Throughout the semester, there have been many lessons learned through the English 328: Writing, Style and Technology course at Eastern Michigan University. The course was not set up as a traditional English class, meaning it was not limited to writing umpteen-million standard, five-paragraph essays on subjects that hardly varied. Instead, Professor Cassidy’s class was directly less on ingraining form into the students’ minds and more on how to write an affective paper. We looked at previous student papers on each of the subjects/projects that we were covering. These included assignments such as: Investigating Print and Online Journals, Analyzing a Text, The YouTube Project and Analyzing Issues and Informing Audiences. We were also responsible for reading articles that would prompt and stimulate discussion previous to or in conjunction with each project. English 328 was a truly effective course that taught and examined strategies for composing and assessing works, as well as structuring language.
As a class we learned to approach the composing process in several ways based on the actual writing at hand. For example, when we were required to write our Investigating Print and Online Journals paper we learned to read and discuss extremely studious material. We had to take heavy material and talk about the information offered in a serious tone in a very straight forward formatted essay. We also had to write an annotated bibliography page. But, when we moved to different subjects, particularly our Analyzing Issues and Informing Audiences project, we were taught to approach the writing process in a totally different way. To Analyze Issues and Inform Audiences we were pushed to talk about the subject in a much more informal way. First and second person narratives were encouraged and formatting and/or media were up for our choosing. We were also responsible for writing blogs, in which we yet again were forced to compose in a different way and for a different format.
The way in which we structured our language in each writing style also became significant. In other words, we learned to write in different ways in order to best approach the multitude of subjects at hand. Our YouTube project was a good example of practicing our language options. As we wrote our papers discussing the devices the video creators used, we were able to draw on the skills we learned in our Analyzing a Text paper and apply them to the new medium we were discussing. But, as we moved into the presentation part of the YouTube project, we were then forced to look at the same material in a different way. We had to then change and truncate our language choices from our papers, combine them with our partner’s, and figure out a way to present them to the audience within the given time frame.
The final function we really enhanced our skills in during English 328 was our assessment of texts. We looked over previous student papers and discussed them as a class, trying to learn to spot the things that worked or did not work in favor of the paper. We had to think about the audience that each paper was written for, and attempted to analyze whether or not the author had done a decent job explaining their subject for the appropriate audience. Sometimes the easiest way to do this was to simply play dumb, or more accurately, play ignorant, and act as though we did not understand anything unless it was clearly spelled out in each paper. We also participated in peer review days for most of our works in this class. When we participated in these reviews, we were able to work one-on-one with another student in the class and talk about our papers, what was working, what was unclear and what needed polishing in order to be final draft worthy. This gave us each a glimpse into the eyes of how an unrelated party would really view our essays, and was really helpful in that it allowed us to see where we were glazing over or avoiding details in what we were saying.
Composing, structuring and assessing are all valuable skills that were strengthened along the course of English 328. By looking at others works as well as our own, we were able to learn to be objective. By writing for different formats, from annotated bibliographies to free form informing projects, and by discussing so varied information, from professional journals to YouTube videos, we were able to learn to approach a variable subject in the most applicable way. These sorts of problem solving activities in the writing realm really helped to prepare for the real world of English.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Final project... final project... final project...
Since I seem to be on a roll, I guess I will write another post. Our last project has sort of left me stumped so far. I love that there is so much creativity open to its actual form (that is RIGHT up my alley), but choosing a topic has me a bit stuck.
My major is English Language, Literature and Writing (no teaching certification) and I am minoring in Historic Preservation, so I assume both of these realms would be fair game. What I really want to do with this degree is go into book editing, and I have already started editing on a smaller scale at The Eastern Echo... With that in mind, I am leaning toward doing something English and editing related, but I still don't know what to talk about or what format to use.
I could do something related to some of my pet peeves... The proper usage of "your" and "you're" or "there" and "their," or the difference between "may" and "might." ... I could also do something punctuation related, like how to use a comma, or how to use a semicolon. But none of these seem particularly inspiring at the moment.
