dinacharara

1)”Anthropology and the Modern World.” Penn Arts & Sciences. University of Pennsylvania, 28 Mar. 2012. Web. 7 Apr. 2016. <https://www.sas.upenn.edu/anthropology/sites/www.sas.upenn.edu.anthropology/files/Handbook%20revisions.pdf&gt;.

• This article discusses how anthropology can be applied to anyone’s life no matter what their career or major is, and it elaborates on why anthropology is such a beneficial field to learn even a little bit from. From this source, I will take information and incorporate it into the part of my infographic where I discuss how anthropology can make a person more productive in his or her career.

2)Davenport, Tom. “The Rise of Corporate Anthropology.” Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business Publishing, 28 Nov. 2007. Web. 7 Apr. 2016. <https://hbr.org/2007/11/the-rise-of-corporate-anthropo/&gt;.

• Davenport focuses on how anthropology comes into play in corporations (careers). He talks about the qualities that anthropologists have and how well they can work among a spectrum of people with differing mindsets. Because they are aware of many distinct ways of life, they are more tolerant of other people, which I will include as one of the benefits in my infographic.

3) Kothari, Monika. “What Are Some Real Life Benefits from Learning Anthropology?.” Quora. Legal & Medical Contributors, 19 Mar. 2014. Web. 7 Apr. 2016. <https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-real-life-benefits-from-learning-anthropology&gt;.

• In this article, the author focuses on applied forms of anthropology and stresses the field’s ability to provide one not only with more information about other people and ways of life, but also about oneself and how anthropology makes a person question what factors have formed his or her identity. This is one of the most important sources for one of the points I make in my argument: re-evaluating social norms (which are the factors that make a person who he or she is).

4) Lughod, Lila A., Brian Larkin, and Faye D. Ginsburg. Media Worlds: Anthropology on New Terrains. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2002. 58-83. Print.

• The pages in this book that I read focused on the Northern American media’s tendency to portray indigenous peoples in romantic, “primitive”, and other incorrect ways. It tackles the issue of North America’s spreading of incorrect information about other cultures through an ethnocentric lens. I will incorporate this into my infographic where I discuss anthropology’s ability to provide one with a better understanding of the media.

5) Willigen, John Van. Applied Anthropology: An Introduction. 3rd ed. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. 3-8. Print.

• The section in this book that I read provided me with general information on what applied anthropology is. It touches on all of the benefits of learning anthropology that I have mentioned in my infographic. It is mostly what I relied on for background information, to see whether my content was accurate enough.

6) Wright, Susan. Anthropology of Organizations. London: Taylor and Francis Group, 1994. 92-113. Print.

• I relied heavily on a section from this book to include the concept of “Westernization” in my infographic. Because the way in which news is presented to us is mostly seen through a Western lens, facts turn into opinions, and consequently, our facts that become opinions set the base for many arguments and happenings that all originate from a troubling source. By pointing out the ways in which Westernization seeps into them, separating cultural bias from fact becomes easier, and saves us a lot of trouble on the long run. But before including it in my argument, I had to make sure of how Westernization forms our news.

 

 

 

The argument that I decided to make was that students should learn anthropology because it benefits them in many important aspects of their lives, four of which I have elaborated on. Not many people are aware of the social science’s existence or what it entails, so instead of explaining it in abstract ways, I described how it could be applied in one’s life in four ways. To address it, I created an infographic in which I visually presented these benefits along with a short explanation of exactly how each one of these four perks of learning anthropology manifests itself in the life of he or she who learns it.

The visual design of the infographic seems pretty simple, and it is, but the planning behind it is far from it. I chose a soft beige background with a purple color for the title so as to create a sharp contrast, but a mellow picture overall. For the rest of the infographic, I kept the beige background but used black text, as it went smoothly with the beige and was easy to stay focused on. There is also black in each one of the images I used, so bringing it out in the text creates balance in the infographic. Regarding symmetry, I relied mostly on the number four. I listed four benefits of learning anthropology, two on each side of the page. When I moved onto explaining each benefit on its own, I maintained the same structure to as to keep the argument visually predictable but newly informative as well. In the explanation of the third benefit, I made an exception. I used the number three instead of four (number of reasons) so as to catch the reader’s attention, because the third reason in particular is one that I consider to be very important. The reader might go over it again thinking “maybe I missed something”, which means he or she will have to take a closer look at it—my intention exactly.

Regarding my use of rhetorical appeals, I relied mostly on logos. My infographic includes content that triggers people’s curiosity. In the point where I mention that learning anthropology can help one achieve a better understanding of the media, the reader might think “why? Don’t I understand it well enough now?” or “how might I be understanding it incorrectly?”. I think that people want to know what is actually going on in the world, not just what the news tells us, so putting that in my infographic makes them want to know more about how anthropology can bring them closer to the truth. More often than not, a person would want to be more productive in his or her career, and my claim that anthropology can help one do so appeals directly to one’s logic. I used pathos mostly in the third point: becoming a more tolerant individual. This appeals to a person’s compassion and acceptance of other cultures, religions, and different ways of life in general. Lastly, I established my ethos by labeling the four points I mentioned as ‘benefits’. Although it would be hard to reasonably argue that understanding the news better and being more productive in one’s career are not benefits, it is certainly up for debate, just as becoming a more tolerant individual and re-evaluating social norms are. By categorizing them as benefits, I have automatically instilled my opinion into the infographic, whether or not readers pick up on it.

