Vampires vs. Clumber Spaniel

Vampire and Dog Movie

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Essay: Final Draft

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ASCj6nlVlf_UZGZqd3AyMjRfMzl3NW45cXRjeg&hl=en

Creative Response Possibility

I am still not entirely sure what I will create for my “creative response.” I am considering attempting to create a variation of the PostSecret project while also incorporating some of the elements of Project Mortified. I work at an afterschool program as a class instructor. I choose what classes I want to teach and what grade levels can sign up for my classes. We have just started a new class period which will last about six weeks. I have decided to teach a creative writing class for 3rd through 5th grade students. I am planning on presenting the students with writing prompts such as, “What are you most afraid of?” and “What do you think the world will be like in 50 years?” I am going to ask the students to write short paragraphs and to include illustrations if they would like. I’m also going to tell the students that they do not have to put their names on their work and that their identity will never be revealed to readers of their works.

I am curious as to how anonymity will influence the writing of elementary school students. Since students are constantly reminded to put their names on their papers, I wonder how their writing will change when they are freed of this responsibility. I will teach the class for 45 minutes every Monday and Wednesday starting next week. I am anxious to see how the class will develop and what type of writing the students will produce. Ultimately, I would like to use the students’ writing and illustrations to produce a book of anonymous stories, quotes, and images created entirely by elementary school students.

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The Last Person In The World

http://linkedstory.blogspot.com/2009/11/last-person-in-world.html

"Creative Response"

Wikipedia defines détournement as the process in which “an artist reuses elements of well-known media to create a new work with a different message, often one opposed to the original.” This statement influenced me to consider how I would create a détournement in opposition of my current research subject. In reading the rough drafts of my classmates, I have discovered that many of us are focusing on similar topics. However, no topic is entirely the same as another. Therefore, I think it would be interesting to create a new essay incorporating the thoughts of my classmates. I would focus on those students whose research was similar to mine but who had developed some assumptions contradicting my own.

In his essay “Methods of Détournement,” Guy-Ernest Debord states that, “one is not limited to correcting a work or to integrating diverse fragments of out-of-date works into a new one; one can also alter the meaning of those fragments in any appropriate way.” Though I would integrate the views of my classmates into my own essay, I would also explain my own interpretations of their words and how they are relevant to my topic. My current research topic considers how online anonymity enhances the connection between members of online communities. In order to compose a détournement, I would need to consider how online anonymity can lead to discontent among internet communities. I think that this would be an interesting perspective to look into.

I am also considering doing some type of anonymity project similar to PostSecret. I would like to somehow merge PostSecret and Project Mortified. I am considering what types of things kids would say if they were given a post card and told to write down a secret. I think it would be both comical and interesting. I am still not sure how I will go about doing this type of project.