So far, I'm leaning toward the semicolon. The rest, we will all have to see what I come up with. :)
My major is English Language, Literature and Writing (no teaching certification) and I am minoring in Historic Preservation, so I assume both of these realms would be fair game. What I really want to do with this degree is go into book editing, and I have already started editing on a smaller scale at The Eastern Echo... With that in mind, I am leaning toward doing something English and editing related, but I still don't know what to talk about or what format to use.
I could do something related to some of my pet peeves... The proper usage of "your" and "you're" or "there" and "their," or the difference between "may" and "might." ... I could also do something punctuation related, like how to use a comma, or how to use a semicolon. But none of these seem particularly inspiring at the moment.
So far, I'm leaning toward the semicolon. The rest, we will all have to see what I come up with. :)
Empowerment of the Nerds?
The other text we covered today in class, "The Face of Facebook," also felt like an unfinished conversation... But, like my last rant, maybe it is simply because I have a slightly interesting perspective on the subject matter.
I really found our conversation on the article's picture, and it's possible significance, interesting, as well as the discussion about privacy.
As I started to say in class, I think the picture helps add some situational irony that directly correlates with Zuckerberg's reality. In the picture, something we would all like to associate with a facebook profile picture, he is looking away from the camera. I can't help but draw the parallel between that and Zuckerberg's claiming that he wants to make the world a much more open place, while he himself is actually an extremely private person.
Now, for more random context of my life so I can explain my viewpoint...
My previous relationship, was long-distance. I met my ex online, and we dated for about a year and a half while I lived in Michigan and she lived in California. She came here to visit, and I went out there to meet her family as well. Eventually, at the beginning of last school year, she moved to Michigan and now goes to school at Eastern too. So our relationship went from the long-distance, with it's start over the internet, to the in-person relationship most consider standard. One of my absolute best friends, I also met online.
Somewhat comparing myself to Zuckerberg, I also tend to be introverted around people I don't know. But, for me and I know for several other people I have talked to on the subject, it is different online. There is a certain level of confidence that comes from sitting behind a computer screen. Part of it is probably the ease of which you can test identities, and part is probably the ease of which you can leave if something goes over badly... This is seen a lot on facebook. Not only do we see people deciding how to create themselves via their profiles, but we also see people creating connections, getting to know people they otherwise wouldn't get to know because of the way facebook opens information and communication.
So, I guess what I am trying to get at refers back to my title of this post... I feel like Zuckerberg's attempt at making an open world is really geared toward empowering the nerdy, introverted-type people that he relates with. He isn't necessarily aiming to open EVERYTHING in a person's life, because he obviously understands and appreciates the idea of privacy for himself. Instead, I think he is more trying to open up certain points of people's lives. Opening up their interests, their thoughts, their likes and dislikes... in order to make it easier for people to locate and connect with others that they might not otherwise interact with. You might not give someone a chance if you see them on a bad day and they look like crap, but, in cyberspace, seeing them on facebook through the lens that they create for themselves (their pictures of them in the best lighting, on their good days, their interests highlighting their assumed better side rather than admitting guilty pleasures, etc.) helps open doors and possibilities that otherwise would probably remain shut through normal conventions.
I really found our conversation on the article's picture, and it's possible significance, interesting, as well as the discussion about privacy.
As I started to say in class, I think the picture helps add some situational irony that directly correlates with Zuckerberg's reality. In the picture, something we would all like to associate with a facebook profile picture, he is looking away from the camera. I can't help but draw the parallel between that and Zuckerberg's claiming that he wants to make the world a much more open place, while he himself is actually an extremely private person.
Now, for more random context of my life so I can explain my viewpoint...
My previous relationship, was long-distance. I met my ex online, and we dated for about a year and a half while I lived in Michigan and she lived in California. She came here to visit, and I went out there to meet her family as well. Eventually, at the beginning of last school year, she moved to Michigan and now goes to school at Eastern too. So our relationship went from the long-distance, with it's start over the internet, to the in-person relationship most consider standard. One of my absolute best friends, I also met online.
Somewhat comparing myself to Zuckerberg, I also tend to be introverted around people I don't know. But, for me and I know for several other people I have talked to on the subject, it is different online. There is a certain level of confidence that comes from sitting behind a computer screen. Part of it is probably the ease of which you can test identities, and part is probably the ease of which you can leave if something goes over badly... This is seen a lot on facebook. Not only do we see people deciding how to create themselves via their profiles, but we also see people creating connections, getting to know people they otherwise wouldn't get to know because of the way facebook opens information and communication.
