Category: ENG 110 Posts (Page 1 of 2)

For this sentence (or rather, paragraph), I would try to come up with a longer explanation of the connection between the Lama and Balch quotes. I should have kept that sentence as is, except for fixing the “Balch’s article showed” into “Balch shows”, but I would have added more for the connection onto that. For example, “Both Balch and Lama prove to understand the need for more international knowledge on the subject so that a wider audience can be included in the decision-making process” or something along those lines.

While I had written some debate papers in the past, I think this paper helped improve my ability to write “naysayer” style paragraphs. When I would write a counter argument, I wouldn’t really have a structure in mind as to how I would write the paragraph so being introduced to the naysayer template helped me picture an outline of how the paragraph and the argument should look. I think also overall just having more practice writing papers, specifically with structure, have improved my writing ability and forced me to write and learn about things outside of my comfort zone: especially with this paper in particular. Overall, I think I’ve improved on quite a bit of my writing.

Rough Introduction/Personal Anecdote

If I had to recall the first time I heard music, I wouldn’t be able to. Did my mom play music for me before I was born? After I came home from the hospital? On my first birthday? Music has been so deeply ingrained in my life for as long as I can remember, so trying to figure out when I first heard it would be impossible. As a child, my dream was to become a singer. I loved music and I loved singing; I joined the chorus at my elementary school in third grade which was the earliest one could join. I loved music class at school, and my teacher recommended me for “music enrichment” which was a special class she taught for students who enjoyed learning more about music. Only one other student besides myself took the class, and we learned how to play the violin as well as the piano. This was my first time learning to play an instrument other than the recorder and while it was really difficult it was also very fulfilling. I also signed up for band classes after school and played the flute for one year, but I realized that I wasn’t as passionate about playing instruments as I was about singing. I do regret not keeping up with at least playing the piano as that was the instrument I enjoyed learning and playing the most. Even outside of school, music was so ingrained in my life: the theme songs of TV shows that I watched after coming home from school that I still catch myself humming occasionally to this day, the Taylor Swift and Kelly Clarkson CD’s that I would play over and over again on my little blue CD player alone in my room writing down the lyrics as I listened. I would listen to country music with my best friend even though I could never understand the appeal, and even now that we have long since stopped being friends I am always reminded of running around with water balloons in her backyard in the middle of summer whenever I hear certain songs. To me, music is such a large part of my life and I truly wouldn’t be the same without it. I have heard songs that have changed the way I think, songs that made me cry, songs that made me want to dance. Some songs make me think of old friends or significant others, or specific moments in time. The way that music has been able to evoke such powerful memories and emotions from me is both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time; something as simple as a mixture of sounds can change your life. Because all art already encompasses the thoughts and emotions of their artist, art does not have to attempt to have a certain significance or meaning.

TRIAC
There are no requirements to be able to make art. As an artist, what medium you choose and how you choose to express your emotions through art are entirely up to you. If there were strict guidelines for what you could and couldn’t create, we would not have a lot of the beautiful works of art we have today. Nina Simone declares that “An Artist’s duty is to reflect the times”. While I understand Simone’s idea, I propose that all artists are already reflecting the times whether or not they are trying to. All of the things people are thinking and feeling are reflected in their artwork through music, paintings, dance, or film, etc. By placing a “duty” onto an artist their work is restricted, which would produce work not reflective of the times but instead reflective of their disdain at having their art broken down into their “duty”. Artists do not have to consciously work towards making something reflective of the times: the products of their work will be indicative of the times regardless.

If I had to recall the first time I heard music, I wouldn’t be able to. Did my mom play music for me before I was born? After I came home from the hospital? On my first birthday? Music has been so deeply ingrained in my life for as long as I can remember, so trying to figure out when I first heard it would be impossible. As a child, my dream was to become a singer. I loved music and I loved singing; I joined the chorus at my elementary school in third grade which was the earliest one could join. I loved music class at school, and my teacher recommended me for “music enrichment” which was a special class she taught for students who enjoyed learning more about music. Only one other student besides myself took the class, and we learned how to play the violin as well as the piano. This was my first time learning to play an instrument other than the recorder and while it was really difficult it was also very fulfilling. I also signed up for band classes after school and played the flute for one year, but I realized that I wasn’t as passionate about playing instruments as I was about singing. I do regret not keeping up with at least playing the piano as that was the instrument I enjoyed learning and playing the most. Even outside of school, music was so ingrained in my life: the theme songs of TV shows that I watched after coming home from school that I still catch myself humming occasionally to this day, the Taylor Swift and Kelly Clarkson CD’s that I would play over and over again on my little blue CD player alone in my room writing down the lyrics as I listened. I would listen to country music with my best friend even though I could never understand the appeal, and even now that we have long since stopped being friends I am always reminded of running around with water balloons in her backyard in the middle of summer whenever I hear certain songs. To me, music is such a large part of my life and I truly wouldn’t be the same without it. I have heard songs that have changed the way I think, songs that made me cry, songs that made me want to dance. Some songs make me think of old friends or significant others, or specific moments in time. The way that music has been able to evoke such powerful memories and emotions from me is both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time; something as simple as a mixture of sounds can change your life.

