Course Description: This course will bring in-depth knowledge to the psychological and neurobiological factors that are associated with Eating Disorders. We will study in-depth, the variance of all eight eating disorders along with their subgroups. The scientific process behind disordered eating habits will be looked at along with how that can be curbed before it begins. Students will garner a higher level of understanding of eating disorder triggers, and methodologies to treat and or prevent ED’s within their workforce.
Course Goals:
Students will be able to identify the signs and symptoms of anorexia, bulimia, and binge- eating disorder along with proper diagnosis criteria
Students will formulate treatment plans on a case to case basis.
Students will understand how trauma, the environment, and culture lead to the development of eating disorders and body image issues.
Students will apply family systems concepts when identifying effective treatment strategies for eating disorders
Students will gain insight into the personal experiences of those with eating disorders and learn how to form a healthy conversation surrounding food
Required Assignments
Discussion Board: 1 weekly assignment responding to reading or film along with comments to peers.
Vocabulary Exam #1- Basic terminology
Day in the Life- A detailed respectful interview-based account of a person’s day with an eating disorder.
Vocabulary Exam #2
Reflection Paper – 3 page summary on what you learned from this course and how it will reflect in your future and in your work field.
Course Readings/Films
Restricted: A Novel Of Half-Truths By Jennifer Kinsel
How to Disappear Completely: On Modern Anorexia by Kelsey Osgood
Give Food A Chance: A New View on Childhood Eating Disorders.
At first when I read “The President Has Never Said The Word Black”, I was quite confused about what exact message I was supposed to get from the poem so I decided to move on to the article, “The Grammar of Police Shootings”. This article discusses the importance of how language is used in order to manipulate the public and to downplay the severity of crimes and mistakes made by the police. Author Radley Balko displays the contrast between how civilians’ crimes use verbs to show intended actions such as fired, produced, and striking with the help of adjectives like numerous to show that the acts they commit were intentional. When the murder of a 10-year-old boy by a police officer occurs, phrases such as “The deputy’s gun fired one shot,” and “not clear if the gun was accidentally fired by the deputy” is used taking all responsibility away from the cop’s careless actions and instead puts the blame on unfortunate circumstances. The clear difference in how similar events are described as “circumstantial” is no coincidence. With the recent focus on police brutality, it seems that there is an importance on how to cover up the countless mistakes which lead to death made by the officers who are supposed to protect and serve, rather than teaching officers how to correctly react to situations they are placed in. It seems that now a day’s the only people police departments are meant to protect are themselves.
If Long Soldier hypothetically wrote “everything is in the language we do NOT use”, she would be discussing the downplaying of situations through elementary language in order to not draw attention to the true severity of the matters being presented. By purposely eliminating the focus on topics through vague language, we draw away attention from them, hoping whatever the author is trying to cover up will stay that way; covered up. Balko wants us to feel dissatisfaction with how information is presented so we can better analyze future readings to see the discrepancies and truth that is being hidden about specific situations. After coming to this conclusion I then got a hint at what Parker’s poem was trying to say. The president at the time was Barack Obama, and Morgan Parker feels like he did an injustice to the black community by never addressing their struggles as black struggles. It is insinuated that while he can refer to those who are black as his “brothers and sisters” he cannot identify himself as black, as if he is afraid or embarrassed by the word. This all ties back to the language we do not use, by holding back on such an important identifying word, it creates a harmful message that one shouldn’t be aware of who they are and what role that plays into the injustices they experience. Overall these two pieces showed me that there is more to writing than picking the right words and structure to my sentences. They taught me that I have to be observant of the language I choose not to use, and to analyze why that is so and how it affects the message of my writing.
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Something that I really liked here as an artistic decision with my writing was introducing one reading and tying it in with the other in order to garner an internal and external understanding of the true message behind both readings. This post definitely explored the inclusivity of language and or the lack thereof by analyzing the erasure of “colored” language and being proud and identifying who you are. There needs to be further conversation on how we use language in our spaces to be inclusive and to not make anyone feel ashamed by the lack of diversity in our speech and scurrying away from the word black or colored as if it isn’t something to be celebrated. This blogpost specifically feels like a sliver of personal growth on paper where I learned and realized how the language I choose not to use is just as important as the language I do. I just love how passionate I was about these readings, and rereading this post I feel that passion still flowing within me and it makes me want to write in similar mediums to shed light on these issues within our modern linguistic landscape. This post is something I’m proud of and is an example of how my writing has developed over the years to have meaning rather than to be fluff to get an assignment done.
