[Air-L] A good way to respond to a query from a student about activism?

[Sarah Ann Oates]

I want to say thank you for so many thoughtful comments. As is often true
when you pose a question (in class, etc.), you are awed by the depth and
insight in the answers. I also now realize that it was more than a student
query; it was really my own changing thoughts about my role as an educator.
It was great to see the in-depth message from AoIR President Lynn Schofield
Clark about elevating critical race and internet studies. Sarah

Sarah Oates

Professor and Senior Scholar
Philip Merrill College of Journalism
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20457
Email: soates at umd.edu
Phone: 301 455 2332
www.media-politics.com
Twitter: @media_politics

*Support the UMD Student Crisis Fund
<https://giving.umd.edu/giving/showPage.php?name=crisis-funding> today. *



On Thu, Jun 4, 2020 at 6:04 PM Sarah Ann Oates <soates at umd.edu> wrote:

> Dear AOIRers,
>
> I wanted to ask this great list a question for our times. See the message
> below from a student I taught in an online social media and society course,
> in which we had a module on #BlackLivesMatter. Can you think of a better
> way to respond than just with a list of campus groups and a note that I was
> impressed that she wanted to commit to activism for her beliefs? That's
> what I did, but I'd like to help a bit more because it's heartening both to
> see students wanting to put their scholarship into action. Thanks in
> advance. BTW, I asked her if I could ask the list and she said that was
> great.
>
> Here is her message:
>
> As a young black woman, I am struggling to cope with all that is happening
> in our country right now. Looking at social media I am further saddened to
> see images of Black men being murdered and their deaths reposted and
> reposted for all to see. I fear people will become desensitized to these
> images and names like George Floyd will just become another hashtag and
> forgotten victim of a corrupt system.
>
> *... I was wondering if you had any advice or resources for action beyond
> social media. I know the Black Lives Matter module discussed the sort of
> "wind tunnels" we create where like-minded people swirl ideas among mutual
> followers, but little action is taken beyond likes and retweets. I want to
> do something that goes beyond liking a post or ranting about it on Twitter.
> If you have any ideas or resources regarding the potential to leverage
> social media for positive social change I'd love to learn more about them!*
>
> Sarah Oates
> Professor and Senior Scholar
> Philip Merrill College of Journalism
> University of Maryland
> College Park, MD 20457
> Email: soates at umd.edu
> Phone: 301 455 2332
> www.media-politics.com
> Twitter: @media_politics
>
> *Support the UMD Student Crisis Fund
> <https://giving.umd.edu/giving/showPage.php?name=crisis-funding> today. *
>
>