Final Videos :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBvev13L7sY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBvev13L7sY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXxL6Og8n-8

Rhetorical analyses

I decided to upload a few pictures and video that I plan to use in my personal video. These pictures and video represent Argentina and how this group identifies itself as a unique group.
I took this picture where we watched our first Tango Show. Tango is a world-wide known Argentine dance. Ethnos-cultural expression through dances.


I took this picture at the Feria de Artesanías Córdoba--Show of craftsmanship and handicrafts representing all of Latin America. The artisan's and craftsman were present selling and working. I shot several pictures of their work in action. Techne-cultural expression through production of crafts art.


This video was filmed during our trip to a ranch. This is a folkloric dance and music special to Argentina. The dance is called "la Chacarera". Ethnos-cultural expression through dances.


In my personal video I am also including footage of our experience (students from clemson) learning to dance tango and chacarera :)

Interviewing

I really enjoyed the videos for this week's class. I'll have to agree with Gizem, I found myself laughing and smiling quite often throughout both videos!

I especially enjoyed the video "How not to Interview". Alot of these tips are definitely common sense but a wonderful reminder as I start to prepare my interview.
The tips about composition and framing were very helpful. I guess I've always filmed interviews the way I thought was best, but know I know where I need to position the camera in relation to the position of my interviewee regarding nose room, head room, and crazy hands :)

I'm planning on including my interview within my professional video. However, things are very delayed here in Argentina and people don't get in a hurry to start/finish anything. I was hoping by this point that I would have started my volunteer work in the Health center, but it's looking as though we won't start until the 2 week in April. This gives me about 2 weeks or less to scope out the center and make my video! AGHHH! I'm beginning to get nervous.
The deadline for these videos and our school semester here in Argentina don't work well with one another. My videos will be finished 2 months before I leave which means I will not be able to include all of my experiences. These are issues I'm trying my best to work around.
I will start on my questions for my interviewee this week! I'm trying to do all that I can with all that I have at this point.

I decided to play around with a portion of my personal video. All of the video clips and pictures are from my travel to Cordoba on February 3.
Please leave any suggestions that you have! :)Does anyone know of a better way to make/create tracking maps? I'm not really satisfied with the ones I have.

Video Practice

So I want to apologize for my video being so late. I'm trying to figure out how to upload it. :(

Final Project

Personal: My experience in Argentina in general. Include my family, my home, school and activities and adventures that I've taken part in over the 4 months.

Professional: I am majoring in Nursing at Clemson and I am interested in exploring the health of Argentinian's. I'm interested in comparing it to the United States. I will be volunteering in a clinic for Women and Children, and I want to include my experience there in my video. I will include my interview in this video (hopefully with a doctor or nutritionist of Cordoba).

Cultural: I'm not exactly definite on this one, but I'm thinking of exploring the cultural foods of Argentina. I thought I could also include a "cooking show" where I bake my favorite recipe :)

I really want to do all 3 of my videos in Spanish and have english subtitles.
Please post any thoughts or suggestions. I'm open for ANYTHING :)

TROPOS

1. Pictures of empanadas. I chose to take pictures of empanadas because of their cultural significance. This food is very, very popular in Argentina and you don't find any Argentinian's who don't like them. For the close up shot, I decided to focus on the ingredients of the empanadas. I believe this angle and focus gives those outside of the culture a chance "taste" empanadas without actually tasting them.

2. Pictures of the Church. I took these photos on two different outings. I believe the change between these 2 pictures, illustrating dark vs. light, change the mood of the picture. Even though the focus is still the same, the lighting and time of day set the mood.

3. Newspaper stand. I like the angle and focus of this. Even though the focus is on the stand, I included traffic in the street too. This allows the viewer to understand more of the location. This shot was taken on a rainy Saturday afternoon, during "siesta" naptime. This same shot, taken during the weekdays, would have a completely different feel.

Exploring Digital Photography Principals in Cordoba

Close vs. Far
Empanadas. a cultural food.