The question “can something be not your fault, but still your responsibility?” is surprisingly something that has been looming in my mind since I took the initiative to truly educate myself on prejudice and racism in America years ago. Coates’ extremely well written piece “The Case for Reparations” affirmed my thoughts after doing research, through a well detailed account of what African American’s had to face since the birth of “America” as we know it, and keeping in mind that the consequences of the past are far from behind us. It is very easy for a person with privilege to read Coates’ summary of the atrocities slaves faced through abuse, separation of families and having less value than non living property, and feel sympathy for those affected, but at the same time detached from those actions and see no way on how those actions can be undone through reparations. What I find hard though is to look at the conditions African American’s lived under during the Jim Crow era, and not see the direct effect it has had on the black community due to years of suppressing wealth, prosperity, the ability to assimilate into an “American” way of life without having to face hurdles which white citizens never had to endure.
In the article Coates’ presents statistics which show the correlation between neighborhoods which were designated as “black neighborhoods” and purposely deemed as low value by landlords in order to tie African American’s into money-milking contracts, and present day poverty numbers directly correlated to the black communities which still inhabit these areas. They were handicapped to communities which didn’t enable them to attain wealth, in cities that didn’t provide fair paying jobs and zoning which made sure more funding would go to predominantly white neighborhood schools, further creating a divide in equal opportunities for white and black students to this very day.
The video, “Ta-Nehisi Coates’ full opening statement on reparations at House hearing” neatly wraps up why the need for reperations isn’t as streamline as politicians make it out to be. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell stated that, “that reparations were not “a good idea” because no one who is currently living is responsible”. Coates’ is able quickly to negate this notion by using America’s history against itself; Why do we honor treaties that no longer effect living Americans, how can the largest asset to America’s economy not be given back to, and furthermore, how can one ignore the blatant red-lining that subjects African-American communities of major cities. West Germany payed it’s dues to the six million Jews who faced horrid death during the Holocaust in the form of seven billion dollars. Obviously no amount of money can’t make up for what occurred but it is something to acknowledge that West Germany severely diminished the quality of life for Jews starting anew in “Israel” and paying reparations for the set backs. Does the United States believe what African Americans have faced isn’t enough and that there should have been more blood shed in order to actually honor some form of reparations?
Before I finish my lengthy blogpost there is one angle that needs to be covered in the argument for reparations for African Americans, and that is the USA’s economy. In current day, with the United States being 27 trillion dollars in debt, monetary reparations do not seem possible without directly negatively affecting African Americans shortly thereafter. Taxes would need to increase, hitting those in poverty, government programs would be cut, and the tensions in America would increase, possibly leading to more bloodshed. Can something be not your fault , but still your responsibility, yes it can, but how you handle the responsibility is what matters most.
In section IV-VI, Coates presents the argument that through the dehumanization of African Americans during the integral stages of America’s development, there is an immense amount of irreversible damage that needs to be acknowledged. In Section IV, he establishes that both poor whites who were indentured servants and African American slaves had similar amounts of rights and were both looked down upon by the Elitist groups. Eventually it was realized that indentured servants had too many legal protections, and with African Americans being “aliens” they became free rein to turn into property. This is the point in history when the Black vs White mantra was instilled in America. African Americans no longer had any value as people and were treated horribly; There was no regard for family or life, but instead insurance policies to benefit the white man in case their slaves were no longer useable.
After the Civil War when slaves were freed, white supremacists still did everything they could to hold the African American population down and discriminate upon them. Bills such as “The G.I. Bill”, kept African Americans from having the same privileges as whites, and painted the clear picture that no matter what this country was not made for you and will continue to be this way. For years it was still purposely made a hurdle for African Americans to own property, yet they still blamed the “colored man” for being at fault to not live up to the standards of the white man.
All of these actions have affected Black American’s lives up to today creating the argument for “The Case for Reparations”. As Coates stated “Today Chicago is one of the most segregated cities in the country, a fact that reflects assiduous planning.” The zoning of cities by race and years of putting a group of people down to live in impoverished conditions has made it hard and even impossible for a large majority of people to escape the subservient conditions that existed since the beginning of this country’s formation.
The topic I chose to tackle for the research paper is Eating disorders in Adolescents, specifically how the environment in which one grows up in affects the susceptibility in acquiring one. What role do parents play in preventing eating disorders in the developmental period of their lives? Looking into the correlation between parental influence and eating disorders is important for education on how to prevent them. What long term consequences do eating disorders play in the mental and physical development of children? Does the socio-economic environment a child grows up in influence how prone one is to developing an eating disorder?
