It’s not what’s on the inside that counts. A hard lesson learned is that sometimes we don’t have what it takes to be creative or come up with great ideas. But it’s not our fault. Surrounded by a society that praises simplicity over complexity when complexity is the very thing that pushes boundaries around and inside of us, allowing creativity to find its way. We’ve been conditioned to believe that the best ideas are the simplest ones, coming from focused environments. Overlooking the true power of complexity, which nurtures creativity, minimalistic trends rise to create a society protected from having to think harder than it should.
Society places creative individuals on a pedestal treating their innate talents as an exceptional gift not everyone has. Unfortunately, idolization creates distance between the praised and the ones doing the praising. It’s easy to feel the lack of creative spark, however creativity isn’t a rare trait only few have, it just depends on the environment around.
Minimalism in interior design, lifestyle, and thoughts reflects the societal desire for escapism and intentionality. Clean lines and uncluttered spaces promote the idea that “less is more” and the sense that more is to be avoided. Without “more” like complexity, contradiction, or messiness, creativity can’t thrive.
While it’s not even just minimalist interior design, but every single aspect of our environment and the world that surrounds us that affects our creativity. In the past couple decades, technology has progressed significantly with the internet and artificial intelligence. This rising power is easily accessible by many people in this country, making this age of information incredibly impactful to the way we think. With answers right at our fingertips, there’s no need to feel creative and come up with something new when it seems like everything is already out there. This lack of push for creativity doesn’t mean that we aren’t creative on the inside at all, it means that our surrounding technology kills any chance to show it or even begin to think outside the box.
In an article from the American Psychological Association, “Creative thinking involves the generation of new ideas, the ability to approach problems in novel ways, and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances or perspectives.” This kind of thinking is becoming increasingly difficult as different platforms constantly give specific perspectives. Creativity calls for “out of the box” which is quite difficult when our surroundings in the media want to conform thinking to stay “in the box”.
Societal trends that surround us and the environments we create are designed to encourage people to follow and not think for themselves. The constant pressure to follow trends and fit in with the norm, stifles the very thing that allows creativity to flourish, diverse thinking. The type of thinking that leads to true creative breakthroughs, coming from a place of complexity and contradiction. Understanding different perspectives and being able to handle chaos allows the brain to form new and innovative thoughts.
Schools, workplaces, and media value consistency, and perfection leaving little room for mistakes and uncertainty. Living in an environment streamlined to reduce friction or conflict makes everything easy to follow, and difficult to speak against. Taking risks by being creative leads to new things and innovative discoveries.
Creativity isn’t found inside from birth, but it’s found in an environment where complexity thrives and encourages out of the box thinking. Minimalist environments dont give anything for creativity to grow, like wanting to grow a flower without soil. Minimalism not giving visual stimulation, a variety of textures, or any shapes besides straight lines, kills creative thinking
References
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Creative thinking. Retrieved December 18, 2024, from https://www.apa.org
What we wear says a lot about who we are; it communicates to the public aspects of our identity. Fashion impacts our lives more than we realize—it shapes how much clothing we buy, how long we use it, and how we dispose of it. Fashion is not just a medium of personal expression; it controls time, trends, and the rhythms of humanity. However, as the world grapples with the growing threats of climate change, it becomes clear that the fashion industry plays a significant role in this crisis. From excessive water usage to CO2 emissions and its overall environmental footprint, fashion has become a driving force behind ecological degradation. Despite this reality, some argue that the fast fashion industry is not harmful but is merely a reflection of a high-demand consumer system.
In this discussion, I reference the McKinsey & Company article The Need for Speed: Capturing Today’s Fashion Consumer by Elizabeth Hunter, Sophie Marchessou, and Jennifer Schmidt. The article highlights the claim that consumers, with their ever-increasing demands, are driving the fashion market forward. It argues that for businesses to sustain themselves, they must embrace faster fashion to remain profitable. Comparing the fashion industry to a game of poker, the authors suggest that there are winners and losers, and failure to adapt means falling behind. While this analogy captures the competitive nature of the industry, it oversimplifies the issue and neglects the systemic problems created and perpetuated by fast fashion. McKinsey’s argument, though persuasive on the surface, has significant flaws that require closer scrutiny.
One example of this is the claim: “Shorter cycle for the core seasonal collection. Retailers can use advanced visual-recognition tools to identify styles and colors trending on social media sites.” While this description of meeting consumer demand appears logical, it ignores the broader context of how the fashion industry manipulates these demands. Traditionally, legacy fashion brands operated on a four-season model, with collections aligning with spring, summer, fall, and winter. However, fast fashion disrupted this structure by introducing 52 micro-seasons per year. According to an employee at Zara—the company that perfected the fast fashion model—this shift began with bi-weekly deliveries of new merchandise. Elizabeth Cline explains that this system ensures stores are always stocked with fresh inventory. By replicating streetwear and Fashion Week trends in real time, fast fashion brands have created an endless churn of new, desirable styles. Consumers are not organically demanding this accelerated cycle; they are responding to the industry’s calculated manipulation of supply and marketing tactics.
Blaming consumer consumption for driving fast fashion’s harmful practices is not only inaccurate but also irresponsible. It conveniently shifts the focus away from the profit motives of industry giants, which prioritize production volume and revenue over sustainability and ethics. Fast fashion is about making more money, not meeting consumer needs. This rationale is as flawed as McKinsey’s history of blaming consumers during the opioid crisis. The systemic issues within fast fashion are deeply embedded in its business model, which encourages overproduction and overconsumption by design. Companies have created a culture of disposability, training consumers to see clothing as cheap, temporary, and replaceable.
McKinsey & Company also asserts, “Top-performing fashion companies have adopted a more sophisticated model based on understanding what the consumer wants.” This so-called “sophisticated model” is fast fashion, though the article never explicitly uses the term. If companies genuinely wanted to adopt a model that better serves consumers, they would align with the values reflected in consumer data. For example, a 2015 Nielsen poll revealed that 66% of global consumers—and an even higher 72% of millennials—are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products (Watson, 2016). This statistic suggests that consumers value sustainability and are open to supporting brands that adopt eco-friendly practices. Instead of embracing this opportunity, fast fashion companies continue to prioritize speed and volume over sustainability, missing a critical chance to lead with environmentally conscious innovation. Green marketing strategies and sustainable business practices could allow companies to meet consumer demands while addressing the environmental crisis.
McKinsey & Company’s promotion of fast fashion as a better model also disregards its inherent unsustainability. The environmental impact of fast fashion is staggering, but the harm does not stop there. Elizabeth Durosko’s investigation into fast fashion revealed that one in five items contained elevated levels of harmful chemicals. Popular fast fashion brands such as AliExpress, Shein, and Zaful have been found to produce clothing containing toxic heavy metals like cadmium and lead, as well as PFAs and phthalates. These chemicals pose severe risks to human health, including nervous system damage, kidney damage, and even cancer. By promoting fast fashion as a “sophisticated” and consumer-driven model, McKinsey effectively advocates for a system that harms both the environment and the people it serves.
