Controversial issue

Major: Art

Minor:Psychology

I want to go to grad school for Art Therapy

controversial issues concerning art/art therapy include:

The whole starving artist aspect and how a lot of people think that going to school for art is a joke. Many people believe that a lot of artists can't get jobs after college.

With art therapy, a lot of people think that art therapy and music therapy aren't true therapies and don't help people with their problems and issues. 

Thesis

After reading Deborah Tannen’s essay, There is No Unmarked Woman, I disagree with her statements concluding that there is no “marked” man in a world that is often seen as male based linguistically and male dominant.

Cion Blog #1

My host and I miraculously found a decent parking spot, dodging and fighting our way through an endless chaos of cars. A car itself was even weird to me, for I had never been anywhere near a place that had motorized vehicles, only animals for travel.  I got out of the car, blankly staring in awe, as the immense building towered over me, calling me towards its attractive glass entrance. We walked in and were immediately crowded by an abundance of people walking in strange patterns in and out of smaller rooms with bags of bought items engulfing their shoulders, arms, and hands. I had never seen something so industrial with so many people in it other then driving through the city.  I also had never seen so many people with so much money and just spending it on items that aren't essential to them, they just desire them.  

Even though I was amazed by all the chaos, something else had caught my eye completely. As my friend walked away from me for a moment, I walked towards the center of the building where a large, circular well, shined with its earthy marble glow. In the center of the well was a piece of marble with a waterfall coming out of it, pouring into the well. What made me really wonder was why there were coins on the tiled floor in the well. I watched people walk by but no one paid attention to this wonderful waterfall. I was about to walk away when I saw a parent bring their excited child up to the well with a coin. I then heard the child's parent say, "Make a wish!". The child closed their eyes and tossed the penny into the rippling water and gazed at it as it sunk to the bottom. I had never seen a well in which someone made a wish into, nor have I seen so many coins laying somewhere untouched. This amazed me the most out of anything in the whole building. I quickly grabbed an extra coin I found in my pocket, clenched it between my hands, closed my eyes tightly, and wished for something I wanted the most.  When my friend met back up with me I walked out of the giant building with a smile, waiting for my wish to come true.

Essay 1 Prewrite

 For my essay, I chose to write on Deborah Tannen's, There is No Unmarked Woman.  I chose to write on her piece because I disagree with some of the ideas that she explains about the "marked" woman, as well as the "unmarked man".  Although I agree with her ideas of woman always being judged by the way they look and dress, I also strongly believe that men can also be "marked" by the way they dress, and how they decide to make an image for themselves.

                  Deborah Tannen's essay seems to be directly intended to women, trying to make a universal connection about how women feel on the idea of true beauty, as well as stating that the grammatically with the natural world women should seem more “unmarked”. Tannen tries to point out that men are "unmarked" and that they don't have to worry about what others think about their appearance, unlike women, who are being judgmental of themselves the first second they wake up and look in the mirror.  I believe a lot of women think that Tannen's essay makes critical connections to a woman's everyday life and the feeling of being criticized and judged based on their own personal preference and creating their own character. 

Deborah Tannen's evidence seems to be pretty reputable with the idea of women being "marked". Women can be degraded by both male and female for their style other then their personality. However, in my opinion, her belief that men don't have to worry about being judged or "marked" is completely false.  A lot of  men care about their appearance and  they way they are perceived of by others.  I also believe that men are judged by the way they dress.  Any gender, both male or female have different stereotypes that makes them appear to be some way or do different things, even if they aren't.  I also believe that most women don't take offense to taking their husband's last name in marriage, as well as being called miss or mrs., like Tannen wrote about. 

Tannen has definitely overlooked a man's perspective of the way they are criticized in everyday life.  As I had explained before, every person in the world has always been judged or has been judgmental of themselves on their on appearance.  A man with a high taste in clothing may be questioned for their sexuality based on their appearance. When Tannen brings Fasold into the essay  talking about the natural world being female prominent, I believe she pulls away from the entire essay about the degradation of females based on style and appearance. Parts of her essay were very disconnected from the main point she was trying to display.

I do agree with Tannen when she talks about how women are "marked" in many ways. Being a female, according to my own style I have been judged on the way I look.  Women are often very self conscious of themselves based on what others think about them.  They want to wear certain clothes that make them feel good, but also facing the idea of being degraded by others.  

           

Tannen Summary

Deborah Tannen is a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University and is the author of many books relating to the communications between people.  Her essay, There is No Unmarked Woman,  was originally published in 50 Essays.  In Tannen's essay, she emphasizes the idea that women are always marked, unable to reach through the scrutiny of both men and women in their everyday lives. She explains this by studying the styles of women's clothing and how one would be judged when a certain style is worn. When studying the men, she realizes that the men are unmarked because they had no distinctive features brought out through their hairstyles, clothing, and even shoes.   

Tannen uses the term, "marked" in linguistic terms by stating that women are marked in the english language by the words we use to associate them with. In Tannen's argument, when thinking of the word female, occasionally the word must end with certain endings to produce a female marked word, such as actress instead of actor, for example.  Tannen also describes women as being marked through the way they dress, and even the way their hair is cut. There is no standard woman to base everyone on. Also, Tannen expresses the idea of going by Mrs. or Miss, as well as changing a woman's maiden name to taking her husband's last name as her own.  When a woman creates her own style, she is often immediately judged for what she is wearing, how she wears her makeup, and every movement that she makes.  

When Tannen includes biologist Ralph Fasold in her essay, he brings up many conclusions about how men are seen as the "marked" gender in the natural world.  He states that when a baby is born, a female is born with a full female body. However, for a male, they are born with modified female bodies because of the one Y chromosome that makes them a male.  He also talks about how there are certain species in the world that produce only females and that some species hardly even need males, only for little reproduction. Fasold then points out that if grammar was based on the natural world, "she" would be seen as a gender neutral word, while "he" would be specifically for males.  

Tannen is "marked" in her essay by stating that people believe she is a feminist because of her response to the way she believes women are marked and men aren't.  Finally, she concludes her essay by restating the thesis of no woman can remain unmarked because of the way any person may view them. 

Blog #1 A&B Chapters 1&2

Hot Spot #1

"Besides the pragmatic benefits of college and career success, learning to write well can bring you the personal pleasure of a richer mental life"

I chose this as a hotspot because I never really thought about writing well leads to a richer mental life. Now that I think about it though, it does make sense. I guess to me I always just thought of writing as just in school or for work. But learning to write well does enhance the mind and broaden your knowledge, as well as showing off your intelligence.  

Hot Spot #2

"The kind of questions that stimulate the writing most valued in college are open-ended questions that focus on unknowns rather than factual questions that have single right answers"

I totally agree with this hot spot. I believe that college is all about finding different ways to come around problems or questions rather then just searching for one specific answer. Already reading some of this book I see a lot of differences in the way college writing is in comparison to the way we were taught in high school.

Hot Spot #3

"New college students tend to shut down their creative thinking processes too quickly and head straight for closure to a problem"

I picked this hot spot because I believe that this can be definitely true for freshmen in college. When I was in high school I always searched directly for the closure to a problem and never think around it or search for other ways to find the answer to a problem. I hope now to learn how to find different ways to resolve problems creatively and effectively.

Hot Spot #4

"Critical thinkers are actively engaged with life... They appreciate creativity, they are innovators, and they exude a sense that life is full of possibilities"

I really like this quote that was stated by a psychologist in the book. I like it because it is a perfect description of what critical thinkers are like. When thinking critically, people are extremely active and can think creatively and inventively with the world at their fingertips, having endless possibilities.