University of Aruba

FAS: SW&D / OGM

August 23, 2010

UNIT 1

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1. Meet & greet: introduce

2. Course logistics and rules of engagement

3. Unit 1:

1. Introduce the course: framework

2. Communication as departing point: humans as social beings, sharing and negotiation of meaning and identity

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Let’s here each others voices: tell something about yourself and what you expect to learn from this course

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Welcome to our learning community!

We form a group (students together with instructor) who, for a while and motivated by common vision and will, are engaged in the pursuit of acquiring knowledge, abilities and attitudes. We inspire and support each other during this learning journey. We are building together our own learning environment

YOUR ACTIVE ROLE is essential for the reaching of an overall enjoyable learning climate

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12 units12 classes Each unit deals with a specific theme. All themes are

connected to each other. Class: Plenary, discussions, assignments Self-study Assessment: Written Exam and Essay Optional: Bonus assignment Wikispace: Assignments Reading instructions; core concepts etc Room for discussion, further questions (students can try to

answer, I’ll give guidance) Conversation starters: more information on the subjects

(non-mandatory)

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www.critical-literacies.wikispaces.com

More guidance:

Module description

Reading list

Contact teacher:

Nadia Dresscher

nadiadresscher@gmail.com

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOENu0fK0uM&feature=related

The following scene of the movie “Dead Poet Society” sets the tone for the exploration of ‘Critical Literacy’

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Unit 1: The departing Framework module

Communication as departing point: humans as social beings, sharing and negotiation of meaning and identity

Unit 2: Spinning webs of meaning, language and social reality

Unit 3: Making sense of the world and its codes: the meaning of literacy

Unit 4: The blooming of the inquisitive mind: taking a critical stance

Unit 5: Constructing reality through discourse

Unit 6: Ideologies, social identities & the reproduction of these in society

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Unit 7: Devices that generate meaning, construct reality and shape identities 1: Metaphors

Unit 8: Devices that generate meaning, construct reality and shape identities 2: Storytelling

Unit 9: Critical literacy in the 21st century 1: Media literacy and Framing

Unit 10: Critical literacy in the 21st century 2: Political literacy: how to see through the political rhetoric

Unit 11: Expression of the self and diversity: Voicing and dialogue of voices

Unit 12: Reflection on the course

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The ability to think critically about the symbolic nature of communication (messages are constructed)

The ability to analyze and critique the relationships among texts, language, power, social groups and social practices.

The ability to formulate questions that explore the sometimes hidden (implicit and discursive) intentions, creative strategies, representation of social groups, ideologies (ideas and believes) that are at the core of subjects mediated through discourse.

The ability to recognize the existence of diverse voices in terms of ideas, believes and experiences.

The ability to think critically about the self in terms of ideas, believes and experiences.

The ability to articulate the own unique voice in creative ways by using narratives and metaphors.

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Unit 1:

Communication as departing point:

Humans as social beings,

sharing and negotiation of meaning and identity

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To present a starting point for the understanding of human communication processes

To explain the properties and dynamics of the communication process

To approach the communication process in a contextual manner

To try to make the ‘intangible’ communication process more ‘tangible’ by focusing on the different components of the process

To translate the communication process in terms of transactions of ‘codes’

To relate communication with the concept of identity

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?

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= the study of the history of words and how their form and meaning have changed over time:

Communication: from the Latin "communicare“ literally means "to put in common", “to share". The term originally meant sharing of tangible

things; food, land, goods, and property.

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Human communication -the ability to symbolize and use language- separates humans from animals! (this proposition is of course disputable)

Communication with others is the essence of what means to be human!

We conduct a life through

communication

We define ourselves

Is a vehicle; to initiate,

to maintain and to terminate

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Our essence being social

The world is web of relationships:

So, communication has a social function!

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Biological motives (nurturing a child, helpless, need of attention, need for security) (nature/nurture debate)

Interpersonal motives (one’s identity shapes and re-shapes itself through interaction with other and the world)

Social/societal motives (societies are based on cooperation networks in the broadest sense of the word)

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Different, numerous, depending on what perspective you choose!

holistic approach properties of communication, rather than 1 definition.

And when we refer to ‘communication’ in a certain context, we will use the lasso technique and define the perspective and properties we choose to focus on!

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1. Process2. Dynamic3. Interactive - Transactive4. Symbolic5. Intentional – unintentional?6. Contextual7. Ubiquitous (omnipresent)8. Cultural

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Ongoing, ever-changing, and continuous

Doesn’t have a specific beginning or endpoint

Not static, always moving, change

analogy: human body is a process: it is always aging communication is always developing.

