February 9, 2017 - 15:04
Well, here we are at a bit of a standstill in schools of thought about how to respectfully reflect about the experiences and stories we hear about.
In both our Tuesday and our Wednesday on-campus discussions, more questions arose than answers.
Some questions that stood out: (I didn't jot these down verbatim, so if you recognize your thought, feel free to correct me)
"Why didn't we first think to ask those who are non-B__ students if they were comfortable with sharing their writings, when our professors didn't hesitate to warn/ask us to use our writings to discuss in class, as opposed to just remaining online?"
"Are we getting class credit for reflecting on other people's experiences? Is that moral?"
"If the class inside the correctional facility is a form of self-care for many classmates or facilitators involved, are we harming that assumed safety/bravery inside the classroom whenever we publicly reflect about it?"
"What is the difference between writing about strangers we briefly interact with versus intimate conversations that we may unintentionally write about later in our lives?" *I think there is a big span of difference, but I'm still trying to articulate how this is.
Sometimes, I am led to almost a physical manifestion of the cogniscent conflicting thoughts that I host. As one of our professors also expressed this, I'm glad to know that we are asking tough questions, not because we are dealing with *~higher level*~ ~academic~ discussion~ or anything like that. That sinking feeling within our stomachs, hearts, minds, etc., is because we are basically gossiping about others' lives in class and within our posted reflections. My bottom line answer to all of this discomfort about discussion and reflection on real humans' experiences outside of our 'B_ _ Bubble' is that we need to be proactive. We need to ask those we interact with off-campus if they are comfortable with the component of the class that includes our on-campus and on-line (although privately, usually, posted) discussion.
I am grateful for a class that allows us to think outside of our campus bubble because we will not be here forever. But I think we are all learning how to starting thinking how to not act "icky" when we are dealing with a class that revolves around more than just a textbook.
A random piece I read last semester that made me think about the privacy, consent, and objectification of others (this extends beyond writing and into photography) :
On Photography by Susan Sontag