Mapping I-A-E
Ideas are embedded in social arrangements, which in turn produce effects. We at DS4SI believe that arrangements are a rich and overlooked terrain for social justice and worldbuilding. But it can be harder than we think to parse arrangements from everyday life. The more common they are, the more they fall from view.
Instructions
One of the ways to get more “fluent” with discerning ideas, arrangements, and effects is to practice mapping them onto articles, photos, or videos. Here are some to start with, but you can also try a daily newspaper, youtube videos, or even your organization logo or mission statement if you work for a nonprofit.
ARTICLES:
We usually print a few articles and invite people alone or in pairs to “map” IAE. If you have different colored markers, you can just choose a color to indicate each, so as you go through the article, you underline or circle ideas, “soft” and “hard” arrangements, and effects. If you’re not alone, reviewing how you mapped an article can generate interesting conversations because it can get tricky!
IMAGES:
We often print these on 8.5x11 paper, ideally with enough of a margin so that you can write down the ideas, arrangements and effects that you circle on each image. Or you can tape the images onto flip charts if you’re doing them with a group.
VIDEO:
For videos we rely more on pausing regularly for small group discussions. We just go around and talk about ideas we heard, arrangements they were embedded in (could be “hard” or “soft” arrangements), and some of the effects those arrangements are having.
“Examined Life” Judith Butler and Sunaura Taylor:
Judith Butler and Sunaura Taylor went for a walk and engaged in a terrific conversation about disability as not merely some physical status but largely a social status, and that is also true for so called "able-bodied" persons.
“Meet the Plastics” from Mean Girls
In this scene from the film Mean Girls, new girl Cady Heron is introduced for the first time to a high school group known as 'The Plastics'.
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