Claims and Styles

Transmissions from Camp Trans

• Claim: Transsexual women are still consider “men” to the women of Michigan Womyn’s Music Festive (MWMF). Camp Trans offers safe haven for transsexual women.
• Style: Classical

Dark Webs Goth Subcultures in Cyberspace

• Claim: Goths uses the Internet just like everybody else, but they have different sites such as dark wave blogging, development of music, and fashion.
• Style: Rogerian

The Truck Stop as Community and Culture

• Claim: Truckers have there own little community at the Iowa truck stop. Truckers are suspicious of “outsiders,” thinking that they are highway patrol men. Truck stops are building a “destination” truckers.
• Style: Toulmin method

House for the Homeless

• Claim: Homeless people ranges from various types of background and most of them once had goals and dreams. The homeless needs to believe in themselves in order to get out of the situation that they are in.
• Style: Toulmin method.

I am in the process of doing more research for the paper and interviews. I have done some research on different sororities in GSU, an interview with on of my friend, who is in a sorority, at VSU. I need to do more field sites and more interviews. I am doing that on Monday before the sororities’ weekly charter meeting. Does my paper make sense or do my paper give a better understanding of the subculture?

Observation

What is going on in the field site?
Many sororities have certain philanthropy/charities that they work to help by fund raising. It is usually by car wash, selling tickets, bake sells, putting on a show, and etc. I am at a bowling ally watching sorority sisters selling tickets.

How do the members of the subculture interact with each other?
I think sorority sisters interact with each other the same way any girls would, except with the hand-signs that represent their sorority‘s Greek name, screaming each others names, and constant hugging each other. All sororities have different hand-signs.

Make a list of terminology used at the field site with which you might be unfamiliar.

• Philanthropy
• National Panhellenic Conference (NPC)
• Colony
• Chapter Advisor
• Badge
• Alumni Associations

What details, behaviors, surroundings did you have questions about?
I really did not have any questions for the sorority members, except for the terminology. The decorations are decorated in the colors of the sorority; every sororities have their own colors. There is also a sign with the Greek letters of the sorority’s name.

Find at least one person at your field site you can speak to and ask them a question about something you observed that you didn't understand.
The only question I have for the sorority members is the terminologies.

• Philanthropy- Community services that the sorority donate time, money, and energy towards.
• National Panhellenic Conference (NPC)- The governing body of twenty-six national and international sororities.
• Colony- A new organization working towards becoming a charter of a international fraternity and/or sorority
• Chapter Advisor- An alumna/ alumnus who establishes and maintain a close advisory relationship with a charter and serves as a teacher, counselor, and friend.
• Badge- The pin of a initial member.
• Alumni Associations- An organization of alumni from a individual fraternity or sorority.

ACT V Questions

What make this fieldsite a good fieldsite in studying this particular subculture?
The author of the paper was studying Prison Performing Arts Program and what better way to get to know the subculture than to actually involve yourself in that subculture.

What observations did the author make that is particularly useful in this subculture?
the author first observe the inmates as actors, then realize that they (inmates) are convected murderers and rapists. the author explain the way the actors were on stage as if they were completely different people.

What are the norms and values of the subculture?
The inmates value the respect that the program offers. The inmates fill like they are treated like humans. The inmates also values the knowledge that they obtained.

What interview techniques did the author us to understand the subculture?
The author uses interviews from participates, from the play, to enhance the pathos appeal. The author uses the interviews as a way to get the inmates to describe the subculture. The interviews also shows how much the inmates has changed over the years since their condemnation.

Greek Life

Topic: Greek Life

Huchting, Karen, Andrew Lac, and Joseph W. LaBrie. “An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviors to Sorority Alcohol Consumption.” Addictive Behaviors 33:4 (2008): 583-551. ScienceDirect. Georgia State University Lib., Atlanta, GA. 13 Mar. 2008.

Valen, Kelly. “My Sorority Pledge? I Swore Off Sisterhood.” New York Times. 157:54146 (2007): 6. LexisNexis Academic. Georgia State University Lib., Atlanta, GA. 13 Mar. 2008. <www.lexisnexis.com/us/inacademic>

Johnson, Kristen B. and Bryan K. Saville. “Years In College and Sorority Membership In Predicting Self-Esteem of a Sample of College Women.” Psychological Report 101:3 (2007): 907-912. EBSCOhost. Georgia State University Lib., Atlanta, GA. 13 Mar. 2008. <http://www.ebscohost.com>

Basow, Susan A., Jamila Bookwala, and Kelly A. Foran. “Body Objectification, Social Pressure, and Distorted Eating Behavior in College Women: The Role of Sorority Membership.” Psychology of Women Quarterly 31:4 (2007): 394-400. EBSCOhost. Georgia State University Lib., Atlanta, Ga. 13 Mar. 2008. <http://www.ebscohost.com>

Robbins, Alexandra. Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities. New York: Hyperion, 2004.

