Politics and the Creating an Impression of Self

Spring break and I am catching up on my media and ran across this article in the Washington Post about Mitt Romney's attempt to create an impression of himself at different venues as parodied in Saturday Night Live.  When that troupe is at their best, they capture the absurdity of popular culture.  This can also show the power of media as a socialization agent.  This kind of scenario with politicians always takes me back to Goffman's symbolic interactionism and the presentation of self, which is what politicians attempt to do whenever in public.

The article is here.



The Teaching High School Sociology web site

Sociology Sal: A Great Resource

Another blog that can be quite helpful for high school teachers exploring the world of teaching sociology is the "Sociology Sal" site called "Ways of Thinking."  According to his profile, he has been teaching sociology to high schoolers since 1999 and teaches in Illinois.  He's got a great selection of topics and updates the site regularly.  I would highly recommend the Sociology Sal blog to augment your teaching sociology materials.  I really appreciate his "ways of. . ." segments of his site.


The Teaching High School Sociology web site

Media Literacy: A Clearinghouse for Resources

After Friday's post, I saw a comment from Frank Baker about his own website devoted to media literacy.  It can be found at:  http://www.frankwbaker.com/default1.htm

He organizes sites he has found into both subject area and department topics.  There are so many sites to check out off his website.  Wonderful stuff.  Be sure to check it out.


The Teaching High School Sociology web site

Media Literacy

One of my favorite sites is the one at medialiteracyproject.org

It takes many ideas from both psychology and sociology and helps teachers and students become more aware of the techniques used as well as the tools to examine and decipher the myriad images we see in the various media we consume.  I will be posting various other aspects of that site as time permits.  Meanwhile, check it out if you are doing any kind of media literacy in your sociology course. Great content for some semiotics.

This link I am sharing below may be the best thing I share related to media literacy both in terms of excellent content, but also in terms of techniques.  Simply a great handout.

One particularly good overview is here:
http://medialiteracyproject.org/sites/default/files/resources/Intro_to_Media_Literacy.pdf


The Teaching High School Sociology web site

"Benefit of the Doubt" and Racism

In another great segment dealing with racism, John Stewart and Larry Wilmore deal with the uncomfortable truths regarding how African-Americans are treated within the criminal justice system.  They skewer truth in what is both funny and sad.  The segment is potentially a jumping-off point for race discussions.

I tried to embed the video here, but my school's security settings were not letting me, so here is the link:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-april-4-2012/racist-time-out

Enjoy.

Chuck

The Teaching High School Sociology web site

Kids and Race

Adults often have difficulty about race and issues surrounding racial/ethnic conflict issues.  Check out these conversations about race from CNN.  These can make for some excellent starting off points for those teachers brave enough to tackle the issue head-on.









The Teaching High School Sociology web site