So, I guess what I am trying to get at refers back to my title of this post... I feel like Zuckerberg's attempt at making an open world is really geared toward empowering the nerdy, introverted-type people that he relates with. He isn't necessarily aiming to open EVERYTHING in a person's life, because he obviously understands and appreciates the idea of privacy for himself. Instead, I think he is more trying to open up certain points of people's lives. Opening up their interests, their thoughts, their likes and dislikes... in order to make it easier for people to locate and connect with others that they might not otherwise interact with. You might not give someone a chance if you see them on a bad day and they look like crap, but, in cyberspace, seeing them on facebook through the lens that they create for themselves (their pictures of them in the best lighting, on their good days, their interests highlighting their assumed better side rather than admitting guilty pleasures, etc.) helps open doors and possibilities that otherwise would probably remain shut through normal conventions.
"What is Poverty?"
I was really enjoying the discussion we were getting into about the essay "What is Poverty?" in class tonight, and thought it'd be a great topic to really expand on. In particular, we ended the discussion mostly talking about the imagery of the essay and how it causes the distance between the reader's position and the author's depiction of poverty to be removed. That feeling of suddenly being forcibly placed into the situation I believe is what makes this text effective.
The last point we were about to discuss (but was tragically cut short) was the assumption that poverty is an urban problem, when in fact poverty is extremely rural in the United States. This essay really got to me, because though I have never had to experience this extreme, I can relate it to my life.
I'm from a small town in northern Michigan, the kind of town where everyone knows everyone and there are more churches than there are businesses. My family moved there from Grand Rapids in 2000 after my mom lost her job after sixteen years and my dad decided to quit the job he was at because of the restrictions it was causing on his family time. We moved from a two-story, two-bedroom house in a decent neighborhood in Grand Rapids, to a trailer in a town that doesn't even have a stop light.
Our family got back on our feet, and since Dad has bought a house, but since I have been at school trouble has run a muck again... The hotel my mother worked for was put under new management, and being a higher-paid employee, she was let go. She was put on unemployment -- that system is a mess. If you miss your window of opportunity to submit your information, you have to wait over a week for another chance. She then got a part-time job, but was working and earning so little she remained on under-employment.
During this time period, her car died. She was without any transportation for over four months. She had to rely on the kindness of her friends to simply get to and from work or to get groceries because the few hours she did work were the times when my Dad's vehicle would have been available. Having to beg to get to a job where you are barely earning enough to keep the electricity and phones on was remarkably demeaning... And that was with friends.
My Mother also found out about a program, through the government, that assisted people in getting cars. It sounded like a great idea, you give them your information and if you qualify they can give up to $2,000 in assistance. That won't buy you a nice pretty car, but it was more than my Mom could ever imagine saving up in her current situation. Her case worker, after having the paperwork completely filled out for over two months, ignoring my Mother's phone calls, tells her out of the blue that she didn't qualify because she didn't qualify for food stamps -- a program she had only been off for about a month.
There was a lot of other stuff that has happened, but I digress. I will never understand why our government's focus is not on helping those in need, but maybe I'm just a philanthropist at heart. I will also never see how food assistance applicability has anything to do with being applicable for help with a vehicle (considering the two costs, one on a week-to-week basis and the other a large lump sum), but maybe I'm too simple minded to understand.
All of this, I am unsure of. But one thing I am completely aware of, is that many of my neighbors were going through the same thing, if not worse. After all, it's a small town and everyone knows everyone else's business. Almost everyone in our little speck of the globe, almost everyone in this town that most people haven't heard of nor will ever look for on a map, are struggling. Living in Ypsi, it is a completely different deal. Yea, there are some extreme cases and there are homeless people on the streets with signs... Yea, there are surely people that are getting government assistance to live their lives... But as far as true poverty goes, there are way too many people living in the periphery that go unnoticed. Too many people that live in the middle of nowhere, and if it wasn't for their friend's couch, they'd be dead. People who live where there are no busy intersections to beg at, no choices but to wait and rely on their community... Yes, there is poverty in the cities, but I would definitely say that poverty is a rural problem.
