Project one seemed like a breeze. I figured I'd be able to knock it out in a night, but when I started I realized it would be more challenging than I originally anticipated. I was grateful that my project one assignment for English 1030 wasn't "how monuments are rhetoric" like some of my hall-mates, because that would have truly led to my ultimate demise. I struggled to accurately express fashion through words in the way that I have grown to value it. To me there is no question that fashion speaks and it's honestly hard for me to understand how anyone could think fashion isn't a form of authorship.
This presented new challenges for me because I had to take myself out of my shoes and try to pretend that I wasn't convinced fashion is a form of authorship. I had to do this because otherwise my argument wouldn't have been as strong. I definitely know a lot about fashion, it's something that intrigues me and that I've always been interested in so it was pretty difficult to take a step back and remember I might be arguing this topic to someone that isn't very fashion forward or inclined. All in all, once I found my voice and a strong thesis it all came together. I liked the open ended creative concept behind this paper and it definitely resonated well with me.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Arguments & Authorship
An argument is a expression of views that are expressed in order to persuade someone that they are either right or wrong. Recently at Clemson there has been an outburst of students that say Clemson is racist and needs to make changes to building names, specifically Tillman, an iconic building on campus. The students argument relies solely on the fact that Tillman was a slave owner when he was alive. Recent issues on campus with fraternity parties have made these students even more dedicated in their efforts to make Clemson more racially accepting. The issue is a racial conflict. It is important because if Clemson changes the name of Tillman to please these students they will be showing efforts to be more diverse, however, if they do not Clemson will seem to value the school's history more than the angry students wishes. Clemson is in a tough situation but ultimately should do what is in the best interest of Clemson University as a whole.
For my essay my topic is visual art like graffiti making artists authors as well. In many countries where free speech is a foreign thought graffiti translates the citizens struggles and thoughts when they cannot directly express them. Graffiti also breaks down language barriers. Because graffiti is art, the images are simply complimented by words so even if you don't speak the language you can still figure out what the author/artist was trying to achieve. Authorship can be defined in many different ways and artists and authors share many of the same goals for their finished products.
For my essay my topic is visual art like graffiti making artists authors as well. In many countries where free speech is a foreign thought graffiti translates the citizens struggles and thoughts when they cannot directly express them. Graffiti also breaks down language barriers. Because graffiti is art, the images are simply complimented by words so even if you don't speak the language you can still figure out what the author/artist was trying to achieve. Authorship can be defined in many different ways and artists and authors share many of the same goals for their finished products.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Making your own writing process (shitty first drafts)
The first important paper I had to write was in third grade. I remember coming back from Christmas break and being bombarded with an assignment to write a five paragraph essay explaining our activities over break. We had plenty of time to write in class, but I sat. Weeks led up to the paper being due and I still sat. Nothing on my looseleaf but doodles of flowers and haphazard attempts at cursive. So, the day it was due I wrote it on the bus on the way to school. The "paper" that I turned in was nothing more than a less than impressive brainstorm. And now, after reading "Shitty first drafts" I realize why I was so stumped by that entire writing process I was introduced to and subsequently rejected.
It's somewhat relieving to have an author say your first draft can be shitty. There's a sort of connotation when walking into an English class that everything you write will be that of an author. And I think that is exemplified by my third grade paper. Because I was told how my writing process should go I rejected the process as a whole. We're told to brainstorm, write a first draft, edit, and then turn it in our final paper. But in reality, authors don't just have one draft. And often times their first draft barely resembles their finished product. Authors find what works for them, what makes them tick, what air temperature, surroundings, and time of day produces their best writing. School systems should focus on what goes into making a good writer, because otherwise they turn students into robots that churn out essays. There's no individuality in the process that they require you to use. It's unfortunate, but easily fixable. By simply allowing people to write how they want to write the end result would be much more impressive and fulfilling.
It's somewhat relieving to have an author say your first draft can be shitty. There's a sort of connotation when walking into an English class that everything you write will be that of an author. And I think that is exemplified by my third grade paper. Because I was told how my writing process should go I rejected the process as a whole. We're told to brainstorm, write a first draft, edit, and then turn it in our final paper. But in reality, authors don't just have one draft. And often times their first draft barely resembles their finished product. Authors find what works for them, what makes them tick, what air temperature, surroundings, and time of day produces their best writing. School systems should focus on what goes into making a good writer, because otherwise they turn students into robots that churn out essays. There's no individuality in the process that they require you to use. It's unfortunate, but easily fixable. By simply allowing people to write how they want to write the end result would be much more impressive and fulfilling.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Is everyone an author? And what's up with words?
Authorship as a whole has been revolutionized with the introduction of social media and technology. We're taught that authors write books, movies, plays, and poems. But what does it mean when someone writes a very convincing and engaging email or a though provoking Facebook status? Or even this blog post just like many other blog posts circling out there in the cyber world right now. The answer is pretty simple. With social media, blogging, and technology absolutely anyone can try their hand at being an author. Anyone can be engaging, thought provoking, convincing, entertaining, and as a whole just a plain and simple good writer. With these new outlets we've seen a change in the ways in which people can show off their writing abilities. Blogging in particular has become extremely successful. Blogging now can even become means for someone making income and having a job simply by typing from behind a computer screen. All in all, as humans adjust to the changes that come along with technology authorship is adapting to these changes as well.
When you think about it words are pretty strange to decode. If you just say one word over and over again it becomes meaningless. But there's something about words when spoken and written that change the way we think. Just by changing one word in a sentence you can completely change the way that the recipient of that sentence or reader of an article will feel. Probably the simplest example would be by switching the words hate and love. So instead of announcing "I love you" you now say "I hate you." And subsequently the person you're talking or writing to goes from being happy to most likely being sad or angered. Words effect emotion and human behavior. They shape the way we live our lives. And yet it's strange to think we are so effected by lines formed into weird shapes that are spoken in a combination of sounds.
When you think about it words are pretty strange to decode. If you just say one word over and over again it becomes meaningless. But there's something about words when spoken and written that change the way we think. Just by changing one word in a sentence you can completely change the way that the recipient of that sentence or reader of an article will feel. Probably the simplest example would be by switching the words hate and love. So instead of announcing "I love you" you now say "I hate you." And subsequently the person you're talking or writing to goes from being happy to most likely being sad or angered. Words effect emotion and human behavior. They shape the way we live our lives. And yet it's strange to think we are so effected by lines formed into weird shapes that are spoken in a combination of sounds.
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