Research in the Community - Observations in a Local Library

To research in a library, I visited a library in my hometown. It is a fairly small library, because it is located in the basement of the community center. In a lot of ways, I like this library more than the larger libraries, because I have been there so many times so I know where pretty much everything is.

Because this library is so small, there is not as much variety as one would expect there is in a library. Surprisingly enough, the children's section makes up the majority of the library. It is very cozy in the children's section, designed to look like a place that a kid in elementary school would just want to come to and curl up with a book and read. There are all kinds of books there, and while there is evidence of an attempted system for ordering the books, everything is all over the place and the books are quite chaotic. Like the bookstore, it is hard to find anything specific among all the books, unless you were lucky enough to stumble upon it. This is interesting because children don't usually have as much of a direction as adults would like the world to have, but when they stumble upon something that wasn't expected it just kind of works for them.

Blog Post 5 - Banned Books

Before the lesson about banned books, I did not even realize that there were children's books that had been banned for any reason at all. It was interesting to learn the strong feelings associated with why books are banned at all, and it just strengthened my stands on social issues in general.

When I saw the books that everybody brought in, I noticed that they all had to do with very controversial social issues that are constantly being debated in the political world and the media. Most of the books were banned because they featured characters that were different somehow, particularly families with a same gendered married couple. In certain parts of the country this is an issue that people feel strongly about, and parents who do not support this would not want their children reading about such things. Because I support gay marriage and believe all people should be treated equally, I thought it was quite silly that books featuring this kind of issue were banned. I believe that gay marriage is becoming an ever-increasing normality in our society, and it is important to expose children to all aspects of the real world.

Another reason for banning books that I thought was quite silly was books that supposedly taught a bad lesson to children, such as the idea that the book The Witches promoted running away. Most of the reasoning behind banning these books were barely subliminal, and I'm pretty sure that as a child I would not have thought of these messages the way the adults that ban them do.

Research in the Community - Observations in a Local Bookstore

For my observations in a bookstore, I visited a Barnes and Noble in my hometown. It is both very small and a bookstore I have been to many times, so I already knew where most things were located in it. There are not very many books that are immediately obviously about diverse cultures or books that highlight social issues; it takes looking at various books very closely to find books about either of those things. When these book are found, they are usually in the most random of places throughout the store. More often than not, the travel guides in the travel section tell the most of diverse cultures. These books are sort of in the background, not hidden exactly, but certainly not displayed in a way that would immediately catch a customer’s eye. More often than not, you find books like these in the bargain section, where lots of random stuff that people don’t usually buy are located. The authors of these book are pretty diverse, though they are usually authors that most people have never heard of. They are mostly accessible to adults only, because they are located in the part of the bookstore that kids will not usually visit. A lot of the time, the cover of the book portrays some sort of cultural stereotype, with the supposed purpose of attracting the attention of a customer, since a customer will usually be more receptive to something that they already had an idea about. These books will usually have some sort of happy ending, while using the characters to either completely defy or completely reinforce the stereotype that the book displayed to begin with. This bookstore that I visited is located in a neighborhood where mostly minorities live. This might help explain the lack of cultural books in the bookstore, as the store’s marketing team might be under the assumption that the people that live in this neighborhood would not appreciate the culture of books about other cultures or social issues.  

Blog Post 4 – Critical Analysis Podcast Ideas

For the Critical Analysis podcast, there are a few different ideas that come to mind. For the podcast, we have to do a critical analysis of a children’s book, and the ones that immediately came to mind to critically analyze are books that I remember loving as a kid.

From elementary school, my favorite book has always been Holes by Louis Sachar. There are many issues that are presented in this book that could be discussed and analyzed. There is the ever present issue of classism, where the boys would judge each other and claim superiority over one another. There are also the positive lessons that can be learned from this book. This book teaches us that you cannot judge a book by its cover, the importance of friendship, and the importance of keeping promises and being a good person.

Another book that comes to mind that I could critically analyze is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Out of all the books in the series, this one was always my favorite. This book also deals with classism, where the purebloods claim superiority over muggle borns and muggles because they believe their blood is purer. This book also teaches the positive lesson that we should not judge things for what they seem to be, as things are not always as they appear. 

There are also a multitude of other books I could critically analyze, but I feel like either of those choices would make for a good podcast.

Blog Post 2 - Positioning and Being Positioned

Hello My Names Are:

Christine
Chriss
Chrissy
Tine

Christine - this is the name given to me by my parents, the one that I have on my birth certificate. This is the one name that everyone calls me most often. This name is the most formal of all the names I am known by, and gives off an air of maturity. This positions me as a serious member of society, as a college student, and as someone with a future. Because this is the name that I put on all my applications, I would like it to help me achieve my goals in life.

Chriss - this is the name that people call me when they are feeling lazy and don't feel like verbalizing Christine. This is the one name that could get people confused, as Chris is typically a guy's nickname. It is also the most common of the names I am called, and suggests a conformation to a norm of society. It is not a name that will set me apart from many people, and puts me in the position of being just like everyone else. I suppose this nickname would be good if I did not want to draw attention to myself.

Chrissy - this was the nickname given to me by my first best friend, when I was in kindergarten. It brings me back to my childhood, but I also associate a childish feeling with it. It would be a nickname that would cause people to take me less seriously, but would also make me seem more easygoing and carefree.

Tine - this was the nickname given to me by my parents. It is a nickname that also reminds me of my childhood, because only my parents call me this. It puts me in the position of being under an authority figure, but also leaves me with a sense of security, like I will always be taken care of.

Hello My Name is Not

Christina

Christina - everybody always confuses Christine with Christina, and I will usually get called Christina by people who don't know me that well. This is a position in which people do not know who I actually am, and it is confusing for me as well because I can never be sure that someone is talking to me.

Blog Post 1 - Researching the Self

I have read many books in my time. One that will always stand out is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Though this may seem like a book I just happened to pick up because it was popular at the time, I can honestly say it had an impact on my life.
I had received it as a gift from my grandmother. At the time I was 8 and really disliked reading, so it sat on my bookshelf for quite a while before I decided to give it a second look. I picked it up one day and was fascinated by the storyline, so it became the longest book I had ever finished voluntarily. At the time, this changed my life in the short term because i developed a love of reading. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series, and started reading for fun in between.
Even now, this book continues to make a difference in my life. Everyone knows the story of Harry Potter, the boy who was locked in a cupboard and discovers he is a wizard, and is destined for bigger and better things, bigger than his unloving family, a whole world outside the cupboard under the stairs. If I am ever feeling down, or feeling like my world is slowly ending, I always think about the fact that I am not actually locked in a cupboard under the stairs, and that there is always something better waiting for me, no matter how hopeless things may seem.