Engaging Gen Z
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Welcome! This website honors listening, mutual respect, and community. It encourages intergenerational collaboration, celebrates students' work, and honors intentional rewriting as "the essence of writing" (Zinsser 4).
Meaningful writing has always been central to positive societal change. Civil Rights activist, suffragette, NAACP charter member, first NACWC President (then NACW), and educator Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954) lived this fact.
Meaningful writing has always been central to positive societal change. Civil Rights activist, suffragette, NAACP charter member, first NACWC President (then NACW), and educator Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954) lived this fact.
A master communicator, Terrell focused her talents on advancing human rights. Writing well was an integral part of her work. The Library of Congress preserves her recursive writing process for our study. The primary source below shows us her changes to a typed 1924 speech honoring Civil War survivor and activist Elizabeth Proctor Thomas (1821?-1917). View this document at the Library of Congress site by clicking it. What do you see? What questions do you have? How do you think Terrell revised the second paragraph's first line?
"At one time during the War of the Rebellion the clouds of war which hung over Washington hung thick and low and black" is how the line seems to read originally. I think she reread her line and shook her head internally at the repetition of "hung" and decided perhaps that "War of the Rebellion" could be improved. I see handwritten changes. A faint line crosses through "War of the Rebellion," then the -e in the definite article the before that phrase is changed to an -a and then a -t added to make that, and then I see inserted above the struck-through "War of the Rebellion" this phrase: "in bloody civil strife." Terrell also strikes out the relative pronoun which after war and the second use of hung.
These revisions craft the line into a different experience: "At one time during that bloody civil strife the clouds of war hung over Washington thick and low and black." If so, that one revised line is a clear argument for the recursive process of rewriting until a "marvel of economy" emerges (Zinsser 68).
"At one time during the War of the Rebellion the clouds of war which hung over Washington hung thick and low and black" is how the line seems to read originally. I think she reread her line and shook her head internally at the repetition of "hung" and decided perhaps that "War of the Rebellion" could be improved. I see handwritten changes. A faint line crosses through "War of the Rebellion," then the -e in the definite article the before that phrase is changed to an -a and then a -t added to make that, and then I see inserted above the struck-through "War of the Rebellion" this phrase: "in bloody civil strife." Terrell also strikes out the relative pronoun which after war and the second use of hung.
These revisions craft the line into a different experience: "At one time during that bloody civil strife the clouds of war hung over Washington thick and low and black." If so, that one revised line is a clear argument for the recursive process of rewriting until a "marvel of economy" emerges (Zinsser 68).
Mary Church Terrell Papers: Speeches and Writings, 1866-1953; 1924, Sept. 22, Remarks Made at Fort Stevens / Library of Congress
Mary Church Terrell, photo from between 1880 and 1900, Library of Congress
To read more about this event in US Civil War history, see Desperate Engagement: How a Little-Known Civil War Battle Saved Washington, DC, and Changed American History by Marc Leepson (149-150).
Former CW R1A student and future neurosurgeon Meri Valimaki was in my class for a semester and taught me a lot. Meri expresses our site's purpose well:
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Learning to read and to write in English was always a challenge for me. As my third language after Finnish and Turkish, English was the one I was the most uncomfortable with. . . . Initially, starting an essay was very difficult for me, mainly because I was not familiar with the revising process. I thought my first draft was supposed to be my only draft and that it had to be very good. Later on, I learned that revising is an endless recursive process and that it is very important for crafting a cohesive essay. I stopped overrating the process of starting to write an essay and overcame my fear of not producing a perfect first draft after we read in class Anne Lamott’s essay “The Shitty First Draft.”
As I stopped worrying about the quality of my first draft, I started enjoying the recursive reading and writing processes as I saw how my arguments improved from one revision to another peer review workshop, and through another fishbowl and other discussion activities. My essays became stronger, and consequently that boosted my confidence in the writing process; thus, I started looking forward to the next essay assignments. [These skills] will help me write research articles about Alzheimer's Disease . . . and construct engaging speeches in future. . . . As a prospective surgeon, I understand the importance of learning to write strong arguments. Even though I have improved my reading and writing skills in many ways, I still have a long way to go. As revising is an endless process, improving reading and writing skills are endless processes too. |
My name is Carmen Acevedo Butcher. I have taught composition for twenty years. I earned my PhD at the University of Georgia Phi Beta Kappa (meaning, I lived in the library). The learning community there was kind to graduate students, and I began teaching there, where I had splendid mentors in composition pedagogy, including John Algeo, who was my major professor. Next I had the joy of teaching at an award-winning small liberal arts college in Georgia, and I also taught undergraduates and graduate students as a Fulbright Senior Lecturer at Sogang University in Seoul. After that, I earned a 120-hour graduate-level TESOL certificate from Kennesaw State University. At UC Berkeley presently I am a lecturer in the College Writing Programs.
