Cion Research Paper

The prompt of slavery songs are interesting. There is a deep underlining meaning behind the songs that contributes to the underground railroad and expressing the pain the slaves felt over their situation. In Cion, there were many methods worked in the underground railroad to make it a successful escape for slaves. Cion mentions numerous escape methods Nicodemus and Abednego used to escape from Fairfield farm. Even though songs were not use in their particular escape, slavery songs were still used by other slaves to reach salvation. I am curious to learn how the masters would deal with the slaves songs, knowing that there is apossbile message behind them. How did these songs begin? Was it a devised plan to create songs as messages for the underground railroad.

Video Games

The article “Is That Video Game Programming You?” was really interesting. So far, it had been my favorite article we have read. The journalist obviously has debated the issues mentioned in the article many times and has formed his arguments well over handling the controversies facing video games.

I am a video gamer myself. There are huge varieties of different gaming systems my brother and I share. We have family games, brain games, violent video games, adventure games, etc. However, our favorite series is the Resident Evil series of video games.

After I saw the movie to the Resident Evil video games series, I was astonished at how poorly the movie depicted the gore, violence, and horror surrounding the game. The movie didn’t even give the feeling of suspense and mystery surrounding the game series. The video games were far more violent, far scarier than the movie.

The different between the movie and video game was that the audience interacts with the game. They are put in the situation of killing, protecting yourself, collecting weapons, intuition on who to trust, etc; all the senses of a marine soldier or a cop. For a moment, the audience gets a taste of what it’s like to fear for your life in dangerous situations because we don’t want our character to be eaten by zombies.

Here’s real the big controversy comes in, do these violent video games influence us when we interact with them? My answer is in most cases no. A majority of time the video game will not influence us. The video game will never provoke us to commit a violent act. Again, the video game will never be the provoking fact to commit a violent act.

However, people struggling with mental health or other issues in their life and plan on committing a violent act can get ideas from a video game. But they can also get ideas from movies, books, the news, etc. A healthy minded person does not go out and commit murder. However, a person who struggles with personal issues and has a mental predisposition may commit violent crimes and get ideas from sources around them.

If parents are worried that the violent video games may influence their children, do what the author said. Do not buy the game. Regulate the child’s gaming system and make sure they are not playing the game. It’s the parent’s jobs to take control over the controversy. They have the wallet that supports the gaming industry. Parents should not be blaming other sources for their faults in allowing their children play the game.

"The hurt, betrayed son"

The article was confusing. I’ve never watched or read anything about Rambo. The whole story was just difficult to understand because new characters were kept being introduced. It wasn’t the most enjoyable read. However, it was nice to change up the blog readings and try something new.

The article today relates to the article we read for Monday. Rambo obviously had this definition in his read of what it means to be a man. It means masculinity, physical and mental strength, etc; all the stereo types of a man. How prevalent these stereotypes are today I do not know. I believe our society is accepting men and women that have both traits that are called masculine and feminine traits. Even his conversation style was brought up on how he liked to always lecture and not let anyone tell him otherwise over his opinions. Of course, we learned that in the class activity that some of those signs of male conversation traits have truth to them.

I want to bring up again how men and women are slowly taking traits from each other. Around fifty years ago, feminine traits and masculine traits were segregated based on sex. Now, if a man acts “dominant,” he will most be looked down upon by the community. Fifty years ago his behavior would not have affected his life in a negative way. These traits would be considered part of being a man. But now there is a promotion of women stepping up to the plate and becoming less “submissive.” Men are allowed to show their emotions and be “vulnerable.” All the masculine and feminine traits we share are a part of being human, male or female. However society had once judged what was appropriate from one sex and inappropriate from another.

On a personal note, I find it interesting how they bring up the father situation. The lack of a role from a male figure kept Rambo in the mind set that he is the “man” now. Childhood was cut out of the picture and it’s now time to be a man. Of course his idea of what a man and how to act as a male figure is a little distorted due to the lack of a father figure. But on his own time, he must eventually find out.

"I'll explain it to you"

In my experience in conversing with men and women, I agree with the article over men and women’s conversation traits. Even as a student we find the evidence the article lists by the teaching styles of our professors. I come across more female professors interested in interacting with the students and hearing their opinions over the subject than male professors. Female professors tend to do discussion activities where students are able to share their opinions or ask questions. Women professors are open to, even encourage, students to oppose their opinions so the students can think for themselves. However, the majority of male professors I have been taught by are not open to student’s opinions. Male or female, the men professors do not want to hear your thoughts on a subject. I have never had a discussion group with a male teacher nor have I been encouraged to share my thoughts on a topic. Instead, he lectures for the whole class period, maybe asking questions to see if the students have kept up on their readings. Even the different conversations styles can be reflected in academics. They can also reflect in family life, careers, business, etc.

