Dear WST320 Folk, 1) I have just finished reading your blog entries for the 14th of October, and I wanted you to know that I was particularly impressed with this grouping. I couldn't help but notice that, while your heads seem to be hurting beyond any immediate repair, your blogs represented reflection, not perfection. Your cyberspace narratives, in other words, speak back to the Baudrillard piece in that they represent a practice in reflection and significance, as opposed to a speedy cataloguing of simulacra. These narrative spaces you have produced and the ruminations that fill them are not necessarily deemed valuable in western culture, so I was wondering if we might consider Kipnis's argument regarding a re-working of value here. For the time, effort and THINKING that you're doing in these spaces is a knowledge-work, yes? 2) and speaking of Kipnis, both her article and the Rhodes piece read earlier in the term speak to political practices representative of existing political struggles, regardless of how provisional. Your objective, then, for your remaining blog assignments will be to incorporate BOTH the cultural studies theory you've read (and thought about) for 320 and your knowledge of feminism gained from such courses as WST201. In other words, what I'll be looking for in your remaining blogs is how you negotiate an understanding(s?) of a feminist popular culture. (NOTE: The picture above is meant to trump Kelly Mac's picture that John found so frightening.)
2 comments:
"what I'll be looking for in your remaining blogs is how you negotiate an understanding(s?) of a feminist popular culture. "
...But still within the guidelines of the blog assignment outline...
My next question was going to be about my (our, the dictated) understanding(s) of feminist popular culture as practice, action, change, etc. I was wondering about the limits of action in 1-2 paragraphs, but I think (after reading your blog outline again) I'll be okay.
False alarm, everybody...back in the pool...
Please allow me to clarify: the blogs, up until now, have dealt predominantly with the cultural studies theory under discussion and not necessarily a combination of cultural studies and feminism. Now that we've covered the cultural studies material and will not be reading more of it, I am looking specifically for a combination of this cultural studies material AND any feminist theory, issues, etc. students have learned in other WST courses, specifically 201 (as this is the prerequisite for 320). With regard to the original assignment, things have not altered (see handout). However, I have not been grading these past blogs with the development of feminism in mind. I have, in other words, allowed the space to be filled with cultural studies material only because this is the new material with which most students have been struggling. My post is a flag of sorts, reminding students of the combination of feminism/cultural studies originally desired. With regard to space, I would advize students be far more selective when writing their blogs, as this is a practice that tends to engender solid writing skills, particularly those developed via specifics.
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