That said, there is one point in McKinsey’s article I agree with: the undeniable power of fast fashion. The industry operates as a “winner-take-all” market where companies fiercely compete for consumer attention and loyalty. This competition has driven mass production and resource exploitation to unprecedented levels. Legacy brands like Levi’s and Gap, which once championed quality and durability, have pivoted to emulate fast fashion practices to remain relevant. However, this power also presents an opportunity: if fast fashion companies leverage their influence to adopt sustainable practices, they could lead the charge in reducing environmental harm on a global scale.
The article also emphasizes the role of online data, stating, “Fashion companies can tap the following online data sources to deepen their understanding of what the consumer wants.” As a consumer, I can unequivocally say what we want: a livable planet for future generations. While advanced analytics can provide valuable insights into consumer preferences, they should not be used solely to perpetuate unsustainable practices. Instead, these tools could help companies transition to models that prioritize eco-friendly designs and long-lasting products. By doing so, the fashion industry could address consumer desires for sustainability while preserving profitability.
In conclusion, McKinsey & Company’s argument that fast fashion is a necessary response to consumer demand oversimplifies the issue by ignoring how the industry manipulates these demands through marketing and trend creation. The notion that fast fashion merely fulfills consumer needs overlooks its contribution to overconsumption and environmental damage. The claim of fast fashion being a “sophisticated model” fails to consider its harmful effects on health and the environment. If consumers value sustainability, the industry’s resistance to change is concerning. The focus on profitability disregards the potential for sustainable practices that could benefit both the planet and business. Ultimately, the detrimental costs of fast fashion outweigh its rapid production advantages, urging the industry to shift toward long-term sustainability.
Marko, M., & Kusá, A. (2023). GREENWASHING AND THE NATURE OF EDUCATION IN RELATION TO CONSUMER TRUST IN FAST FASHION MARKETING COMMUNICATION. Communication Today, 14(1).
Fashion is a way of life. Whether you excel at it in terms of dressing yourself or, like me, struggle with it, fashion unites us all as consumers of this pervasive commodity. The necessity of creating garments has diminished, as clothing is now readily available in local stores. Here in the United States, we live in a hyper-consumerist society. As Elinor Ochs, a linguistic anthropologist at UCLA, wrote, “What distinguishes us [from other generations] is the normative expectation of hyperconsumerism,” adding that “American middle-class houses…are capacious; we find food, toys, and other purchases exceeding the confines of the home and overflowing into garages, piled up to the rafters with stockpiled extra stuff.” I will refer to Ochs’s “extra stuff” as clothing.
Throughout history, clothing has been an essential item, providing warmth in the winter and protection from rough terrain. However, as we move further into the 21st century, the commodification of clothing has created harmful consequences—ones that could lead to injuries and death, and even threaten the survival of the human species.
One pivotal event in the 21st century was the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, shutdown rules led to the closure of public spaces, including malls. Malls, once as emblematic of American culture as apple pie, have been in decline since the late 2000s, now resembling ghost towns. A probable cause of this trend is the rise of online shopping. Imagine a scenario where public gathering spaces are restricted, forcing people to shop online—this scenario became a reality during the pandemic.
Fast Fashion, characterized by the rapid production of inexpensive clothing to meet ever-changing trends, offers people the chance to look “richish.” However, this affordability comes with a significant cost to the environment. According to The Fashion Industry and Its Impact on the Environment from the University of Târgu Jiu, “the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions.” When combined with the rise of online shopping, this creates a volatile situation. As Shela Qasir explains, “Online consumption of products and services, such as shopping, increased dramatically. Customers migrate to lower-cost brands that assure good quality at a lesser price and only purchase necessities while shopping.” These customers are no longer prioritizing quality but instead are acquiring items that pile up in closets across the Western world. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, more than 11 million tons of clothing are discarded annually, while only 2.6 million tons are recycled or repurposed. Last year, fashion became this year’s landfill. The image below shows the scale of what 11 million tons of clothing looks like.
Shouldering the burden … a mountain of waste at the Kpone landfill site in Tema, Ghana.
Photograph: Nipah
Practices that the company engages in are an act of burning their product. Companies such as Louis Vuitton, Nike, and Burberry enact the practice of burning merchandise to manipulate the market. Burberry’s “demolishing goods was just part of its strategy to preserve its reputation of exclusivity.” What was previously stated in the landfills due to the quantity of the piles, the country engages in the practice of burning the landfills. Some of the fabrics used are synthetic fabrics that have oil in them, releasing massive amounts of chemicals into the air. In the Atacama Desert in Chile, a local state, “On June 15th, Ángela Astudillo from Desierto Vestido stated, “It’s like a volcano today, it was all cloudy, the air is very toxic, you can’t be outside for long.”
The fashion industry also engages in greenwashing, known as green marketing. In general definition, it is the act of making a product seem more sustainable. Companies like H&M have used greenwashing to sell a product line named “Conscious” and “Conscious Choice.” These terms aren’t definable in any legal sense, so it is up to a consumer to make an educated guess on what they stand for. Why do these companies engage in lying to their consumers? It helps push their sales. A 2015 Nielsen poll revealed that 66% of consumers worldwide are willing to spend more for ecologically friendly products (Watson, 2016). That percentage increases to 72% among millennials. Beyond this point, sustainability in sales does not negate unsustainability for the right price. SHIEN is popular among Gen Z, as younger generations are more environmentally conscious. Dorit Zimand-Sheiner & Sabina Lisstisa state that their findings.
“Indicate that they agree that every consumer should feel partly responsible for environmental and social problems caused by the fashion industry. However, their environmental knowledge and ascription of responsibility do not correlate with the PI (purchase intentions) gap. Gen Z consumers acknowledge their responsibility but do not actively seek out sustainability information or adjust their purchasing behavior accordingly.”
Doing some live interviewing, I came to a consensus that life has become too expensive, and that even if there is harm done, it is the only thing I can afford. Looking through a lens, there is no escaping the fact that you need to buy clothing. By the end of the day, you will sustain the monster of the fashion industry because there are no other methods.
