Well, this is the last post for my blog.
The thing is, I don't know if I'm ready to stop blogging altogether. I know I'm done blogging about identity, I know that for sure, but I've enjoyed having a place to write things where it feels like people might actually read them.
A friend of mine suggested that I start a pop-culture blog, because I have such weird and obscure taste in movies and television. So maybe I'll do that.
As far as the blogging assignment for this class, I think it was a success. I think it was really cool to journal for an English class, and to not feel like I'm just writing for the teacher. Getting your thoughts out so that everyone in the class can read them, heck, everyone on the internet who is so inclined.
SO thanks for reading, any of you who stuck with it!
Auf Wiedersehen!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
A look back on English 225
So, this, my second to last post, I shall devote to taking a look back at the semester of English 225.
Likes:
-Surprisingly, I liked working with one topic for the entire semester
-I loved my peer editing group, who put up with my ridiculousness all semester
-I liked our instructor, who really wanted us to care about the subject matter
Things I would have changed:
-I wished I had understood more about the whole scope of the project before choosing a topic. If I'd maybe seen a syllabus that outlined specifically what the steps from Inquiry-Convincing-Persuade and how the topic changes along the way, it would have been easier
-At the beginning we tried to learn about the subject of Identity at the exact same time as we learned about the format of argumentative writing. I got confused and felt overwhelmed, I think it would have been better to do them separately.
It was a really interesting class to say the least, and it was my last non-theatre class at the University of Michigan, so that's pretty cool.
Likes:
-Surprisingly, I liked working with one topic for the entire semester
-I loved my peer editing group, who put up with my ridiculousness all semester
-I liked our instructor, who really wanted us to care about the subject matter
Things I would have changed:
-I wished I had understood more about the whole scope of the project before choosing a topic. If I'd maybe seen a syllabus that outlined specifically what the steps from Inquiry-Convincing-Persuade and how the topic changes along the way, it would have been easier
-At the beginning we tried to learn about the subject of Identity at the exact same time as we learned about the format of argumentative writing. I got confused and felt overwhelmed, I think it would have been better to do them separately.
It was a really interesting class to say the least, and it was my last non-theatre class at the University of Michigan, so that's pretty cool.
I ran out of witty titles a few weeks ago
I've been sick a few times this semester, more often than in years past. Here's why.
I used to have this theory that if you're always a little bit sick, you never get really sick. You can snuffle through an entire semester and never miss class, and after a while you don't even really notice that you're sick. I lived this way from the middle of my junior year of high school til the end of first semester my junior year. It worked like a charm, I almost never was too ill to go to class.
Then Germany happened. I started eating healthy, walking up and down mountains, and sleeping 9-10 hours a night. I finally discovered the drawback to my brilliant plan. I really like being healthy.
This is fine, if you have time to be healthy, which I no longer do. After my first week of all-nighters I was screwed. I got sick and I couldn't get healthy again.
The other thing I've noticed, is that when a person is sick, they fantasize about being well, but when people are well, they don't take full advantage of their health. For instance, on an average unclogged day, most people don't walk around enjoying smells to the best of their ability. If something smells particularly good, they notice it and that's it. But when a person can't smell anything, all they can think about is how wonderful it would be to smell again.
Basically we take our health for granted, and instead of just dreaming of what we could do if we were healthy, we should start taking full advantage of our healthy while we have it.
I used to have this theory that if you're always a little bit sick, you never get really sick. You can snuffle through an entire semester and never miss class, and after a while you don't even really notice that you're sick. I lived this way from the middle of my junior year of high school til the end of first semester my junior year. It worked like a charm, I almost never was too ill to go to class.
Then Germany happened. I started eating healthy, walking up and down mountains, and sleeping 9-10 hours a night. I finally discovered the drawback to my brilliant plan. I really like being healthy.
This is fine, if you have time to be healthy, which I no longer do. After my first week of all-nighters I was screwed. I got sick and I couldn't get healthy again.
