- Nov 2015
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newclasses.nyu.edu newclasses.nyu.edu
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‘‘youth space, a place to gather and see and be seen bypeers.’’ Socializing is the driving force of these virtual worlds
I agree with the above connections to Nespor - but I think that there is also a great connection here to Figured Worlds. This line can be read as the definition of the figured world of Whyville.
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- Oct 2015
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newclasses.nyu.edu newclasses.nyu.edu
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We argue that by participating in theseactivities, youth began to understand real and abstracted urban space differently, whichafforded new opportunities for imagining and showing their futures within that space.
This is authentic learning that will transform their identity in the FW of adult city dwellers.
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newclasses.nyu.edu newclasses.nyu.edu
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Although the aura of "learning to be like the experts" hung over the team, none of the members claimed that they wanted to play in the major leagues or grow up to become a professional ballplayer. Those interviewed said that, aside from giving them time to be with their friends, playing ball allowed them to get "the basics" and to be creative with these basics. They expected practice sessions to be devoted to learning about elements of certain types of action in the game and to assume a certain independently gained level of knowledge on their part. They often used their own knowledge of cases—of players, plays, and games—to ask questions, make a point, or challenge other players' analyses of certain plays.
"Fantasy and game play serve as precursors to participation in an institutional life where individuals are treated as scholars, bosses, or at-risk-children and events such as the granting of tenure, a corporate raid, and the self-esteem of at-risk-children are taken in all seriousness. But to see imagination extended so is simply to recognize that it pervades cultural life" (Holland 51).
This is the logical next step - even though none of these players ever intends to play in the big leagues, they are gaining valuable experience, not only in knowing how to play the game, but because they are able to see themselves as part of a group that does things in a certain way for certain reasons. This kind of experience is key to being able to live and interact in all of the figured worlds that they will need to in the future.
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or eventcasts to be interactive narratives, the boys and the coach had to be familiar with not only the syntax of SAT but also the technical vocabulary surrounding aspects of the game, from major league statistics (scats) to names of the catcher's equipment.
There are so many facets to this figured world of little league. Artifacts play a crucial role, as does language and terminology. There are official sets of terminology, like the ones mentioned here, and other more slang terms, which were mentioned before (marshmallow for a ball that is easy to hit). The use of the various artifacts as well as the specialized language facilitates an identity as a little leaguer. This is similar to Nasir's hurdlers where there was specialized language and ways that the coaches spoke to the kids, and also similar to the expected behaviors in AA, and the way to deliver a narrative there. There is also specialized language within AA (12 steps, the "Big Book," hitting bottom, etc). Use of the specific terminology in all cases strengthens the conection to the figured world.
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newclasses.nyu.edu newclasses.nyu.edu
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ormer lives and their current temptations, are revalued because they signify experience and place in a world that differs from that of the non-alcoholic
How people understand themselves in relation to their figured world informs their identity, but certain things may have been defined differently BEFORE they were a member of this figured world. But now that they are a member, they can "revalue" events and re-define terminology to fit it into their figured world.
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newclasses.nyu.edu newclasses.nyu.edu
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Youth were those who were of high school age. Adults were those whowere older than 18 and worked as staff members for the organization. With the ex-ception of executive directors, most adults were younger than 24.
This somewhat arbitrary cutoff is interesting to me in relation to identity (of course 18 is an arbitrary cutoff all over the country for various reasons). It makes me think of Holland and the idea of there being different roles and positions with in figured worlds, but in this kind of situation, all one needs to do is turn 18 (and probably graduate high school) to move up and acquire a different position. 18 and 24 is not a big age difference,, so what IS different between the youth and an adult? How does their identity vary that allows one to receive a higher /more prestigious role? Ans why are leaders typically close in age I think it has something to do with the fact that relational resources are stronger when the age gap is closer, especially in the opinion of youth.
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Talented adults in these settings, who often have a deep awareness of the lo-cal social context, are particularly skilled at forming trusting, supportive relation-ships with young people
In order to gain the trust of adolescents, these "talented adults" must create a (figured) world that the young people can see themselves as a part of, hence the feeling of "safety and belonging."
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- Sep 2015
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newclasses.nyu.edu newclasses.nyu.edufw_5.pdf3
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ess successful at coursework than they had expected began to emphasize romantic relationships even more
when you don't fit in within one figured world, you find another to belong to
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Talk about men, focus on men, and orientation toward romantic relationships correlated positively with how much the women talked about and treated themselves as ac-tors in the world of romance.
A nice summary of how these cases show a figured world influencing the actions of the actors in the world.
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How do meaning systems "bec;ome desire"? In other words, how does a culturally constructed world encourage people to action?
