Friday, April 25, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
More work on the project
Yesterday I met with my fabulous friend L. She lives in LA, so we met for coffee on my flying trip, and she spoke about the responsible persona she presents to the world and how she wants her reality to match that. She is young, but so wise in that she has realized she needs strict deadlines in order to accomplish tasks, and she prefers to work with people. While she calls herself a procrastinator, its clear that she what she values and what she wants to be are lining up. Her studies in urban planning and her passion for social justice are so beautiful. Looking at her face through the camera lense, I see pure beauty.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Work in progress
Yesterday was a busy day of interviewing and photographing.
It started with A, who came by the house. She spoke about establishing herself as a business woman and about helping other hispanic women. She said she's been a mother, a wife, and a housewife. She's got those roles down. Now it's time to move into a new role. My converstation with G later in the day was along similar lines. She said she's entering a new stage of her life. Now that she's given herself a firm physical foundation she's free to explore the interior her. It's like the pieces of the puzzle have all come together and now she can finish painting the picture. Her marriage is at a point where they've settled into communication and support, she's got two kids and doesn't plan for more, she's finished her education and has a job she likes. So now, it's time to focus on herself. She described herself first as a woman in her thirties.
I'm finding that identities are falling into two categories- either the women are coming to a new place in their lives- entering a new stage- or there is a conflict within them between various identities and they are choosing one.
I also met with AM to photograph her. Before we began we sat around chatting with her mother. When I finished taking As pictures, I realized I should has her mother to participate as well, since our conversation had been an interview. She spoke about her struggle with being a mother-in-law because of her daughter-in-law's perceptions of her. The joy is in her new son-in-law with whom she has a beautiful relationship. This is one woman, being perceived differently by two different people, a perfect example.
It started with A, who came by the house. She spoke about establishing herself as a business woman and about helping other hispanic women. She said she's been a mother, a wife, and a housewife. She's got those roles down. Now it's time to move into a new role. My converstation with G later in the day was along similar lines. She said she's entering a new stage of her life. Now that she's given herself a firm physical foundation she's free to explore the interior her. It's like the pieces of the puzzle have all come together and now she can finish painting the picture. Her marriage is at a point where they've settled into communication and support, she's got two kids and doesn't plan for more, she's finished her education and has a job she likes. So now, it's time to focus on herself. She described herself first as a woman in her thirties.
I'm finding that identities are falling into two categories- either the women are coming to a new place in their lives- entering a new stage- or there is a conflict within them between various identities and they are choosing one.
I also met with AM to photograph her. Before we began we sat around chatting with her mother. When I finished taking As pictures, I realized I should has her mother to participate as well, since our conversation had been an interview. She spoke about her struggle with being a mother-in-law because of her daughter-in-law's perceptions of her. The joy is in her new son-in-law with whom she has a beautiful relationship. This is one woman, being perceived differently by two different people, a perfect example.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Sage Publications
needs a new copy editor. Both of the books we read published by this company were rife were errors, which made reading difficult!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Annotated Bibliography
Austin, J. L. "How to Do Things with Words." William James Lectures. Harvard University. 1955. Rpt. in How to Do Things with Words. Ed. J. O. Urmson and Marina Sbisa. 2nd. ed. N.p.: Harvard University Press, 1975.
Austin's book addresses the performative speech act. Through speaking we create what is real. In this project, the subject is given the authority to create her identity through the words that she speaks. Her utterances may be verdictive in that they are an acknowledgement or decision of who she is; commisive, in that they commit her to being this identity; expositive, in that they explain why she is this identity; exercitive, in that they influence her listeners/observers so that they see her in this way; or behabitive in that they express her attitude towards herself.
Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies Theory and Practice. 2000. 2nd ed. London: Sage Publications Ltd, 2003.
