Public Discourse Blog (AleshaD)

I have learned so much in this course and I actually find it very productive on my what my personal significance means in the Public Sphere. One thing that I am for certain is that although I believed I was very prominent in discussing topics and debate within the public, they are realms that I would not have even thought to discuss before taking this course. One concept that I have learned and will take with me is the idea to being more open to others input and thoughts even though they may be opposite of my own and learning how to have a information conversation rather than a flat out debate. I enjoyed this course thanks Dr. Macek!

"I think if I were a man, I would have been in that conversation a long, long time ago. Like six, seven or eight years ago." This is a quote from Serena Williams. I wanted to share one of the articles that I read this from as it touches on our discussion on Feminism from a different perspective. In the sporting environment, when people discuss great athletes or greatest athletes there ALWAYS the distinction being made that an athlete is female and this distinction is never made when that athlete is male. I find this interesting because it sort of plays into the stereotype without people even noticing it. http://girltalkhq.com/serena-williams-on-dreaming-big-refusing-to-be-called-the-worlds-greatest-female-athlete/

The most interesting component of my research that sticks out the most to me is the fact that out of all the studies I've read there is always the underlying conclusion that combats what the original study set out to establish. What I mean by this is that as I am looking at different studies to find a distinction in the difference between social media activism and activism of the past and if social media activism is beneficial or not there are a lot of, for lack of better words, contradictions. The studies that I have read do give definite answers in their analysis of their questionnaires and their surveys, but in the end when they are concluding they state the latter. For example, one study showed a clear inclination that people who participate in social media activist actions are less likely to participate offline but in the conclusion it does state that social media activist actions are beneficial to participation.

While I was researching my feature topic on social media I came across an interesting article. In it social media activist movements are discussed but it also touches on social media in the classroom and using it as a tool. I remember someone in class mentioned they were going to touch on this topic and if its is a good or bad thing so just thought I'd share. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=6a75f0eb-a319-4dd9-a76a-77af43cabb12%40sessionmgr4006&hid=4211

There is no simple answer or solution that can be done to help solve the never ending cycle the war on the vulnerable causes and continues to present itself as a problem/issue in different communities. What needs to be done is some extreme re-evaluation of the consequences and representation directed toward our society members that are economically, environmentally, and educationally challenged. How the state and government are set up and how they have been continuing to run is keep the rich, rich and keeping the poor, poor, not just economic wise, but resource wise as well. Society needs to be able to come to terms and accept the fact that there is a difference between how the different social group and levels are treated. This treatment, the poor neighborhoods, the lack of care for the people in this neighborhoods, the penalization or punishments for the people in these neighborhoods, and all of these factors are the reasoning why so many minority communities feel attacked, targeted,

There are so many different types of "real women" that it is definitely impossible for any type of media outlet to display the life and obstacles that real women go through. The problem is that the different television shows and other forms of media give the impression that they are displaying the lives of real women and the obstacles they go through therefore further playing into the stereotypical views of women and causing these view to always remain permanent in people's real life thoughts and representation of women issues and their personalities. I believe there are a lot of shows in today's media that I believe briefly touch on reflecting the lack of gender inequality and the ones that I can think of usually contain a woman in a powerful position but the point is maybe discussed for a quick moment. Even with these shows though, there is still those "back of your mind stereotypes that displayed. Take for instance one of my favorite show Scandal. The main c

Social media plays both a positive and negative role in contemporary social movements and activism. What social media does that was not able to happen in the past is that it gives different movements a platform to voice their opinions. The views that may not be popular or covered in everyday mainstream media, television, news shows, etc. are given a place where they can be heard and made public to people all throughout the world, so in a sense no voice can be silenced. Social media allows more people to get on board and contributes to a large number of participates included in the activism with connective examples such as hashtags or re-sharing the information. The downfall of the contemporary form of social media activism as I stated in class is that while yes it builds numbers but it does not build commitment to such social movements. What I mean by this is social media activity is very non-progressive. People may just like a post or share the post with other or even join different o

