Senator Barack Obama’s Yes We Can speech will go down in history whether he wins the Democratic nomination or not.
Senator Hillary Clinton’s speechifying is also strong: her Super Tuesday speech articulates the theme of change.
John McCain’s Courageous Service video details his navy service.
These individuals have left a record of their beliefs for others to learn from, a testimony to the ambition of their lives to make some kind of difference that improves the world.
I want to quote from an academic blog: “…in order to have a conversation. We have to be more generous and tolerant than we are used to being, than we are trained to be.” (Dr. Mabuse cites Jodi Dean on the challenge of talking about ideas.)
The options are infinite. The challenge is to craft agreement and participation. However, consensus is not an easy accomplishment. Responding to the preceding quote on tolerance, Scott encounters the pull to conformity while recognizing “the strife instinct in others has ultimately created just as much interesting scholarship as it discouraged.” If any group is to establish and promote an idea or an ethic worth attention, the group must engage serious disagreement on the path to compromise and cooperation.
There are so many ideas for what you, COM352, can do with the Course Wiki. I have posted several that I hope nudge your inspiration:
- a nifty example from UCLA: The Daily Brewin’
- three ideas just last week: ideas
- Talks from TED. Brains as “experience simulators” -> synthetic happiness = “what we make when we don’t get what we wanted”
- What about collaboration?
- Can we “inject a brief moment of wonder“?
- serious social science?
- how free is your freedom of expression?
- what about improving the world?
- Steph’s original conception for this course (a framework, as in, this is the frame the teacher brought)
- what the smart people say about youth and the internet as media
- a poetry jam? here’s another example.
- Challenges: “How much effort is given to deliberation is also subject to a range of choices and pressures: what information is available, how easily/soon, whether or not one wants to understand alternate points-of-view, and how carefully one studies the implications of choices.”
- making choices about learning
- not only about what’s online
- context: world clock
- Hello Dark Allies
A Place in Space 
Tuesday February 12, 2008 at 10:38 am
OOOOO, one thing I forgot to mention, which I’d like to toss into the pot of possibilities, is that UMass grad students and faculty are hosting a conference on Violence this April. The following is adapted from their “call for papers” (call for presentations):
The “Landscapes of Violence: Conflict and Trauma through Time” conference is an interdisciplinary conference aimed at examining violence through ideological connections between the material world and social discourse, specifically focused on uncovering the motives, dynamics and functions of violence. The conference takes place in April. For more information, please contact the co-chairs: Ventura R Perez , PhD from the Department of Anthropology and Linda Tropp, PhD part of the Psychology of Peace and Violence Concentration in the Department of Psychology. Submission of proposals and participation in the conference are restricted to UMass faculty and students but conference attendance is open to all.
The deadline for making a proposal to present is actually this Friday, Feb 15th. What I’m wondering about is a mass attendance (by members of the class) and then some distillation of the experience that you create. Not quite as entertaining as Sara’s suggestion of filming the process of making mud sculptures, but then again, maybe there’s a way to merge the two….?
🙂
Monday February 18, 2008 at 12:27 pm
I’m really interested in considering the topic how free is freedom of expression? I feel like is a topic that had been coming up often especially in the sense of censoring especially in the media etc.
Also, improving the world in my opinion is a seriously “hot topic” right now and I think we as a class could really throw some insightful ideas and theories together for that topic.
In my opinion we should try to put something together that really reflects the direct impact that the topic has had on us, such as improving the world in whatever way that may mean, and the idea of freedom of expression.
Monday February 18, 2008 at 1:21 pm
I think many of the ideas listed in your post have some serious potential. The three that I am most interested in are the World Clock, inject a brief moment of wonder, and improving the world.
These three things go hand in hand. For one I think it would be really cool to see what is going on in different parts of the world, and with the world clock that would be possible.
Then, with the world clock on the page, maybe this would sprout some ideas for improving the world. I agree with moses84 that everyone has different opinions on this and we could have a lot to say on the subject as it is such an open topic.
Finally to add some fun into the page, with the inject a moment of brief wonder, we could find some fun topics from places all around the world, or perhaps even news stories that are far fetched. We could add pictures of all these places we would talk about.
I think this could really open our minds a lot and we could start thinking about what’s not only going on in our country but also some interesting topics in world news!
Monday February 18, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Firstly, I wanted to say to Steph that I was sorry to hear about your mentor. I’m not sure how to smoothly transition from that into talking about our class – so, I hope you’ll forgive me, but I really am sorry.
