Humanities & Cultural Studies
The Difference Between Blogging and Great Blogging
So you're blogging, or you want to start blogging...but you want to do it well, and hopefully attract some readers. The key to good blogging is to write well. Jay Gabler, associate editor of the Twin Cities Daily Planet and author of the Front Row Seat blog, offers a two-hour class on writing, etiquette, and promotional tips for bloggers. What information should you offer? How much of "yourself" should you put in your blog? How long should blog entries be? How do you connect with other bloggers and share your blog with people who might be interested?
What's Your Story? Citizen Journalism 101
Everyone has a story, if not multiple stories. Chances are they are also newsworthy or related to a larger issue in your neighborhood, your region and even around the world. In these 4 modules, which can be taken as a series or individually, the Twin Cities Media Alliance provides the skills to expand your ability to tell your story using journalism skills.
Part I: Information Gathering
We all know we need information to tell our stories, but where do we find it? The nuts and bolts of information gathering, from determining the who, what, where, how and why to unlikely places to look for information to support your story.
Part II: Interviewing and Cultivating Sources
The best stories are the ones with a mix of voices. In journalism, these are usually your sources who provide you with context and color to make your story sing. In this module we'll go over basics of interviewing and how to solicit authentic responses. We will also discuss how to cultivate sources and conduct interviews on difficult topics.
Part III: Sourcing, Attribution and Triangulation
A major source of frustration for information consumers is how news outlets seem to throw out information without much or any foundation. How do you avoid this when reporting on your own stories and issues? We will talk about how to source, attribute and triangulate stories, which makes up the verification process. We will also cover the appropiateness and ethics of anonymous sources.
Part IV: Story Development
This module will focus on how to find a unique angle in your angle, because chances are, it's already been reported on. How to forward a story, find a unique angle or provide a different context that develops a topic will allow students to work on creatively thinking about how their story can fill a gap in the media landscape.
Intro to Anarchist Studies 101
Anarchists recognize the massive injustices and spiritual emptiness of the present way in which US mainstream society is organized and propose a cooperative, restorative world free of coercion and hierarchy – beyond the state, capitalism, sexism and other forms of oppression. Dismantle and Build.
Every week we will read and discuss short articles, chapters and zines as a group. This class is an overview of anarchist movement, ranging from historical texts and theory, to foklore to contemporary anarchist beliefs, actions, lifestyles, etc... We'll be looking at how anarchist movement is influenced by other liberation struggles around the world. We'll be studying anarchist movement in other parts of the world such as south america, europe, and asia. In the anarchist tradition, this class is participatory and slightly on the edge. If you’ve ever been curious about anarchism, this class is for you!
1st class. Introduction
Readings: "Peace is Patriotic, and that's the problem. An Anarchist Perspective" Pamphlet (http://zinelibrary.info/peace-patriotic-and-thats-problem)
We will discuss what folks want to get out of the class, where we want to take it, guidelines, and what type of world we want to live in.
Together we will create a syllabus for the rest of the classes. (But don't worry--the facilitator will have suggestions too. So please don't shy away if you have no idea what you want the class to look like! All are welcome).
Suggested topics: history, anarcha feminism, primitivism and eco-anarchism, anti-civilization movements, contemporary anarchist movement, and so on...
Writing Self through Gender
We plan, in this class, to take that strange animal, the memoir, and turn it on its head. Memoir is best thought not merely as "who am I," but more centrally as "where do I belong." Part of belonging is seeing yourself and being seen, being naked to yourself and the world at large. This nakedness tends to expose our fears, fears which can be addressed through understanding, self-exploration, and self-revelation. We plan to address one aspect of that fear, the fear of being seen as a gendered person, through memoir, understood here broadly as any text (written, audio, visual, performative) that engages in real self-exploration. We will be employing various media to facilitate self-exploration, including personal essays, audio, video, performance, etc. Each week students will be expected to read short personal essays and listen to/watch relevant audio and visual pieces. Students should come to class prepared to discuss how gender participates in the formation of identity, and how this understanding can aid with the development of memoir. Students will also be expected to keep a journal, from which they will ultimately draw their final project, to be presented to the class. This course calls for self-revelation, both through the final project and throughout the semester. Therefore it will require courage. But fear not: we're all in this together.
The class will meet for two hours each week for twelve weeks. People of all backgrounds and levels of experience are encouraged to attend.
From Abbie Hoffman to Reverend Billy: History, Practice and Pedagogy of Culture Jamming
The term culture jamming comes from broadcasting terminology for jamming the airwaves and involves ways of making your own media to counter the media messages we see every day. We’ll look at the history of culture jamming, including the Situationists International and the Yippies from the 1960s, feminist zines from the 1980s and 1990s, to the current practice by the Yes Men and Reverend Billy. We’ll watch movies, have discussion, and participate in some low cost/low tech (but potentially high visibility) culture jamming of our own as well as discussing some current theories of culture jamming. Some light reading (less than 15-20 pages per week) will be given.
Class meets 7-9:30, Thursdays from March 18 - April 15th in 430 Blegen at the University of Minnesota.
