Introduction- Chloe Whelan

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Hi everyone! My name is Chloe Whelan and I’m from Westport Connecticut. Although I’ve lived in Connecticut for the past three years, I wouldn’t necessarily consider it to be where I’m from. I was born in Boston and moved to Westchester, NY when I was about four years old. After finishing fourth grade, I moved to Lake Forest Illinois where I lived until my sophomore year of high school. The summer before my sophomore year I moved to Westport, and have lived there ever since. I live with my mom, dad, brother, 2 dogs, and 2 cats. My dogs are named Otter and Ruby and I love and miss them dearly. I went to a boarding school called Choate for high school and loved my experience. I played varsity field hockey and squash and was the president of my acapella group my senior year. In my free time I love to try new restaurants and spend time with my friends. 

 

 

 

Introduction- Bella Kjellen

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Hi everyone! I’m Bella Kjellen and I’m from Oakland California, about 20 minutes from San Francisco. I have a twin sister, Alex, who is studying at Hawaii Pacific, and a small dog named Simba. My dad lives half-time in Sweden so I spend half of my summers there with him and my extended family. Throughout high school I was heavily involved in leadership programs such as the Associated Student body (ASB), serving as the ASB Vice President my senior year. I previously was the publicity and tech chair for the class which began my interest in media studies. I also played lacrosse and water polo all four years, finishing off as the captain for both teams. Outside of school, I spent most of my time babysitting for local families as well as tutoring special ed students in reading/math enrichment and loved every second of it. Richmond was 100% at the top of my list for colleges and I am so excited to discover and take advantage of all the opportunities I will be presented in these next four years! In the future, I hope to work in education reform or be in a leadership position of some form or another. Besides that, I love being active (spinning is my favorite), driving around aimlessly, beach trips, watching tv (especially New Girl), and listening to podcasts!

My Family

Me and Simba

Week 2: August 31 & September 2

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What’s Due Next?

Tuesday (today)

Thursday

  • Response post to “Identity” keyword

Next Tuesday, September 7

  • Reply comments to “Identity” post
  • Readings for next week: Gender & Feminism

What’s Coming Up?

Start watching I Am Not Your Negro and consider how it illustrates or explains any of the keywords in the Identity section of the course. Due September 19.

Login to your account on the UR ArcGIS StoryMaps collection. Use the Getting Started with ArcGIS Online at the University of Richmond as a guide to get you started. Feel free to begin watching the videos embedded in that story map to see how you can use ArcGIS as a new media platform.

Tuesday, August 31

  • Attendance and seating chart
  • “Temperature check” on the start of the term
  • Timeline for assigning grades

Mediation

  • What does this mean?
  • What does “media” mean in relationship to “mediation?
  • Look up definitions and tell us what you’re seeing.
  • Let’s get a sense of how the media perform “mediating” activities.

Keywords

  • New Media
  • Identity
  • Discussion Questions
    • Who is the author(s)?
    • How would you define the keyword(s) for this week?
    • What is the history of the keyword(s)?
    • How has the meaning of the keyword changed over time?
    • How does the keyword help us understand “Media, Culture, Identity”?
      • How does the keyword define or describe the relationship among these terms?
      • What kinds of questions can you ask of culture, media, and identity using the keyword(s)?
  • Activities
    • Find definitions of “New Media” outside of the one in our text. What’s similar? What’s different? What’s the reason for this difference?
    • Find definitions of “Identity” outside of the one in our text. What’s similar? What’s different? What’s the reason for this difference?

Thursday, September 2

Demonstrating “identity” in media and culture

Facebook aired four video stories during the 2020 Olympic Games that talked a great deal about identity. Let’s watch all four and chat about what each may be saying about identity.

We Change the Game When We Find Each Other

  • Skate Nation Ghana
  • No Comply
  • Longboard Family
  • Once Upon a Time Everywhere

Understanding why Facebook is interested in identity

  • What motivates Facebook to release these short video stories?
  • Are these ads?
  • What role does Facebook play in identity formation? In culture formation? In media formation?
  • Where do you see “hybridity,” “performativity,” “access,” and other issues described in the keyword description appearing in these video stories?
  • How is “identity” a tool that helps us watch these video stories critically?

Feedback on New Media Posts

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The majority of you have posted your response to the “New Media” keyword. If you’ve not posted yet, please do so. Initial posts were due by Thursday, August 26. Thanks to all how have posted and started adding reply comments. Overall, good work on this initial post.

The goal of these posts is to engage you in the keyword as a lens for understanding media, culture, and identity. In this sense, “New Media” offers a useful way to categorize something as new and emerging, differentiating it from old and waning. Some of you found the term useful in describing the difference between a waning social media platform like Vine and an emerging platform like TikTok. But how does “New Media” tell us something about culture and identity? Several of you pointed to ways that popular opinion shape media platforms and their audiences using the example of Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok. Facebook is an “aging” new media, Instagram is in its adulthood, and TikTok is an adolescent new media, still developing and following public opinion. However, does “New Media” have a profit motive? Or are new media largely built around public opinion? How might culture and identity shape new media, and how might new media shape culture and identity?

Interestingly, no one noted what might be an important distinction: social media might be new media, but it might also be a platform. To what extent does a “platform” perform as media? Are they separable? Is “Twitter” a platform or a new media? Keep in mind that media have been around a long time. How might Twitter be a platform, but merely a reiterated version of an existing medium? To what extent is it a new medium?

