Final Project Jean Estrada

When asked to differentiate myself as either Republican and Democrat, I tried to make a decision based on a myriad of constituents. Ethnic background, gender, income, occupation, education, age, religion, geography, and more. Although these variables constituted my personal ideology, it didn’t necessarily correlate to identifying with either party. I saw this being the case for my family as well, with us agreeing with certain republican standards but not meeting the standards of Republicans. I became curious about how this system works with the country as a whole. Through research and countless hours of reading through casual data, I began seeing stereotypes that I myself believed that were completely wrong.

It’s an interesting and meaningful experience to get your apprehension about a topic completely disproven. For this research paper, this was my entire experience. I like playing devil’s advocate and challenging the things I have been socialized to believe. I believe American society is complacent with the idea of the “popular consensus” as if we all can’t form an opinion ourselves. It’s interesting to think how many people voted in the past elections on the basis of ignorant stereotypical beliefs

 

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Style Imitation – Jean Estrada

I use to interpret things exclusively my way. From situations to emotions to reactions to interactions, my twelve-year-old understanding of things was steadfast and undisputable. In the moment that I decided what was right or wrong, worth it or not worth it, favorable or unpleasant, there wasn’t a thing in the world that could waive my resolve. Thing’s are only fully clear in hindsight, and I can only now see with crystal clear clarity that makes my current character wince the reality that my egotism projected unto others. Through my blinding self-regard, I would see my mothers contempt from my actions and behavior as that of a totalitarian authority, oblivious to her own interpretations and only concerned about my own. When I first got suspended from school, I was eleven, it was the sixth grade, and I followed the escort of my mother in both obstinate and aggrieved fashion, struggling to ignore the Knot ballooning from my forehead as my means of letting those telling me that I was wrong, that I was irrefutably right.

 

 

 

Day 18: Manifesto – Jean Estrada

“Manifesto,” George Saunders

In this piece, George Saunders flips the script in his version of a manifesto. Saunders begins with introducing his, seemingly real but purposefully sardonic, organization, People Reluctant to Kill for an Abstraction (PRKA). The “show of force” that his organization conducted satirically details how PRKA was able to not commit any atrocities. What Saunders lays out as a meticulous performance with different operational phases is in reality just examples of humans behaving in the interest of well being, not selfish radicality. This piece is arguing that the world is full of temporary evil but good has a longevity that will always overshadow that evil. Sanders purpose for this piece, I believe, is to open the eyes of those who often forget this reality. These manifestos have been known to be given as the declaration of aims behind a certain purpose, more than often a radical  one.

 

Day 17: Researching Stereotypes and “Fake News” – Jean Estrada

Day 17: Researching Stereotypes and “Fake News”

“Introduction to Researching and Making Claims,” Seth Graves

The central point of this introduction was the assertion that action of research has the power to change or form the users own claim to the topic. Through learning more about a topic (actively researching it), the readers capacity for emotion and understanding expands to either shape or alter the proto-research thinking. The most captivating sentence of the piece reads, “So why do we do research? For one, it provides us with a check-and-balance system for claims”. This concept for checks and balances was interesting and I could relate this to my experiences. I often entered a prompt with a set of claims or beliefs about the topic and, after research, had my thinking “checked” or completely changed.

 

“The Research Process,” Seth Graves, Lucas Corcoran, and Kamal Belmihoub

The central point of this article was that the concepts derived from research is a process of internalizing where the process of researching is the catalyst for change/learning. The most interesting sentence of the piece reads, “Research, in this sense, isn’t so much a collection of facts that prove your case but rather a type of exploration”. This accentuated the central idea by describing research as a trip, not an action. I could see how this is true in writing projects where you end up researching multiple accounts of an issue and this leads to your own understanding.