The fashion industry is a notorious figure. We will take a journey through the inhumane practices of these companies. Within the industry, SHEIN is a relatively newer name in the fashion scene as it is only an online store and has no retail locations. Among Gen-Z, SHEIN is viewed favorably for its cheap clothing. Yet reports have emerged of workers at SHEIN’s factories regularly working overtime, such as 17-hour shifts to meet demands, and being docked 3⁄4 of their daily paycheck if the garments they produce have mistakes. These poor working conditions are common in the fashion industry, according to the Clean Clothes Campaign, which stated on April 23, 2013, “large structural cracks were discovered in the Rana Plaza […] on Wednesday, April 24, thousands of workers went to work again at their garment factories located in the cracked Rana Plaza building. […] Only hours later, the entire building collapsed. Including rescue workers, 1,134 workers were killed. Nearly 2,600 workers were injured, many of them for the rest of their lives.” These factories I would call modern work camps, which is also SHEIN’s nickname.
Durosko, E. (2023). Death by fashion: Consumers face health risks by purchasing from unregulated fast fashion brands. Loyola Consumer Law Review, 35(3), 261.
Mariana-Claudia, M. P. (2022). The fashion industry and its impact on the environment. Annals of Constantin Brancusi’s University of Targu-Jiu. Economy Series/Analele Universității Constantin Brâncuși Din Târgu Jiu Seria Economie(1).
Marko, M., & Kusá, A. (2023). GREENWASHING AND THE NATURE OF EDUCATION ABOUT CONSUMER TRUST IN FAST FASHION MARKETING COMMUNICATION. Communication Today, 14(1).
Qaiser, S., Bashir, M. A., Ramish, M. S., Ansari, J., Gundala, R., & Bait Ali Sulaiman, M. A. (2023). Impact of consumer consumption adjustments on habits and purchase behavior during COVID-19. Cogent Business & Management, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2265077
It’s not what’s on the inside that counts. A hard lesson learned is that sometimes we don’t have what it takes to be creative or come up with great ideas. But it’s not our fault. Surrounded by a society that praises simplicity over complexity when complexity is the very thing that pushes boundaries around and inside of us, allowing creativity to find its way. We’ve been conditioned to believe that the best ideas are the simplest ones, coming from focused environments. Overlooking the true power of complexity, which nurtures creativity, minimalistic trends strive to create a society protected from having to think harder than it should.
Society places creative individuals on a pedestal treating their innate talents as an exceptional gift not everyone has. Unfortunately, this idolization creates distance between the praised and the ones doing the praising. It’s easy to feel the lack of creative spark, however creativity isn’t a rare trait only few have, it just depends on the environment around us.
Minimalism’s “less is more” philosophy strips our surroundings by removing clutter and distractions in order to bring out more purpose and meaning in our lives. With its siren call of focus and intention with its modern and elegant look, it lures individuals into a trap of simple and unimaginative thoughts. The aesthetic is all about creating an environment with simple furniture, open spaces, and calming colors yet by doing so, it leaves little room for the boldness and self-expression that fuel creativity. Dr. Mahmoud, in Minimalism as Concept in Interior Architecture Design explains “Minimalist living is really just a starting point for authentic living. We need open spaces – blank canvases – upon which we can occupy ourselves more deeply with the art of living.” However, these blank spaces actually limit creativity by stripping away the very elements that inspire and engage.
Interior design is made up of many elements, but minimalist rooms are defined by their open space and very little furniture. The pieces of furniture that are there are simple in design, often made from natural materials, in a neutral color palette. Loud patterns or textures can not be used, as the structure must be sleek, with clear smooth surfaces. The furniture in minimalist spaces must be functional and uniform. Straight lines that help create a sense of order and calm may promote focus and efficiency, however it does not do much for creativity. Creativity comes from being inspired by the things around us. In a minimalist room, with its sparse furniture and lack of personalization, there’s little to spark that inspiration. An artist’s creative momentum greatly increases by having supplies accessible like an easel, paint, or artwork on the walls. Decorations that represent passions fuel creative ideas, but are not allowed in a minimalist room. Similarly, it would be creatively beneficial for a musician to have instruments or sheet music to smoothly get into a creative mindset. Without personal interests or items that inspire that individual, a minimalist room would feel more like a space for work than for imagination
.Space around the little furniture must be open and plentiful to be considered minimalistic. For example, a bedroom might consist of just a dresser, bed, nightstand, and perhaps a bench depending on how large the room is. These would also be very simple and elegant, nothing too personalized. If this room also was used as an office, a small desk and chair would be adequate as well, but in a smaller room it would start to get a bit crowded. Good feng shui is important as these furniture items can not just be randomly placed in a minimalist room. Without a perfect flow of structure and symmetry, the balance sets off which is not allowed in a minimalist room .
The purpose of clean, straight lines in minimalist furniture is to create a sense of structure, yet it often feels rigid and uninspiring. As Hala Mohsen Mahmoud, an Assistant Professor of Interior Design, points out, “Free form uses irregular lines and curved lines to create a new language in design.” Unlike the predictable straight lines in minimalist spaces, free-form designs break boundaries of the space that confines us, creating room for new ideas and allows greater expansion of dynamic thinking.
Minimalist design is full of straight lines, rigid angles, and rectangular shapes. While these structures may be comfortable, they are incredibly limiting. Human beings love order, but too much order is a creativity killer. When everything is perfectly aligned, and when all angles are predictable, the mind doesn’t feel challenged to think outside of what it sees, having no complexity to engage with. This repetitive, predictable pattern in our carpentered environment limits the brain’s ability to break out of its usual way of thinking. We don’t need a perfectly symmetrical room to feel comfortable, but we do need visual variety to keep our minds sharp. While our perspective changes and objects appear to be angled and somewhat trapezoidal, our eyes strictly believe it is still rectangular, showing us how it is always the same thing. This type of repetition embedded itself in our brains making any other type of structured environment out of the ordinary.
The straight lines and rigid shapes seen in image 2 are soothing , but uninspiring. The lack of complexity makes the room feel static. In contrast, the room in Image 1, with its complex ceiling and irregular angles, engages the brain in a different way. The mind is forced to process the unusual shapes and think beyond the obvious, which stimulates creativity. A room that challenges perception whether through unexpected angles or complex forms, pushes the boundaries of conventional thinking and opens the door for new ideas.
The materials used in minimalist design are sleek and smooth, with lots of wood, glass, metal, and stone. In a modernist environment, materials that create a harmonious, distraction-free space promote a sense of calm and order, but when it comes to creativity, they fall short. These materials all give texture to the space, which minimalist spaces neglect by using just smooth, polished surfaces with minimal designs like metal, glass, and stone. Giving a sleek and modern look isn’t enough to engage with one of the most important senses: touch. Touch is essential for creativity as different textures allow us to experience the world around us in more depth, providing the brain with sensory input that helps it think in new and inventive ways. Minimalist design’s emphasis on smooth, uniform materials creates a cold and uninspiring tactile environment. While these materials may look clean and modern, they don’t invite exploration or provoke deeper thoughts. On the other hand, spaces with different textures like wood and different fabrics engage the senses better.
