Check out the link below to my paper!
Lead Discussion Paper
Check out the link to my presentation below!
Presentation
Monthly Archives: March 2017
Critical Literacy and the Rise of Fanfiction
Check out the link below to my paper!
Lead Discussion Paper
Check out the link to my presentation below!
Presentation
Lead Discussion Paper
Check out the link to my presentation below!
Presentation
Moving forward…
Hi everyone,
Thanks for your patience. So it turns out that my own difficulty wasn’t a sinus or ear infection, but an emergency root canal was in order. What a joy. By next week I certainly hope we are “back in the saddle” again. MaryKate will lead us in a discussion of young writers and their writerly identities via a discussion of critical literacy and fan fiction communities.
In the meanwhile, I hope you were all able to take the time during last class period to complete the required IRB certification online. Please send me your certificate of completion via email, since it is a requirement for the completion of your MA degree in Writing Studies.
So for next week:
Please read and blog on MaryKate’s reading selections for next week:
Developing Students’ Critical Literacy: Exploring Identify Construction in Young Adult Fiction by Thomas W. Bean and Karen Moni
Online Fan Fiction, Global Identities, and Imagination by Rebecca Black
In addition, remember that you should be moving beyond the early brainstorming phase into a rough draft of the introduction of your research proposal. Please complete that rough draft of your research proposal for next class, and we can proceed with initial peer editing phase and offer each other early feedback.
Take care everyone.
See you soon,
Dr. Zamora
Preparing Your Research
I'm a middle school teacher. A reading and writing teacher. This year I was afforded the opportunity to step out of that role and into the role of history/slash writing teacher. Making the move out a tested subject gives me a little more freedom to teach things I'm passionate about. This is a gift and a curse. Since I am not in a tested subject I do not get all of the resources as the ELA or Math teachers so I can't stay on trend and get the resources that I need.
So, after much consideration I think I've found something that I want to research. Given the political climate of our country I have been obsessed with all things politics. The things that are taking place in Washington is almost as unrealistic and as removed from reality as many of the reality or trashy TV shows that I sometimes tune in and out of. In this world of "fake news" I am very curious about how we will write about the times in which we are experiencing. If fact checking and research and sources are becoming a thing of the past in politics -- how will this play out from a writing perspective.
I am leaning towards researching social writing and journalist writing. Reporting of the news and writing opinion pieces for current issues. In this time of Twitter, Facebook and blogging how can we determine which written sources to trust? Especially when things can be shared and viewed over a million times and just because it is there or Googleable people assume that is true.
I am sure I will narrow and refine this inquiry at some point. But I am trying to stay true to my interests. And as of write now it is writing wishing a social context-- only when my writing isn't purely creative.
Preparing Your Research
I'm a middle school teacher. A reading and writing teacher. This year I was afforded the opportunity to step out of that role and into the role of history/slash writing teacher. Making the move out a tested subject gives me a little more freedom to teach things I'm passionate about. This is a gift and a curse. Since I am not in a tested subject I do not get all of the resources as the ELA or Math teachers so I can't stay on trend and get the resources that I need.
So, after much consideration I think I've found something that I want to research. Given the political climate of our country I have been obsessed with all things politics. The things that are taking place in Washington is almost as unrealistic and as removed from reality as many of the reality or trashy TV shows that I sometimes tune in and out of. In this world of "fake news" I am very curious about how we will write about the times in which we are experiencing. If fact checking and research and sources are becoming a thing of the past in politics -- how will this play out from a writing perspective.
I am leaning towards researching social writing and journalist writing. Reporting of the news and writing opinion pieces for current issues. In this time of Twitter, Facebook and blogging how can we determine which written sources to trust? Especially when things can be shared and viewed over a million times and just because it is there or Googleable people assume that is true.
I am sure I will narrow and refine this inquiry at some point. But I am trying to stay true to my interests. And as of write now it is writing wishing a social context-- only when my writing isn't purely creative.
Thinking More About What I am Thinking About
Ahh this wonderful thing we call the invention process comes up as my class vigorously brainstorms for our theses. I am excited, but also very apprehensive about this journey that I about to dive into for the next year (starting with my research proposal). As I have stated in my class a couple of times, I want my thesis to be an extension of my e lit project from last semester when I took Introduction to Electronic Literature. I came into the program at a weird time in my life, and although I wanted to pursue my master’s degree, I did not really understand everything that I wanted then. By the end of the Fall 2016 semester, I was in a better place and mindset regarding what I felt I needed/wanted to get out of this degree; I owe this epiphany to Dr. Zamora who has been a great light in all of this.
Having come into this current semester from such a high point at the end of the previous one, I felt like I knew where I was going, but I was mistaken. I started to feel that everything that I had done was just useless because I didn’t see how I could connect it to writing studies. I was disappointed and hurt that I may have to set my passion project aside for some time and just do “what I needed to get by”. This was all flushed out of my mind when Dr. Zamora so eloquently explained how she was understanding what I was trying to articulate. I felt she was able to explain my own project to me in a way that I wasn’t seeing it… and it made more sense than the vastly cluttered mess in my mind.
