WEEK 1
The first essay speaks to identity because the author identifies himself as an American. He proves this by dressing up as Captain America, "The ultimate American." Some people on the streets have a hard time accepting that Captain America could be someone other than a blond-haired, blue-eyed, well built man. The author challenges these people's beliefs and shows that Americans are not one race or ethnicity. The second essay is all about identity. A fifteen-year old boy identifies himself as a 25-year old law expert, and answers people's questions online. He answers these questions with accuracy and speed, and the users of the website benefit. However, when she decides to be truthful about his identity, he is unable to help others like he did before. The connotations associated with age and classical education are shown in this piece and are proved to be pointless. A teenager was able to prove himself as a better law expert than those with formal training. The last piece showed how the identity of a man alters the way others treat and see him. The color of his skin made strangers around him treat him as a danger to their well-being. The author had to go out of his way to identify himself as someone who is not dangerous by whistling a happy tune or wearing professional clothing.
The first article speaks to American culture by asking "Who is an American?" Maybe the first person who you think of is a blond-haired, blue-eyed, white man. The author questions American culture by showing that anyone, as long as they were born in America, can be American. "Faking it" begins by explaining how business culture changed in the year 2000. New technologies were surfacing, and the Internet was becoming an everyday thing. The Internet allows someone of any age or background to be someone important. The business culture only allowed people with classical training and education to be an expert. These two cultures, the Internet and law, clashed and created a difficult situation for a fifteen-year old boy. "Black men and Public Space" shows how American culture views black men. They are seem as a danger, as something that you need to take precautions against. They could only be considered docile if they are proved to be, such as by wearing formal clothing, or whistling a happy tune. They have a presumption of guilt against them that is created by American culture.
"My first victim was a woman--white, well-dressed, probably in her late twenties."
This quote in the opening sentence in "Black men and Public Space." I think it some the piece up very well. A person was walking near a woman on the street and she decided to run away. The only reason that this woman acted the way she did was because the person was a man and black. I am not saying that this woman was at fault in these actions, she was worried for her own well-being. The one to blame here is America's racism problem that is very problematic today. This problem is why the woman acted as she did. It is America who is making black males out to be predators, taking victims in the night. This quote on its own may not truly show the power behind it, but with the context, this is a very powerful quote that shows America's predisposition to viewing black males as preditors.
WEEK 2
A common theme in each on the pieces was that it is easy to go with the flow. The first video spoke about how a young woman was unable to stop automatically acting the way her mother taught her to act. Even when she is in a class or in a professional meeting she cannot turn her "instincts" off. She was taught to keep quiet and keep to herself, and that's how she is, against her will. She was unable to be how she thought that she should be because she had always viewed herself as less important than the natural flow of things. She wanted to be quiet in a loud world. The second video spoke to a more general example of "going with the flow." The author states how as humans, it is our default setting to drudge through everyday life with the mantra of believing that I am the center of the universe, and when things go poorly for me, the universe has done something wrong. However, there is a duality in the fact that everything is random while nothing is. Everything in this world has happened for a reason, whether you believe in fate or not, the cause of anything can be described with enough foresight. However, to a passerby, these causes will never be known, and the action seems random. When we go out of our way to find these causes and see the true mechanisms of the universe, we better ourselves, and become more mindful. But this is a hard process, and it is a hundred times easier to just keep walking, and let your prejudices fill in the gaps.
The last piece is much more about society's willing ignorance to the true feelings of the women in our culture. The guilt trip that is described in this piece sets a burden on women from the day they're born to muscle through those gritty emotions and put them in the trash. A face thats easier for everyone to accept is a face that doesn't cause problems, one that stays quiet and in the corner. To reject this burden is to make everyones life harder, after all, if you always assume your prejudices are correct, you never have to learn, and learning is hard.
WEEK 3
Hatcher, Richard. "The Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government's "free Schools" in England." Educational Review (2011): n.pag. ProQuest. Web.
This article speaks on the benefit and downsides of free schools in England. It explains the economic, social and political impacts of allowing free schools in england. It also compares schools in England to schools in the United States and Sweden. I find this to be a useful article because I think that education is a very important political policy and I think it reflects a countries liberalism. The US has a public school system that is free from ages 5 to 18. This is similar in England, however, students pay drastically less in tuition and fees to go to university in England than in the US.
Pestritto, Ronald J. "Founding Liberalism, Progressive Liberalism, And The Rights Of Property." Social Philosophy and Policy 28.02 (2011): n. pag. ProQuest. Web.
This piece looks in detail at the change of liberalism in the United States. I found that a background of the change to modern liberalism in the US was helpful to see a difference in the politics of England and in the US. The piece speaks specifically to traditional liberal topics such as property ownership and freedom. While the piece does talk about an older era, it still provides insight to the fundamentals of liberalism and what it means to the United States.
Tate, John William. "‘We Cannot Give One Millimetre'? Liberalism, Enlightenment and Diversity." Political Studies 61.4 (2013): n.pag. ProQuest. Web.
This final piece speaks to the philosophical views behind liberalism. These views are worldwide, as they are made by famous philosophers. The statements made in this piece link the views of these great philosophers and liberalism as a whole, including the freedom of the human soul, and a human's right to property. It will be useful to me because it will provide insight to a worldwide view of liberalism, and I can see the United States' and England's differing view on this philosophy.
WEEK 4
I feel that when I really want to use a quotation in my sentence I often do not take into consideration the grammar of the same sentence. While I write, I will be using one tense or group of people, and when a quote doesn't use the same tense or has a singular subject I quickly get frustrated. Sometimes I chop up the quote but that feels awkward to read. I'm glad I read this article because know I have an example of changing my own text to fit the quote. Also, I feel that I'm not bad at introducing a quote, I follow some of the tactics that the author mentioned here, however I never thought of setting up a quote so the reader will read it in a specific mindset, and will have something to expect in the quote. I will try to start doing that in my writing.
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