For verbally their may be a beginning/end. Non-verbally is more intangible.

it does not stop, is irreversible: it affects future communication

Can’t be captured easily: flexible, fluid, adaptive

Models, pictures, graphs give just a little help; ‘the dynamics of communication’ are impossible to replicate identically

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It happens between people

Active participation of people, sending and receiving, consciously directing: two-way flow

Transactional implies simultaneously sending and receiving; negotiations

Example: tell me what you did last weekend? See how I communicate with you, with my eyes and my face expressions, while listening to your story…

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Simply means that communication is everywhere, done by everyone, all the time. Whenever one goes there is communication happening

“ one cannot not communicate” (Watzlawick et.al)

Ok, let’s get philosophical, what does this mean?

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Reasoning:

(a) Behavior has no opposite, one cannot not behave in an interactional setting.

(b) All behavior has informational (message) value, since behavior is informative, it is communicative

(c) And one cannot not behave, then one cannot not communicate

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The fundamental difference between information and communication

Example:

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Everything that reaches our human senses is information. What ‘you’ use as information, depends on your needs, knowledge and experience

Communication implies signals (example sounds and images) that are symbolic in their nature.

Symbolic = an arbitrarily selected and learned stimulus that represents something else. They don’t have any natural relationship with what they represent.

Symbols are the vehicle by which the thoughts and ideas of one person can be communicated to another person.

Both verbal as non-verbal symbols are arbitrary!

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Communication is intentional people consciously engage in interaction with a purpose!

Eduard: “ do you want to go tonight to the movies?”

Sarah: “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea”

Communication is unintentional think about the statement: “One cannot not communicate?”

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Effective communication implies that the purpose of a communication utterance was fulfilled!

“Did he get my message?”

“ I didn’t mean that at all, you misunderstood me completely”

“ That Is precisely what I meant”

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Communication is dependent on the context in which it occurs

What is context?

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Refers to the setting, situation, circumstances, background and overall framework within which communication occurs.

example, study the following picture, and imagine the context where the communication process takes place:

multilayers

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Psychical context: girlfriends talking to each other after class, in the university’s beautiful garden

Social context: friend to friend (relationship)

Psychological context: each girlfriend’s thoughts and emotions

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A world filled with people producing communication utterances: people who have social, cultural and personal identities, knowledge, beliefs, goals and wants, and who interact with one another in various socially and culturally defined situations (Schriffrin, 1994)

We can perceive this world as a frame (frames in frames) that surrounds the communication process

Our meanings and understandings of a utterance are dynamic, and constantly re-adjusted in the progression of communication

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Dimensions of context are not fixed and immutable

Instead they are dynamically and socially constituted by the communication processes themselves.

Communication is constrained by context, but it also reveals, sustains, and provides context

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Culture shapes communication, and communication is culture-bound

A specific context that influence communication: the cultural context

This topic will be extensively elaborated in UNIT 5 of this course.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omc-LerO92c

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Communication is a dynamic process! Now let’s try to ‘take a picture’ of this process; let’s try to capture it for the purpose of awareness, analysis and reflection.

What components are involved in this process?

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Sender & Receiver (continuous role switching) and their psychological personal world consisting of: accumulated knowledge, experience, attitudes, believes…

Channel Medium Message Coding of message Decoding of message Multiple layers of context Negotiation of meaning interpretation Feedback Noise

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When trying to capture the communication process in order to analyze it, models can be helpful!

What is a model?

=a systematic representation of an object or event in idealized and abstract form. The act of abstracting eliminates certain details to focus on essential factors

= it is a metaphor. it allow us to see one thing in terms of another

= is merely a picture; that is even distorting, because it stops or freezes an essentially dynamic interactive or transactive process into a static picture

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Chapter 1

Fiske tries to capture the communication model in models

Models:

1. Shannon and Weaver’s model (1949)

2. Gerbner’s model (1956)

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Gerbner’s model: perception and meaning

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Intrapersonal (e.g. processing information, reflecting)

Interpersonal (e.g. a couple, friendly/formal conversation)

Intragroup (e.g. family)

Intergroup or association (e.g. local community)

Institutional/organizational

Society-wide (e.g. mass communication; magazine, TV, internet, radio)

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Please reflect on the interplay between the shaping of identities and communication. How does your own identity relate to communication? Can you describe how ‘you are’ in communication? How do you relate to others when communicating and what this says about your identity?

We will discuss your findings in our next session

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