INFO SHEET on the SONG I CHOSE FOR Project #3 

WHAT SONG DID YOU CHOOSE? (include name of song and artist) 

Sunday Bloody Sunday – U2

WHAT IS THIS SONG ABOUT? 

The song seems to be about witnessing the effects of war from an outsider’s perspective. The lyrics allude to watching the news and witnessing the damage of this tragedy but feeling a sort of powerlessness or helplessness about it. Also, the repeated “How long, how long must we sing this song? How long? How long?” also further shows that even witnesses are tired of war and conflict and are tired of feeling helpless to stop it.

AFTER DOING SOME BACKGROUND, WHAT IS THE BACKGROUND/ HISTORY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SONG? 

This song was written about an incident named “Bloody Sunday” that occurred in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1972. British troops shot 26 unarmed civilian protesters during this “Bloody Sunday”, killing 14 of them. This incident was one event in a series of conflicts called “The Troubles”, also known as the Northern Ireland Conflict. It began due to the discrimination of the Catholic/nationalist minority by the Protestant/unionist majority.

WHY DID YOU CHOSE THIS SONG? 

I grew up listening to U2 so I wasn’t unfamiliar with the artist or the song. However, it has definitely been years since I’ve heard the song, so I listened to it while reading the lyrics and was surprised. I had never really paid attention to the lyrics before, probably because at the time I first heard it I was too young to care. Listening to the song again while reading the lyrics really made me appreciate the song, and I learned something completely new while looking up the events that inspired the song. I think that the history behind the song is interesting and also important, as well as the message. Anti-war songs always evoke some pretty powerful emotions from me, and I think that the nostalgia of having heard this song before also impacted my decision in choosing this song.

PRE-WRITING FOR your NEXT ROUGH DRAFT: 

___Think back on the first time you heard music. Where were you? How old? Alone? With a brother, a sister? Did your parents listen to music? What was the first song you downloaded? Why? Who are your favorite artists and why? Think about any emotions associated with your initial exposure to music. Do certain songs remind you of an old boyfriend, girlfriend, friend, or maybe an old “you”? Explain why you think music takes us so easily back to memories. 

If I had to recall the first time I heard music, I wouldn’t be able to. Was it while I was still in my mom’s womb? After I came home from the hospital? On my first birthday? Music has been so deeply ingrained in my life for as long as I can remember, so trying to figure out when I first heard it would be impossible. As a child, my dream was to become a singer. I loved music and I loved singing; I joined chorus at my elementary school as soon as I could. I took advanced music classes and practiced singing and playing instruments in my free time. I spent hours upon hours listening to the two Taylor Swift CD’s I owned alone in my room while memorizing the lyrics and trying to find deeper meanings. To me, music is such a large part of my life and I truly wouldn’t be the same without it. I have heard songs that have changed the way I think, songs that made me cry, songs that made me want to dance. Some songs make me think of old friends or significant others, or specific moments in time. The way that music has been able to evoke such powerful memories and emotions from me is both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time; something as simple as a mixture of sounds can change your life.

