Author: b.shturman

03/31/16

Research-Based Project Proposal

Some questions that arose from my literacy narrative was what are the actual economic and social consequences of not being an American Citizen? I want to look at the bigger picture and see what are the differences between immigrants who stay undocumented or who are denied citizenship with citizens. I was to analyse the wage gaps, the percentages that seek college education, and other injustices they experience. The argument i would want to pursue with these questions is that a immigration reform should be pushed that allows all immigrants legal or not, to be able to apply for U.S. Citizenship. I would need to find sources that have statistics regarding immigrant welfare. My target audience would be American citizens that are indifferent or opposed to said immigration reform. I would attempt to persuade them through my cousins anecdote and numerous statistical sources  to support a policy that would grant all immigrants citizenship.

03/24/16

Literacy Narrative

Being a first-generation immigrant has truly affected my family’s views on education. We immigrated from Ukraine in search of opportunities to live better lives. Since the day we arrived here, around 13 years ago, my parents have preached the importance of an education and getting good grades. They believe that in this country, education is the key to success.My social class has given me insight into why they were so strict with my schoolwork. My dad would often take me along during the weekends to show me the harsh conditions he had to work in all day; ensuring that i wouldn’t want to follow in his footsteps. I had learned the hard way that acquiring a college education would be the difference between doing back-breaking labor (such as my dad) and working in a comfortable office.

Almost since i could remember, my parents attitudes towards schoolwork affected my life in many ways. They always bought books to help me not fall behind and to learn beyond the classroom material. They firmly believed that the public school curriculums were subpar and pushed me to aim for specialized schools such as Bay Academy and Brooklyn Technical High School. My parents also sent me to after-school tutoring programs to help me with subjects that i didn’t fully understand. One of my worst subjects was always English, and it made sense considering the fact that my elementary school had no special programs for kids whose first language wasnt English.

Throughout my life, with the help of my parents, i have developed a strong work ethic and a zero-tolerance policy for failure. I think that their values have rubbed off on me, and i wouldn’t be able to see a future for myself without a college education.

03/23/16

Mothers Tongue

In her essay, “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan argues that the children of immigrants essentially know “multiple Englishes”, and this shapes who they are. Tan establishes evidence for her argument through her own childhood experiences. Being a daughter of an immigrant, Tan was able to recall specific instances where her mother was undermined for her “broken English.” These anecdotes, such as the one where the hospital refused to take her mother seriously, helped evoke emotions from the readers, creating appeal and sympathy. Tan acted as an interpreter/translator; metaphorically being her “mother’s tongue.” The title could also have a more literal meaning; one where it references the second English spoken by most immigrant children’s parent.

In writing this piece, Tan wanted to reach children of immigrants and let them know that there’s nothing wrong or embarrassing about their parent’s broken English. She believes that the children should be supportive and understanding of their parent’s situation. We could see this when Tan stated that her “mothers limited English limited my perception of her” when she was a child. Now, she understands that although her mother doesn’t have perfect grammar or spelling, she still manages to stay educated and involved in society. Throughout the piece, it seemed as if Tan was hinting at a secondary audience of Americans who don’t have any non-native relatives. She wanted to expose the injustices against non-native speakers; Tan showed how mistreated and belittled someone can be for not being able to speak fluent English. Its important for people to withhold their initial, unwarranted judgments of others.

Tan broke up the “Englishes” she speaks into “simple” (the English used to communicate with her mother), “broken” (her mother’s English), and “watered down” (her translation of her mother’s Chinese), and “perfect English” (the imagined literal meaning of her mother’s Chinese). These different “Englishes” that Tan speaks are essential to her writing. She uses them to write her stories and make them understandable for all (more importantly for her mother). She firmly believes in getting her messages across to her audiences in a simple way, without the use of flamboyant and complex vocabulary.

I find Tan’s childhood extremely relatable, as if she wrote the essay about my life with a few exceptions. Being an immigrant myself, I also had my fair share of translations and impersonations for my parents (although it sometimes gets a little awkward when I pretend to be my mom on phone calls). Although both my parents have limited abilities to speak English, that has never affected my respect and admiration for their accomplishments and what they’ve been able to do for me. I’ve actually always noticed the vast difference in the way I communicate with family, friends, and teachers/authorities.

