Final Blog Posting from Sarai Glass

The blog is a great reflection of how our class has been so good at thinking outside the box. Both the blog postings and blog comments just show how creative our class is. I think that this form of writing, what I would consider authentic writing, provides great insight to how our class thinks, and even I would go as far to say, insight to the success of the class. What is significant about the blog is the fact that we are writing to prompts directed by our class, and responding in a fashion that is uninhibited by a grade scale. This setting is what causes it to be authentic writing. I think the post about authentic writing was one of the most important posts because to know what authentic writing is, and to know when you are reading authentic writing, can be both very compelling, for the former, and comforting, for the latter. Overall the blog was a great way for our class to take the classroom out of the classroom setting. I really enjoyed the blog and hope that next year ’s class has even more interaction with it. The blog was a perfect venue for writing for honors students.

Our Little Blog

Although my affinity for the blog hit highs and lows, overall I’m thankful for it. Because our classes could not always cover the materials as extensively as we hope, the blog provided a separate outlet. In the beginning, we really had no need for the blog, except to say that we looked forward to doing something that we could blog about. Then, as the class progressed, our opinions, beliefs, and general outlooks on situations came forth. It said everything that we did not say or were thinking.
I could remember thinking that I had nothing to say about the subject, what would I do? And the necessity to blog sort of made me think about something that I had put on the back burner at the moment. In the search to post something new and original, I really had to think about it. What were my opinions? What were the facts I was basing my beliefs off of?
Also, reading what everyone else impressed me so much. It helped me communicate with my classmates, without directly communicating with them. We all talked about read the same materials, made comments on the same topics, and discussed the same issues…all on our own (well, with a little encouragement from Professor Bateman).

To Stop and Reflect

Just like almost everyone else in our class, I was a little hesitant about participating in this blog for the first few weeks. In fact, I probably had a few choice words to share with anyone who was unfortunate enough to be in the room with me while I was blogging...but then I actually started to like it. I would go back and read comments posted after mine to see if anyone would respond to what I said, and I even started pouring a little bit of myself into my comments instead of writing dry, boring responses. I think that the idea of being able to say whatever I wanted without having to worry about offending anyone or watching someone roll his/her eyes at me allowed me to, well, really be me. I really just wish that we could have spent more time discussing the blog posts in class, because I found that some of the most interesting commentaries and ideas were presented here, and then they simply died without living. Bad analogy - I apologize.

This blog, at least in my opinion, has allowed our class to experience a different level of intimacy; so many people were so much more open with their thoughts on this blog that I think it (in a very strange way) made us closer as a class. Please continue to use it as a teaching device - it is incredibly effective and really brings another facet to a discussion-based course.

Reflection -- All's Well that Ends Well

I feel that this blog gives a very honest, “right down to it” impression of our class. It is not riddled with our “scholarly personas” and really allowed us to evaluate the aspects of the class that were most meaningful to us on an individual level. I have never had to blog for a class before but seeing and hearing everyone’s interpretations put a whole new face on the writing process. Instead of sitting with only my thoughts before writing a paper, I had the thoughts of fifteen other students to help inspire me. Our real-life, unfiltered experiences with Project Angel Heart and the material are extremely significant. Again, we got “right down to it.” Our blog is completely unique to our course and a lasting reminder of what sixteen freshmen at the University of Denver learned about illness, service, and the public good one winter back in 2008…

Blogging Reflection

I’ll admit that this blogging assignment was initially a bit of a stretch for me: the idea of writing “publicly” was a little hard to swallow. However, I think that throughout the past few weeks, this blog has provided a wonderful opportunity for us to learn more about each other as a class. I enjoyed reading about the various events that have impacted other students’ lives and understanding of illness (the very first post); it certainly provided new insights that added depth to our in-class discussions.

Overall, I think that this blog does an excellent job at reflecting the dynamic and passionate nature of our class: no one hesitated to speak freely in their posts, and the online discussions often paralleled the arguments and discussions we had in class. Moreover, this blog could be a great way for students in future service-learning to gain insight into what lies ahead in the quarter. Perhaps this blog would also be helpful to Project Angel Heart staff if they are interested in learning more about the mindset with which volunteers approach their organization and the experiences that they take away from volunteer shifts. Although there are many different ways in which the blog could be used, I think it should, above all, be used as a resource for other people to use and apply in their own lives, teaching, or service opportunities.

