City Tech, Fall 2016

Author: Tajay (Page 1 of 3)

Final Draft Write up – Human Behavior in the Post-Apocalypse

Abstract

The horrors of the apocalypse doesn’t only change the environment, it also diminish the improvements in society, most of all it changes the behavior of human beings. Normally, in a civil society people thrive for success, advancement and the pursuit of happiness. All things taken away from society, people reactions will determine their will to survive. However, in the journey of survival, existence will be based on how a person is able to adapt to chaotic change and the will to overcome fear and confusion of a post-apocalyptic world. Social norms require people to act in a mannerism of morality and politeness. Human behavior in the post-apocalypse is extensive, therefore exploring the reasons people change will create an indication as to why humans rely so heavily to a civilized society. The human mind is critical when creating apocalyptic text. For the reason that all human beings behave differently given a change in setting, from normal to chaotic, their perception on things will differ. Thus, research surrounds the psychology, as well as, the sociology of human behavior, at the same time basing it on a post-apocalyptic setting. Moreover, examples of post-apocalyptic text will support the way humans change and behave in the Post-Apocalypse.

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Write up Draft: Human Behavior in the Post-Apocalypse

Abstract

The horrors of the apocalypse doesn’t only change the environment or the diminish the improvements in society, but it changes the behavior of human beings. Normally, in a civil society people thrive for success, advancement and the pursuit of happiness. All things taken away from society, people reactions will determine their will to survive. However, in their journey of survival, their survival will be based on how they’re able to adapt to chaotic change and their will to overcome fear and confusion of the dystopian world.

 

 

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Class Notes 12/08/16

Reminder:

No Classes Tuesday 12/13 (Reading Day)

First Draft due Monday 12/12 11:59EST

First Drafts are peer reviewed by members of assigned groups (see schedule) and vice versa. Each group member must critique each other work.

  • Final project grade will be deducted a full letter grade if group members draft is left neglected or if drafts aren’t posted by due date.

Thursday 12/15 Class will be in session and peer review will continue

Note: Professor Belli will be available Mon-Thurs if help is needed moving forward in the Archive Project (email ahead of time for a reasonable meeting time).

Presentations:

Alex – That which is defined Utopia and Dystopia

Claim – The base definition of what is utopia and dystopia, in addition to the parallels of utopian/dystopian text, facts and advancement

Marco – Connection between Science Fiction and Fashion

Claim – The clothing of science fiction speak about society, as well as, being critical to the world today.

Ruben – Dreaming or living in Science Fiction

Claim – Science Fiction film uses dream sequencer in order to explore the limited perception of reality.

Jovan – Politics in Science Fiction

Claim – The presence of politic and law throughout science fiction novels and literature has not only shaped the characters within the texts, but has also changed the development path of characters.

Duran – The Connection of Androids and African American

Claim – African Americans and Androids share similar fates due to people’s misconception and unacceptance in society.

Moises – Architects of the Future or Harbingers of Doom

Claim – Technology has served as a force of division more than an unifier.

Tajay – Human Behavior in the Post-Apocalypse

Claim – The change in human behavior is based on the reality of their setting.

Secondary Sources and Progress

In the process of doing my presentation, I was able to put together ideas that would later formulate my final essay. Overall, my confidence grew since finding out how well I improved in my topic proposal. Because of this, moving forward I’m able to focus my research on post-apocalyptic behavior as my main subject, with connected research that will strengthen my overall paper. Still, my concern is keeping my research relevant to my topic. I know these coming weeks will be crucial in creating an excellent essay. Therefore, I will utilize the time I have by writing drafts, and carefully sort out my many resources from relevant and non-relevant. Another issue I’ve been having is that most of my research has to do with zombies and the zombie apocalypse. Now I understand when post-apocalyptic themes come to mind, zombies are the first thought that people seem to gravitate towards. Additionally, The Walking Dead, a show focused heavily on the zombie apocalypse serves as my primary source. However, that isn’t the direction I want go on, as I want to focus on people and people’s behavior in a post-apocalyptic.

Secondary sources:

The Chronophers – Psychology of the Apocalypse

This article examines the point of view of the writer’s psyche and opinion of surviving the Apocalypse. This writer values morality and integrates ethical research test done by institutes to determine the psychology of good and evil.