The other thing I've noticed, is that when a person is sick, they fantasize about being well, but when people are well, they don't take full advantage of their health. For instance, on an average unclogged day, most people don't walk around enjoying smells to the best of their ability. If something smells particularly good, they notice it and that's it. But when a person can't smell anything, all they can think about is how wonderful it would be to smell again.
Basically we take our health for granted, and instead of just dreaming of what we could do if we were healthy, we should start taking full advantage of our healthy while we have it.
Presentation Sensation
For our English class, we had to further our topics by making a persuasive presentation that, well, persuades our audience to take action about our topic.
I had a lot of fun making mine. I did a satire of a newscast, because my intended audience is the general public, specifically those who have children or spend time with children. I chose satire because even though it was supposed to be the general public, I wanted my classmates to be able to enjoy it, which I don't think they would have if it were just a straightforward newscast.
Even more fun than making my project was getting to see the projects of everyone else in my class. Brett talks about how smart we are, which is fine, but to actually see it is really cool. It was really cool to see what exactly interests people in the class and the things that they want to change about the world.
That's the thing about the persuasion assignment, is that you're trying to change something in the world, which is a pretty big task. It's really cool to see what people would change if they could. A lot of people chose topics that they are actually taking part in already, which was really cool to see.
All in all, the persuasion assignment was my favorite for this term in our English class. When pathos gets involved, it's interesting to see what is important to people.
I had a lot of fun making mine. I did a satire of a newscast, because my intended audience is the general public, specifically those who have children or spend time with children. I chose satire because even though it was supposed to be the general public, I wanted my classmates to be able to enjoy it, which I don't think they would have if it were just a straightforward newscast.
Even more fun than making my project was getting to see the projects of everyone else in my class. Brett talks about how smart we are, which is fine, but to actually see it is really cool. It was really cool to see what exactly interests people in the class and the things that they want to change about the world.
That's the thing about the persuasion assignment, is that you're trying to change something in the world, which is a pretty big task. It's really cool to see what people would change if they could. A lot of people chose topics that they are actually taking part in already, which was really cool to see.
All in all, the persuasion assignment was my favorite for this term in our English class. When pathos gets involved, it's interesting to see what is important to people.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The most wonderful time of the year... right?
Sometimes I think that the reason most holidays happen in the winter is because whoever planned the calendar wanted to make sure that we all don't kill each other or ourselves.
The only reason I believe in seasonal depression is because it explains the way I feel in winter.
It's a little weird, because
a) I love snow
b) I love the smell of snow
c) I love snuggling up in a warm blanket when it's cold outside
d) I love getting time off from school
e) I love seeing holiday decorations
See, I love all of these things, but I still hate winter. To me this means that there is some added factor, aka seasonal depression, that's working its mean little magic on me. Winter is when items a through e happen, and still, I'm unhappy.
Thinking about seasonal depression has lead me to believe that there are three types of people who endure winters in the midwest
1) The people who gush and squeal and listen to Christmas carols before Thanksgiving who are so obsessed with the holidays, that they don't care that it's winter and winter is miserable.
2) The scrooge-like people who admit to hating the holidays, hating the winter, basically just hating everything
3) Then there are the people like me, who don't usually admit that we hate winter. Maybe I just don't enjoy the holidays like I did when I was younger, but I rarely admit it, because I don't want to be mistaken for a "2". "2"s hate everything, I just hate the holiday season.
The only reason I believe in seasonal depression is because it explains the way I feel in winter.
It's a little weird, because
a) I love snow
b) I love the smell of snow
c) I love snuggling up in a warm blanket when it's cold outside
d) I love getting time off from school
e) I love seeing holiday decorations
See, I love all of these things, but I still hate winter. To me this means that there is some added factor, aka seasonal depression, that's working its mean little magic on me. Winter is when items a through e happen, and still, I'm unhappy.