Barker's text presents a variety of theories of culture studies. This project was most influenced by Chapter 8, "Issues of Subjectivity and Identity," and Chapter 10, "Sex, Subjectivity, and Representation." Subjectivity is "how we are constituted as subjects and how we experience ourselves." Identity is a project always in progress, based on our past and present experiences and heading toward our future hopes. We also have social identities, constructed by our cultures, and taught to us by by society. (Giddens) As women, we cannot seperate ourselves from our material bodies. (Butler) We can, however, resist being "coat racks" on which cultural meanings are hung without our participation. When we become agents in our own subjectivity, we join the discourse that constructs our identities. This project acknowledges that there is no "universal identity of woman" and allows women the position of agent in their subjectivity, as well as acknowledging the social construct of identity by inviting the viewer into the discourse. The images attempt to stand in contrast to many of the stereotypical images present in the media. The women's attributes are not being contrasted with a male attribute, nor are they an attempt to say what a woman should be like. Although they are constructing subject positions, they allow for negotiation between the subject and the text, as well as the viwer and the text (subject).
Erving, Goffman. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. 1959. Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press, 1973.
Goffman's work deals with the ways that we present ourselves, as if we are perfomers on a stage. Our personas change frequently as we come into contact with different audiences. As more and more personas are added, the backstage becomes another stage. The demand for one persona or another is constant, and a woman must play the persona that is being demanded by that audience. This project gives women a space to choose the persona they would like to present, as opposed to having it chosen for them. In addition, it provides a space for them to more fully explore a persona that is being developed or has been pushed to one side.
Reese, Venus Opal. Lecture. Storytelling as Cultural Studies. University of Texas at Dallas. 31 Jan. 2008.
Our identities are created by a network of conversations. In this project, women are invited into a conversation with the photographer in order to create or explore an identity. In listening to a subject's story, the photographer finds an identity that speaks to who the woman is now, and, in futher conversation, explores that identity with the woman. A photograph is created and presented to the viewer, extending an invitation to join the conversation begun by the subject and photographer.
Saukko, Paula. Doing Research in Cultural Studies: An introduction to classical and new methedological approaches. London: Sage Publications Ltd, 2003.
Saukko reviews a variety of research approaches and methodologies. This project mirrors her own interest in poststructuralist and multi-site research methods. It is also informed by the various case studies she uses to describe methods of research, such as Rapp's study on amnioscentesis, with its variety of perspectives and the tension inherent in these. Most importantly, the subject is not marginalized but given a position of power in the project by being a fully informed and interacting participant. This is explained in the Arendtian model which acknowledges the 'uniqueness' of the subject's voices, the compelling nature of storytelling, and the communal creation of the project.
Austin's book addresses the performative speech act. Through speaking we create what is real. In this project, the subject is given the authority to create her identity through the words that she speaks. Her utterances may be verdictive in that they are an acknowledgement or decision of who she is; commisive, in that they commit her to being this identity; expositive, in that they explain why she is this identity; exercitive, in that they influence her listeners/observers so that they see her in this way; or behabitive in that they express her attitude towards herself.
Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies Theory and Practice. 2000. 2nd ed. London: Sage Publications Ltd, 2003.
Barker's text presents a variety of theories of culture studies. This project was most influenced by Chapter 8, "Issues of Subjectivity and Identity," and Chapter 10, "Sex, Subjectivity, and Representation." Subjectivity is "how we are constituted as subjects and how we experience ourselves." Identity is a project always in progress, based on our past and present experiences and heading toward our future hopes. We also have social identities, constructed by our cultures, and taught to us by by society. (Giddens) As women, we cannot seperate ourselves from our material bodies. (Butler) We can, however, resist being "coat racks" on which cultural meanings are hung without our participation. When we become agents in our own subjectivity, we join the discourse that constructs our identities. This project acknowledges that there is no "universal identity of woman" and allows women the position of agent in their subjectivity, as well as acknowledging the social construct of identity by inviting the viewer into the discourse. The images attempt to stand in contrast to many of the stereotypical images present in the media. The women's attributes are not being contrasted with a male attribute, nor are they an attempt to say what a woman should be like. Although they are constructing subject positions, they allow for negotiation between the subject and the text, as well as the viwer and the text (subject).
Erving, Goffman. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. 1959. Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press, 1973.
Goffman's work deals with the ways that we present ourselves, as if we are perfomers on a stage. Our personas change frequently as we come into contact with different audiences. As more and more personas are added, the backstage becomes another stage. The demand for one persona or another is constant, and a woman must play the persona that is being demanded by that audience. This project gives women a space to choose the persona they would like to present, as opposed to having it chosen for them. In addition, it provides a space for them to more fully explore a persona that is being developed or has been pushed to one side.
