The Project
This term, our task will be to create a zine devoted to digital redlining. We will become knowledgeable about the subject, and we will produce an insightful, provocative little publication that examines how an evil practice has returned to our land. Each student will contribute two pieces to our zine:
Task 1: VISUAL PAGE.
A single, 8.5 X 11 inch page that emphasizes an informative design via images and other visual elements. The page must be developed through the use of our regular tools: TEQ Sheets, P&P Statement, and Prospectus. It must reflect the insights of the Prospectus completed for Project 4.
Task 2: A RATIONALE FOR THE VISUAL PAGE
A separate, one-page document that explains the rationale for your image and design choices. It will explain the claim of the visual page.
Introductory material about zines
A useful introduction to zines is available on Wikipedia. Begin your education about these publications by going to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zine .
For the nuts and bolts of making a zine, visit http://www.rookiemag.com/2012/05/how-to-make-a-zine/
Another useful guide to making your own zine is http://www.creativebloq.com/print-design/make-your-own-zines-11410390
For a sense of the homemade style of these publications, go to images.google.com and search for "zine." You might wish to add another term such as "zine + punk" or "zine + feminism" or "zine + grafitti"
Additional material about redlining and digital redlining
As you know from editing the paper by Gilliard and Culik, "Redlining" refers to the old banking practice of drawing red lines around areas where specific ethnic or racial groups lived . . . or could not live. "Redlining" originally referred to charging more (or refusing) to provide financial services, insurances, etc. to specific groups. The term has been generalized to include any form of discrimination based on data that indirectly identify people on the basis of ethnicity, gender, race, class, and other such categories. Digital redlining refers to digital profiling that produces discriminatory practices.
You will need to read additional sources about both zines and digital redlining to successfully complete the assignment. These sources are in addition to the sources done in Project 4.Many of our discussion will use terms like "digital footprint," "algorithm," "big data," and "personalization."
Begin to understand these terms by reading the short glossary available at http://re-think.us/glossary.html .
A very simple introduction to digital redlining is available at http://broadbandandsocialjustice.org/2015/03/look-back-but-move-forward-digital-redlining-in-the-21st-century/ .
Koenig, Thomas and Rustad, Michael. "Digital Scarletters: Social Media Stigmatization of the Poor and What Can Be Done" offers a detailed explanation of "the ways that increased Internet and social media usage is a catalyst for advancing equality but also can devalue the uneducated and the poor. The Internet has lifted the veil of individual privacy, so that information about factors like race, class, gender, sexual orientation, obesity, physical handicaps, unpopular opinions, and nonmainstream clothing styles become easily visible to employers, potential employers, college admissions personnel, law enforcement officials, welfare providers, loan companies, landlords, merchants, and many other societal decision makers. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2605173
Ta-Nehisi Coates. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/
Coates's history of ownership, Jim Crow Law, and wealth explains the power of the redlining process to shape the lives of all Americans. Consider this an essential reading.
For an interesting video presentation about the limited types of information we receive, watch Eli Pariser's TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles?language=en