My project is supposed to be a way into my heart about my own culture, and the gap that sits in between African-American/African people. I wanted to create empowerment through pain and a concept of exploitation to have this digital experience be at least ONE artistic vision of bridging the gap and intracultural riffs between a nation of people. While my ideas are vast in this framework, I didn’t know what to do with it moving forward. What Dr. Zamora said during our last class really helped me to put this project into perspective for my thesis and what I hope to produce as a final product when I graduate. I am hoping to bring my electronic literature piece to life in so many more ways than I had originally planned, while still having this analytical framework in print to compliment it. Ultimately, maybe I can bridge the two together.
I appreciated the comment Dr. Zamora made about a feminist approach that I can take with my project. I definitely need to think through that much more because I didn’t have a feminist mindset going into it, and so I am afraid some of the poetry already written will become obsolete, but I know there is time to think this through and flesh it out before I take on major steps in how I am going to approach the analytical side of my project. I feel it might make much more sense to stem from a post-colonial viewpoint, instead, and then hone in on some of those tropes Dr. Zamora mentioned like embodiment and inheritance. Those were some very powerful concepts that she was alluding to, and I think that if I weave all of this in with a writer identity sense then it can come together nicely.
Writer identity is a theme that keeps popping up every semester for me, and that might be the route that the project wants to go in. I mainly just want that historical aspect to be as present as possible while having my creativity and artistry through poetry shine through as well. I think my work directly correlates with identity and process, while also having that technological framework to add research about digital literacy within contexts such as this one. Maybe I can pull information about writer identity from the women that I research, as suggested by Dr. Zamora, and then fit that within the framework of what I am trying to do myself. If I start to think too generally, I get lost and so I am working right now to narrow down and get even more specific about exactly what it is that I am researching and the purpose that it is gong to play along with this digital component that I have already started.
Writing is at the core of everything that I am talking about whether it be my own writing and process, or the writing of others etc. There is a lot to be said about process in terms of writing studies and the teaching of writing, and I am trying to have this project not only be a creative vision of what I am passionate about, but also a piece of work that can be brought into discussion when it comes to writer identity and creativity in the classroom. Slowly but surely I am finding my way.
Peace,
Richonda
Invention (& catching up with Katherine’s selections this week…)
Hi everyone,
Just a reminder as to our class plan: We have Katherine’s readings slated for discussion on Monday (3/27), and then MaryKate will present a week later (4/3).
In lieu of the presentation planned last week, we did set a course for your early proposal work by discussing at more length the elements of a solid research proposal (Introduction, Lit Review, Methodology). You have now all entered into the early “invention” or discovery phase of your research proposal. Invention is another way of describing the early brainstorming jump-start to research. Remember, you have a wide and open field to work with, but you do want there to be an inquiry regarding writing at the center of your work.
This week you should be brainstorming your thesis topic ideas – via generating lists, free writing through ideas, sketches & outlines, or “mind maps”, etc. In the second part of class next week, we will discuss your brainstorming efforts and then try to move towards the early-draft phase of your proposal introduction. For your blog post, please include and account of your “invention efforts” and write up your list of potential thesis topics. You are welcome to include screenshots of pics of your invention notes or ideas/maps.
Enjoy the weekend and I’ll see you all soon.
Looking forward to discussing grounded theory and participatory culture with Katherine!
Sincerely,
Dr. Zamora
Blog 5: Participation
I had a really hard time getting through the Joyce Neff Grounded Theory article. It was all predominantly new information to me so I didn’t have much comments on it. I mostly just absorbed what was said but didn’t have any particular statements that stood out to me. In the other reading “Enabling Participation (7-21)”, on the other hand I was completely encaptured. I think maybe because it was so much more “real” so to speak. Like as I was reading a lot more applied to me than in the other reading in my own opinion. There was a lot more to agree or disagree on. My top key quote that I took away was:
“Not every member must contribute but all must believe they are free to contribute when ready and that what they contribute will be appropriately valued.”
I think that this was so beautifully written and is really accurate in regards to internet participation and authorship. I still have to say just because it’s on the internet does not mean that every writer will feel comfortable. It depends on the individual. Some people may feel comfortable since noone sees them but then others will feel like they are put on the spot. There is no real way to make sure all writers participate in these kinds of interfaces and there are always many considerations an individual must keep in mind while on them.
The article also mentioned the difference in who has certain access to the technology needed and etc.
“What a person can accomplish with an outdated machine in a public library with mandatory filtering software and no opportunity for storage or transmission pales in comparison to what person can accomplish with a home computer with unfettered Internet access, high bandwidth, and continuous connectivity.”
This is also very true as everyone’s economic situation is not the same so therefore technology access is very varied. I have heard that our internet is supposed to be completely free. It’s just in the air. Anyhow I think there is still a significant amount of students who are lacking the access so we aren’t fully participatory and won’t be anytime soon.