Engaging Gen Z presents my 2018-2019 Lecturer Teaching Fellow (LTF) research and its practical applications to the wider campus community. For this yearlong interdisciplinary experience, thanks go to the Center for Teaching & Learning; to LTF co-facilitators Michelle Douskey and Ryan Sloan, who invest extraordinary energy and intelligence into this vibrant, innovative program; and to my kind and creative LTF friends.
I made this site to help me listen to my Gen Z students (born 1997-2012). Traditionalists (1928-1945), Baby Boomers (1946-1964), Gen Xers (1965-1976), Xennials (1977-1983), Millennials (1984-1996), and curious Gen Alphas (2013-present) are also members of its intergenerational audience.
Engaging Gen Z presents my 2018-2019 Lecturer Teaching Fellow (LTF) research and its practical applications to the wider campus community. For this yearlong interdisciplinary experience, thanks go to the Center for Teaching & Learning; to LTF co-facilitators Michelle Douskey and Ryan Sloan, who invest extraordinary energy and intelligence into this vibrant, innovative program; and to my kind and creative LTF friends.
I made this site to help me listen to my Gen Z students (born 1997-2012). Traditionalists (1928-1945), Baby Boomers (1946-1964), Gen Xers (1965-1976), Xennials (1977-1983), Millennials (1984-1996), and curious Gen Alphas (2013-present) are also members of its intergenerational audience.
If you went to college at about age 18, what year did you enter? That helps you identify your generation.
I used Pew Research data to make the graph below. Click on the figure for more information.
I used Pew Research data to make the graph below. Click on the figure for more information.
Click the "Cultivating Intergenerational Dialogue (aka 'Teaching')" chart below to access an interactive chart on google drive.
This website offers students a place to hone reading & writing skills and digital literacies. You can express your ideas and further develop who you are. Its "Reading & Writing Guide" is a collaborative, student-led workshop for practicing inquiry's recursive processes and an evolving, student-authored ebook for helping future students.
For teachers who want to explore, this site provides adaptable classroom activities and diverse resources for understanding this hyperconnected generation. I hope everyone will click the hyperlinks. Hypertext is, aptly, indicated by the color alert tan. All images are hyperlinked. Click on any to discover more. Surprises abound.
At UC Berkeley I teach CW R1A “Cross-Cultural Conversation" (formerly the R1A course known as "The Iceberg of Culture”). This six-unit first-year accelerated reading and composition seminar on multiculturalism and cross-cultural communication invites us to engage the plasticity of our brains that Professor Marian Diamond pioneered. These topics are important to me because my paternal grandfather immigrated to the United States from Cuba, my mother is from south Georgia, my husband is British, and my son is Korean. For me, "diversity is home" (15 Oct. 2017) I also teach CW R4B “The Meme and the Human: Digital Literacies,” a four-unit reading, composition, and research course. Both courses require intensive revising and have limits of fourteen and of seventeen students, respectively. The seminar-size cultivates dialogue. This site builds on our conversations.
For teachers who want to explore, this site provides adaptable classroom activities and diverse resources for understanding this hyperconnected generation. I hope everyone will click the hyperlinks. Hypertext is, aptly, indicated by the color alert tan. All images are hyperlinked. Click on any to discover more. Surprises abound.
At UC Berkeley I teach CW R1A “Cross-Cultural Conversation" (formerly the R1A course known as "The Iceberg of Culture”). This six-unit first-year accelerated reading and composition seminar on multiculturalism and cross-cultural communication invites us to engage the plasticity of our brains that Professor Marian Diamond pioneered. These topics are important to me because my paternal grandfather immigrated to the United States from Cuba, my mother is from south Georgia, my husband is British, and my son is Korean. For me, "diversity is home" (15 Oct. 2017) I also teach CW R4B “The Meme and the Human: Digital Literacies,” a four-unit reading, composition, and research course. Both courses require intensive revising and have limits of fourteen and of seventeen students, respectively. The seminar-size cultivates dialogue. This site builds on our conversations.