The last point we were about to discuss (but was tragically cut short) was the assumption that poverty is an urban problem, when in fact poverty is extremely rural in the United States. This essay really got to me, because though I have never had to experience this extreme, I can relate it to my life.
I'm from a small town in northern Michigan, the kind of town where everyone knows everyone and there are more churches than there are businesses. My family moved there from Grand Rapids in 2000 after my mom lost her job after sixteen years and my dad decided to quit the job he was at because of the restrictions it was causing on his family time. We moved from a two-story, two-bedroom house in a decent neighborhood in Grand Rapids, to a trailer in a town that doesn't even have a stop light.
Our family got back on our feet, and since Dad has bought a house, but since I have been at school trouble has run a muck again... The hotel my mother worked for was put under new management, and being a higher-paid employee, she was let go. She was put on unemployment -- that system is a mess. If you miss your window of opportunity to submit your information, you have to wait over a week for another chance. She then got a part-time job, but was working and earning so little she remained on under-employment.
During this time period, her car died. She was without any transportation for over four months. She had to rely on the kindness of her friends to simply get to and from work or to get groceries because the few hours she did work were the times when my Dad's vehicle would have been available. Having to beg to get to a job where you are barely earning enough to keep the electricity and phones on was remarkably demeaning... And that was with friends.
My Mother also found out about a program, through the government, that assisted people in getting cars. It sounded like a great idea, you give them your information and if you qualify they can give up to $2,000 in assistance. That won't buy you a nice pretty car, but it was more than my Mom could ever imagine saving up in her current situation. Her case worker, after having the paperwork completely filled out for over two months, ignoring my Mother's phone calls, tells her out of the blue that she didn't qualify because she didn't qualify for food stamps -- a program she had only been off for about a month.
There was a lot of other stuff that has happened, but I digress. I will never understand why our government's focus is not on helping those in need, but maybe I'm just a philanthropist at heart. I will also never see how food assistance applicability has anything to do with being applicable for help with a vehicle (considering the two costs, one on a week-to-week basis and the other a large lump sum), but maybe I'm too simple minded to understand.
All of this, I am unsure of. But one thing I am completely aware of, is that many of my neighbors were going through the same thing, if not worse. After all, it's a small town and everyone knows everyone else's business. Almost everyone in our little speck of the globe, almost everyone in this town that most people haven't heard of nor will ever look for on a map, are struggling. Living in Ypsi, it is a completely different deal. Yea, there are some extreme cases and there are homeless people on the streets with signs... Yea, there are surely people that are getting government assistance to live their lives... But as far as true poverty goes, there are way too many people living in the periphery that go unnoticed. Too many people that live in the middle of nowhere, and if it wasn't for their friend's couch, they'd be dead. People who live where there are no busy intersections to beg at, no choices but to wait and rely on their community... Yes, there is poverty in the cities, but I would definitely say that poverty is a rural problem.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
"A Modest Proposal"
Throughout my writing career, my absolute, without-a-doubt favorite assignment I ever had to do was writing a satire. What I wrote was the piece of writing I would say I am most proud of, not because of the advanced level at which it was written (I did, after all, write it during my junior or senior year of high school) but because I was able to write about something I was passionate about, and was able to use my own sense of humor and wit to compile the text. Because I will never forget this writing assignment, I will also never forget the piece that first introduced me to the genre, “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift. If you have not read this piece, it is truly a classic and I highly recommend it.
Swift uses several literary devices in order to portray his message, the most obvious being his combinations of understatements, hyperboles and tone. It is also important to note that the entire piece, since it is a satire, can also be considered a parody of a true proposal, but I digress.
Swift uses many understatements, such as, “I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection,” (page 2). The point of this understatement is really to play into the satire, to come across as if he honestly believes his proposal has merit and should be considered for the good of the people when, in reality, he is using his outrageous proposal to comment on society’s treatment of his subject: the poor. These kinds of understatements work well with Swift’s clinical tone to do what he really wants, to make people of higher class reconsider their attitude toward the poor by using an exaggerated example of the indifference they have.
