Author: eohara (Page 23 of 28)

Journal Entry #1 

Two important points and most significant takeaways from this chapter stemmed from the overarching idea that good communication is essential to any professional sphere within the focus of writing. The first lies in the ability to have control and understanding of grammar and the techniques of writing. The biggest misunderstanding the text explains from this idea is that our education system has made grammar secondary to the expression of ideas and creativity within students. The correction of this idea, I feel, is incredibly essential – not only is creativity enhanced by the ability to freely experiment with thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively made possible by those “persnickety” rules of writing, but creativity also goes to waste when an individual cannot express themselves because their own writing hinders it. 

Another point from this section of the book expresses that being accountable for writing well is impacting more individuals than before, as technology has enabled one person to do the job of many in previous years. This brings in the importance of feeling confident in skillfully writing for an audience, presenting not only yourself but your place of employment and sometimes even a representative of an entire profession in the highest light. Connecting back to the most prominent theme when exploring professional and technical writing, good communication, the text stated, “Regardless of what profession you ultimately choose, you will almost certainly be using these skills every single day, both on the job and off”(20). 

Journal Entry #2 

As discussed in the chapter on plain language, one of the big points focused on deciphering the style and intent of academic versus business writing. From this, the discussion on specialized writing tended to align with written works in academic fields where knowledge of specific jargon, background knowledge, and format tends to be structured based on particular disciplines. Whereas business writing gears toward generalist strategies where “This audience calls for a less specialized vocabulary and less complex set of concepts”(27). Additionally, professional writing can feel more stylized in visual matters like images, lists, and graphics to make the information easier to present (26).

 Leading from this, the second essential point is the concept of plain language or plain English. Unlike the lesser-known jargon in fields like law, plain language emphasizes “concrete and specific examples rather than abstractions to be as clear as possible” (27). Again, the idea of creating effective and efficient communication based on serving a wide range of prospective audiences comes back to learning, sometimes relearning, the formats, tools, and techniques to offer clarity. In that same line, it is helpful to maintain the perspective of business and career writing where revenue and spending are taken into account; the easier it is to convey the purpose of written works, the success often follows when misunderstandings, complaints, and costs are reduced due to plain English writing.

Framing Statement:

Thinking about the work I have done for my major in English and Political Science and then reflecting on this semester’s coursework in literary criticism, for one, I noticed an incredible overlap between the topics and theorists we covered and those within my political science courses. I knew that my two majors complimented each other well just based on bolstering my writing and reading skills, but I hadn’t thought about the possibilities of topics of literary criticism and theory such as Marxism, post-colonial studies, Freudian psychoanalysis, and feminist theory to appear even within my intro-level political science courses. In past English courses, especially ENG 229, which looked at the origins of the novel, I found many connections within our course surrounding narratology and the structures of literature, as well as where the role of authors comes in when analyzing their work. Taking this into account, I feel that the cultural and intellectual relevancies from my two majors extend our work across disciples by utilizing well-known theorists, concepts, and cultural markers to engage with specific areas of each major that left me with a feeling of cohesion, knowing what I am studying has broader implications and significance. 

Within the learning outcomes for my English major, I found the point of being able to “Read texts closely and critically through the conscious application of methods and insights drawn from a range of critical theories” went well with this project as I had to analyze two primary works, one being outside of this class and find and explain their relevance within two theories. Another category was “Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of literature in English with special attention to theory and criticism as a field,” which I felt was the very claim I tried to make within the project. Looking to theory and criticism as a way to enhance and deepen our understanding of literature is vital.

 I thought of this project as an in-depth and reflective scavenger hunt, and looking back through all of the work I did this semester showed me how many directions, and interesting perspectives can arise from theory. Through the modality of an essay, I feel that I have interpreted primary pieces of literature and connected them to various theories while gaining an understanding of those far-reaching historical and cultural moments that created them. 

Final Project Essay:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hDGhgmOA-siwuDFQRDWXda5ShXwQB36KX6XEh9A5WOA/edit?usp=sharing

Theories of interest

Structuralism

• Connection to the narratology aspect and how it can connect to previous works from ENG 229, what makes the novel “novel” with aspects of the structure and assumptions of how a novel as a genre came to be.
• PSC 210 con-law with discussions of frameworks and how certain things are framed (legal concepts connection).
• Texts:

Psychoanalysis

• Connection to Foucault and Freud in PSC 105
• Avenues for Feminist criticism within our review of Virginia Woolf and how that story can be a lens to discuss both.
• Texts:

New Criticism

• Avenue to discuss what theory I don’t like as much and highlight its shortcomings with contemporary examples of ways that literature is connected to outside issues and relevancies
• development of feminist theory to then queer theory and gender studies as a response to the cultural and academic need to press further and expand the role literature plays as well as postcolonial and race studies.
• New questions can be asked that prompt different analyses and exploration of a certain theory.
• Texts:

Quote: “I can’t believe we made it (This is what we made, made)/ This is what we’re thankful for (This is what we thank, thank)/ I can’t believe we made it (This a different angle)/ Have you ever seen the crowd goin’ apeshit? Rah

Comment: These lyrics from “Apesh*t” by The Carters seemed to highlight the elements within Parker’s section on race studies within Post Colonial and Race Studies where the black community can critique and draw new forms of historical awareness to previously normalized renditions of whiteness. As from the chapter, “they honor the past, critique it and change it, and make it their own” (342). I felt that these lyrics are exemplified in the music video as the countless paintings and sculptures all depict this sense of whiteness, yet, at the same time, we know the historical truths of how art and culture were advanced by the work and exploitation of black people. For the Carter’s to bring awareness to that in the form of celebration, they can now take their realities of history and culture into the center of what was usually reserved for white society. 

Question: 

I might raise the question of how this could fit into the concept of double consciousness as presented in Parker’s chapter through the excerpt by W.E.B Du Bois on how “this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity” (329). I thought that maybe this video and song point to the fact that it is usually this balance between cultures, either American or African American, and by the expression within the video, it might be allowing a blend of the two in both response and denial of those separations.