New Perspectives

A Final Blog Post

Considering the blog assignment, I really appreciated the opportunity it gave the class to be more candid about our thoughts. I personally believe that I express myself better in writing than in speech (though I am attempting to find a balance here). Overall, I think this blog serves as an archive of our thoughts as the course progressed, for it is not very realistic to think that we can preserve what we talked about during lectures and discussions. Looking back, this blog is able to preserve the topics of discussion, points of contention, etc. that arose during class time, especially because its timeline followed so closely to our reading and writing assignments. I am personally grateful for the opportunity to have a class-related blog, not only because it allowed us to expand upon our thoughts, but also to go off on tangents that were not necessarily discussed in class. Overall, I think it was an effective teaching tool, and while we did tend to get hung up on some topics, I believe the class had very well-developed responses, especially those that were-student led. It gave us the opportunity to direct our discussions, which I especially enjoyed. I believe this blog assignment portrays us as a mature, open-minded audience, and though most of us are very opinionated, we did enjoy discussion (and at times, contentions) with our peers.

This blog was a little different for me. I don't know about you guys, but I have never been one for post my ideas all over the internet. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer a good-ol' face-to-face chat with people when I discuss issues close to home. Now, this is not to say that I found this blog to be a waste of time. In fact, it actually helped me become more relaxed in my writing and forced me to realize that when you are composing something you don't always have to treat it as a piece of art. Sometimes, the best writing is when you don't try to hide it behind intricate phrases. Some of my favorite posts on this blog avoided a pedantic tone that made me feel as though I was being talked to, not at. And it is this concept that I think is essential. Furthermore, the more I look over this blog, the easier it is to see who these bloggers really are, and see past the face they portray as they write. Call me crazy, but I found way more value in the pieces that had some history, some personal weight, behind them, because to me that what matters most: connecting to people through shared experiences, the bridge to what is intrinsically us, rather than merely to the extrinsic mask we create when we write for a specific audience.

Blog Culmination

I found our blog to be a helpful place for disscussion on topics introduced in class. It is always easier to write about things and the online environment provided an arena in which everyone could share opinions and thoughts. I found this to be beneficial to my understanding of the course topics as well as a good way to observe the remarkable insight and talent of my classmates.

There were a few blogs that I particularly enjoyed. The first posts related to AIDS provided an effective method of viewing the disease through several different lenses. Also, the blogs relating to Project Angel Heart were interesting to read. I enjoyed learning about other students' shifts with the organization, since we did not all volunteer together. And it is always inspiring to hear the testimonials of fellow volunteers and what they got out of the experience we all shared.

Overall, I feel this blog was an effective technique to include in the course, as it instigated thoughful reflections and in-depth consideration of class topics. I enjoyed the opportunity to be open and honest and to hear the candid opinions of others in my class. Thanks to everyone for the additional education that the posts and comments provided.

I have thruoughly enjoyed this blog, simply because it has given me a new avenue to get to understand my classmates. I feel like I know some of the students better because I have been able to read their thoughts on sincere issues. Much of the writing gives me access to more develpoed thoughts than typically come out during class. I am able to read others' posts and bounce ideas of of them with ample time to reflect and articulate well what I really feel. Reading the blog, it is obvious that the class is filed with smart motivated students interested in many types of civic engagements. It is clear that we have come from many different backgrounds and have highly varied lifew experiences but that we are all interested in similar aspects of the human condition. We think very different thoughts but I can see that the thought processes are are related. We come to different conclusions but there is very little animosity among the class which speaks to our openmindedness as a whole. While the blog added amny aspects to the class, the most important for me was the lens that it gave me to magnify my understanding of my classmates through.

