This page has all my reflections base on the readings, ted talk videos, and in class activities.

Adichie – The Danger of a Single Story:

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s ted talk talks about how one side perspective story telling is very dangerous because it leads to stereotypes and misunderstanding of others. In social sciences, this means we should tell a story from multiple perspectives to understand the story from both sides and a get a better viewpoint. The advices Adichie offers is to use different sources, understand from multiple perspectives, and ask deep questions to understand the story to get the full picture. I will make sure to use advice in my work this semester by being careful and using multiple sources to make sure I am not bias. I will make sure my work include different perspectives to create fair thoughts and ideas.

Tan & Lee:

The cultures and subcultures that are presented in this reading is that it explores the Asian American experiences and the cultural differences between two generations. In mother tongue it talks about language and how it shape ones identity and how people can judge you based on the level of speaking you have of that language. They show insider and outsider perspectives by highlighting Tans perpesctive of her mother versus how the outsiders view her mother based on her English speaking ability. Some other information I would have liked the author to add is how different generation experience the changes of culture over time. In my transcultural interview I will ask questions about personal experiences, cultural changes, and what other peoples perspectives are about this topic so I can gain a better understanding of what cultural identity is.

Observation Experience with Image:

Based on my observation I learned that fieldworking requires a lot of attention to detail when you’re observing. I learned that to get a full picture of the setting you are observing you have to observe the actions of the people and also the environment around you.When I was observing I had to decide which details I should keep on my notes and which to leave out because I wanted to focus on important details that I’ve noticed while I was observing. I also realized that while I was observing I tend to focus only on the people and their actions and I ignore the environment around me. As a fieldworker I learned that being patient is really important when it comes to observing. Overall this experience helped me understand that there’s so much that happens in public space and helped me understand that people use the same environment in different ways.

Naylor’s Mama Day:

After reading the except from Naylor’s Mama Day a book that reminded me of this excerpt is Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston. Both stories focused on women, family connections, and culture. Nora makes her writing feel real by the way she makes the character speak. What stood out to me in this excerpt is the way she describes the setting. She describes willow spring like it has it’s own history and culture. She combines real life struggles with supernatural which makes the story feel alive because of the details and emotions it has. When I reread the story I noticed smaller details that I didn’t notice before like a certain word that a character used that shows a bigger idea like how a community supports each other. The excerpt made look culture in a new way. Culture is not just about beliefs and traditions keeping the stories from your past and keeping that history alive.

Wehle:

The elements I see in Wehle’s essay are elements that includes observation, participation, and reflection. She observes details like the tomatoes in the sky and she participates in it by kissing the tomato to get a deeper connection. After that she reflects on it and relates them to ideas in real life. She uses these elements to make her essay more meaningful and engaging to the reader. She uses the theme of time to show that some moments can feel fast and sometimes it can feel slow. This helps reader understand how experience changes. If I were to use one of Wehle’s strategies I would use the attention to details to make my writing feel real and engaging to the readers. Wehle’s strategies shows that fieldworking can be very detailed and engaging which can help the readers view the world in different ways.

Baldwin & Shively:

Through his essay Baldwin provides a lot of cultural insights about how young Mexican American men used the zoot suit to express their identity and pride while showing resistance. The text shows how basic clothing items carry a deeper meaning for particular social groups while revealing their battles with racial and economic status and social standing. The fieldworker can uncover this culture by asking what motivated young men to select the zoot suit as their clothing choice. What personal significance and community value did the zoot suit hold for them? The way people dressed caused reactions from police officers and older adults in the community. The fieldworker could use these questions to understand the core beliefs and concepts which supported the clothing choices. The fieldworker should examine photographs and review historical newspapers and musical and film content which appealed to this particular group. These sources would help demonstrate how people felt and what messages they were trying to send. The time difference between Baldwin and Shively’s pieces demonstrates how things have evolved while maintaining their fundamental nature. The core elements of identity and pride and the desire to stand out continue to matter but people express themselves differently in modern times. The fundamental meanings behind everyday objects persist through time although they transform into new expressions. According to Baldwin and Shively we must hear people’s stories instead of making judgments based on external appearances. The next important step should involve continuing research about how everyday items including fashion and music and slang express cultural values while allowing members of those cultures to share their own perspectives.

One Course Learning Objective:

The cultural behavior analysis and interpretation was one of the learning objectives I worked on throughout this semester. The fieldwork project required me to observe online community members during their interactions while I analyzed their values and their use of language and images to express identity. My ability to identify patterns in human behavior improved a lot as I learned to ask better questions and observe more details about people’s actions and motivations. My skills in this area have shown significant improvement. I have developed the ability to analyze human actions while making deeper cultural and group meaning assessments. I have learned to move past simple description by adding explanations about the significance of observed behaviors.

Benefits of a Literature Review: ‘

A literature review in the social sciences provides researchers with the opportunity to understand previous research conducted on their topic of interest. The review shows multiple perspectives together with research approaches and results which allow you not repeat the same work. The review allows researchers to identify knowledge gaps which allows them to discover new opportunities for contribution. The literature review I conducted organized key concepts related to school-based gun violence prevention. The research evidence supported specific policies and enabled me to organize my sources according to mental health and school planning and legal policy categories. The strategy which focuses on prevention stands out to me as the most effective approach compared to punishment. The approach appeals to me because it addresses problems at their beginning stages through mental health assistance and strategic planning. The main purpose of my literature review shows that prevention-based strategies produce an effective long-term results. To emphasize this point I must ensure that my topic sentences remain clear while each section maintains a direct connection to prevention. The introduction and conclusion need to be powerful statements which demonstrate that prevention stands as the superior approach.

Reverse Outline:

The process of writing a reverse outline proved helped me a little. The reverse outline revealed my idea structure while helping me verify that each paragraph supported my main argument. I found out that certain sections failed to link properly while my topic sentences needed to be more clear. The reverse outline process allowed me to remove similar ideas while focusing on developing my central argument. I might apply the reverse outline method for future revisions of long papers and when my ideas become disorganized. The reverse outline provides to be some what effective method to help the paper structure works properly and all content supports the thesis statement. I would probably do this after my first draft to make sure the paper flows smoothly and if I need to add on or fix some mistakes like grammatical error for my essay.

Composition Process:

The most important lesson I have learned for my composition work is planning before beginning to write. At first when I use to write my essays I used to skip planning but I now after learning new skills from this semester I take time for brainstorming and creating outlines. The process of planning helps me maintain concentration while reducing my writing anxiety. The process of revising is also important to to the first draft creation. I have improved my work through peer feedback and reviewing my own writing with new perspective. Writing requires a step-by-step approach because it cannot be completed in a single session.

King:

The Role of the Behavioral Scientist in the Civil Rights Movement by Martin Luther King Jr. showed me that social scientists including psychologists and sociologists need to actively participate in fighting against injustice. King explains that behavioral scientists can both identify the causes of racism and inequality and develop solutions to eliminate these issues. The most striking point to me was his conviction that scientists should move beyond academic spaces to actively participate in solving real-world problems. The message remains significant for our present day. Experts who study social issues possess the necessary knowledge to create positive change in the world. The reading experience made me consider how my educational knowledge can serve to benefit others instead of solely pursuing academic achievement.