Digital Culture by Margaret Grant https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0 en-us 2021-01-20 01:28:10 UTC 2025-04-05 17:32:58 UTC hello@padlet.com 1.21.2021 - Intro Week - MLK margaret_grant https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1109160135 We just celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Jan. 18). Florini writes of "strategic amnesia" with regard to our racial history, both in U.S. education materials and our public memory more broadly.

Find an example of "strategic amnesia" that has functioned to "sanitize" our past and present and post to your padlet board. This doesn't have to be specific to MLK but might include an MLK meme, an excerpt from an old history textbook, or something else.

Reading this week's article about "strategic amnesia" really emphasized how much work can be done in our country's education system in order to teach a cohesive, worldly version of our history. Our country is rooted in white supremacy, and history books were written through the white man's perspective, inherently leaving out perspectives of oppressed groups. 

An example of strategic amnesia that I thought of after reading was school and team mascots. Many mascots represent figures that portray strength, success, and shared group identity because the purpose of using a mascot is to encourage a team to win the metaphorical "battle" they are fighting [the sports game]. One mascot I thought of that embodies this idea is the "Crusaders". The Crusades were a very violent time in history, where [in short] Crusaders persecuted their enemies for being of another religion. The Crusade(r)s represent violent ideologies, but cherry-picking characteristics associated with fighting in war sanitizes the history of the real Crusades.
Another example of this is the "Indians" mascot, which glosses over every single aspect of oppresssion of Indigenous people, and instead represents only the characteristics associated with the dominant narrative (strength, bravery, stoical, proudness, etc.).
]]> 2021-01-21 09:09:28 UTC https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1109160135 1.21.2021 - Strategic Amnesia margaret_grant https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1109258664 2021-01-21 09:38:48 UTC https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1109258664 1.21.2021 - Strategic Amnesia margaret_grant https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1109262602 2021-01-21 09:39:58 UTC https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1109262602 1.21.2021 End of class margaret_grant https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1111876568 To help re-write social memory, I can have [uncomfortable] conversations with my peers and family about non-dominant narratives of history. ]]> 2021-01-21 20:02:48 UTC https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1111876568 1.26.2021 - Reclaim MLK margaret_grant https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1124435970 In the second half of the chapter, "MLK, I Choose You!", Florini outlines several strategies that the Movement for Black Lives has adopted to reclaim MLK's legacy and resist iterations of strategic amnesia. Find a digital example of one of these reclamations of King (or another historical prominent Black figure) and post to your padlet by the beginning of class on Tuesday (1/26).

Nia Langley's tweet on MLK day resists strategic amnesia by pointing out that he was one of the country's most polarizing figures of his time. She reclaims him by saying he and his activism would have been hated by people were he alive today, inferring that it would be similar to forms of activism that are hated today (i.e., the Movement for Black Lives). She includes a video of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther speaking about America's racism/perception of black people, and it touches on the part in the reading about the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" ideology [that MLK clearly did not support].

]]> 2021-01-25 22:37:12 UTC https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1124435970 1.28.2021 Water Dancer (chp. 1-3) margaret_grant https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1135091119 While reading chapters 1-3 of "The Water Dancer", I was picturing young Chiron from the movie "Moonlight" when Hiram described his child self and the carriage wreck. To me, stills from this scene in particular parallel the descriptions of Hiram in the river because of the blue light and the surrounding water. Although I know Hiram wasn't as young as Chiron in this scene, I think the imagery in this picture fits well with how I imagined young Hiram to look. The constant blue descriptors in the book, like "There was peace in that blue light, more peace than sleep itself, and more than that, there was freedom" (8) really have the same vibes to me as this picture from Moonlight.]]> 2021-01-28 07:48:39 UTC https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1135091119 2.2.2021 #Ferguson margaret_grant https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1152392362 Find a hashtag from your own network (TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) and share what it is "indexing." How would you go about studying this hashtag (is there anything interesting about it)?

When reflecting on the #Ferguson reading, I thought of the hashtag #CancelCulture. This hashtag is indexing people's opinions on the idea of cancel culture, which [to my knowledge] was brought about when high-profile figures were being "canceled" (i.e., stripped of their platform, integrity, supporters, or credibility because of something that is typically deemed as wrong or politically incorrect by a large group of people). Twitter is a platform that allows people to state their opinion with words, but it also restricts a person's ability to say their full "side" by putting a character limit. This sometimes leads to people getting "canceled" by popular twitter without investigating/analyzing fully.
#CancelCulture groups a multitude of viewpoints about cancel culture (relating to politics, celebrity/influence figures, companies, etc.) and allows for people to engage in the argument of whether or not cancel culture is a bad thing.
The hashtag includes memes supporting either sides of the cancel culture debate, links to articles about the topic, and allows for people to relate cancel culture to current events like the GameStop/stock market event or COVID-19. I saw one tweet that even used the hashtag as a verb. "We need to #CancelCulture all #influencers."
One might go about studying the hashtag by narrowing searches by topic (e.g. celebrity/influencer) or looking at tweets in the hashtag only by verified accounts. One could also look at just the pictures attached to tweets to generally gauge the association between memes/humor to cancel culture.]]> 2021-02-02 08:11:03 UTC https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1152392362 2.4.2021 #FeministAntibodies margaret_grant https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1161684846 In "#FeministAntibodies," the authors describe several methods that allowed them to collate their findings about Asian American digital media-making (autoethnography, CTDA, hashtags as field sites, coding tweets from Wakelet). In a few sentences, trace the significance of one of these methods to the authors' findings. In other words, what did they find because of their choice in methodology?