Reese, Venus Opal. Lecture. Storytelling as Cultural Studies. University of Texas at Dallas. 31 Jan. 2008.
Our identities are created by a network of conversations. In this project, women are invited into a conversation with the photographer in order to create or explore an identity. In listening to a subject's story, the photographer finds an identity that speaks to who the woman is now, and, in futher conversation, explores that identity with the woman. A photograph is created and presented to the viewer, extending an invitation to join the conversation begun by the subject and photographer.
Saukko, Paula. Doing Research in Cultural Studies: An introduction to classical and new methedological approaches. London: Sage Publications Ltd, 2003.
Saukko reviews a variety of research approaches and methodologies. This project mirrors her own interest in poststructuralist and multi-site research methods. It is also informed by the various case studies she uses to describe methods of research, such as Rapp's study on amnioscentesis, with its variety of perspectives and the tension inherent in these. Most importantly, the subject is not marginalized but given a position of power in the project by being a fully informed and interacting participant. This is explained in the Arendtian model which acknowledges the 'uniqueness' of the subject's voices, the compelling nature of storytelling, and the communal creation of the project.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Abstract
Refocusing the Lens
Images of women saturate our world- photographs of women grace magazine covers and centerfolds, images of women sell beer and books, and art works of women, naked, draped, or clothed, fill museums. These images, even if not created by men, are usually created for the male gaze. In an instant we can read which stereotype of a woman we are meant to understand- virgin, whore, mother, feminist. There is no dialogue between the viewer and the viewed.
In this project, I attempt to open a space for discourse in which women position themselves as subjects. The women become signs, signifying what they choose to signify. The male perspective that has dominated the photographic landscape, in particular the commercial, placing the female subject into an “unreal” position, is put aside. The typical cultural constructs of women, or stereotypes, which also do not reflect reality, disappear in the reality of the photograph. The subject of the photograph and the photographer enter into conversation in order to create an identity, focusing closely on those parts of the subject’s identity most in flux, in order to define this identity more fully. Values typically termed masculine as well as those categorized as feminine are acknowledged. The subject is stepping outside of the confines of her culture to define who she wants to be on this occasion.
The viewer is invited to step outside as well and join this conversation, negotiating her or his own meaning just as the subject of the photograph has negotiated her presentation to the viewer with herself and the photographer.
Images of women saturate our world- photographs of women grace magazine covers and centerfolds, images of women sell beer and books, and art works of women, naked, draped, or clothed, fill museums. These images, even if not created by men, are usually created for the male gaze. In an instant we can read which stereotype of a woman we are meant to understand- virgin, whore, mother, feminist. There is no dialogue between the viewer and the viewed.
In this project, I attempt to open a space for discourse in which women position themselves as subjects. The women become signs, signifying what they choose to signify. The male perspective that has dominated the photographic landscape, in particular the commercial, placing the female subject into an “unreal” position, is put aside. The typical cultural constructs of women, or stereotypes, which also do not reflect reality, disappear in the reality of the photograph. The subject of the photograph and the photographer enter into conversation in order to create an identity, focusing closely on those parts of the subject’s identity most in flux, in order to define this identity more fully. Values typically termed masculine as well as those categorized as feminine are acknowledged. The subject is stepping outside of the confines of her culture to define who she wants to be on this occasion.
The viewer is invited to step outside as well and join this conversation, negotiating her or his own meaning just as the subject of the photograph has negotiated her presentation to the viewer with herself and the photographer.
Swimming in a pool
Theory- once we've got it we can play around in it. Whether we ascribe to a theory or not, the freedom is there. It's like swimming in a pool. You can have your own, or a favorite, but still borrow someone else's for that experience.
Religion (or God beliefs, really) functions the same way. Once I truly get the love and grace of God, religion isn't restrictive, it's freeing. And it isn't rigid, but flexible. Thus, while I am attached to my beliefs, I am not defensive of them. People can criticize without it bothering me. Fundamentalists, both religious and theoretical, don't get this.
