February 10, 2015 - 00:07
Why a Zine Club?
By subsuming expectations of specific outcomes to that of possibilities, zines posit a high value to creative freedom. By allowing students to decide the elements and their connections within a broad thematic topic, zine-making is a liberating experience, very different from a class project. By letting students decide on the form and nature of creative expression, zine-making allows for experimentation. Growing up, parents and teachers often praise some students out for their skills in painting, photography, poetry, etc., causing others who may not have explored these fields to (vaguely) feel some disquietude. A further benefit of zines is the option of submitting anonymously. People who are more self-conscious or very private are gratified to find that their work, rather than themselves, are the cynosure of interest.
Creating an eco-zine club allows for choosing the framing elements of any topic along with ecology. Zine topics can include feminism, queer issues, race, gender, social activism, indigenous rights, right to development, etc. Creating a club where a monthly/bi-monthly zine is published, would let students reflect on underlying connections, their varied relations to ecology, and the ubiquitous role that social and economic power plays in shaping world views. This can be beneficial not only for the ones who are submitting, but also for those experiencing the zine. It may allow for the creation of new meaning and understanding - something that the creators of the zine did not foresee, with those “reading” the zines imputing their own experiences into the act of understanding the zine. This act of co-creation of meaning, makes zines of more value than say reading a learned exegesis that is linear with a single dominant voice. Bounded categories such as race, class, and ethnicity can be revealed as social constructs, and the manner in which they interact with and shape ideas of nature and ecology point to the power and limitations of specific historical processes.
I was unable to upload the zine directly here, so I've posted the link where it can be viewed, below.
http://issuu.com/amalasomeshwar/docs/zine_pdf
Morton, Timothy. "Introduction: Critical Thinking." The Ecological Thought. Cambridge: Harvard, 2010.
Coetzee, J. M. The Lives of Animals. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, 1999. Print.
Comments
Eco-zining!
Submitted by Anne Dalke on February 15, 2015 - 11:50 Permalink
I’m really quite enchanted with your ‘zine, asomeshwar—it’s a lovely mix of inspirational and intellectual, visual and written texts: a collection of short pieces that “get @” ecological thinking from a range of angles. All that’s missing, I think—and this is an important omission-- is a bibliography. I need to know the sources for each of your images, and for the texts that you have taken from others.
Where I’d also like to hear more is in the introduction, your explanation of “why a zine club?” You posit ‘zines as individual projects (that word should be a red flag by now), “a liberating experience, very different from a class project.” But ‘zines can be class projects, too, collective organizations of contributions of all the members of a group. I’ll give you a copy of one that the Identity Matters 360° created @ the end of last semester—and maybe then you can give me instructions on how to put it up on ISSUU—I tried once and gave up!
Anyhow, it’s on the concept of ‘zines as expressly ecological projects that I’d like to nudge you a bit. Your explanation focuses almost entirely on individual freedom—in, for example, “choosing the framing elements”—with some attention paid to the input of those reading the ‘zines—but how does that input happen? (Again, thinking about ecological values—where’s the interactivity, the multi-directionality here?)
I’m also not quite following what you say @ the end of your introduction. You mention the “act of co-creation of meaning” (again: how’s that happen exactly?). You compare ‘zines to “a learned exegesis that is linear with a single dominant voice.” But the ‘zines you describe are made by single individuals, yes? You conclude that “bounded categories such as race, class, and ethnicity can be revealed as social constructs, and the manner in which they interact with and shape ideas of nature and ecology point to the power and limitations of specific historical processes.” I’m not seeing how ‘zines, as a genre, highlight these ideas any more than any other format might-or-could. Say more!
tajiboye & asomeshwar –you should check out one another’s interventions in engaging h.s. students…
Bibliography
Submitted by asomeshwar on February 15, 2015 - 16:38 Permalink
All of the texts were written by me and all the photos were taken by me. Would you like me to create a bibliography crediting myself for these components? (The text within some of my writing that has been quoted, I've cited)
that's great!
Submitted by Anne Dalke on February 15, 2015 - 16:48 Permalink
...and no need for further citing--
though somehow you need to be able to signal that it's all "you" (
not that, as we know now, it ever is...)