Tannen’s explanation covering why men “challenge” women’s argument’s seems plausible. If we sit and have a group discussion, men will challenge men and women. A friend of mine who is in another English class witnessed an argument which almost led to physical fight among male students. What escalated to the fight was that three men were opposing each other on a topic. From what she described, it was like a competition; which one can come out right and dominant. Men get into heated arguments all the time with other men. Women, a majority of the time, do not.

The blunt truth of the matter is that men and women will never be on the same page when it comes to speaking styles. The fact that men and women differ on conversation styles does not mean it’s based on gender discrimination. Women are ambitious too, like men, and contain of useful knowledge. However, if women do not want to feel “ignored,” or are tired of being the “appreciative audience,” then we must step up to the plate. If man does not want seem like a total jackass to the ladies, he must adjust to the appropriate conversation style for a woman.

However, I do not think these adjustments are very realistic.

"Homemade Education"

I enjoyed “Homemade Education.” In history books or in references I have heard of Malcolm X but have studied little over his biography or movement. Since he was famous for being a prominent speaker and leader among the black culture, it’s surprising to learn he became educated during his movement.

Malcolm was inspired to learn “some words” because he never received any responses back from his letters. Articulated and proper language appeals to audiences. It’s interesting to observe that members in high society respond better to articulated and proper language more efficiently than slang and broken language, even if the overall letters or speeches of both languages have the same message. Articulated language represents education. Maybe that is why high standing people respond better to articulated language. It represents knowledge and perhaps the author or speaker has an important point on a topic. However, if the language is not articulated, most likely the person is ignored because it is automatically assumed they are not educated. If they are not educated with proper and articulated language, then what ever voice on a topic they have does not matter.

After Malcolm learned articulated language and a broader vocabulary, he described it as “never been so truly free in my life.” Personally, I can relate to his feeling of freedom. We all have our own personal views over the world’s issues. However, sometimes we find it hard how to express our views. In Malcolm’s case, he obviously had to express his views through penmanship and speeches. He found freedom is sharing his views through a broad and articulated knowledge about his language which enhanced his movement. I found my freedom over expressing my views through art. In grade school and middle school, I had always been decent with art. When I reached high school, I had so many new opinions and topics about the world and current issues. The best way to get my opinion across was through art work. My English writing skills are poor but I had a talent in a field that still allowed personal expression over anything. So I put my skills to use and pursued to learn more about art.

On a final note, I have to applaud Malcolm for recording a whole dictionary through penmanship. Reading the dictionary and recording a few words a day would increase my vocabulary. However, unlike Malcolm, I do not think I would have the patience or focus to achieve this goal.

"r u Online"

The article “R U Online?” was probably the least enjoyable article yet. I understand how it must be frustrating for teachers teaching English in High school and Middle school when dealing with students who carry their new found lingo onto their English assignments. However, I’m sure one day in the classroom going over explicit detail over how the IM lingo will not be tolerated in an academic classroom would clear the problem with students.

The article is also completely biased. The article gave one professors opinion over the topic and she wrote a book about the subject. No other professors chimed in their opinion and research. Obviously this essay is a closed forum, a biased essay.

Honestly, if students are not aware IM lingo is not appropriate on an English essay by the time they reach high school, then I blame the teacher. If the IM lingo interferes with class work, then penalize the students through points. The students should have learned by middle school what is proper, grammatical English and what is not. Teachers should not blame Instant Messaging as the reason for why students have not learned to write a proper English Essay.

Young adults typing on the computer frequently and having their own unique IM lingo does not have only cons. A few weeks ago, I remember reading an article over how finger activity has to shown to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s. The article was in a doctor’s magazine and it also included a list of tasks that include finger activity. One of the activities was typing on the computer.

Instant messaging has positive influences on the young generation. It allows students who suffer a lack of socializing skills to take steps and develop bonds with their peers. For example, the article mentioned a young teenager who found it difficult to communicate with girls. Instant Messaging helped him take the step in talking to girls and after he becomes more comfortable talking them; he’ll be able to socialize more openly in a public place such as school or the movies.

Spanish Lessons

Spanish Lessons is about a woman named Christine Marlin who was born to Mexican-American parents. While growing up, she encountered racism from in her peers in grade school. Later on, she encountered racism from her professor. The discrimination was simply based on her heritage and her second language.

