This assignment asks students to contribute to a shared blog (http://u.osu.edu/eng2367section14663) dedicated to primary texts relevant to the course theme. Throughout the semester students will submit their own entry to the blog (2-3 pages), about any primary source of their choosing related to the theme. Students might choose a film, a television show (or a particular episode), a song/music video, a visual or musical artist, a comic, a video game, a podcast, or any other relevant artifact. Students’ posts will include: 1) a brief description and summary of the artifact and why it was chosen and 2) an analysis of the artifact. This analysis does not necessarily need to be driven by a thesis, but should include close reading and should analyze the ways in which the artifact engages with the themes/topics we have been discussing in class. Students may write about why this artifact is particularly interesting in the context of the course theme, how this artifact relates to other similar texts we have examined in class, or how the artifact engages with our course theme in particularly unique or challenging ways. Because this blog post is intended for a public audience (as opposed to an academic audience), students have the freedom to exercise a more casual writing style, although an academic level of critical thought is still expected. Posts will be assessed based on depth of analysis, critical thought, and connection to the course themes and conversations. Essentially, this assignment is just like the Literary Analysis paper but intended for a different audience. Below is a list of objectives; I will refer to these objectives when grading this assignment. This assignment is due at any point before the final day of class on Monday, April 23.
Objectives:
- Choose one primary source – a film, comic, television show/episode, song/music video, video game, podcast, or other artifact relevant to our course.
- Produce a 2-3 page analysis that demonstrates your ability to identify and extrapolate on elements of your text that are interesting, revealing, or strange. Your analysis should begin with a brief summary/description, but more importantly must engage in close reading and interpretation.
- Assert and maintain your own critical voice as you discuss explicitly the ways in which this artifact fits in with our course theme and how it engages with the topics/tropes/themes that we have discussed in class.
- Include an image of or link to your artifact for your readers’ reference.
**Students may complete an additional blog post for extra credit.
White Haze
Found: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/626/white-haze
The first half of the conversation focuses on. Dante Nero’s involvement with the group named the Proud Boys prior to the events that took place in Virginia and afterwards. Defined as a fraternal organization by the founder of the Long Island chapter. The Proud Boys is a group founded based on principles that closely mimic the beliefs of other, more radical white supremacy groups minus wanking and race. Dante Nero’s involvement in the group centers on his idea of “no wank,” which emphasizes the empathy necessary to understand women, history, and make the group more inclusive somehow.
Nero had conversations with men who struggled with interacting with women, some who were members of the group. Early on Nero noticed the signs of members who openly made racial remarks on the facebook group page. Clearly there is a fine line between being a Proud Boy and problem-focused groups. I find it interesting that members of groups similar to Proud Boys eventually become members of other groups. In my opinion these are the men who feel like they are losing their identity to women who no longer want to simply be seen and not heard. In addition, people of color and other groups that continue to struggle for equal opportunities.
Someone has to be the blame for their displacement or self-acclaimed failures in a society that was built for them to proper. A sense of entitlement to something that never was belonged to them contributes to these attitudes and beliefs. Listening to second half of the conversation was beyond frustrating. Frustrating because as a female who identifies as a person of color, black m listening to a man complain about issues that people face everyday is in ridiculous. Instead of stepping back and taking a moment to figure out why he was not chosen for the position he decides to band a group of men who felt that women and blacks were taking over.
As mentioned in the conversation I believe that all of these mini groups are all the same. What essentially makes them different is not enough to differentiate them from other white supremacy groups. I completely agree with Dante’s statement about the group 29:30 into the conversation. In summary Nero goes into detail about how people who start these groups strongly believe in their cause, but it’s never right whether that be morally right. It has been proven throughout history and the orchestrator of the events in Virginia agreed.