Reflection on course blog

On the whole, I have been very impressed with our course blog, in terms of both its content and its originality. I feel as though as a class we have done a wonderful job in coming up with insightful observations and wording them in original, thought-provoking questions. It is interesting to review the blog posts now that we are almost done with the class, as they essentially provide a mirror to the strengths and weaknesses of both the class structure and the individual classes themselves. Towards the middle of the blog, for example, the subjects being posted got fairly repetitive; we had several in a row that were entirely focused on the rhetoric of disease, and we found ourselves straining to find new topics. This could be taken as a sign that we spent too long in this class covering this particular topic, that we were effectively beating a dead horse. We had several blogs, however, on both the government's and our own roles in the public good, each having fresh new perspectives and ideas. Perhaps, then, we should have spent longer on this subject, as it seems as though we could have said even more on this subject. I do wish we had discussed the blog more often in class. There were some very insightful comments made every week that rarely got any credit. In short, I feel as though the course blog was a very helpful tool, but I would make it a larger focus of the class.

Course Wrap-Up

The blog gives the impression that we are a class of conscientious students who care about these issues and the context that they have in our lives. This blog reveals the themes and topics that we covered comprehensively in this course. The most significant discussions in this blog were pertaining to illness and metaphor, stereotypes, and the connection between these issues and the public good. These are the topics that brought our opinions and thoughts to the forefront. The final conclusions that I can draw from this blog are that it greatly added to what I learned about rhetoric and thinking in this class. It made me aware of everyone in the class's opinions and what others can offer in way of new perspectives and outlooks.

The other last blog

The blog provided an excellent avenue for expressing my opinion about the different issues presented in the class.  I really enjoyed the fact that we can extended discussion from the classroom.  Nonetheless, I think that the most significant aspect of the blog is that it can kind of serve as a vault in time much like the seed bank being established in northern Norway.  If the world were to be wiped out, save for a few million people, they could access our blog: Engaged Rhetoric and study what it takes to form the basis for society.  Our blog really could be the Sparknotes for polis building.  Who knows, maybe one day people will write laws and mandates in acrostic poetry.  Of course Project Angel Heart, or some manifestation of PAH, will become the mainstay of every family's mantelpiece, but more importantly, their and our focus on AIDS will lead to an absence of social stigmas.  This may be because of its lack of importance in a world recovering from massive population loss, yet our explanations concerning the problems in associating people of a particular set to AIDS will serve as a bulwark against much social prejudice.  

Assuming that this massive population loss will occur at the hands of nuclear warfare, there is a strong possibility that birth defects will become commonplace.  Thus our blog will show people that there is nothing wrong or different with people, who have eight eyes or eight legs.  I can thoroughly and honestly say that a society built off of our blog will make an excellent society.  

Reflections: openness of thought

I find it interesting that the blog allowed us to essentially step outside of the class and view it from an outward perspective, considering what our involvement and our service learning at PAH really meant from a larger perspective. I think we posted and responded with incredible honesty, particularly when considering the role of 'forced volunteering.' In re-reading our posts, I see an openness in sharing thoughts and a willingness to look at the class and our service learning from "outside the box" (sorry, cliched expression...) I think this ultimately made for a healthy and productive learning experience.

Wrap Up

This blogging experience was significant because it's the first time a class has ever gone in this direction. I like the intimate atmosphere provided through this out-of-the-box classroom discussion. I do wish that every week we had gone over what was talked about earlier in the blog, that way we could incorporate the ideas further in to our learning and we could comment on one another's opinions and "present" our own posts. Maybe we should have posted one blog a week also, instead of two, that way it would be more indepth and meaningful and we would be less inclined to hate our lives everytime we had to sign on and complete a blog! It has been fun, the whole blog-deal, but it could be perfected and the process could be made more smooth.

Reflection

I have really enjoyed this method of responding to class. It gave me an opportunity outside of class to reflect on what we had discussed, to think about what had been said without having to think quickly before the topic passed.

