CONTEXT OF PRACTICE

INVESTIGATING QUOTES 

This session, we were introduced to COP in more detail. We had a discussion regarding quotes from practitioners and articles.  

Notes taken during group discussion

In our small group, we chose a quote in relation to history which says: 'The history we read [...] though based on facts, is, strictly speaking, not factual at all, but a series of accepted judgements.' (Carr E. H. 1961. What is history? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

Findings

• We looked into certain terms such as 'facts' and 'accepted judgements'. We discussed what are facts, how can facts be defined/proven true and who makes these judgements? Though we came up with ideas such as authorities, power and how people judge based on morals

• We also covered issues such as censorship and media, despite being given 'facts' society isn't given full information (e.g Fox News and the Napalm girl photo banned from Facebook)

'The Napalm Girl'
Photographed by Nick Ut
Article link: http://time.com/4485344/napalm-girl-war-photo-facebook/

'Detention Centre'
Illustration by Kim Kwang-il

'Scale, Airplane, Motorcycle'
Illustration by Kim Kwang-il
Article Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2561992/Shocking-sketches-emerge-life-North-Koreas-gulags-showing-prisoners-resort-eating-mice-snakes-beaten-vomited-blood.html

Additional Thoughts

• When we were introduced to COP, I honestly think that it is a challenging module. There were a lot of things to consider when it comes to critical thinking and analysing. 

• I think that when it comes to researching and looking at supporting evidences, it is always good to balance out our reasoning with counter arguements. For instance, regarding the Napalm girl photo, the article showed Facebook's perception of 'protecting the community by removing'. To an extent, perhaps its a way of 'shielding' the audience, however I still disagree with the company banning the photo. Then again, it all links back to the issue of censorship and authorities.

• Whereas, from the North Korean prison camp illustrations, what I learned was that it is crucial to know the source of information. Also when it comes to art, it is essential to know whether it's the artists' representation of the situation or if it was based on real life experience. In this case, Kim Kwang-il had been in those prison camps for two years and deferred to South Korea

To wrap it off, I am looking forward to more COP sessions and discussions. It interests me how COP covers a wide range of topics from politics, history, society, the arts and more.