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Aleetzia Burns
Sociology 2000
Prof. Zachary Brewster
December1, 2015
Service Learning Journal: Techno poetics session (November 24, 2015)
Techno Poetics is a special project that is ran by the non-profit organization I am
volunteering with, the Inside Out Literary Arts Project. Originally, I attended the preliminary
workshop for Techno Poetics in August of this year. And I have been interning with the project
since the start of this semester. The background of Techno Poetics is that it was created in order
to pay homage to the genre of music known as Techno music.
What I learned throughout my participation with the project is that Techno was created in
the city of Detroit by young black people. The style originated here around the time of the crack
epidemic and its roots are found in a collaboration between the Detroit Motown music of the
sixties and the electronica music of the German band Kraftwerk. The young Detroiters were
inspired by the mechanical sounds of electronica music (specifically that of Kraftwerk) and
began to create a sound that is uniquely Detroit, referencing the industrial sounds of the then
closing factories of Detroit, and the soul of Motown that their parents generation passed down
through music.
Techno came about as young Detroit DJs answer to the problems they saw in society and
in the streets of Detroit. It was what they saw as their way of creating a future for Detroit where
people could escape the labels society has placed on them and dance together. This was the
inspiration behind Techno Poetics which is meant to function much like Jazz poetry only with
Techno and its creators at the forefront of conversation.
Part of my job as an intern is to attend meetings and workshops, because Techno poetics
is fairly new and I am to help develop the concept and assist in establishing a work plan, which
involves going into schools and facilitating workshops, as well as interviewing Detroiters,

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musicians, historians, and anybody else that wants to give the input on the subject of techno
music, or Detroit history from their point of view.
During the meeting I attended today, we listened to techno music and other electronic
inspired music. We listened to a local DJ named Sterling talk about his experiences with making
music in Detroit and the different aspects that make up of the Detroit sound. He talked about the
difference between radio personalities of the 20 th century and the politics that at are present now.
What I found interesting about this subject is that radio like the rest of societys media outlets
have been taken over and are therefore controlled by major companies, and these major
companies control get to make the decision of what society knows or doesnt know. The get to
say whose music gets played, why or why not, and what type of music gets played and therefore
becomes mainstream and popular. There are a plenty of music artists who music does not get
played, and this often times is not because of a lack of talent or following but because of the
decision of the affluent.
We also discussed the evolution of technology especially in the world of music. Where
DJs once had to spend hours making one sound, new aged music makers can download an audio
file or program and everything is at their fingertips. This has a profound effect on the sound and
overall effect of the music. The audience has changed as well. Because of the change in how
radio works, the way people interact with music has changed. It used to be besides some obvious
things that would be prohibited over the airwaves radio stations gave their personalities control
over what was played and those personalities played what they liked and often had a hand in
introducing new artists to the public. There is no longer that possibility and the radio like many
other media outlets have become biased, meant only to make the rich richer.
In class we discussed the global stratification and social class. We talked about the power
elite and how because America is a capitalistic society, the system is meant to have disparities in
order for it to function. The problem is that these disparities have continued to increase to

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disproportionate levels. The rich only get richer and the poor only get poorer. The based on what
I have learned about media and the music industry in general, this disproportion most likely will
not decrease anytime soon. At the same time Americans do not seem to be phased by the
differences and often times make the generalization that those who are poor of in poverty are
their due to their own personal failings such as laziness, drug use, bad budgeting, and so on. And
in the case of the rich and powerful, people attribute wealth with effort or ingenuity. This might
be true for a miniscule portion of society by but not all.
In lecture, there was a statement made about the rags to riches, Cinderella stories,
and pool-yourself-up-by-the-boots straps stories that highlight the American dream, and how
they are all a phenomenon in our society, and that, that is why they are worth mentioning. If
these stories were a regular occurrence they would not be worth mentioning in the way society
does, as if these instance are rare, and therefor special enough to inspire others to want to know
how to achieve the dream too. While being a part of techno poetics I have been empowered to
learn more about the world around me, and about the society I live in. I want to know what my
boundaries and road blocks in society are supposed to be. I want to see I if I should challenge
those boundaries attached to my ascribed status, and achieve beyond what society expects, or if I
should not waste my time fighting and just embrace the reality of my situation.
However, while I consider myself to be a practical person, I do not see myself excepting
anything as fact before have personally researched and sought the truth. Learning about the
sociological imagination has inspired me to not lean on the facts presented to me without finding
out if those are facts, or just well-known opinions regurgitated for my and anybody else who
would listens benefit. I wondered earlier, if after applying myself in all that I know how, should
I accept the reality of my situation. Disregarding the what society has deemed my ascribed
stigmas such as being born female, African-American, low-middle class, etc., I based of what I

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learned about reality I still have a choice to make, I have the last say about who I am and the
world I live in. Society will remain the same as human beings exist but my perception of how it
affects me a person and how I view my experiences in society is up to me.
After doing service learning, I can clearly see how society makes us who we are, and also
the importance of having a culture shock every now and again. It is important to understand you
surroundings because they are the things that influence you and educate you. Without even
questioning it I have developed expectations, another word for faith, that I am not proud of
inform my behavior and my interactions on a long term and everyday basis. At the same time I
have certain expectations of myself and life that I look forward to seeing manifest. Again my
only gage for what is good or bad is what society has taught me, but thats okay because, for me
having structure is good. I just do not want to be dictated by structure.
In the end just like the young DJs of Detroits past, I am seeking to find a last solution to
the problems I see on the outside, and knowing that if I truly want to understand something about
society I have to look at myself first. I am a product of society for the good or for the bad. This
much is true, but as long as there are examples like Inside Out, I will continue to believe that
there is hope society and me. Because for as many disparities and disproportionalities as
American society might have, because when the system has malfunctions or has an imbalance it
tends (to) naturally () correct itself, hints the non-profit organization like Inside Out who
arise to meet a need that society has.