Participatory Culture: Kelley and - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Participatory Culture:Kelley and Mickenberg

Joshua BloomSlide2

Kelley

Focuses on the emergence of women into the public sphere

Women were always seen as less educated than men, but this changed once schools for women became established in America in the 18

th

century

Many women became teachers, and others became writers

Elite women had the greatest advantagesSlide3

Kelley

Female students published school newspapers, and topics ranged from popular books to moral issues in society

They read American literature, British literature, and the Bible

Schools also taught dignity, decorum, and virtue (how to “behave like a lady”)

They also learned how to dress and style their hair by observing the way their teachers looked. This is an example of the “spectacle” that

Wark

describesSlide4

Kelley

Schools had exhibitions where students would get up on stage and display their new knowledge and education through performances

The more knowledge you had, the more “elite” you were

The overall goal of this education was to increase women’s cultural capital so that they could become productive members of society and become equal to menSlide5

Kelley

Women began to learn the same subjects as men so that they could be equal on an intellectual level

This elevated their social status

However, they were still not equal to men, so they began to stir

Heated discussions about women’s equality occurred in literary clubs, assemblies, tea tables, and salonsSlide6

KelleyIt is important to note that most of these students came from upper-class families and already had strong social ties to prominent people

These schools further strengthened their network

Lower-class and non-white women were mostly excluded from attending these schoolsSlide7

KelleyAside from discussion, women began to challenge societal norms through their writing

Lady’s Magazine, a publication by women and for women, spread feminist ideas around

Women also wrote in public newspapers, periodicals, plays, and novels

Their literature became very influentialSlide8

KelleyIn the 1840s, educated women began attending political rallies in the South

This allowed groups of women from different parts of the country to unite for the same causes

Spread of information between cities also occurred through transport of newspapersSlide9

KelleyIn 1839, Margaret Fuller initiated a series of “conversations” between women, where gender roles were discusses

Women began to question their role in society

This was important because it showed that women were smarter and stronger than men thoughtSlide10

Kelley

Reading circles, literary societies, and mutual improvement associations also contributed to the spread of ideas between women

Reading circles were groups of women who discussed the same literature, but they resulted in women having more knowledge, social ties, inspiration, and self-confidence

Literary societies helped women learn how to read critically, write lucidly, and speak persuasively, which were all important skills to have if they were trying to change public opinionSlide11

Kelley

Although these groups began as “book clubs”, topics of conversation became more advanced

Women discussed the problems of Indians being kicked off of their native lands, slavery, and women’s suffrage

Many black woman began to form their own groups since they were mostly excluded from those of elite white women

Black women wanted to be equal to white womenSlide12

Kelley

History books were written by men and thus spoke rarely of women’s accomplishments

In order to solve this problem, women decided to rewrite (aka “remix”) history books so that they also highlighted the accomplishments of women

Men began to view women more respectfully once they realized their capabilities as writers

Female authors wanted their female readers to emulate the heroines described in the books Slide13

KelleyOther women spread ideas by becoming missionaries

They tried to spread evangelical Protestantism to the new frontier

Other women became involved in mutual aid and charity workSlide14

Kelley: Conclusion

Overall, Kelley explained how women became involved in participatory culture through the spreading of ideas

This was accomplished through education, writing (newspapers, magazines, and novels), and discussion groups

Although women did not achieve full equality through these means, they did prove themselves to be more intelligent and capable and thus garnered some respect from the male community

Despite their accomplishments, this was mostly limited to upper-class white womenSlide15

Mickenburg

Discussed the spread of communist and socialist propaganda through children’s literature in the United States during the early 20

th

century

The goal of this literature was to brainwash children into believing their ideas in order to produce a future generation of leftistsSlide16

Mickenburg

Children’s books, such as the tale of “

Funnybone

Alley” told metaphorical stories that related to themes of

freudianism

, socialism, and anarchism

Some racism was also prevalent in these books

These authors became known as the “lyrical left”

Conservatives were heavily opposed to this type of literatureSlide17

Mickenburg

These books were translated into 24 different languages and shipped to different countries all over the world

This helped the authors’ propaganda spread quickly and reach more people

The key is that information was being spread at a very fast rateSlide18

Mickenburg

With the advent of so many new books, libraries were created to store all of them

They were open to people of all social classes

Librarians would advise children on what to read

Classic stories like Mother Goose were “remixed” to include leftist themesSlide19

Mickenburg

Organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan created junior divisions that tried to educate children on their causes

Other groups on the right also created divisions that attempted to educate younger citizens

The two sides were competing to win over the next generationSlide20

Mickenburg

A new form of progressive education began to develop

The goal of this education was to teach children how to be “free” from the constraints of society and to eliminate all of the unnecessary information taught at regular schools

There were institutions that taught adults how to teach progressivelySlide21

Mickenburg

More extreme organizations, such as Socialist Sunday Schools, openly praised socialism and denounced capitalism

The Young Pioneers were a socialist “boy scouts” type of organization

The New Pioneer was a leftist children’s magazine

As time passed, these publications became less racially insensitiveSlide22

Mickenburg: Conclusions

Note: I used chapters 1 and 2 in this discussion

Talked about the advent of leftist ideas through education, literature, and organizational groups

Not all of these efforts were successful due to events such as the Red Scare and backlash from conservatives and the U.S. governmentSlide23

Commonalities and Continuities

Both Kelley and

Mickenburg

discussed movements that aimed to educate younger generations through new forms of education and learning

Both the women’s groups and the leftist groups produced literature (newspapers and magazines) to get people to join their causes

There were organizational groups for both movements: reading circles and literary societies in Kelley, and junior divisions of the KKK and Communist Party in

Mickenburg

Both movements involved the spread of information across different states and different countries

Both groups “remixed” popular literature and history books to advance their causes

Black women were left out of women’s groups and black people were negatively portrayed in early leftist literatureSlide24

Differences

Kelley discussed the women’s movement, while

Mickenburg

discussed the leftist movement

Kelley focused on the 18

th

and 19

th

centuries while

Mickenburg

focused on the early 20

th

century

Kelley focused more on the inequality between women and men while

Mickenburg

focused on a group of people who were viewed as radicals

The women that Kelley described tried to join mainstream politics while the leftists in

Mickleburg

tried to show why they were a better alternative to mainstream society

The leftists in

Mickenberg

tried to attract urban youths to their cause while the women in Kelley tried to educate other young women in both urban and rural areas

Most leftist literature discussed in

Mickenberg

was geared toward children while the women in Kelley produced literature for adults as well