Wilderness Survival – Psychology of Survival

This article focuses on tactics needed to live off the land. Also, the writer gives advice on the traits needed to survive the wild

Richardson, R. Offgrid Survival – Psychology of Survival: How’s your Ability to Survive

The writer identifies the mental toughness and mindset  that will ensure survival in a chaotic setting. also gives tips on the developing a strong mindset, us

Psychology Today – The Moral Molasses of The Walking Dead

This therapist gives an in depth analysis on the changed mentality on the characters of the walking dead, as a result of traumatic stress. He also relates the characteristics of society and how it plays a role in the walking dead character development.

A whiff of History

Our visit to the Science Fiction Archive was encouraging. I admired the fact that so much effort and hard work was used in making this archive possible. Not often people would sacrifice their time, much less their summer to put together a collection for students benefit. It amazes me that the sci-fi archive was brought in cross-country, recycled from one scholar to the next. This alone shows me the care teachers have for all students by providing us with such a stacked collection. I say this because it’s more than a pay check for some educators, besides I respect the commitment of intellectuals who use their expertise and resources to benefits others well-being.

The smell of old books with new prints opened up my fascination with this archive. As a history enthusiast, I was excited to see prints as far as the twenties. Sadly, those text was preserved in plastic, besides I was just too nervous to touch them for the reason it was in sensitive condition. Still, it was great to see it, just the thought of the journey those text experienced, along with the many people whom flicked through the pages. Moreover, there were books from World War II, the events of that era is so historical that imagining the context of those stories was impactful in so many ways. At the time, the entire world was in turmoil, not knowing the outcome of the world war. I can imagine the numerous amount of post-war dystopian/utopian tales that gave people insight on the future. While visiting the thought of this rattled my mind, with addition to the powerful advertisement in the magazines of that time.

If given the opportunity I would love to spend more time in the archive. Simply to get a glance of the past through the eyes of authors who envisioned great possibilities. Believe it or not, I would like to work in the archive just to get a hands on feel of the collection, maybe sneak a few reading every now and then. Overall, the visit to the archive was worth the trip as I did appreciate the historic collection of science fiction. In time, I hope the archive will increase, as well as improved to a larger space to fit historic figurines of science fiction and classic text that would make City Tech’s science fiction archive the best.

 

 

Project Progress

  1. I’m interested in exploring how human behave in a post- apocalyptic/dystopian setting, as a means of survival.
  2. I’m fascinated with the psychology of a dystopian world.
  3. It can be said, whenever our survival is at risk, living beings are instinctively triggered into survival mode.
  4. Survival mode, however, isn’t only a manifested state of fear, or primal terror of death, but a human behavior to cope with a fearful reality.
  5. Whenever fear of survival becomes a subject of living, human beings behave in a manner out of fear and confusion, inevitably eliminating morality and ethics.
  6. For example, The Walking Dead, and many other apocalyptic fiction, forces us to examine the extreme behavior humans are capable of under extreme circumstances.
  7. More or less, in extreme stressful situation, people often do things they didn’t believe they were capable of in order to survive.
  8. Besides, the human mind is an important aspect to explore when writing apocalyptic text.
  9. Remember, every person is unique and handle situations differently.
  10. In theory, we are biologically designed to survive by all means necessary, in a broad sense to continue the protection of life.

Reflection

For the reason my proposal was difficult to understand, I was advised to list my topic proposal idea into details, rather than it being constructed in a paragraph format. By doing this, I was able to grasp a better understanding of my topic, as well as, create more concrete questions that will extend my main focus. As a result, I was able to construct the following question to enhance my topic on Human Behavior in Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian setting. These question are: Do people personality change when placed in a life threatening setting? How would ethics, morality, and perception evolve in a world centered on Post-apocalyptic destruction? If people were born into a dystopian society where survival is priority, how would they behave?

Ultimately, the more research I do, the clearer my topic comes together. And though, I feel I’m back on the right track after my minor derailment, I fear I will get off topic moving forward in the project. There is many sources to support my topic, still I’m worried I will confuse fluff sources with credible sources. In the end, I’m concern it will complicate the reader’s point of view on what I’m trying to convey, therefore I need help keeping focus on the topic.