Like in the intricate ceiling design in image1 which makes the room more complex and engaging, as well as the intricacy in wood structure in image 2. In contrast, the minimalist design in image 1 and 2 has smooth stone and tile surfaces that lack texture, making it flat and uninspiring. Without texture, it’s impossible to really feel what the world is like and what it’s made up of.
Texture only makes up part of how surroundings are interpreted. Color also plays a massive role in how we experience the world, and it’s no different in interior design. It uses color theory to connect the colors that we see around us and how they make us feel. Minimalist spaces primarily use muted, neutral colors like beige, white, and gray. Color theory also proves that muted neutrals are not very stimulative, rather they have a calming effect. According to FZE in The Psychology of Color, “The retina focuses on colors as rays of light, which have varying lengths and degrees of refraction, reflection, and absorption depending on the hue. The eye’s sensing of each color induces fast reactions in the brain and autonomic nervous system.” Warm colors like red or orange have longer wavelengths which are attention grabbing and stimulate energy. In contrast, cooler colors like blue or green have shorter wavelengths that enter the eyes easier, resulting in a calming and relaxing effect.
The purposeful use of this color psychology can be seen in the feeling of serenity, cleanliness, and openness in a minimalistic environment. Neutral tones like whites, grays, and beiges are all used cohesively to create a harmonious environment that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. These colors allow for peace of mind but are not stimulative to get those creative juices flowing. Rather, constricting the person to keep their thoughts focused and not veer off to take risks and come up with unusual ideas. These neutral tones don’t inspire boldness as vibrant and distinctive tones energetically do. The differences between a minimalist room and one full of color is clear: vibrant spaces with dynamic patterns and textures help stimulate the imagination, while a neutral minimalist room restrains bold and creative ideas. Creativity needs more than a serene color palette. It requires stimulation achieved through vibrant colors and dynamic contrasts. A room with splashes of color or unique patterns force the brain to think differently, while the sterile neutrals of minimalism keep it stuck in place.
Image 1 on the right shows this wonderfully. The stone and beige tones bring out the peace of the room and there are no other colors in any decoration that would bring up any emotions other than serenity. The image on the left on the other hand is overflowing with color, vibrancy, and creativity. The color scheme is not chaotic, but harmonious. It gives a really complete look to the room, along with a bit of biophilic design as can be seen on the wall and the plants all along the room. The addition of this foliage allows an inspiration from nature to also seep into our wonderful minds.
Minimalism is built around the idea of removing distractions and focusing only on functionality. Creativity thrives in environments that challenge us, push us to think outside of the box, and offer variety in our surroundings which minimalism does not. It doesn’t offer the stimulation the mind needs to break out of its regular thought patterns when all of the complexity and flourishing elements are striped away.While minimalist design works well for creating calm, organized spaces, it stifles creativity. The lack of personalization, inspiring objects, and specific design elements makes these spaces empty and uninspiring. Creativity needs more than just a distraction-free environment, it needs inspiration, color, texture and room for self-expression. To foster creativity, spaces should be filled with things that spark imagination, challenge ordinary thinking, and allow breaking free from the constraints of minimalist simplicity. No matter how creative one can be on the inside, minimalist spaces kill imaginative expression.
While it’s not even just minimalist interior design, but every single aspect of our environment and the world that surrounds us that affects our creativity. In the past couple decades, technology has progressed significantly with the internet and artificial intelligence. This rising power is easily accessible by many people in this country, making this age of information incredibly impactful to the way we think. With answers right at our fingertips, there’s no need to feel creative and come up with something new when it seems like everything is already out there. This lack of push for creativity doesn’t mean that we aren’t creative on the inside at all, it means that our surrounding technology kills any chance to show it or even begin to think outside the box.
In an article from the American Psychological Association, “Creative thinking involves the generation of new ideas, the ability to approach problems in novel ways, and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances or perspectives.” This kind of thinking is becoming increasingly difficult as different platforms constantly give specific perspectives. Creativity calls for “out of the box” which is quite difficult when our surroundings in the media want to conform thinking to stay “in the box”.
Societal trends that surround us and the environments we create are designed to encourage people to follow and not think for themselves. The constant pressure to follow trends and fit in with the norm, stifles the very thing that allows creativity to flourish, diverse thinking. The type of thinking that leads to true creative breakthroughs, coming from a place of complexity and contradiction. Understanding different perspectives and being able to handle chaos allows the brain to form new and innovative thoughts.
Schools, workplaces, and media value consistency, and perfection leaving little room for mistakes and uncertainty. Living in an environment streamlined to reduce friction or conflict makes everything easy to follow, and difficult to speak against. Taking risks by being creative leads to new things and innovative discoveries.
Creativity isn’t found inside from birth, but it’s found in an environment where complexity thrives and encourages out of the box thinking. Minimalist environments dont give anything for creativity to grow, like wanting to grow a flower without soil. Minimalism not giving visual stimulation, a variety of textures, or any shapes besides straight lines, kills creative thinking
Image 1Image 2
References
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Creative thinking. Retrieved December 18, 2024, from https://www.apa.org
You cannot build a time machine and attempt to see what the future has in store, maybe in the far-off future they might, but that is for the future to know. We, as people living in the present, cannot know for certain what the future will hold, no matter what we do. We can prepare for that unknown variable, if only we knew it.
The future is something that cannot be accurately predicated but can be prepared for. Humanity is terrible at both. They believe in the certainty that the present gives, and transfer that to the events that have yet to occur. They prepare for the ideal they want to see, the one they choose to follow. But they don’t know the story that will unfold, how their actions nudge that unknown variable.
The Ancient Egyptian’s wrote the hieroglyphs in the “God’s Language” to preserve their rituals and history in stone, with monuments built to them and their pharaohs. Not for a moment in their lives did they believe that in the future, people wouldn’t be able to translate these hieroglyphs, that their language would be lost to time. Our only evidence of this truth is the Rosetta stone.
The Rosetta stone was discovered by pure chance, and only written due to some unknown figure that decided to write the Pharaoh’s decree in literal stone. They painstakingly rewrote this decree three times in three different languages, as only when all could read would the decree be understood. Fortunately, we had never forgotten Ancient Greek when the stele was rediscovered.
To modern humanity, when looking at the hieroglyphs, we see an owl, a foot, literal pair of squiggly lines. But to those ancient people, that was written language, words spoken to another, thought of when read. A concrete fact, something literally etched in stone to represent their history. But the times change.
Professor Jamie Hodgkins from the University of Colorado excellently describes this, “People give symbols meaning, and as cultures change, so do the representations of that culture.” As those who understand something change, the way it is understood also changes.
Language itself is something that will change, it is a certain that it will. Hieroglyphs were abandoned for other forms of written communication, meaning that the words and references understood at the time of writing were lost. An entire culture obscured because of our lacking knowledge, the gap in information.
