Post 5: General Comments

Questions:

1. Elaborate what you have learned throughout the course.

2. What are the topics that you find interesting or beneficial for future purposes?

Answer:

1. What I have learned throughout the course.

Throughout my degree, I think this is one of the courses that require me to think deeply and wisely. Discourse challenges me and my thinking capabilities, it also strengthens my analyzing skills.

I’ve discovered and learned a lot from this course. Some of which include, Ideology, Propaganda, Intertextuality, analyzing skills, speech act, Grice's conversational maxims, and most importantly feminist theory. I’ve always thought that words spoken or used are merely intentional but spontaneous. After sitting through almost 12 weeks of the class, I realized that everything intends to deliver meaning either directly or indirectly.

Before I attended the class, I’ve been ignorant by not analyzing facts and my surrounding as I care less about the truth and more about the story. I care more about what’s happening around the world rather than ensuring the validity of the story. I intend to absorb information without thinking of effects and consequences. To put into word, I’m ignorant.

Through lessons from discourse class, I became less ignorant and acknowledge what’s essential. I discovered that my conversational approach might be the caused for miscommunication. I often violate the conversational maxims which prompt consequences that sometimes hurt me. To prevent the same mistake from occurring, I’ll try to apply Grice’s Conversational maxims in my daily life.

I also learned that the more I am aware of intertextuality, the more I see it everywhere. We live in a pop culture remix where one source always referencing the other. This is visible mainly through movies. For example, The movie Ready Player One is filled with intertextuality but manages to tell its own story. The question that has been on the minds of artists is How to make something original when everything has already been said? An American literary critic and Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University, Harold Bloom wrote a book "In The Anxiety of Influence". Bloom claimed that influence was particularly important for post-enlightenment poets. He admits the influence of extraliterary experience on every poet, he argues that "the poet in a poet" is inspired to write by reading another poet's poetry and will tend to produce work that is in danger of being derivative of existing poetry, and, therefore, weak. 

There are so much more than I’ve learned throughout the course but the most important lesson that I’ve obtained is that Language is not direct nor innocent, it is often delivered with an intention either to educate or to manipulate.

2. Topics that I find interesting or beneficial for future purposes.

There are so many topics in discourse that I find interesting and beneficial for future purposes. I enjoy this class so much more than other classes I attended because I’ve gained so much information on how to view the world as it is. I’ve always viewed the world as toxic and intolerable as violence and injustice being conducted every day. Through studies and understanding, I realize that being quiet doesn’t help solve the problem. Instead, voicing out could be a weapon to reduce the injustice act.

The topic that I think beneficial for future purposes is regarding Feminism because it fascinates and encourages me to fight for women’s right. I witness social injustice towards women every day, either in person or through mass media. This topic educates me on the movements and different standpoint of feminist throughout history. Knowing the topic makes it easier for me to understand why women are treated unfairly and have to fight for rights. One day, I hope that I could do something to help women that suffered from sexual abuse, sexual harassment, oppression, violence, and other inhumane acts.