Freshman Seminar Fall 17 LC10

Tag: Academic

Small Talk: It’s a Big Deal

Last Week, I attended the workshop called Small Talk: It’s a Big Deal. I started getting interested in this particular workshop when I saw it as an option because sometimes making small talk is not one of my best features. At the workshop itself, the presenter began by introducing herself to everyone there individually. She introduced herself as Ellen Stein and shook each person’s hand. Then she talked about a few tips out of 50 to help with making small talk with people. Some of these tips include being the first to say hello, and to avoid certain topics with people that you are not very familiar with/ After, she asked if we would be comfortable having a conversation people we do not know in a room full of strangers. If we were comfortable with that, she wanted to know how much. At first I thought I would not be very comfortable at all talking to someone that I am unfamiliar with. However, towards the end of her presentation, I felt more confident in myself with making small talk with a stranger. During her presentation, we did exercises in small talk to help practice our skills. We asked other people in the room about their basic information to get to know them a little bit more. This was not very hard because the topics that we talked about were given to us. We were told what to say so we did not struggle in trying to think of something to talk about with the other person. So whenever we are talking someone new, there should be a few topics already in mind to discuss with them. Some of these topics include discussions about the weather  or good foods. So making small is not hard because there is fear of meeting someone new. Making small can be hard when there is nothing to talk about. But now, I’ll have a few topics already in mind to talk about with someone new.

Museum at FIT

On Thursday, October 12th, 2017, my friends and I went to the Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology. The walk was not too far from Baruch, which made it very convenient and not too tiresome! It was located next to the university called the Fashion Institute of Technology. No tickets were needed to enter the museum so we just walked right into the museum. Once we entered, we came face to face with mannequins dressed in different styles of clothing. Those types of outfits on the mannequins were not something that people would usually be seen wearing outside today.

One piece of clothing that was displayed which I found interesting was this nice little hat. It caught my attention because it did not look like your standard hat. It was made up of leaves and it looked like a well put together pile of leaves on top of the mannequin’s head. The description was: “A single red rose blooms at the back of this whimsical hat, as a sprawling bed of leaves shapes the crown. Roses come in an array of colors, each of which has been assigned a unique meaning. The ubiquitous red rose, for example, has been a long symbol of love.” I really liked how the hat had a deeper meaning to it. I sure wonder how people got that had to stay on because it seems like a gust of wind would just blow it right off!

This activity didn’t really assist me during my first semester at Baruch. It was, however, fun to go to the museum with my friends and to experience the museum together. I wouldn’t even have thought of going to the Museum at FIT if it wasn’t for this blog post assignment, so I am grateful that I was able to experience a new place with my friends.

Academic Writing Workshop – Sabrina Chen

For my academic blog assignment, I decided to attend a writing workshop, titled “Using Sources Strategically”. During the workshop, there was a lot of learning involved with each various source and how they are used indifferent ways to portray an author’s way of providing examples. The instructor there was a tall, bald man who was very articulate with words and explained clearly and concisely the uses of various types of sources in a paper.

The first idea taught was the difference between primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are first hand accounts of a kind of experience, whether it is a poem written by the first person who visitedthe Grand Canyon, or an episode of a show. They are where most of the information comes from, as opposed to a secondary source, there was an analysis of a primary source.

They, the instructor gave us an acronym, ‘BEAM’ in order to remember the types of sources by. They are listed as background, exhibit, argument and method sources. Background sources include necessary information to inform you on the topic, which are undebatable data such as numbers, definitions or years. Exhibit sources include the original object, and usually consists of primary sources. These sources allow for specific examples of wide phenomenon. Argument sources are described as sources interacted with by thinkers or scholars to analyze or provide opinion on. These sources help you as a student to garner authority, credibility or ethos by quoting other scholars whohave studied the field in depth. Lastly, are the method sources, which lend framework for analysis, like theories, concepts or methods. These sources are the structure for the analysis to base on.

Through this experience, I have learned more about the types of sources and I know now where to go when I need help with writing a paper in oneof my classes.

American Museum of Natural History

On Columbus Day, October 9th, 2017, I visited the American Museum of Natural History. I have not gone to a museum since elementary school. I have been meaning to go, but I just never had the time to. The lines to go in the museum and to buy the tickets were very long, so it is better to buy the tickets online ahead of time. After receiving my ticket, I headed into the Akeley Hall of African Mammals exhibit. This exhibit had many mammals that inhabited Africa. The displays were beautiful and quite realistic. There were large elephant displays in the middle. I went on to the African Peoples exhibit, which I saw a lot on African culture and the evolution of tools, but the most interesting were the masks and costumes for the Dance and Belief section. Some were quite interesting and they were positioned to look like they were in movement. Next, I went to the Stout Hall of Asian Peoples exhibits. I saw a wood carving that looked like a fox, but it was a bear charm. Also, I saw other toy animals and theatrical masks. The ancestral worship display reminded me of my own home because we still practice it and every month we would light incenses for our ancestors. I enjoyed the Asian peoples exhibit because I could relate to it. It was an enjoyable experience minus the weather.

