Final Reflection Essay

 

My initial goal before enrolling in the Master's of Arts and Applied Sciences (MAAS) was to attend a graduate program that would challenge me intellectually and culturally. Also, I was longing for content class and discussions that would not only get me out of my comfort zone, but would complement my current and future professional goals. After two years of dedicated work, I am confident to report that I have successfully fulfilled my goals and more. The courses in the MAAS program have given me an opportunity to explore completely unfamiliar areas of study that have expanded my horizons, broadened my knowledge, and of course, created new brain connectivity.

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Throughout my journey in the MAAS program I enjoyed many courses that stimulated creative thinking and allowed me to participate in a myriad of projects. These projects include the narration of a family story, development of two different websites, a combination of media literacies as well as visual aids such as cartoons, electronic animations, and photo collages.There were other courses that piqued my intellectual curiosity, stimulated empathy, and enhanced cross cultural competence. In other words, I was transported to nations with socioeconomic and cultural compositions that were foreign to my own. I enjoyed the exploration of scientific discoveries, global movements, and an array of historical facts through engaging reading material, personal research, and meaningful interaction between teachers and students.

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DIVERGENT THINKING

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Writing a family story in Dr. Anthony Fragola’s class was one of the most compelling and emotional projects of the MAAS program. I was immediately overtaken by profound emotions in its embryonic or germination stage. I really appreciated my professor’s and classmates’ encouragement and constructive criticism during the creative process and the actual writing of the different sections of my story. Dr. Fragola’s advice was always very positive, and he was able to capture the tone that I had originally envisioned: a tribute to my beloved Padrino (godfather).

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Adding missing details that could make my story Padrino come alive was the most challenging task during the writing stage. I could hear Dr. Fragola’s announcements and critique echoing in my head during my sleep and throughout my writing process. I made sure the second and third part of the story showed more character description necessary to set the scenes. I was glad to know that readers were paying attention to details in my story and gaining some knowledge of how special Padrino was in my life.  I understand that my story is not the epitome of perfection, but it is the most honest creative writing I have had in my life. Last but not least, I was thankful that I was able to convey my emotions and captivate an audience through my second language.

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The movies in the Food and Film course syllabus were the catalyst to explore a variety of themes not only related to food imagery, but also to cultural and ethnic traditions in the contemporary world. I felt compelled to write about Food Pornography (colloquially known as “Food Porn”), which was a common theme running throughout most of the films that we watched in this class. This unifying thread offered me the opportunity to think critically about the different sub-genres within the Food and Film genre. Finally, the theme of food pornography was an “appetizing” opportunity  to explore my personal relationship to food, my personal reaction to the different films, and the emotional responses that they evoked in me.

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For the final project of the Food and Film course, I found inspiration in the most controversial film and the one with the most discussion posts in this course, La Grande Bouffe, to duplicate my aunt Tota’s pate. I approached this task as an opportunity to bring back good family memories and also to do some extensive research on the role of women in the twentieth-century Argentinian society.This process captured through a photo collage is a vivid reflection of wonderful emotions and lots of laughs that I had with my family and friends at the culmination of this course.

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Attending the Contemporary Media Literacies (CMLs) course gave me a new perspective to broaden my knowledge on the role of media literacies in educational contexts. At the same time, it provided all the necessary tools to create a final research project that would persuade an audience to read, view, or do further research on any topic through contemporary media literacies. My final research project was geared toward second language acquisition (SLA) in adults. In order to showcase it, I decided to choose a blend of audio, video, and images together with a written script.

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I believe I was able to raise awareness among my classmates and teacher. I hope I was able to represent the voice of so many second language adult learners who work very hard to excel in their jobs or careers (including myself; I am originally from Argentina and Spanish is my first language). Finally, I think that CMLs helped me to create a project that captures an audience and carries an inspirational message.

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INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY AND INTEGRATIVE THINKING

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I believe that the first class in any academic career  is often the most memorable one. One approaches the material with a fresh mind, genuine excitement, and eager anticipation. I was fortunate to take Dr. Jeff Jones’s Reel World class during my winter holiday in 2016. Watching films was not only a pleasurable experience, but also a motivating way to carry out extensive research on historical issues and topics that are relevant and related to my generation. The films in the Reel World syllabus were a creative vehicle to explore the events happening in the contemporary world. Paul Rusesabagina, a memorable character in our list of films and subsequent discussions, made a statement that resonated and stuck with me until the end of this class. He said that “… history repeats itself, and does not teach human beings any lessons” (1). His words carry deep wisdom and truth since all the historical events covered in this class are recurrent in different eras and historical contexts. Somehow, they all seem to bear the same nature.

