Rube Goldberg/Satire Project
A project in which we learned all about how satire is used in everyday context, and how to use it to deepen our understanding of an issue.
Satire Final | |
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My piece of satire is supposed to represent the chaos of the emails that we receive throughout a normal day of online learning during COVID. I used sarcasm and irony by making my emails have crazy titles to over exaggerate how overwhelming these emails are. I made these emails contradictory to show how often our plans seem to switch up.
I think that the most important thing that I learned during this is how to have a sense of humor about serious topics to ease the load of these things. Satire is a great way to see the error of your actions or the actions of others and reflect on how to better this. This is important because it allows us to see another perspective, or at least deepen our own. Satire can be used as a way to call someone out on something or ask for help.
Satire in society helps broaden perspectives and change minds by opening up a new way to see something. It is a very effective way to get people to notice something because of the shock value. If something is so striking about a piece of satire that the audience gets angry or upset, the satire is a success because the point from the beginning was to impress upon people.
I would give myself an 8 on this grading scale. I am always present and almost always engaged, but my use of class time could be improved. I always am part of class activities but solo work can get me distracted easily. I listen when we are doing a lecture or getting instructions so I feel pretty confident with my "8".
I think that the most important thing that I learned during this is how to have a sense of humor about serious topics to ease the load of these things. Satire is a great way to see the error of your actions or the actions of others and reflect on how to better this. This is important because it allows us to see another perspective, or at least deepen our own. Satire can be used as a way to call someone out on something or ask for help.
Satire in society helps broaden perspectives and change minds by opening up a new way to see something. It is a very effective way to get people to notice something because of the shock value. If something is so striking about a piece of satire that the audience gets angry or upset, the satire is a success because the point from the beginning was to impress upon people.
I would give myself an 8 on this grading scale. I am always present and almost always engaged, but my use of class time could be improved. I always am part of class activities but solo work can get me distracted easily. I listen when we are doing a lecture or getting instructions so I feel pretty confident with my "8".
Imperialism Project
In this project, we chose a group or colony in African history that was effected by European or American colonization. I chose the Zulu revolution in 1879. We each wrote an op-ed and made a visual piece portraying our stance on each of our colonies.
Visual Piece
Op Ed
Charlie Bridgham
The Colonization of the Zulu People Was Unjustified
In what is now South Africa, for hundreds of years, the Zulu people were the rightful owners of vast amounts of land. Through the extreme racism and classism of the colonization of Africa, the Zulu people fought back for their way of life and were able to do serious damage to the opposing British. Although the efforts were overwhelmed eventually, the fight that was put up was enough to make the British question their own strength.
The decision to colonize the Zulu people was publicly known as a way to spread civilization to the rest of the world, but in reality it was to leech and steal the land, products, and labor of the indigenous people.
The actual motives of this war were not at all similar to the public belief and did not align with what the British wanted the Zulu people to believe. The British expected no push back and rather praise for “civilizing” a “savage” tribe. The result was very different however and the war that followed was extremely brutal.
If the racism by the british government was so strong that they would strip the indiginous people of their basic human rights, there would be no thought of the battles ending with the “savages” victorious. This means that the Zulu people were able to use this to their advantage and overwhelm the British in the battle of Isandlwana in which the Zulu people took a decisive win.
The amount of blood from this battle was historical, with both sides suffering heavy losses at every battle. The British were so affected by these losses that they started to question if it was even worth it to continue their efforts. The soldiers were dying and the Zulu people had shown no sign of letting up but the British were determined to stay engaged at all costs.
One thing that stands out about this war is that Sir Bartle Frere, a British general, was almost solely responsible for causing the entire war. He was the one that had sent the original ultimatum to Zulu king Cetshwayo demanding the demilitarization of the Zulu people, and if they did not comply, there would be war.
This ultimatum was made so the Zulu people did not have any choice but to surrender or fight back. The way that it was written did not have any good option for the Zulu people. As they believed that they were the rightful owners of the land, they fought back as hard as they could.
The rest of the world saw how the British were colonizing Africa and rather than stepping in and stopping the British, they decided that they wanted their share of Africa. This led to disputes among some of the most powerful nations in the world. There were meetings about splitting up Africa without any representation from Africa itself.
The lack of representation from Africa led to miscommunication and different perspectives between Africa and Britain. The African people had no say in the future of their civilization so they were forced to resort to war against the oppressors. The fact that it was all white Europeans in charge of deciding the fate of millions of people who do not share any of the same ways of living is extremely disrespectful and dehumanizing.
Without the internet or any other way for the entire world to know about something like this, it becomes very difficult to find one true story of what is happening and since the British were the only side with connections to the world, the Zulu people were not able to call for help and the rest of the world did not know what was happening. This meant that the British were able to control what the public knew and change any aspect of the information available to them. It was not necessarily common knowledge that millions of people’s lives were at stake and that it was the British that had started the war and not the Zulu people. Most people thought that the “savage” Zulus were attacking the British soldiers and causing trouble everywhere that they went.