I understand the desire to do something epic – global etc. But I wonder if that adage “Think global, act local” might not have some significance here. I don’t mean to downplay the effect that any individual (or any class) could have on the world. I’m sure some of you will go on to cure world hunger or whatever, but as for the task at hand, I think we might be better off looking to our own community (umass). First of all – we’re all a part of it – so I assume (perhaps not a super safe assumption…) we all care about it to a certain extent. Finding a global issue, cause, project, etc. that truly interests and engages the entire group might be more challenging. A second point, is that doing something on the local scale, might mean we could see the effects of our work faster.
I feel pretty strongly in favor of the idea the content group came up with in the last class. The idea, which I think we will probably discuss in more detail in class, is to make a “Students’ Guide to Surviving UMASS” which we could post on the wiki.
The reason I like this idea is that I think it gives each member of the class a chance to focus on the specific topics they care about, we could also learn about our community from each other, and create a resource that could be indispensable to other students. For example: Steph could write a page like, “Getting Active on Campus.” And gather information about social action on campus and in the valley and how students (and faculty) can get involved and do good.
Monday February 18, 2008 at 5:13 pm
I think that most of the above ideas are very interesting and in many ways relate to our class subject matter. It is interesting to see the structure of the UCLA website, and it also gives us a good example of one way we could set the wiki up visually. On a side note, the video of freezing in grand central station was great. Also the article about collaboration is certainly related what we do on a regular basis in class, in either small or larger groups.
Many of these examples show the variety of what we can include in the course wiki. The “youtube” style of looking at things can open up a discussion about issues we may otherwise not know about. Plus a video is often a good break from reading news articles. I am also a fan of a good def poetry jam. I think that a class discussion and/or interpretation of one of these performances would be fun to do, Im not sure if that is something we could do through the wiki. I also think the “choices about learning” piece is interesting in that it makes us think about how as college students we are currently shaping our autobiographies. I also agree with funinsun in that having the world clock on our page would be a cool thing that could help generate discussion on important issues.
Monday February 18, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I like what vertebralsilence says about focusing our efforts locally as opposed to globally. I think that by creating something appealing to the UMass general student body, we will create something that might make an impact. While I am not part of the content group, the idea of a guide of some sort sounds right on. Rather than something lacking utility, I’d much prefer investing time into something with local applications. Along the lines of the collaboration idea, where people come together from different disciplines, it may be possible given the makeup of our class to create a collaboration of experiences here at UMass that form a cohesive guide.
Monday February 18, 2008 at 8:25 pm
I think inject a brief moment of wonder is pretty interesting. It can ease the possible tensions through the topics being discussed. I agree with brucebanner87 about including videos in the webpage. It is boring to read articles or anything on the webpage without pictures or videos. It is also painful to read and absorb information through millions of words. Therefore, it is easier to catch attention and focus on the important issues being brought up with interesting examples to support the statements or subjects.
I am not sure about the idea of the guide to surviving. Students in college must have their own ways to survive. So, I’m not sure how relevant the discussions would be.
Monday February 18, 2008 at 11:01 pm
I like others who were part of the Group in class that went down stairs (BUT YOU’LL NEVER FIGURE OUT WHO I AM… dont check my email.. jerks) but! I enjoyed the idea of making a guide for coming/present students to surviving their stay here. I know you need to find out for yourself, but it never hurts to hear a few examples. I figure instead of some lame brochure thing, we can make it more personal, and ACTUALLY use examples of what we’ve been through. Not so watered down per-say and make it fun and humorous.
Monday February 18, 2008 at 11:13 pm
I was also part of the group who went downstairs. I am happy that I chose to do this because it was warmer downstairs, and a lot of great ideas were being thrown around amongst us. After about 15 minutes of discussion we finally came up with the idea of making a UMASS survival guide, this would address any issues that students in the class feel are relevant to a career here at UMASS. I feel this would be the best way to allow everyone in the group to contribute equally but individually as well. It would be interesting to see the groups combined efforts and experinences both positive and negative that students have had to face.
Tuesday February 19, 2008 at 12:01 am
I was also a member of the group downstairs and I think the idea to have a guide to surviving UMASS is an amazing idea. For those of you who were not downstairs, here is what the site would include:
Students helping incoming students with questions they may have about everything and anything related to UMASS. What classes to take/not take, where to get books at a decent price, where to live on and off campus, where to park your car, how the bus system works, all the different groups you can be apart of, what the sports scene is like, what bars can you get into if you are underage, whats the best way to get alcohol, all the different meal plan options etc etc. We also talked about putting up a blog section where students can post anything they want whether it be a question they want answered by another student, or simply a comment. We would have a section with photos and potentially even upload videos. I think this idea allows the entire class to contribute in a way that no other subject matter could. I personally hate politics, so if we did something political I would have zero interest. I love sports, but there are plenty of people out there who don’t. We are all UMASS students and we all have stories both positive and negative about our experiences here. Lets get out there and share our thoughts and experiences to better the life of future UMASS students.