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Toward the end of the MAAS program, the Voices from Latin America: The Modern Period class taught by Dr. James Wood gave me the opportunity to experience the voices of some of my fellow Latin compadres and their historic memories throughout the cold war era. At the same time, this class motivated me to carry out further research on socio-political and historical topics related to my home country, Argentina. This enlightening and cathartic journey fulfilled what I initially envisioned with this class: to get in touch with my own roots. I was able to learn and rediscover topics, such as national heroes and leaders, revolution and independence (winds of change), as well as women national movements and socio-political changes.

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I anticipated that creating a final e-portfolio on Argentina was not going to be a safe choice for me since I had never done any formal research about Argentina during the Cold War. Being removed from my home country for sixteen years provided a different perspective and frame of mind toward problems related to Latin America’s nineteenth-century history. It was not until this class that I had the chance to steer away from British and American culture. However, I was excited to delve into a variety of bibliographic and filmic material in order to create an honest and detailed narrative of Argentina.

 

Despite their content and approach, I found striking commonalities between my initial class and those courses that enhanced my knowledge in the humanities, sciences, and the arts. After reviewing my class assignments and reflections in The Reel World, Voices from Latin America, The Age of Revolution, and Dangerous Minds, I came away with the unshakable feeling that civilizations are defined by severity and harshness. The different conflicts and social changes that violated human rights and breached social justice throughout so many generations continue to this day. I wonder how many genocides, and terrorist attacks, and how much torture, and hatred we will be able to tolerate in this world. I also ponder if the new generation will be able to recall these lessons and act upon them accordingly. I appreciate that these courses gave me a deeper appreciation for the country that shaped me, as well as other nations that experienced similar or even worse historical events.

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Writing about brain connectivity and my Argentinian cultural background are themes that appeared naturally in many of my research projects throughout the MAAS program. I believe that these subjects have come to me indirectly, but at times, I had an inner urge to explore or delve into them. In the Sciences Throughout Nobel Laureates course, my scientific investigation was the result of causalities, a phenomenon confirmed by every scientific discovery I studied in this class. The world is certainly ruled by a cause-and-effect phenomena.

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In his book Evolution, Douglas Futuyama explains that the term “chance” in science means essentially that we cannot predict the outcome of a particular event (2). The list of Nobel Laureates for the final research essay in this course were foreign and distant to me. I found the lead that would guide me to the most interesting scientific discovery I had ever heard of. My former high school math teacher had shared an article from an Argentinian newspaper, which announced how the physicist and neuroscientist Ximena Soledad Gonzalo Cogno had been accepted to work at the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience in Trondheim, Norway under the supervision of the Nobel Laureates Edvard Moser and May-Britt Moser.

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When I realized that the Mosers were included in Dr. Cannon’s suggested list of Nobel Prize winners for their achievement on the “discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain,” I was thrilled and motivated to start my research (3). The most fascinating aspect of researching the brain’s internal GPS system was to contact Soledad in Norway. She provided me with a deeper understanding of the computational function of the brain and how the Mosers and her research will lead to unveiling new breakthroughs in science.

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The culmination of my academic experiences in the MAAS graduate program have fulfilled my expectations and more. Attending such a diverse range of classes has given me the opportunity to expand my interests, think critically, and allow me to continue my journey of self-discovery. Not only has this Master’s program helped me become a much wiser individual, it has encouraged me to continue nurturing my professional and personal aspirations. I now feel more confident than ever to explore new horizons and look for meaningful growth in my career.

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References:

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1.  Hotel Rwanda' Manager: We've Failed To Learn From History’ NPR Weekend Edition April 5, 2014 http://www.npr.org/2014/04/05/299338156/hotel-rwanda-manager-weve-failed-to-learn-from-history. Accessed on August 10, 2018.

2. Futuyma, Douglas J. 2005. Evolution. Sunderland, Mass: Sinauer Associates.

3. Nobel Media AB, May-Britt Moser - Facts.nobelprize.org. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2014/may-britt-moser-facts.html. Accessed August 10, 2018.