Work must not break copyright laws. Public domain images and music are freely available. All sources must be attributed properly, following MLA guidelines.

Part C: POSTPRODUCTION NARRATIVE REFLECT on the process after your work is completed (that is, after you upload a digital file).

(400-800 words) QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION [available]

LAST WORD 10%

Must be submitted before December 16th, 2020 (10pm).

Nothing will be graded after December 16th, 2020.

Please take the time to write me a letter about your response to the class. How did I do?

What should I do differently next time I get a chance to teach this class? Should I teach this class again? Tell me what you liked and what you hated. Your honest feedback will be most appreciated.

Self-assessment is a process that invites learners to reflect on the quality of their work and judge the degree to which it reflects explicitly stated goals and criteria; you are also asked to consider your chosen path-that is, the materials you examined and those passed over; did your sense of academic autonomy help you identify and select an appropriate program of study?

This kind of self-assessment is a tool for reconsidering how you managed your own learning in changing circumstances. As an element of self-regulation, this task involves awareness of the goals of a task and checking oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s progress against the criteria. An intended outcome of selfassessment is enhanced self-regulation and increased achievement.

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This assignment gives you a chance to express your intellectual assessment of the work we undertake in the class. To complete this assignment, I ask that you write me a letter that identifies key points of learning, shifts in your knowledge and a discussion of key theoretical terms. I ask that you reflect on your effort and participation, on your learning process and style and on your understanding of the theories presented in the readings. Discuss the readings. REVIEW THE COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES and determine the extent to which you reached course goals. Demonstrate what you have learned. Outline your contribution to the course in the form of a letter to me. Be sure to include a bibliography. Due last day of class.

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LANGUAGES OF MEDIA F20 THST 1200 DE

SUMMARY FILE: IMPORTANT DATES

TEACHING TEAM includes: Mark Lipton< liptonm@uoguelph.ca> Todd Martin <tmarti11@uoguelph.ca> Charity Mensah <cmensah@uoguelph.ca> Joshua Mishaw <jmishaw@uoguelph.ca> Carey West <cwest06@uoguelph.ca> & of course Brittany Rayner <brayner@uoguelph.ca>

QUICK NOTE: OUR TEAMS RESOURCE CHAT HAS ITS OWN EMAIL which should go to all of us. Battery at 4%. I’ll check later. Thanks team. Have a great weekend. /m TEAM RESOURCES - LANGUAGES OF MEDIA <48906456.groups.uoguelph.ca@amer.teams.ms>

SCHEDULE OF DATES Course Start Date: 10 September 2020 End Date: 18 December 2020 Last Day to Add: September 18th INVITED/OPTIONAL SYNCHRONOUS INTERACTIONS One hour of SYNCHRONOUS discussion: 11:30am to 12:30pm DETAILS & TOPICS to be circulated shortly via courselink email Wednesday September 16th 11:30am to 12:30pm Wednesday September 23rd 11:30am to 12:30pm Wednesday September 30th 11:30am to 12:30pm Wednesday October 7th 11:30am to 12:30pm October Break October 9th – October 14th October 12th Happy Thanksgiving Folxs

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October 14th no meeting Wednesday October 21st 11:30am to 12:30pm Wednesday October 28th 11:30am to 12:30pm Wednesday November 4th 11:30am to 12:30pm November 11th Remembrance Day: no meeting Wednesday November 18th 11:30am to 12:30pm Wednesday November 25th 11:30am to 12:30pm Wednesday December 2nd 11:30am to 12:30pm Last day of regularly scheduled classes December 2nd Wednesday December 9th Wednesday December 16th

DEADLINES

RECOMMENDED TIMELINE AND DEADLINES JOURNAL

Initial Journal: September 30th (10pm) Final Journals: November 18th (10pm) Nothing will be graded after December 2nd, 2020.

BLOG

Initial BLOG: October 21st (10pm) Final BLOG: December 2nd (10pm) Nothing will be graded after December 8th, 2020.

DIGITAL STORY

Digital Artifact: October 28th (10pm) Nothing will be graded after November 11th, 2020.

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LAST WORD

Must be submitted before December 16th, 2020 (10pm).

Nothing will be graded after December 16th, 2020 holding space for others; bearing witness to others and testifying; and radical tenderness. . . these are the new practices of everyday life.

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