Professor Stoner-Study abroad experience vs. new media

Professor Stoner was a guest lecturer in class who told us a little about her research: The study abroad experience verses new media. She basically wanted to see how new media, which includes cell phones and the internet effects how students that study abroad adjust to the culture shock. Before this advanced technology, there use to be greater lengths of culture shock. But now since you can just pick the phone and talk to your family or even being able to see them via video chatting the feeling of homesickness is hard to get.

Even though I have not studied abroad yet, I can relate this experience to when I moved into my apartment during college. I was a little worried because people that were a little bit older and had already moved out would complain about how homesick they were. They would miss out on home cooked meals and the comfort on living on with their families. So when I moved out I was a little nervous.  I am very close to my family and we spend a lot of time with each other. But once I started living on my own  I didn't feel that homesickness that everyone described. Most of my day was spent on school and work and when I was back at my apartment I would be too exhausted to do anything else. My dad still calls me every morning to make sure I am awake, even though I am awake every time he calls. And I talk to my mom every evening. Me and brother usually communicate through text and Facebook. I can also talk to my friends from back home or away at school through text and Facebook. And if I miss indian food, I can just run down to the convenient store and pick up a frozen food meal or order take out.

I agree with Professor Stoner's research that the culture shock time period has lessened due to the availability on new technology. There are many ways to communicate with your loved ones. So the people who did feel the pressure of not moving out or even studying abroad, their pressure has lowered. They know there is always a way of communication so they don't feel too far from their loved ones. I think it is important for the the period of culture shock and the adjustment period even out. This way when student do go out of town to study they can be at they their top most comfort level and learn what they  came to learn.

Professor Bui-Women in media

Professor Bui gave a lecture on how Asian women are represented in media. Women are represented negatively in film. They are looked at as sex workers and the way their bodies are portrayed. She gave examples of that from 3 movies. The part of the lecture that stuck out to me the most was when she shared her own experience. Professor Bui was in Vietnam studying, she would hang out at bars and was part of the nightlife. Because she was in that place she was seen as a prostitute. Once even approached by a man, soon the word spread around the bar and she wasn't even allowed to buy drinks or get a ride home because she was considered a prostitute. Because of this frustration she shaved her hair of, and then was teased about being bald.

I found this lecture to be familiar to that of Professor Meraz. They both talked about how women are represented. Professor Bui focused on Asian women in media and Professor Meraz talked about women in the work place.  Along with that, I found Indira's lecture on the Hitchcock film to be very useful in this lecture. The way that Marnie was represented was very sexual. This is similar to what Professor Bui was saying about Asian women and how they are sexualized. The use of proxemics and power play a huge role in this. Similar to the Hitchcock film, 'Heaven and Earth' the women was very petite and the man was tall and strong. He had some sort of power on her, she would have to look up to talk to him and he could just pick her up if he wanted. So film already does a very good job in making women look weak and then as prostitutes. The stereotype that has slowly been put into our heads about Asian women as prostates is going to take a while to get out. Towards the end of the lecture someone asked about how our perspective of Asian women will change. He talked about a show that positively showed these women but the Professor said that it would take a lot more than one show to make a difference. All these stereotypes have been burned into our heads and we need more mainstream media get them out. Even though media can be a very negative thing at times, it can be very impactfull. There can be many things done as well to improve these negative images. Small steps can be taken to make a bigger difference in the future.

Professor Meraz-Gender roles

Professor Meraz gave a lecture on the decline of women in the computer science field and the gendered stereotypes that have not changed. For example, she mentioned how computers are considered a boys toy, while domestic work and dolls are considered a girls toy. She even gave examples of video games and how girls and boys games are different. While males have a lot of violence and guns, and girls would have some kind of domestic work. One thing I found interesting about what Professor Meraz said is that even though females are going into the computer field, women stir towards the field of web design. Even though computer science pay a lot more. So even now that there is somewhat of an increase in the fields that many women weren't seen in, they tend to stay on the softer side of things. What stuck out to me as well is when Professor Meraz said that "women are perceived as a minority, even though they aren't one."

What I thought about while listening to Professor Meraz's lecture is how stereotyping and schemas are the things that shape our minds of certain things. For example, why do we associate men and guns and women with cooking? These are stereotypes that have been presented to us all our lives. Schemas are things that we know, they guide our behavior. So for example when females are associated with domestic work and we see this on a regular basis  then we tend to believe that women should be the ones that do the domestic work. During her lecture Professor Meraz had mentioned that females tend not to change these schemas because it is just easier to work with what is already presented to her. One more thing that Professor Meraz said was about a women joining a computer engineering class but being the only female there she felt really out of place. The professor didn't know how to treat her because she was his first female student. So that brought to my mind about the reluctancy that females feel when joined field with a very low percentage of women in that field, so their comfort level is not that high. Small factors come into play when figuring out why there is still a decline of women in fields related to computers or technology.

Professor Meraz's lecture was very informative. She had a lot of stories/examples to share which made me more interested in the topic. I am one of those females that wouldn't join a class if I saw that the majority students were male. But I believe it is the little things that will make the bigger difference. If I sign up maybe more females will sign up and that could have a greater impact when it comes to future of that specific class or even the field of work.

"The Tea Party & the Politics of Insecurity"

            Professor Andrew Rojecki gave a lecture on “The Tea Party & the Politics of Insecurity”. Professor Rojecki studies political discourse and its origins and effect; how it makes us think. He also focuses on globalization. At the beginning of his lecture he right away proved that the youth are not interested in the news by taking a quick survey. He also engaged the class by asking them about their worries after college and most said finding a job. He tied that into globalization, the Tea Party, social security, and much more giving a simplified background of each.

            If I was sitting in Professor Rojecki’s lecture, I would have been one of the students who raise their hands for not keeping up with the news. As much as I tell myself to read the news, I steer away from doing that because of the other media that is available to us. While waiting around, instead of going on the news app, I choose to go on facebook app. I don’t read the news unless I know that I am personally effected by it. When I do read it, I can sense the bias and the opinions that are put into these news article by these journalists. I have always been a strong believer of following by own lead and having my own opinions. When I see these articles that are steering me in a certain direction, I get very irritated and stop reading. I know this doesn’t give a good reason to not keep up with the news but there need to be better sources out there that can present news in an effective way.  Because of my beliefs I am creating a veil of ignorance. I want get rid of all the bias on certain topics and I can do this by looking into other news sources. That will require more time for me but atleast that way I will be up to date with the news.

            News today has been very socialized. Articles are published for entertainment. This can be a good thing but it tarnished the newsworthiness of the article. I can relate this to when we talked about the cultural gate keepers in our society. Who is responsible for forming are standards and beliefs. When I hear political news, I always think to myself is it ethical for politicians to make all these promises to the public, when they know that they can’t be fulfilled. Sure freedom of speech and press are always here for individuals but is right for influential people to cross this ethical line?

            From Professor Rojecki’s lecture I realized that I have not been keeping up with the news. Sure I knew what he was talking about but I had no personal input that I could put. Even though I am not a huge fan of politics, I realized that even the little changes effect the me and the people around me.