Tuesday February 19, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I agree with Moses84 that the topic concerning “How Free is Freedom of Expression” because I think this is a very important topic. Since I am a communications major we have discussed this topic a lot in my classes concerning media and other personal rights. I actually just wrote a paper on what an individual’s rights should be pertaining to what articles, cartoons, and stories they are able to publish. I think this is a very important topic to be discussed and analyzed.
I think we should all take time to reflect on these issues and bring to mind the issues that our world is facing and the ways in which we are able to shape and change the opposing views.
Tuesday February 19, 2008 at 2:13 pm
One thing that I have found myself thinking about is whether our Wiki page will be interactive/moving, or static. Many of the ideas that Steph has shown us have to do with current topics. For instance “hello dark allies,” if we post on the Wiki what kind of issues are concerning us TODAY, then we should update our class wiki page regularly. Does our class want a page that is changing everyday, once a week, or never changing?
In my opinion, and I am being realistic, I think updating our Wiki page once a week, or every two weeks makes sense. If we change it every day, that is a lot of work and responsibility. If we never change the page, it will be boring. Since we have many students in our class maybe we could set something up where a different team of people would update the page every week, so as to disperse the responsibility. This is just an idea.
I also very much agree with vertebralsilence , in their comment. While it is important for all of us to be aware of what is happening in the world, it seems more effective, rewarding and possible to make a difference locally. I am however still interested in having a global section on the page, maybe a smaller section just updating on important international events/situations. For the local aspect we could include a page that is all about our areas of interest in umass and the amherst area. For example, special events, concerts, fund raisers, protests, etc. I also think that it would be very useful if Steph were able to include her contributions. “Getting active on Campus” seems like a great topic. Most of the time, students and professors have access to the same information, but depending on the information it will reach different groups of people. This page coudl be a great way for student and professor information to be shared.
There are so many options for us to choose from. It will be very interesting to see where we will go within this discourse.
Tuesday February 19, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Steph has provided many inspiring ideas for our Course Wiki. Because there were so many great ideas, I feel as if it would be beneficial for us to use aspects of one or more of themin our project. For instance, psychologist Dan Gilbert studies something called “synthetic happiness”…I didn’t even know there was such a thing. Once I understood the concept behind synthetic happiness I felt as if more people should learn about this concept. If our class does choose to do a project advising students within our University community this clip, or perhaps other studies on happiness/stress and other related topics should be included. I find it inspiring to be able to collaborate with class to create something that could help people handle the obstacle course we call UMASS. I feel as if it is important to look at not only how to survive UMASS, but also educate about things that are going on outside our community.
The post about academia’s response to the Threat of Global Warming is inspiring and important for people to see. Activism is something that needs to be shared and spread. Universities are creating stand-alone centers that allow students to work collaboratively in an effort to create and maintain alternative fuels. That’s a really inspiring thing to read about. Because Global Warming is such a huge issue, it could be thought provoking to post a clip or provide some information about it in our project somehow. We recently watched these clips in my Risk COMM class and I thought they were powerful: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/sixdegrees/
Tuesday February 19, 2008 at 2:17 pm
The two things that interested me were the “How free is freedom of expression”, and “inject a brief moment of wonder”. Moses and Bucket both touched upon the media ad censorship, and I think this is a big issue especially dealing with the media and the issue of Iraq. I think it would be interesting to do something maybe dealing with the news and what we are “allowed’ and “not allowed” to see.
I really liked the “inject a brief moment of wonder” article. I would really like to see some peoples expressions while shopping at target and comeing across that “three wise men” tshirt, even though I figure there would be a lot of people with no idea what it was about. I think that these “shopdroppers” do have the ability to make people step back and think a little and that could be a very good thing.
I also think the Surviving Umass idea was a good idea becuase it is practical and I feel very doable. Like Vertebra said, I dont think it would be a good idea to take on too large a challenge considering our experience and time frame.I think doing something around here would be the most beneficial and practical.