03/15/16

Revising Attitudes

In the chapter “Revising Attitudes,” Brock Dethier attempts to explain how one’s attitude directly affects their ability to actually revise their work. Dethier believes that if one dives into editing his/her paper with a negative attitude, they just get as much out of it and will be basically wasting their time. He seems to have a very good point because this same basic principle would apply to doing anything in life. Having a good attitude motivates us to actually put in our full effort and accomplish the best we could. So It would only make sense that every time I jump into editing my final draft with my annoyed attitude I almost never get anything done. I can’t be to blame, because honestly revising papers has to be the most tedious and painstaking process in writing. I will certainly attempt to watch my attitude and self-motivation as the try to correct my major problems in the paper. This shouldn’t be too much of a problem because i actually enjoy the subject and am very determined to make sure my audience truly understands the points i’m trying to make because i feel as if i’m onto something big.

03/3/16

Responding To Other Students’ Writing

I have always understood the importance of properly “responding” to other’s papers. The whole point of editing is to highlight and clarify the problematic areas that the writer needs to improve. So therefore, if the writer doesn’t fully understand the comments one has marked up on their paper, the reader has failed. As Richard Straub emphasized, it’s vital to not take the “stingy” route, but to explain thoroughly any comments one has. If no effort is put into helping the writer understand what she/he has done wrong or needs to improve then, in my opinion, the reader has wasted his/her time.

The sad and harsh truth is that most people, even some teachers for Christ sake, tend to brush of the editing and ignore the importance of it. Throughout my few years in high school we usually had peer editing sessions a couple days before major paper deadlines. In these sessions, we were supposed to thoughtfully edit each other’s papers and lay out a roadmap on how to improve the effectiveness of said papers. Although I personally loved the concept behind these sessions, almost 80% of the time I received back a couple grammar corrections and if I was lucky a vague statement on how to improve (Something along the lines of “add more details”). Richard Straub made a good point in his article, that even though making miniscule grammar corrections is helpful, what the readers should really focus on is the bigger picture; what the writers are trying to accomplish with their papers and how effectively have they done it.

If more people actually followed Straub’s framework for editing and commenting on papers, then these peer editing sessions would actually be an extremely useful tool. I’m excited that we were assigned read his paper because this should lead to meaningful advice for improvement.

03/1/16

Shitty First Draft Responce

As i was reading Anne Lamott’s article, “Shitty First Drafts,” i truly felt a sigh of relief. I was one who felt that most successful and talented writers have the ability to bang out essays and literature as if they were angry  rebuttals to facebook trolls. I always had this sense that my writing abilities were a bit subpar because it would always take me “hours” to even come up with something even close to what my old highschool teacher (who got fired) would say “medicore.” Only god knows whether it’s my occasional lack of motivation, inability to focus on a given task for a long time, or OCD approach to writing? In my opinion it’s the “OCD”, but what do i know. By an OCD approach to writing, i meant that i always proof-read my work as i go; doing the editing and writing simultaneously. Although i admit it’s a bad habit, i just can’t physically keep writing when i mentally know what i’ve already written needs editing.

Another dark and horrifying writing secret of mine is that i don’t really do so called “drafts.” I can already hear some of you screaming, “WHAT?? THAT’S PREPOSTEROUS!?!?!?!” Hopefully most of you fellow classmates could still look at me the same way after reading this, but yes I honestly don’t do first drafts. My writing method consists more of editing during the frequent pauses i take when i run out of ideas and then a final edit where i make all the finishing touches to the paper before hitting the print button. I know my technique is contrary to Lamott’s way, and i truly believe her’s is definitely more helpful. I will consider reforming my method of writing for this upcoming paper about rhetorical analysis.

As Lamott stated, “Very few writers really know what they are doing until they have done it.” One of the most relatable quotes to my life. It’s just not my style to plan things ahead of time, it would only inhibit my thoughts; the writing takes shape as i go. I’ll still take Lamott’s advice to heart and attempt to utilize first and second drafts when i write formal papers.

02/25/16

Rhetoric Analysis Proposal

Although some people tend to look at video games as a mindless activity that has no meaning, with a close look they might think otherwise.  The videogame industry has experienced a colossal growth spurt over the past decade, amassing an enormous  and extremely diverse audience. Providing game developers with not only the ability to create any storyline or world they could imagine, but also with the ability to touch and influences the lives of hundreds of millions of people worldwide. With a seemingly limitless amount of material to analysis, i selected one video game in particular, Grand Theft Auto V (GTAV).

Developed by Rockstar Games, GTA V is one of the biggest open world games on the market, providing players with an action packed experience in which they get pick whatever they want to do. Since its release almost 3 years ago, it has been bashed by critics for being misogynistic, grotesquely violent, and an influencer of real world violence; all of which i find untrue and in a way ironic. The main point of the game was to be a satirical representation of our world today, allowing the player to do whatever he or she pleases. The developers never forced the players to commit violence in the game, it is just as packed with fun non violent activities such as driving, parachuting, investing, swimming, bike riding, hiking, working out, yoga, etc.; even with all these possibilities, most players still tend to kill, explode, and steal throughout their time in this virtual word.