English seems like a concrete concept to modernity, a language spoken throughout the world with billions of speakers. Yet a thousand years ago English was practically completely unintelligible compared to it is now. The entire language was shifted, rearranged and tweaked to fit the French speaking conquerors. English in the future is to look like how we see English from a thousand years ago, unintelligible.
To us, the swastika is a symbol of Naziism, the holocaust, genocide even. Yet to those who lived in the world before Hitler’s rise to power, the swastika represented well-being, even luck. But the actions of those who use that symbol in ways opposite to its meaning change the way that the symbol is perceived. How will humans ten thousand years later see it?
Any inhabitants of the future see us as the Egyptians, a culture lost to time. Sure, communicating gravity is simple, everyone can understand that. But you can’t explain the concept of invisible, undetectable danger with simple cave painting or language that could end up like hieroglyphs. A lost form of language.
How do you get across an idea to someone who doesn’t know the idea or the process in which you reach that idea? You use concrete facts, evidence. But what would happen if these known facts, this concrete evidence, is somehow lost, or misunderstood? What would happen if our core idea about something changes?
We’ve already seen this happen, and it can easily occur. A skull and crossbones could mean pirates, but it could also mean death. A pirate could see an X on a map and correlate that to buried treasure. But to ourselves we see that as a negative, that whatever we are looking for isn’t there. A concept as simple as an X has changed drastically in mere centuries, we wouldn’t think that treasure would be under the X, it would be under the check mark. The treasure will never be found, even though it was intended to be found.
Telling ourselves danger is under the mountain might change in the future. Nuclear waste, unseen, undetectable, and dangerous to all could be seen as a hidden power. An invisible killer, a poison so secret it is undetectable by all, or a weapon so strong it ignores any armor. We can’t tell them that it isn’t any of these things, but we can try our best to keep it away from them.
We cannot tell them to prevent adventure, we cannot warn to prevent curiosity. There is no danger humans will not attempt to overcome, no treasure they will not try to possess. Our fear is their reassurance, our language their hieroglyphs, and our fear their greatest reward. To forget is to wipe away, to leave nothing to chance, as there is nothing for a chance to occur.
To prepare for the future is to prepare for something that can never be known yet is something that we always know is coming, prepared for it or not. It is imperative we prepare so that our modern day will not leave behind a legacy of danger and destruction. The future is the reflection of the actions we take, and we must prepare for a future where we are misunderstood, misinterpreted, yet the core ideas are preserved. Either through deceit, or virtue.
Living in caves helped prevent radiation leakage
To Prehistoric humans, a natural cave ticked every box for survival. It kept them sheltered against the elements, it had a natural choke-point to fend off predators or opposing tribes, was difficult to enter, and had insulation against temperature fluctuations.
A cave is a natural fortress, practically impossible to destroy through conventional means, with multiple feet of solid stone between the inside and the outside. Throughout history caves and dug outs serve as either homes, or storage simply because it is a cave with inherent sturdiness
Throughout history caves have served as shelter, with them being reference point to how we ourselves dig underground. Root cellars are dug out pits, dark, cool and dry that keeps food preserved for long periods of time. Basements in houses are safe places when there are natural disaster.
When someone is trying to keep something safe, or hide it from someone, they bury it underground, under layers of stone and soil. By the time of the first world war, the majority of nations use bunkers and trenches to protect their borders, forming impenetrable fortresses dug into the earth. These held large stores of food, water, ammunition, and more.
Fortresses dug into the earth are practically impenetrable by conventional means. During the battle of Verdun, the French Fort Vaux withstood alone for over a week against prolonged German attack and bombardment, only being captured due to ammunition and water completely running out.
It was later found that the impenetrable fortress was a trap for both the attackers and the defenders. A singular entrance an exit made it nigh impossible for anything to enter, be it supplies for the defenders or siege equipment for the attackers. Its concrete walls withheld another six months of combat under German control, and after its subsequent abandonment it was later repaired to pre-war conditions.
To engineers and radiation workers, they needed a place to store highly volatile radioactive waste, and they turned to underground storage. Cave systems solve many of the problems with storing radioactive waste long term, they have a single entrance and exit, meaning that the inherent danger deeper in a cave traps the waste behind. Stone is also very dense, absorbing radioactive particles and x-rays before they can endanger someone. They are also extremely sturdy, with very little chance of a containment breach when surrounded by solid rock and reinforced concrete.
Radioactive particles do not travel far in very dense substances, often being stored in thick concrete or deep water pools. Water is very good at cooling off radioactive substances, but is not ideal for long term storage with its overall temperature requiring specific conditions to stay as a liquid. Concrete on the other hand, similar to stone, is very dense, and will not change based on the temperature or condition it is in.
This results in the most ideal space to store the volatile, usually very hot waste. A deep underground area away from most people, able to be made surrounded on all sides by something to reinforced concrete, and able to be safely shut away for long periods of time. You can even completely seal off an underground facility through its only entrance, resulting in a built in failsafe. It keeps radiation from leaking into the outside world, prevents anyone from easily reaching it or escaping with it, and keeps consistent temperature to let the radioactive material rest in peace.
A waste facility serves the same purpose as a cave does, just now for a different, more volatile occupant. It will be used extensively, and similarly to how we used cave as shelter millennia ago, we will eventually leave the facility to its own.
But still, through time that facility will eventually grow old, it will decay. Concrete will wither and steel with wane, structural integrity will drop and it will be destroyed. Everything there will be lost, and the memory of it will eventually fade as the time continues to go on. The only outcome, as our waste returns to a safer element it will return to the earth, just in a much more stable form.
All of this, just to keep our dangerous waste buried underground. To eventually be completely forgotten about, and left to its own devices under the weight of the world. The best case solution. A trap, in a nigh inaccessible location now wiped from all memories, to be lost and never remembered.
Humans are squirrels that bury nuts
In the very short span of written history, we have lost over 90% of all text even written down. The Smithsonian believes that the only surviving texts we have are estimated to be mere single digit percentages, with many examples of literature completely gone from certain cultures. Most surviving copies being, just that. Copies of the original, often having various changes made to them.
The meanings of words and literature will change as the people who read them change. Overtime, the moral of a story will twist with whoever is acting it, to fit a narrative or idea that the storyteller wishes it to say. A change in the protagonist, or a change in the villain. Maybe even a change in the setting or the food. Nevertheless nothing will remain stagnant, no matter how hard you attempt to push against it.
Humanity is no different than the average squirrel, hoarding information and ideas just like acorns and nuts. They spend their time preparing for the future, but can often forget why they prepared something, and where that thing may be. A library may hold books, but if that library goes up in flame those books are now lost to time.
