Tuesday, 6 October 2015

Preparatory Task

Definitions:

Social

1.
a. Of or relating to human society and its modes of organisation: social classes; social problems; social issues
b. Of or relating to rank and status in society: social standing
c. Of, relating to, or occupied with matters affecting human welfare: social programs

2.
a. Interacting with other people and living in communities: humans are social creatures
b. Biology - Living together in organised groups or similar close aggregates: ants are social insects

3.
a. Inclined to seek out or enjoy the company of others; sociable
b. Spent in or marked by friendly relations or companionship: how's your social life?
c. Intended for convivial activities: a social club


Cultural

Of or relating to culture or cultivation

Definition of culture


a. The arts, beliefs, customs, institutions, and other products of human work and thought considered as a unit, especially with regard to a particular time or social group: Edwardian culture; Japanese culture
b. These arts, beliefs and other products considered with respect to a particular subject or mode of expression: musical culture
c. The set of predominating attitudes or behaviour that characterise a group or organisation: a manager who changed the corporate culture

2. Mental refinement and sophisticated taste resulting from the appreciation of the arts and sciences: a man or woman of great culture

3. The cultivation of soil

4. The breeding or cultivation of animals or plants for food, the improvement of stock, or other purposes.


Historical


1.
a. Of or relating to history; concerned with past events: a historical account
b. Based on past events or set in the past: a historical novel
c. Used in or providing evidence of the past: historical costumes; historical records

2. Concerned with phenomena as they change through time

3. Important or famous in history


Political

1. Of, relating to, or dealing with the structure of affairs of government, politics, or the state: a political system
2. Relating to, involving, or characteristics of political parties of politicians: a political campaign
3. Interested or active in politics
4. Influenced by, based on, or stemming from partisan interests or political ideology
5. Based on or motivation by self-serving interests, especially in attempting to gain power or to please people or a higher rank in an organisation
6. Indicating national or regional boundaries


Technological

1. Relating to or involving technology, especially scientific technology
2. Affected by or resulting from scientific and industrial progress

Definition of technology

1.
a. The application of science, especially to industrial or commercial objectives
b. The scientific method and material used to achieve a commercial or industrial objective

2. Electronic or digital products and systems considered as a group

3. The body of knowledge available to a society that is of use in fashioning implements, practicing manual arts and skills, and extracting or collecting materials


I've chosen the word cultural. I feel like most of my interests relate best to this theme and so I should be able to find something that I can sink my teeth into for the rest of this module. 

Potential theme ideas:

Trying to consider my opinions / interests

- Health & fitness.
I'm interested in diet and exercise in general; always have been. I love cooking decent healthy food and getting to the gym. I've got a whole bunch of fitness aims and goals and would love to learn more about the science behind certain aspects of fitness, diet etc. Also I'm interested in bodybuilding (male and female) and the dedication it takes. Also the stigma attached to it within society, past and present.

- Junk food / The food industry
Nothing makes my blood boil like seeing parents feeding their toddlers McDonalds, or babies drinking coca cola from the bottle. There's so much information out there about junk food and it's effect on our health; the ever rising obesity rates and the obvious correlation with health issues such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, liver disease, certain cancers... etc etc. so I still don't get why it seems like everyone just turns a blind eye to it all. Is advertising really that powerful or do we all just desperately need educating? I could rant about it all now but I'll stop.
Last year I watched a whole bunch of documentaries about the food industry which ended up with me stopping eating meat and trying to clean my diet up more. 
Also I'd like to learn more about the food industry in the UK. I feel like I've seen and heard a lot about the states, but less about the country I live in. 

- Religion
I was never raised with religion and find it interesting (and pretty confusing sometimes) to hear both sides of the debate. I've never really made a real effort to tackle the intensity of Dawkins, but have watched debates and documentaries, and read about the argument. 

- Music & Film
Pretty generic things to list as interests. I've got a pretty eclectic taste though so there are probably loads of topics and subjects that I could look into... sub-cultures, cult films, specific musicians / directors / actors or something..


3 Quotes:

Future historians, I hope, will consider the American fast food industry a relic of the twentieth century--a set of attitudes, systems, and beliefs that emerged from postwar southern California, that embodied its limitless faith in technology, that quickly spread across the globe, flourished briefly, and then receded, once its true costs became clear and its thinking became obsolete.
Eric Schlosser

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them. 
Ray Bradbury

Name for me a moral action or a moral statement ever made or committed or uttered by a believer, that a non-believer couldn't have made.
Christopher Hitchens


3 Images:


John Holcroft

Kristian Hammerstad - Editorial piece about kindergarten obesity

Chris Gash - Editorial piece for Chicago Magazine about Bronies 

3 Photographs:



Erik Bergrin

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