So in my opinion, this game would be a great medium to do rhetorical analysis on.

02/23/16

Rhetorical Analysis of Baldwin’s Letter

James Baldwin seemed to be a strong activist of the civil rights movement during the time of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. Although he lived during their time, it seemed that he had his own outlook on tackling civil rights. In my eyes, it seemed as if he was more of a pacifistic and patient figure like MLK Jr.

The main point of Baldwin’s letter to his nephew was to express that it was a little premature for African Americans to be celebrating a 100 years of freedom. As Baldwin cleverly stated, “The county is celebrating 100 years of freedom 100 years too soon.” He believed patience was the key to success; it was going to take more time for White Americans to acknowledge their wrongdoings. Baldwin didn’t want this “historical event” to overshadow all the hardships he, his ancestors, and his people had to endure. The points Baldwin brought up and the respectful language he used to make them has led me to believe that his Nephew wasn’t the only audience he intended to reach with this letter. It was almost obvious that Baldwin was speaking to not only to his Nephew, but all African Americans as a whole. The advice given to James was easily applicable to anyone trapped in the ghettos. He wanted everyone to understand that most White Americans were truly innocent, just too afraid of upsetting the norm of “turning a blind eye” to all the injustices suffered by African Americans.

The utilization of pathos in this letter was vital to its potency. The fact that the letter was written to his Nephew made it even more relatable. How could someone not feel saddened, touched by reading a letter from an uncle to nephew stating that there’s still hope left in this world, to endure the crimes committed against them. The initial heart-wrenching story of James’s father by Baldwin created a connection with the readers, strengthening his points.

02/18/16

Letter to my Nephew

In his lengthy letter, “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation,” to his nephew, James Baldwin portrays the actual reality of the “one hundred years of emancipation.” Even though the white men might have been celebrating this day, Baldwin had warned his nephew not lower his guard and accept this day as a success. He continued to reminded his nephew, James, of the segregated world they live in, where black folks were forced live and die in their ghetto communities, separated from everyone else. In these ghettos they would never be equals; most of the time black kids weren’t even given the proper education to even spell their names out correctly. Baldwin also stated, “This is the crime of which I accuse my country and countrymen, and for which neither I nor time nor history will ever forgive them.” He strongly believed that what their ancestors had to suffer through should never be forgotten nor forgiven.

If one looks hard enough in his text, he or she could see a hint of optimism in his letter. Although he and his brother (the nephews father) have been battered, demoralized, and dehumanized their entire lives; Baldwin had dreams of a better tomorrow and wanted his nephew to understand. He believed that if the black populace was able to convince the white populace of the crimes they did, then just maybe they could bring real change to the world. A major point Baldwin also made is “you can only be destroyed by believing that you really are what the white world calls a nigger” Baldwin reminded his nephew that it is important to remember who he truly is and never let anyone put him down in order to succeed.

James Baldwin’s letter was certainly very inspirational and important to his nephew. James most definitely took his uncle’s words to heart and they probably helped him achieve greatness in his life despite all the hardships he had to endure.

 

02/16/16

Apple’s SuperBowl Rhetoric

Apple’s “1984” super bowl commercial was the first to change the way the event was seen. Apple had specifically created a commercial meant for the event, something that’s never been done before. The exigence that lead to this such action was the fact the Steve Jobs clearly believed that the American population was being brainwashed by technology. With the apparent connection to the novel, “1984” by George Orwell, it seems Apple believed that a few privileged people were controlling the rest. The rest in this case seem to be the American population, the target audience; the super bowl being the perfect place to reach as many Americans as possible (Over 75 million to be exact). The constraints of the advertisement are that it couldn’t directly call out the people that created this problem that needed fixing, therefore leading them to use juxtapose it with a fictional portrayal.

Of course the subject of the commercial would be the Macintosh computer and its purpose is aimed at advertising it. They try to convince you that this computer is bringing change by showing you a problem associated with its competitors; they give the users no freedom. Their competitors control and decided how and what the users will see and interact on their computers. Apple wanted to change that and give the people who purchase Macintosh freedom. Steve Jobs definitely used pathos in this commercial to get people to be disgusted and emotional repulsed by the technology they have been accustomed to. He used logos to help people understand how they will be empowered by this revolutionary change and used his credibility or ethos to reinforce the bold statements made by the commercial.

