The Politics of Information Access - Instructions for Facilitators

Honors College
HON 201 (Section 53330)
Thursday, 4:00-4:50, 117 Lincoln Hall

http://www.uic.edu/classes/hon/hon201/

Laura Quilter | lauramd@uic.edu | 996-8974
Veronda Pitchford | vjpitch@uic.edu | 996-2728

Instructions

• be familiar with the materials you're covering - you will probably have to read several extra pieces for the week you facilitate. Consider all the possible & related ideas listed in the agenda. Although the discussion may not be able to cover all of these, you should be prepared to ask intelligent questions of your classmates and the speakers about each of them to spur group discussion.
• have questions ready to prompt - some should be related to the comments that have come through the listserve on readings for that section.
• have initial statements prepared to spur discussion.
• make sure everyone has a fair chance to speak. keep discussions cool.

You can have an activity prepared if you don't want to just do discussion. Possible activities are listed below:

• Bring in an outside expert to speak. Speakers should speak for no more than 15 or so minutes to preserve the interactivity of the class.
• Organize an interactive program to present your information. Suggestions: Making Sense of the Media: A Handbook of Popular Education Techniques by Eleonora Castaño Ferreira and João Castaño Ferreira. Also look at Paolo Freire's materials.
• Bring in a short video or film (very short - less than 15 minutes) as a jump-off for discussion. (Arrange with instructors getting VCRs etc.)

Possible External Speakers

The people listed below have all indicated willingness to speak to our class - although they may not be able to make it on particular dates. The moderator needs to contact the possible speaker and make arrangements with them. Speakers other than these listed below are certainly acceptable. Talk with the instructors in advance about the possible speaker. The guidelines would be:

• a speaker should not speak for more than 15 minutes, and then the class should have discussion and Q&A.
• the moderator should be prepared with questions & answers in advance. Questions both for the speaker about his or her talk or work, and questions for the class to spur discussion. Moderation will still be the duty of the student moderator -- not of the guest speaker.

Speakers:

• John Shuler - head of Government Documents Dept., UIC Library. Also doing a class on "the nerves of government information" for the Honors College. Contact at alfred@uic.edu.
• Darlene Gramigna - works with American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) on media literacy issues. Contact at 312.427.2533.
• Paul Donahue
  What I do and my take on alternative media.
  I work with Labor Beat, a weekly public cable access show in Chicago. Labor Beat produces documentaries on the labor movement from a radical, rank and file perspective. It has nationwide distribution through cable access programs elsewhere in the country, and via broadcast on Free Speech TV, a national public cable access program. I also helped organize, and continue to work with, CounterMedia, which is an alternative media organization.
  My philosophy of alternative media is basically that people should make media themselves. Making media can be incredibly empowering because it leads people to realize that their lives, stories, and histories have as much worth as any disseminated by the mainstream media. Oftentimes, these are also the histories that are overlooked and under-reported by the mainstream media.
  Id be happy to be contacted as a speaker; please do so via email (which is pdonah1@icarus.cc.uic.edu) or by phone (312-666-0245).
• The Coalition for Positive Sexuality distributes safe sex and pro sex information to teens. http://www.positive.org/
• Sprite: pager 312.512.5828 - Sprite is involved with a variety of projects and knowledgeable about various areas, including hacking, police spying, encryption ...
• Danny Postel: LoweyLuvz@aol.com 773-761-6034 - Danny Postel is the creator, host and producer of FREE ASSOCIATIONS Radio, a weekly program about politics, culture, and ideas broadcast on three stations in Chicago: WHPK (U of C), WZRD (Northeastern IL Univ.) & WNUR (Northwestern Univ.), and one in Milwaukee: WMSE (Milwaukee School of Engineering). His interviews and articles have appeared in IN THESE TIMES, Z Magazine, ALTERNATIVE PRESS REVIEW, CHICAGO INK, LUMPEN, NEW CITY, 3rd WORD, PHILOSOPHY & SOCIAL CRITICISM, and NEW POLITICS. He is on the editorial board of CHICAGO INK.