Dark vs. Light
Church in El Centro


Rule of Thirds
Newspaper Stand "La Voz"
My House Number
House "mailbox"

Horizontal vs. Vertical and Close vs. Far
My street sign.

Rhetorical Analysis'

Coca~Cola Adertisement of Argentina.
1. Kairos- this commercial appeals to all audiences as evidenced by the words:
It says
"for the fat"
"for the Skinny"
"for the Tall"
"for the Short"
"for those that smile"
"for the optimist"
"for the pecimist"
"for those that play"
"for the family"
"for the king"
etc. etc. etc... then at the end it says... "for everyone"
2. Logos--the different types of coke bottles. Taking adjectives that describe people and applying them to coke bottles. Different sizes, different arragements, etc. Travels from one "person" to another.
3. Pathos-Coca~Colas are for all types of people. The movement, music, etc.
4. Ethos-Person who produced is saying to viewers "We understand you are all different, but this drink suits everyone"


"For 33 years, we have continued fighting for a free country and Latin America."

This is a photo of graffiti at the National University in Cordoba that our group visited last Tuesday. This graffiti tells part of the story of Argentina and the Dirty War. From about 1976-1983 there was fighting and war amongst terrorists and Argentina military due to a terrorist attack in Buenos Aires. This was carried out by Jorge Rafael Videla's military dictatorship. During this time, there was killing of many innocent people, not just the terrorists. The military killed about 18,000 people without any reason, solely because they wanted to. Moms of the deceased marched around the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires protesting. This graffiti is a picture of women who protested and eventually lead to a free country.
1. Kairos-protesting for a free LatinAmerica
2. Logos-opening a zipper- representing liberty
3. Pathos-evokes sentimental feelings. No expressions on faces.
4. Ethical- the creator wants the audience to remember, and to understand the emotions behind the unjust war, aka the Dirty War.

How special would you feel with a Ronald McDonald Birthday cake? :)

McDonalds USA vs. McDonalds Argentina

1. McDonalds in Argentina host special birthday parties for children. They have a special area reserved and decorated for parties. As a part of the traditional Hispanic fiestas, birthday parties include pinatas. The restaurant provides invitations and gifts for each guest. The guests can chose between 3 different kits: the countryside, average age, or icecream. Each kit contains different drawings and different gifts for the guests. Each kit also contains a voucher for free french fries. The birthday boy/girl receives a very special gift and a happy meal box or "cajita feliz" free each month for a year. All of this for only (approx) U$S $38.75! For only U$S 8.75 more, McDonald's you can have a delicious Ronald McDonald vanilla cake with dulce de leche (a very popular milk-caramel jam).

Breakfast options:
*3 medialunas--(croissants with drizzled on top)
*Bagel Cinnamon
*Bagel with ham and cheese
*Bagel with egg and cheese
Lunch/Supper options:
*Cajita Feliz (Happy Meal)
-Hamburger with/without cheese
-"tostado" sandwich with ham and cheese
-McNuggets
*Sandwiches
-Big Mac
-Triple Mac
-McFiesta (hamburger with lettuce and tomato)
-Big Tasty (hamburger w. lettuce, tomato, and speciality sauce)
-Doble McNifica (hamburger w. everything)
-Pechuga Bacon Grill (grilled chicken)
-McPollo
-Pechuga Barbacoa Crispy (fried chicken sandwich with bbq)
-McNuggets
*Desserts (Postres)
-McFlurry Oreo
-Sundae (chocolate, strawberry, dulce de leche)
-Top Sunday
Not many differences in the menu between US and Argentina. The only differences I noticed were the special sauces for Big Tasty Hamburger, regular sandwiches with ham and cheese, bagels, and the use of dulce de leche in all desserts.
In the states, we definitely have a much larger selection of desserts; however, desserts are not very common in Argentina unless it's a special occasion.
McDesserts in US:
Oreo McFlurry
Butterfinger McFlurry
M&M McFlurry
Hot Fudge Sunday
Hot Carmel Sunday
Strawberry Sunday
Chocolate Triple Thick Shake (12, 16, 21, 32 oz)
Strawberry Triple Thick Shake (12, 16, 21, 32 oz)
Vanilla Triple Thick Shake (12, 16, 21, 32 oz)
Baked Apple Pie
Apple Dippers
Cinnamon Melts
McDonaldland cookies
Chocolate chip/Oatmeal Raisin/sugar Chip Cookie
Oh my goodness! That's over 16 different desserts to chose from compared to the 3 in Argentina!

