Arts of the Contact Zone
Grant Schumacher
Paper 3
English 110
Final Draft
Arts of the Contact Zone: Parody Assignment
Pratt defines a contact zone by saying it is “social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism, slavery, or their aftermaths as they are lived out in many parts of the world today” (319).
What this means to me, is that there is classrooms in which there are many differences, which creates a difficult learning atmosphere, but also a very interesting learning atmosphere, because you have to work through differences and arguments. There are many principles that are affiliated with a contact zone, and many ways to implement these principles into an assignment for students. One of these principles is called parody, which is a “humorously exaggerated imitation of a writer”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parody). When I look at parody I think about someone listening to what you have written and instead of critiquing you they just poke fun at you by imitating you in a playful way. This could be by imitating what you said in a funny voice, or switching some words around that you have written in order to make the statement funny, they could do this if what you have written does not make sense. The reason they would probably do this, is that way you would not be offended by another person’s critique, and they can keep the mood happy by just poking a little fun.
In order to teach my students about some of the principles of the contact zone, I would physically use one of the principles in an assignment, in which they would have to use that principle. In this assignment we will be looking at using parody. First, I would ask each student what they think parody is, after teaching them the definition, I would assign them a partner. The student and his partner would then each write a one page story as fast as they can, about anything they want. Once the student does this, I would have him
Paper 3
English 110
Final Draft
Arts of the Contact Zone: Parody Assignment
Pratt defines a contact zone by saying it is “social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism, slavery, or their aftermaths as they are lived out in many parts of the world today” (319).
What this means to me, is that there is classrooms in which there are many differences, which creates a difficult learning atmosphere, but also a very interesting learning atmosphere, because you have to work through differences and arguments. There are many principles that are affiliated with a contact zone, and many ways to implement these principles into an assignment for students. One of these principles is called parody, which is a “humorously exaggerated imitation of a writer”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parody). When I look at parody I think about someone listening to what you have written and instead of critiquing you they just poke fun at you by imitating you in a playful way. This could be by imitating what you said in a funny voice, or switching some words around that you have written in order to make the statement funny, they could do this if what you have written does not make sense. The reason they would probably do this, is that way you would not be offended by another person’s critique, and they can keep the mood happy by just poking a little fun.
In order to teach my students about some of the principles of the contact zone, I would physically use one of the principles in an assignment, in which they would have to use that principle. In this assignment we will be looking at using parody. First, I would ask each student what they think parody is, after teaching them the definition, I would assign them a partner. The student and his partner would then each write a one page story as fast as they can, about anything they want. Once the student does this, I would have him