Looking back on this course, I have definitely become a more
alert and suspicious reader than I used to be. I still allow myself to be manipulated
by author, but now I am conscious of that manipulation instead of being blind
to it. Before this course, I believed in a linear progression, seeing a book as
has a beginning, middle, and an end that never met one-another. But much of
what we read and experience in our day to day life is circular. Even this
course is circular: at the beginning of the semester, Janelle asked us to question
everything. At first, we were all skeptical and tended to tread on eggshells
around her, following everything she said, but slowly we began to fight back
against the manipulation. We have been programmed to listen to a teacher,
follow the assignments, and never question how a class is being taught. The
first time Janelle asked us to change an assignment, we chose not to. And here
we are, four months later, suggesting alternatives to her syllabus for our
final without any reservations (okay, maybe some!). But my point is that we recognize the manipulation and we are
working with it, against it, and for it. Granted, I will probably never take a
class like this one again and I will fall back into the regimented teacher-student
schedule, but now I know that I can question assignments and put forward
suggestions.
I totally agree with your post. It's good that we are more aware of the manipulation that surrounds us daily, even if we still are victims of it. It's so true that at the beginning of the course we were so afraid and confused to try and challenge Janelle. It was something that we had never really experienced before. But, by the end of the semester we were asking more questions and trying to change our assignments. We at least managed to 'rebel' a little by leaving the class for five minutes before coming back.
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