One battle that was crucial to the British victory was the Battle of Kambula. This was a very big loss for the Zulu people while the British lost only 18 soldiers. “The Battle of Kambula is seen as the turning point into the Anglo-Zulu War.” (Ben Johnson)
The war was starting to tip towards a British victory simply because of the extraordinary difference in firepower between the two sides. The Zulu were armed with traditional weapons and the British had guns. The death toll was rising for both sides but the British were relentless. In an article from History.com, it states that: “On March 29 the tide turned in favor of the British at the Battle of Khambula” (British-Zulu War begins).
The British soldiers were at fault and the whole war could have been avoided if it weren't for Sir Bartle Frere’s ultimatum. The underlying racism that resulted from this war was inexcusable and unjustified.
Works Cited:
Pastoralist Society.” African Studies Review, vol. 23, no. 3, 1 Dec. 1980, pp. 1–20, www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/zulu-revolution-state-formation-in-a-pastoralist-society/FFCABF739497460F83CFEB9CE84D1EBF, 10.2307/523668. Accessed 12 Oct. 2020.
“History and Timeline of the Anglo-Zulu War, 1879.” Historic UK, 2019, www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Timeline-of-the-AngloZulu-War/.
“Major Events of the Anglo-Zulu War Timeline.” Timetoast, www.timetoast.com/timelines/major-events-of-the-anglo-zulu-war. Accessed 12 Oct. 2020.
History.com Editors. “British-Zulu War Begins.” HISTORY, 9 Feb. 2010, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/british-zulu-war-begins.
The Colonization of the Zulu People Was Unjustified
In what is now South Africa, for hundreds of years, the Zulu people were the rightful owners of vast amounts of land. Through the extreme racism and classism of the colonization of Africa, the Zulu people fought back for their way of life and were able to do serious damage to the opposing British. Although the efforts were overwhelmed eventually, the fight that was put up was enough to make the British question their own strength.
The decision to colonize the Zulu people was publicly known as a way to spread civilization to the rest of the world, but in reality it was to leech and steal the land, products, and labor of the indigenous people.
The actual motives of this war were not at all similar to the public belief and did not align with what the British wanted the Zulu people to believe. The British expected no push back and rather praise for “civilizing” a “savage” tribe. The result was very different however and the war that followed was extremely brutal.
If the racism by the british government was so strong that they would strip the indiginous people of their basic human rights, there would be no thought of the battles ending with the “savages” victorious. This means that the Zulu people were able to use this to their advantage and overwhelm the British in the battle of Isandlwana in which the Zulu people took a decisive win.
The amount of blood from this battle was historical, with both sides suffering heavy losses at every battle. The British were so affected by these losses that they started to question if it was even worth it to continue their efforts. The soldiers were dying and the Zulu people had shown no sign of letting up but the British were determined to stay engaged at all costs.
One thing that stands out about this war is that Sir Bartle Frere, a British general, was almost solely responsible for causing the entire war. He was the one that had sent the original ultimatum to Zulu king Cetshwayo demanding the demilitarization of the Zulu people, and if they did not comply, there would be war.
This ultimatum was made so the Zulu people did not have any choice but to surrender or fight back. The way that it was written did not have any good option for the Zulu people. As they believed that they were the rightful owners of the land, they fought back as hard as they could.
The rest of the world saw how the British were colonizing Africa and rather than stepping in and stopping the British, they decided that they wanted their share of Africa. This led to disputes among some of the most powerful nations in the world. There were meetings about splitting up Africa without any representation from Africa itself.
The lack of representation from Africa led to miscommunication and different perspectives between Africa and Britain. The African people had no say in the future of their civilization so they were forced to resort to war against the oppressors. The fact that it was all white Europeans in charge of deciding the fate of millions of people who do not share any of the same ways of living is extremely disrespectful and dehumanizing.
Without the internet or any other way for the entire world to know about something like this, it becomes very difficult to find one true story of what is happening and since the British were the only side with connections to the world, the Zulu people were not able to call for help and the rest of the world did not know what was happening. This meant that the British were able to control what the public knew and change any aspect of the information available to them. It was not necessarily common knowledge that millions of people’s lives were at stake and that it was the British that had started the war and not the Zulu people. Most people thought that the “savage” Zulus were attacking the British soldiers and causing trouble everywhere that they went.
One battle that was crucial to the British victory was the Battle of Kambula. This was a very big loss for the Zulu people while the British lost only 18 soldiers. “The Battle of Kambula is seen as the turning point into the Anglo-Zulu War.” (Ben Johnson)
The war was starting to tip towards a British victory simply because of the extraordinary difference in firepower between the two sides. The Zulu were armed with traditional weapons and the British had guns. The death toll was rising for both sides but the British were relentless. In an article from History.com, it states that: “On March 29 the tide turned in favor of the British at the Battle of Khambula” (British-Zulu War begins).
