Monday, January 4, 2010

Lecture 1: Introduction

Welcome to English 108 and to a new year!




8 comments:

  1. lecture 1: reflection. nicholas prsa

    i agree that it is dangerous to have only a sinlge story because that story could be very untrue. also, there may be other sided to that story that we should take into account. if we just believe a single story we may hurt other people, some examples are mention in adichie's speech.

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  2. Lecture 1: Reflection. Chalsey Young

    I agree with Adichie that it is "dangerous" to have only a single story because that story is like a stereotype. Not all stereotypes are true, or at least not fully true, and just like a stereotype these single stories have some true parts, yet false ones as well. While a single story is written over, and over again, it is telling readers one stereotype that doesn't portray the full, true story. Believing in a single story is like believing in a false sense of reality, and could result in hurting those who have been stereotyped.

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  3. Lecture 1: Reflection. Justin Wiesinger

    I agree with Adichie's argument that it is "dangerous" to only have a single side to a story. We all live in a biased and stereotypical society. The power of the media is overwhelming. It is easy to believe what you see and hear on the television screen without thinking twice. These presumably "factual" stories that are broadcasting throughout our nation can have an effect on us, whether it is a positive or negative one. We could potentially believe a story to be factual, due to somebody else's expressed opinion about a certain issue or topic. These beliefs could lead to more negative thoughts and ideas about the perceived parties, ultimately "risking a critical misunderstanding."

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  4. Yes, I agree with Adichie that having a single story can be 'dangerous'. This is dangerous because it can form the minds of people into thinking the same way. Without the stereotypical injection from the media, naturally all people think differently and are allowed to think and feel differently. Having the same single story forms the world into one idea, rather than allowing people to think for themselves and thus creating a world that has many types of views and ideas. The single story stifles creativity and uniqueness of every individual.
    I learned that we are unfortunate to have learned about different societies through the media and are truly unaware of how a place can be.
    Instead of having the characters in my childhood stores all drinking ginger beer or having blue eyes, the characters in my stories all had something interesting in their life, some type of adventure. Clearly people living their everyday lives don't have super powers, the responsibility to save the world or a secret investigation to embark on, but they all somehow had some kind of an adventure in their lives.

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  5. Lecture 1: Reflection. Shelby Welch

    What i have learnt from Adichie's story is to look past all of the stereotypes people label on other groups and cultures and just see people for who they really are. When we don't acknowledge people just because of the type of music they listen to or because of their racial background, we miss out on the knowledge of getting to know them and their ideas. Also if this whole world was just made up of people with purple skin with green polka dots, every one had the same occupation, listened and created the same things over and over again this world would be very bland and boring. The fact we are all different is what makes this planet beautiful and inspiring. Besides this we all do have one thing in common, we are human. We all have emotions, we all have beliefs and we all have prospective. Its just a shame that this system of labeling was created because many groups are to naive and scared to go out and see the reality of who people really are and what they actually do. Scared that they might find the equivalent of themselves, if not better. We really need to step outside of our shell of prejudice and get to know people so we can grow and cooperate as a world together.

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  6. Lesson 1: Reflection Response.

    I think that the one major thing I took away from Adichie's speech was a, not so all of a sudden, realization of just how influential our media environment is to our perception of the world. Like Adichie was influenced into writing a certain way, with certain characters from the American and British books she read as a child; we too, are easily manipulated into seeing a pre-conceived version of the world. From a young age we are bombarded with images and stories from a variety of media outlets showing negitive (and some positive) stereotypes of people from around the world.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2002/apr/09/broadcasting.internationalnews
    The Simpsons get in trouble with Rio.

    Put your left shoe on your right foot. Doesn't feel good does it. Now take that analogy and apply it to the concept of foreign media. What if other countries stereotyped Canadians in a way that was an unfair representation? Personally, it doesn't really bother me, and it probably doesn't bother you all that much either, but thats because we are a far better off country than most. Although it does get tiresome of being a nation of hockey playing, maple syrup eating, beer drinking, Newfy talking blokes from way up north. If we would all wear our shoes on the proper feet, we'd be a more cohesive world, But probably a less interesting one.

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  7. Lecture 1: Reflection Response, Amelia Terlecki

    There are many things that I took away from Adichie's speech, but among them, one thing she said stood out to me. She was discussing how "impressionable and vulnerable we are in the face of a story, particularly as children". I very much agree with this statement. At a young age, people are very ignorant and willing to believe most things they are told. If they only hear one side of an opinion as they are being brought up, that is likely the picture they will paint in their minds in relation to that idea. That is the problem with only hearing a single, or one-sided, story.
    In creating stereotypes about groups of people, we are disabling them. We should not try to categorize people and see them only as a race, a disease, or a statistic. Avoiding this allows for people to be seen for their individuality. As Adichie said, "the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete".


    A link that I found interesting was one from a local Nigerian newspaper. The writer discusses his fear that the recent incident involving a Nigerian suicide attempt of an airplane has worsened the "already battered image of Nigeria".

    http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/editorial_opinion/article02//indexn2_html?pdate=120110&ptitle=Rebuilding Nigeria's dangerous international perception

    The picture link I chose is one of a cityscape in Africa. I picked it because Adichie said that when people think of Africa they usually think of "beautiful landscapes, beautiful animals..." and not of how there are highly industrialized and successful cities there as well.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/south-african-tourism/2418544214

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  8. Lesson 1: Reflection Response-Sarah Coates

    I am 100% in agreeance with Adichie's statement that it is dangerous to have only a single story. In today's society, the media has almost complete control of how we see and respond to current events. If we do not take the time to research and learn the other side of the story, we will fall victim to the single story, to the biased views presented in the media.

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