Tuesday February 19, 2008 at 3:26 pm
These definitely are some awesome ideas that we should consider when thinking about filling up our space. The examples provided by Steph should give us a basic understanding of what she means by filling up the space on the course Wiki page. At first, I wasn’t sure what she meant by filling up the space. I think the best way to attack this project would be to think about different ideas that are creative and innovative and not to mention interesting. From reading the previous comments I’m getting the sense that our peers want to do something along the lines of media research?
As for me the only thing that comes to mind when thinking of filling up the space is a website that will be beneficial for all. For instance, a current events webpage that informs students in the area about the different things that going on in close proximity. Possibly a page that is more visually appealing than the UMass events website or the Zoomasslinks webpage. Feel free to disagree. I’m not sure where I’m going with this idea. I will write more once I figure out where I want to go with this.
Lastly, I would like to apologize for posting my comment so late.
Tuesday February 19, 2008 at 3:43 pm
I really like the ideas that Steph has suggested. I also think all of my classmates have posted some great ideas responding to them. I agree with both funinsun and vert. Improving the world is really a “hot topic” right now with all of the motivation to “get green.” Environmental improvements seem to be on the minds of many and I think that this would be a great topic because we could discuss these approaches and also post thoughts on other things that need to be improved and how. I also liked the thought of combining a few of Steph’s suggestions into one.
However, I also agree with Vert that it may be difficult at times to engage students in topics that don’t directly impact them at the time. Our priorities, for the time being, are often centralized around school. We, as a class, proved this with our reasons for not attending the No Mas Farc protest. So, I also like the idea of keeping the page focused on our community. Everyone seems to have great ideas and I feel confident that our final decision will be a topics that is both interesting and stimulating. I also would like to apologize for posting my comment so late. 😦
Tuesday February 19, 2008 at 4:07 pm
It seems like everyone who has posted above has come to the consensus that we should ACT, make a contribution that will benefit all. It would cool if we were able to produce something beneficial to the community. I agree with vertebralsilence’s opinion that we should “act locally.” I am not so sure that a guide to surviving Umass is the best action, however. This is because, as Abccccc has stated, Umass has a very diverse population. Differently people are surely to have different opinions about actions incoming students should take, what they’re goals should be etc. Our wiki would inevitably have conflicting messages. Unfortunately our diverse population is quite segregated. I think that our wiki should work to improve Umass Amherst. Our school could definitely use improvements, and not just physical ones. For example, look at the recent incidents of violence. For a state known for its institutions of higher education, it deserves to boast a better public university. Maybe our site could work to deconstruct the segregation found on campus. Just some thoughts.
Wednesday February 20, 2008 at 3:02 pm
I agree with Thump, we could get involved and talk about things that actually need to be talked about (violence on campus, racism, those are just exapmles, whatever else intrests us). We could have video streams of real people talking about real issues on campus…..just a thought!
Wednesday February 20, 2008 at 10:58 pm
I liked the idea of “improving the world” the best out of the ideas that Steph gave us. I think that we might be able to come up with some good ideas to put on video.
I wasn’t downstairs, but I have heard about the idea of creating a UMASS webpage and I think that might work out very well considering we all have a couple of years experience and input on the subject. It might be the one thing that we all have the most knowledge on.
Thursday February 21, 2008 at 10:13 am
Hmmm, how free is free? This question/issue has been raised a few times. Check out this NYTimes article: Stifling Online Speech.
Sunday February 24, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Steph, I wonder why you would post an seemingly important concept and a link at the very bottom of a post that already has several comments (as opposed to, for instance, as an actual blog post). Because we have no means of being updated to new comments I think it would be cruel of you to expect us to have read this (say by asking about it on a test). Is that what you expect of us – to be aware of every single thing going on in each of our blogs, your blog, and the course wiki. As all of these things grow exponentially this seems like a more and more ridiculous expectation. I’m already feeling overwhelmed – do you think you could somehow address your specific expectations of us in a clear way during class? (I mean in addition to the more specific assignments.)
Sunday February 24, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Something with seperate sections where we can contribute as a group, and then also individually? We all seem to have so many different ideas, it seems like we should have a way to share as many as possible (in an organized fashion, of course.) I’m not sure what that would look like, but I like the idea of it…
Sunday February 24, 2008 at 7:53 pm
I like the “improving the world” with Davos and YouTube idea. It is very interesting and we can all contribute to something we think is very important in the world. I think this is a good opportunity to take advantage of the technology of YouTube and show that it can be used for something beneficial. There is a lot of useless content on YouTube because you are allowed to “broadcast yourself”. If this whole deal works in order for people to be heard, the YouTube idea can be used more often. Hopefully we can contribute to it’s success.
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