Final Post!

So it's the end of the semester, and it only feels like it just started! Thank goodness I'm taking summer courses (In the most sarcastic tone possible). But, I have definitely learned a lot through this semester. One thing that has stuck in my head the most, has been chapter four: Identity. My final project actually deals with clothing and identity and how we actually perform through dress. It's going to be really fun. Unfortunately, I can't explain too much of what I will be doing, but I will talk about how occupation, age, gender and possibly how different cultures tie in with how we dress. I really like the aspect of performativity and and dress. The way we dress is a way as how we perform through our daily lives. I find this topic to be so interesting because everyone has their own style of dress, which makes us very unique. I come in to class sometimes, still wearing my PJ's. Does this make me seem lazy, yes, but it makes me feel comfortable while I'm learning. I'm still engaging in conversation and making sure I have some sort of input. I had a great time this semester, and I can't wait for what lies ahead of me in the future of communication studies.

My communication event!

So, today (sorry that it took so long) I went to a a communication event that involved the senior seminar class. Granted, I have a long way to go before I take this class, but it was fairly interesting and informative for what I am to look forward to when I do take my 198 class. So you can either become a coach for communication studies, or you can get an internship or start up a blog that can help other fellow communication studies majors with some sort of help. Personally, I can't get an internship or do a blog due to my busy work schedule (Let alone, I had a hard enough time trying to make sure I got the blogs done in time for this class). By the way, thanks for everyone sticking in and actually giving feedback. YOU ROCK! This was a really cool event for three reasons. I got to meet a couple of professors who gave me some cool feedback at what I might like to do considering my busy schedule. I got to meet graduates that had some really neat perspectives on what they're doing with their communications degree, and lastly, I got some inside on who the "cool" professors were. I told everyone that I had Deanna as my professor, and only a few new who she was. I had to give it up for her and let them know they should engage in some of her classes. It was a great little seminar that lasted rough an hour an a half, plus they served tea, cookies, and other assortments of treats. It was a fun and very insightful!

Dialectical Tensions

A couple weeks ago, we discussed how tensions within the classroom effects other's ability to participate and feel. It really seemed like the whole class was quite engaged in the topic. For me, I feel that I sometimes I raise my hand way too much. It blocks other's abilities to actually participate. But, when no-one says something or even tries to raise there hand when the professor asks us a question, I feel like we shouldn't just leave her hanging. That's when I raise my hand and try to make an educated guess, or a truthful response. As of recent, I have been trying to keep my hand down much more than what I did in the beginning of the semester. After reading the article, it made me realize that everyone has their own ways of learning and participating. The article stated that sometimes, students feel that they should shy away form answering questions because other's will automatically do it for them. The ones who are prominently always raising their hands, makes it harder for the ones who feel they have an answer, but don't want to share. This also effects their ability to participate in other classes, as well as in life situations. One thing that I found most interesting in the class discussion, was: who should take control of someone blurting out and making it hard for others to pay attention. The professor or the students? I felt the students should be able to tell other classmates how they feel. we're all grown adults, this isn't high school anymore. we don't have our professors holding our hands. It should be up to us to make those decisions and how we should deal with it. Granted the professor should have power over us, but we should be able to speak our mind, and be respectful to our fellow peers as well.

Media Surrounds Us (Ch. 9)

Media is constantly surrounding us, whether it be in the form of a book/magazine, television, computer, and cell phone. One of the media's that we use on the day to day is our cell phones. Like we discussed, when we leave our phones at home, we feel naked. But, just to think about it, 15-20 years ago, we didn't have the technology we have today. Even with our computer/laptops, media follows us to where we visit, and what connect us to others. We're being surveilled. We use media and create media even as media use and create us. Not everyone is affected the same way by media. Culture also lays a path to how we perceive media critically. Like I said, technology is moving rapidly, and we're going to have to adapt to what other types of media will bring within the future.

As scary as it sounds, to me at least, we're constantly being surveilled. When we're at work, at the mall shopping, or even while we're on our computers. Facebook has become one of the most invasive sites the net has. It knows what your likes and interests are, your location so it can give you ideas of places to go to, and even if your single, what sites to visit so you can find a companion. To me, a find that a to be a little too invasive. I'm single and I constantly get these little advertisements on the side of my Facebook saying "Meet Christian Singles," and go to this website. I always found these sites to be very interesting although it is a pretty boring way of meeting someone new (to me at least). But, I can understand from the standpoint that if you're shy, or not to sure how to approach others, it can be a useful tool. Anyways, what is to come in the future with surveillance seems pretty frightening. Media already knows so much about us as a species that soon enough, just as in the film "The Island" portrayed, media will surveil us and know every bit about us (hopefully not).