It made me really happy to read about the birthday parties. I thought this was really special! I wish we did this in the States. How special would you feel if you got a Ronald McDonald birthday cake for your next birthday? Okay, maybe you should answer that in the perspective of a child, but regardless, that would be awesome!

While passing by a McDonalds, I had the opportunity to take a couple of pictures, but I didn't have time to eat to compare taste. Overall, the McDonald's here look pretty much the same. This specific one is located in a mall in downtown Cordoba.

From books to screens...from literacy to visuality

Growing up, I have witnessed new inventions continually over throw dominant media. Within my lifetime of technological inventions, we've gone from the boombox to the Sony Walkman to the portable cassette player, to the Ipod. We've gone from desktop computer monitors that cover the entire desk to LCD widescreen flat-panel monitors that take up hardly any space. We've gone from predominantly desktop computers to predominantly portable laptop computers. We've seen laptops go from 24 pounds to 3-12 pounds. I've seen televisions advance from analog all the way to flat screen, digital, high definition televisions.
In just a short amount of years, our culture has gone from a low level of technological literacy to a very high rate of literacy. There's no doubt that new inventions are continually taking the place of dominant media. All of these new advances in technology are leading to screen fluency.

Often times this can becoming frustrating for the consumer. Many Americans, especially older generations, often become accustomed to using a certain type of technology, and then it will change and they will have to re-learn.

I liked the comment in the article Is Google Making us Stupid "Internet is becoming our: map, clock, printing press, typewriter, calculator, telephone, radio and TV. Never has a communication system played so many roles in our lives" This comment is so true. I know this is frustrating for the older generation, too. The internet is becoming a necessity, and as we move from "book literacy to screen literacy" I believe we will begin to see the internet serve more purposes than those listed.

Kevin Kelly also states that we "once revolved around the spoken work with oral skills of memorization, recitation, rhetoric. Then orality was overthrown by technology." Orality seems to be completely gone. Americans even get frustrated talking on the phone. Most would rather send an email, fb message, or chat, rather than talk on the phone.

Funny cartoons I found about technological advances: Enjoy :)


1. http://field.mpls.k12.mn.us/uploads/DCaine_TechnologyCartoon_ITEC501_200.jpg

2. http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2009/20090309.jpg

Hosting an Exchange student to Landrum, South Carolina..

I attended a very small high school, with a graduating class of 97 students; therefore, "exchange student" was hardly in our vocabulary. However, my senior year of high school we had an exchange student, Anne Bergløv, from Copenhagen, Denmark. This was such an experience! Not only did Anne learn and experience a new culture, but through our interaction with her, we were able to learn and experience the Denmark culture.
I remember Anne saying repeatedly that she was so amazed by everyone's friendliness. She stated that she felt welcome from the very beginning. She said that she loved the friendliness and and politeness you meet everywhere around South Carolina and that people always appear happy.

As I was thinking about Anne's experience in Landrum, SC, my people and my culture, and what/how I would explain it to a foreign exchange student, I found the following examples of the 5 Strands/Roots of Culture that were discussed in last weeks lecture video:
Nomos Religion is very important in the Southern part of the US. In fact, the south is often referred to as the "Bible Belt". The story of my culture and my people can be told through the significance of holiday names and people's names.
Names of holidays we celebrate help tell the story of my people.
*CHRISTmas-a holiday that commemorates the birth of Christ
*THANKSgiving-a holiday to give thanks to God
Names of people also help tell the story of my people. It is very common for children to purposely be named after Bible Characters (Rebecca, David, Matthew, Mark,Samuel, Luke, Paul, etc)
*A family in my hometown conceived a child weeks before they found out the mother had breast cancer. This little baby (now 4 years old) was born healthy as ever, even through his mothers' cancer treatments. They decided to name this little boy David--after David in the Bible who endured and won the fight with Goliath the giant.