Updated Citations

Elauria, A. (2014). Post-Apocalyptic Psychology: Children of the Apocalypse. Retrieved from http://oneofus.net/2014/06/post-apocalyptic-psychology-children-of-the-apocalypse/

This blog focuses on various psychological theories surrounding human behavior during apocalyptic events. Moreover, this blog explore the survival characteristics of human born into a post- apocalyptic setting.

 

The Walking Dead. By Robert Kirkman. Perf. Andrew Lincoln. (2010-present). Television Series.

This TV series follows survivors of the zombie-apocalypse as they seek stability in a destroyed world surrounded by the living dead and unruly civilization. Characters of The Walking Dead are forced to abandon their old way of life and adapt to survive the chaotic world.

 

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. Dir. George Miller. Perf. Mel Gibson. (1981). Film.

This movie set the tone an entire genre of films set in a Post-Apocalyptic wasteland. Additionally, this film showcased the savagery of humans as they became scavengers and merciless killers as a mean of survival. Moreover, Mad Max 2 is set in a harsh desert setting in the wastelands of Australia where water and fuel are the only valuable commodities.

Human Nature: Survival

Every human being in the world exhibit unique characteristics. These characteristics include the manner of acting in your personal happiness, being emotionally attached to a thing and/or subject, and thinking independently from cultural influences. Also, the notion, being a product of your Environment plays an important part in who you are as an individual. Worst case scenario, how will people adapt to change, and is it possible. Can someone lose themselves outside of their comfort zone. These are the issues I want to explore, simply to understand human behavior when in survival mode.

It can be said, whenever our survival is at risk, living beings are instinctively triggered into survival mode. Survival mode, however, isn’t only a manifested state of fear, or the primal terror of death, but a human behavior to cope with an unwanted reality. Whenever fear of survival becomes a subject of living, we as human beings behave in a manner out of fear and confusion, inevitably eliminating morality and ethics. For instance, given a situation of starvation in a dystopian world, on impulse a human being will do whatever it takes to secure a source of food no matter the consequences. In theory, we are biologically designed to survive by all means necessary, in a broad sense to continue the protection of our life. And even if it means sacrificing knowing what’s wrong and what’s right, the human ability to adapt clouds perception as a way to survive in a fallen world.

According to Dr. John Montgomery, The human body has a natural primal instinct to survive.  Dr. Montgomery  states, “The brain is, in effect, tricked – typically unconsciously – into unnecessary states of survival mode, such as fear of relinquishing, not because of actual survival-threatening circumstances, but because our brains confuse our evolutionary past with our modern circumstances.” Thus, for humankind it isn’t survival of the fittest, but purely survival, period. Ultimately, fear, doubt, human instinct, and fear of death; these all revolve around survival, which lets humans go over their limits and see what they’re really capable of. As a whole, survival is a combination of physical, mental, and emotional challenges, challenges that can change human behavior at such an extent that it can change a person’s character.

The behavioral theory, which is the interaction between the individual and their environment, focuses on measurable and observable behavior rather than mental and emotion behavior. So in the development in a person’s personality will solely be based on what the individual is able to absorb in their given environment. Once a personality is developed a person is able to know, perceive and accept what they believe to be their happiness. In Psychology, ‘A Journal of Discovery,’ by Stephen Franzoi, the reader is informed  “in the forth and third centuries B.C., Plato argued that individual differences are largely inborn and due to heredity (nature), while Aristotle stressed the importance of environmental factors (nurture).” Whether an individual is a product of their environment, or a reflection of their peers, all individuals have unique traits that is created through natural selection.

Work Cited:

Boundless. “Maslow’s Humanistic Theory of Personality.” Boundless Psychology. Boundless, 20 Sep. 2016. Retrieved 21 Nov. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/psychology/textbooks/boundless-psychology-textbook/personality-16/humanistic-perspectives-on-personality-78/maslow-s-humanistic-theory-of-personality-307-12842/

Brenner, M. (2016). Psychology Touts Selfishness for Survival. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-brenner/psychology-touts-selfishn_b_9659922.html

Desai, S. (2016). Humanistic theory. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/behavior/theories-personality/v/humanistic-theory

Franzoi, S. (2002). Psychology, A journal of Discovery. Cincinnati, OH: Atomic Dog Publishing.

