End of ACMA01

Hey guys...today I had my last ACMA01..As Sarah has sad, "this is a bitter sweet moment". I have really enjoyed the course, probably one of the best I've ever taken at UofT. Only got one exam left until this course is officially over. Would love to take one more of Sarah's classes if anymore are offered. Never thought university could get this interesting until I took this class.

Introduction and the Final Journal- Self Reflection

As a student majoring in economics and psychology, I have only taken mostly business related courses so far, and most of them are based heavily on math. Even though I am in my third year, I rarely had to write any essays for my first two years. This course has really equipped me with precious skills needed for my future studies in psychology and even for my future career.

My English, or writing skills has improved a lot throughout the semester. I didn't really do well in my first essay, but with the constructive comments that Sarah had given me, it really helped me with improving my second and third essay. Hopefully I will do better in my final research paper. Writing is hard to master, but with more practice, it is not impossible.

Not only has this course helped me in improving my writing skills, but it has also further developed my intellectual thinking skills. Sarah made sure that during our two hour tutorial, one hour would be dedicated to essay writing, and the other hour would be a class discussion about different topics; Our class had covered topics including: What is knowledge, history, ideology, discourse, technology, text, art, gender, philosophy, and sound. During our weekly discussions, Sarah really pushes students to think from different perspectives and she tries to involve everyone in the class with her enthusiasm and energy. I have always been this stubborn person who always stick with my own idea. I am not saying that you should be swayed by other opinions easily, but you should always learn to see from other perspectives. The in class discussions are really important because during the discussions, every student gets a chance to voice out their opinions and if you just listen carefully to what they have to say, you will start to develop a way of thinking.

Intellectual skills involve critical, analytical, and problem solving skills. Through the almost weekly essays and journals that we have to hand in, I have made substantial improvement in my intellectual skills. Before writing each journal or essay, we are required to read through and analyze the course materials, and to apply materials taught in class into our essays. Being able to think from different perspectives is crucial for improving in intellectual skills. Thinking from different angles is important because that is what a solid argument is made up of; it makes your writing more persuasive. People would be more willing to listen to your opinion if you have that ability, because they know that you think about every possibility before stating your opinion.

The topics taught in this class were also very interesting. For example, the idea of 'seeing history from below' is something that I have never thought about. Had I not taken this course, I would probably never have seen history this way; thinking from the perspective of the people who were conquered instead of the victors. You start to doubt and become more skeptical about what you are reading or watching. Having this ability makes you less susceptible to outside influences like the media. When you come to think about it, there are a lot of injustice in the world, and this is precisely why we need people who have the ability to think differently to make a change.

Overall, I really enjoyed this class. As a matter of fact, this is probably one of the most interesting and inspirational class that I have ever taken at UofT. I guess this course is like a break from all of my other boring classes, like statistics, economics, accounting, and finance.

DMG notes, reactions, discussions: You cannot kill what is already dead

Our class went to the Doris Mccarthy Gallery at UTSC today to see the "You cannot kill what is already dead" exhibition. This exhibition is going to be the topic of our final research paper. It was a kind of creepy gallery. One of the most interesting exhibit I saw was a dead pigeon with a light shining towards it. The pigeon was laying on its back, but its shadow was standing. There were also sounds created in the background of pigeon cries. Its mouth was moving when the sound started playing. I think this exhibit was probably showing how even though the bird is dead, its soul is still alive, and there are many sad stories that it wants to tell because its cries are quite depressing. The theme of this exhibition is zombies, so the pigeon was like a zombie pigeon. There are also a lot of other interesting art work.

Modes of Writing discussion (Dolce & Gabbana advertisement)

This is an ad from Dolce & Gabbana. During the class discussion, there were many different views in terms of what is happening in this picture. The name of this advertisement is "Fantasy Rape". What I see from this picture is that a woman is being held down by a man while 3 other men are watching. The woman's eyes are closed and her body is in a really awkward position for being raped. Usually when a woman is raped, their eyes would probably be open and would try to fight of the man, and that position seems like she is enjoying the company of the men. She was probably trying to seduce the men. The main item being advertised here is probably her shoes. Meaning that D&G was trying to convey the message of, "these shoes will make you very attractive." If she was really being gang raped, all the men would be on top of her. There were many different version of the story being said in class, some said she really was a victim of rape.  

Semiotic analysis of People Magazine

Elton John and David Furnish are having a baby, and it made it on the front cover of the People Magazine. This is something that defies the social norm of heterosexuality. Homosexual men are rarely shown in the media. Lesbians however, are more common compared to gay men. One of the most popular pair of homosexual women are Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi. The fact that they got the coverage like say for example, Beyonce, a heterosexual woman having a baby shows that our society is making an improvement in accepting homosexuals. The majority of homophobic are more afraid of homosexual men than women even though its basically the same thing. Everyone has the right to love whoever they want, and as long as they are happy, no one should be judging them. The magazine company is also using this news to increase their sales since both John and Furnish are well-known celebrities. Not only does this magazine show homosexuality, but it also challenges the norm of  masculinity. Elton John is like the 'mother' of the baby; she is more feminine compared to Furnish. This really shows how there are many different kinds of people in this world, and people should just accept them for who they are.

PS: Everyone should have the right to love whoever they want. 

3rd Essay- 21st Century Technology, A Development or A Disaster?: (2008 Crisis from a different perspective)

Confronting Inequality by Paul Krugman: Income and Social Inequality

In paragraph 4 Krugman quotes someone whose views he does not agree with, but then uses those views to support his own argument. How do you know he is quoting a view that he disagrees with?

Below is the quote that Krugman was quoting:

"Income inequality tends to be swamped by even greater social equality...In all of our major cities, there is not a single restaurant where a CEO can lunch or dine with the absolute assurance that he will not run into his secretary. If you fly first class, who will be your traveling companions? You never know. If you go to Paris, you will be lost in a crowd of young people flashing their credit cards."
Krugman quoted this from an article published in the Wall Street Journal called "Income Inequality Without Class Conflict" written by Irving Kristol.

First of all, why did Krugman use this quote? Lets look at what he wrote after quoting Kristol.
"By claiming that income inequality doesn't matter because we have social equality, Kristol was in effect admitting that income inequality would be a problem if it led to social inequality."
Krugman was trying to make his book more well-rounded and reliable by not only looking from one perspective; his perspectives, and the side that he agrees with, but also from his opposing views. He then made a strong rebuttal to show how his opposition's view is illegitimate.

How did I know he is quoting a view that he disagrees with?
"Here's the thing: It does. Kristol's fantasy of a world in which the rich live just like you and me, and nobody feels socially inferior, bears no resemblance to the real America we live in."
It is obvious that Krugman does not agree with his views. It was demeaning enough to say that Kristol's world is a "fantasy". The word "fantasy" means something that is unreal, something that does not actually exist; an ideal world. Krugman was basically saying that Kristol lives in his own ideal world, so what he was saying are too idealistic.

Everything else that he says contradicts to what Kristol had to say. He emphasized on how Income inequality does in fact result in social inequality. For example, he backed up with statistical reports how the chances of low-income families' children getting into college is lower than high-income families, even though their children may have a higher IQ. He also said that lower-income families have worse health-care. There is no social equality; children do not have the same starting line.