Podcast
I found the answers to the questions on the podcast really insightful. I found that hearing the answers added a reality to ecovillage life that I did not really think of. Throughout this class I envisioned ecovillage life to be comprised of community members already community minded/spirited who do not find it difficult to live in a communal way. I felt that although I would love to have this experience for my children and myself that I was not quite there yet mentally, not quite open to give up the independence I have grown so accustomed to. I learned from the podcast that Dr. Becker found that one of her challenges in ecovillage life was her independent spirit. This revelation opened up the door in my thinking that community mindedness is not something that just happens for some and not others it is a processes that takes effort. One of the questions presented was Do you ever get tired of collaboratively doing things? Again I assumed that people in the ecovillage live tirelessly for the shared experience. The reality is as was revealed through the podcast that of course as with many aspects of life it can be tiring to do things in a certain way. The emphasis is that when things are done collaboratively in an ecovillage every task has so much more depth of meaning than if we were to act alone. These realities really make me think that maybe I could enjoy the experience of living in an ecovillage with my children. Dr. Becker discussed how in the ecovillage her daughter had the wonderful opportunity of interacting with everyone "living and learning all the time". She also discussed what a wonderful experience it is for a parent to be able to see your child surrounded by other children always playing "spontaneous and beautiful". As a mother of three I have always wanted such an environment for my children and myself. I think what has been missing from our lives is an innate sense of trust. My children and I have always been in an environment comprised of struggle and uncertainty. We like so many other people have carried out our lives marginally connected to others, marginally connected to a sense of community. The trust that is created in environments like the ecovillage is truly a magical thing. As a mother I am always in an almost state of paranoia for my children always watching out for where they are, if there are cars, where they are playing, who they are playing with, what are they watching on TV, what are they looking at online. I can only imagine how freeing it is to allow my children to really play in an environment that allows me to open up and be trusting and supports that trust.
As far as my behavior change I have really put in the effort to eat better and buy locally grown produce. My children ride the bus more to get to school which is an hour away from our home and means one less car on the road. Ultimately my change through the information presented in this class is one of a true sense of awareness about how imperative it is to change our way of thinking. Before I would be so supportive of my children's individual success I failed to see the importance of instilling a sense of community mindedness. My biggest behavior change is working with my children volunteering our time in the community. We have done beach clean ups, we volunteer at the Humane Society, we are helping out on our neighborhood work days. My children also volunteer on their own doing whenever something comes up at their school. We are opening up and becoming more trusting as we are seeing the necessity of having a community connection.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Sustainability, Communication, Hope & the Future (5.2)
Sustainability, Communication, Hope & the Future
It is often hard to envision a reality of positive social reprioritizing. Our societal goals are still stuck in capitalist consumerism that creates unbelievable wealth for the few and immeasurable problems stemming from the wealth disparity between the few and the majority. Far too often I find myself focused on the negative economic/environmental/societal realities to envision a world of positive and sustainable interconnectedness. I watched the short film at the following link;
What the World would look like Global Oneness Project:
www.mrcse.org/index.php
I was hoping to see artist renditions of a utopian society so that I could focus on what could be; instead the film offered more of a reality check. Although I was not able to sit back and relax my noggin the site provided many important things to think about especially in terms of how we are supposed to move foreword in light of all our differences. One of the quotes from the film that really struck me was that we have to “have respect for everyone’s narrative”. I think far too often we focus on the technology behind the change, for example we focus our effort on new ways to sustain our current mentality. By these terms we do not stray far from individualized notions of our narratives and how we relate/conform to larger society. For change to really happen we must all be aware of the multiple narratives, we must be beyond aware we must have acceptance and find a connection not in spite of narrative differences but in conjunction with narrative differences. I think only then can we effect the massive global change that is necessary for our survival on this planet. One of the speakers talked about challenges that will inevitably occur if we are to develop a community minded global identity. I think often people think that to develop this sense of interconnectedness we must loose sight of ourselves, our current identity. So much of identity is tied to cultural value and religious beliefs and a sense of separation from those who are not part of this tied identity. Creating a new global identity means that those aspects by which we define our identity are not removed but rather acknowledged. This acknowledgement is not in the current light of separation which inevitably has brought conflict and animosity, but in the light of interconnectedness, a global community identity. This global identity connects on the shared level that we must all work together and live together and that other aspects of our identity can flourish under these terms. However the key is to eliminate separation tied to other aspects of our identity and redefine our identity to acknowledge out larger connection.
I enjoyed looking at the following site;
Jean Houston Social Artistry
www.jeanhouston.org/socialartistry-whatitis-new.cfm
What was so interesting to me about this site is the way it presents our part as well as society’s role to effect change. It does not present the majority of people as stagnant and complacent under the power of society’s thumb, rather it envisions us as actively capable of creating a better reality through “the canvas of our social reality”. The site describes us as artists, social artists capable of creating whatever it is we want much like an artist who is given a blank canvas. “Social Artists are leaders in many fields who bring the same order of passion and skill that an artist brings to his or her art form, to the canvas of our social reality. It is within the depth work of Social Artistry that we can access the inner capacities to align ourselves with the earth's higher purpose. Ultimately, it is about all of us together co-creating the human and social changes needed to make a better world”
For the last part of this assignment I wanted to find a site that addresses how to really effect change economic disparity must be addressed.