Humans have terrible memory, which is not only notorious for being unable to rapidly recall information just learned, but also skewing the facts due to gaps in memory. While able to procure memories from long spans of time ago, the memories have deteriorated to falsehood, or complete nonsense.
But unlike acorns, books, or memories, nuclear waste doesn’t just decompose or disappear. It remains, taking hundreds of thousands of years to slowly decay into less volatile material. There is no way to fully lose nuclear waste, no way to change the way it functions, no way to change it’s meaning. There is truly only one way to see it, and what it does. It exists, it decays by itself, mattering not what is around it or how people see it.
There is no way for humanity to change nuclear waste like they do with everything else they touch. It cannot be made into a new tool to use, a fuel to burn. It has no sentimental value, no hidden worth, only harms, never helps. How are we to bury our most dangerous acorn?
The fact humans have terrible memory, and lose knowledge often, is a positive when dealing with nuclear waste. Does denial not breed curiosity? When will the adventurer turn back on their quest, when faced with ultimate danger? Or when they reach an empty cave, devoid of all signs, symbols, and regalia. Is it not ironic that warning against something only inspires trill seekers to do it?
Hiding nuclear waste is the only way we can proceed in the future. The facilities that hold waste are deep underground, surrounded by thousands of tons of concrete and dirt, practically immune to the elements and any excavation from above. Would it not be practical for any suspected end of the world result in this extremely safe, impenetrable bunker, to be forgotten? To disappear from the minds of the people, to be lost beneath the dirt and never dug up?
Knowing it is there is one thing, finding it is another. Squirrels obviously know they have buried nuts somewhere around their forest, but could as easily starve before they uncover their stash. Then what? Those buried nuts now end up forgotten about by any living being, even when only mere inches from the surface. Just like any nuclear storage site, it will be buried in dirt, maybe not even that deep below the surface, but nobody will be any the wiser of the complex beneath their feet. A featureless canvas only inspires creativity to make something new, yet when introduced to something already existing, the viewer look deeper in. They investigate, find the meaning of the art, the purpose of the exposition.
If there is no written record, who is there to share of pandora’s box. Like the bottom of the ocean, we are curious, there are things down there, but why are we to investigate besides the sheer curiosity to do so? There is no reason for someone to explore below the forest, the empty field. Humans love to see the face value of things. The tree’s in the forest, the animals that inhibit it, the flora and fauna. They don’t investigate what’s residing below, the worms and the roots. Why would they? They already know what is down there, there couldn’t be anything else. With nuclear waste, there is something else. But how are they to know that it is down there.
The harder we push against the inevitable the harder it will push us back. Fighting to preserve our culture, to fight back against change, is to face an unstoppable force. Preparing is adapting to the situation, and as our culture adapts whatever attempt we try to stop it will fail. Whatever we know as concrete will wither, and as the future approaches we are left with less and less time.
Keeping our incomprehensible danger away from the future requires forgetting it’s existence. As stewards of now apocalyptic power, we have to insure that the future generations after us are either informed, or denied the information we carry. Who are we to deny the inevitability of time, when time brings safety from the danger we posses. With enough time, any danger we pose will return back to it’s natural state, a stability that the universe so desperately desires.
The damage we cause to ourselves and the earth are only remembered because we choose to. From the river Somme to the streets of Berlin. From the sands of Trinity to the forests of Pripyat, without knowledge we are none the wiser of the danger they posed our past selves. Maybe we are better without knowing the horror’s we’ve inflicted upon ourselves.
It seems counterintuitive that in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, a tragic death like that of fifteen-year-old Fabienne Cherisma could become more than just a moment of personal loss for her family. Fabienne’s shooting by police on January 19, 2010, stands as a stark symbol of the broader injustices surrounding Haiti’s crisis—a moment of violence amidst an already incomprehensible tragedy. Yet, it is this very death, captured in a haunting image of her lifeless body on a rooftop, that has the potential to transcend its specific circumstances and speak to the world about the broader plight of the Haitian people.
The image of Fabienne, her body contorted and abandoned in an unsettling pose, could easily become a symbol of suffering and injustice. But it is crucial to recognize that not all media coverage in the wake of such events is purely exploitative. While some may argue that the graphic nature of these images contributes to a form of “disaster pornography,” it is important to consider that certain images are effective in raising awareness, galvanizing public response, and securing the aid necessary for recovery. However, this use of visual documentation must be done with caution and respect for the dignity of the victims. The aim is not to reduce Fabienne’s death to a mere spectacle, but rather to allow it to serve as a poignant reminder of the human cost of both the earthquake and the political turmoil that followed.
The media’s role is not simply to document the chaos, but to ensure that the story does not end with the initial shock. If Haiti’s recovery is only reported in the fleeting aftermath of the disaster, the risk of falling into a cycle of sensationalized, shallow coverage becomes real. Journalists must continue to follow the long-term struggles of survivors, showing the journey of recovery and resilience that follows.
Fabienne’s death should not be seen as an isolated incident, nor should it be treated as a one-dimensional symbol. Her tragic end, whether the result of a misdirected warning shot or a deliberate targeting, was senseless and should be remembered as part of the larger narrative of Haiti’s suffering. If her image becomes symbolic, it must not be for political gain or to feed a voyeuristic appetite for tragedy. It must, instead, fuel a broader conversation about justice, both for the victims of natural disasters and the systemic violence they sometimes endure in their wake.
Ultimately, Fabienne Cherisma’s story challenges us to confront the complexities of media coverage in times of crisis. It is a reminder that while the media’s role is to inform and provoke action, it must also honor the humanity behind every image it presents. The symbol that emerges from her death should serve the survivors, not merely the survivors of the earthquake, but of the broader cycles of violence and neglect that have plagued Haiti for generations. It is not the image of Fabienne’s body itself that should define her legacy, but the dignity and hope that her memory can inspire.
Taxpayers wonder whether the amount spent on students makes a difference. When thought about, yes it does. Ask any parent whose child goes to an expensive school.
There are different types of injuries that happen in each sport. Would an objection be valid if someone knew that a surgery performed before any injury occurs could make an athlete stronger?
Imagine a persons body being consumed by a drug. The individualwould do anything to get this drug, not worrying about the consequences that come with it.
By inviting Syrians in, more problems are occurring than being solved.
Does the idea of not actually havingmoney on-hand sound trivial?
That little green piece of paper in a pocket holds no actual value other than the cost it took to produce it, and yet one will work a whole life just to acquire more of those little green pieces of paper only to take them and stick them in a bank.
So just remember the next time a bank statement is read or a dollar bill is being held, that it represents a made up value that someone decided to make up. Without it, one might still be having to trade with goods like livestock and produce.
It can be understood that a dollar is only worth whatcan be receive in exchange for it.
