Post 2

Essentially, the primary argument from Digital Griots seems to be two-fold: "...it is the wide range of cultural practices, multiple literacies, rhetorical mastery, and knowledge of traditions that DJs in black traditions represent that make them griots, link them to other griotic figures, and offer a model for writing that thoroughly weaves together oral performance, print literacy, mastery, and interrogation of technologies, and technologies that can lead to a renewed vision for both composition and African American rhetoric" (13).

Thus, Banks advocates not only the reader's acknowledgement of the role of the DJ-as-griot, but also that this figure serves as a template for scholarly pursuits in the field of comp/rhet. This mantra continues to be championed throughout the text, weaving together an array of tactics to reinforce his argument including scholarly and primary sources, classroom syllabus and lesson plan breakdowns, as well as personal anecdotes from "in-the-trenches" experiences.

 

Chapter 5, was interesting because as a budding teacher, it was an advocacy for change in the classroom and the played-out tactics of teaching composition. It seems that because our culture is saturated with media and networking technologies that so many have access to, it makes little sense not to incorporate these practices, including those of the DJ-as-griot into a classroom setting. This chapter is a kind of call-to-arms to the scholar-as-teacher to overhaul methods of perhaps tried but now untrue teaching tactics in favor of progressive definitions, innovative syllabus framework and lesson plan execution, as well as an emphasis on technological attention that is in the tradition of the storyteller but links to present-day and future development. Hip-hop is just one avenue for this concept (158). Banks ends with a litany of elements needed to further engage students and communities, "...we need painstaking digital documentation and preservation of African American stories, sayings, oral histories, proverbs, toasts, jokes, and other oral texts across generations in order to have a fuller historical record preserved as we continue to develop new bodies of folklore. African American rhetoric 2.0 must build a strong focus on studying and changing the relationships that endure between race, ethnicity, culture, rhetoric, and technologized spaces" (164). 

However, I have to wonder as a white guy, where this fits for me? Do I have any business bringing a Jay-Z text into the classroom or teaching a hip hop themed course? I don't think so. Therefore, I was pressed to find application. The most valuable part of the text is perhaps then how the theory is put into practice in service of the community. The seminars outlined in the center of the text which includes a recollection of how the seminars came to exist and develop, moving writing samples from contributors, and even a course outline complete with texts and topics demonstrates a rare commitment to the notion of democratic education actually at work within a segment of an educator's community. This section is worthy of expansion into its own complete theoretical text as well as an addendum of writing prompts, sources, and suggested lesson plans.I can see how when teaching freshmen, or ESL students, or just students who are trying to confront their fears about writing "the Queen's English" it seems like they would respond nicely to have course outline such as the ones Banks presents.

 

 

Question: Do you see technology as a neutral tool that does what you want it to, or do you think that the tool has a lot embedded in it that seeks to direct or influence you?  If you’re a technology user, especially in a classroom, how much of the conversation in Digital Griots is ongoing in the spaces you inhabit?