Religion (or God beliefs, really) functions the same way. Once I truly get the love and grace of God, religion isn't restrictive, it's freeing. And it isn't rigid, but flexible. Thus, while I am attached to my beliefs, I am not defensive of them. People can criticize without it bothering me. Fundamentalists, both religious and theoretical, don't get this.
Real post on becoming a mom
(I posted something last week, but this is what I really wrote.)
Before I had a baby, up through my pregnancy, I thought becoming a mother was automatic- something you felt the moment you gave birth. And then I pushed out my daughter and didn't feel it immediately. Oh, I was delighted with her, and happy, but I didn't feel "mother."
I still don't feel it all the time. Sometimes I want to look around for the real mother of these kids running around in my backyard. Once I saw this cute little baby that someone was holding a few rows ahead of me in church- "that looks like Ali," I thought. And then I realized it WAS Ali. I'd lent him to a friend for a few minutes and forgotten all about it.
I feel most like a mother now when Leila crawls into my bed at 5 am with a tummyache, and I have to make it go away. So, even though I want to roll over into sleep, I begin to rub her back. I choose, at that moment, to be a mother. And it's a choice I make over and over again (or not) when I choose not to yell, or not to turn away to my own desires, but to attend to hers.
Kind of religious, ain't it?
Before I had a baby, up through my pregnancy, I thought becoming a mother was automatic- something you felt the moment you gave birth. And then I pushed out my daughter and didn't feel it immediately. Oh, I was delighted with her, and happy, but I didn't feel "mother."
I still don't feel it all the time. Sometimes I want to look around for the real mother of these kids running around in my backyard. Once I saw this cute little baby that someone was holding a few rows ahead of me in church- "that looks like Ali," I thought. And then I realized it WAS Ali. I'd lent him to a friend for a few minutes and forgotten all about it.
I feel most like a mother now when Leila crawls into my bed at 5 am with a tummyache, and I have to make it go away. So, even though I want to roll over into sleep, I begin to rub her back. I choose, at that moment, to be a mother. And it's a choice I make over and over again (or not) when I choose not to yell, or not to turn away to my own desires, but to attend to hers.
Kind of religious, ain't it?
Monday, April 14, 2008
I'm in love
with all of these wonderful women that I'm listening to. H loves studying, and it shines in her eyes. S is newly on the brink of her professional career after finishing her studies- full of possibilities for the future. A is a butterfly, newly emerged from a dark cocoon. M is entering "older lady" hood, fighting aging by continuing to work and travel, but looking forward to the rest of retirement. C is a mother and a professional, walking the line between home and work.
Jingle
Listen. Do you want to hear a secret? Do you want to hear her say, what's unsaid?
Listen. To the voices she is speaking for.
Leave your agenda at the door, and
listen, to what's unspoken.
Just listen.
So she can tell the story that she didn't know was there.
Listen.
(To the tune of the Beatle's song, "Listen.")
Listen. To the voices she is speaking for.
Leave your agenda at the door, and
listen, to what's unspoken.
Just listen.
So she can tell the story that she didn't know was there.
Listen.
(To the tune of the Beatle's song, "Listen.")
Sunday, April 13, 2008
photography
Today I felt like a teenager again, going to fun places to photograph my friends. Today my friend was S, from my class. We have spent time talking over the semester and gotten to know certain aspects of each other quite well. The identity that I wanted to capture for her became evident as she told me about her search for a job, and the urgency she feels to have work after being a student and before she becomes a mother. It was such a privilege to listen to her, and then to photograph her. At the end of the session we sat in my car, out of the biting wind, talking some more and looking at the photographs. She told me that although various people have asked to take her picture, she's never felt comfortable with anyone other than her husband, and so always said no. However, she said yes to me, and she said she felt totally comfortable being photographed today. And she looked it. Yeah!
Earlier in the week H came to my house so that we could talk some more, and maybe take some pictures. As we were talking it she lit up as she began to talk about being a student. "I love studying," she said. "I could live on campus." And so, I photographed a student, full of life, in my backyard, and back in the living room. Again, H had expressed to me earlier that she didn't like many of the pictures taken of her, but when I showed her what we'd done, she was happy with them.
My whole modus operandi of photography is changing.