I believe that the blog we have produced represents the discussions and class topics well. You can see the occasional frustration and anxiety as well as the passion through our writings. I would hope that to the rest of the world this blog shows the depth to which we analyzed the issues of the public good and illness while learning about their place in society and our developing world. Due to the fact that all the posts were written by the students and the topics as well were openly created by the students, I think that this blog is a significant representation of student opinion and learning in this class. Rarely do you encounter a situation in which a teacher allows the students to create the topics for response and I believe that this gave us a greater amount of freedom to discuss the issues that we personally had with the material and to tie up any loose ends from class that we wanted to continue to discuss. By giving the students the freedom to lead the blog, the blog seems more realistic and personal. It was created by the students about the topics that we personally wanted to discuss rather than forcing us to respond to issues raised by the teacher. Even though I'm sure the issues still would have been thought provoking, it gave us our own chance to lead and reflect as a class.

Although keeping up with the new posts was at times difficult, I really enjoyed this method of reflection. It was simple and innovative considering the amount of time that we as students spend on the internet. No other teacher I have had has used a method like this to enhance our learning outside of the classroom. I think it was a very beneficial method and I hope that other teachers will use something similar in the future. It just goes to show how taking chances can create success, not to mention a deeper understanding.

LAST BLOG!!!

Because this is our class' final blog, we wanted to do something a little bit different. Taking the phrase "public good", write an acrostic poem. List the letters vertically down the screen like this:

P
U
B
L ...

and used each letter to write a word that you feel relates to the "public good". Don't stress, it's easy and even fun! Show us your creativity, you could also have individual phrases coming off of each letter and each phrase could even RHYME!

Don’t hold back,
Travis and Sarah

Facebook page for PAH

Hey class,

Laurel and I are trying to put together a Facebook page for Project Angel Heart and I'm trying to gather some volunteer testimonials.  They are pretty simple, here's mine:

 As a volunteer for Project Angel Heart, I have delivered many meals to people throughout the Denver metro area.  I haven't tried the food yet, but I am always told how good it tastes.  The clients are so grateful for the food that they receive that you can really tell that it makes a huge difference in their lives.  I have had nothing but good experiences with Project Angel Heart.

If you guys could write a testimonial about your experiences and maybe make it a little more specific than mine, that would be great.  Thanks for the help.

Make a difference- Click here to donate!

I'm going to play off of Erin's post a little bit here, but I'll try to make it different enough that you can answer it without repeating yourself. Her post made me think quite a bit, actually. It is true, what Professor Bateman said about our generation's community service hours: countless historians and sociologists are increasingly making the claim that Generation "X" is in fact the most aware and active in history in this regard.

Yet, the scope--in fact the very definition--of community service is changing, and I can't help but wonder what effects this both has and will have on the community as well as society's perception of what defines the public good. With the advent of globalization, community concern is increasingly focused on the international front. Americans as a whole are no longer satisfied with helping their communities, rather we are crusading to end global poverty, end hunger, build homes in Africa, provide heathcare to everyone worldwide, etc. Of course, this is wonderful for promoting global awareness, but the problem is that not everyone can feasibly do this. Instead, Americans are by and large choosing to support those who do such service in other ways--primarily, through utilizing the internet's one-click donations and online petitions. Thus, serving the public good is becoming more and more about not what you do but how much you donate and to whom.

My question, therefore is this: how do these new changes and developments affect society's definition of the public good? Do they at all? Is the "click here, make a difference" mentality of community service a helpful addition to an already community-oriented society or a "quick fix" excuse for an instant-gratification society? What should community service entail? I'm interested to get all of your reactions.

Mandated Volunteering

On Monday in class Professor Bateman briefly mentioned the fact that it is quite possible that our Generation “X” has performed more hours of community service than the Baby Boomer generation. This increase of service could be due to the fact that it is required of many of us for high school graduation, or the heavy emphasis that college admissions place upon a record of involvement in the community. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely to me that the cause of this increase is true altruistic efforts on the part of young adults.

My question for everyone is whether or not this mandated service will have an impact on our involvement later in life. Do you think that forced volunteering (an oxymoron in itself) will motivate us to be involved members of our communities when we are adults? Or will there be a backlash effect, resulting in even less civic engagement than there is today?