Thinking about seasonal depression has lead me to believe that there are three types of people who endure winters in the midwest
1) The people who gush and squeal and listen to Christmas carols before Thanksgiving who are so obsessed with the holidays, that they don't care that it's winter and winter is miserable.
2) The scrooge-like people who admit to hating the holidays, hating the winter, basically just hating everything
3) Then there are the people like me, who don't usually admit that we hate winter. Maybe I just don't enjoy the holidays like I did when I was younger, but I rarely admit it, because I don't want to be mistaken for a "2". "2"s hate everything, I just hate the holiday season.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
I'm too fast for Swine Flu
Apparently I'm feeling very tech-savvy this week, what with TWO videos on my blog. This one just feels like it really applies to our topic of persuasion.
Let's break it down:
The Video:
The Action we're being persuaded to take: Get a swine flu shot
The Reasons: -It is easily spread -It can kill -It can effect you even if you don't normally get sick.
The Tactic: Pathos. The video is trying to scare people into getting swine flu shots in order to prevent an epidemic. The scary background music, the use of the elderly and children getting ill, even the oddly cheerful-sounding narrator, all make this video scary and would make people feel like they ought to get a shot.
Also, I just think it's kind of funny. My two favorite parts are "Joe brought it home from the office and gave it to Betty, and one of his kids". Why not the other kid? That's bittersweet! On one hand you don't have swine flu, but on the other hand your dad doesn't love you enough to give it to you. My other favorite part: "In California, Betty's mother gave it to her best friend Dotty, but Dotty had a heart condition and she died". I just like this part because of how happy the narrator is that Dotty kicked the bucket. I imagine in the time it was made this video was pretty effective.
Let's break it down:
The Video:
The Action we're being persuaded to take: Get a swine flu shot
The Reasons: -It is easily spread -It can kill -It can effect you even if you don't normally get sick.
The Tactic: Pathos. The video is trying to scare people into getting swine flu shots in order to prevent an epidemic. The scary background music, the use of the elderly and children getting ill, even the oddly cheerful-sounding narrator, all make this video scary and would make people feel like they ought to get a shot.
Also, I just think it's kind of funny. My two favorite parts are "Joe brought it home from the office and gave it to Betty, and one of his kids". Why not the other kid? That's bittersweet! On one hand you don't have swine flu, but on the other hand your dad doesn't love you enough to give it to you. My other favorite part: "In California, Betty's mother gave it to her best friend Dotty, but Dotty had a heart condition and she died". I just like this part because of how happy the narrator is that Dotty kicked the bucket. I imagine in the time it was made this video was pretty effective.
Actually, He's a Boy
As some of you know, the topic that I've chosen for class is men and women in nontraditional careers. (Nontraditional careers meaning careers in which less than 25% of the people employed are of one gender) Our next assignment is to persuade our audience that they should get involved and take action regarding our topic.
Our instructor showed me this video from the Onion News Network, a website that satirizes news programs. The video is about choosing masculine costumes for effeminate boys on Halloween.
It's hysterical. What this video does is take stereotypes to an extreme in order to show how ridiculous they are. Believe it or not, there are parents out there who try to force their children to conform to gender stereotypes, not allowing girls to play sports or get dirty, or allowing boys to join ballet or participate in the arts. This video is basically saying "Do this to your kids" while actually saying "Don't do this to your kids".
I'm hoping if you've read this far, you've watched the link from above, but if not, it basically chooses super-masculine costumes for effeminate boys, examples being soldiers, robots, a bear (with a giant head to "muffle his lisp") It uses stereotyping descriptors like "giggly" "lady-boy" and "faggy-acting". To anyone with a sense of humor, it's pretty harmless, and since the Onion's audience (see I can use ideas from class in my blog) is basically the same audience as The Daily Show and Colbert Report, i.e. politically-minded people generally on the liberal side of the spectrum, it is assumed that the audience agrees that forcing your children into gender-roles is silly and ultimately harmful.
If you still haven't watched the video, watch it now.
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