Week 15 Blog # 1

Last post of the semester: Social Construction

     Griffin explains that social construction is the communal creation of the real and the good, and continues to explain that persons-in-conversation co-construct their own social realities and are simultaneously shaped by the worlds they create. This information can be found on page 478 in chapter 36.

     Its interesting to me that after all of the material we've covered this semester, I can still remember the theories that Griffin threads together.  Its so interesting to me that we really do construct our own realities that we live in.  That's why I think every person can be happy in their life as long as they focus on the positives.

~Tornn

Week 12 Blog # 1

Muted Group

According to Griffin, a muted group is a group of, "People with little power who have trouble giving voice to their perceptions because they must re-encode their thoughts to make them understood in the public sphere; e.g., women."  This information can be found on page 455 in chapter 35 of our textbook.  

I find this concept to be an interesting one because whenever I talk about oppression I tend to focus on the silencing of others.  I talk about how one group silences another, not literally, but by making them feel as though they are ignorant or unimportant.  I like that I now have another term, the muted group.

~Tornn

Week 12 Blog # 1

Standpoint

According to Griffin, a standpoint is, "A place from which to critically view the world around us."  This information can be found on page 441 in chapter 34 of our text.  So when people say standpoint they don't literally mean where one is standing and what they are literally looking at, but instead a standpoint is almost a state of mind.  If one's standpoint is abortion is morally wrong, then they will tend to feel that Roe v. Wade should be overturned simply because that is how they are looking at the issue.  

I think standpoints are important for understanding how far and deep you can actually go with another person when discussing issues.  This is because I know from talking to people, many are not interested in hearing anything that differs from view, and I feel that this comes from their standpoint.

~Tornn

Week 10 Blog # 2

Public Agenda

According to McCombs and Shaw, public agenda is the most important public issues as measured by public opinion surveys.  This information can be found on page 361 in chapter 28 of our textbook. 

While McCombs and Shaw did their own survey to find out what the most important issues, most of the public surveys are done through mass media so it is usually biased anyways.  I can see what McCombs and Shaw were trying to prove; they were trying to prove that one affects the other, but I don't feel this is true in they way it should be.  I think that the media played a huge part in people's opinions about what is the most important public issues, but I think it should be the other way around.  I feel that people's opinions on what is most important should shape the media's agenda. 

~Tornn

Week 10 Blog # 1

Agenda-setting Hypothesis

McCombs and Shaw argue that the media has, "the ability to transfer the salience of issues on their news agenda to the public agenda," and they call this the Agenda-Setting Hypothesis.  This information can be found on page 359 of chapter 28 in our textbook.  

I find the agenda-setting hypothesis meaningful because I truly believe the media affects our thoughts far more than most people understand.  There is so much going on around us daily, but we only know what we are exposed to.  The media has the ability to filter what we are exposed to.  I feel the reason our county is at war in Iraq right now is because the media portrayed all the threats of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq constantly.  The media gave people an awareness that Iraq could possibly have WMD's.  This led to a fear that American's are so well known for, causing our invasion into the Iraqi county.  

~Tornn

Week 9 Blog # 3

Semiotics

Semiotics is described as the study of the social production of meaning from sign systems; the analysis of anything that can stand for something else.  This information can be found on page 323 in chapter 25 of our textbook.  

I feel that semiotics are meaningful because I think that analyzing anything can be considered a study of semiotics.  I feel this way because every statement, every action, and every form of communication has symbolic meanings deeper than the actual surface meaning.  I feel that I am studying semiotics everyday when I try to figure out why someone has said something in the way they did, because I know there is some other intentions behind their statements.

~Tornn

Week 9 Blog # 2

Faustian Bargain

According to our text, a faustian bargain is, "A deal with the devil; selling your soul for temporary earthly gain."  This information can be found on page 319 in chapter 24 of our book.

I think faustian bargain is a meaningful concept because companies and corporations are doing things like this daily in American society.  Companies continue to pay the people who create the goods they sell cents a day illegally.  They are ruining the lives of people by supporting what many (including myself) consider "slave" labor.  The rich in our country don't care about human rights or anything other than their own economic gain; thus enacting a faustian bargain.

~Tornn