Reflection:

Greek life have always interest me. Since coming to college, I have wanted to join a sorority because it seems fun and a good way to meet new people; at least that is what the sororities said. Honestly I do not know what exactly to expect from joining a sorority, but I am willing to find out. But I changed my view of sororities after reading “My Sorority Pledge? I Swore Off Sisterhood.” My view of sorority is most likely all people’s view of sorority; the stereotypical view of sororities. Sure sorority girls go out and party, but I did not know about the dangers that are involved and the humiliation of your actions.

Craig Brewer

I am doing my hip-hop cultural paper on Hustle and Flow written by Craig Brewer. First and for most I had to look at the DVD cover to find the director’s name. The process in which I found information on Craig Brewer, basically I used Google. Yes I am addicted to Google and that is the only search engine I use, until I find a better one. I click on the first couple of links that shows up; they are usually the best ones to use.
The first website I went on is http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0108132/ (The Internet Movie Database). The Internet Movie Database is a website created just for movies and gives information on the cast, director, summery of the movie, and various movies that the director has produce, written, and directed. Plus the website includes photos of the movie, cast, director, and other celebrates.
The second website I went on is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Brewer. I must say wikipedia is my favorite website to go on in order to find information on just about anything. You can say I am a wikipedia addict, as well as Google addict. What I like about wikipedia is that the website cites all of the sources that the writer of the article uses and provides links to them.
The third website I went on is http://movies.aol.com/celebrity/craig-brewer/299159/biography, which gives a brief history of Brewer.
The advantage of looking at the sources that I did is that I know the information is valid because all three sources stated the same thing. The first two websites gives information on Brewer’s professional life, but the third websites gives a brief biography about his life as a whole. The first two sources cite their information and provide links to the actual articles or quotes made by the person the researcher is researching on.

Holler if You Hear Me: Searchin for Tupac Shakur by M. E. Dyson

Dr. Michael Eric Dyson is an ordained Baptist minister. Dr. Dyson taught at numerous universities and is now currently teaching in Georgetown University. He teaches theology, English, and African-American studies. Dr. Dyson has written fourteen books and has been named by Ebony as one of the hundred most influential black Americans. “Dr. Dyson is a leading scholar on hip-hop music and the culture that surrounds it, as well as its roots in Africa and Africa-American cultures and influence on American popular culture” (wikipedia.com). Dr. Dyson wrote his book Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur in 2001, on the fifth anniversary of Tupac Shakur’s death.

The first thing that pops up in my mind whenever I hear the name Tupac Shakur is that he was a rapper, he probably belong in a gang, and he was killed in the 1990s. What Dr. Dyson wrote in his book about Tupac Shakur is almost the complete opposite of my opinion. Dr. Dyson described Tupac as an intellectual person, who actually has something to say, with an “appetite” for reading; from Nietzsche to Homer. Dr. Dyson stated that Tupac, before becoming famous, shared arguments about the impact of race and class on all American people as well as his mother’s life, who is a former Black Panther.

The Streets

Many people associate rap or hip hop with African-Americans, but other parts of the world has its own version of hip hop. Hip hop is not limited to African-Americans. The Streets started out as a group, but soon fell apart into a one-man band. Mike Skinner, Caucasian, was born in Birmingham, England. His music is a combination of United Kingdom garage, electronica, and hip hop. Skinner music consists of vocals, keyboard, and guitar. Skinner recorded his first album, Original Pirate Material, in his bedroom at his mother’s house in Birmingham, England. Skinner’s album has been described as one of the most authentic voices of British youth in many years. Skinner has been compared to Eminem. The Streets released the Original Pirate Material in the United States in 2002, but did not catch the attention of the American public. The album became a favorite with Rollin Stone, Spin Magazine, The New York Times, Blender, USA Today, and LA Times. Unlike many American rappers, Skinner rap, on his first album, about the life of a “geezer,” of lager, fast food, and failure with women. Skinner described himself as "Barratt class: suburban estates, not poor but not much money about, really boring." Skinner wanted to portray the lifestyle of clubbers in Britain; his single “Let’s Push Things Forward” reflects the “philosophy” of the Original Pirate Material album.
The Streets released The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living on April 10, 2006. The lyrics of this album moved away from the stories about working class Britain and moved toward the ups and downs of fame. The first single released from this album was “When You Wasn’t Famous.” The song deals with Skinner dating a famous person, following his new found fame. The second single “Never Went to Church” is a tribute to Skinner’s late father.

Peer Review

The peer review went by somewhat smooth and it is informative. It is helpful to know that our essays actually make sense to other people. One thing I would like to change is that we, the students, did not have enough time to speck with one another about the essays. I think the best way to learn is to hear what other students have to say about the essay instead of answering questions about the essay, which some students might not look at. In a short amount of time students cannot complete reading two essays, answer questions, and have discussions about the two different essays; some longer than others.
Many college students learn through different methods, but one thing for sure we, the college students, sometimes do not read what others wrote about our essays. When someone is talking to us directly, we are more likely to listen to them. As we, the students, discuss about the certain topics, we will get more feedback on our essays and find more effective ways as to getting our point across. All-in-all my peer review went by somewhat smooth. We did read, answer questions, and have a discussion about our essays. I would have, personally, like for more time to talk about our essays.