Earlier in the week H came to my house so that we could talk some more, and maybe take some pictures. As we were talking it she lit up as she began to talk about being a student. "I love studying," she said. "I could live on campus." And so, I photographed a student, full of life, in my backyard, and back in the living room. Again, H had expressed to me earlier that she didn't like many of the pictures taken of her, but when I showed her what we'd done, she was happy with them.
My whole modus operandi of photography is changing.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Self-Identity
Identity is an emotionally charged discursive description of ourselves-
I took on the role of mother physically when Leila was born (five years ago yesterday), but it is only part of who I am. The secretary at work, who knew me pre-, embraced this part of me and ignored the rest. It through me off. She was saying the wrong lines for the work stage, forcing me into playing a role for another stage.
It still isn't natural for me- sometimes I wonder who these children's mother is- because I step out of the mother role frequently. I thought it was automatic- the baby would be born and presto, I would feel like a mom. It hadn't happened during pregnancy, so I thought it must happen when I pushed the little tadpole out. I'm rarely around other moms as moms, and I don't really relate to other people that way. Perhaps being around other moms would create a discourse in which I would be recreated as mom.
We need friends who relate to us on a variety of levels, who see our entire spectrum to help create us as whole people. Integrity.
I took on the role of mother physically when Leila was born (five years ago yesterday), but it is only part of who I am. The secretary at work, who knew me pre-, embraced this part of me and ignored the rest. It through me off. She was saying the wrong lines for the work stage, forcing me into playing a role for another stage.
It still isn't natural for me- sometimes I wonder who these children's mother is- because I step out of the mother role frequently. I thought it was automatic- the baby would be born and presto, I would feel like a mom. It hadn't happened during pregnancy, so I thought it must happen when I pushed the little tadpole out. I'm rarely around other moms as moms, and I don't really relate to other people that way. Perhaps being around other moms would create a discourse in which I would be recreated as mom.
We need friends who relate to us on a variety of levels, who see our entire spectrum to help create us as whole people. Integrity.
April 3- Speaking For
We begin with Amy Winehouse. It seems like small talk, but Dr. R says that everything she talks about has theory in it. She plays a video of "Rehab" on her i-phone. I stand back, unable to see, (I'm not the only one), until Sharoon steps back to let me near. I step in for a minute, then step back again. I get called on it. Why do I always withdraw and stand back? I mull it over for a while. Is it that I'm not a full participant? No. I participate fully in discussions, but I don't press forward to grab viewing space.I think in America people don't stand super close to each other. I'm not the only one not pressing in, but I am on the outer edge. I don't want to block someone else's view, and I don't want to contort and twist my neck. I take turns.
Dr. R prepares us for Dr. Ozsuath. Our background and stuff influences how andwhat we hear. Nothing is true; however, things can be valid. Art- we can't read anything into it, but we can sync with it (a la Hall). "When people don't get heard, they stop talking. And then they leave. (I know this is true.) That is why we have divorce." "Be responsible for what you bring to the table. Know where you are coming from."
Dr. Ozsuath is an older lady with very coiffed hair, a straight skirt, and a rust colored blouse. She is a holocaust survivor. She begins by speaking about differences in culture that make it difficult to speak of her experience- the US is a "strength" culture. She comes from a culture that values the "weak." People who came here, who survive the holocaust were ashamed and didn't talk. People here couldn't understand why they didn't resist. They ask questions about things they know. A son-in-law admires his mother-in-law for being a survivor, for having a good life here despite losing her children to the ovens. There is a pain in not being able to mourn. She never spoke of it. "You an't speak of things that others have no idea about."
Dr. O got out of Budapest with her parents help, to join her husband in Germany after the war. She introduced herself to people with "I am Jewish." Then she came to Austin. She didn't talk about the war.
"I didn't have a story to tell. I was full of stories." She listenined to people's stories, made some recordings of her own, and then decided to quit telling stories. "After you have one story you are repeating that story. " She thought the story was immensly wide and complicated. Shrinking it to just one story did not do it justice. And people cannot tell the horror-the mundane details of the story undermined the horror, the actual experience. The shame, the inexpressibility of being completely at the mercy of other people- it is only possible to speak in terms of resistance, not victimization- there is a demand for resistance.
Now she chooses one story to tell out of many- creating a story line limits the larger story. She learned to live with her head held up high, just as her father told her they would do after the war. (but could not do in Soviet occupied Hungary, where people continued to disappear.)