In regard to civic engagement and democracy, is a forcible rebuilding of community ties and mutual service sufficient to invigorate American government? Putnam said in our reading, “To revitalize our democracy we shall need to begin by rebuilding social capital in our communities, by renewing our civic connections.” Can mandated volunteering create civic connections to improve our democracy, or is this too lofty a goal for an instant gratification generation like ourselves?

In a chapter on attitude and behavior, my introductory Psychology course textbook contains a particularly poignant statement, “Doing becomes believing.” By merely going through the motions, we will gradually condition ourselves to believe in and continue whatever behavior we are practicing. My book also says, “Moral action strengthens moral convictions.” Can we change our societal apathy and community unawareness for the future by grudgingly participating in service today?

Reflections and Advice

We apologize for the two short blogs this week, but as we had only one class, our information to talk about is limited. It seems our blog topics thusfar have been somewhat exhausted, and that as a whole the class is finding it hard to connect to blogs about illness or rhetoric or the public good which are, as you know, the central themes of the course.

Therefore, our blog today will focus on a completely new subject. Since we are more than halfway through the winter quarter, we would like to know the opinions of the class concerning our WRIT 1522 course. Reflecting on the past few weeks, what advice would you give to students who will be taking the class in the upcoming quarter? What are the strengths of the course and what have you found most instructive? Further, is there anything that has impacted you in the discussions or the writing we have done? Feel free to focus on one or more of these aspects.

-Erin and Cristina

The Public Good Made Personal

In class today, we discussed the topic of the public good. Through networking, it is possible to create a personal relationship with various members of society and take small steps toward a public good. In this aspect, relationships work towards improving the quality of life through the interaction of many. A passion for this type of networking is essential to keep it going and to make it successful.

Erin and I were wondering about everyone’s take on achieving the public good, and how to go about it. More importantly, we want to know the networks (geared towards the public good) in which everyone has been involved. We’re taking the idea of achieving the public good, and making it more personal for everyone in the class. It would be nice to know each of our personal passions.

We would like a small comment on how to go about achieving the public good, and a personal story of a philanthropy, community group, or volunteer organization that is close to your heart. Tell us a little bit about the group, about your involvement, and why it is so important you.

Authenticicicity? Why Yes, Authenticicity!

In class on Monday we devoted considerable time to the subject of authentic writing. The question what is authentic writing was posed to the group but we never reached a conclusion. We could not decide what truly authentic writing is, or even which types of our own writing are authentic. Writing with a grade was initially disregarded as unauthentic; but when we came to the subject of writing for a living or money we also dismissed its authenticity. We discussed the authenticity of writing for fun but once again decided that it was not authentic because it had no outside motivation. The banter then moved to our WRIT 1522 writing. Ideas were presented and shut down, we chased our tails for a while longer, finally choosing to rest on the issue of our our writing for Project Angel Heart. Once again we reached no conclusion. The lack of payment was considered a score for its authenticity, but the reality that we are in fact without choice in the matter once again sidetracked the conversation. 

What a conundrum eh? Well, I'd like to actually find out what types of writing are authentic to each of you. If anyone feels confident enough to make a case for what kinds of writing are universally authentic it would be interesting to hear also. 

P.S. If anyone would like to, they should address what types of reading are authentic as well.

an attempt at something new

I think I speak for most of us when I say that we're getting a bit burnt out on the never-ending discussion about how our work at Project Angel Heart makes us feel regarding illness, if we've changed our minds on how we view disease, etc. etc. etc. Please, no one take that too personally because all of the discussions we've had have been beneficiary in some way, but I just think it's time for something new. so here's my attempt...

we've had many commments on how negative stigmas are and how they should be gotten rid of, but have any of us stopped to consider what our society would be like without such stigmas and stereotypes? i hate stereotypes as much as the next person, but what would happen if we simply eradicated them completely? would we truly benefit? in fact, is it even within the bounds of human consciousness to exist without any sense of stereotypes?

human beings are pack animals - we are not meant to live as hermits. and so much of our time is spent trying to fit into a certain group or image - how would we really function without these social stereotypes and images?

this, at least for me, raises a fascinating conundrum and a double standard of sorts - we are constantly striving to be individuals, to define ourselves as different from everyone else on the planet, and yet we are trying to fit certain stereotypes of the individual. is this is any way escapable? is it negative or positive?

i realize that i really didn't talk about illness at all during this post, and that i basically just asked a ton of (relatively) rhetorical questions, but i would really like to hear what such questions make each of you think about. and hopefully, it will be a welcome break from commenting constantly on our reactions to AIDS :)

Fear of AIDS...what about it?

