Blog Discussion #2

In our last class meeting we identified a number of barriers to the message of Econocide. The following is a list of barriers to the message of Econocide that we identified in class:

• As a society we are not nurtured to nurture empathy.

• We look at poverty and those in the disadvantaged classes as just part of the natural order of things.
• It's hard to even think or see econocide when Over-the-Rhine has received so much new investment.
• When we see econocide we feel shame and guilt, and no one wants to feel guilty.
• As a nation the dominant ideology is that all people can pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
• Many feel that someone else will take care of those affected by econocide--that it is not my problem.
• We don't especially want to talk about such negative matters.
• We feel that poor people are just lazy;  that if I worked hard to get a head in life, so can they.

For this Blog discussion, we would like you to post additional barriers to spreading the message of Econocide. What other obstacles stand in the way of effectively communicating the message of Econocide?

Try and come up with two or three barriers. In addition, in about 50 words, discuss how a possible class OTR Campaign project might address one or more of the barriers identified thus far.

We will use the list of barriers that our class develops to help us think through class projects during our next class meeting.  

Blog Discussion #1

At this point in the semester, it is worthwhile to share your reactions to what you are learning about OTR. What issues in OTR do you find most intriguing to explore and why? As a class, what do we have to gain through our future inquiries into OTR? Who might directly benefit from our work in the neighborhood? Keep in mind that any of your responses to these questions are bound to be tentative and open to revision. Indeed, there remains a lot of learning to do. However, as a class, it is still good to do an inventory of our various perspectives in preparation for any class projects we decide to initiate in the future. Please post a 50-100 word comment. In addition to posting your own 50-100 word comment, we encourage you to post any additional comments you might have to what others in class might say.

Welcome!

This Class Blog is for NKU and Miami students in Designing/Writing for Social Change, a course being team-taught by professors Chris Wilkey, Tom Dutton, and Alice Skirtz during the Fall, 2013 semester. Throughout the semester, we will ask students to post informal writings to prompts onto this Class Blog. The prompts are designed to spark discussion among students, and student responses will often be used to coordinate class discussion for upcoming class meetings. In addition, students are encouraged to post any material that is relevant to the course that they wish to share with their classmates.