End Poverty 2015
www.endpoverty2015.org/We far too often ignore the plight of so many people. We can not effect change unless we are willing to do something about the issues that prevent change such as poverty. Poverty is a worldwide pervasive problem. To eliminate poverty would have direct positive effects on decreasing child maltreatment. This site gives me hope that the issue of poverty is being addressed across the world. As I mentioned earlier alot of what we focus on to effect change are things we think we can do in our current social climate that allow us to maintain our current identity. We often think that the issue of poverty is far too big a problem to do anything about. Poverty connects to sustainability communication and culture it connects to everything we have learned in this class from ways to live sustainably to recreating a global interconnectedness/mindedness. Why? because poverty is proof of how our current global economic system has failed. If we eliminate poverty we exemplify a real positive global connection that is based on value and support. Proof of positive change comes with the elimination of tremendous wealth disparities. We can build and use all the green technologies we want to maintain our society, but if poverty still exists we have done nothing beyond restylizing our dysfunction.
It is often hard to envision a reality of positive social reprioritizing. Our societal goals are still stuck in capitalist consumerism that creates unbelievable wealth for the few and immeasurable problems stemming from the wealth disparity between the few and the majority. Far too often I find myself focused on the negative economic/environmental/societal realities to envision a world of positive and sustainable interconnectedness. I watched the short film at the following link;
What the World would look like Global Oneness Project:
www.mrcse.org/index.php
I was hoping to see artist renditions of a utopian society so that I could focus on what could be; instead the film offered more of a reality check. Although I was not able to sit back and relax my noggin the site provided many important things to think about especially in terms of how we are supposed to move foreword in light of all our differences. One of the quotes from the film that really struck me was that we have to “have respect for everyone’s narrative”. I think far too often we focus on the technology behind the change, for example we focus our effort on new ways to sustain our current mentality. By these terms we do not stray far from individualized notions of our narratives and how we relate/conform to larger society. For change to really happen we must all be aware of the multiple narratives, we must be beyond aware we must have acceptance and find a connection not in spite of narrative differences but in conjunction with narrative differences. I think only then can we effect the massive global change that is necessary for our survival on this planet. One of the speakers talked about challenges that will inevitably occur if we are to develop a community minded global identity. I think often people think that to develop this sense of interconnectedness we must loose sight of ourselves, our current identity. So much of identity is tied to cultural value and religious beliefs and a sense of separation from those who are not part of this tied identity. Creating a new global identity means that those aspects by which we define our identity are not removed but rather acknowledged. This acknowledgement is not in the current light of separation which inevitably has brought conflict and animosity, but in the light of interconnectedness, a global community identity. This global identity connects on the shared level that we must all work together and live together and that other aspects of our identity can flourish under these terms. However the key is to eliminate separation tied to other aspects of our identity and redefine our identity to acknowledge out larger connection.
I enjoyed looking at the following site;
Jean Houston Social Artistry
www.jeanhouston.org/socialartistry-whatitis-new.cfm
What was so interesting to me about this site is the way it presents our part as well as society’s role to effect change. It does not present the majority of people as stagnant and complacent under the power of society’s thumb, rather it envisions us as actively capable of creating a better reality through “the canvas of our social reality”. The site describes us as artists, social artists capable of creating whatever it is we want much like an artist who is given a blank canvas. “Social Artists are leaders in many fields who bring the same order of passion and skill that an artist brings to his or her art form, to the canvas of our social reality. It is within the depth work of Social Artistry that we can access the inner capacities to align ourselves with the earth's higher purpose. Ultimately, it is about all of us together co-creating the human and social changes needed to make a better world”
For the last part of this assignment I wanted to find a site that addresses how to really effect change economic disparity must be addressed.
End Poverty 2015
www.endpoverty2015.org/We far too often ignore the plight of so many people. We can not effect change unless we are willing to do something about the issues that prevent change such as poverty. Poverty is a worldwide pervasive problem. To eliminate poverty would have direct positive effects on decreasing child maltreatment. This site gives me hope that the issue of poverty is being addressed across the world. As I mentioned earlier alot of what we focus on to effect change are things we think we can do in our current social climate that allow us to maintain our current identity. We often think that the issue of poverty is far too big a problem to do anything about. Poverty connects to sustainability communication and culture it connects to everything we have learned in this class from ways to live sustainably to recreating a global interconnectedness/mindedness. Why? because poverty is proof of how our current global economic system has failed. If we eliminate poverty we exemplify a real positive global connection that is based on value and support. Proof of positive change comes with the elimination of tremendous wealth disparities. We can build and use all the green technologies we want to maintain our society, but if poverty still exists we have done nothing beyond restylizing our dysfunction.