02/12/16

What is Rhetoric?

I particularly found the different categories of appeals described by Thomas Miller in his article, “What is Rhetoric?”. Although we don’t always realize it, deep down we subconsciously analyze every rhetoric we experience through out the day. Whether it be the credibility, reason, value, or style of the appeal. Its fascinating how all these categories work together to help us determine our opinion on something. What I tend to find to be the most vital category from my personal experience is the appeals of credibility. Who a person is, and what they’ve been able to achieve in life usually is the first thing that crosses my mind when I decide whether I should support/like that person. Although it holds a strong influence on my opinion of something, the other categories could always outweigh the credibility appeal. It’s intriguing to notice this process occur when you meet a person for the first time.

02/11/16

Rhetorical Analysis

Laura Bolin Carroll’s concept that “the more we know about how to analyze situations and draw informed conclusions, the better we can become about making savvy judgments about the people, situations and media we encounter,” essential to her main points. She believed that understanding how to process certain situations properly is the to success. Knowing the audience, purpose, and restrictions of the rhetoric you are being exposed to could help make the correct informed decisions; potentially saving you a lot of trouble. A good example of why understanding the audience could help you is with “sports gambling websites” (Draft Kings). If you’re relaxing on a Sunday night, enjoying a good football game, you need to understand that you are the prime target audience for sports-betting commercials. They know that people who watch sports are more likely to fall into their online trap due to them being more competitive, emotional, and willing to place money on their favorite teams. A sports fan armed with this information might think twice before foolishly pouring his savings into their pockets. In addition, knowing the “purpose” of the rhetoric is also extremely helpful in making best informed decisions. In the case of sports betting websites, obviously their purpose is to lure people into their scheme, create an addiction, and to acquire as much profit off each individual as possible. Since their main purpose is to take an individual’s money, it is almost certain that said individual is going to lose any investment he puts in in the long run. With this information in mind now, no sensible sports fan would be willing to start betting their money. Lastly, but most importantly in making good conclusions on rhetoric is knowing it’s limitations. Sports betting sites in particular are limited in the fact that they can not false advertise. So, knowing that they can’t say “every individual will profit off their bets,” they had to improvise. What they came up with is commercials that show one “lucky winner,” who managed to bet the odds and take home the jackpot. Obviously anyone in their right mind would want to play this game too if it was actually that easy; but what they don’t know is that this “lucky winner” spent months calculating specific algorithms to try and predict which players will help him bring home the jackpot. With that information in mind, the “lucky winner” scheme doesn’t seem so appealing anymore, right? Being armed with the ability to decipher rhetoric for what it really is can be the difference between making a good decision and a life-ruining one.

02/10/16

Everybody’s a Critic

In the New York Times Article, “Everybody’s a Critic. And That’s How It Should Be,” A. O. Scott contemplates about how everyone has the ability to criticize and create dialogue about the things they experience throughout their lives. It’s kind of ironic to see a professional movie critic preaching that anyone is capable of doing his job without any preparation or experience. Scott believes that in our society, people have become too accustomed to just accepting other people’s opinions without applying much of their own thought or analysis to them. Two big factors that could have resulted this atmosphere of conformity could be social media and and our compulsive consumerism. Its about time for individuals to finally take matters into their own hands by taking some time out of their day and using it to formulate opinions based on their own creativity and interests.

I found it interesting how Scott mentioned that “on the Internet, everyone is a critic — a Yelp-fueled takedown artist, an Amazon scholar, a cheerleader empowered by social media to Like and to Share.” I completely agree with his concept that online anyone could be a critic; since being a critic means to simple state your stance/opinion of something. Although social media could lead to people mindlessly reading other peoples words and accepting them as their own, I see it as the perfect place to facilitate brainstorming and the creation of ideas. As Scott discussed in his article, it’s important for people to make informed and substantiated critique; not just spew the first thoughts that come to mind. With the help of social media and many other online websites we could all make our voices heard, but let’s make them count.

02/9/16

Sound the Alarms!