Ethnos
Sports Teams If I were to host a foreign exchange student, I would have to explain to them the importance of the Clemson Tigers ;) Just as Professor Nichols spoke about in the video--the oral (C-L-E-M-S-O000-N), visual (solid orange), and textual (car decorations, clothing)aspects.

Food Food in the South is much different than any other part of the US or world. Any foreign exchange student visiting my family would literally get a good "taste" of our culture.
Homemade Strawberry Cobbler, Southern
Funnel Cake from Dollywood-not just Southern, but American
Glass of SWEET tea, Southern
My Hamburger and frenchfries from Crab Shack. Not just southern, but American.
FastFood is very prominent and popular (more so in the South)
Fried Chicken (or fried food in general), Grits, Biscuits, and gravy are also very popular in the South.
The New Years dinner is unique to America, too. This may just be the South, I'm not sure, but this dinner is designed to bring you good luck in the New Year. On the menu: collard greens, black-eyed peas, pork, and cornbread. The collard greens symbolize the dollar bills one will earn during the new year, and the black-eyed peas symbolize the coins one will earn during the new year.
Archon
*display of the Cross of Christ Jesus for Easter
*Christmas tree--star on top represents the star at Bethlehem that led the Wise men to Baby Jesus, and angel on top represents the angel that appeared to the Shepherd to announce the Birth of Baby Jesus.

Mythos & Techne
Many people know Landrum for the unique antique shops. Antiques have a way of telling their own story (mythos). There is also antique folk art such as carousel horses, fire buckets, painted game boards, cast iron doorstops (Techne).

On the note of Geert Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions:
1. While America may have a high individualistic attitude, this level tends to decrease in the South. We are not only concerned with the well-being of our immediate family, but Southerners tend to form strong bonds with friends. My family shares close relationships with our immediate family as well as our church family. We care for the well-being of our friends just as we care for our family.
2. The South also shares values associated with short-term orientation. We definitely value family traditions.

Culturally Literate

As I reflect on my days and my knowledge and understanding of my culture, there are 3 prominent aspects that I believe have helped me become culturally literate. Involvement and participation within 3 separate communities: my family, my church, and my school have all collectively played a part in increasing my level of cultural literacy.
As family, my parents and grandparents have continually and faithfully taught me concerning the American culture. Most importantly, my family brought me up within the Church and a Christian environment. God used this community and the example my parents set before me to draw me unto Him. I made the most important decision you and I will ever make-I entered into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.My family also taught me the importance of family and education. They educated me concerning work and the value of money. My parents also taught me about different forms of the American culture--dance, music, gardening, and cooking. I took part in all of these activities outside of the classroom--I took dancing lessons for 10 years, took Piano lessons, watched and observed as my Dad gardened each summer, and took mental notes as I watched my mother cook. My parents also taught me the "rules" regarding formality, and how one should act/dress differently based on the situation (with strangers, at weddings, funerals, church, etc.)
As I reflect on our lecture videos, I remember cultural literacy being defined as "a network of information that all competent readers posses". This network of information can include any form or type of information including the Bible. Through my involvement in the Church community, I have had the opportunity to learn more about the "mythos" or stories within the Bible. Through my reading and learning of the Bible, I have also learned what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior for myself, as a Christian.
School has also played a roll in raising my level of cultural literacy. Throughout elementary school, junior high, high school and now college, I can say that I have a decent working-knowledge of famous people, scientific terms, and historical events.

