Imagery, Identity and Culture SP 2020: Introduction

Friday, January 31, 2020

Introduction - Jeffrey Figlar

Hello, I'm Jeffrey Figlar, and I'm a senior here at Rutgers Newark where I study Journalism & Media studies and Video production. This spring semester is my final semester here at Rutgers. Prior to Rutgers, I attended and graduated from Essex County College in Newark where I studied communications and video production. After getting my associate's degree, I was very eager to continue my education and to receive my bachelor's degree.

To get to know me from a micro level to a macro level, I'm the oldest of three children and I'm from Essex County, NJ. I'm a huge sports fan, Specifically (NFL, NBA, MLB) but I love all sports and can talk about them all day long. I played football, baseball, and lacrosse growing, and my greatest sports moment was when my high school football team had the opportunity to play the championship game in Metlife stadium.

As a journalist and video production major, I learned that I truly love to tell peoples stories and enjoy giving people a voice. I was not always interested in creating content or catching art visually, which is why I am blessed I decided to attend college where I was giving the chance to learn and grow as a person. I also love music (hip-hop/rap) mostly which helps me either relax or think when needed. As a person i like to think of myself as a funny, laid back person.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Great job with presentations so far. Projects are powerful and making us think so much about ourselves and our times. Please be sure to post your project and writing assignment if you have not already. You may edit your writing until next Friday.

Next week’s class on 5/1 will begin at 2:15pm. Please join the session as early as 2:00pm. Please be prepared to stay a little longer if you can so we can have everyone present.

FINAL PROJECTS (Due 4/24 on the blog):

SELF PORTRAIT and ARTIST STATEMENT

MAKE SURE YOU POST YOUR FINAL ON THE BLOG!

1. Choosing any one or combination of processes including: paintings, video, performance, writing, audio, installation, or mixed media, create a self portrait.

2. Connect your final self portrait project to the readings, artists, examples and discussions throughout the course. Being sure to create clear connections to the course themes.

3. Write an artist statement for the project. The statement should be 500-750 words and explain your process, your inspirations and influences and must also reference the class readings. Please be sure to explain the following:

+ What is the form and content of your self portrait?

+ Why have you created the work and what are its connections to your biography? How does this current work relate to your previous work and your professional aspirations?

+ What elements from the course have you chosen to address in the process of your self portrait? What artists, writers, design or other media examples have influenced and are connected to your project?

4. Post your project and written statement to the blog. If your project is an object, you must document the project and post one or more well lit and edited images of your project to the blog.

5. Plan a 2-minute presentation to the class (in the online session) explaining your self-portrait and written statement. Be sure to be well-prepared, clear, concise, and enthusiastic. This is your work! Be confident!

GYST Artist Statement Guidelines: https://www.gyst-ink.com/artist-statement-guidelines *A resource we showed in class if you would like to refer to in writing your artist statement.

The Poem "People" by Yevgeny Yevtushenko

https://readalittlepoetry.wordpress.com/2006/06/21/people-by-yevgeny-yevtushenko

_____________

Due Friday 4/17

MUST WATCH: The Gene Part 1 on PBS

https://www.pbs.org/video/part-1-dawn-of-the-modern-age-of-genetics-27czqa/

Be ready to discuss ideas

READING DUE for discussion:

Hollywood Reporter article with Project Blue Book cast

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/project-blue-book-cast-creators-talk-ufo-sightings-alien-mysteries-1267435

**Since we did not get to discuss the readings due last week, please be sure to review the two links and write down 3 points from the On Being episode with Jill Tarter and from the SETI website that strikes you. Be prepared to share these in the discussion.

On Being with Krista Tippett: Jill Tarter
https://onbeing.org/programs/jill-tarter-it-takes-a-cosmos-to-make-a-human/

Seti Institute - National Geographic Asks: Are We Alone?
https://www.seti.org/seti-institute-news-february-7-february-13-2019

WRITE IN YOUR JOURNAL AND WORK ON YOUR SELF PORTRAIT FINAL PROJECT! See below for details to consider for completion of the Final Project.

*Class on 4/24 and 5/1 will begin at 2:30pm and go to 5:20pm to allow for everyone to present their project

FINAL PROJECTS (Due 4/24 on the blog):
SELF PORTRAIT and ARTIST STATEMENT
MAKE SURE YOU POST YOUR FINAL ON THE BLOG!
1. Choosing any one or combination of processes including: paintings, video, performance, writing, audio, installation, or mixed media, create a self portrait.

2. Connect your final self portrait project to the readings, artists, examples and discussions throughout the course. Being sure to create clear connections to the course themes.

3. Write an artist statement for the project. The statement should be 500-750 words and explain your process, your inspirations and influences and must also reference the class readings. Please be sure to explain the following:

+ What is the form and content of your self portrait?

+ Why have you created the work and what are its connections to your biography? How does this current work relate to your previous work and your professional aspirations?