It's also really interesting how our culture plays a role on how media effects us. For instance, the Amish don't necessarily have to deal with problems of Facebook. Let alone, they probably don't really know much of what the hell Facebook is. But, once an Amish boy or girl become 16, they have a certain amount of time to decide whether they want to stay in the Amish "clan" or go on there way and live in the world of media. What I wonder is, how much of the media makes these people actually leave there Amish lives and come into the world of what we experience on the everyday? Does the media really have an effect on the human mind to this extent? At this time, only five to fifteen percent of children leave there Amish lives and families. Media plays a role in most of our lives, but it will constantly change, and never stay static. I'm interested in what new technology has to bring, but at the same time, I'm quite frightened.

Knowing your body (Ch. 6)

Throughout our lives, our bodies learn and know how to change within our flesh. Whether we're learning how to keep balance when we take our first steps as babies, or when we become adults and we're on the computer typing and knowing exactly where each key is. We continue to learn about our body through constant practice and experience of small are large tasks. This is best described through body epistemology and body identity. For us to better understand these bodily functions, we must first understand what our body is telling us, what our bodies are telling others, and how other's might react to what our bodies are telling them through time, space, and touch.

To better understand our own bodies, we must pay attention to what it is saying to you. Whether you're lacking sleep, not eating enough or eating way too much, or even getting your daily dose of exercise. For me, if I eat way to much, I start succumbing to "The Itis." The itis is eating an abundant of of comfort foods (Carbohydrates, meats, fried foods, etc.) which soon after consuming makes you very sleepy or lazy, and makes you want to do absolutely nothing or just go to sleep. For me, when I do these things, my body is telling me a numerous amounts of thing the next day, such as: "Why the hell did you do that?" "How you feeling today, not so great, huh?" "Get up FAT-ASS!!!!" (You know, the encouraging things). My biggest down fall, for myself at least, is constantly going one hundred miles per second and ending up burning the candle at both ends. It's so funny that we think we know our bodies limitations, until we hit that wall and realize that our bodies can only handle so much at a time.

Next, I always find it interesting how our bodies can lead others to understand or misunderstand what we're trying to prove. Through these non-verbal cues, this can lead to so many distinctions of who we are and what we stand for, and can get lost in translation. Whether we have tattoo's all over our bodies, men that shave there arms and legs, people with different body piercings are all ways that shape who we are on the outside. But, it doesn't necessarily mean who we are on the inside. Even as young teens or young adults, and the way we dress and how other's perceive us in a negative or positive way can effect the way of thinking about ourselves. This can lead to the mind and body to work inextricably together to shape how we actually think about ourselves. This can shape us to think about how we talk about ourselves, how we move, or even how we imagine ourselves in the future. This can be dangerous for both positive and negative factors.         

Lastly, It's interesting how we perceive time, space, and touch as nonverbal communication. Throughout different cultures or even different parts of the world, we find these things to have different meanings. For time, as we talked about in class, island time means we get there when we get there. There's no set schedule (I find to be pretty AWESOME), but in other places time is everything. Like the saying goes: "Time is money." Now think about that....hopefully you came to some sort of conclusion about the saying. But, I find that to be one of the worst sayings a person could use and live by. To me, time should be cherished and intertwined with your own personal quality of life. Not just money, that just shows how greedy a person is (remember, this is my personal opinion, so don't take offense). I also find space and touch to be quite interesting. We all have our own little bubble that we like to stay in, and when someone starts to step into our bubble by touch or being at a really close range, it can either freak us out, or we can embrace it. For touch, for example, a 30 second hug can show so many things. How much we have missed a person, how happy we are to see a person, or even to show empathy or sympathy for someone or to even just show how strong someone can be. But, for those 30 seconds, how would you usually feel? Me personally, I love hugs! They're freaking AWESOME! (Again, I will Capitalize AWESOME!) It gives me a sense of protection, a barrier that no-one can get past. My body and mind tells me to embrace the affection, that it isn't a symbol of weakness, but a symbol of strength with the hugs we give and receive. Wow, I really went on about giving hugs! But, it's a great nonverbal gesture!    