This is fascinating - it's not just about how one views oneself in relation to a figured world, but what that figured world can cause one to do.
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newclasses.nyu.edu newclasses.nyu.edu
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Figured worlds in their conceptual dimensions supply the ccmtexts of meaning for actions, cultural produc-tions, performances, disputes, fo;:'the understandings that people come to make of themselves, and for the capabilities that people develop to direct their own behavior in these worlds.l
When I was an undergrad I did some research at Walt Disney World (I was there on a four-month internship program) - and one of the most interesting things that came out of that research was learning about how people re-imagine their own identity in order to fully participate in the Disney experience. You really have to believe that you are meeting the actual Mickey Mouse, not someone wearing a costume.
This is true in our everyday life too - we're constantly using the cultural information from the (real or simulated) world around us in order to understand our own place in it and how we should behave.
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continual participation
This idea of embodiment through continual participation is a theme that runs throughout all of the readings - and also connects back to LPP.
The learner only becomes a master of a figured world by immersing themselves in it, first peripherally, and then more and more actively (see the descriptions in chapter 4 about the development of individual's AA story). Ultimately, if successful, they come to identify with the world and see themselves as a part of it.
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Figured worlds take shape within and grant shape to the coproduction of activities, discourses, performances, and artifacts. A figured world is peopled by the figures, characters, and types who carry out its tasks and who also have styles of interacting within, distinguishable perspectives on, and orientations toward it.
In order to participate in the world, we need to see ourselves and understand our role in it.
Just like an actor in a play needs to be able to understand their role, the other characters, and the rules of the world, we need to be able to do that in everyday life.
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They are the means by coUec-nveiyuevelopea, individually learned, and made sociaUy powerful
Does this mean artifacts are the way we can visualize figured worlds? For example, the clothing a person wears is the artifact may be a hint to the figured world this person belongs in?
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aenhties are participatin!L!!!_1lctivities organ-., ,. ---i.Zea·oy figured worlds.
Our membership in various figured worlds affects our identity
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Attractiveness was, in Bourdieu's terms, a symbolic capital of the field. The endless energy and hours spent on beautification made sense in such a i)\(Ot;ii
When practices become widespread in society it stops being seen as a figured world but a reality. Though beauty is a social construct, it becomes a realistic determinant of attraction in a society that is inundated with that message.
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It is this compe-tence that makes possible culturally coustituted or figure-d consequently, the range of human (1985) points out the cleilnue lmk between Play worlds-and institutional life. Fantasy an game play serve as precursors to participation in an institutional life, where individuals are treated as scholars, bosses, or at-risk children and events such as the granting of tenure, a corporate raid, and the self-es-teem of at-risk children are taken in all seriousness. But to see imagina-tion extended so is simply to recognize that it pervades cultural life.
Children role-play, mimicking roles they are familiar with. This is true for adults as well. People get into realtionships that are familiar to them, like abused people with an abusive partner. This is a strong case for modeling. It's interesting that the figured world, though threatening, becomes so much a part of their identity that they maintain it rather than avoid it.
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newclasses.nyu.edu newclasses.nyu.edu
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Within these figured worlds,identity is constructed as individuals both act with agency in authoring themselvesand are acted upon by social others as they are positioned (as members, nonmembers,or certain kinds of members).
This answered some of my questions from the previous two chapters on how and by who is identity constructed. However I still question if there are any conflicts between being within a figured world and how others socially construct and position ones's identity.
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newclasses.nyu.edu newclasses.nyu.edufw_4.pdf3
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Even should he accept this interpretation of his drinking behavior, so long as the interpretation remains unassimilated to a figured world such as that created by AA, he need not see it as an aspect of himself that carries over into other areas of his life.
How can one prevent an interpretation of a behavior or an identity from being assimilated into a figured world. Is the association with a figured world only through one's recognition and acceptance? That gives membership to a figured would a level of agency that I didn't expect.
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but his self as an alcoholic.
Is AA the figured world and alcoholic is the identity? So this means once one become a member of AA, they take on a new identity as well
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He does not figure his life in AP!s terms. He views AA as a measure to take when things get really bad. He does not share the set of values and distinctions that unites other AA members. The identity of "alcoholic" does not affect his actions, or his perceptions of self, beyond his drinking behavior.
Andrew seems conflicted by his figured worlds. Though he acknowledges his alcoholism it is not how he identifies. For Hank, AA became a surrogate family (by way of his descri[tions of "Who am I?"). Andrew, though lonely, does not allow AA to serve that purpose for him. Is it a self fulfilling prophecy of lonliness that he is holding on to? An identity he wants to cling to?
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