I'm afraid this will be brief as I am typing single-thumbed (small accident in Angel Heart's kitchen. scary knife. Three stitches. I'll live).
So, to follow up on Allysa's question, I'd like to start with another quote Allysa found in her reasearch on the movie Philadelphia.
A woman in the movie who received HIV/AIDS through a blood transfusion says during fher court testimony:

"I don't consider myself any different than anyone else with this disease--I'm not innocent, I'm not guilty...I am just trying to survive"

To what extent do you think fear of contracting HIV/AIDS "innocently" contributes to a societal tendency to pronouce people living with the disease "guilty"? In other words, could other reasons people give for having an aversion to people with AIDS or the topic of AIDS (moral concerns about homosexuality/drug use, etc.) simply be the manifestation of their fear? If fear is a significant problem, what (if anything) do you think could/should be done about it?
I can't wait to hear what you guys think!

Integrating Research and Personal Reflection

Since Ryan and Kirsten very thoroughly covered our discussion on “Terministic Screens,” Sarah Perske and I thought it might be interesting to reflect on the research and writing process for our papers; above all, we’d like to explore the connections between the information we’ve gathered and our classroom discussions and personal growth.

For my research paper, I studied the primary text Philadelphia, a 1993 film that details the social and physical struggles faced by Andrew Becket—a successful lawyer infected with HIV/AIDS—during the last few years of his life. In the film, Beckett is fired from the law firm on account of his illness and brings a lawsuit against the firm’s senior partners for wrongful termination. Citing the 1973 Vocational Rehabilitation Act, Beckett’s attorney notes the following:

Employees with HIV/AIDS should be protected by law against wrongful termination
“not only due to the physical limitations [AIDS] imposes but also because the social stigma surrounding AIDS creates a social death that precedes the
physical one.”

When I first heard this excerpt from the film, I was struck by the disheartening truths it revealed. Our society’s fear-driven approach towards illness—specifically HIV/AIDS—can create a situation in which patients are doubly victimized. How does this excerpt from the film resonate with you? Do you agree or disagree? Do you believe individuals with HIV/AIDS still face a social “death” in our society? If not, how has the American public worked to change the shameful fact that HIV/AIDS patients were often ostracized for their illness, and what more can we do to prevent this from occurring in the future? How do the texts we’ve read in class support or refute this statement?

Please feel free to share your opinions and thoughts regarding this quote or discuss any aspect of your own research that you found particularly convicting.

As we only had one class this week, I apologize if my post emanates a bit from the same theme as Ryan's.
Undoubtedly, we all have different lenses through which we view the world and in turn communicate with one another. We live in a society that, as Ryan stated, is predominately tolerant of our varying outlooks. While this dissension creates barriers in our language and ability to fully understand, it is important that we continue to strive to reach one another.
I am taking Foundations in Communications this quarter and the parallels between this class and the communications class are abundant to say the least. In communications we are studying Levinas who prescribes to a philosophy claiming that humans have a need to cry out and be answered. All humans question, "Where art thou?" and are looking for the response, "Here I am" by another individual.
With this is mind and without permeating any personal boundaries, I think it would be good to hear what you have to say after the response of "Here I am." How has this class changed the way you think about illness? Or has it? Which readings do you connect with the most? Can you identify with some of the emotions we've discussed? If you have volunteered at Project Angel Heart, has it altered your view of human morality, of disease patients, of human fellowship? Especially if you have volunteered more than once, is your lens beginning to change? Can it change without suffering from disease itself? What are you thinking? What would you like to just come out and say? We've talked pretty openly in class but I think it's important to get everybody's take on the subject and this blog provides a great forum to do so. Let's try to share our lenses as best as possible.