Political Correctness and Colorblindness (Ch. 7)

This chapter about political correctness hit me in a sense that I should really pay attention to what I say and whom I say it to. Something that we must remember as communicators is that language is never static, meaning that words are never "JUST" words, but rather they are a way of building and shaping our social realities. The point of when we speak is to be both compassionate and accountable, so we can grow to be increasingly aware and knowledgable about the effects of our words on ourselves and others. There are everyday dismissals of language, especially when it comes to race, gender and sexuality. These are known as cultural shortcuts, or better known as political correctness (PC). Political correctness can also lead us to colorblindness. Which in a sense, is still racism. Let's take a look farther into political correctness, and the myths about it. 

As I said already, political correctness is a shortcut. But, it's also a way of arguing someones perspective we don't share, trying to make them seem more authentic. This also is known as a trope. A trope is a figure of speech that stands in for or condenses meanings and assumptions without a very complicated understanding of them. In other words, people use this term as a way to call someone out for his/her language choices, to claim that a term is being overly polite so that the person can seem politically savvy and making the right choice. This basically leads to what political correctness is about: LAZINESS! By citing political correctness falsely, it renders speech as being neutral, a seemingly transparent representation of something real. Remember, culture and language never stays static, we must imagine and conceive how our world changes. As Paulo Freire put it: "Changing language is part of the process of changing the world." 

When we think of colorblindness, we think that we perceive things as black and white. Well, it's pretty true. As Ruth Frankenberg states colorblindness, she says that it's color evasiveness. Meaning, when we try to be colorblind, we are not blind and unable to see race, rather, we're evading the topic and the implications of race. This also reproduces racism within society. By someone saying that they don't believe in racism and are colorblind, they are basically saying that they can ignore the topic of racism. For example, white people can afford to say that they are colorblind, but don't have a clue what it is to be in a black women/man's shoes. This reproduction of color evasiveness makes us avoid the effects and influences race has on culture. Color evasiveness is also better known as power evasion. Power evasion makes us choose not to see ways power is at play at a given moment, but to also avoid history and its effects. Overall, colorblindness is a form of speech that makes it harder to achieve equality for all.

My Plan For My Communication Studies

This being my first semester at San Jose State, I still have a lot to complete until I can achieve my undergraduate degree. I thought I had all of my lower general education completed, but I still have one lab left. My advisor "advised" me to take Geo 4 Lab because it was simple and had quite the abundance of slots open (I'm not taking it because it's easy, I just like the fact that there is plenty of spots. Plus, I wanted to take Astronomy, but there were limited spots). I'm also still deciding about my upper division general education core classes. There's so many too choose from, that I haven't been able to decide. I think I've been too excited about accomplishing all of my communication studies courses to even begin thinking about my upper division general education. But, as of now, I am officially declared as a Communication studies major, and am able able to plan out what courses I want to take. Most of the foundations, inquiry, and practice courses seemed interesting, but a few of them really stood out (Especially, all of the performance classes).

For the foundation courses, I found that taking 122F (Performance studies) and 110F (Interpersonal communication) to be the most suitable for me. I've always enjoyed performing in front of others, even if it means I get the shakes or even an abundance anxiousness. By studying this, I'm looking forward to how performance effects my everyday life, in different cultures, and as well as how it portrays my own identity. I've always enjoyed being noticed, but, not necessarily being the center of attention. As for interpersonal communications, I want to learn how to strengthen and better myself in interpersonal relationships. I figured, by bettering myself with communicating with others, will help me achieve my ultimate goal of teaching others how to speak publicly with strength and self confidence.

Next is the inquiry section, where I chose 123I (Performance of Ethnodrama) and 156I (Qualitative communication). What really caught my eye about 123I, is that there will be script writing which I've always enjoyed. And like I said, the performing in front of others has always been exciting for me. It lets me be someone that I can't be in the everyday life. Since I'm not great with numbers, and I've never been great with quantitative results, I really am looking forward to learning how to become a better interviewer, how to think of better research questions for the interview, and a better observer. 156I will provide these qualities, which I think can be very useful for future references.

Lastly, for my practice courses, I chose 121P (Performance as practice) and 182P (Communication in the classroom). So, once again, we see another performance class, 121P. But, I really do believe by taking these classes, it will help me become a better professor when my time comes. Being in front of people will help get the jitters and anxiety out, and hopefully by the time I do get to where I want to be, I won't be as nervous or anxious. Granted, the nervousness and anxiousness will always be there when anyone starts doing something new for the first time, but, hopefully it will be at a lower level. Next, I have 182P. Since I do want to become a professor in communications (Deanna even said I should probably take this class if I am trying to become a professor for communications), I figured it would be a good idea to learn educational dialogue, and and to apply myself within the classroom.