In order for students to succeed they have to be placed in an environment that reflects succeeding, Chicago Public Schools are not that environment. A recent editorial in the Chicago Tribune by the editorial team discussed the new initiative/idea that Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to be put into effect. Starting in 2020 high school students will be required to compose a post graduation plan in order to receive their diploma. High school students will have to provide proof that they have been accepted in to a college, the military, a trade or gap-year program, job offers are acceptable as well. If they do not provide this “plan” the will not receive a diploma. Emanuel’s belief that “ If you change expectations, its not hard for the kids to adapt” was praised by the editors and it comes across as though they are describing this initiative as the mayor disrupting the status quo in education solutions. Although I see this as a great step in the initiative to get students to think more

The topic of one of my op-ed pieces is in response to an editorial written in the Chicago Tribune recently that talked about and praised Rahm Emanuel on a new initiative he plans on implementing for students. Though a nice idea, I plan on breaking down the real issue he needs to discuss in regards to Chicago schools.

I do believe the "newer" formats of television shows are contributing to a breakdown in dialogue amongst opposing political viewpoints. There is not much respect or collaboration taking place and in turn there is always some sort of divide in my opinion between one side and the other. These formats have contributed to a lack of respect for other's viewpoints because everybody was the be in the right and intellects and people who speak on policies no longer want to do whats best for both sides they just want their side to come out on top. There is a great plus side to these newer formats of shows and media. A lot of voices are given the chance to be heard and considered. Beforehand opinions were either one way or the other, but with the newer formats there are all different types of variety of answers and opinions to the same questions. I believe the newer formats also make things easier for the general public to understand. I enjoy watching shows such as "The Colbe

In my opinion I believe the fields that are talked about most represented within the media are political science and economics. The past election plays a major role in the new found popularity with politics and economics. You can't turn on the television or radio to any channel without seeing something being debated in regards to our economy and the shenanigans of Trump being analyzed and broke apart. Even before the past election the academic fields that always seemed to get the most discussion and traction were political science and economics. Media channels tend to focus on what they believe the people want to hear and with the state of the economy as it is and has been for the past 10 or so years, they believe the citizens want to know about the countries economic plans or what government officials plan to do. You see a lot of call upon academics within the political field to discuss their opinions of what needs to happen and analyze the decisions the current political party in

When I see the word intellectuals, even after going through all our readings and for the week with different explantations of the word, all I can think about is older men with their glasses on the tip of their noses sitting in a library or conference room of some sort discussing things that are far beyond comprehension of any regular person in the world. Or at least in the older times that's how I pictured the people who were considered intellects in the older times. Today I feel there are so many intellectuals and it's not limited to a specific group of people who are superior to others. If you have something of substance to offer and you are able to back that up with research and knowledge of your subject then I would consider that person some sort of intellectual. A few people that come to mind as current intellectuals to me are college professors or even teacher, writers such as Roxanne Gay, and innovators such as Bill Gates just to name a couple.

I do believe that in fact in today's society online platforms are functioning as public spheres. This has both it's positive and negative effects in my opinion. People from different races, cultures, and backgrounds all come together on social media platforms and discuss details about themselves that others may not have known and also it is seen as a safe haven for many to get their views out into the world without anyone judging them or making them seem as though they don't matter. As their pieces make their way through the online forum it is received by others in a variety of ways. Some agree with their thoughts and react positively by joining their movements and initiatives for change, and on one end others ridicule their thoughts and react and respond negatively. This brings in the negative aspects of online forums being looked upon as major public spheres in today's society. Online platforms give individuals the freedom to not have to suffer consequences of the u

My name is Alesha Davis I was born and raised in Chicago and moved out to the Bolingbrook area my sophomore year of high school. I have a background in a wide variety of aspects of communications. I received my bachelor’s degree from Bradley University in Communications with a concentration in Sports communications. I have taken courses at Illinois Media School and am certified in production, writing, and marketing in relation to any form of media. I am currently a Marketing Coordinator at a company that offers graduate level programs to teachers through cohorts at different local schools. My main goal in pursuing my master’s is to be able to bring a balance between all my different skills, communicative and media related, and incorporate those into developing the people around me to be there best selves. I would like to work in human resources/administrative department of a corporation/school specifically related with children or sports, which is