Being able to walk around with money without holding it in hand, recalls the idea of the stone. Just like stone currency, there is no need to be in physical possession of these Bitcoins to own them.
People often hear talk about the American Dream, which requires that enough of these pieces of paper to be financially stable. Through deep thought it is easy to realize, that a personreceiving these pieces of paper called money will basewhole lives on them.
Money is an adroit concept and its pursuit lasts a lifetime. The goal from the moment school starts is to join the game of making enough of these pieces of paper to makelife more fun and acceptable.
Core Value 1. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.
In my work, I applied different social and interactive practices to create a process of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development. Though I recognize there were times where I could have done more. I did engage in discussions with peers that had inspired me in my work, my attempt to sought feedback often lacked. I moved too quickly to conclusions often due to lack of time spent on my work. I did often try to apply my work to real world concepts as Professor Hodges often gave us examples on how to connect readers to our writing by incorporating things they may understand in life. For example in my Research Paper I often connected real life author and scenarios to my argument. While I worked though these stages, I overall thought that there were many instances where more of a reflective process could have strengthened my work and the development over the course.
Core Value 2. My work demonstrates that I read critically, and that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities.
My work demonstrates that I did make an effort to read critically and engage with a different variety of texts. I looked at different sources to take from different ideas and create varied meanings. I tried to compare different perspectives from different authors and real-world examples that would deepen my understanding. In my Rebuttal Argument, I tried to take from authors with opposing views on the struggles women had to face. Although I did attempt to relate a variety of text to make a conversation, I know I could have widened my engagement and engage with more opposing viewpoints. I certainly could have taken more opposing viewpoints which would have enriched my analysis. Overall, I feel that I met the core value as I did synthesis ideas, I just feel that if I could have included more diverse thoughts. This would have made my work a little more engaging and comprehensive.
Core Value 3. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.
In my work, I made an effort to rhetorically analyze the purpose, audience, and context of my own writing and other texts, as well as visual arguments. I considered the goal of my writing, especially while creating my final essay, to ensure that the content was clear to the audience. I reflected on the cultural and social factors that shaped my work and the different texts I took from. In my Visual Rhetoric Analysis I deeply analyzed the images I had seen and described them in ways that would have a rhetorical impact on the audience. I do understand that there were times I could have analyzed visual elements more throughly, especially in my final essay. In almost every class we discussed how important it was for our readers to be able to fully understand and visual our arguments. I often tried to incorporate this into my work so I could meet the goals of engaging readers.
Core Value 4: My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.
Through my work, I have met the the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating relevant evidence to support my arguments. I used a variety our sources such as books, magazines, and journals to provide evidence to my ideas and arguments. For example, in my Causal Argument I used different novels written by women to highlight their rise in literature. I made sure each source was reliable and connected to my thesis. I explained how my sources challenge and support my ideas and are clear to my audience. I used my evidence to convey my own idea and interpretations to contribute to a deeper understanding my audience will have to the topic.
Core Value 5. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citation.
I demonstrated a strong respect to ethical responses in my work by ensuring that I represent complex ideas fairly accurate. I presented multiple perspective on my arguments as it is important when dealing with controversial topics. I have also cited all my sources appropriately such as my citations in my Annotated Bibliography. The citations allow reader to be able to go to the origins of the information I have presented and make sure my sources are credible. Professor Hodges discussed the way he wished to have our sources cited and the easiest way to do them. This helped me when it came to making citations as there are different formats to use. I attempted to maintain academic integrity by respecting my sources and responsible approach to learning.
Background: This short story follows a woman who is confined to her room by her husband given her increasingly diminished mental state. The reading displays the way women’s mental health was treated during that time period and shows themes of oppression.
How I Used It: This story was helpful to my research as it explores women mental health and the way gender roles had expected women to be in marriage and society. The narrator’s confinement to her room, reflect the social expectations that women should be submissive and highlights how women writers critique the restrictive roles imposed on women through literature. It reflects the growing feminist movement at the turn of the century as women began to advocate for their own autonomy, intellectual, and emotional needs.
Background: This novel explores the life of Edna Pontellier in late 19th century Louisiana. Edna begins to question her role as a wife and mother and discovers new desires for independence and self-expression. The novel portrays themes of self-discovery and the constrains on women in society, specifically in marriage and motherhood.
How I Used It: I used this novel in my essay to highlight how women writers began to challenge social norms, often regrading marriage, motherhood, and female autonomy. Edna Pontellier’s struggle shows the change in literary focus that was growing on women’s lives and desires. Many themes discussed were previous suppressed in literature and the novel critiqued the oppression and limitations placed on women.
Background: Wharton’s novel revolves around the elite society of New York City. Newland Archer, the main protagonist, who is a lawyer living in the city, struggling through his potential marriage of the perfect and privilege May Welland. Although she is conventionally a great match, he finds himself falling for her cousin, Ellen Olenska, who is a divorcee and would be scandalous to be with. He must grapple with conforming to societal expectations rather than pursuing his true desires. The story explores the inner lives of these characters and show the rigid conventionalization of society.
How I used it: I used this novel to highlight the harm of societal expectations during the late 19th and early 20thcentury. The women in the novel deal with the restrictive social norms, especially in upper class society that they lived in. The expectation of women throughout society was often the biggest setback women had to face, and a novel like The Age of Innocence exemplifies the hypocritical and restrictive behavior of both men and women during this time.
Background: Betty Friedan created The Feminine Mystique after taking a survey in college of her classmates and found that most we unhappy being housewives. This novel inspired many women to feel more comfortable voicing ideas of political and social activism. It challenged the expectation that women should stay at home and focus solely on their family. It is considered to spark the second feminist wave in the U.S. as it critiques the belief that the highest fulfillment women can have is marriage and motherhood.
How I Used It: I used this novel in my essay to highlight Friedan’s explanation on the “feminine mystique” and how it can be seen as a lens to analyze women’s experiences and the way they were portrayed in literature. It showed a way that literature reflected the understanding of women’s identities that was continuing to grow. She gave a voice to women who felt continuously frustrated who were repressed by societal expectations similar to the way other famous feminine writers had done.
Background: This essay is based on lectures that Woolf delivered at colleges. She argued that in order for women to be accomplished in literature they must be financially independent and have the space for writing. “A room of one’s own” essentially meant to be able to think and write freely without being hindered creatively.
How I Used It: I used Woolf’s essay to provide a critical perspective on the lack of opportunity for women as writers. A major issue for women in literature was the lack of opportunity to express themselves and be taken seriously as writers. This gives the readers a perspective on the lack of independence women had creatively. This proved that an author like Woolf not only opened up opportunities for women in literature but other financial opportunities for women in the work force. Her idea of space where women can write freely can represent the emotional and intellectual liberation of women during this time period.
