Oct 18, 2023
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This way or that way?
Ideas and feelings are very difficult to explain, because these are abstract concepts. Whenever I feel emotions, I often use art as an outlet to release pent up baggage within me. My art can sometimes be in the form of poems, songs, or stories. In writing, I use symbols and signs to better express what I want my readers to picture.
Signs and symbols are very important when it comes to communication. It is not just involved in writing just like how I use it, it is also involved in the topic of our safety. Without traffic lights, roads would have been in constant chaos. Without slippery signs, many people would have been in accidents. Signs and symbols are used in representation of concepts – using something to constitute our message. However, we must not forget that these symbols and signs may mean different things to different people due to their own cultures.
In representation, we have three theories: Reflexive, intentional, and constructive. Reflexive reality touches on the media as a true reflection of life. In the second theory, meanings come from the creator of the message – the author themselves. Finally, in the constructive theory, the reader has the limelight when it comes to interpretation of meaning.
Ferdinand de Saussure immensely influenced the concept of semiotics, while the discursive approach is associated with French philosopher and historian, Michel Foucault (Hall, 2013). Semiotics is the study of signs, while the discursive approach talks about how power and knowledge connect to construct identities and dictate definitions of symbols and signs.
Out of the three theories of representation, the most relevant for me is the constructive theory, because as an artist, I create not just for myself, but to also share it with the world. It beautiful to gift the readers and viewers the freedom to see something with their own eyes, granted they do not lose respect towards the artist and their art.
References:
Aseem, Y. (n.d.). Caution road slippery sign board. [Online Image]. https://www.postermywall.com/index.php/art/template/2ac25a9a6a694dbafcf39244ec228f3b/caution-road-slippery-sign-board-template-design#.YW3DGBrMLIU
Traffic light. [Online Image]. https://gfycat.com/stickers/search/traffic+light
Hall, S. (2013). Representation, meaning , and language. The Work of Representation. 1-26. https://uk.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/66880_The_Work_of_Representation.pdf
Orality and Literacy not Orality vs. Literacy
In our current learning modality, I can’t imagine learning without texts to read. I have a short attention span, and I am more comfortable in writing or typing my lessons. My philosophy is, once something is put on paper, it is solidified and can be perceived visually, so one’s brain can grasp the information.
It does not automatically mean that I abhor speaking – in fact, I hold people who can comprehend information after hearing it once to a high regard. Plus, reading a book aloud counts as a demonstration of orality. My skill in oral communication is one of the things I aim to enhance during my stay in the university.
Human communication is different from media in such a way that media or the ‘medium’ is not quite the message. In Ong’s interpretation, human communication needs anticipated feedback to repeat its cycle and sustain itself. In models, the message flows from sender to receiver position. In human to human communication, a sender also expects to become the receiver and vice versa to complete the chain of exchanging messages (Ong, 1982). Basically, one cannot talk to themselves and call it true human communication. Furthermore, ‘media’ model of communication comprises printed or written texts, therefore, it exhibits chirographic conditioning.
In analyzing orality and literacy, it is more productive to scrutinize how the two coexist to uphold human interaction and consciousness for thousands of years, rather than to drive a wedge between the notions. Walter Ong in his book Orality and literacy: technologizing of the word raised important statements to supplement facts about the information, dissemination, consumption as well as critical perspectives on the role of orality in media and communication. He shed light to the similarities between oral and literate cultures – the use of mnemonics and formulas, concrete real-life examples, and somatics. Mnemonics and concrete examples help retain information in the brain, while somatics engages parts of the body while communicating (Ong, 1982, as cited in Jkendell, 2012). On the other side of the coin, oral and literate cultures differ because oral culture tends to be additive rather than subordinate, aggregative rather than analytic, redundant or ‘copious’, conservative or traditionalist, close to the human lifeworld, agonistically toned, Empathetic and participatory rather than objectively distanced, homeostatic, and situational rather than abstract (Ong, 1982, p.31).
For example, oral cultures lean towards redundancy because to preserve it and successfully pass it to the next generation, the old communicator must repeat the information through word of the mouth, and so on. It is also characterized by word baggage which is why oral cultures are aggregative rather than analytic.
Moving on to the brief history of orality, writing, and being human, in the past, people who identified themselves as ‘civilized’ or literate people held a prejudice against those who they deemed ‘primitive’ or those who didn’t identify with literacy. The term, along with ‘illiterate’ were offensive, and in the present, kinder and positive terms are associated with understanding the earlier states of consciousness (Ong, 1982).
Orality and literacy both propel our human experience and bridge our past and future. Thus, it is important to remain open to it and other critical perspectives of communication to understand society.
References
Blanche (2020). In their own words [Online Image]. Atlassian. https://www.atlassian.com/blog/inside-atlassian/how-to-navigate-diverse-communication-styles-at-work
Jkendell (2012). Orality and literacy – In what ways are oral and literate cultures similar? ETEC540: Text, Technologies – Community Weblog. https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec540sept12/
Ong, W. J. (1982). Orality and literacy : The technologizing of the word. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Roy, B. (2021). Communication skills in the workplace [Online Image]. Vantage Circle. https://blog.vantagecircle.com/good-communication-skills-in-the-workplace/
What is Creative Non-fiction?
It has an extensive research which they give lots of search, questions, survey or even came from the author.
It came from the authors or the writers experience, actual scenarios, or personals information.
It makes the writers free to write their experiences and emotion and also let the writers feel what the authors have feel.
It gives the readers or the audience an idea and give them more information about the authors or writers life and information.
(Module 4) Activity 1
As I examined my selfies in this class, I came upon the realization that most of my selfies do not mirror who I truly was. I did those selfies to comply with the attendance check/requirement. So, I took those selfies with the knowledge that my Professors and my other classmates would see it and because of this I became conscious and because I was conscious I represented myself in a way that would make me look good and confident. In addition, to make my selfies more appealing/pleasing/attractive I rely on angles (I am not a fan of filters, so I rarely use them). Lastly, I do not consider my selfies as a fair representation of myself because pictures or photos can be easily manipulated. I mean, I can look good in a selfie if I want to with the use of filters, photo editors and the picture-perfect angle. I can fake a smile or a laugh even though deep-down inside I am a crying mess.
Soledad, Maria Primitiva Felicita Q.
BS FT 2nd year
Comm 10
Attendance check
One way or another, selfies do become somewhat of a reflection of ourselves although as much as most people would not want to admit it, these images are still not as "genuine" as we would like to claim considering it is still an idealized version of who we truly are. After all, there is only so much a photo can show about a person. Especially on social media where we tend to show the desirable parts of our image while there are things that are still kept hidden. It is natural though, because even in real life and during first meetings we try to present our best self to make a good impression. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean the positive image we portray in our selfies aren't a genuine portrayal of our identities because those things are a part of us as much as the hidden ones as well. Of course part of the process of portraying myself in these photos involves making sure I look pleasant either by dressing up or wearing light make up at times, showing beautiful sceneries along with photos of myself are always an option as well. It is not just because I want other people to be pleased while looking at the selfies but also (and more importantly) taking care of my appearance makes me feel good, confident, and at peace with myself. However, I do not consider the selfies I take as a fair representation of myself. Because, as I mentioned before, the things that make up the wholeness of my identity is more than what can be shown through photos no matter how genuinely I portray myself to be. After all, each selfie can have different meanings depending on random factors such as the event when I took it or just simply how I was feeling at that specific moment in time.
Pangram Noodles
Definitely harder than expected but still a fun one!