Montgomery, J. (2012). Survival Mode and Evolutionary Mismatch. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-embodied-mind/201212/survival-mode-and-evolutionary-mismatch

 

Be as Water: Adapt or Perish

My topic proposal is understanding human nature and the strength of human adaptability:

Related to the ‘nature vs. nurture’ theory, what makes a person, a person?

What are the things that give an individual their personality?

Does your environment determine who you are? And if so, given a change in the environment, do you change as well?

Every human being in the world exhibit unique characteristics. These characteristics include the manner of acting in your personal happiness, being emotionally attached to a thing and/or subject, and thinking independently from cultural influences. Also, the notion, being a product of your Environment plays an important part in who you are as an individual. Worst case scenario, how will people adapt to change, and is it possible. Can someone lose themselves outside of their comfort zone. These are the issues I want to explore, simply to understand human behavior when in survival mode.

Midsemester Reflection

In the beginning of the semester my greatest misunderstanding was differentiating science fiction from fantasy. At first thought it’s believed science fiction and fantasy went hand in hand. Being both are manifestations of the creative mind of the creator of the story. Also, both genres bring life to imaginative, out of the world fiction. However, midway into the semester I’m able to see the difference between science fiction and fantasy. I now understand science fiction portrays technologic and scientific advances as a way of life. Whether that advance in culture provided the ideal haven or an apocalyptic province, science fiction is very versatile in a sense of creating worlds based on systematic formations in theoretical fiction. On the other hand, fantasy has a supernatural twist on reality in terms of being abstract fiction. Overall, both science fiction and fantasy are genres that break the rules of reality sending its reader to an imaginative world of great wonder.

Even so, half way through the semester, we’ve read two science fiction novels, a number of short stories, and watched collections of film, and the common link is all had to do with world building and the hierarchy of civilization. I understand the world building and cultural advances play a huge part in science fiction, however for a long time I’ve always believed space age and creature creations (such as genetic freaks, monsters and zombies), was an important factor in the genre. It would be interesting to analyze science fiction in another light outside of cultural standards and cybernetic control. More or less, it will be great to focus on text such as “The War of the Worlds” or “The Time Machine,” just to get a group perspective on these cult classics, among others. All things considered the text reviewed half way through the semester had been enlightening in understanding human standards and what it is to be human.

Furthermore, up to this point the new ideas encountered has to do with science fiction being more than an imaginative conception of humankind. In fact, the dynamics of science fiction alters the way simple ways of a mundane world. The ability to introduce worldly possibilities into modern era is amazing, in the sense of making known to what if and what could be. Any person with an imagination could be compelled by the realistic possibilities of science fiction. Generally speaking, we live in a technological advanced society where things are simpler and useful. Majority of the world’s population rely on the convenience of technology, Science fiction embraces the philosophy that technological advances will improve society and human development. Actually, the reason I enjoy science fiction is because it sheds light on realism of human behavior surrounding their setting and situation.

In the hospitality industry, we are constantly dealing with many personalities, in addition to continuous change in settings. The mantra of the hospitality goes “to provide experience,” with that said the challenge is how can I as an individual motivate a team, at the same time provide the best experience for a nonstop rotation of people. This is an example of world building because my decision-making will determine the outcome of a small population’s happiness. Therefore, understanding human behavior and their perspectives in different scenarios is vital in hospitality. What’s more, while hierarchy is significant in science fiction, in term of hospitality that ideology is out the window. For the reason hospitality is to treat everyone as equals no matter the social status or classification, hierarchy is seen as belittling to an individual. With that said, I think this way of thinking changes the standards of world building. Instead of having a world of status and social dysfunction, everyone is equal, manifestly ridding society of ego, and later advocate the achievement for peace.

Moving forward into the semester I hope to study further into science fiction in the sense of learning how to create text-based on the genre. It’ll be a fun challenge to create a science fiction text using all I learned midway into the semester. Also, I want to challenge my understanding how to maintain a society using free will, and individuality as a focus in a social order. Moreover, it’ll be interesting to see science fiction outside of utopian/dystopian text. Instead it’ll be enriching to study science fiction using space age text, as well as focusing on science fiction in our world today, and the effects it has on our society. I believe observing science fiction around us will stimulate our understanding of the genre.

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