+ What elements from the course have you chosen to address in the process of your self portrait? What artists, writers, design or other media examples have influenced and are connected to your project?

4. Post your project and written statement to the blog. If your project is an object, you must document the project and post one or more well lit and edited images of your project to the blog.

5. Plan a 2-minute presentation to the class (in the online session) explaining your self-portrait and written statement. Be sure to be well-prepared, clear, concise, and enthusiastic. This is your work! Be confident!

GYST Artist Statement Guidelines: https://www.gyst-ink.com/artist-statement-guidelines *A resource we showed in class if you would like to refer to in writing your artist statement.

______________________

WATCH an episode of Project Blue Book (History Channel): https://aenetworks.box.com/s/7zd0jh0z069ajl14xy6ypogvkw905o5m

READING DUE for discussion:

On Being with Krista Tippett: Jill Tarter

https://onbeing.org/programs/jill-tarter-it-takes-a-cosmos-to-make-a-human/

Seti Institute - National Geographic Asks: Are We Alone?

https://www.seti.org/seti-institute-news-february-7-february-13-2019

LIST OF NEWS SOURCES - read, listen, watch reputable journalistic sources. See this list, send me things to add and explore new places to get reputable news -- you may be surprised what new habits you may form that are helpful.

_______________________________

Requirements to complete the course:

We have cancelled writing assignments 2 (Newark Museum response) and and 3 (Being There assignment) These are no longer required.

+Keep a journal (daily or almost daily) of your thoughts feelings and the news you are collecting. Write about your project too. It will help you focus and develop your ideas as you do your research too. I am also doing this!

+Class Participation: Readings and online discussion sessions

+Final Self Portrait Project details in the Syllabus

See UPDATED Syllabus and check blog regularly for more announcements

_______________________

Online class today 4/3 from 3-5pm on Blackboard

link to class session:

https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/94b1a2f85bde437aab27504887c2daef

We will continue our discussion of Being There and the Youthquake article.

READING DUE for discussion: Being There - entire book

There is also a film based on the book that you can watch. You can search for streaming options and you can find it on Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/Being.There.1979

Youthquake: How the World Will Change When a New Generation Leads - Time Magazine

https://time.com/magazine/us/5770116/february-3rd-2020-vol-195-no-3-u-s/

_________________________

UPDATE 3/21

We hope that you are all safe and supported during this time. Please reach out to us at anytime Prof. Cacoilo (dcacoilo [[at]] gmail ((dot)) com) and Prof. O’Leary (renee21stcentury [[at]] yahoo ((dot)) com)

As for moving forward with class online: we will be using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra OR Zoom for class this Friday 3/27 at 3pm. We will update all of you and post a link to the session in Blackboard announcements and in Blackboard email before Friday. Please keep a look out and check announcements on Blackboard. We are looking forward to checking in with all of you and talking with you about all that is going on.

MIDTERM LETTERS are due via email no later than Monday 3/23. See below for details.

READING DUE for discussion 3/27: Being There - entire book

There is also a film based on the book that you can watch. You can search for streaming options and you can find it on Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/Being.There.1979

Youthquake: How the World Will Change When a New Generation Leads - Time Magazine

https://time.com/magazine/us/5770116/february-3rd-2020-vol-195-no-3-u-s/

Stay Safe and STAY HOME!!! We miss all of you very much but it is so important that we stay away from EVERYONE else. Please take extreme precautions to slow the spread of this dangerous virus. Staying home can save your life or that someone else.

________________________

CLASS IS CANCELLED Friday 3/13 we will not be going to the Newark Museum. PLEASE CHECK THIS BLOG ON FRIDAY 3/13 FOR UPDATES ABOUT ONLINE INSTRUCTION IN THE COMING WEEKS. We will likely be using the Blackboard tool Collaborate Ultra to conduct class discussions online during the scheduled class times beginning 3/27. More details will be posted here on Friday.

Please stay safe and stay informed about this ongoing crisis and very serious virus. Practice extreme caution with frequent and diligent hand washing, using sanitizer, minimizing your exposure to crowds and social gatherings, staying home as much as possible. If you are sick at all stay away from others. Read about ways to keep yourself and others healthy through this crisis. We must not get sick so that we do not put stress on our healthcare system and spread this virus further. Please read about flattening the curve of the spread and others ways to think about mitigating the spread. Take this seriously. Be safe and stay well.

MIDTERM writing assignment is due via email as a pdf to Prof. Cacoilo (dcacoilo [[at]] gmail ((dot)) com) and Prof. O’Leary (renee21stcentury [[at]] yahoo ((dot)) com) no later than Monday 3/23

*Email a pdf (mandatory) and post on the blog (optional)

Compose a letter to someone, real or imagined, that asks and/or answers questions of personal identity, culture, history, home, relationships and the communities to which we belong. Use the books we read in class as a guide to imagine this project as a personal manifesto or exploration of your history, your present revelations and hopes for the future.