A doubt that I have is narrowing down the issue to a specific culture, as many cultures approach weight and appearance differently along with promoting eating disorder culture. Another doubt is having to keep other factors into consideration when writing about eating disorders as it is a multi-faceted issues and while can stem from childhood, but be looked at in multiple lights.
In “Introduction to The New Jim Crow“, author Michelle Alexander states “we have not ended racial caste in American; we have merely redesigned it.” using the mass incarceration system in America to keep people of color in a permanent second–class status. She is trying to show that through the story of Jarvious Cotton and how through generation and generation there are constructs in place to keep African Americans from voting. It isn’t a secret that neighborhoods with predominantly POC populations are over-policed and the image of the black man is always made out as thug-like in America and there is direct criminalization of a skin tone. The racial caste system is very much prevalent in America, and now rather than Jim Crow laws enforcing literacy tests to prevent African Americans from having any civil influence in their country, a judicial system that targets people of color is present to keep people as subordinates. Alexander uses her first-hand experience working for the ACLU in order to back her claims and reasoning for why the system has just been redesigned to mask it’s true intentions.
In the article, a key point that the author made which sent of bells and whistles in my mind was that while Moonee is aware of the poverty she is living in and maneuvers around it, she has no awareness towards the lack of care she is receiving from her mother. Something I very much disagree with is the article’s interpretation of how motel society is portrayed in the film. In the article, it is argued that the director seems to have a disconnect to the harsh realities of the dangers a child could face, unsupervised in a poverty-ridden area. Since the entire movie is based on the youthful innocence that Moonee has, I believe that the director shows that every situation Moonee faces is morphed into a fantasy version necessary for Moonee to hold the youthfulness within her and not grow up too fast. An observation the author of this article and I both have made is nonetheless Moonee is seen to be beyond her years in the understandings of what goes on around her, attributed by her unfiltered exposure to the vices of the world.
This movie is very real, and I feel that in order for one to be able to make an analysis on it, certain parts have to hit close to home. It is really easy to nitpick in a review what aspects of poverty aren’t shown, or that certain characters should’ve been shows facing deeper struggles. The whole point is that we are seeing this commentary on child neglect, poverty, and sex work through the lens of a child, which will obviously produce diluted imagery of the harsh reality.
When reading through Claire Jean Kim’s piece “The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans” a quote that stood out to me was “It is precisely because it has been revamped in nonracial language that the field of racial positions functions so effectively to reinforce White privilege today.”
I think this statement speaks volumes due to the selectivity of when nonracial language is used to benefit white privilege. What this reading showing is how pin minority groups between one another, specifically Asian Americans, watering down their worth as humans and instead, treating them as pawns ready to be discarded at any moment. They are meant to act as the ideal minority group in order to find success, whilst ignoring the discrimination they face in “white” America and are brainwashed to believe that their struggles are due to the inherent laziness of black people which take away opportunities from them. The reality is that the white power structures are what keep all minority groups at a disadvantage, not one another.
0:00- 0:16 – Joji wakes up on a limousine confused, starting to stumble around
0:16-0:28- He starts walking through the limousine stumbling, people are drinking and talking to each other, ignoring the fact that he exists.
0:30 – He is laying on the dry cracked ground, and as he is singing about his past relationship his skin begins to crack like the ground.
0:40-0:55- Joji starts to pick up his pace and is realizing that the limousine seems endless, he continues to pass people that seem to be enjoying their time.
1:05- The people on the limousine start to acknowledge his presence but are grabbing at him and laughing at him. As he is running through this endless limo he sings “I know that I’m stuck in this misery”
1:15 – Frame back to him on the dirt, his skin forming more and more cracks as he chooses to “run”
1:30 – As he runs through the people repeat themselves, it’s like he is running through a never-ending loop. The people on the limousine now start to grab at him and pull him back, trying not to let him continue through the limo but Joji is able to escape their grips and continues on.
1:45-1:54 – The aspect on the limo now seem to get more complex, rather than the same scene a hot tub now appears in the aisle and once he climbs through it he passes shrubbery that looks forest like inside the limo with things grabbing onto him
2:05-2:20- The little limo hallway begins to spin challenging his run through it even further, it then stops and he is now running without any barriers, there is no one else on the limo just him running and running
2:20- Another cut of him on the ground, his skin now very cracked
2:29-2:40- It seems that Joji has approached the end of this limo as we see a very bright light, he begins to stumble towards it while we see flashbacks of his journey through this limo between cuts of him getting closer and closer to the white light
2:42 Joji is suddenly in a room with the passengers of the limo circling him like large looming god figures.
2:49-2:55- Joji begins to hit at the white bright light and it begins to break like a tv screen would, but he is hitting it and hitting it trying to shatter it.