 

Revision -Jean Estrada

  1. In this excerpt, Brock Dethier is referring to this misconception that revision itself is a sign of failure. “For most of us revision is the only road to success” is catering to those who get discouraged by this idea. Dethier asserts revision as a means to success, just like constructive-criticism/practice are means to improve. In my own writing, I see revision as a funnel where things are removed strategically and purposely.
  2. Revision is to me like the practice of something, for example a sport. The whole “Practice leads to perfection” is similar to Dethier’s concept of revision leading to success.
  3. Donald Murray’s assertion that “A piece of writing is never finished” relates to my experience with writing incredibly. The final piece that I produce is not my best version, it is only the version that my deadline allowed for. I also think of all the outside factors that contribute to it. A piece that I wrote last year and strongly believed in, upon a recent revision, could be completely different because of a change in thinking, new perception, etc.

Alexie and Tan – Jean Estrada

“Superman and Me,” Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie recounts her childhood experiences of being a poor Indian boy on a government reservation who, unlike others, held a strong interest in books. Through reading and and maintaining an interest in his education, Alexie diverged from the path of the common uneducated and “defeated” Indian-American. Through reading, Alexie discovers the purpose of paragraphs and describes his own perception of them as a “fence” that held words. The substance inside these fences, as Alexie explains, were separate elements and entities such as individuals, locations, characteristics, and basically everything else. His understanding of the world in paragraphs contributed to a greater understanding of himself and his surroundings, both in his youth and adulthood. I have always found this concept, though straightforward, extremely practical in the understanding of oneself. For our upcoming assignment, using this metaphor could be extremely useful.

 

“Mother Tongue, “Amy Tan, pgs. 165-170

In “Mother Tongue “ by Amy Tan, the intrinsic change of language depending on situation is explored. Amy Tan recounts her experience in noticing how her language changes depending on who her audience is. With her mother, the usual formality of her speech is substituted by a more unceremonious dialect. Tan analyzes and contributes this to the cultural implications of being a Asian-American. Tan asserts that growing up in a immigrant household played a role in the development of her language and to some extent, inadvertently limited it. She defends this claim by connecting it to the fact that Asian-American representation and involvement in literature and language is very minimal compared to that of sciences and maths. This correlation is evident and widespread in Amy Tan’s personal use of language and could probably be observed in that of many others. Since English is my second language and that of my fathers, this only happens after my abilities to use language surpassed his. I naturally tone down my language when speaking to my father but I do not “dumb” it down. I limit my language to match my father’s ability to comprehend English but what I am expressing still holds the same meaning.

 

Day 12: Alexie and Tan

“Superman and Me,” Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie recounts her childhood experiences of being a poor Indian boy on a government reservation who, unlike others, held a strong interest in books. Through reading and maintaining an interest in his education, Alexie diverged from the path of the common uneducated and “defeated” Indian-American. Through reading, Alexie discovers the purpose of paragraphs and describes his own perception of them as a “fence” that held words. The substance inside these fences, as Alexie explains, were separate elements and entities such as individuals, locations, characteristics, and basically everything else. His understanding of the world in paragraphs contributed to a greater understanding of himself and his surroundings, both in his youth and adulthood. I have always found this concept, though straightforward, extremely practical in the understanding of oneself. For our upcoming assignment, using this metaphor could be extremely useful.

 

“Mother Tongue, “Amy Tan, pgs. 165-170

In “Mother Tongue “ by Amy Tan, the intrinsic change of language depending on the situation is explored. Amy Tan recounts her experience in noticing how her language changes depending on who her audience is. With her mother, the usual formality of her speech is substituted by a more unceremonious dialect. Tan analyzes and contributes this to the cultural implications of being an Asian-American. Tan asserts that growing up in an immigrant household played a role in the development of her language and to some extent, inadvertently limited it. She defends this claim by connecting it to the fact that Asian-American representation and involvement in literature and language is very minimal compared to that of sciences and maths. This correlation is evident and widespread in Amy Tan’s personal use of language and could probably be observed in that of many others. Since English is my second language and that of my fathers, this only happens after my abilities to use language surpassed his. I naturally tone down my language when speaking to my father but I do not “dumb” it down. I limit my language to match my father’s ability to comprehend English but what I am expressing still holds the same meaning.

