The past month of university and more specifically, CAP Global Citizens, has not only taught us how to understand knowledge presented in an academic genre, but the means of expressing our own ideas. After reading the posts of all of my classmates, the feelings for many topics that resonate appear to overlap. Although bloggers diverged when addressing personal connections to topics such as genre, Kate Douglas’ essay, and memory, they all seem to formulate this basic understanding of what it means to be, and act as a scholar.
Many bloggers introduce concepts that dealt with Giltrow’s Introduction to “Academic Writing”. These concepts, such as genre and the summary were discussed and blogged about not just as facts, but with personal experiences attached. Kate described how the concept of orchestrating voices gave her appreciation of the control a writer has. She states “It wasn’t until we reached the idea of orchestrating voices that I really came to understand the imaginative control…”. A large majority of the bloggers commented on the concept of genre and how it connects to daily life. Many connected the idea of genre, described by Amanda as “purpose, audience, occasion” to the World War Two video on the Japanese Canadians, as well as Kate Douglas’ essay. Some, including Lukas, pointed out the difference in approach between high school, and university in respect to genre. In high school, genre was merely a category for a book, but as we discussed in class, genre follows an individual in daily life. It can come as a text, a newspaper, or even a selfie. The methods and techniques learned throughout the past month across all CAP classes have aided with becoming fluent scholarly writers, as some bloggers mentioned.
Memory was a common trend in discussion of the bloggers, especially in relation to some of the topic discussed in class. Many bloggers, such as Anjali, connected personal experience, and attributed it to the ASTU broad theme of memory vs. history. Anjali states “A memoir is subjective interpretation of events that the author has experienced”. The idea of memory connects to that of memorialization, which was heavily discussed amongst the majority of bloggers. The idea of memory vs. history also connects to other CAP classes, as pointed out by Brenna. She brings up the film that was watched and analyzed by all CAP Global Citizens students about Japanese Canadians in World War Two. Shira also commented on this, stating how the history of the film extends to the present, as she experienced “perceived race” upon arrival to Canada, the idea of generalization. The concept of memory and history connects to all our CAP classes, which acts as a broader academic discussion, and allows for understanding of a particular theme throughout multiple fields.
Kate Douglas’ essay about selfies taken at memorial sites inspired the majority of discussion amongst blogs. This could be due to the fact that it is relatable to our generation, or possible because it is such a contentious topic. Many bloggers expressed not only their opinions, but personal experiences pertaining to the matter. Benny discussed how his visit to a concentration camp and encounter with a selfie taking tourist was quite distasteful. Controversy aside, Kate Douglas’ essay was not only important in terms of content, but really summed up much of the academic writing techniques discussed previously. For the majority, this essay was a first look at a university level paper, and how the academic writing genre applied. The essay demonstrated the concepts discussed in Giltrow’s “Academic Writing: An Introduction”, such as orchestrating voices, the summary, and genre. In terms of content, the idea of memory versus history was particularly prevalent as the academic discussion revolved around wither or not taking a selfie at a site of a tragedy was disrespectful or not. The points brought up in the essay, such as second hand witnessing helped to change the opinions, such as Telisa who states “Her article challenged my views and allowed me to see things in a positive light”. Kate Douglas’ essay encompasses all the concepts taught in ASTU through not only content, but form as well.
The first month really put an emphasis on what it means to be/act as a scholar, but then again, so is the majority of time spent learning at university. We discussed various academic writing techniques, the idea of memory versus history, genre, and Kate Douglas’ essay on selfies. Learning these has added into the toolbox that we as students can now use throughout all of our future academic ventures not only in the course of arts studies, but with all courses.
-Julian
Kate: https://blogs.ubc.ca/katepasula/
Lukas: https://blogs.ubc.ca/lukasblog/
Anjali: https://blogs.ubc.ca/abentley
Brenna: https://blogs.ubc.ca/brennasblog/
Shira: https://blogs.ubc.ca/shira/
Benny: https://blogs.ubc.ca/bennyastu/
Telisa: https://blogs.ubc.ca/telisa/