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CW R1A "Cross-Cultural Conversation"
(Formerly known as "The Iceberg of Culture: Cross-Cultural Communication" 
Image Copyright: AFS Intercultural Programs 2015
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CW R4B "The Meme and the Human: Digital Literacies"
Surprised Pikachu meme
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Struggling with undiagnosed dyslexia, I became a student of language, trying to overcome a persistent feeling of stupidity. I could not figure out why I could not read well, why b and d, c and s, and letters within words constantly changed places. Nothing stayed still, and meaning was as elusive as positive self-esteem. For decades, I banged my head against the at first impervious sentences and paragraphs. My antidote was Keep reading. I am thankful for the doggedness my parents' diverse genes gave me. Later Anglo-Saxon drew me in, then Middle English, German, World Englishes, and TESOL.
Now I study the digital language/s of my Gen Z students. The Surprised Pikachu meme above is one of my favorites. "But his picture is fuzzy!" Gen X may decry. And that's the point, the way "teh" for "the" was the point, the way sarcasm shows in the Mocking Sponge meme in its MiXed lOWercAsE AnD cApiTaliZed LeTteRs. If holes in jeans as a fashion statement make you think, "What a waste of good money," or "Back in the day we made denim shorts out of jeans that got that torn," then this site is for you.
"Becoming literate in a networked age requires hard work, regardless of age” (Boyd, 2014), and I am grateful for UC Berkeley librarians who provide brilliant, friendly assistance in this work, from in-library workshops for undergraduates, email consultations for faculty, individual meetings for students and faculty, and development of helpful library guides and other resources, like the Level Up initiative.
To study, watch, or follow fascinating influencers of Web 2.0 culture, click the social media icons / headers on this webpage. Click Larry the Twitter bird to follow technologist and author An Xiao Mina. Let me know what you think. If you have others I could link to, let me know. This site is more palimpsest than a page written in Sharpie.
I update these five header icons regularly with links to trending tech news because speed is now digital, and as twentieth-century media theorist Marshall McLuhan observes, "All meaning alters with acceleration" (199). To analyze meaning in this digitally mediated world is an important civic duty because "all patterns of personal and political interdependence change with any acceleration of information" (McLuhan 199; also see Nooney and Portwood-Stacer, 2014).
One civic duty is working on our digital literacies. Take memes. People laughed at them, until they saw them influence elections. (We still laugh at them, but you know what I mean.) As McLuhan reminds us: "The student of media soon comes to expect the new media of any period [now, memes] to be classed as pseudo by those who have acquired the patterns of earlier media" (199).
So, yes, in addition to showcasing student work and cultivating community, the goals of this site include, but are not limited to, decreasing feelings of memefoundedness and increasing awareness of voter registration on apps like Snapchat.
Now I study the digital language/s of my Gen Z students. The Surprised Pikachu meme above is one of my favorites. "But his picture is fuzzy!" Gen X may decry. And that's the point, the way "teh" for "the" was the point, the way sarcasm shows in the Mocking Sponge meme in its MiXed lOWercAsE AnD cApiTaliZed LeTteRs. If holes in jeans as a fashion statement make you think, "What a waste of good money," or "Back in the day we made denim shorts out of jeans that got that torn," then this site is for you.
"Becoming literate in a networked age requires hard work, regardless of age” (Boyd, 2014), and I am grateful for UC Berkeley librarians who provide brilliant, friendly assistance in this work, from in-library workshops for undergraduates, email consultations for faculty, individual meetings for students and faculty, and development of helpful library guides and other resources, like the Level Up initiative.
To study, watch, or follow fascinating influencers of Web 2.0 culture, click the social media icons / headers on this webpage. Click Larry the Twitter bird to follow technologist and author An Xiao Mina. Let me know what you think. If you have others I could link to, let me know. This site is more palimpsest than a page written in Sharpie.
I update these five header icons regularly with links to trending tech news because speed is now digital, and as twentieth-century media theorist Marshall McLuhan observes, "All meaning alters with acceleration" (199). To analyze meaning in this digitally mediated world is an important civic duty because "all patterns of personal and political interdependence change with any acceleration of information" (McLuhan 199; also see Nooney and Portwood-Stacer, 2014).