 

Literacy Narrative (Jean Estrada)

“Introduction to (re)Making Language,” Seth Graves, pgs 39-40

In “Introduction to (re)Making Language,” Seth Graves asserts the importance of language for the purpose of communication and the acquisition of knowledge and understanding. Graves uses Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to exemplify this point by arguing that Frankenstein, through language, was able to discern himself and the world that surrounded him. Just like Frankenstein, everyone can credit their perception and reception of things to their relationship with language. This concept derives from Enlightenment ideals of individualism.

“Language, Discourse, and Literacy,” Seth Graves, pgs 41-42

In the segment “Language, Discourse, and Literacy,” Seth Graves claims language is far greater than reading and writing and maintains it as an adaptive human instrument. Language is more extensive than just a means of communication, as it creates an avenue of discourse between individuals as well as the concept of literacy. This consequently leads to greater potential for both expression and understanding.

Response

Thinking about the Literacy Narrative coming up, this idea of language as a way to scrutinize how I identify myself in this world interests me. Misconceptions and stereotypes are propagated through words and the way we may describe ourselves can have been influenced by those same words. I have just spent the last week looking at someone’s rhetoric and now trying to think of my own, not just in writing but in life, is simpler by thinking of language like this.

 

Thesis and Review (Jean Estrada)

“What’s the Point?” Daniel Hengel (pgs 28-33)

Daniel Hengel’s “What’s the Point” deconstructs analysis and introduces a different interpretation of how to begin writing a thesis. Hengel institutes analysis as a intellectual curiosity about a texts that subsequently leads to the asking of questions. This initial process of  inquiries goes something like this: initial interpretation, identification, discussion, importance, extension, and reduction, These inquiries, completely subjective on both individual and text, eventually composes as a prefatory mental argument, or thesis. Although this does not have to be the structure of your thesis writing program, Hengel adds, it allows new trails of thought and experience as we write. In my own writing, a thesis often comes the moment I finish a text thanks to natural opinionated thinking that the public school system developed.Both importance and extension can take my thesis further and allow for a more complex analysis.

 

“Responding—Really Responding—To Other Students’ Writing,” Richard Straub (pgs 104-114)

In the interest of giving a meaningful peer review, Richard Strab lays out a checklist on getting started. Straub begins with thinking on the assignments purpose, content, and limitations followed by the writers interest and purpose. Something to also keep in mind when responding to a classmates writing is the substance of the work in class. Whether the work focuses on detail, developing arguments, or any other writing lessons, it is a big help to keep that classmate responsible for tying his work with these concepts and strategies. The content and level of your criticism should match the laud you are able to give. In a general sense, giving a constructive response requires you to approach the writing with both support and assessment.

Day 6: Project Pitch – Jean Estrada

Main Choice: Xxxtentacions “Look at Me” Music Video

While it’s common for young troublesome black rappers to be outspoken, it’s not common for them to speak out against their own demographics. “X” makes a grisly music video where he speaks against social issues revolving violence and race. The lens to be explored are intersectionality, race, and that of BLM. Cons of this analysis are that the controversial meaning behind it might not be accepted by most, regardless of the rectitude it ultimately aims at holding.

 

Shade Rooms hypocrisy on Bias and Racism

The Shade Room is known for being the “Black TMZ”, covering everything from memes, social issues, news, etc under the lens of the African American community. Being that its demographic holds an unvaried set of values and interests, the Shade Room presents its content specifically and exclusively. Under the lens of race, there is a lot to build off on and compare to other media outlets. The cons is that analyzing things such as memes don’t always allow for a consistent criticism of things.

 

Joyner Lucas “I’m not Racist” Music Video

Joyner Lucas’s messages on race and gender issues are always explicit and for the most part, conclusive. “I’m not Racist” lends itself to be easily analyzed through the lens of race and politics. Cons of analyzing this piece is how straightforward it would be as it doesn’t leave much to interpretation.