In using a TweetChat and the hashtag #FeministAntibodies within a specific community (with some predetermined participants and organizations) helped the authors find commonalities among people's perspectives (like the general agreeance about the importance of intersectionality to foster community during disaster). In other words, bringing together a specific group of people showed that collective identity and group sharing can form on a digital networking site. They chose to limit their audience and archived data (Wakelet) from the #FeministAntibodies TweetChat to just focus on their core themes, therefore providing a space for building collective politics among Asian American women, but also excluding other perspectives. This allowed them to focus in on ideas like intersectionality and interdependence. ]]> 2021-02-04 02:08:46 UTC https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1161684846 2.9.2021 Participatory Culture margaret_grant https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1180222325 Please find (from your own digital network) and post an example of participatory culture based on the reading. Add a sentence or two to your post about why your example fits the categorization of participatory culture.

Zidani talks about participatory culture as a concept that recognizes the ability of consumers to actively take part in challenging the dominant, hegemonic narratives and power structures. She also talks about how Al-Jundi and Zoumot utilize their ability to foster community and creativity within participatory culture in "Punny Pun Times". 

The example I've chosen for participatory culture is @DeadDogLake on Twitter. This account, run by a Blackfeet Native in Montana, centers his account around rez dogs and often tweets like he is one. To understand one of his main premises, you have to have experience with or be apart of Native cultures. Along with this main focus of rez dogs, he uses his Twitter to speak on hegemonic, oppressive structures (e.g., blood quantum) and is constantly engaging in twitter conversations with his audience. He participates in #ndntwitter with relatable, humourous content about life as an Indigenous person, but also critiques how harmful and restrictive the community (#ndntwitter) can be.]]> 2021-02-09 04:12:52 UTC https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1180222325 2.11.2021 Water Dancer chp. 4-6 margaret_grant https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1193958553 What one big question do you have so far as you've been reading The Water Dancer? This could be something that doesn't make sense to you quite yet, something that isn't adding up in the plot, or maybe something about how you've been connecting the book to Digital Culture.

One question I have from chapters 4-6 is how Hiram was recovered from the river. Did he end up in the tall grass by the memorial like he remembers, or did Hawkins find him by the riverside? The book sparked this question when Hiram found his coin at the memorial but Hawkins told Hiram he found him while wandering (77, 82).
I am also confused about how this book specifically connects to digital culture. It hasn't added up yet but maybe I'll be enlightened later in the book!]]> 2021-02-11 18:41:57 UTC https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1193958553 2.16.2021 Digital Architectures & Context Collapsing margaret_grant https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1205772737 One of the danah boyd's main arguments in this article is that digital architectures shape online practices and publics. One example of this is "context collapse." Based on your understanding of this concept, how would you visualize context collapse? This might be a hand drawing that you upload, a meme/GIF that you find, or maybe even some sort of data visualization.

The way I visualize context collapse is a performer on stage with the spotlight on them at a crowded concert. When the spotlight's on you, you can't fully see what's going on below/in front of you in the stands, therefore preventing you from reacting a certain way to different situations. And at a crowded concert, people are there for different reasons, and it is difficult (I assume) for performers to put on a show that everyone enjoys to the fullest extent. Some people might only know a few songs or skits and get mad if their favorites don't get performed, and some people might know every song and want to be as close to the stage as possible. It's hard for the performer to please all of the different audiences and publics at once, so they will take the smoothest approach that they think will make everyone happy but probably won't.]]> 2021-02-16 07:04:50 UTC https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1205772737 2.18.2021 Social Constructivism vs. Technological Determinism margaret_grant https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1213746548 In thinking about affordances and digital media, do you side more with the technological determinist theory or the social constructivist theory? Why?

This is a tough one. I can see aspects that make sense from both theories, but I lean on the side of social constructivism. I'm looking at this through the lens of "which comes first: the chicken or the egg?" that we talked about last class, because in my opinion, our interactions on social media are informed by our cultural knowledge, and technology is just something that allows us to express it in different ways. Humans created technology and knew how to make different social networks engaging and informative (e.g., algorithm), so we bring previous knowledge and cultural assumptions into our experience of social networks. I see the side of technological determinism in that the mode/form of a media tool can change the way we look at things, but people created those modes in the first place. Affordances of technology in social constructivism allow us to carry out social norms and make further meaning on social networks, but I don't think technology is the baseline informer of all meaning.
Once technology was created, the cycle of both humans and social networks informing each other started, so this is why it's hard to determine which side I'm on.]]> 2021-02-18 04:20:12 UTC https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1213746548 2.23.2021 Cancel Culture Pt. 1 margaret_grant https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1229368743 After listening to the New York Times' podcast episode of "The Daily," what meme embodies your feelings about cancel culture?

When I was writing my padlet for the Hashtag reading, I came across this meme on Twitter. It's a play on the Scooby Doo bit of the monster being revealed as a human villian. The meme categorizes the "cancel cancel culture" viewpoint as the monster, and the "not holding people' accountable for their problematic actions" viewpoint as the real villian. I think this meme is particularly relevant to the part of the podcast that talks about Donald Trump's remarks about cancel culture. Trump weaponizes cancel culture and refers to it as his and America's enemy. This meme's language (in the top picture) reminds me of something Trump would say becuase it's similar to what he said in his speech on the 4th of July. Then, the bottom half of the picture explains what Michael and Jonah start to get into towards the end of Pt.1, saying that people who criticize cancel culture aren't rewarding nuanced conversations about holding people accountable. Not to say that I agree with cancel culture (because I think it's a really messy topic), but I think that many people who are "cancelled" by the general public are under scrutiny for good reasons (if it relates to racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, etc.). I think instead of focusing on canceling someone with a mob mentality, we should shift our focus to holding people accountable.]]> 2021-02-23 01:32:21 UTC https://padlet.com/margaret_grant/el7nddwmdka032n0/wish/1229368743