Today, I believe America is still adjusting to immigrants, especially from Mexico. Audiences can find FOX commentators often complaining of immigrants, espcially from Mexico. There is also a stereo type against immigrants who speak Spanish. We view them as invading our country, taking our jobs, taking over the english language, etc. Christine was even stereo typed in her college english class as being "ignorant" based on her skin color.

On an academic level, I believe colleges and school systems overcome the boundaries of racism. Colleges encourage students to recognize their heritage. Scholarships are given to students who do well in school but also have a certain ethnic background. There are school organizations concerning students with a certain ethnic background. We have holidays and months to celebrate different heritages, like black history month. At ohio university, we have majors in different languages, african american studies, european studies, study of asian cultures, etc. We also have studies concerning religion and different world religions around the world that contribute greatly towards regional cultures.

These steps are a process to eliminate the damage of racism and discrimination that our country has done decades before.

Our country contains large populations from different ethnic groups. These ethnic groups find it hard to recognize their own individuality among the masses since cultures are beginning to blend into the american culture.

My background is heavily Irish, Polish, and English. My own family often celebrates Polish tradiations mainly through food dishes and family gatherings. We also cover the Irish tradition through drinking. I am also Native American. My grandma is 1/4 native american and she has always had a constant interest in Native Americans.

Every one should recognize their individuality among the masses especially through race and heritage. They could explain our upbringing, education, religion, our parents history, etc. To put it blunty, it's a part of who we are.

Lost in translation

After I read Lost in Translation, it angered me that even political factions wanted to eliminate language. Lost in translation really cut me because I am majoring in anthropology, and I am fascinated with the individuality of all cultures. What I have learned from anthropology is language can be core of a culture. Language is not just a form of reading and writing. It helps separate groups of people from one another.

Cultural identity through language is slowly being erased among the first world countries. For example, in the United States a new discrimination is popping up over language. We are finding more people complaining about immigrants who cannot speak English. The government is even now trying to push it as a requirement when earning a visa. Language describes a person’s background, their heritage, their history, their roots, and maybe even their distinct physical features. Why would we want them to eliminate their heritage and trade it in for something more “popular”? Maybe American’s are taking up a few of Joseph Stalin’s ideas. We may view Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, etc. all gutter languages since we are a dominated English speaking country.

Vassilij Gavbov and David Harrison probably Chulym by preserving the language in children’s books. If it wasn’t for these two individuals immense interest in preserving Chulym, it would have been forgotten. Language is a powerful bond among people. For example, say if you are in a foreign country and do not speak the native language fluently. Then you come across another person who speaks your language. Coming from personal experience, you feel a tie with this stranger. It was a comforting relief for me when I met somebody else who spoke English. It was like I was visiting a long lost family member who shared a connection with me except it was through sharing the same language. Our language is a part of us.

Sometimes people can feel threatened by foreign cultures and language. The reason for feeling threatened is that they do not understand it therefore deem it to be negative. Feeling threatened by foreign cultures or language leads to anger, to hate, and finally opppression. Instead of feeling threatened, there should be respect and intrigue. All cultures can learn from each other but still keep their own unique identity. We should respect the differences of cultures and the language barrier instead of trying to blend the whole globe into one culture and one language. The world will lose it's flavor if we continue to pursue this.

Critical Reading

Critical reading is thoroughly analyzing a piece of writing. Readers draw in the important points of the piece of writing and decide whether or not the writer's argument provided sufficient logic, facts, or evidence. Readers should ask themselves after reading the piece "What is their argument?", "What audience are they appealing to?" "What is their tone?" "Are they biased?" "Do they provide sufficient support (dates, facts, quotes, etc.) for their argument?" All are key questions we should ask while analyzing the piece.

Critical readings skills are necessary through out college, especially for college text books. Critical reading skills in college will help us retain the important popints from new knowledge we receive daily from our classes.

Three tools the reading assignment suggested for critical reading are audience, illogical arguments, and images. When writing or reading an article or piece of literature, audience dictates everything. When we write, we must appeal to the audience. If we are writing for a school paper, generally the tone and style will be argumentative with a liberal flare. If we are writing a piece for a religious magazine, the tone and arguments will be conservative. Illogical arguments are arguments that do not provide an appropriate tone and style that provides facts and dates, which are current, for their argument. Image helps the article to be more appealing and for the reader to visualize the points made behind the reading. For example, a newspaper article over genocide in Darfur. A visual image of the refugees would help draw readers into the article and visualize the emergency of the event.