Overview
Journal 1 -
Reflect on your experiences, in real life or media, with the “communicative performance of ‘fake ID’.” How do your fake ID experiences (or those you’ve heard of) compare with what Scheibel describes? What tools does Scheibel offer for making sense Greek and college drinking culture? What does it mean for “fake ID” to be a “performance”?
(For imaginary bonus points: Why is this article funny?)
Write one multiple choice question about this reading. (Including the four or five answers.)
Journal 2
Performativity, writes Jillian Cavanaugh, “is the power of language to effect change in the world: language does not simply describe the world but may instead (or also) function as a form of social action.” Put otherwise, words don’t (just) describe the world; they bring it into being. Consider the words “I do” when uttered in a wedding ceremony. They’re not descriptive, and can’t be described as true or false. Instead, they are the very act of becoming married itself. Read the first paragraph of Cavanaugh here (you should be asked to log in with your ONYEN). Then, describe how you use performative language in your day-to-day life. Try to find examples that are not mentioned in the paragraph
Journal 3
Both DeSantis and Scheibel use ethnographic methods in their work. What is ethnography? Why do you think they chose this method?
Do you (or people you know) smoke? (Don’t describe anything illegal.) Have you encountered any of the rationalization strategies that DeSantis describes? To what extent has smoker culture changed?
Write one short answer question about this reading (DeSantis).