As for the research I did, I am sure that it does not show in its entirety in the infographic. But what I had to read to be able to put the information that I included in it took approximately five hours of research. I summarized the readings I examined in the points I used in my infographic as best as I could in short sentences. At first I thought that I should define anthropology and its branches, but then I decided to show my audience what applied anthropology was like to make it more interesting to listen to and also to make it more relatable. In other words, I moved from abstract thoughts to more tangible ones.

Composing the infographic was completed with a total of six scrapped papers in trash cans all over Wayne State University. I very carefully planned the structure, color scheme, pictures and text in my infographic. Literally every inch of the piece was intentional. Perhaps one thing that I will pay closer attention to in the future is to include statistics of how many students (or anyone) say that they benefitted from learning anthropology, for example. For the most part, though, I am pleased with the way my infographic turned out as I feel that it is easily understandable, relatable, and that it keeps the reader thinking.

After this project, I can say that I have learned a new language, to an extent. Visual arguments are a very interesting genre, and they have allowed me to convey messages in an entirely new and fascinating way. I really like how I was able to use rhetorical appeals in my infographic because they can have quite an impact on the viewer almost effortlessly. Being able to literally draw out my argument took a significantly lesser number of words, and I think I finally understand the meaning of the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words”; an infographic is worth a million.

 

Response to The Good and Evil of Infographics

This reading was pretty interesting, and I really liked the information that it provided. Although it was not new or surprising information, it was an easy read and an informative collection of things to know about infographics. It talked about the pros and cons of using this type of visual rhetoric.

I liked that it was an interview because it felt a lot more alive while simultaneously maintaining its quality of rich content. Due to the fact that it was not too long of an article either, I felt as though it was over before I knew it. The visuals presented in the article also made the author’s point a lot clearer and easier to understand. I particularly enjoyed the author’s occasional use of statements that make the reader scratch his or her brain, like the one about excess truth turning into lies. This way, the reader much more likely to remember important information while working on creating an infographic.

I read this article off of my laptop and had absolutely no problem getting through it. At times, I stopped to process what message the author was trying to convey or to examine the visuals provided, but other than that, I did not pause once.

 

 

Reader Review for Project 3

When I realized that I did not want to write about the two discourse communities that I had originally chosen as my topic, I felt pretty relieved. I cannot argue convincingly for something that I am not passionate about. The changes I made in the Reader Review session were necessary. I had my thoughts narrowed down, but not narrowed down enough.

My draft was not complete, but my thoughts were in place. When Aliaa read it, she helped a lot in pointing out to me what was good, what was missing, and most importantly what was unclear; I tend to write very abstractly sometimes because the matters that interest me just happen to be of that nature. She told me to include a clearer thesis statement as mine was not very easily identifiable. She also made a remark about my use of ‘I’ and ‘my’ in my introduction, so I will try to convey my thoughts partially through the voices of prior writers, but i will not omit the personal pronouns entirely; I am writing about two fairly abstract matters.

The drafting process came in late, but I’m really glad that I changed my topic from the one I had chosen at the beginning. I absolutely love what I am writing about now and I think that I will be positively challenged to make a really good argument about it.

Response to Chapter 4 in The Wayne Writer

This chapter contains information about how someone should approach a piece of writing to critically read it. Evaluating an argument is a process, which this chapter breaks down very intricately, providing the reader with tips on how to effectively examine an argument and extract the most out of it.

This chapter was not at all hard to get through; it was short and very tolerably informative. In other words, I did not have to use too much brain fuel in an attempt to process the information I was reading. I already apply most of the tips in this chapter to my critique of arguments. I use them when I am reading the news, when I am reading a friend’s essay, when I am interpreting religious texts, and when I am analyzing someone’s oral arguments in my everyday life. This chapter gave labels to the components of my tacit knowledge, which makes me think “Ohhh, so that’s what it’s called”, just like when I read Chapter 5 (types of arguments).

I did not use a pencil to underline important parts of the piece I’m reading like I usually do, simply because I did not feel the need to. I knew the type of information that was going to be presented to me, so I decided to make mental notes instead of ones in graphite.

Reader Review Reflection

The changes we made from our SFD to our Reader Review draft were not too drastic. We edited our writing as best as we could according to the comments. We decided to rearrange our paragraphs in a more organized fashion and move the Argument Analysis paragraph so that it is read earlier in the essay.