Writing Theories Under Construction
This week we read an excerpt from “Grounded Theory: A Critical Research Methodology” by Joyce Magnotto Neff in Under Construction: Working at the Intersection of Composition Theory, Research, and Practice. It made me think that reflect on why we do the work that we do. What makes us take the theories into practice. The main takeaway from me was the grounded theory methodology. The data driven principals that the methodology is founded on lends itself to the opportunity to test this theory out. Data is important when looking at the trends in writing and trying to find a way to improve both the teaching and the actual doing of writing.
There is so much guesswork in the teaching of writing instruction because of the complexity of human activity. As a result, I think it is important to have a structured lens in which to look at the data. "Grounded theory methodology insists that no matter how general-- how broad in scope or abstract -- the theory, it should be developed in that back and forth-- interplay with data that is so central to this methodology." It is in the back and forth approach where I think we find the most important details of the work. In the trial and error of doing and studying we stay grounded in work. This type of work clearly distinguishes the difference between theory and practice.
The second text, Confronting the Challenges of Participating Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century was a very interesting read. I actually enjoyed this much more than the previous text. This really spoke to me thinking as both a teacher of writing and a graduate student. Even though I can remember a world without the convenance of modern technological advances it is hard for me to remember a time without it. "The computer does not operate in a vacuum. Injecting digital technologies into the classroom necessarily affects our relationships with every other communications." No truer words have been spoken in relation to computers. Today nothing moves without computers-- this is especially true in the world of writing. A revolution of sorts has happened in writing because of the advent of computers. Students have been removed from traditional classroom forums and moved into a world that they are more familiar and comfortable with.
The term "affinity spaces" emerged in this article and it was like a lightbulb went off in my mind. "Affinity spaces are distinct from formal education systems." Different from the traditional classrooms of the past. And these affinity spaces have made room for students to be participants in their education and this is space that is greatly needed. In these organic spaces students are allowed and are more likely to create and participate. I think the participation is key. In traditional classrooms students are more reluctant to participate to write, to share their ideas for whatever reason. But in this digital space students are more reticent to be involved to give their ideas and to create.
As an educator I see it when I use technology to engage my students and elicit their participation in a world that is familiar to them. And as a graduate student I am experiencing this in my Networked Narratives class. Being a student in this space navigating through a world that I have become familiar with has enabled me to be an engaged student in a manner that I never would've before. This is the way of the world and I feel that I sit in a very good space to be able to get the perspective of this educational shift from two different spectrums. It has given me so much insight into what is to coming next.
Writing Theories Under Construction
This week we read an excerpt from “Grounded Theory: A Critical Research Methodology” by Joyce Magnotto Neff in Under Construction: Working at the Intersection of Composition Theory, Research, and Practice. It made me think that reflect on why we do the work that we do. What makes us take the theories into practice. The main takeaway from me was the grounded theory methodology. The data driven principals that the methodology is founded on lends itself to the opportunity to test this theory out. Data is important when looking at the trends in writing and trying to find a way to improve both the teaching and the actual doing of writing.
There is so much guesswork in the teaching of writing instruction because of the complexity of human activity. As a result, I think it is important to have a structured lens in which to look at the data. "Grounded theory methodology insists that no matter how general-- how broad in scope or abstract -- the theory, it should be developed in that back and forth-- interplay with data that is so central to this methodology." It is in the back and forth approach where I think we find the most important details of the work. In the trial and error of doing and studying we stay grounded in work. This type of work clearly distinguishes the difference between theory and practice.
The second text, Confronting the Challenges of Participating Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century was a very interesting read. I actually enjoyed this much more than the previous text. This really spoke to me thinking as both a teacher of writing and a graduate student. Even though I can remember a world without the convenance of modern technological advances it is hard for me to remember a time without it. "The computer does not operate in a vacuum. Injecting digital technologies into the classroom necessarily affects our relationships with every other communications." No truer words have been spoken in relation to computers. Today nothing moves without computers-- this is especially true in the world of writing. A revolution of sorts has happened in writing because of the advent of computers. Students have been removed from traditional classroom forums and moved into a world that they are more familiar and comfortable with.
The term "affinity spaces" emerged in this article and it was like a lightbulb went off in my mind. "Affinity spaces are distinct from formal education systems." Different from the traditional classrooms of the past. And these affinity spaces have made room for students to be participants in their education and this is space that is greatly needed. In these organic spaces students are allowed and are more likely to create and participate. I think the participation is key. In traditional classrooms students are more reluctant to participate to write, to share their ideas for whatever reason. But in this digital space students are more reticent to be involved to give their ideas and to create.
As an educator I see it when I use technology to engage my students and elicit their participation in a world that is familiar to them. And as a graduate student I am experiencing this in my Networked Narratives class. Being a student in this space navigating through a world that I have become familiar with has enabled me to be an engaged student in a manner that I never would've before. This is the way of the world and I feel that I sit in a very good space to be able to get the perspective of this educational shift from two different spectrums. It has given me so much insight into what is to coming next.