The New York Times article, “As Flint Fought to Be Heard, Virginia Tech Team Sounded Alarm,” compared Virginia Tech’s discoveries with Flint’s tap water to an “alarm.” The research team at Virginia Tech initially began investigating Flint’s problems after a professor, Marc Edwards, received a complaint from an associate that lives there. The Flint resident complained about the dirty tap water coming from the sinks and the city’s lack of action. Shocked to hear this, the professor and his team sent out several test kits to examine water samples. The team’s finding were shocking to say the least, they found hazardous levels of lead and other harmful findings. Now armed with this information they sounded the “alarms” metaphorically by publishing the data and spreading the word. This metaphor is important because it helps us understand how much it took for the City of Flint to actually step up and recognize the  problem it had under it’s nose. It’s very shocking that the city refused to take action and stop its residents from getting lead poisoning until this issue become known nationwide. Although it’s taking major steps in working with Virginia Tech University to try and fix the water problem, clearly Flint’s municipality needs some reform, since it takes a University to sound the “alarms” for it to fix serious issues.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/07/us/as-flint-fought-to-be-heard-virginia-tech-team-sounded-alarm.html?mabReward=A4

02/9/16

Stereotypes in Biology?

Emily Martin’s primary argument in her academic paper, The Egg and The Sperm Cell:How Science Has Constructed A Romance Based On Stereotypical Male-Female Roles, was that the way biologists portrayed the fertilization process of an ovum was influenced by gender stereotypes. She believed that the cultural stereotypes of “macho men” and “women in distress” had seeped their way into biology. Martin brought up specific scenarios where the sperm were being described as warriors; who fought their way through the vaginal canal to complete their quest, fertilizing the egg. Some biologists reinforced this view of sperm by using certain terminology-strong, burrow, deliver, propel, velocity, etc. Some research papers even stated sperm cells “harpooned” onto the egg cell and upon contact began to “penetrate” the egg cell. This terminology and portrayal of sperm does seem to derive from the cultural stereotypes of men being heroes, warriors, and even saviors of women.

In addition to the way sperm were described, Martin also went out of her way to describe the injustices toward egg cells. In most biology textbooks and research papers on the female gamete, ova are described as being “passive” and not contributing much to the fertilization process. Even when research contradicts that, showing that the reproductive cells are mutual “partners” and both active in the process, biologist still find a way to discredit the egg cells. Martin also believes that the ovum’s lack of credit isn’t the only problem, she mentions how many scientists tend to view the ovaries as a “deteriorating and wasteful” organ. Some scientists don’t understand why women are born with a million egg cells and only use around 500, seeing this as “wasteful.”

All of these examples boil down to one common factor, that gender stereotypes have a strong grasp over the way biologists portray the human reproductive system. In my opinion, as long as these unjustified views and “terminology” don’t cause any harm or misinterpret information/data it isn’t such a major problem. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for gender equality and getting rid of gender stereotypes, but women face bigger problems than the way their egg cells are portrayed in biology textbooks.

 

02/4/16

Pervasive Metaphors

I found it baffling that-throughout my entire life-I had not once perceived the significance metaphors have over me. If George Lakoff and Mark Johnson are correct in their novel, “The Concepts We Live By,” metaphors could potentially influence “what we perceive, how we get around in the world, and how we relate to other people.” In other words, metaphors dictate the way we live our lives. It’s unnerving that most of us haven’t even the slightest clue over the important role metaphors could play in their daily lives.

Lakoff and Johnson’s idea, that metaphors help us “understand and experience one kind of thing in terms of another,” seems to hold true in many aspects of our lives. A great example of this, as the authors mentioned, is the “metaphorical concept” of “time is money.” This concept helps us grasp why people in our culture establish the meaning of time by intertwining it with their understanding of money. Ever since we were young (especially in this country), most of us had the idea of money being a “valuable” and “limited” resource engraved in our heads (with statements like “money doesn’t grow on trees”). So if we mentally associate the time with money, we will experience them in similar ways.

“Argument is war,” is another excellent example of a “metaphorical concept” that dictates the way we perceive one thing through the lens of another. Although it shockingly makes perfect sense, I’ve never analyzed arguments through the perspective of war. My friends and I often find ourselves in quarrels, and without even realizing it we used strategy to attack and defend our ideas. We would even on occasions get exceedingly aggressive or create alliances -all of which is very similar to war.

With the help of metaphorical concepts, we could better understand why we treat certain things in particular ways; such as perceiving an argument as a battleground or viewing time as an invaluable resource.

-Borys

02/1/16

Intro: Borys

Hi there, my name is Borys and we are going to be classmates for a couple months or so. Anyways, a little about myself; I commute here daily from Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn and currently reside with my parents, but hopefully that’ll change sometime in the near future. Originally I’m from Uman, a little town located near the capital of Ukraine. I visit my family there every summer and always stay up to date with Ukrainian news incase any of you are interested. Not only do I travel to Ukraine every summer, over the years I have visited France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Israel. I personally enjoy traveling across Europe and viewing the different but beautiful landscapes and cultures.

https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/bshturman/

Thats me in France.