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This is a second presentation of a previous body of work you’ve done. Of course you will add new “content.”

It incorporates audio/video/digital/graphics/spatial content.  These are the additional modes of perception.

It also redirects your presentation of information and understanding and knowledge to a different audience, not the professor.

The audience could be your peers. The audience could be  the public at large. Or you could address a younger audience, for example, a middle school class. Your audience could be an individual, a friend, a family member. It could be  your family as a whole.  Or a community organization.  Or a group of friends. A discourse community.

The multi-modal piece could be a set of poems. It could be a photo-essay with captions or narrative or descriptive writing. It could be a video. It could be a written text with a musical soundtrack or with ambient sound. It could be a montage of portraits of people you know with some written or spoken narrative or description.

Notice, if you want to do something completely analog, like a painting or a hand drawn illustration, or an oral narration, you can document it electronically by digital photography, video, etc.

Basically, in addition to the written text, it should have a second mode of delivering/communicating the information.

It should be a “complete” or “finished” work. In this context, you should try to control the final “look” of the piece as an electronic product or a digital object. But you won’t be graded on how “great” it is.

Instead you’ll be graded on completing it and the following.   Once you’re done, you write a 1000 word artist’s statement or reflection on your activity. How you came to make certain choices. How that changed the message you communicated. What you learned about the subject and your activity as a writer/artist/director/creator/content producer/author. Also reflect  on knowledge and understanding and acquiring knowledge and understanding and how to use it and present it.  Reflect on what you’re goals were in the piece and what you intend to do in the future.

Some version of the multi-modal piece must be stored on an electronic file and included in your 6000 word portfolio.

As a starting point, you can use your work on Diaz and discourse community; Hannah-Jones and Wilentz on racism in America and American history; or your reflections on and experience of the corona virus pandemic of 2019-2020.

Here’s a video that presents images of the corona virus particle.  Note that the image of the object gives us information in a different way than just description in words or a description in words of how it affects us.  On the other hand, the image without a narration in words would not tell us much either.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=421fmflQX0E

This is a professionally produced video by a media company, and your multi-modal project can look totally different.  What’s important here is the idea of presenting information or telling a story using multiple modes of perception:  visual, audio, color, music, etc.

He says that it is a mistake to think that historical event of abolition of slavery was inevitable.   For the most part the rejection of slavery was accomplished by the end of the 1800s–racism still exists, but slavery is considered by the vast majority of the population to be unacceptable.

Do you consider yourself an American? When I receive that type of question, I will always say yes. Why? Because I was born in an American country. Yet, people would find my answer too vague. There are many reasons of how why that happens. People do not realize that the term “American” is not for identifying themselves as natives from the United States. That is not the case.”American” means to have been born and raised in the American continent. In my case, part of my ancestors’ background is from the Mayans. The Mayans were a Native American tribe. As part of history, Native Americans are the authentic Americans. Therefore, I partly have the right to call myself an American.

Nevertheless, my point is not about where are my ancestors come from but to define, “who can be an American?” However, I feel that the contradiction that the title “American” makes to people varies on the way they use it. I have heard of cases where people who had been identifying as Americans were not born in the American continent. Although, it could make if their parents might have born in anywhere of the American continent. To sum up, I could say that the United States of America can not be called as America as a whole thing.

In relationship with the 1619 project by Hannah-Jones, she talked about the “idea of America” and what it means for African Americans. Hannah-Jones agreed with and supported the “idea of America” freedom by how African Americans contributed to it.  I believe that Hanna-Jones not only emphasized their race or the achievements they have made for themselves. African Americans throughout much of America’s history helped future minorities, which we know today. Moreover, they had to suffer a lot to allow communities like Asian, European, Middle Eastern, and Latin America to enjoy their privileges now. One example of these called privileges was the citizenship of the United States.

However, she condemns and disagrees with the “idea of America” when Abraham Lincoln tried to deal with four educated African American men to leave and “go back to Africa.” She did not agree about how much her people did for the United States of America, yet the same nation wanted to kick them out. Therefore, Hannah-Jone’s point matched what I mentioned before, who has the right to be an American. The reason is because it is fair enough to judge why the white people, who came from a European country like Britain, would like to kick another group that came from another continent. Yet, just because of the so-called “raced,” white people just wanted to look superior on African Americans and make them leave as nothing.

But, we can not forget how much African Americans have done in the past. As she mentioned in the essay, they suffered  400 hundred years of discrimination to make the country progress as it is in the present day. Thanks to them, immigrants can have the citizenship of the United States, which allows them to pursue their dreams. Or maybe not only that, but it also let them be called “Americans.”

Naftard started the topic Coronavirus in the forum Prof. James Wu_10am_Eng1121_D420_Spring2020:

Naftard Sammuel
Coronavirus

On December 2019, a virus called the Coronavirus emerged in Wuhan China. About 3 months later the virus spread from Wuhan China to other parts of the world. The Coronavirus can be spread by coughing without covering your mouth, sneezing around others without covering your mouth and nose, and getting in contact with others with the virus without protection. Symptoms of the virus include coughing, sneezing and fever.The virus is very easy to spread from person to person because it is in the air. Covid-19 (another name for the Coronavirus ) is a respiratory illness that affects the respiratory organs. Before the virus is able to enter into your respiratory organs it test the level of your immunity.If you have a strong immune system , then your immune system can fight the virus and get rid of the virus before it can spread throughout your body and becomes severe.However,if your immunity is weak then your immune system will not have the strength to fight the virus, therefore the virus will travel into your lungs and cause you to start coughing, sneezing and give you a fever. If left untreated the virus will destroy the respiratory organs which will lead to shortness of breath (the inability to inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide).
Because of the Corona virus the world is going through a recession. The economy dropped drastically. A lot of people are now unemployed and a lot of businesses are closed. Teachers and students now have to practice distant learning,which have a negative effect on a lot of students, especially secondary schools and primary schools.Distance learning in school puts a lot of students at risk for failure,because a lot of students does not have the resources (computers, cell phones, laptop,Ipod,and tablets) also, a lot of students does not know what online classes felt like until after the outbreak of Coronavirus.
Viruses can only live for a couple of hours if they are outside of the body. According to a study that was published on March 11 on medRxiv, viruses can live in the air for up to 3 hours, up to 4 hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to 72 hours on plastic and stainless steel. This study shows that someone can become infected both directly and indirectly. Washing your hands and staying at least 6 feet away from people are some ways that you can prevent getting the viruse. Also, avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth is a great way to not become infected.

Douglass, Frederick.  “Learning to Read and Write.”

http://learningabe.info/fd_ReadandWrite

Douglass, Frederick.  “Secession and War,” in which he recounts advising President Lincoln during the war on recruiting for the African-American brigades.

http://www.learningabe.info/Douglass_article_3.html

Here’s the Wikipedia entry on the famous 54th Massachusetts Brigade

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/54th_Massachusetts_Infantry_Regiment

Here’s the lecture of Professor Edna Greene Medford on Abraham Lincoln

https://www.c-span.org/video/?466542-8/abraham-lincoln-emancipation

Please don’t plagiarize any other author’s work.  This includes other students’ published comments on this blog.  If you are cutting and pasting to quote what someone else has written, please use quotation marks, or clearly state you are calling attention to someone else’s writing.

Thank you.

The first thing I noticed when reading, was how complex Fredrick Douglass’ writing is. Especially knowing he was a former slave. It’s shocking because slave-owners tended to keep their slaves on the “dumb” or uneducated side due to fear of a revolt. However he gives his mistress some credit in learning how to read. She planted the small seed of teaching him the alphabet, and the seed grew large and wide as he taught himself basically to read and write.

While talking about learning how to read Douglass states

“It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out.”

This is a very strong metaphor. He was feeling trapped, with no way out. He refers to learning how to read as a “curse and a blessing.”

“In months of agony, I envied my fellow-slaves for their stupidity. I have often wished myself a beast. I preferred the condition of the meanest reptile to my own. Anything, no matter what, to get rid of thinking!”

Douglass understood that knowledge is power, unless you can’t voice your issues. Or voice anything in that matter. He’d rather be as ignorant as his “fellow-slaves” because they seem to him, to not know anything is wrong with life. All they know is obeying their master’s wishes and commands. Simply because if you’re not exposed to a different way of living, you wouldn’t know about it. In the case of the slaves, they weren’t exposed to any different way of living and they couldn’t read about it as Douglass did. By reading The Columbian Orator, he stumbled upon some work that relayed the message of “Catholic emancipation” and this gave him the idea of freedom. He realized he was not born to be a slave, for he was indeed a human being. He then started to “abhor and detest” his owners.

His wish to be a beast, to not be able to think, are far beyond my understanding. It also disturbs me for a few different reasons. I can’t and never will be able to understand how slaves felt and what they thought, but I still can’t understand not wanting to have complex thoughts. Not wanting to have needs outside the primal ones such as food, water and sex as animals do. This wish by Douglass helps me in understanding the severe atrocity of slavery.

His way of learning to write is almost as amazing as that of his learning to read. By seeing the four letters on the ships, he memorized them and used them to trick little white boys into teaching him how to write. This cunning deception is one better than I’ve ever seen used in real life. The little boys didn’t even know they were helping him as they were blinded with pride.

The ongoing coronavirus has affected many countries. Countries such as Italy who have shut down and refused to let all and sundry come into the us of a or leave. This grew to be a global epidemic because  a positive man or womanin China ate a bat and they didn’t recognize that bat had the corona-virus. And due to this the man or woman on foot freely they have been in a position to infect different humans and it began to escalate. I be mindful when the corona-virus was once simply affecting China, I in no way imagined it to unfold to many different nations making it a threat.There’s been 30,000 instances in the United States. This virus influences human beings 60 and older. Younger human beings can nonetheless be affected however they have extra threat in surviving than older human beings whose immune gadget is weaker. Many hospitals in New York are full of coronavirus sufferers and want even greater house for new patients.

This past month has been very tough. Recently mu house caught fire causes me to lose everything, my clothes, valuables, my house and more. We have been living in a hotel for the past three weeks and due to Covid-19 most stores are closed so it is hard to get clothes. This virus caused many stores to shut down. The reason why these stores and businesses shut down is because they want to flatten the curve and keep the virus from spreading. I think the reason why people are so scared of the virus is because they do not have a vaccine yet and it is spreading very fast. The virus does not affect younger people that much. It will just be like a regular flu for us but I do not want to spread it to my family members. Another way the virus has affected me is because I am staying in a hotel, we are looking for a house to stay in because it will take 8-12 months to repair my house. There are no available real estate agents to find these houses due the virus. The wifi in the hotel is not working as well and it is hard to keep up with school work and my regular job due to me having to do everything on my phone. On the bright side of things I am able to get more time to my stuff and focus on school more because I am always staying in the hotel. I also work in a engineering consulting firm so my job requires for us to work remotely thus I have more time focus on work and school.