In my visit to Kenya, Africa (the only time I've been out of the country), I depended upon our leader, who had lived there for over 20 years, for cultural literacy. Before embarking on our 2-week (wow!) journey, she shared with us important and helpful tips regarding the Kenyan culture. I remember specifically reviewing verbal and non-verbal gestures within the Kenyan culture.

As I look ahead, in anticipation, to my 5-month stay in Argentina this semester, I understand that I will be entering a completely new and unique culture; however, I am trusting that my involvement and participation within the same 3 communities: the Magnano Family (my family), the Christian community (my church), and Universidad Blas Pascal (my school), will all collectively play a part in increasing my level of cultural literacy of Argentina.

No more telephones with cords?

Hello fellow CLAMmers & bloggers :)
On the topic of new technology & new means of communication...Can I just say that I'm thankful for cordLESS telephones & now, cellphones? or in short...THANK YOU FOR PRIVACY! ha-ha I can remember in elementary school when my friends would call my house and my only option was the telephone in our kitchen (with the loooooooonnnnnnngggg cord). This poor cord was stretched to its limits everytime I used it! I tried so hard to make this cord stretch far enough to at least get SOME privacy as I spoke with my girl friends about the "cutest boy-of-the-week" ha-ha! I know some of you females can relate :)
Now, for online communities...
I guess my involvement with online communitites began in junior high, with Myspace. I enjoyed staying connected with friends through this online community, but my parents failed to see the "good" in this popular site (I guess WSPA gets the thanks for that). (Note: At that time, I didn't understand the fuss, but as I get older, I understand their concern.)
Regardless, I continued Myspacing because my parents never strictly enforced "no myspace". ha-ha So, I found a way around it and continued using Myspace until my senior year of high school. My older sister had told me that I couldn't use facebook until I was in college so, once I was accepted to Clemson, I set up my very own Facebook. In comparsion of the two online communities, I prefer Facebook over Myspace because it appears more mature and professional.
Facebook provides a wonderful means to stay connected with my friends from home and friends from school. I have to admit though, Facebook (a.k.a Procrastination Network), often jumps ahead on my priority list (yes, Facebook's fault ;))
Until recently, Myspace and Facebook have been the extent of my involvment with the online community. In preparation to study abroad this semester, I started my first blog! I wanted my family and friends to follow me throughout my time in Córdoba. This idea lead to the creation of My 1st Blogspot :) How exciting! You are visiting my 2nd blog designed to showcase my CLAM creations! Hopefully my blogspots won't lead to procrastination as much as Facebook (now that I have 2), but time will tell...vamos a ver :)
I'm looking forward to this semester as I begin my exciting adventure abroad as a brand new, inexperienced blogger! :)

Reflections Upon Entering CLAM

Hello to all! Welcome to CLAM in CORDOBA! I’m Hannah, a junior at Clemson University. I am spending this semester studying abroad in Córdoba, Argentina from February 3—June 27. I will be studying at Universidad Blas Pascal where I will take Spanish courses such as culture, grammar, literature, and photography :). Along with these courses, I will also be taking an online course taught through Clemson University—Cultural Literacies Across Media (CLAM). I will be using this BlogSpot to document my creations throughout this semester. I hope the photographs and videos I create for this course will allow others to glimpse the beauty of the country.
I am so eager to begin this new adventure in Córdoba. I know that my experience abroad will encourage me step out of my comfort zone…which I’m excited about :). I believe CLAM will stretch me the most while I’m abroad, simply because I lack artistic ability. However, for this same reason, I am so excited about CLAM because I have always desired to have practice and knowledge within this field. I’m thankful that students don’t have to be technologically savvy in order to enroll in this course ;).
CLAM is going to make my study abroad truly an once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’m confident that this course will allow me to experience the Argentinean culture from a unique and creative perspective. CLAM will give me the opportunity to see a unique side of Córdoba that I would not experience otherwise. As I look ahead at the course outline, it only fuels my eagerness for the journey to begin. I am looking forward to all that this course has to offer both now and for years to come. I know that I will always be able look back at my CLAM creations and revisit Córdoba.