The purpose of art is to expand our understanding of the diversity in our society. Art allows so much room for the artist to express themselves as well as groups of people, particularly those who are marginalized. Rajan expresses his belief that “Those who make art — good art — have a responsibility to advance individuals and communities who have been historically marginalized and underrepresented by amplifying their stories, by building a culture that reflects their true reality or, perhaps most powerfully, by giving them a platform to speak for themselves” (Rajan). Rajan believes that giving artists the opportunity to be political is incredibly important and proves beneficial to the kind of work they produce and the effect it has on society. By making art that is political, artists are changing the way in which we see and experience the world. Creating more diversity in art is something that can be not only done by creating new art, but by amending historical pieces of art. One artist who has used this method is Titus Kaphar, who creates new renditions of historical paintings that aim to highlight marginalized people in these works of art. Kaphar explains that “I want to make paintings, I want to make sculptures that are honest, that wrestle with the struggles of our past but speak to the diversity and the advances of our present. And we can’t do that by taking an eraser and getting rid of stuff” (11:14). He doesn’t want to erase the history of these old paintings, but rather create something new with them to amend their meanings and highlight those who have long been brushed aside. What Kaphar is doing is political art, and I believe Rajan would consider him a “good artist” by doing so. Both Rajan and Kaphar emphasize the importance of magnifying the voices of those less heard and trying to bring about more diversity in our society through art. By creating paintings, music, films, etc. that highlight marginalized groups, it will provide more opportunity for understanding of this diversity and how integral it is to our society.

Write a 6 sentence summary of what this Ted Talk is about.

In this TED Talk, Titus discusses the lack of representation of Black people in particular in historical pieces of art. He gives examples from his own life experiences, such as seeing the Roosevelt statue in the Natural History Museum and having the whole chapter about Black people in historical art and Black artists from his textbook be skipped over in one of his classes supposedly due to “lack of time”. These experiences caused him to realize that representation of Black people in art is something that needs to be addressed, and his way of doing so is amending historical art pieces. He shows his own rendition of a painting by Frans Hals, and then proceeds to paint over the white people in the painting with what looks like white paint but will actually dry transparent. This shows that it is possible for artworks to be amended to highlight Black people without erasing or eradicating history. His message is that historical art and paintings can be changed or amended to showcase Black people in history without actually erasing the history of the original work.

Identify 2 claims Titus is making, either directly (via transcript, ie. quotes) or indirectly (practice your paraphrasing!)

“Painting is a visual language where everything in the painting is meaningful, is important. It’s coded. But sometimes, because of the compositional structure, because of compositional hierarchy, it’s hard to see other things.”

The history of art in the past can be amended to highlight Black people in history without erasing the history of the original pieces.

Do you agree with his approach to remedy the perceptions of history through his unconventional art? Why or why not? (150 words!)

I definitely think that it is an intriguing approach. As someone who is represented everywhere throughout history, I can’t say I know what it is like to experience a lack of representation or misrepresentation so I think that any approach to try to highlight more marginalized groups in history is a great idea. His approach is something that doesn’t erase the history and meaning of historical paintings but rather presents a new perspective on the works of art. I think that it also highlights the inequality faced by marginalized groups in history and further proves that there is such a lack of representation for Black people not only just in historical art but in history as a whole. I think that also along with Titus’ approach, more modern art done by Black artists should be showcased as well instead of only focusing on the past. Right now, we are making historical art for future generations, so creating a lot of representation now will prove useful for people studying art a hundred years from now.

Titus Kaphar’s Artwork

I decided to fix the portion of the sentence highlighted “don’t get out of hand” because it was casual and informal. The new end of the sentence reads, “do not expose the public to the potential risks of CRISPR technology” which I thought was more specific and fit better with the rest of the paragraph as well as my thesis.

Rough Introduction Project #2

If humans had the option to change their genetic makeup, would they? This question may have seemed far-fetched 20 years ago but with these revolutionary advancements in CRISPR technology, somatic cell editing could become much more accessible in the very near future. This kind of gene modification is used to alter disease-causing genes rather than heritable genes which are instead treated with germline editing. With this kind of technology, people would be able to use CRISPR as a form of treatment for their disease, and likely if the technology continues to advance, could even use it to cure their illness. According to the article “The future of CRISPR is now” written by Bridget Balch, Staff Writer for the Association of American Medical Colleges, clinical trials have already begun to test CRISPR technology’s effectiveness in treating these diseases such as sickle cell disease, Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (which causes vision loss), and even cancer. Balch also discusses the ethics of CRISPR technology and whether it is safe for people to experiment with on their own using kits, like high school and community college students are able to do in Delaware. (I’m not sure how to cite it but) In the essay by the Dalai Lama, the ethics of gene-editing is also discussed. He emphasizes the importance of compassion and ethics in scientific advancements like CRISPR technology, and that it is the responsibility of those with knowledge of the topic to set boundaries on what are acceptable uses of this technology. Both articles stress the importance of ethics in gene-editing and the consequences that could arise if rules are not set into place. Since the articles emphasize the need to set rules up for CRISPR technology, it leaves the impression that this technology will continue to develop and we should be prepared for when it does, rather than try to stop the development of the technology. Since scientists will continue to advance CRISPR technology, it is necessary to regulate the technology’s use with ethical approaches.

