Weekly Reading Posts

 After reading "A Brief History of Neoliberalism" by David Harvey, I'm convinced that the term neoliberalism is another term for capitalism. I wasn't familiar with the nuance and inherent contradictions of neoliberalism until reading this article but the capitalist outcomes ring true given the current state of the world. Similar to the importance of teaching media literacy in classrooms, I think it's vital to teach students about the inner workings of neoliberalism as laid bare in David Harvey's article. Reason being, media literacy arms students with the ability to discern between false and reliable sources of information. Given the current climate of genocides and wars in the vein of neoliberalism, it's imperative that students apply lessons in media literacy to their understanding of power structures within a neoliberal framework. While the neoliberal stance feigns interest of the individual over the collective, lesson plans that emphasize the overall inequities suffered by both the individual and the collective under neoliberalism is necessary to critical thinking and true individual empowerment for students to be functional adults in the world later in life. Teaching David Harvey's article in the classroom could lead to restructuring of society as a whole since students would be armed with the understanding of how class, race and political ideology informs the "body politic" of this country. This understanding ultimately has the power to shape a student's personal belief system and how they may choose to show up in the world. Thus education on neoliberalism reinforces the need for equality and how students can decide to contribute to that fight as a grown adult. 

Media Literacy Group Project (Submitted via email on 11/11/23)

Media Literacy Group Project

Weekly Reading Posts

While reading chapters one and three of "The Video Game Theory Reader 2" by Bernard Perron and Mark J.P. Wolf, I thought of the way my little brother would move his fingers in his sleep simulating his "habituated responses" from playing Super Mario Bros all day. However, it wasn't until I read this article that I could see a similarity between reading and playing video games. Occasionally, I would battle it out with my brother playing Super Mario Bros or Sonic the Hedgehog but, for the most part, I could be found cozied up in a corner with a Nancy Drew or R.L. Stine novel. Admittedly, I deemed myself more intellectual than my brother back then because to me, he was simply moving his fingers around without gaining any insight into the world around us. I didn't see a deeper meaning to be found in video games at that precocious age of 9 years old. However,  reading "The Video Game Theory Reader 2" gave me new insight on how similar reading is to playing video games. As stated in the article, "[The] requirement of habituation prior to full engagement with video game play is parallel, in part, with requirements for reading.  The initial process of controller assimilation and habituation is analogous to the process of learning an alphabet, grammar and syntax" (Perron and Wolf 51). Given this similarity, it is easy to see how the use of video games can facilitate learning if incorporated into K-12 curriculums. Prior to reading this article, I felt like video games would be a distraction for the learning process in secondary schools but I'm now convinced that video games can tap into an innate curiosity that may help students gravitate more strongly to academia.