We are all teary eyed. Theories we heard? Framing, self-experience. Speaking for the silenced, the ashamed. The unsayable is left unsaid, but becomes known through what is said. People can hear stories of miracles- these imply the horrors that require the miracles. (Is this saying the glass is half full? Is this minimizing the story? Derrida is here- signature and performativity.
The purity of our listening, Dr. R says, with no agenda, creates. Dr. O is able to tell something she has never told before. She puts into words the why she quit telling stories and why she has begun again. She wasn't attempting to speak for the universal expreience, but we could relate to her- not necessarily to her stories, but to her as an experiencer.
I understand more clearly now why I do not tell my stories. Apart from the instant flood of tears, there is too much unknown, too much background to explain. The story gets lost in the wonder of experiences. And also, when one lives the story, it is normalized. To tell it one must sensationalize, which doesn't always feel true. The sensational is there, but it is infrequent. The cotidian mundanities comprise the bulk of our experiences.
This is summed up in the question- "How does it feel to grow up/ experience _______?" Dr. O mentions this question- it stems from the speakers own inability to imagine the replier's everyday life. The answer is "Normal," because that's what it is or becomes.
Dr. R prepares us for Dr. Ozsuath. Our background and stuff influences how andwhat we hear. Nothing is true; however, things can be valid. Art- we can't read anything into it, but we can sync with it (a la Hall). "When people don't get heard, they stop talking. And then they leave. (I know this is true.) That is why we have divorce." "Be responsible for what you bring to the table. Know where you are coming from."
Dr. Ozsuath is an older lady with very coiffed hair, a straight skirt, and a rust colored blouse. She is a holocaust survivor. She begins by speaking about differences in culture that make it difficult to speak of her experience- the US is a "strength" culture. She comes from a culture that values the "weak." People who came here, who survive the holocaust were ashamed and didn't talk. People here couldn't understand why they didn't resist. They ask questions about things they know. A son-in-law admires his mother-in-law for being a survivor, for having a good life here despite losing her children to the ovens. There is a pain in not being able to mourn. She never spoke of it. "You an't speak of things that others have no idea about."
Dr. O got out of Budapest with her parents help, to join her husband in Germany after the war. She introduced herself to people with "I am Jewish." Then she came to Austin. She didn't talk about the war.
"I didn't have a story to tell. I was full of stories." She listenined to people's stories, made some recordings of her own, and then decided to quit telling stories. "After you have one story you are repeating that story. " She thought the story was immensly wide and complicated. Shrinking it to just one story did not do it justice. And people cannot tell the horror-the mundane details of the story undermined the horror, the actual experience. The shame, the inexpressibility of being completely at the mercy of other people- it is only possible to speak in terms of resistance, not victimization- there is a demand for resistance.
Now she chooses one story to tell out of many- creating a story line limits the larger story. She learned to live with her head held up high, just as her father told her they would do after the war. (but could not do in Soviet occupied Hungary, where people continued to disappear.)
We are all teary eyed. Theories we heard? Framing, self-experience. Speaking for the silenced, the ashamed. The unsayable is left unsaid, but becomes known through what is said. People can hear stories of miracles- these imply the horrors that require the miracles. (Is this saying the glass is half full? Is this minimizing the story? Derrida is here- signature and performativity.
The purity of our listening, Dr. R says, with no agenda, creates. Dr. O is able to tell something she has never told before. She puts into words the why she quit telling stories and why she has begun again. She wasn't attempting to speak for the universal expreience, but we could relate to her- not necessarily to her stories, but to her as an experiencer.
I understand more clearly now why I do not tell my stories. Apart from the instant flood of tears, there is too much unknown, too much background to explain. The story gets lost in the wonder of experiences. And also, when one lives the story, it is normalized. To tell it one must sensationalize, which doesn't always feel true. The sensational is there, but it is infrequent. The cotidian mundanities comprise the bulk of our experiences.
This is summed up in the question- "How does it feel to grow up/ experience _______?" Dr. O mentions this question- it stems from the speakers own inability to imagine the replier's everyday life. The answer is "Normal," because that's what it is or becomes.