The entire piece is an exaggeration, a hyperbole, and it is important for the audience to pick up on this so they are not as easily offended by the material. A specific example of hyperbole within the text falls on page 4 where Swift says,
“Then as to the females, it would, I think, with humble submission, be a loss to the publick, because they soon would become breeders themselves: And besides, it is not improbable that some scrupulous people might be apt to censure such a practice, (although indeed very unjustly) as a little bordering upon cruelty, which, I confess, hath always been with me the strongest objection against any project, how well soever intended.”
Murdering children for food and ladies gloves is beyond “a little bordering upon cruelty,” as is the rest of Swift’s suggestions, and as such Swift runs the risk of offending the masses with this proposal; but, as this text is meant to be political and social commentary, being so obtrusive could inspire more attention to the topic than kind, traditional literature that would be easily ignored. So by offending with his use of hyperboles, Swift is actually adding a level of significance to his writing by making it more “in your face.”
Another common device that occurs in “A Modest Proposal” is defamiliarization. This device is used in reference to the children who are unable to be supported by their parents. For example, on page 2, Swift says,
“I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricasie, or a ragoust.”
He later continues, “butchers we may be assured will not be wanting; although I rather recommend buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife, as we do roasting pigs.”
By making the subject, children, sound defamiliarized and comparable to “sheep, black cattle, or swine,” (page 3) Swift adds to his clinical tone, making the overall piece sound as if it could be logical until the audience remembers what he is actually saying.
Overall, Swift is rather successful at portraying what he is trying to say to his audience IF they catch on the sarcastic undertone of the text. If this undertone is missed, or if his clinical tone is taken as serious, the text will fail to do anything other than enrage citizens against Swift. He is riding a fine line, but this genre suits his writing well and it would not have been successful any other way.
Swift uses several literary devices in order to portray his message, the most obvious being his combinations of understatements, hyperboles and tone. It is also important to note that the entire piece, since it is a satire, can also be considered a parody of a true proposal, but I digress.
Swift uses many understatements, such as, “I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection,” (page 2). The point of this understatement is really to play into the satire, to come across as if he honestly believes his proposal has merit and should be considered for the good of the people when, in reality, he is using his outrageous proposal to comment on society’s treatment of his subject: the poor. These kinds of understatements work well with Swift’s clinical tone to do what he really wants, to make people of higher class reconsider their attitude toward the poor by using an exaggerated example of the indifference they have.
The entire piece is an exaggeration, a hyperbole, and it is important for the audience to pick up on this so they are not as easily offended by the material. A specific example of hyperbole within the text falls on page 4 where Swift says,
“Then as to the females, it would, I think, with humble submission, be a loss to the publick, because they soon would become breeders themselves: And besides, it is not improbable that some scrupulous people might be apt to censure such a practice, (although indeed very unjustly) as a little bordering upon cruelty, which, I confess, hath always been with me the strongest objection against any project, how well soever intended.”
Murdering children for food and ladies gloves is beyond “a little bordering upon cruelty,” as is the rest of Swift’s suggestions, and as such Swift runs the risk of offending the masses with this proposal; but, as this text is meant to be political and social commentary, being so obtrusive could inspire more attention to the topic than kind, traditional literature that would be easily ignored. So by offending with his use of hyperboles, Swift is actually adding a level of significance to his writing by making it more “in your face.”
Another common device that occurs in “A Modest Proposal” is defamiliarization. This device is used in reference to the children who are unable to be supported by their parents. For example, on page 2, Swift says,
“I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricasie, or a ragoust.”
He later continues, “butchers we may be assured will not be wanting; although I rather recommend buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife, as we do roasting pigs.”
By making the subject, children, sound defamiliarized and comparable to “sheep, black cattle, or swine,” (page 3) Swift adds to his clinical tone, making the overall piece sound as if it could be logical until the audience remembers what he is actually saying.
Overall, Swift is rather successful at portraying what he is trying to say to his audience IF they catch on the sarcastic undertone of the text. If this undertone is missed, or if his clinical tone is taken as serious, the text will fail to do anything other than enrage citizens against Swift. He is riding a fine line, but this genre suits his writing well and it would not have been successful any other way.
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