#text
The prompt this last week in Dave Cormier’s P2PU #rhizo14 ‘course’ was to consider the question “Is books making us stupid?”. This video is my response. And here is the Google + conversation which ensued.
Mariana Funes
Feb 5, 2014
oh, Janet. What a wonderfully touching video. I am reminded of how I nearly failed a final exam during my undergraduate studies because I discovered the alphabet and its history…I disappeared in the library and stayed there for days reading, needless to say this was not ‘relevant’ to my upcoming neuropsychology exam 
Thank you for the memory. Do write a DS106 post on how you make these videos?
Thank you for the memory. Do write a DS106 post on how you make these videos?
janet webster
Feb 5, 2014
Libraries have always been my fav places. I moved to UBC campus for its library, but now so much on the internet available. Still have at least 5 books on the go at a time, bedside.
janet webster
Feb 5, 2014
+Mariana Funes Sounds like your undergrad experience was rhizomatic!
Cathleen Nardi
Feb 5, 2014
An advertisement for a library media specialist convinced me I should become a teacher. But before that, my undergraduate thesis was based on the uncovering of the Gnostic gospels! finding me in the basement of the Harvard Divinity library for most of my senior year. This video brought all that to the surface. Indeed you should make a post about the making of the video. The use of the ‘spotlight’ was well designed. Thank you for sharing.
janet webster
Oh my! I’m taking Harvard’s EdX course on The Letters of Paul with Prof. Nasrallah at the moment. Absolutely fascinating and inspired my video in response to the #rhizo14 challenge this week. I don’t see how we can ever say we dont draw meaning even from the most ancient of texts. Last year I tackled Dante after a transformative 2 month journey to Italy.
Cinzia Gabellini
Feb 5, 2014
+janet webster respect, it takes a lot of courage to read dante. hope you enjoyed your journey in italy.
janet webster
+Cinzia Gabellini I loved Italy! Then went back again just to Firenze. I used a course from Yale on Itunes U. with a prof who is a Dante scholar to help me get through The Divine Comedy. I had never read it before.
Cinzia Gabellini
Feb 6, 2014
Glad to hear, Firenze is beautiful. What draws my attention was Dante’s picture by Botticelli in your presentation. At that time the ancient text was an inspiration source for all those painters.
janet webster
Feb 6, 2014
Boticelli is amazing! Visited the Uffizi while in Firenze and saw his works first hand. A dream come true- but makes me want to return!
Christina Hendricks
6:08 PM
This is wonderful, Janet–what did you use to make it? It reminded me of all the great books I’ve read and have yet to read. I think that books can combine with the orality that Dave Cormier was emphasizing: reading books with others then sparks amazing conversations. I learn SO MUCH by reading books together with students and engaging in conversations about them. The books themselves, one might say, actually do change when one talks about them, in the sense that what one discusses with others changes how one reads the text.
janet webster
6:39 PM
I agree-we shape text as we read it-we bring ourselves to it and have a wonderful discursive relationship with the author-Barthes writes that we actually also author text as we read. We are the inheritors of so many great books written, worldwide. My students have introduced me to so much over the years and I to them, very reciprocal learning. I just used Windows Live Movie maker-I want to go to film school now and make documentaries-I’m serious!!
