I notice that some people in my life think that the most impactful thing one can do is something that is far away, something to invest a lot of money into so that they truly make a huge impact and difference. Yes, voluntourism can do a lot to help, but that is overlooking whats right in front of us. There’s this idea that one has to travel out thousands of miles to “help the starving children in Africa,” all the while there are children right in the cities we live in facing issues that can possibly stay with them the rest of their lives. According to the nonprofit No Kid Hungry there are currently 13 million children in the United States who do not receive nutritious food on a regular basis. The “tourism” aspect of voluntourism can have a tendency to outshine the real work, and I think it’s important to remember the term’s roots. Volunteering. Continue reading “Voluntourism vs Volunteerism”
Understanding the Literary Cannon and How It Pertains to This Course
In my ENGL 203 course, we have been taking a look at literary theories, and one of them pertains to this course that I thought I would share with you all. One of the theories, ethnic studies, states that “You can thank literary theory and criticism for much of the positive change that has occurred over the past few decades. Students are still assigned works by many of the “dead white European males” that used to monopolize reading lists, but those students are now likely to be assigned books by Toni Morrison, Ralph Ellison or Amy Tan alongside with those by Charles Dickens or John Milton”. If you take a look at the first name in that list of authors, you’ll notice Toni Morrison’s name among the list. What this quote from the book is saying that we owe reading Home this semester, to the literary canon, which is known as the change in the collection of texts read in classrooms.
This term literary canon often reflects national culture, which is another way this term relates to this course. It talks about how some people view culture as a broad collection of a countries practices, while others see culture as a kind of goal or ideal. That second view of culture reminds me of our journey through this course. We took a look at several pieces of literature this semester on the topic of how racism has played into medical treatments and consent, with a goal in mind of raising awareness on this topic. Books such as Home illustrated examples of consent within the text and illustrated topics we looked at in Medical Apartheid to life. We owe being able to dive into such a topic due to the literary canon, as it has changed into reading texts that encourage discussion and questioning.
Transitioning as a Class and Incorporating GLOBE
Through our discussion of the Geneseo Learning Outcomes for Baccalaureate Education (GLOBE) while all the outcomes are important, our group emphasized the importance of “Leadership and Collaboration” and “Diversity and Pluralism” during our construction of the collaborative course statement. Continue reading “Transitioning as a Class and Incorporating GLOBE”
The Importance of Names
Before we discussed any content on the first day of class back in August, Dr. McCoy had us go around the room and introduce ourselves to the class. Not only did Dr. McCoy take the time to learn all of our preferred names, she also insisted that we get to know each other by repeating each other’s names. I was a little skeptical at first because I have never participated in a similar exercise during my college career, but now that is it nearing the end of the semester, I realize how important it was. Continue reading “The Importance of Names”
Mark Spitz’s Ark
As I am working on my opening-out essay and revisiting my ideas and notes on Zone One, I came across my note about the use of water-related vocabulary, and how I was wondering about the reason behind why Whitehead decided to incorporate these specific words. I failed to look into it while we were reading the book despite my questions about it, although I did talk about his use of complicated vocabulary in a previous post. Therefore, I decided that I would dive into it a little more now that I can take a step back from the complicated vocabulary as a whole, and focus on the specific use of this themed vocabulary.
Thinking Bigger Than Yourself
During the first day of work on our collaborative course statement, I believe it was Adaeze that stated that the course statement focus should encompass “thinking more than yourself, bigger than yourself”. Continue reading “Thinking Bigger Than Yourself”
Do No Harm: Applying Medical Ethics to the Way we “Aid” the Third World
In looking back at the article written by Teju Cole, The White-Savior Industrial Complex, as well as classroom discussions about medical voluntourism, it struck me that a more sweeping solution may be needed to correct the errors in western views of charity. Ironically, I believe one possible answer lies right in front of us: we must apply traditional medical ethics to charity. Although somewhat clique, the values of Autonomy, Justice, Beneficence, and Non-maleficence can be more rigorously applies, not only to medical volunteerism, but to foreign aid as a whole. Continue reading “Do No Harm: Applying Medical Ethics to the Way we “Aid” the Third World”
The Hanging Man: a response to Fortune Telling by Kyra Krasowski
Link to Fortune Telling: https://morrison.sunygeneseoenglish.org/2017/11/28/fortune-telling/#more-2850
Within each of us, there is another whom we do not know
The above quote by psychologist Carl Jung seems appropriate while on the discussion of Tarot cards. The blog by Kyra on the subject was outstanding and I encourage you all to read it before continuing on to my post. Her take on how the cards Death, the Fool, and the High Priestess apply to characters in Zone One inspired me to look into the meanings of other tarot cards to see if and how they might fit into the novel’s dramatic conclusion. Continue reading “The Hanging Man: a response to Fortune Telling by Kyra Krasowski”
Volunteer Review
While working on my earlier post about the cost of medical voluntourism I came across a review from a student who participated in the volunteering program. Her name is Rashae and she is a Nursing student. She participated in the Midwifery in Ghana. She talked about her experience and the actual placement. “As I showed initiative and effort I was taught to perform various medical assignments that included administering medications intravenously and intramuscularly, collecting vital signs, and performing vaginal exams.” As I read this my mind automatically jumped to what we talked about in class. Students performing tasks they are not qualified to do. Continue reading “Volunteer Review”
Being Cautious
So, I’m a part of the professional medical fraternity Phi Delta Epsilon on campus. Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend the last chapter meeting, but a friend of mine mentioned that there was a topic discussed that might be of interest. There were two girls who presented their experiences on a medical mission that they went on with a program called Blanca’s House. Continue reading “Being Cautious”