Uptake Post 2

     In my previous blog post, I talked about uptake, what it is, and how it applies to my life. Today I am talking about CHAT. Now, what exactly *is* CHAT? The formal definition of CHAT is: Cultural-Historical Activity Theory. What does this mean entirely? 

Let's break it down.

 Activity theory part of CHAT is the idea that many things must come together in order to fulfill a specific objective. 

The cultural-historical part of CHAT is basically the fact that the resources we use to fulfill said objectives are reflective of our cultural values at a given time in history. For example, lets say I decided to eat ramen for lunch. I decided this because, at this time in history, it is a quick and cheap meal, it is not a scarce resource in our society, it is easy to come by, and it doesn't require much thought in order to make it. All of these reasons are affected by my cultural values and environment and therefore affect my end "product."

This part of CHAT is something that makes perfect sense to me. Of course many things go into making an end product. Its nearly impossible for an end product to be produced and perfected without the involvement of multiple different factors. 

    However, the specifications tend to confuse me a little bit. The process of CHAT is broken up into seven different sub-concepts. These concepts consist of production, distribution, reception, representation, ecology, activity, and socialization. Why is it broken up this way? I feel like it overcomplicates the process of creation. It honestly is a little exhausting thinking about ALL the factors that go into an end product. It makes you think about processes you wouldn't normally consider.

I honestly have no idea how I am going to end up using CHAT in this class yet, but I'm sure as I develop in my uptake journey, I will find many ways to apply this to my learning as an ever-changing writer.