For my process work of this project I have a mix of drafts of transmodal pieces as well as parts of my slice prior to me deciding to switch to Chicago Teachers Union. From looking back on these process artifacts I realize that I really learned how to work through my thoughts for this project. In the first project I let myself get way too far into ideas before I decided to switch out of them. This time I really thought through the basis of this project and what I wanted to accomplish out of it. I also was able to look through my artifacts and see how my thought processes had grown throughout the assignment to come to my final ideas.
Process Artifact #1
How do they behave as a community (interact with one another and other communities)
What platform do they mainly operate from?
What can they be doing better?
What do they do really well?
How can I take their content and make it into a new media?
Does the President lead the discussion or does it sit back like the leaders in #GirlsLikeUs do?
How does the leaders role in the conversation impact the vibe of the community?
Explanation: This is a list of questions I created to brainstorm for when I began my research for the project. It focuses around major ideas to look for when I am reading articles in order to best write my ethnography.
Process Artifact #2
Here is everything you need to know about the Chicago Teacher Union’s Strikes and what they are fighting for. Starting in West Virginia a group of teachers organized a walk out in protest of their unfair pay and healthcare adapting the hashtag FAIR CONTRACTS NOW. Since then there have been protests across the US of teachers standing up for their rights.
The Chicago Teachers Union was battling between the Chicago Public Schools as many contracts are beginning to expire this upcoming year. The main points of change wanted by the CTU was more pay for support services in the form of nurses, librarians, counselors, and school psychologists and smaller class sizes from kindergarten to high school.
The CTU went on a 10 month bargaining period with the Chicago Public Schools until finally they went on strike for a total of 11 days. After much debate between Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Jesse Sharkly (CTU President) Chicago Teachers' Union was able to walk away receiving many of their changes they had requested to the contract.
You can stay involved with the Chicago Teacher Union’s cause by checking out their website ctulocal1.org as well as their Facebook and Twitter.
Explanation: This is the script I wrote for me to read for the video. I wanted to write out what I was going to say so I would be able to mention all the main details of the protest in the most condensed way possible.
Process Artifact #3
Explanation: This was one of the stages of my sticker making process. Originally I was going to do the Chicago flags with words on top and bottom that said “Support Chicago Teachers” similar to my T-Shirt design. However, I was then googling pictures and saw an edit where the stars became apples and decided to play off of that idea.
Process Artifact #4
From reading and analyzing the article by Jackson Bailey and Welles I think I learned the power of connecting a hashtag to similar hashtags in the network. In the article it is mentioned how #GirlsLikeUs spread into other hashtag communities such as #FreeCeCe and #RedefiningRealness. By combining these different communities it not only creates more awareness of what #GirlsLikeUs is about but also allows individuals fighting for similar causes to come together and use each other's numbers and voices for great causes. From the article I realized the importance of being open to other communities and not selective and rude to individuals looking to learn about your cause.
Looking ahead to my personal project I think I want to work with the hashtag #Effyourbeautystandard. This hashtag was started by Tess Holiday who is a plus size model and is often criticized for her body image. The idea of this hashtag is to combat societal expectations of beauty by showcasing men and women of all different body types. The hashtag is active on twitter but also on instagram by having a page that is updated to showcase individuals of all skin tones and body types. I have yet to do more research as to how they operate as a community.
Moving forward I am planning to research how they interact with other communities, specifically the fashion and beauty communities. I realize that Tess Holiday is a model so I am curious to see how she voices her opinion while being inside the industry herself. The title of the hashtag is very straightforward and vulgar so I am curious to learn how the community behaves online mirrors this. I have heard of this community before but not as common as other feminist and body positive hashtags. The title drew my attention making me want to research it more.
Explanation: For this portion of the project this is apart of my original slice. When I began working on this project I was planning on working with a different topic regarding body positivity. I had started researching #Effyourbeautystandards but soon realized it would be a difficult group to study for this project.
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