On Wednesday we began to delve into language more deeply. We began to question not so much the mechanics of language–we didn't diagram sentences, we didn't separate words into nouns, verbs, or adjectives–but rather the nature of language. For me, I have always subscribed to the theory that language is asymptotic. I think this partly because of my schooling, and also partly because that is how our culture has taught us to think.
Think about it: in our Post-Modern society, we are taught certain values, traditions, and morals by our parents, the media, our culture, and our teachers. However, they also teach us to value what other people value as well. We are taught that there is no strictly wrong or strictly right, that all truth is relative. Ours is a culture characterized not by solidarity, but diversity. Schools now pride themselves on the different amount of backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, and nationalities they have, and teach us that each person can follow their own set of beliefs. You like to pray to God? Great. You don't believe in God? Also great. Democrat? Republican? White? Black? Whatever? All are great. We celebrate you. And you. And Whoever, even though they are different.
My point is that while each of us are taught to tolerate, we also want to go further than that. Our generation has such a thirst for knowledge that we have this compelling need to understand everything. A disturbing statistic shows that today you can find more information in an issue of the New York Times then were likely to in your entire lifetime if you lived during the 19th century. Whether this has been brought on by innovations such as the internet, or better educational systems, or something else entirely is not the point. the point is that everyone today cannot stand not knowing. It is this thirst that I believe has driven us delve more deeply into history, into music, and into literature more than ever.
I don't know about you though, but each of these things are frustratingly tantalizing. This is made all the more frustrating in my revelation that language is so asymptotic. Because we all formulate our own realities, our own lens, stepping out of ours into another, completely different world has become extremely difficult. And by characterizing language as being asymptotic, I go the extra step and say that it is impossible. Their are only two ways to truly connect with people: either by shared experiences–walking in someone's shoes–or through communication.
However, another school I subscribe to is deconstructionism. By this I mean that I feel that language is broken. I argue that because language is so broken, so inadequate, that truly connecting to someone through language is broken. As I said earlier, we all have so many different values, traditions, and morals, and have experienced so many different events, that each word we use has a different meaning. While we have agreed on authorities like dictionaries to define terms universally, all of the connotations that go with each word are going to be slightly different unless two people have shared the exact same experiences. Even then words may not mean the same, because so much is dependent on how we react to things internally.
In the short story Slim, the narrator tells is his story in hope of connecting with us on a personal level by trying to bring us into his shoes: we see his angst and pain through his lens. But while we all read the same thing, we only get an impression of what it is like to live with AIDS, and even then we all get different impressions, which is apparent when we discuss it. Like it says in the essay "Terministic Screens":
"Our point is: All three terminologies (Watson's, Bowlby's, Augustine's) directed the attention differently, and this led to a correspondingly different quality of observations. In brief, 'behavior isn't something that you need but observe; even something so 'objectively there' as behavior must be observed through one or another kind or terministic screen, that directs the attention in keeping with its nature" (p. 49 Burke).
It is for this reason that I say that language is just as much a barrier as it is a bridge. We may keep getting closer and closer to each other by sharing our experiences, by never can really intersect. And it is at intersections that you and I can finally understand each other completely.

First of all sorry this is late. I was sick on Wednesday, so I am tentative to try and post something about the articles because I am unaware where the discussion went. Nevertheless, I thought that some very interesting points were exposed in Monday's discussions. Having been interested in societal standards and beliefs, I am curious to explore the social understanding of HIV. We talked briefly on how we have come to understand the AIDS epidemic. Africa was thrown into discussion, so was Pedro from the Real World. Each of these cases have had their own dramatic audience. So I kind of a rambling statement, I am trying to say that AIDS is very well known and found throughout the world. This of course is also the irony associated with AIDS. The first real knowledge about AIDS was established now about twenty-five years ago in the early eighties. At this time of American medical advancement, we thought that the cure would be found in five to ten years, but ten to fifteen years ago we were not close to having an answer. Opptimism still was present, so the world figured on only another ten years before a cure was found. Well guess what? That time is now and there is still no answer, only anecdotal drugs that are extremely caustic on the system are available. This brings me to my question.