One civic duty is working on our digital literacies. Take memes. People laughed at them, until they saw them influence elections. (We still laugh at them, but you know what I mean.) As McLuhan reminds us: "The student of media soon comes to expect the new media of any period [now, memes] to be classed as pseudo by those who have acquired the patterns of earlier media" (199).
So, yes, in addition to showcasing student work and cultivating community, the goals of this site include, but are not limited to, decreasing feelings of memefoundedness and increasing awareness of voter registration on apps like Snapchat.
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Another motivation for making this site was how often I heard the current student population referred to as "Millennials." We can be mindful that Generation Z and Millennials have different collective childhood (and other) experiences, plus unique perspectives and technology. On campus we can also add the diverse points of view belonging to Xennials, Gen Xers, Baby Boomers, and Traditionalists. We have a rich possibility for intergenerational dialogue, like never before. The Intergenerational Chart shows what a wealth of diverse human experiences are found on university campuses.
Imagine if those born between 1928 and 1945 (Traditionalists), 1946 and 1964 (Baby Boomers), 1965 and 1976 (Gen X), 1977 and 1983 (Xennials), 1984 and 1996 (Millennials), 1997 and 2012 (Gen Z), and 2013 and now (Gen Alpha) all really began listening to each other. What could we not do together?
Back before we needed a word like memefound, teaching primarily meant “sage[s] on . . . stage[s]” (King, 1993). Teachers commanded classrooms from up front and transmitted knowledge to conscientious receivers. The reupping, Subredditing, remixing, quantum-computing, black-hole-imaging, memes-speaking “participatory culture” (Shifman, 2015) has upended this paradigm, thankfully. It was never a dialogue, and dialogue is a timeless approach.
In an ongoing effort to maximize learner participation, including my own, this LTF-inspired website presents the insights of students and other researchers who help me understand Gen Z, many studies informing my often constructivist pedagogical approach, classroom activities engaging Gen Z in robust digital literacies, and the student-created eworkshop, “Reading & Writing Guide.”
This Weebly site works in tandem with Creative Space, my Tumblr teaching website. I am also virtually at www.carmenbutcher.com.
Mindful that perspicuous discourse avoids binary language in favor of complexity, I find the terms “student” and “teacher” increasingly and wonderfully polysemous, especially as traditional demographic groups are blurring psychographically (Solis, 2018).
Intelligent humor remains crucial. So perhaps we might consider what sagacious dolphins have said about similar matters: "So long and thanks for all the fish" (Adams, 2010).
Imagine if those born between 1928 and 1945 (Traditionalists), 1946 and 1964 (Baby Boomers), 1965 and 1976 (Gen X), 1977 and 1983 (Xennials), 1984 and 1996 (Millennials), 1997 and 2012 (Gen Z), and 2013 and now (Gen Alpha) all really began listening to each other. What could we not do together?
Back before we needed a word like memefound, teaching primarily meant “sage[s] on . . . stage[s]” (King, 1993). Teachers commanded classrooms from up front and transmitted knowledge to conscientious receivers. The reupping, Subredditing, remixing, quantum-computing, black-hole-imaging, memes-speaking “participatory culture” (Shifman, 2015) has upended this paradigm, thankfully. It was never a dialogue, and dialogue is a timeless approach.
In an ongoing effort to maximize learner participation, including my own, this LTF-inspired website presents the insights of students and other researchers who help me understand Gen Z, many studies informing my often constructivist pedagogical approach, classroom activities engaging Gen Z in robust digital literacies, and the student-created eworkshop, “Reading & Writing Guide.”
This Weebly site works in tandem with Creative Space, my Tumblr teaching website. I am also virtually at www.carmenbutcher.com.
Mindful that perspicuous discourse avoids binary language in favor of complexity, I find the terms “student” and “teacher” increasingly and wonderfully polysemous, especially as traditional demographic groups are blurring psychographically (Solis, 2018).
Intelligent humor remains crucial. So perhaps we might consider what sagacious dolphins have said about similar matters: "So long and thanks for all the fish" (Adams, 2010).
1984 was once a rough draft.
"It was a cold, blowy day in early April, and a million radios were striking thirteen."