The peer editing process was not quite satisfactory; we did not really get much feedback. At least for my portion of the essay (pathos), my peer editor only underlined one sentence and left no comments. I felt as though it was not given the amount of revision that it deserved, so I will probably keep most of my writing the same or have someone I know read it and give me an opinion about it.

Reviewing our peer editors’ essay was definitely easier than it was for Project 1; I was actually surprised when I picked up on details that I would have normally brushed over or not even noticed at all. I was really engaged while reading and tried to give as much feedback as I could to help them clarify some parts of their essay. Overall, I think I did a good job; my comments were not too critical nor were they of a “you should frame it” nature.

 

Response to Chapter 6 in Wayne Writer

The main point of this chapter is that are five main types of arguments that are used in writing: definition arguments, causal arguments, evaluation arguments, proposal arguments, and rebuttal arguments.

Upon reading this chapters, I realized that I usually incorporate a mix of these arguments into my writing without really intending to do so. My arguments tend to lean mostly in the direction of counterarguments and definition arguments. The chapter also made me realize that at times I tend to take what my audience knows for granted, so perhaps I should practice to incorporate some form of a definition argument into my writing. My mind usually jumps right past this type of argument.I also noticed that the more diverse the types of arguments a writer uses are, the more solid his or her arguments become. It is as if to support a claim as strongly as possible by answering to every counterargument that could potentially arise before it even does.

The first thing that came to my mind after reading this chapter was Project 2, unsurprisingly. Because my group is analyzing syllabi, it really made me think about what “arguments” a syllabus might contain. I’m excited to be able to look at a document that was previously so mundane to me as a piece of writing that contains arguments. The opportunity to view matters through a new lens is the way to my heart.

As usual, I followed the words in the chapter with a pencil, underlining the main points and circling what I found to be important to remember. Although it was a rather lengthy read, it was very enlightening. I experienced several “Ohhh I had no idea that had a name” moments.

Backpacks vs. Briefcases Response

The author of the text is breaking down the components of every form of rhetoric that one might encounter during his/her life. She explains the types of rhetoric that are found in every day life and why it is important to be able to analyze them.

I think everyone can relate to this text because it can be applied to each and every single person’s experiences in the world. I had always been aware of the presence of rhetoric in my life, but I had not divided it into such detailed components before; I had a more general outlook on the matter.

While reading, I held a pen and circled the main components of a piece of rhetoric that the author stated and underlined what I thought to be significant to the big picture. It was not too hard to read through as Carroll used parentheses to slip her opinion in there. By doing so, it made me feel as though her voice was much more audible and her message was specific to me.. Immaturely, I would say it made me feel like she was explaining a concept to me.

This piece is one that permanently changes one’s perception of their surroundings; once it is seen it cannot be unseen. I think that after reading this I will be much more attentive to what people say and mentally try to deconstruct every form of rhetoric that I come across into the components the author mentioned.

Reflecting on my Revising

The changes that I made from my SFD to my Reader Review draft were drastic. I organized my thoughts and made them significantly more cohesive, I added examples, and edited the structure of my essay. My SFD was, by all means, the worst piece of writing that I have ever produced in my entire eighteen years of life, so leaving it unpolished was not even close to an option. Reviewing it was bittersweet– the sweet part being the experience of rereading my work with intentions of improving it; the bitter part being the pain of looking over some of the corny jokes that I included in circumstances of total freedom to do so.

Because the content in my revised draft was still underdeveloped, I knew that there were still many components missing before my peer editor even read it. When she did read it, however, she made a comment about including genres and sub-genres, which I would not have thought to mention due my familiarity with the discourse community that I am writing about. She also suggested keeping the examples that I currently have in my essay, but I will most probably end up changing them if I find better ones to replace them.

The drafting process, in all honesty, has been quite the struggle. I am accustomed to writing on a regular basis; I love to write. But I am not used to such detailed planning and structuring, so I often find myself stuck in the area of not knowing exactly what to talk about. I would like to work on narrowing my thoughts further and letting go of the habit of overthinking my writing when I start it ahead of time.

Response to Lamott’s Shitty First Drafts

The main point the author highlights is the normality of having horrible first drafts. She stresses that even the most brilliant writers do not have the talent of producing a masterpiece the minute they have an idea.  She illustrates her own writing experiences and how her first drafts are absolutely terrible, but how the second and third drafts come into play and produce a fun and readable piece. Lamott also gives the reader tips on how to gain the confidence to write a first draft, and not worry about its shittiness.

This reading was perhaps one of the most relatable I have ever come across. Every single time I plan to write something, I absolutely dread what my first draft is going to look like. Although I do not imagine the voices in my head as mice I’d grab by the tail and put into a jar, I do some similar type of brain activity to get myself focused enough to transform my thoughts into words. I was not surprised to learn that even accomplished writers produce shitty first drafts, but it was reassuring to read it from someone who is experienced in the field.

Lamott’s style of writing really appealed to me– her humor, her sarcasm, the effortlessness of the way her thoughts come together. I did not focus too hard on the content simply because it was already so engaging.