A couple of years ago I was watching a Bill Maher show and one of his guests was Alec Baldwin. Baldwin said something that was disheartingly true, "If you could contract AIDS by gripping a golf club, we would have a cure tomorrow." So when considering a disease that for all intents and purposes is spread by a select number, who don't practice safe sex and who participate in intraveneous drug use, what should the course of action be? How can the American public be goaded into supporting a cause that most people are unfamiliar with the reality of? Cancer programs lack funding and yet everyone knows someone, who has been affected by cancer. AIDS is not so visible. What needs to happen for the world to take AIDS seriously and make it a front page issue? I know this is an open ended question, but just answer it with what steps you think should taken next to aid the AIDS epidemic.

First Experiences With Project Angel Heart

I had my first shift with Project Angel Heart this weekend. On Saturday, I went to the site and spent a few hours in the afternoon driving around federal delivering the ready-made meals to clients. It certainly was an experience and really made me thankful for what we have. Even living at school in small dorms rooms, we have more than the clients I visited. We have so much to be thankful for: our health, our friends, our homes, our families, our friends, our safe neighborhoods, easy acess to healthy food, and the list continues. Even in Denver, many families live without these simple luxuries. It reminded me how thankful I am for the life I have and the opportunities I have for the future.
It also brought to light our discussion in class about how diseases can't be stereotyped. All the clients who answered the door looked relatively healthy. If I were to see them on the street, I wouldn't know that they had a life-threatening illness. Illness or disease doesn't define a person. Instead, it is their character and actions that will leave a legacy.
I'm curious how other's first experiences were? What did you do? Learn? And what did it make you realize about your own life? How does it confirm or deny what we've been discussing about disease metaphor in class?

Preparing for our work with Project Angel Heart

I've just finished re-reading our material for tomorrow's class, and to be honest, my head is full of all sorts of possible paths to take in this initial positing on our blog. There really are so many questions that we could begin to think about together.

But I think I'm most interested in hearing more about your initial impressions and response to the prospect ahead of us: our work with Project Angel Heart. Let me share a memory as way to open up this conversation.

In my first year as an undergraduate, I volunteered for an AIDS hospice in Tacoma, Washington. I did this mostly because a friend of mine also volunteered there, and she spoke so passionately about the work she did that it encouraged me to spend some time there, as well.

The hospice was an old Victorian home that had been remodeled for four or five men with late-stage AIDS to live in and have a place to die with dignity. With its wrap-around porch and sturdy architecture, it projected a feeling of warmth, protection, and a quiet kind of respect for the men living there. The staff who worked there intentionally cultivated this atmosphere, and despite the very real and material presense of illness--and implicitly of death's approach (this was before the more successful HIV/AIDS drug treatments were available)--the space was comfortable, strangely reassuring, even.

Still, I remember completing my first few shifts feeling anxious--that churning-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach kind of anxiety. Nervous I would do something wrong or say something inappropriate, I was uncertain and felt awkward spending time there. In my mind, it seemed like such a daunting task, helping care for these men who were so close to death. What should I say to them? How would we interact? How to talk to the one man who seemed intolerably grumpy? And what about the man who never seemed to leave his bedroom? For the more experienced, these fears might have seemed naive or immature, but for me, they were real.

As I continued working, I grew more comfortable and adjusted to the social conventions of this place. Surpisingly, I begin to see our work there like any other. Despite our closeness to death, life went on. We cooked meals for the men, played card games, and had the most typical of conversations. Death didn't pervade every interaction, endowing our work with meaning at every turn. It just was.

I reflect on this experience as a way to ask you all about how you're feeling right now about working for Project Angel Heart. Do you have any reservations or anxieties? If so, what are they? Have you done work like this in the past, either with regard to this issue or involving community service in other capacities? If so, what was it like? What's your impression thus far of our attempt to forge a connection between academic writing and research and a non-profit organization like Project Angel Heart?

Please take a moment and use the comment feature to reply to this post. And be as candid as you're able. Thanks.