 

This activity assists me because it makes me really appreciate nature and the general beauty of the world, but also, I see how people changed to survive yet keep their own identity and how culture is really imbued into every person. I greatly appreciate my culture and the rich history behind it, but I enjoy learning on other cultures too. Therefore, I should seek to try and to learn new things, but I should not forget my own identity and culture.

 

The Museum at FIT

Today, my friends and I went to the FIT museum. To be honest, I don’t even know out of all the museums, why did we decided to go to this one. The museum, unlike our expectation, is really small. You can literally walk the entire museum in less than 5 minutes. But it wasn’t bad though, we saw a lot of interesting collections of clothes. The current exhibition at the museum is “Force of Nature.” This exhibition shows nature’s relationship to fashion and how designers were inspired by the nature. I was fascinated by the fact that designers can blend nature into a piece of clothing so perfectly. As I entered into the museum, the first piece that caught my eyes was a floral black dress. This dress was designed by Karl Lagerfeld in reference to a flower called camellia. I thought this was my favorite piece until I saw a dress that completely blow my mind. I can’t believe how this dress was right by the entrance and I missed it. Anyway, it’s called the Splash dress, designed by Iris van Herpen in 2013. Herpen used “hot air guns and metal pliers to mold sheets of acrylic.” The inspiration of this splash dress, like its name, came from water.

This is how it looks like. Can you believe this is an actual dress?!

In this visit, I learned a lot about the history of fashion and how basically everything can be related to fashion. Although this won’t really help me in the first semester at Baruch, it was fun to explore the places I’ve never been.

FIT Museum

Today, my friends and I went to the FIT Museum out of curiosity. We decided that we should take a look at it since we were so close to it. The ongoing exhibit is called “Force of Nature,” and there were some stunning pieces of fashion displayed. According to the pamphlet, “the exhibition reveals how nature has historically influenced fashion, and how fashion can serve as an indicator of society’s relationship with the natural world.” One of the first pieces that caught my eye was a beautiful evening gown with a flower-like bodice. It was designed by Charles James in the 20th century, and he was known for envisioning his clients as exotic flowers. Many of the dresses were based on European fashion and designed with the theme of nature in mind. There were dresses with floral textiles, and there were dresses with animal patterns. One of my favorite animal-themed dresses was based on the red tanager. It was a black and red dress accompanied with a hat adorned with red and black feathers. It was quite fascinating to see all these pieces of European clothing featuring different flowers and animals that were found in nature. I was always interested in fashion, so this exhibit was really cool in my opinion. The exhibit was not that big, though. My friends and I expected that it would be a lot larger, but despite its small size, it was nice to see so many different pieces of fashion.I learned a lot of information about the history related to the fashion and the designers who made the pieces. It was trivial information for me, but it provided a different insight on the history from the 18th century to the 20th century, especially on the Enlightenment. Although the exhibit itself did not really assist me in my first semester here at Baruch, it was nice to socialize and spend time with my friends outside of the school. I have not explored the city a lot, so it was nice to go to a new area and familiarize myself with this place.

MO MATH

Recently I visited MO Math, also known as the Museum of Mathematics. It is located in New York City and is just about a three to five minute walk from Baruch College. This museum obviously is about math, but is actually way more interesting than the typical museum of just facts. This museum is an interactive museum. As you walk throughout the museum, there are many exhibits that you can choose from to learn about. There are actually a lot of young children there as well because the museum is so much fun. I typically don’t find museums to be all that interesting but I did enjoy going to this museum. My favorite subject has always been math and to go to a museum all about my favorite subject was pretty cool. Also, I feel that I am pretty good at math, but going to this museum showed me there is a lot I don’t know about, and so much I would want to know about.

As you can see from the picture I posted, my favorite exhibit was the chair. I was fascinated that the museum could even make sitting in a chair fun. I think that was the most popular exhibit there because it was so much fun. Everyone in the museum had a smile on there face, even the workers. Laughter filled the air rather than whispers. I definitely recommend going to this museum to anyone, and I would even go back again.

Visiting the Museum of Mathematics has assisted me during my first seminar at Baruch. I am originally from Queens located New York, and growing I rarely visited the city. Walking around the city and finding this museum has helped me to get more comfortable wandering around in the city. Also, the museum showed me that learning could actually be really fun. This is helpful because I actually want to get more involved in my classes. Visiting this museum has definitely showed me there is so much to learn and how eye opening it could be. So, if you’re looking for something to do during one of your breaks at Baruch, visit the Museum of Mathematics!