As you continue posting these responses, provide specific examples and consider adding links and images that explain or illustrate your ideas. Feel free to use all of the options available to you in these blog posts to help convey your points. And be willing to play!

Introduction – Chloe Fandetti

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Hi everyone! My name is Chloe Fandetti and I’m from Watertown, Massachusetts. Watertown is about a 15 minute drive from Boston, so I love going out to restaurants or shops there with my friends. Although I like living in the Boston area, I wanted to go somewhere new (and warmer) for college. In my family, I’m the middle child and have an older brother (Ben, 21) and a younger sister (Naomi, 15). I also have a pet shih tzu named Hana. I plan to major in Healthcare Studies, though that could change. Some of my favorite tv shows are The Office, White Collar, Limitless, and The Haunting at Hill House. A good book I read this summer was Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid. In high school I played softball and field hockey and might continue playing club/intramural at Richmond.

Me and my mom plus my pet dog

Introduction – JT Windle

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Hi Everyone, my name is JT Windle and I am from Timonium, Maryland which is right outside Baltimore. I come from a big family and have three younger siblings named Andrew, Mark, and Lia. I also have a miniature labradoodle named Tucker and a Shiba Inu named Harley. UR was my first college choice so I’m excited to be here and to start getting involved on campus. In high school I played varsity baseball, was an editor for our newspaper and was on the model UN team. I also was a part of a foundation in Baltimore that worked with underprivileged kids in the city. I’m not sure what I’ll major in yet, but I’m interested in both the PPEL and International Business majors so far. In my free time I love working out at the gym, watching movies, throwing the ball around or just hanging out with friends. Writing news in high school, I was excited to be in a media class this year and can’t wait to meet all of you this semester.

My friends and I after winning our high school championship.

My Family in Greece a few years ago.

New Media—Benjamin Cudmore

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“New Media” by Benjamin Cudmore

When examining the term “new media,” one finds that it is often used to describe current forms of media that are newly introduced to society. However, new media is not a specific media platform. Instead, new media is constantly changing since new forms keep being invented or are more prominent in society while others are being forgotten or less utilized. Defined as a form of “present-mindedness” in media consumption by Lisa Gitelman, new media is a way to categorize which media is on the rise and classified as “new” and which forms of media are on the decline and becoming “old.” New media encompasses a variety of platforms such as podcasts, streaming services, or social media apps like Instagram. A form of media that can be considered “new” is TikTok, an app that encourages users to create videos of dances and silly, relatable content. In an era where technology continues to produce more ways to consume media, the type of media it contains will always be never-ending.

New Media

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The idea of “new media”, a term that has seen many definitions since the inception of media, is extremely intriguing. While the term was coined during the Cold War, it and the anxiety that comes with it has been applied to new forms of media throughout history. Over millennia, at one point or another, books, newspaper, radio, and television were all considered “new media”.

Lisa Gitelman says, “new media is a tag for present-mindedness”. This is true – as ways of sharing media become more efficient through digital mediums, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok (among others), media can be consumed more easily and the world becomes better connected and informed because of it. I have seen first hand how social media has affected culture through influencing speech, pop culture, and providing awareness of social issues just to name a few ways. With all positive aspects of today’s new media come the anxiety about how it might negatively affect the world. Most of this criticism, in my experience, comes from traditionalists reluctant to the change the way they consume media. This divide between proponents of new media and those reluctant to accept it has raged throughout history. The omnipresent threat of obsoletism will cause new media to continue to evolve and I predict that we will see this divide continue to widen.

Introduction

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Hi everyone! My name is Mary Beatty and I am from Guilford, Connecticut. My pronouns are she/her/hers. My family includes my mom, dad, and older sister who is a junior at Tulane University. I also have three dogs named Rudy, Jack, and Ivy. I applied ED to U of R so I am so excited to be here and meet all of you! In my hometown, I spend most of my time at the local riding school as an English-style equestrian. I always thought my career would involve kids, however, teaching young riders has definitely taught me the benefits of working with adults. On top of that, I was a member of the varsity crew team as a coxswain on the boys’ team and was also the first female captain on that team. While I loved this experience, I will not be pursuing crew at U of R because I would rather not be practicing at 4 in the morning. I was also always involved in theatre and hope to continue that here! Finally, I am currently undecided and have no idea what I want to study. It is so nice to meet you all!

My dog Rudy and I!

New Media

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New Media is an umbrella term that is used to describe various forms of media that are delivered to consumers digitally. Although the term new media seems to encompass media sources that are exclusively “new” such as podcasts or blogs, new media includes contemporary variations of “old media” such as online newspapers. Music streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music, are examples of new media that are revolutionising the way people access, engage with, and consume music. Prior to the existence of music streaming services, access to music was significantly more limited. When I first experienced music digitally, I remember using iTunes, a music streaming platform that allowed people to listen to music on their devices. Although iTunes was a revolutionary form of new media, it required people to pay for their music track by track. Because new media is constantly changing, it was no surprise when streaming platforms that aimed to be more cost effective began popping up. With a business model that allowed users pay for a subscription instead of a single track, music streaming services blew up. Now with a variety of music streaming services, a vast array of music has become accessible to more people than ever before.