The British soldiers were at fault and the whole war could have been avoided if it weren't for Sir Bartle Frere’s ultimatum. The underlying racism that resulted from this war was inexcusable and unjustified.
Works Cited:
Pastoralist Society.” African Studies Review, vol. 23, no. 3, 1 Dec. 1980, pp. 1–20, www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/zulu-revolution-state-formation-in-a-pastoralist-society/FFCABF739497460F83CFEB9CE84D1EBF, 10.2307/523668. Accessed 12 Oct. 2020.
“History and Timeline of the Anglo-Zulu War, 1879.” Historic UK, 2019, www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Timeline-of-the-AngloZulu-War/.
“Major Events of the Anglo-Zulu War Timeline.” Timetoast, www.timetoast.com/timelines/major-events-of-the-anglo-zulu-war. Accessed 12 Oct. 2020.
History.com Editors. “British-Zulu War Begins.” HISTORY, 9 Feb. 2010, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/british-zulu-war-begins.
Reflection
In this project, I was very proud of my ability to write in a style that I have not used before. It was an interesting challenge to try to write short and concise paragraphs with the voice of opinion rather than fact. I hadn’t ever written a piece based on research and then translated it into opinion. While I was writing this I had to stop and change parts of it to show more opinion. An example of this is my last sentence in which I say that the racism that resulted from this war was inexcusable and unjustified. I am proud of my op ed because of my ability to write differently than I am used to.
As usual, I struggled with time management. I turned in both my op ed and my visual piece late because I procrastinated due to the sudden switch to full online school. I did not use my time well during the day and then did all my work at night. Leaving my work until the last minute is always a problem for me especially during online school. In the future, I will work on a strategy to use as much time in person to do my work because I work much more efficiently when I am at school. I also struggled with writing in a voice from opinion in my op ed. It was very difficult to completely change my writing style. Moving forward I will use the skills I learned about writing opinion pieces to better my writing.
The most important thing that I learned during this was a different style of writing. It wasn’t something that I had tried before so it really made me reconsider how I write. I am usually a fairly concise and educated writer, but having to write short paragraphs with my opinion was a challenge for me. When I write, I like to gather my research and write entirely with facts. This made my writing feel forced and I had to rush to make a final product. I am very glad to have the experience with writing opinion pieces because I think that it will make my writing better not just for doing op eds, but for informative pieces as well.
One skill that I have improved is my ability to refine. I generally don’t like to make more than one draft of my work and would rather just edit as I go. In this project, I made multiple drafts and made revisions each time. Moving forward, I will try to make separate drafts so I can track my progress as I go. One example of this revision is in my 8th paragraph, I deleted a lot of irrelevant information, to make it fit my thesis statement better. Overall, I think that writing drafts will help me become a better writer.
I think that I deserve an 8.5 or a 9. I was very happy with how my op ed turned out but I could have put more effort into my visual piece. I think that I could improve my organization for the online days. I will get better at this as we move forward and it becomes more normal. I think that I could do much better with my motivation for this class in the future.
As usual, I struggled with time management. I turned in both my op ed and my visual piece late because I procrastinated due to the sudden switch to full online school. I did not use my time well during the day and then did all my work at night. Leaving my work until the last minute is always a problem for me especially during online school. In the future, I will work on a strategy to use as much time in person to do my work because I work much more efficiently when I am at school. I also struggled with writing in a voice from opinion in my op ed. It was very difficult to completely change my writing style. Moving forward I will use the skills I learned about writing opinion pieces to better my writing.
The most important thing that I learned during this was a different style of writing. It wasn’t something that I had tried before so it really made me reconsider how I write. I am usually a fairly concise and educated writer, but having to write short paragraphs with my opinion was a challenge for me. When I write, I like to gather my research and write entirely with facts. This made my writing feel forced and I had to rush to make a final product. I am very glad to have the experience with writing opinion pieces because I think that it will make my writing better not just for doing op eds, but for informative pieces as well.
One skill that I have improved is my ability to refine. I generally don’t like to make more than one draft of my work and would rather just edit as I go. In this project, I made multiple drafts and made revisions each time. Moving forward, I will try to make separate drafts so I can track my progress as I go. One example of this revision is in my 8th paragraph, I deleted a lot of irrelevant information, to make it fit my thesis statement better. Overall, I think that writing drafts will help me become a better writer.
I think that I deserve an 8.5 or a 9. I was very happy with how my op ed turned out but I could have put more effort into my visual piece. I think that I could improve my organization for the online days. I will get better at this as we move forward and it becomes more normal. I think that I could do much better with my motivation for this class in the future.