Art and Science of Interpretation

I think what was discussed in class today is a perfect example of why it is important for us to talk about the art and science of interpretation. Today we briefly discussed how many people who vote for or against things such as health care, do so while being partly or completely ignorant to it's benefits/detriments. They do so with only the contentions they hear from media such as Foxnews or MSNBC.

As stated by Max VanManen in the syllabus, research which has critical theory, thrusts aims at promoting critical consciousness and struggles to breakdown institutional structures which reproduce oppressive ideologies. Learning about the art and sciences of interpretation and cultural studies can help us distinguish these institutions that produce these oppressive ideologies (i.e. Foxnews, MSNBC). These institutions produce their own one-sided beliefs and are not focused on the people who already agree but the people who are critically unconscious and cannot think and analyze things themselves.

Critical theory and Cultural Studies will not help us know what is wrong or right. They will simply help us emancipate our minds from the oppressive ideologies fed to us by the media by teaching us to expand our minds, rationally analyze everything and think for ourselves.