32 pages., via online journal., Following the March 2017 wildfire devastation in Texas, Oklahoma, and
Kansas, local chapters of the National FFA Organization actively engaged
on social media to advocate for public response to the crisis. Twenty-three
public Facebook posts from FFA chapters and affiliates demonstrate members’
engagement with agricultural issues in the United States, disrupting the
generalization that young adults are disconnected from civic affairs.
However, while Facebook served as an important platform for members’
ag-vocacy in the wake of the crisis, FFA chapter posts contain embedded
traditional rural literacies, which are reflected in members’ collective
identification with existing supporters of agricultural communities. While
FFA chapters had the potential to advocate to a broad readership, the
posts reveal the chapters’ way of reading the crisis and writing a response
to it with an insular narrative. As a result, Facebook posts that target
only limited audiences and/or appeal to readers with exclusionary collective
identification result in the failure of entities, such as local FFA chapters,
to capitalize on Facebook’s full potential as an advocacy tool to inform and
engage large public audiences.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D11984
Journal Title Details:
Weekly Edition
Notes:
20 Pgs., Named essential workers, the country’s small farmers, ranchers and farmworkers are coping with the pandemic without a corporate safety net, persevering through shutdowns, slowdowns and supply-chain meltdowns.
12 pages, Canning and home demonstration clubs played an important role in improving agriculture and home life shortly after the turn of the 20th century. Organized in local communities, these clubs for young girls and their mothers provided the opportunity for females to engage in experiential learning through the growth and canning of vegetables. Club work and activities allowed the involved individuals to learn important home life concepts including incorporating more nutritious meals, record keeping, maintaining the family garden, and other duties surrounding the home. In addition, clubs promoted cooperation among various groups, fostered friendships, and provided entrepreneurial opportunities for farm women. Movements such as these increased the demand for agricultural and extension education and many of the strategies developed through these clubs can be implemented in both formal and non-formal education today.
Online via UI subscription. 10 pages., How libraries are teaming up with journalists to promote media literacy, spur civic engagement, and even take on reporting projects
6pgs, Valerie Horn works with several community action groups in Whitesburg, Kentucky. The state’s recent flooding has made these organizations even more vital to the community.
