Exercise 1: Self-concepts revealed

In the past, people could be relatively hidden from each other. Today, electronic communication provides a "visibility" never before possible. E-mail messages written in haste may tell you a great deal about another person's temperament and even his or her ability to spell! Moreover, web sites and homepages reveal a great deal about our self-concepts.

Find homepages for some of your professors (at least three and from different disciplines) and analyze what they bring to light. What is most important to each of the professors? What do they value? What is missing from their homepages? Are the differences you find on the homepages consistent with the differences you perceive in your face-to-face interactions with these professors?

Exercise 2: Dressing the part

We might say that we are what we wear. Many people love to wear costumes on Halloween and to house parties. To support our interest in costume wearing, several websites are dedicated to the sale of costumes. For example, www.buycostumes.com has a wide selection of adults' and children's costumes. Children are offered categories that include Batman, X-Men, Power Rangers, Digimon, and the Barbie Corner. Examine this website to determine if the costumes available encourage stereotypical masculine or feminine behavior. Explain how they do or do not encourage stereotypes.

Go online and determine if you can find nonsexist costumes for children and/or adults. Share these websites with your classmates.