~750 words

To watch:

Dawnland film

https://www.pbs.org/video/dawnland-t0dsij/

Wendy Red Star *fine artist

-Peace Delegation Project

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/native-north-america/native-american-contemporary-art/v/peace-delegation

-Scratch on the Earth exhibition at Newark Museum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyJiXXXH2WE

Molly of Denali children's show (a few episodes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27kWBgJGYpA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N-_SMQDRkk

We will be NOT be meeting in the classroom at 2:30 sharp and then walking together to the Newark Museum to see the exhibition Seeing America

++++you must meet us at the Newark Museum if you are late to class.

_________________

Due Friday 3/6

READINGS online:

Dawnland Viewer's Guide

https://mk0dawnlandgswj2x7lw.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/DAWNLAND_VIEWERS-GUIDE_v8.pdf

US Immigration Timeline on History.com

https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/immigration-united-states-timeline

Start working on your midterm letter. *Due 3/13

~750 words

Optional reading/watching:

Amiri Baraka reading his poem "Why is we Americans"

on Def Poetry Jam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ziRjhAgTO8

The Case For Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates for the Atlantic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcCnQ3iRkys

_________________

Due Friday 2/28

READING:

Ta-nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me (the entire book)

Peggy McIntosh, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/mcintosh.pdf

**YOU MUST VISIT THE MUSEUM AND COMPLETE THE RESPONSE ASSIGNMENT BY NEXT FRIDAY (if you have not already) TO RECEIVE CREDIT. See assignment below.

__________________

Due Friday 2/21

READING: Ta-nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me (1/2 the book)

Response to Museum of Modern Art visit

Using the categories that Judith Howard explores in her article on the Social Psychology of Identities, select three particular home movies from the exhibition for deeper exploration. Define what you are seeing through Howard’s lenses. What does it mean to “construct” an identity? Do you think that people in the home movies expected to be seen in a certain way by others? Who is the audience for these films? And why do you think the Museum calls this exhibit ”Private Lives, Public Spaces?”

~750 words typed and handed in AND post to the blog (add images and or videos if you were able to capture some).

Due FRIDAY 2/14

Class will Meet at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC by 4pm on Friday.

11 West 53rd Street

NYC

**We will all meet at the main entrance to the museum (inside the main doors)on 53rd Street by 4pm. You do not need to buy a ticket. Please be on time!

The first floor of MoMA is free- including the exhibition Private Lives, Public Spaces, the Sculpture Garden (when open), and the lobby

Some tips for visiting:

Tickets for Uniqlo Free Friday are given out starting at 5:30 pm and the Museum is open until 9:00 pm. If one person is picking up tickets for the group, please just let the staff handing out tickets in front of the line that you are joining the line and will need 40 tickets.

Do not bring backpacks and large bags if at all possible - so students don't need to wait in the coat check line.

Students can use their phones to listen to MoMA Audio on the free wifi or pick up a MoMA audio guide upon arrival

Admission includes entry to any of the programs that evening and film screenings.

READINGS DUE:

Judith Howard pdf on BLACKBOARD (please email if you have trouble accessing the reading on BB)

Resources for Private Lives, Public Spaces:

Exhibition page with Installation images

Links to checklist, wall text, and curatorial statement

____________________

Due 2/7

READING DUE- MANDATORY:

Entire book - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Dear Ijeawele, Or, A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

WATCH

The Super Bowl on Sunday 2/2

jot down some thoughts and reactions

The State of the Union on Tuesday 2/4

jot down some thoughts and reactions

Introduction Post

If you have not completed the Introduction Post on the blog you must post before class on 2/7. See details below.

Optional reading:

Surveillance Capital - NY Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/24/opinion/sunday/surveillance-capitalism.html

The Super Bowl Is Problematic. Why Can’t We Look Away? - NY Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/arts/television/super-bowl-why-watch.html

_________________

Due Friday 1/31

READINGS DUE:

Susan Sontag On Photography (excerpt)

http://www.susansontag.com/SusanSontag/books/onPhotographyExerpt.shtml

Plato's Allegory of the Cave

https://web.stanford.edu/class/ihum40/cave.pdf

INTRODUCTION POST (posted to the blog by 1/30)

Who are you? Introduce yourself to the class. Working from the inside out, how would you describe yourself? Thinking about Brofenbrenner and the Powers of Ten, how can you describe your identity from the personal micro level to the universal macro level? Include 2-3 images that help illustrate your description. ~3 paragraphs

GET THE BOOKS FOR CLASS!

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Dear Ijeawele, Or, A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions. First edition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2017.

Ta-Nehisi Coates. Between the World and Me. First edition. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2015.

Jerzy Kosinski. Being There. Grove Press; Reprint edition. 1999

___________________

Link to the Syllabus

Link to the Class Video Screenings

**All readings can be found on the class Blackboard site and linked here each week, for each class. Please check the blog each week for all readings due. There are no required texts for this course.