Blog 12

My final will explore the progression of storytelling. I am trying to showcase not only the development of how stories have been told throughout history but the remnants of how these stories have been told still exists. I really thought the pictographic part of this course was interesting and how I found, to a certain degree, pictographic language being used today. I want to explore the idea that even through it seems that everything is going digital there will always be remnants of the past. The overall development of how people tell stories and how some ways are more important to some individuals more so than others.

Bayer, Mary. "Saying Goodbye through Graffitti." The American Journal of Nursing 2nd ser. 80 (1980): 271. Print.

This article is an example of how symbols and pictures represent an abstract concept in our culture. As graffiti is used to say goodbye within this woman's life. I believe this can be used to showcase the development of storytelling within our culture and be compared to other culture in the past that used pictographs as their main language in regards to script.

Luskey-Barth, Amy. "The Power of Oral History Storytelling." Momentum 39 (2008): 39-41. Print.

As This article explores the importance of Oral storytelling I believe this could help put energy in my final paper. Showcasing how important and alive storytelling is and the impact, possibly, that written work has had on our culture. How some cultures still use oral storytelling heavily today.

Nathan, Stucky. "Performing Oral History: Storytelling and Pedagogy." Communication Education 44 (1995): 1-14. Print.

This article explores the potential of oral history. As my paper tries to showcase the progression of storytelling and what has and has not survived I find this article to be helpful. The different forms of telling a story and communicating--the interviews in this article I find to be helpful to showcase different opinion of others in recent times.

Xiaolei, Jing. "Readers Going Digital." Beijing Review 52.47 (1995): 44. Print.

As I am showing the progression of storytelling utimately I going to the concept stories are the same but the way they are told is different. With the Internet and information being transformed into a digital form I believe this article can help support my paper. Showing how books are going digital and the people who read them are turning to new technologies to read--or obtain stories.

Young, Jeffrey R. "In Case Google Bails Out on Its Library Project, Universities Creat a Backup." Chronicles of Higher Education 55.9 (2008): 9+. Print.

This is an interesting article how the biggest library ever is being created on the Internet. This is just another example of how items are going digital. Now even a place can be found digitally--libraries. This will help support my argument that and showcase different ways we gain information.

blog #11

I found something that was really interesting in this class was the fact that languages have evolved. From oral and pictographic storytelling to what we have now with an alphabetic system to form what we call literature. After reading multiple blogs when we were studying pictographic languages I thought it was fascinating all the different pictographic items we still use. Graffiti being very predominant in our lives and still can be seen almost anywhere really resonated with me. Showcasing symbols and pictures that clearly represent certain items. I think this can be said for tattoos too. When I see certain symbols tattooed on people sometime one can tell what they represent—this of course is in regards to the relationship with that person as well. For example I have a friend who is openly religious. They got a tattoo of an anchor—being a symbol of being strongly grounded into one’s faith. Reading a picture to know the meaning. With Graffiti I think it is interesting how symbols and in some cases pictures can represent “gang territories”. Even though our language is not a pictographic language we still have some residue of that in our culture. I spoke about how texting uses a form of pictographic language. With the use of certain characters and abstractions we can digitally convey emotions. This I find to be not only incredibly clever but necessary with the impact text messaging has on our everyday life—or at the very least my everyday life. With the ability to show not only tell what I am trying to convey through a phone in 140 characters is a huge advantage!

Overall I think it most interesting how we are evolving and remediating different items of our everyday life.

Blog #10 Proposal

I really am interested in the progression of how stories over the year have been told. Looking at the beginning of the year and oral traditions and how it then advanced to becoming novels with the printing press. Now oral traditions and stories are said to be “lost” and I was wondering since the digital age will it progress to stories not being valid if it isn’t digital. Why would and why would it not be? How does the digital age affect how we see stories and if we can trust them more that they are the Internet or less.

Blog #9

Has the book suffered in regards to the Internet and the ability for a book’s context to be available within seconds? With the ability to download a book and its contexts—will the traditional print book continue to feel the strain or is there a strain on it at all.

With the ability to have a books context within seconds due to EBooks and finding it through a search engine or torrent—that those regards, yes the book has become less important for me to buy. The print book has suffered. With new technologies such as the Kindle, Nook, and IPad the print book in my opinion has suffered. However, I believe the context of a book has also suffered as well. People can get the gist of a book under five minutes with the help of the Internet. With blogs and Sparknotes someone can get a pretty good idea of what a book is about and how it ends with the help of these items. Again I believe the book not only in print but contextually have suffered.