2:57 – Cut to Joji now running on a barren looking planet which is what he was previously laying on when his skin was cracking.
3:14- Joji finally breaks through this screen, it shatters like glass, the song itself ending.
3:21-3:26 – Joji is seen running through this barren area, and slowly you hear an overhead voice telling him to wake up
3:27- Joji wakes up in a spacecraft setting, with the wake-up voice still heard in the background
3:53 – He walks around the spacecraft and grabs what looks like an itinerary sheet and the wake-up voice is still present along with some sort of machine noise.
4:05 – The voice is now repeating please hold as he looks at the image of a car on what looks like the place where he was running outside.
4:23-4:35 – The voice continues to repeat wake up as the camera pans out on Joji standing in the middle of the spacecraft, and the video ends.
In order to fully understand the song and the video, one has to take a look at Joji’s past. He started off his career in the entertainment industry as a YouTuber known by FilthyFrankTV, and as he garnered popularity, began to make music side projects that differed to his content. Eventually, when he had a sizable audience he wanted to pursue his true passion, music, leaving one industry that he began to feel burnt out it and entering a new one full of its own complexes. Run is a music video that could be placed into a multiverse, carrying aspects and “Easter eggs” to previous videos which is a concept he had in his YouTube videos. The song itself is about a relationship that he cannot forget and how he still has feelings for his ex but knows she doesn’t feel the same. I feel like the whole never-ending limo concept is him trying to show how he is trying to run from his feelings and thoughts but can never escape them. I think that the people in the limo have more to do with his career rather than the woman who the song is about. As a fan of his from the YouTube days, I know that many of his YouTube fans feel like they were abandoned by him and constantly criticize his emergence into the music industry, so I feel like those people in the limo trying to pull him backward signify that. He is running from multiple problems but can’t seem to get too far, until he reaches the screen that he begins to break, maybe like breaking through the constraints of his thoughts. When he wakes up in the shuttle ( which is from a previous music video ) it’s like he woke up from a bad dream, but now he is all alone. With the voice in the background constantly telling him to wake up and the machinery noise, it’s like he is in a coma in a hospital with someone telling him to wake up but Joji doesn’t seem to realize that. Overall I think this song and music video is trying to show him fighting and escaping all of his struggles trying to find peace with himself, but having to go through multiple stages of acknowledging everything that he feels.
At first when I read “The President Has Never Said The Word Black”, I was quite confused about what exact message I was supposed to get from the poem so I decided to move on to the article, “The Grammar of Police Shootings”. This article discusses the importance of how language is used in order to manipulate the public and to downplay the severity of crimes and mistakes made by the police. Author Radley Balko displays the contrast between how civilians crimes use verbs to show intended actions such as fired, produced, and striking with the help of adjectives like numerous to show that the acts they commit were intentional. When the murder of a 10-year-old boy by a police officer occurs, phrases such as “The deputy’s gun fired one shot,” and “not clear if the gun was accidentally fired by the deputy” is used taking all responsibility away from the cop’s careless actions and instead puts the blame on unfortunate circumstances. The clear difference in how similar events are described as “circumstantial” is no coincidence. With the recent focus on police brutality, it seems that there is an importance on how to cover up the countless mistakes which lead to death made by the officers who are supposed to protect and serve, rather than teaching officers how to correctly react to situations they are placed in. It seems that now a day’s the only people police departments are meant to protect are themselves.
If Long Soldier hypothetically wrote “everything is in the language we do NOT use”, she would be discussing the downplaying of situations through elementary language in order to not draw attention to the true severity of the matters being presented. By purposely eliminating the focus on topics through vague language, we draw away attention from them, hoping whatever the author is trying to cover up will stay that way; covered up. Balko wants us to feel the dissatisfaction with how information is presented so we can better analyze future readings to see the discrepancies and truth that is being hidden about specific situations. After coming to this conclusion I then got a hint at what Parker’s poem was trying to say. The president at the time was Barack Obama, and Morgan Parker feels like he did an injustice to the black community by never addressing their struggles as black struggles. It is insinuated that while he can refer to those who are black as his “brothers and sisters” he cannot identify himself as black, as if he is afraid or embarrassed by the word. This all ties back to the language we do not use, by holding back on such an important identifying word, it creates a harmful message that one shouldn’t be aware of who they are and what role that plays into the injustices they experience. Overall these two pieces showed me that there is more to writing than picking the right words and structure to my sentences. They taught me that I have to be observant to the language I choose not to use, and to analyze why that is so and how it effects the message of my writing.
