APELC Class Notes
Second and fourth APELCers, today we covered the same material in class and did the same in the liberry as your colleagues in periods 1 and 3.
I wanted to post some of the images we discussed in all periods, as I mentioned in yesterday’s notes, and that highlighted the importance of thinking beyond your assumptions and made clear the necessity of understanding context. Recall that I initially was talking with Trevor about images for his worldview paper on fascism and also the pink axes many teachers were displaying in their rooms this week. We focused on the power of symbols and visual argument to instigate.
Our initial reaction to the photo below, for example, is revulsion and perhaps anger, at least as we view it in the context of our American history.
Once we understand that the image is from the Telegraph series “Hooded penitents take part in hundreds of processions throughout Spain in celebration of Holy week”, which visually documented Holy Week in Seville, our understanding may change, although our first reactions may be hard to forget if we can forget them at all.
Of the following pair of symbols, the one on the left is at first as disorienting (at best) as the image above, even if we understand its ancient Eastern origins depicted on the right. And, as such, I fully expect to see versions of the latter in several students’ presentations and final papers.
Find out more at Symbols.com, a great reference. The science of signs, or semiotics, actually informs much of what we do in APELC. Here’s a neat introduction when you have time: Semiotics for Beginners.