PCU fallacy

The movie, PCU, have the fallacy of Ad hominem for the character Gutter. In this movie people judges Gutter’s character as stupid, pothead, and an “all around loser.” Even people in The Pit called Gutter stupid (I can’t remember the exact quote).

Into the Wild

Christopher McCandless was not your average college student. Despite graduating from Emory University, majoring in history/anthropology, in Atlanta, Georgia in June 1990, McCandless wanted to free himself from society’s expectation of him. That is why McCandless decided to travel north after he graduated from Emory University. McCandless was the product of average upper-middle class parents, so it is safe to assume that McCandless’ parents expected McCandless to go to college and find himself a high paying career or a career that he like to do.
When people think about college students, two things come to mind: parties or studying. Thanks to movies/media, people usually associate college students with wild uncontrollable teens at frat partying every single night. This might be true for some college students, but not all. There is also another type of college students, the ones that actually studies. These types of students care about what they are in college for; education that would lead to a high paying career. Christopher McCandless does not fit in any of the two types. In Death of an Innocent, Eric Hathaway, Chris’s cross-country teammate, described that “Social life at Emory revolved around fraternities and sororities, something Chris wanted no part of.” That is why Christopher McCandless’s story is controversial.
When looking at McCandless from a broader view, a man from an upper-middle class family and an honors graduate from Emory University, goes off “into the wild” would not fit well with people. To me McCandless seems like a 90s hippie, without the psychedelic drugs; carefree and “insisting that titles and honors were of no importance.” People describe McCandless as “generous and caring;” McCandless, after graduating from Emory, still had $20,000 in his account, donated it to Oxford Famine Relief Fund.
McCandless way of thought was unusual from many people; McCandless third grade teacher inform McCandless’s parents that their son “march to a different drummer.” During high school McCandless would bring home A’s and developed to be one of the top distance runners in the region. While training for cross-country, McCandless would always use “spiritual aspect” to try to motivate team members: “think about all the evil in the world, all the hatred, and imagine running against the forces of darkness.” With many good qualities there are some bad. McCandless was impatience and self-absorbed, which intensify throughout college. During college McCandless became anti-social, “he kind of pulled back from his old friends and got more heavily into himself,” said Eric Hathaway. McCandless wanted to be independent from society.
In order for McCandless to free himself from modern society; McCandless disconnected himself from friends and family. McCandless hitchhiked throughout the United States. Along the way, McCandless meet and befriended people like Wayne Westerberg, a man who McCandless kept in contact. McCandless walked into the Alaskan wild on Tuesday, April 28, 1992. Despite early trouble of gathering food, McCandless situation changed for the better. What proved to be fatal to McCandless was the poisonous Hedysarum Mackenzii, wild sweet pea that he ate thinking that it was potato seed. McCandless became ill, due to the wild sweet pea, and was extremely weak. Just 113 days after McCandless entered the wild, McCandless died of starvation on August 18.

AIDS and Advertisement

Advertisements are created to capture the attention of the public. Many large corporations, such as United Colors of Benetton, pay millions of dollars to advertise their products. While other companies' advertisements were similar to one another, United Colors of Benetton stray away from the "safe" advertisements. In the early 1990s, United Colors of Benetton advertise many controversial pictures to generate more publicity/attention from the public and the press. With many controversial pictures, curiosity occurs in people; wanting to know more about the pictures and what significance do the pictures have.
The AIDS advertisement of United Colors of Benetton tackled a taboo subject that people in the 1990s rejected or ignored. Knowing people would gossip or argue about the advertisement; United Colors of Benetton intentionally used the picture of a man dying in his father's arms. One would say that United Colors of Benetton was trying to raise awareness for AIDS, but United Colors of Benetton is a clothing company and there weren’t any clues as to tell what the man was dying of. When people look at the advertisement, a man dying in his father's arms is not an effective way to sell clothing. Plus there is no caption, nothing what-so-ever but a rectangular box that said "United Colors of Benetton."
During 1990, there was a lack of information/knowledge that is associated with AIDS. With the lack of information/knowledge, people tend to associate what they do not know as something that is bad or unpleasant. Looking through the perspectives of people in 1990, the thought of AIDS is usually associated with homosexuals and people who have blood transfusions. People hide the fact that they have AIDS in order to fit in to society. People with AIDS felt ashamed of themselves. AIDS was not widely accepted by the public in the 1990s. Plus people in 1990 do not know that ANYONE can contract AIDS.
What exactly was United Colors of Benetton trying to portray in their 1990 AIDS advertisement? Just by looking at the picture, as stated in paragraph two, people do not know what the boy was dying of. How would the public know if it was AIDS or some other diseases? The only thing that the public has to go by is an image of a father, mother, and sister crying over their son/brother, who is about to die. I guess the good thing about the advertisement is that it shows that United Colors of Benetton cares about ordinary people, but the advertisement do not specify which group of people that United Colors of Benetton is signifying or cares about. Is the advertisement about people with AIDS? But the advertisement did not mention anything about AIDS. The advertisement shows that United Colors of Benetton cares, but who do they care about? Many people said "a picture is worth a thousand words," that might be true if people understand the symbols that are present in the picture. In the case of United Colors of Benetton's AIDS advertisement, the picture is vague.