March 27- Listening
"Getting heard is more (powerful) valuable than your ego."
"I'm not into reactions. I'm all about the future tense."
Listening to music and video
Keith- studying lived experience and resistance
Sharoon- contested spaces, lived experience- AIDs in Africa- women, resistance- age. The song asked for something to help. THe book was looking for postive outcomes from research.
Liz- "Tis a Gift"- about 12 different versions, each beautiful, each showing a new perspective on the same song.
Najendra- "What flower has bloomed in the riverbed? The entire riverbed is bright."
Anuja- What is orientalism if you are from the "orient?" Does it become something you play or something your audience hears? Or is it an expression of yourself?
Suzanne- drums (brave debut), trumpet, pop culture, orientalism and reverse, scapes and spaces.
Mandy- Me- lived experience, discourse. The different songs interacting with each other and with the listener. Naming, resistance, scapes.
"I'm not into reactions. I'm all about the future tense."
Listening to music and video
Keith- studying lived experience and resistance
Sharoon- contested spaces, lived experience- AIDs in Africa- women, resistance- age. The song asked for something to help. THe book was looking for postive outcomes from research.
Liz- "Tis a Gift"- about 12 different versions, each beautiful, each showing a new perspective on the same song.
Najendra- "What flower has bloomed in the riverbed? The entire riverbed is bright."
Anuja- What is orientalism if you are from the "orient?" Does it become something you play or something your audience hears? Or is it an expression of yourself?
Suzanne- drums (brave debut), trumpet, pop culture, orientalism and reverse, scapes and spaces.
Mandy- Me- lived experience, discourse. The different songs interacting with each other and with the listener. Naming, resistance, scapes.
March 20
"I want you to want what I have, so let me help you want what I have."
Currency- something used as a medium of exchange- a representation. Interpretation of currency, affect of currency, a PROMISE.
"Only in giving away does it have any power."
"Energy in motion"- like water and electricity. Currency flows.
Some things are more powerful than power- power itself is a currency. SELF-Identity- currency is sense of self. Sell yourself to that identiy. Agency has to have constraint, and that only happens in precondition.
Dr. Riccio
What am I listening for? Theories?
Learn to do in order to do. A theory's vlaue only comes through application. He wanted to do things well. "mafia of people trying to name things (people).
Worked in Alaska- realized that "western" style theater warmups weren't appropriate- they isolated the parts of the body. Alaskan natives about integration of body and nature- warmups needed to be reflective of this.
Speaking from: Passion ( only happens with good listening) /need to be heard.
"Grace, Mercy & Compassion for what it takes to be alive." Look for people's innocence or purpose and only speak to their goodness.
Currency- something used as a medium of exchange- a representation. Interpretation of currency, affect of currency, a PROMISE.
"Only in giving away does it have any power."
"Energy in motion"- like water and electricity. Currency flows.
Some things are more powerful than power- power itself is a currency. SELF-Identity- currency is sense of self. Sell yourself to that identiy. Agency has to have constraint, and that only happens in precondition.
Dr. Riccio
What am I listening for? Theories?
Learn to do in order to do. A theory's vlaue only comes through application. He wanted to do things well. "mafia of people trying to name things (people).
Worked in Alaska- realized that "western" style theater warmups weren't appropriate- they isolated the parts of the body. Alaskan natives about integration of body and nature- warmups needed to be reflective of this.
Speaking from: Passion ( only happens with good listening) /need to be heard.
"Grace, Mercy & Compassion for what it takes to be alive." Look for people's innocence or purpose and only speak to their goodness.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Community
The Nabuntu-Zulu say, "A person is a person through other people." And then they live it.
I was listening to BookTV- Jimmy Carter's grandson was talking about a book he wrote about being in the Peace Corps in South Africa. He described the above concept with a couple of stories- one was how the director of the school where he was working had just finished building a new house. An old, homeless man noticed this, and came to the door and asked for some food. They took him in and he lived with them until his death.
I was listening to BookTV- Jimmy Carter's grandson was talking about a book he wrote about being in the Peace Corps in South Africa. He described the above concept with a couple of stories- one was how the director of the school where he was working had just finished building a new house. An old, homeless man noticed this, and came to the door and asked for some food. They took him in and he lived with them until his death.
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