Or, "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." Which sentence do you prefer?
Or, "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." Which sentence do you prefer?
From the facsimile of 1984 edited by Peter Davison (Harcourt, 1984). Credit: Flickr
Students have given permission for their work and photos to be on this site.
Selected Sources
Abadi, Mark. "A 34-year-old taught a college class on 'adulting' and found 3 major differences between herself and youngest group of millennials." Business Insider, 11 Jan. 2019.
Adams, Douglas. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Random House Publishing, 2010.
Bates, Tony. Teaching in a Digital Age. BCcampus Pressbooks, 2015.
Boyd, Danah. It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens. Yale University Press, 2014.
Butcher, Carmen Acevedo. “Off the Tenure Track.” Writing Across Berkeley, 15 Oct. 2017.
Jenblat, Omar. "Is Your Business Prepared for Generation C?" Forbes, 29 Jan. 2018.
King, Alison. “From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side.” College Teaching, vol. 41, no. 1, 1993, pp. 30-35.
Mathur, Devan. “Re: Hi, Devan!” Received by Carmen Acevedo Butcher, 10 and 12 Feb. 2018. Email Interviews.
McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media. MIT Press, reprint 1994.
Nooney, Laine, and Laura Portwood-Stacer. "One Does Not Simply: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Internet Memes." Journal of Visual Culture, 16 Dec. 2014.
Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four: The Facsimile of the Extant Manuscript. Edited by Peter Davison, Harcourt, 1984.
Pstross, Mikulas, Trudy Corrigan, Richard Knopf, Hee Kyung Sung, Craig A. Talmage, Carmel Conroy, and Cathy Fowley. "The Benefits of Intergenerational Learning in Higher Education: Lessons Learned from Two Age Friendly University Programs." Innovative Higher Education, vol. 42, no. 2, 2016, pp. 157-171.
Shifman, Limor. Memes in Digital Culture. MIT Press, 2015.
Solis, Brian. "Defying Demographics: Generation-C, Today's Hyperconnected Consumer 'Generation.'" BrianSolis.com, 25 Jan. 2018.
Terrell, Mary Church. Mary Church Terrell Papers: Speeches and Writings, 1866-1953; 1924, Sept. 22, Remarks Made at Fort Stevens. 1924. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/mss425490420/>.
Zinsser, William. On Writing Well. Harper Perennial, 2012.
Adams, Douglas. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Random House Publishing, 2010.
Bates, Tony. Teaching in a Digital Age. BCcampus Pressbooks, 2015.
Boyd, Danah. It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens. Yale University Press, 2014.
Butcher, Carmen Acevedo. “Off the Tenure Track.” Writing Across Berkeley, 15 Oct. 2017.
Jenblat, Omar. "Is Your Business Prepared for Generation C?" Forbes, 29 Jan. 2018.
King, Alison. “From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side.” College Teaching, vol. 41, no. 1, 1993, pp. 30-35.
Mathur, Devan. “Re: Hi, Devan!” Received by Carmen Acevedo Butcher, 10 and 12 Feb. 2018. Email Interviews.
McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media. MIT Press, reprint 1994.
Nooney, Laine, and Laura Portwood-Stacer. "One Does Not Simply: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Internet Memes." Journal of Visual Culture, 16 Dec. 2014.
Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four: The Facsimile of the Extant Manuscript. Edited by Peter Davison, Harcourt, 1984.
Pstross, Mikulas, Trudy Corrigan, Richard Knopf, Hee Kyung Sung, Craig A. Talmage, Carmel Conroy, and Cathy Fowley. "The Benefits of Intergenerational Learning in Higher Education: Lessons Learned from Two Age Friendly University Programs." Innovative Higher Education, vol. 42, no. 2, 2016, pp. 157-171.
Shifman, Limor. Memes in Digital Culture. MIT Press, 2015.
Solis, Brian. "Defying Demographics: Generation-C, Today's Hyperconnected Consumer 'Generation.'" BrianSolis.com, 25 Jan. 2018.
Terrell, Mary Church. Mary Church Terrell Papers: Speeches and Writings, 1866-1953; 1924, Sept. 22, Remarks Made at Fort Stevens. 1924. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/mss425490420/>.
Zinsser, William. On Writing Well. Harper Perennial, 2012.