There is still a long adventure ahead of me for school (Even though it feels like it already has been a long long road), but, I'm really excited about what my future has to bring for my schooling as well as my career.  

 

Identity And Perception: Are You Sure You Want To Know Who I Am And What I See?

To start off, to remind us what identity is, lets define it. A compilation of your own experiences as influenced by social, political, and cultural factors that frame and mark those experiences. We're trying to answer the question of: "Who am I?" Me, I'm quite the abundance of things. But, I'll share the most important ones that I feel make me who I am. First, I'm the son of Mark David Vuko. To me, this is the most important part of me. I'm a by-product of this MAN! I underline and capitalize man because he is more than just that. From him, I have become a man myself, in the sense of being responsible, organized, a neat freak, and making sure I take charge of everything I do. I can't rely on anyone else to do these things for me. I might need help from time to time, and that's where asking sometimes can be harder for me to do (For school, I have no problems asking questions, but when it comes down to asking for help in the sense of needing someone to listen to me because I've had a long day, ask for money for rent because I became sick and lost out on a weeks worth of work, or just in general help or advice). This leads me to my second identity of who I am. I'm stubborn!!! I always feel like I should have control of everything that is going on in my life. I'm slowly learning that this isn't always possible. Metaphorically, even when I'm drowning, I still feel like I have the situation at hand. My third and final identity of who I am is my generosity. I've always been willing to lend a helping hand. I have gone out of my way for people that I love and care immensely about. Even for acquaintances, I have done things most people would just shrug off and say: "Oh I can't, I have other things going on." I do believe in karma, intangible it might be, but I believe what comes around goes around.

Perception is someones perspective or point of view which can also be influenced by social, political, and cultural experiences that frame and mark him or her. Like identity, there are many things that I perceive as good and bad, right and wrong, etc. I will give an example of what I believe is right and wrong in the work place, and then we'll go on with some of the other topics in chapter four about identity and perception. For me, I believe people should have a high standard when it comes to their work ethic. Why do things twice? When you can get it done right the first time. I run a bar in Los Gatos (I don't own the place) and I keep things clean, organized, stalked, and ready for the next person who is going to run the bar next. Some people don't do this. I perceive this as being lazy, unmotivated to do their job, and lastly not caring for their environment where they work. I also see this as being selfish as well. Instead of pointing fingers and saying: "Well, the people from last night didn't do this or that." Be the bigger person, and set the next person up for success. Before I go on and keep talking about this subject, I'm cutting myself off from saying anymore. If I did, this would turn into a venting session.

In this section, I'm going to explain, what I think are some of the important parts and theories that was touched in chapter 4. We already discussed identity and perception vaguely, there's much more to it. First, we're going to start with foundational theories in communications. Symbolic interactionism devised by George Herbert Mead and named by Herbert Blummer states that the self is a product of the messages that it has encountered over past interactions. Also how language produces who we are. For some, it's unsettling to think of this theory as a collage of communication that we have no control over. Just like symbolic interactionism, impression management relies on cultural cues. To dig deeper in what this means, impression management is building an impression on ourselves as well as others. By exploring how our communication makes our values and beliefs real, it makes us realize that not all our messages have consequences. But, also that we can change theses aspects of ourselves and our worlds to make it seem more natural. Last theory I want to touch on is the standpoint theory. Standpoint say's that we are people that occupy relationships to each other and that those relations are mediated by different powers. Here we try to take an oppositional stance, and we make it a way to talk or push back against certain power.

The last two topics I want to touch on are cultural location and performance within identity and perception. Cultural location is an identity that is a way of seeing yourself within social categories, in relation to each other. Also our positionalities, our points of view, shape our perceptions. By reflecting upon our cultural locations or positions crafted within systems of power, is one way of understanding identity and perception. For example, my next door neighbor is latino which puts him into a system of race. This frames his experience and affects his world views, and his place with power.

Next we consider performance as who we are as a result of our repeated, patterned human actions. As socially produced selves, our identities are always in the process of becoming. In a gender setting, our performance of how we speak, move, style our hair and wear our clothes is how we identify what our gender is. Also, rituals, which are how we engage in repeated verbal and non-verbal communication functions to share and define our identities. Our identities are the result of routines. Lastly, who we are is never fixed or static, but it's always in motion.

