How do I end this thing?

A conclusion should

• stress the importance of your givens and what you determined,
• give the project a sense of completeness, and
• leave a final impression on the reader/viewer/listener.

Suggestions

• Answer "So What?"Show your readers why this project was important.
• Synthesize, don't summarize
• Don't simply repeat things that were in your project. Show them how the points you made and the support and examples you used were not random, but fit together.
• Create a new meaning
• You don't have to give new information to create a new meaning. By demonstrating how your ideas work together, you can create a new picture. Often the sum of the project is worth more than its parts.

Strategies

Bookend introduction: Bookending can be a good strategy if it is meant to bring the reader full-circle. If you begin by describing a scenario, you can end with the same scenario as proof that your essay was helpful in creating a new understanding.

Example

Introduction

From the parking lot, I could see the towers of the castle of the Magic Kingdom standing stately against the blue sky. To the right, the tall peak of The Matterhorn rose even higher. From the left, I could hear the jungle sounds of Adventureland. As I entered the gate, Main Street stretched before me with its quaint shops evoking an old-fashioned small town so charming it could never have existed. I was entranced. Disneyland may have been built for children, but it brings out the child in adults.

Conclusion

I thought I would spend a few hours at Disneyland, but here I was at 1:00 A.M., closing time, leaving the front gates with the now dark towers of the Magic Kingdom behind me. I could see tired children, toddling along and struggling to keep their eyes open as best they could. Others slept in their parents' arms as we waited for the parking lot tram that would take us to our cars. My fifty-year-old feet ached, and I felt a bit sad to think that in a couple of days I would be leaving California, my vacation over, to go back to my desk. But then I smiled to think that for at least a day I felt ten years old again.

Challenging the reader: By issuing a challenge to your readers, you are helping them to redirect the information in the project, and they may apply it to their own lives.

Example - Though serving on a jury is not only a civic responsibility but also an interesting experience, many people still view jury duty as a chore that interrupts their jobs and the routine of their daily lives. However, juries are part of America's attempt to be a free and just society. Thus, jury duty challenges us to be interested and responsible citizens.

Looking to the future: Looking to the future can emphasize the importance of your project or redirect the readers' thought process. It may help them apply the new information to their lives or see things with a broader lens. 

Example - Without well-qualified teachers, schools are little more than buildings and equipment. If higher-paying careers continue to attract the best and the brightest students, there will not only be a shortage of teachers, but the teachers available may not have the best qualifications. Our youth will suffer. And when youth suffers, the future suffers.

Posing questions: Posing questions, either to your readers or in general, may help your readers gain a new perspective on the topic, which they may not have held before reading your conclusion. It may also bring your main ideas together to create a new meaning.

Example - Campaign advertisements should help us understand the candidate's qualifications and positions on the issues. Instead, most tell us what a boob or knave the opposing candidate is, or they present general images of the candidate as a family person or God-fearing American. Do such advertisements contribute to creating an informed electorate or a people who choose political leaders the same way they choose soft drinks and soap?

Extra Resources to Create

Here are some extras that you can put into your project to give it more texture and more information.

https://knightlab.northwestern.edu/projects/

 https://storymap.knightlab.com/

https://timeline.knightlab.com/

https://www.canva.com/

Ch Ch Ch Changes (turn and face the strange)

(I chose great sound over mediocre video. Listen to the words. It really speaks to us now.)

On the show:

Choose a medium to work with your material:

Website
Ebook

Here is the checklist of what you need to include: 

• Introduction (set up the project within the introduction include the historical information)
• Social (How did the public receive the artifact? What about the critics?)
• Culturally (Where does the artifact show up in culture since its initial presentation?)
• MultiLens: What does it all mean when you look at it under the microscope of semiotic, Marxist and psychological perspectives? (This will be the biggest section.)
• Conclusion (What can be “said” about this artifact and what has been learned about its significance? How did you answer the question about your artifact?)
• Bibliography (This is the list of sources you used in completing this project)

The technical needs of this project: 

You will choose a digital format in which to present your material. Webpage, wiki, film, 

Each section will contain photos, graphs, audio, video, infographics, or maps based on what the content calls for (more about this in class.)

We will review the requirements for each section in classes over the next few weeks. 

Here is the new schedule: 

Weds, April 1 - Review of requirements

Friday, April 3 - Review of additional resources to use in your project. 

Monday, April 6 - Work from the end - what is your conclusion? 

Weds, April  8  - Looking at the lenses 

Friday, April 10  - NO SCHOOL

Monday, April 13 - Social discussion of your artifact

Weds, April 15 Work on your own

Friday, April 17 - Cultural discussion of your artifact

Monday, April 20 - Work on your own

Weds, April 22 - Review of making resources

Friday, April 24 - Review of medium you are using 

Monday, April 27 - Work on your own

Weds, April 29 - Conclusions

What is the difference between culture and society?

-we would say that "a society" is a people of a culture. Whereas "a culture" is what makes them a distinct them

- Different societies have different cultures. 

The culture symbolizes the practices and beliefs of a group while society exemplifies people who share those beliefs and practices. Culture entails practices and traditions while the society is a group of people living in one area. 

The clothes and language are the major indicators of preservation. The people are responsible for practicing a culture making it more dependent on the society. Both the culture and the society are dynamic, and technology has influenced them largely.

- The culture of a society is affected by gender, age, and the environment. In most cultures, clothes and language are the markers of self-preservation in a society. 

See how this plays out by listening to this TED TALK. 