6. Class CM. Chloroformed: Anesthetic Utopianism and Eugenic Feminism in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Herland and Other Works. Legacy (Amherst, Mass). 2024;41(1):75-98. doi:10.1353/leg.2024.a934770
Background: Herland is a story of a feminist utopia discovered by three Americans explorers after WWI. The society is portrayed as peaceful as it is fully run by women who reproduce asexually. Themes of reproductive rights and the equality were continuously explored throughout the novel. Gilman’s work such as Herlandwritten in 1915 advocated for women’s rights and led to women gaining the right to vote.
How I Used It: I incorporated Herland into my essay by highlighting female authors who use fiction in order to advocate for women’s rights. The novel represented how there was a change beginning in how women were represented in literature. Women writers were attempting alternative ways to influence society and challenge patriarchal norms. The readers develop a perspective of a society ruled by patriarchal systems and the flaws that come with it. Gilman’s influence in women’s writes and women in literature is critical during the late 19thand early 20th centuries.
Background: Gertrude Stein’s Three Lives is a collection of three stories that explore women’s lives in the working class. The three stories are The Good Anna, Melanctha, and The Gentle Lena. Stein was a privilege college student who was constantly surrounded by women who felt trapped by poverty and class. It is considered one of the earliest examples of modernism in literature.
How I Used It: I used Three Lives in my essay to represent the push for modernism in literature and how that effected the women’s suffrage movement. Modernism in literature allowed writers to explore more in depth and complex characters through their everyday lives. This essentially helped the progress of women in literature as the everyday lives of women’s and their inner thoughts and desires were now being discussed without a male lens.
8. Katz, M.B., Stern, M.J., & Fader, J.J. (2005). Women and the Paradox of Economic Inequality in the Twentieth-Century. Journal of Social History39(1), 65-88. https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/10/article/187573
Background: The “Journal of Social History” is an academic journal the focuses on social history from different time periods, covering a variety of areas. Founded in 1967, its cover of history is credited to be a top-ranked journal and has played an important part in integrating work in aspects of social history. This specific article in the journal written by Michael B. Katz, Mark J. Stern, and Jamie J Fader discusses the economic inequality’s women had to face in the 2oth century.
How I Used It: I used this specific article in my argument to support the claim that women were not allowed to have access to financial matters as men believed women were not intellectually and interested enough to handle such matters. This highlights that women did not have access to the thing’s men had access too which made their fight for equality and the ability to write even harder. It reflects how women were often disempowered in real life and how they were depicted as solely financial dependent on men. It proves to the reader that women had to face gendered stereotypes that kept them from having any control in the economy.
Background: The Woman’s Journal was first published in 1870 and quickly became the leading suffrage journal to advertise for women’s rights issues. It was originally founded by Lucy Stone and her husband, Henry Blackwell, to address middle-class female society and their interest in women’s rights.
How I Used It: I referenced the journal in my essay to show that there weren’t only just novels produced to incorporate women’s voices in society but newspapers and magazines as well. A popular journal like that, created way before the women’s suffrage movement really began, shows the start of the long fight women had to face. It is a document for the push of women’s rights and was important to women writers who responded to this particular work.
10. Gilbert S, Gubar S. From the Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination. Short Story Criticism. 2003;62:122-229.
Background: The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination was a feminist literary work written by Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar. They examined women writers in the 19th century, arguing that women writers were confined to make female characters either the “angel” or “monster” which comes from the styles of male writing.
How I Used It: I used this novel to show that women were often depicted in ways that limited their creativity and self-expression. Even female authors at these times who wrote not for women’s rights but for their own joy of writing novels, often depicted their characters in confined ways. This shows the impact of male writing as it influenced women authors to write in the same rest4rictive ways.
11. Scott, B. (1990). The Gender of Modernism: A Critical Anthology. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. https://muse.jhu.edu/book/113360.
Background: This book written by Bonnie Scott demonstrate modernists definitions and how issues of gender and modernism collide. The article explains how modernism was male dominated and women’s use of modernism was often overlooked. By highlighting the lens of modernism through gender we can see how women were marginalized in the modernist movement and recognize some of their work today.
How I Used It: I used this novel to support the claim that during the modernist movement in literature, women contributions were often overlooked. It shows how men writers were more likely to gain recognition for their literary works. Making it easier for them to be successful writers, and harder for women to gain popularity in their writing when they are constantly overshadowed by men.
Core Value 1. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.
Throughout this course, I demonstrated an interactive and recursive writing process as I began developing my topic of using expressive writing as a tool for stress relief. To begin this process, I created my proposal +5 to begin the start of my thesis. After developing my thesis and the topic of my writing, I found resources that would help support these ideas. Along with this, my proposal +5 has summaries of each resource and an explanation of how each resource will be used within my writing. This allowed me to draft and revise these sources as I began to research more on this topic.
Core Value 2. My work demonstrates that I read critically and that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities.
While researching the benefits of expressive writing, I engaged in both critical reading and synthesis. When creating my annotated bibliography, I pieced together thirteen resources, all on the topic of expressive writing. I studied scholarly sources with research done on the topic, proving the effects of reducing stress and anxiety. I used these sources and compared them with real-life situations involving stress relief and mindfulness tools. By piecing together these diverse resources, I was able to compile meaningful information for my research paper.
Core Value 3. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.
When writing my rebuttal argument, I tailored my information to my intended audience; those who need a productive form of stress relief, such as college students. Within my rebuttal, I emphasize how expressive writing is universal to anyone who may need it. For example, I highlighted the affordability of expressive writing, as it does not cost anything, especially compared to certain therapy services. Along with this, I explain that expressive writing can be done at any time and in any way the individual feels will be most beneficial. There are sources within this rebuttal that also prove the success rates of college students’ mental health after participating in mindfulness practice. This allowed me to have a clear argument, compelling readers that expressive writing is one of the best tools to relieve stress.
Core Value 4. My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.
While I do have experience in the use of expressive writing as a tool to manage stress, I used credible evidence and research to support the claims made within my work. For example, I incorporated a study done specifically with college students, emphasizing the beneficial results found after practicing expressive writing. I also included broader research, such as other mindfulness techniques such as meditation, to further highlight the mental health benefits. By selecting this evidence, I successfully met the expectations of academic writing to support my ideas.
Core Value 5. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citations.
Throughout my writing process, I used both my own opinions and experiences on the topic of expressive writing, as well as scholarly sources. I believe by creating a rebuttal to the topic being written, you are representing these ideas fairly as you are providing the reader with information that disputes your purpose of writing. Along with this, I properly paraphrased and summarized the ideas and research without changing what was written within the scholarly sources and research. Providing proper citations and references after my writing also demonstrates my ethical responsibility to represent these ideas fairly.
Counterintuitive Fall 2024 
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