How To Overcome The Struggles Within

We all have some sort of deficiency when it comes to communication. Whether it be in a professional, face-to-face interpersonal, or even in a scholarly setting. I have always been able to speak my mind in the professional setting. At work, I don't shy away from bringing new idea's to management, even if I feel it could improve the work environment or possibly be hurt it as well. Regardless, I still speak with an assertive and professional voice. In the classroom, I have been progressing more and more. The one thing I really need to work on, is not just raising my hand thinking I have an answer. When in reality, I have a partial thought that hasn't been fully developed and completed. But, most of the time, I have a passive/assertive voice. I'm also not afraid to ask question's, even if I need the professor to repeat something, give another example of the the situation, or I will flat out say: "I'm confused and you lost me, can you put this in a way, so I can better understand it?" Some of the time, I might hear the occasional "Ugh," but I would rather be knowing than lost. Can I better myself in both of these atmosphere's? Definitely! But, I feel that there is one particular area, where I really need some help, and that is my interpersonal relationships with close family and friends.

When it comes down to a face-to-face personal conversation with friends and family (and even the complete stranger that might want to start a conversation with me), I have always been shy to say what I really feel. What I have noticed about myself, is that I don't want to offend other's. I'm always wanting to please, and not be disliked. I can joke around and be playful about situations at hand, but when it comes down to actually having a conversation with meaning, I get tense, nervous, and feel that I may say something that the other's might comprehend as: selfish, inconsiderate, not "politically correct," or harmful. I've had this problem since I was young child, and maybe that was because in my household, the children were to been seen, not heard. Another thing that I have noticed, is that when I actually do speak my mind, with emotion and meaning, people never want to take me seriously or believe that I actually feel that way. It gets to be an aggravating factor for me at least, because when I do speak this way people get offended and take things like I am attacking them.

What I want from communications studies, is to learn to be more assertive with personal encounters when it comes to dealing with emotion. I want people to take me seriously and not look at me just as some goofy guy that enjoys joking around all the time. I want the respect from other's and make sure people don't take what I say so personally, but as constructive criticism. I also want my fear and anxiety of speaking at the personal level to be close to obsolete. Knowing I can conquer interpersonal communication between myself and another human being would be ideal as I progress through my communication studies.

Communicating??? What is it good for?

In my line of work, I'm constantly communicating with anyone and everyone. I bar tend at the Los Gatos Brewing Company in Los Gatos (not the one in San Pedro Square). For me, it was easy to make my decision on what I wanted to study when I came back to school. Communication has, for the most part, been one of my strong points (Granted, those filler words are still hard to get rid of). One of the main things that I find the most interesting about communication studies is that everyone has their own way of communicating. Some people are extroverts and are shouting out what they feel left and right, and other's can be introverts that shy away from speaking loudly and being the center of attention. Regardless, both parties are able to communicate in a way that they're able to get there points across. I also find it interesting how culture plays a role in how we communicate. Each culture has its own sub-culture, that might have another sub-culture within another sub-culture that shapes the way we are and how we might communicate with each other.

This leads me to my own personal definition of communication studies. In my opinion, communication studies is the way of learning how to interact, listen actively, and communicate responsibly within one's culture or society.  When I say "Listen Actively," this means to intake what a person has to say and paraphrase it with understanding and meaning.

When asked: "What counts as communication studies and what doesn't?" I immediately thought to myself, "Is this a trick question?" I feel that everything surrounding us is a way of understanding communication studies. I know that this is quite a vague statement, but hear me out. Communication studies are always in effect. As a human being, we're having to be open and understanding to a lot of situations that surround us. Whether it's studying another topic, such as: Economics, Psychology, or Philosophy, we're engaging in learning shared experiences from other people's past experiences and findings. Or, even if it's visiting a friend and their house looks like a tornado hit it, this may communicate to you, that either this person hasn't had a chance to clean their house, or they just don't care about how they live. Silence is even a way of communication studies. Now, the hard part. What doesn't constitute as communication studies? Well, I'm honestly in limbo upon this question. Does somebody from the class have an answer that might help me take off the blinders from my eyes?

What can I do with a communications degree? Me, I want to become a professor. I would love to teach public speaking at the college level. I had a professor while I was attending De Anza College that shaped me to really enjoy communications and public speaking. I want to do the same for other's that are entering this field. I want to impact them, just as Joel Sakakihara, my Public Speaking professor, did for me.