Class 9.25

I enjoyed how class began today. I thought it was helpful that Prof. Dean cleared up some of the logistics of the course, i.e. grading, final paper, etc. That issue was rather unsettling to me, so it helped to hear Prof. Dean explain what is going on and how she will be evaluating us. It was not that I did not know, but it was nice to hear it from her mouth. I am not sure if that makes sense, sorry.

I thought the lecture was great. We have not heard Prof. Dean speak for a long period of time about the book, so it was nice to have her kind of wrap up the text with her thoughts and statements. It was nice to hear what Prof. Dean had to say about the author and her critiques and areas she enjoyed. Overall, I learned a lot from listening to Prof. Dean discuss Andrejevic and the issues raised in the iMedia chapter.

Towards the end of the lecture, I thought it was smart of Prof. Dean to stay in a large group discussion rather than breaking up into smaller groups. It was a nice change. I liked the large group atmosphere because it allowed everyone to hear each others voices, rather than only hearing people in a small group. This also was beneficial for students who do not like group work. It probably was a nice change of pace.

One part of the discussion I thought was intriguing was the conversation about TV watching. I thought it was interesting to hear how watching TV help people develop thoughts and critical thinking. Watching TV is like a creative exercise by generating creativity and critical thinking. After listening to this part of the lecture, I really began to understood how there was such a change in interactivity. Another comment that caught my attention was how Prof. Dean said that Alabama (I think that is the right State) did not really show much emotion towards the 9/11 incident and New York City. I was very surprised to hear that a southern state would shrug that off and not be more involved somehow.

Overall, the discussion and especially the lecture was very thought provoking. I thought that listening to Prof. Dean today had people's minds thinking a lot more than usual. At first, I was a little overwhelmed with what Prof. Dean was saying, but I certainly followed her points and stayed right on track. I thought it was good that the discussion did necessarily end in the last few minutes of class. I think that is good because it allows people to write new posts on their blog!

Sam