Hi everyone,

I want to keep the playlist assignment but I’m going to remove all restrictions about what you can put on there. If you want to make something that helps you deal with what you’ve had to deal with this quarter, then do so. I can be from any style, any genre, any time period. I would ask that you do make it personal and include a 3-5 sentence annotation along with your 25 song selection.

Keep the format the same as described before –

The number on the list (1-25) Song title – (in quotes) Artist name (regular text)

Album, if applicable (in italics) Year of release (+/- a year or so if you can find it)

3-5 sentences annotating why you picked that song.

Some of you have asked about how to deal with profanity or sensitive language like racial slurs should it appear in the song title or elsewhere. I am not going to specify any “correct” way to do this. You can 1) spell out words completely 2) use alternate spellings that are filled in with different characters (i.e. F**k) 3) you can change words to a word you feel more comfortable with that appear in edited forms (i.e. “Forget the Police” – though this doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, though)

Here is the one thing you should do – disclose at the beginning of your playlist and be upfront about your choices and why you made them. It can be a simple statement such as “The names of the songs in the following list appear as they do in the song titles” or “I have chosen to alter the song titles (or albums names) because I am not comfortable with typing this information.” Something like that.

Each one of us has different experiences with profanity and slurs but the important thing is to know 1) what that comfort level is 2) where you stand in relation to it (your position) and 3) what that position is in relation to social situations/society. This is not a green light to start using this language in your everyday speech – maybe you already do that – but more of an exercise to consider the 3 points from the previous sentence. While not required, perhaps you can discuss some of these positions in your 3-5 sentence description and explain what decisions you made during the process and how it has affected you and your thought process. For instance “As a ______________ (self description of identity) in ____________ (a particular social circle or society), I realize my position and relationship to ___________ (language in question – either explicit or edited version) is ______________ (how you perceive this relationship based on your social position and it’s relation to others).”