Communication Media and Social Change (5.1)
Communication Media and Social Change
In the first centuries of mass communication people accommodated their needs from media through what the older media technologies provided. Today’s media systems enable opportunities for people to use media to create experiences that are meaningful. Instead of accommodating to media as in the past today’s audience is actively able to make media accommodate to their needs. This freedom for people to make their own meaning from media content is known as semiotic democracy. The capability of today’s media systems to span great (worldwide) distances enables an interconnectedness that is has the capability of transforming social orders around the world. A fairly recent example of this is the presidential election protest in Iran. Protests stemming from the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad led to the country employing media censorship. Today’s communication technologies enable people to creatively use the media to facilitate their own needs. Due to media literacy complete media censorship could not be achieved. Many protestors used social networking communication sites such as Twitter, Face Book and YouTube to chronicle their experiences. The result was that active media use enabled worldwide attention. This is a direct example of communication technology use in the transformation of social order because worldwide attention was not facilitated through larger governing forces but rather the collection of individual experiences opposing those governing forces. This example also shows that through the use of current communication technologies (that enable worldwide interconnectedness) the division of cultural boundaries as well as social order boundaries are not as black and white. Individuals can get as well as offer an intimate look/insight into each others lives that previously may have been inaccessible.
I found several of the sites useful for my project which focuses on educating middle school children about environmental awareness and sustainability. Earth Island Institute is a wonderful site. It definitely gives me hope that people are striving for positive social change. This was inspiring for me to see that ideas are being supported and given a chance to succeed as mentioned on their site EII "provides an opportunity for a committed environmental activist with a good idea to launch a project with us, or to gain sponsorship for an existing project. Starting and running a non-profit campaign requires a great deal of administrative and logistical effort. This limits the time and energy that can be applied toward actually carrying out campaign objectives". One of the important things about this site is that they are using media to integrate a mission of community mindedness which I think is vital for positive social change "As an alternative to dozens of separate nonprofits, each duplicating basic administrative functions, EII is a consortium of more than thirty grassroots campaigns, each functioning independently while sharing resources and benefiting from the synergistic exchange of experience, ideas, and energy". From the site The Ecology of Media from Storytelling to Telecommunication I was able to gather a lot of information which I can directly apply to my project. The information on new media provides hope that mass change is possible. For my project I will incorporate some of the information presented to show how media has changed dramatically with the rise of new technologies. As active participants in our own media use we can find ways to promote and integrate positive connections. This is basically what I am trying to do in my project promoting community mindedness for young children.
In the first centuries of mass communication people accommodated their needs from media through what the older media technologies provided. Today’s media systems enable opportunities for people to use media to create experiences that are meaningful. Instead of accommodating to media as in the past today’s audience is actively able to make media accommodate to their needs. This freedom for people to make their own meaning from media content is known as semiotic democracy. The capability of today’s media systems to span great (worldwide) distances enables an interconnectedness that is has the capability of transforming social orders around the world. A fairly recent example of this is the presidential election protest in Iran. Protests stemming from the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad led to the country employing media censorship. Today’s communication technologies enable people to creatively use the media to facilitate their own needs. Due to media literacy complete media censorship could not be achieved. Many protestors used social networking communication sites such as Twitter, Face Book and YouTube to chronicle their experiences. The result was that active media use enabled worldwide attention. This is a direct example of communication technology use in the transformation of social order because worldwide attention was not facilitated through larger governing forces but rather the collection of individual experiences opposing those governing forces. This example also shows that through the use of current communication technologies (that enable worldwide interconnectedness) the division of cultural boundaries as well as social order boundaries are not as black and white. Individuals can get as well as offer an intimate look/insight into each others lives that previously may have been inaccessible.
I found several of the sites useful for my project which focuses on educating middle school children about environmental awareness and sustainability. Earth Island Institute is a wonderful site. It definitely gives me hope that people are striving for positive social change. This was inspiring for me to see that ideas are being supported and given a chance to succeed as mentioned on their site EII "provides an opportunity for a committed environmental activist with a good idea to launch a project with us, or to gain sponsorship for an existing project. Starting and running a non-profit campaign requires a great deal of administrative and logistical effort. This limits the time and energy that can be applied toward actually carrying out campaign objectives". One of the important things about this site is that they are using media to integrate a mission of community mindedness which I think is vital for positive social change "As an alternative to dozens of separate nonprofits, each duplicating basic administrative functions, EII is a consortium of more than thirty grassroots campaigns, each functioning independently while sharing resources and benefiting from the synergistic exchange of experience, ideas, and energy". From the site The Ecology of Media from Storytelling to Telecommunication I was able to gather a lot of information which I can directly apply to my project. The information on new media provides hope that mass change is possible. For my project I will incorporate some of the information presented to show how media has changed dramatically with the rise of new technologies. As active participants in our own media use we can find ways to promote and integrate positive connections. This is basically what I am trying to do in my project promoting community mindedness for young children.
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