Even though the book is feeling the strain of new technologies I think there will always be the print book in demand. The nostalgic aspect of a print book I don’t believe will ever feel the strain of technologies. There is still something about having a book in your hands and flipping the pages could not be digitally recreated. Not to mention the smell that books have—that old stiff smell. Though this can’t be hindered with the motive to buy a print has. With the convenience of the Internet a book and the context of a book will continue to be strained.

Blog #8

Text online can be circulated so much easier than a physical form of the text such as a book or magazine. With search engines such as Google and Yahoo it is at the touch of a button to find whatever text you could want. Not only is it easy to find the text you want or need to read, but there are now online libraries. Washington

State University uses an online library system where one can find academic articles online. This is different than having a print form because with print form only one person at a time could read it. With the digital age and having text online multiple people can utilize it and benefit it.

In Darnton's communication circuit the reader has slightly changed from what the reader has been in previous times. A more contemporary outlook on the reader is that the reader does not need to leave home to do gain access to the text. With academic and online books being available it is not necessary for someone to be a purchaser in regards to going out and actually buying an item. The reader can also now be a just a reader and not a purchaser. For example an online library not only allows this but it can benefit more than one person at a time. This is much more contemporary in term of gaining text.

Blog #7

When I think of something that has impacted my culture I immediately think of 9/11 and what 9/11 means to me. I was too young (sixth grade) to take in account if I ever really noticed the date 9/11 but I don’t think it meant anything to me. I doubt if that date meant anything to my parents or grandparents. However, now it means a great deal and I relate it to being a day of mourning/patriotic pride/remembrance. When I hear someone say “9/11” I think of the image of the plane hitting the buildings, images of firefights and ground zero come to mind. If the terrorist attack had never happened I would have a completely different outlook on the phrase “9/11”. As many of my peers say “Post 9/11” or “Before 9/11” it seemed to be the new hip way to date something—in replace of “B.C. or A.D.”

In retrospect hearing the phrase would have drastically changed in the event itself had not happened. However, visually seeing 9-11 or different variations of those numbers I would relate it back to the police. Since I was young in my elementary schools in the bathrooms and offices there were signs with a police officer and the phone number 911. This poster was to reassure a child to call for help if they needed it. 911 meant the police for me when I was it visually but it does not do that anymore. Instead when I see those numbers I think of current issues still affecting our country. I see the debates happening about the mosque being built at ground zero or the images of the terrorist attack that I remember watching on the news when I was younger. This symbol has changed drastically for me. Before the attack it meant help or police. Now post the attack it means controversial issues and a historically tragic date in American history.

I guess this isn’t a symbol or phrase that IF it had changed it would have revolutionized what I previously thought but it DID change over time. Not even over a long period of time but within a week of the attack 911 was not just a number to call for help or a day in September it was---An attack on my country, a date in history. As Crain says “the child is similarly the medium through which the alphabet permeates the culture” (pg. 56). I hate to be cliché but children are the future. As I said previously before a new phrase as come into popular slang. “Pre 9/11 or Post 9/11” when someone is trying to date something or call something old. I wonder if 911 will ever be strictly associated with the number for emergencies. I don’t believe it will. I think with it being used for slang and since it is still heavy in the media I would argue that generations after mine will associate that number sequence with the terrorist attack and the aftermath of it than a number to call in case of emergencies. Each generation has there own subculture, slang, trends and events that establish them. Mine I think has a small impact on American culture in regards to how the younger generation absorbs current events and how we speak about them.

Looking at maps I already have a preconceived notion of what I am going to see. This is because I have been exposed to maps since kindergarten. My most memorable map would be maps of states. For example I this Nevada map the counties of Nevada. I would not have normally expected to see counties but rather I would see cities. When I was younger and even now I expect to see cities; Las Vegas and Reno. Maps like this are helpful too. My county usually has flashflood warnings and I think it would be helpful on a road trip to know if you were in a county that was having weather warnings. “The history of the map is inextricably linked to the rise of the nation-state in the modern world. Manu of the printed maps of Europe emphasized the estates, waterways, and political boundaries that constituted the politico economic dimensions of European geography” (Laxton 59). As seen in this map boundaries are made but not in states but in counties. I see this as political boundaries as well within the state. Different counties will have different regulations and school districts. This is interesting to see how maps have evolved over time.