Welcome

Peace Y’all. Welcome to our class blog.

Section Focus:

This section is unique – not only because each one of us brings our own intellectual, technological, and creative strengths, but also because it will be team taught by Maren Cummings and Maria Velazquez. So, there is double the fun, and double the creative activities! We are both interested in dance and embodiment- meaning the study of the way particular bodies are understood in and by societies. Thus, a main aspect and focus of the section will be movement activities (so please come to section prepared to move), and activities that ask you to stretch your definitions of knowledge past the page. We encourage everyone to move according to their own ability, but to be open to trying new activities.

We are all coming into this section with knowledge to share and something to learn, and it is up to all of us to make this section a safe space for growing together. While we as TAs have particular roots for our knowledge, so do you. As noted in the Subject in History activity, we have all been formed as subjects in history because of the particular experiences we have had at a particular time, in a particular space, and in a particular body. So, please value your contributions as much as we do.

Here are some basic guidelines for our discussions:

- Knowledge is created by people working together in constructive dialogue, so, when you don’t attend class or come to class not having done the readings, it is not only detrimental to your own knowledge production, but to all of ours.

- Audre Lorde says, “Your silence will not protect you.” In the context of this course, this statement means that we should all feel enabled to vocalize our frustrations, confusion, and dissent, as well as our concrete knowledge.

- “The personal is political”- so living and learning are inseparable. The ideas that we discuss in class have direct bearing on our personal philosophies and our daily lives. And reciprocally, current events inform and update our in –class discussions. So bring in any material you find relevant to the course or the blog, and use the analytical skills you develop in this class wherever you go.

- Don’t be afraid to re-evaluate your values, or express them.

- Notice who is in the course and who is not. What voices are missing from this course, whether in person, text, or performance?

Disembodied Learning: What is the point of the blog?

So, if a main aspect of this section is going to focus on how bodies are read, created, and constructed by society, what does it mean that part of our learning process take place in a space where bodies can’t be seen? Well, it is as important to understand how bodies are understood when they are seen as when they are not seen. The personas you enact on the blog may not necessarily be how you act in the class- a shy person may feel more comfortable contributing on the blog than in section, a person with more internet savy may post videos, pictures, and links. The blog space should complement and add to our discussions. After each class I would like to spend the last few minutes brainstorming “Questions to Go”- meaning concepts that are still unclear to you, a comment that did not get addressed, or a quote from a text/ picture that you would like to explore in the next class. We will choose one and post it on the blog for people to begin answering before the next section. In this sense, we will come into each discussion section with an entry point to build off of.

It is imperative that we all check the blog regularly, because:

1. YOU MUST POST YOUR PAPERS AND ASSIGNMENTS ON THE BLOG. This means that you shouldn’t put anything in your paper that you consider too personal to be made public. Your assignment will not be graded until it has been posted.
2. Knowing how to incorporate technology into learning and learning into technology is a must.
3. It is a space for us to keep our discussions going and post announcements.

CONTACT:
Please feel free to contact Maren at mabcummings@gmail.com or Maria at maria.i.velazquez@gmail.com. We are not holding set office hours, so please contact us to schedule meeting times. One or both of us will be available between the discussion section and the class lecture (between 1:30-1:50pm) as well.

Announcements:

• If you didn’t get enough of the museum madness this past week, keep going! There is an amazing exhibit on Hip Hop at the National Portrait Gallery. Entitled, “Recognize” this exhibit on Hip Hop and contemporary portraiture archives some of the The exhibit runs until October 26, 2008. FREE!
• Our very own David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans (located in the Cole Student Activities Building) is hosting a conference on African American Art history. March 7 & 8, 2008. For more information click here.