A Scrapbook of My Writing
Academic Writing
Like snapshots from the past three years, my papers and essays demonstrate how I have evolved as a student and a writer here at the University of Michigan. Each subject transports you to a moment in time where I found a certain topic interesting enough and important enough to write about and explore. Below are just a few of the essays that I feel represent me at a few different points in my career here at Michigan.
Late nights in the library lend themselves to random pictures
Extension, Decline, and Importance:
Roman Imperialism as a World-Historical Phenomenon
In the midst of my extremely busy Winter 2013 semester, I found myself writing a series of explorative essays for History 239: The World Before 1492. I had taken the class because of my inherent love for history, but soon discovered that this love is self-contained -- to areas that do NOT have to do with ancient history.
Although the class was not quite as interesting as I had hoped, I still enjoyed writing my three part paper on the important, rise, and decline, of the Alexandrian Empire around the first century CE. I took the image to the left as an inpromptu study break one late night in the Graduate Library Stacks -- a reminder of all of the work that I put into my research and a moment that I truly felt overwhelmed with writing and research, but for good reasons.
Like the craziness of Times Square, flashy and suggestive advertisements are all around us!
Did I Hear That Right?: Overt Suggestiveness, Sexuality, and Cultural Values in Modern Commercials
As a challenge to myself this Fall semester, I decided to enroll in an Upper-Level Writing class outside of my major in order to explore different types of writing. At first, I was hesitant about entering a room full of mostly linguistics and communications majors in Linguistics 375: Language and the Mass Media. However, my transition to a new setting -- as opposed to the traditional English classes that I am used to taking --- with new goals and expectations for writing in a social science essay format was a good experience, and one I had never written like before.
My essay, focusing on the effects of suggestive nature in modern commercials and advertisements, takes a closer look at the ways that the media interacts with its consumers as of 2013. I feel that this research paper highlights just how far I have come as a writer over my last three years -- expanding my writing abilities from creative non-fiction to social science research, while still maintaining academic professionalism.
Royal Perfection
Anyone who knows me knows about my secret obessions -- except, it's not really that secret. I am in love with the Royal Family -- specifically Prince William and his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, along with their adorable little son Prince George and right up to their royal pup, Lupo. I couldn't tell you why or where this started, it just happened. And so, I wrote about it.
For my English 325: The Art of the Essay class this past Summer 2013 semester, our assignment was to explore something and expose what is hidden, to "illuminate what is unseen." The question that I kept coming back to was this: "Why are people so obsessed with the Royal Family? Or even celebrities in general?" As a final research project for this class, I used a topic close to my heart in order to further my academic research and look into new perspectives around this complex psychological and social obsession. This paper is a great example of the growth I experienced throughout my semester in English 325 -- using internal reflection as a starting point for numerous essays made me realize how great writing can be if you are interested in the topic and want to delve deeper into the many meanings floating all around us throughout the world today.
Evidence of my obsession: I won the "Royal Baby Sighting" Award from my staff this summer!