Girl Before Mirror, Pablo Picasso, 1932
Blog Post #1 (DUE ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12th)
This assignment will take the form of a blog post. You will create a blog post on our shared Wordpress page to 1) help you reflect on your relationship with Popular Culture and 2) create a brief self-care plan for the term. Here are some guidelines for creating your post:
● Your blog post should be a minimum of 500 words (part I) + planner (part II).
● You might want to enliven your post by making it a multimedia experience and embedding one or more types of media such as images, film clips, photos, and links to other relevant websites. Please strive to follow the accessibility tips found on the D2L course page (located in the Introduction to Course folder).
How to post to the blog: 1. By the beginning of the second week of the course, you will be invited to become an 'author' at the UNST Pop Culture Fall 2019 Wordpress blog we will be using this term. As an author, you will be able to write, upload photos to, edit, and publish your own posts. The blog will only be visible to your classmates, the course instructor, and
http://popcultureunst2.wordpress.com/
the peer mentor. It is NOT visible to the public at large outside of our learning community. 2. Under the "Pop Culture Mirror + Self-Care Planner" tab/category, please create a post that captures your reaction to the terms we have explored (the materials on subjectivity, ideology, power, culture and the culture tree, popular culture, and cultural hegemony) and what you have gleaned from the class conversations around these topics. For example, explain how your understanding of your subjectivity is shaped by popular culture and its socio-cultural constructs and ideologies. Can you comment on the concept of "hegemony" as it relates to your own identities? In what ways are you “hailed” by certain notions (positive and/or negative) of who you “should” be and how you “should” act? In other words, how are you interpellated* as a subject by the social and cultural institutions of popular culture? “I” (first person) language is ideal in this type of self/reflective writing. *Interpellation is the constitutive process where individuals acknowledge and respond to ideologies, thereby recognizing themselves as subjects. More information can be found in the reading about subjectivity by Searls-Giroux and Nealon. Remember to include images, links, or other multimedia resources if possible/needed.
Part II Fill out the self-care planner (at the bottom of this document) or create your own. As the seminal feminist writer/poet/activist Audre Lorde once wrote, “caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation and that is an act of political warfare.” This part of the blog post is designed to get you to think more intentionally and critically about your day-to-day life and the patterns and activities that you engage in on a regular basis. In other words, the goal of the self-care planner is to
help you to reflect on the following prompts and to devise a routine that is (more) supportive of your emotional and mental health:
What is one activity and/or pattern that hold/s me back that I believe I can let go off? Perhaps it is a negative thought or a habit? This could include the amount of time you spend in front of a computer or cell phone screen, a social circle or circles, a substance you may feel like you need to rely on, etc. Name at least one activity or pattern that you believe would be realistic for you to detach yourself from by the end of the term (over the course of the next 8 or 9 weeks). What nourishes me? What sparks joy for me? How can I make more time in my life for the things that make me come alive? How can I better cultivate joy in my life? Name one activity or habit that you believe brings you true joy and one ritual/routine that will help you to incorporate it into your life (at least once a week!). For instance, you may want to try a new gratitude practice (like writing 3 things you are grateful for), going on a solo walk around the block, practicing mindfulness and/or meditation a couple times a week, a creative activity (coloring, writing, knitting, etc.), taking a whole day off, etc. Fill out the self-care planner below (or create your own :) Fill this planner out and upload it to your blog post as a PDF file (or create a hyperlink in your post). Further readings/resources: The Politics of Conspicuous Displays of Self-Care PSU Student Health 101 Magazine Note #1: If you are struggling to successfully submit your blog post, please contact the instructor and/or peer mentor for further assistance. Note #2: If you have concerns about sharing your work online, please let the course instructor and peer mentor know as soon as possible. At the end of the term you will have several blog posts and one final post pulling together everything you have learned. This is an important skill to build as you look to your future and how you will explain your college experience and what you bring to the table to employers. We will take it step by step and there will always be ample opportunity to ask questions should you become confused or stuck.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-BAvemfW5YHnQrgCT8D3jEKzzbfzQIwN/view?usp=sharing
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-politics-of-selfcare
https://pdx.readsh101.com/