The Selfie: Exploring the Shift from Self Expression to Social Justice in an Era of Global Crisis and Civic Upheaval
Self-Portrait: Selfies as Self-Expression
The Placed Selfie.docxMasumoto - "The Placed Selfie"
PBS Video - The Art History of the Selfie
Dewey - "The Other Side of the Infamous 'Auschwitz Selfie'"
Swann - "What's the Etiquette of 'Selfies' at Funerals?"
Karl Baden: 1) Chan - "Father of the Selfie"; 2) video
How do your selfies produce or obscure a sense of your identity?
How do we create ourselves? These days, one selfie at a time. Each selfie bears information that can be used to read our identity characteristics. Identity characteristics include race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, culture, religion, profession, family role, personality, and physical attributes.
Take or choose 3 selfies of yourself. You may be alone or with another person, but try to make sure you are a central and large part of the photo. All of your selfies should be different.
Write a thesis-driven essay (400 words) that answers the prompt. Analyze the 3 selfies you chose for your construction of 3 intersecting and overlapping identity characteristics. Although you will be choosing 3 identity characteristics, please do not write a 5-paragraph essay where you give one paragraph to each characteristic. Instead, create a thesis and develop your argument, building and deepening your argument, adding nuance as you go. Essay should be typed in MLA format. Include your selfies at the end of your paper or attach on Teams assignments separately.
Questions for reflection as you prepare your argument:
What in your selfies is accurate?
What is ambiguous or obscured?
Does the image portray one identity trait more than others?
Where do the images place you in the spectrum of possibilities for each identity trait? For example -- more or less feminine or masculine?
How might different audiences perceive the images differently?
How is the viewer addressed in the images?
What is the apparent context for the image? How might that impact how it might be read?
What choices do you make to present yourself and what does this say about you? (clothing, pose, facial expression)
How do you frame the picture to construct meaning about your image? (background, lighting, proximity, angle of the camera)
Other elements in the picture? (objects, other people, location)
How do your selfies play off one another or famous images?
Self-Portrait: Selfies as Social Justice
When does the act of taking and posting a selfie help the individual engage as an active citizen and when does it hinder progress towards a just society?
Choose a selfie to discuss on your Flipgrid video (link on Teams Assignments) that you believe shows the individual engaging as an active citizen or hindering progress towards a just society. Make sure the photo you chose is visible on your video (or if you are not able to include the photo on your Flipgrid video, upload to teams assignment separate from your video). Choose three questions from the ultimate cheat sheet for critical thinking to respond to (thoughtfully and critically) regarding the selfie you chose. As part of your discussion, address why you think the selfie acts as a way for the the individual to engage as an active citizen or why it hinders progress towards a just society. As you respond, consider these questions: How do selfies help expose what would otherwise not be exposed in public? How can selfies dilute messages about social justice and activism? How do selfies create agency for people to comment on and participate in social issues? Responses should be 4-5 minutes long.