Annotations

Questions

1. The staff writer, Bridget Balch, interviews a number of people for her article on CRISPR. The article explores both the “potential for good” as well as some important questions about “where do we draw the line” when it comes to using the powerful, advanced tool of CRISPR technology. Explore and describe one “good thing” and one “bad thing” about CRISPR that the article identifies. Explain what the implications of using CRISPR might be (benefits/ risks) for each thing you selected.

One good thing about the CRISPR technology is that it can be used to treat disorders such as sickle cell disease, blindness, and cancer. The treatment of these can help a lot of people who are struggling with these disorders, and it could also be used to remove the genes that cause these disorders before a person is born. Some could argue that this isn’t an entirely positive “good thing” and that there are risks, but personally for the most part I see this as positive. One bad thing about the CRISPR technology is the misuse of it. The example of the Chinese biophysicist creating genetically altered babies without permission or consent from the government is a particular example that terrifies me because if this technology were to be used by someone with bad intentions, it could be detrimental to human society.

2. Balch interviews a Bioethicist, Christopher Scott, about the ethics of CRISPR. He explains several regulations that are “in the works” and describes how they should be implemented. Describe at least 2 of these ethical considerations he shares that the scientific community needs to implement if the awesome power of CRISPR is to be integrated into our society.

Scott implies that it is important for everyday members of society to be involved in discussions on this technology because it is important to understand what regular people actually want or need with this technology rather than solely focusing on scientific advancements. He also just describes the importance of setting up ethical guidelines and structures for CRISPR scientists because we need to “deliberate this with foresight rather than hindsight” (Scott).

3. Balch reports at the end of the article that there is “little international consensus on what is acceptable when it comes to experimental gene editing in humans” (Balch). Since CRISPR technology affects the genetics structure of the human species, it essentially has a far-reaching impact on the “human family” the Dalai Lama describes in his argument. Write a TRIAC graph using the above quote from Balch (in “I” of your TRIAC). What difference does it make if there is ‘consensus’ or not on a global level? What other considerations or regulations can you bring into the TRIAC from other places in the article, or points that the DL makes in his article?

In order to use CRISPR technology on a wider scale, a global consensus about the technology must be reached. Since genes are something that affect the entire human population, it is important that a vast majority of the globe agrees on how the gene-editing technology should be used. Since there is “little international consensus on what is acceptable when it comes to experimental gene editing in humans” (Balch), we should not be using or experimenting with this technology on a wide scale. Oftentimes it seems that scientists are more concerned with scientific advancement rather than how these advancements will actually affect people, so it is necessary for average people of all ethnicities, cultures, and backgrounds to have a say in how this technology is used since it will affect them. If a vast majority of people don’t want this technology to be used or even advanced, that should be the population’s decision rather than the scientists working on it, especially if there are a lot of risks. The opinions of everyday people are important in the advancement of CRISPR technology.

The only two comments given that suggested improvements were about citations. “MLA citation guidelines: no need to put the name of the author in the parenthetical citation if you have already mentioned the author’s name in the sentence”. If I were to fix this, I would not use the parenthetical after the quote when I’ve already used her name in the sentence. When saying ‘cutting toxic people out of your life’, the comment suggested “I wonder if this should be cited… sort of using Tiffany’s language”, so I would cite this idea.

I really thought that the topic was interesting. Social media is something I am familiar with and am interested in so it was easy to become immersed in the content of the sources. Both sources were also easy to read and understand; they weren’t incredibly dense. I enjoyed deciding my stance on the prompt and coming up with a thesis for it, and overall just enjoyed the topic itself.

One writing skill I think I improved on was TRIACS. Before coming to this class I really didn’t have a structure for my paragraphs; I wrote out what I thought on the topic and that was it for my body graphs. Learning the structure of TRIACS and seeing how much clearer it made my thoughts appear in writing was very beneficial to me, and I think after lots of practice I have gotten the hang of writing them.