Let's put this into Casablanca terms:

• What cultures do we see play out in Casablanca? 
• What are the societal differences from 1942 until today? 
• How is society different since Casablanca came out in 1942/43?
• If we place Casablanca in 1967 vs. 1942 how does that make a cultural difference? 

I miss sports. We will also put these questions of culture and society to the question of sports when we see each other on Weds. 

Meanwhile, puke about Casablanca and think of those differences. Write down everything you see as "different." Don't leave anything out. The details matter.

Remember, that your artifact is a reflection and a reaction to a moment in time, based on society and culture at a particular time. 

Just a note before we begin

Working remotely is part of the new business world. You'll likely be working online in some portion of your job no matter your profession. As we are navigating the next few weeks of online classes keep the following in mind: 

1. Get dressed - It matters to how you approach your work. PJs are nice but when you need to get down to business, put on some pants. 

2. Maintain your schedule - COME TO CLASS. What is true in person is still true online. Use the time you would be in class to "be in class" this will help you stay on track when we eventually come back to campus.  

3. Have the right tools 

• Download Zoom
• Learn to use the online SU library system
• Make sure your computer software is up to date
• Stay in contact with other students in the class
• Communicate with your professors often via chat, text, email, smoke signals, or in person at an off-campus location 

4. Communicate with your professors often - (It needs to be said twice.)

When submitting an assignment make sure you are giving your professors an update on how you are doing and how working remotely is working for you. For Crowley classes, send me a personal update every five days, to let me know how you are moving through the material in my class and in your other SU classes. 

Take a look at this list of best practices for online students from Northeastern University. There are many more good tips in here. Consider the next few weeks a new adventure. You will be learning new concepts and new things about yourself. Embrace the challenge. 

More Interviewing

Developing the Interview

This American Life

To The Best of our Knowledge

Ira Glass and an interesting page on storytelling. 

Part One – The agenda

• Determine the purpose or goal of the interview.
• Develop a brief statement that tells why this interview is being conducted.
• Specifically identify how this information will be used.
• Make a list of the information required.
• Draft questions that, when answered, will provide the necessary information to satisfy your goal. 

Part Two – Structure the interview

• Funnel Approach – Move from general to specific questions. This lets the interviewer discover the interviewee’s frame of reference. Move from open-ended questions to more closed questions with restrictive responses.
• Inverted Funnel – Move from specific to general. Forces the interview to think through specific facts before giving a general answer.
• Chain-link – Takes longer as it asks more probing questions. Sequence ends with a mirror or summary question which ensures accurate understanding interviewer and allows the interviewee to clarify, confirm or modify the information.
• Tunnel Sequence – These questions force a choice because the interviewee is given finite possibilities. Either/or, agree/disagree, approve/disapprove questions.

Part Three – Questions and questioning techniques

• Open questions – questions of feeling, perspective, prejudice or stereotypes
• Closed questions – yes/no tunnel sequence often needs more open and probing questions to round out the interview.
• Probing questions – Follow-up question on vague, superficial or inaccurate information.

• Elaboration – “What happened next?” “Could you go into that more?” “How did you feel about that?”
• Clarification – “What do you mean by the word BLAH?” “Could you provide examples of what you mean by BLAH?”
• Repetition – When the interview didn’t hear or is trying to evade the question. Repeat the question exactly as originally stated.
• Confrontations – Calls attention to inconsistencies, misinterpretations or contradictions. These are best asked at the end of the interview after ideas are established from open and closed questions.
• Mirror statements – Reflective or summary statements that indicate if the interviewee is being understood. “In other words you are saying . . .” Let me see if I am understanding you . . .”
• Neutral phrases – Demonstrates attention, indicates interest and encouragement to keep people talking. “Oh” “I see” “Go on” “Wow” “And then?”
• Silence – A powerful probe that gives both the interviewee and the interviewer time to think. Don’t rush through as this may be the only opportunity to talk with this person. Silence distinguishes the novice from the skilled interviewer.

Here is how it all comes together. Listen to Ira Glass. It is worth it!

The basics of a good interview: 

1. Even if you have a chance to record an interview, back it up with notes in your notebook. You never know when technology will fail you.

2. Learn as much as you can about the subject – time permitting – BEFORE you conduct the interview. Go in prepared.

3. Bring into the interview a list of questions in the general order you want to ask them. You may want to save a tougher question until the end.

4. During the interview, do not be tied to your list of questions. Listen, listen and listen. Let the subject know you are listening by maintaining eye contact, nodding your head, leaning forward and taking notes.

5. Write down in your notebook the key words and phrases you will need for writing your story.

6. If the subject is speaking too fast, don’t be afraid to say “Please give me a second; I want to write that down.” Or, “That sounds important; can you please say it again?”

7. As soon as you can after the interview, look at your notes. Fill them out from memory. Type them out on a data sheet so you can get at them more easily.

8. Annotate your notes. That is, mark them with stars or arrows or marginalia such as “this quote good for end of story.”

9. Don’t just write down what you hear, write down what you see.

10. Be polite and respectful, even to subjects who may be grumpy or difficult to deal with.

11. Arrive early to check out the scene; stay late to gather final thoughts.

12. Call back a source to gather something you missed or to check the accuracy of something you are not sure of.

Three bonus tips:

*Ask one question at a time. This isn’t multiple choice.

*Ask open-ended questions, not ones that can be answered yes or no.

*Be patient. Don’t break the silence with a new question.

Just shut up . . .

Find at least one person per section to interview. (I won't cry over more.)

Go to the Popular Culture/American Culture site to start to look for experts.
You can also try IMBD.
You can also try finding the people who write, podcast, film or anything else about your artifact and the issues surrounding it.