Fullam, Jordan. "Becoming a Youth Activist in the Internet Age: A Case Study on Social Media Activism and Identity Development." International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE) 30.4 (2017): 406-22. Web.
In this article, Fullam explains how social media can aid in mobilizing forces of change. It looks at the case of a student, Justin Rodriguez, and discusses how he used social media to organize a walkout to protest educational budget cuts. The source discusses and argues against the idea that social media is merely a catalyst for social change. They instead argue that it is a tool that allows people to spread their ideas and messages. They also discuss the development of identity around social media activism. This source relates to my research topic because it discusses how social media is used as a tool to mediate and aid in political advocacy and activism, which is often how the College Democrats use their social media pages. Some points of the article do not necessarily fit in with my research however. For one, the student Fullam discusses in the article is a high school student. Also, Fullam discusses how Rodriguez’s identity was shaped before the protest which caused him to be interested in doing it, and how it was shaped while organizing the protest by social media, peers, and adult mentors. One thing I found interesting about this text was the discussion of how social media can shape identity. Another interesting thing was the article’s discussion of how despite social media being a great tool for spreading information and change, it is still very important to have face-to-face bonds with mentors in order to create more “high-risk” activism as opposed to “low risk.”
Cooper, Jorryn, and Nathan Davis. “An Interview with College Democrats VP.” 4 July 2018.
In the interview, we discussed the basics of what the College Democrats do, their goals, how they carry these goals out, how they get involved with the community, and how they organize themselves. This source relates to my research topic because of course, I need to have an understanding of what the College Democrats are and how they function in order to discuss them. In some ways, it does not relate to my research topic because we didn’t go to in depth about how texts function within the College Democrats in our interview. I had a strong source because I was able to interview the Vice President, someone who has a really good understanding of the organization and has been involved for a while. Ii got more information about the voter registration booths that the College Dems often hold, and more information about the ways they are trying to get more involved in the overall Tallahassee community.
“FSU College Democrats Condemn Trump's Family Separation Policy.” FSU College Democrats, 30 June 2018, www.facebook.com/FSUDems/photos/pb.138574719515661.-2207520000.1531720166./1908661852506930/?type=3&theater.
In this texts, the College Democrats give a brief overview of President Trump’s separation policy, their reaction, and a way people can speak up against it. I chose this particular text because it’s a good example of the way texts function within the Democrats, and the way they use them to help enact change. However, it doesn’t give the entire scope of what the Dems use their social media for. This definitely relates to my first source, because it’s a real life example of how social media is used as a tool to discuss and organize. This source comes directly from the FSU Dems themselves. One potential problem that could arise from this source is that of course it’s a little biased, but that’s a given due to it being from a group organized around being Democrats.