Self–Assessment – Allyson Cromwell 

Watching my favorite movie, Revenge of the Sith, always has a certain impact on me; it influences the way I view the world and the way I view people. The manipulation seen by Palpatine, the shift in behavior by Anakin due to his emotional turbulence, and the sudden shift from friends to enemies that happens between Obi-Wan and Anakin has time and again reminded me that people and relationships are ever changing and vastly complicated. In the same way that movies and tv have an impact on our views and beliefs, so does writing. Writing to me is an assignment of beliefs and attitudes to certain topics and issues; when we write about anything, we are sharing where we come from and how we view the world. Like the making of movies and tv, when we’re writing, we’re trying to convince people that the world is a certain way and influence the way in which people see and interact with it. This class, however, has turned the focus on being aware of and trying to separate the bias we hold from our investigations of these topics to form a more impactful and informed stance. This course has brought my attention to issues I had no awareness of and has also checked my biases, broadening the scope I look through for evidence and information. 

 Negotiating my own writing goals and audience expectations is one course objective I feel I have really accomplished and a skill I have grown in more in this class than in any other. Getting to choose what to investigate and write about, as well as choosing the impact my work has on the audience is not something I have experienced or considered consciously in other writing courses. Essay #3 in particular was freeing for me and allowed me to choose what I wanted to learn and convince people of; this essay helped me to form and state a stance in my writing, another course objective I feel I have acomplished. All of these essays have helped me to revamp and enhance my writing style and strategy, which is a third objective I have accomplished through this course. When writing a paper now, instead of going into it looking for research which only backs my beliefs, I now start with questions I have about the topic. After doing research and finding many different sources and stands on the issue or topic, I then use that information to answer those questions and form a more evidence based and educated opinion or stance. One objective in particular I believe I still need to work on is critical thinking. I have always had a hard time extrapolating a novel conclusion from sources and although this is just one aspect of critical thinking, I find it to be an important one. I still need to work on thinking in depth about the source itself and what I’m independently gathering from it, not just the information I may get from it. This course has, however, helped me to look at these pieces of information more openly and critically, having checked my bias and with the goal being to form my own stance on the issue.  

The issues I have discovered through this course regarding marginalized communities has been a masssive eye opener and has changed my perceptions of human behavior and psychology. Talking in class about the discrimination and marginalization Asian people have experienced since Coronavirus started was shocking to me. This was not something I was aware was happening and it shows a lot about what it means to be a minority in America. Growing up as a white woman in a small, friendly town in Northern California, I have not experienced or seen much marginalization. For me, to imagine what it must be like to be someone with an Asian ethnicity is hard and to imagine treating someone differently and being outwardly aggressive or verbally abusive toward someone for being a certain race is truly unfathomable and really lets on to how ignorant many Americans are, as well as how much work we have to do. Because of this course, I see marginialized communities and people in a different way and have learned to really question what people are saying and how stereotypes can really work for people with power. These issues are seldom brought to the attention of the average American and are seldom viewed as important or meaningful to people who aren’t affected by them. Before this course, these issues were not important to me because I lacked awareness and an understanding of them, I was not affected by them and did not see them happening or affecting my loved ones. My perception is wildly different now and I intend to spread awareness through whatever platforms I can because these issues are not only impacting the communities that have to face them, but they are affecting everyone everywhere when nothing is done and no awareness of them is spread. Writing is an excellent tool to create awareness and to plant a seed for change.  

Reading and writing about marginalized communities has changed my perceptions on writing in a major way. I was not consciously aware of the impact that writing can have on a person or the way it’s shaped to alter perceptions and bring about awareness and change. In Essay #2 specifically, when observing, analyzing, and writing about important issues communities face, as well as what really defines marginalization and community, there were many opinions and testimonies being shared on the forum I was analyzing. Gathering these pieces of evidence together in a meaningful and impactful way was a challenge for me and showed me how important it was to write something in a way that fosters change and awareness. This newfound understanding of what writing is and does is something I will carry with me and continue to focus on in future courses and writings. Through this essay and the others, I have also learned how important it is to check and be aware of bias and to look at the bigger picture. I don’t think we can ever escape bias completely, but I think looking at things from many different perspectives, with a more analytical mindset is key to providing work that is credible and meaningful. The importance of evidence in writing has also been revealed to me through the research I have done in this course. Without evidence to back up claims, the writing becomes a statement of opinion and is far less credible and impactful. Evidence is something that we recognize as important, meaningful data or information. Persuasive writing doesn’t hold the same meaning or have the same impact without a fully supported argument, unbiased claims, and a clear message. This course itself has shared many impactful messages and tools with me that I didn’t realize I needed and has helped me grow as a member of society and as a writer. Even though I have a long way to go both in my skills as a writer and as a social scientist, I feel very acomplished in the work that I’ve done and skills I have grown in.