A whole book ought to mean a great deal more than the writer means.
A quick introduction to how and why people readCritical LiteracyThe slides used in class are embedded below. This is a pdf, so the video clips won't play. The button on the right links to the Toyota ad we looked at in class.
The diagram below is known as the Critical Literacy Poster. It was developed by Susan Sandretto. It summarises the most important points when considering how to respond to a text.
Barack Obama - SOTU 2013Here is an example of the sort of thing you might write as a critical response to the Obama SOTU 2015 task. This example was written by a McGlashan student last year. This is only an extract from his work.
Through Brian Murphy, Obama conveys how he wants Americans to be as one. Presumably many police officers every year due to gun violence protecting citizens, however Murphy was different. Murphy was special as he was defending a Sikh temple. A temple where there were hundreds of people who were of a different ethnicity, who prayed to different god, and who originate from a different part of the world. According to Obama, Officer Murphy protected these people as he saw them as fellow Americans, something Obama would hope, if not expect of all other Americans. This case however, also has an even deeper significance. At Sandy Hook Elementary, a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado, in Tucson in 2011, and in Virginia Tech in 2007, gun violence threatened to rip, and shred open Americas constitution to take up arms. Obama had stated earlier in his address; “They deserve a vote! Gabby Giffords deserves a vote; the families of Newtown deserve a vote. The families of Aurora deserve a vote. The families of Oak Creek and Tucson and Blacksburg and the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence- they deserve a simple vote!” Here, Obama uses repetition to emphasise this crucial issue. To emphasise that no matter how bigger role partisanship plays in delaying and eventually putting off issues such as the gun debate, he will make a decision to reduce these tragic events. By using Officer Murphy as an example for both the danger of guns, and the protection of Americans diverse culture, Obama is vehement that this year, it is time for not only America, but for him to take action, and take steps to reduce gun violence in America. Contrary to these three examples, normal everyday Americans aren’t as active. Perhaps here, Obama is trying to emphasise the way his America, the ideal America, would look like. Yet, he does not ask the citizens of America to do such acts, never addressing what citizens could do for their country, or as John F. Kennedy famously said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; but what you can do for your country.” Obama instead seems to focus on the greatness of government and Americas ‘ever evolving’ democracy. Modern politics it seems does not come without a certain sense of vagueness as to what politicians hope to achieve while in office. How TV Has Ruined Your LifeThink critically about what you see and read. Look up Charlie Brooker on Youtube. Here is a sample.
Introduction to Narrative TheoryHere are the slides used in class.
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Remember the lesson where we discussed how even a map of the world is biased? Read this article about How the North Ended up on Top. Then consider the source of this article. What critical literacy points does it raise?
The button above allows you to download a Word version of the Critical Literacy questions yo were given in class.
The button above will open a new window with the page from Purdue's Online Writing Lab. It has some good summaries to complement the work we will do in class.
In particular, look at the first 5 minutes and the final 5 minutes or so of the speech. Compare it with 2014, 2013 and 2012. What choices does Obama make and why?
The button above opens a new window with Barack Obama's 2014 SOTU address. Look at the first 3 minutes or so, and then skip to about 1.04.00 to get to the ending, the bit we looked at in class.
Then compare 2014 SOTU to the ending of 2013 SOTU. Obama uses contrasting approaches. Note who is included in the 2013 SOTU. It is very diverse. All high-achieving students are curious. The most curious among you will check the ending of the 2012 SOTU and maybe even Obama's 2008 and 2012 election victory speeches. Listen to them with a focus on who is represented and what the majority discourse of the text is. Ask yourself why Obama includes these people and groups of people. The button above lets you download a Word version of the handout used in class: the extracts from the recent SOTU addresses.
The button above allows you to download a Word document with a list of useful questions to ask yourself when reading a text.
The above button lets you download a pdf of the slides we used in class to introduce narrative theory.
Andrew Stanton Warning - some language might offend.
"Make me care." 2 + 2 = The above TED talk is a great thing to watch when you consider the critical literacy points about representation, inclusions/exclusions, and gaps and silences.
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