2. CODES AND CRITIQUES “The course is organized around an examination of cultural codes-the social semiotics-that work themselves out in shaping consciousness in our students and ourselves” (Berlin, 1996).
3. CODES AND CRITIQUES “The effort is to make students aware of cultural codes, the competing discourses that influence their positioning as subjects of experience” (Berlin, 1996). Race Class Sexual Orientation Age Ethnic Gender Formation
4. OBJECTIVE The purpose of the course is to encourage students to negotiate and resist cultural codes to bring about more democratic and personally humane, economic, social, and political arrangements.
5. CODES AND CRITIQUES Students are guided to reflect on their experiences with cultural codes they encounter on a daily basis. They examine cultural codes embedded in texts drawn from six thematic units: 1. Advertising 2. Work 3. Play 4. Education 5. Gender 6. Individuality Does anyone teach any of the following thematic units? What literature do you use within that unit?
6. QUESTIONS How do you make your students aware of cultural codes in your classroom? In what ways do you allow your students to reflect and share their personal experiences?
7. CODES AND CRITIQUES Within the six units students examine a variety of: Texts Films Television Programs "The important consideration here is not only the texts in themselves, but the texts in relation to certain methods of interpreting them" (Berlin, 1996).
8. Examples in Article “The Days of a Cowboy Are Marked by Danger, Drudgery, and Low Pay” by William Blundell (Essay from Wall Street Journal) Family Ties and Roseanne (Television Sitcoms) Other People’s Money & Roger and Me (Films)
11. WRITING ACTIVITY In essay form, students will write the effect of an important cultural code on their lives. “Students select the topic and content of the essay, but they do so within the context of the larger theme of each unit” (Berlin, 1996).
