Lvl 14: Revised

Works Cited

Infinity Ward. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Activision, 2007. Xbox 360.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. The story takes place in the year 2011, where a radical leader has executed the president of an unnamed country in the Middle East, and an ultranationalist movement starts a civil war in Russia, and is seen through the perspective of a US Marine and a British SAS commando. The game is filled with extreme counterterrorist and orientalist views and overwhelming patriotic messages. Most evidence used from this game will be found in the storyline. The franchise is often taken as an example for how video games could affect our lives by professors and other academics. I will be using this game to show how video games can produce unnecessary extreme responses to terrorism and can be an inaccurate portrayal of war.

Treyarch. Call of Duty: World at War. Activision, 2008. Xbox 360.

Call of Duty: World at War is a 2008 first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision.The narrative focuses on the Pacific Theater and Eastern Front theaters of World War II, and is told from the perspective of members of the US military. Just like other games in the franchise it is filled with romanticized ideas of war and overwhelming patriotic values. Most evidence I will be using from the game is from the storyline and images from the in-game background. The franchise is often taken as an example for how video games could affect our lives by professors and other academics. I will be using this game to show how video games portray war, specifically WWII.

Schulzke, Marcus. "The Virtual War On Terror: Counterterrorism Narratives In Video

Games." New Political Science 35.4 (2013): 586-603. Academic Search Complete.

Web. 10 May 2016.

"The Virtual War on Terror: Counterterrorism Narratives in Video Games" is written by Marcus Schulzke, who is a professor at the State University of New York at Albany, USA, and specializes in security studies and applied ethics.. The article talks about despite no real evidence saying that games lead to violence, counterterrorism games exaggerate terrorist threats and justify more extreme state responses to terrorism. Most evidence found in the article is from the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, particularly in the storyline and how certain characters are portrayed. The article is written in the New Political Science magazine and is intended for those interested in Political Science. This article is used to present the argument of how video games may not accurately present real life situations and instead make them more extreme.

Gabbiadini, Alessandro, et al. "Acting Like A Tough Guy: Violent-Sexist Video Games,

Identification With Game Characters, Masculine Beliefs, & Empathy For Female

Violence Victims." Plos ONE 11.4 (2016): 1-14.Academic Search Complete. Web. 10

May 2016.

"Acting like a Tough Guy: Violent-Sexist Video Games, Identification with Game Characters, Masculine Beliefs, & Empathy for Female Violence Victims." is written by multiple authors who are all professors in well-known universities in different countries, the main author being Alessandro Gabbiadini, a professor from the University of Milano and specializes in human-computer interaction, computer and society, and media psychology. It focuses on how exposure to sexist video games can decrease empathy for female violence victims, and increase enforcement of masculine beliefs. The evidence is based on an experiment where participants were randomly assigned to play games with different levels of sexism and violence in it. The article is written for those with feminist beliefs and for people who make games or play games. The article proves that video games do have effect on how women are treated.

RAMSAY, DEBRA. "Brutal Games: Call Of Duty And The Cultural Narrative Of World

War II." Cinema Journal 54.2 (2015): 94-113. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10

May 2016.

"Brutal Games: Call of Duty and the Cultural Narrative of World War II." is written by Debra Ramsay, who is affiliated with the University of Nottingham and University of Leicester. It focuses on how WWII is portrayed in video games, and how it can expose aspects of warfare obscured by other representations in media. The article focuses on FPS games like Call of Duty: World of War. This article is written in the Cinema Journal and intended for general audiences interested in history and portrayal of war in video games. This game is positive evidence of more accurate portrayals of war in video games.

Mantello, Peter. "Legitimacy And The Virtual Battlefield: Putting The First-Person

Shooter On The Witness Stand." Australian Journal Of International Affairs 67.5

(2013): 638-658. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 May 2016.

"Legitimacy and the virtual battlefield: putting the first-person shooter on the witness stand. " is written by Peter Mantello, an expert on International Affairs, particularly on war. It focuses on how video games are used by military experts and how it affects international relations. The audience appeals to those in charge of international affairs, and general audiences interested in video games or war related topics. This could be used to prove that video games do make an impact in our lives.

Weaver, Andrew J., and Lewis, Nicky. "Mirrored Morality: An Exploration Of Moral

Choice In Video Games." Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking 15.11

(2012): 610-614. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 May 2016.

The article is written by Andrew J. Weaver and Nicky Lewis, who are professors at Indiana University Bloomington and University of Miami, respectively.This exploratory study was designed to examine how players make moral choices in video games and what effects these choices have on emotional responses to the games, and showed that the majority of players made moral decisions and behaved toward the NPCs they encountered as if these were actual interpersonal interactions. The study also found that behaving in antisocial ways did increase guilt, but had no impact on enjoyment. The article focused on Fallout 3, a game created by Bethesda, and found evidence through the responses by participants of the experiment. The article is targeted towards game makers and those interested about the effects of videogames on human thinking. I will be using this article to show how video games, though sometimes may not be accurate portrayals of our world, can still be used to show how humans make decisions and choices in a real life situation.

Mead, Corey. War Play: Video Games and the Future of Armed Conflict. Eamon

Dolan/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013. ANTPAC. Print. 12 May 2016.

The book talks about how the military is using video game technology to train soldiers, treat veterans, and entice new recruits. The book focuses on the methods of the military through the past years as evidence. The target audience seems to be people interested in the military and also in the effects of videogames. I will be using this to prove that videogames are closely related to our lives and can be used for many other purposes.

Halter, Ed. From Sun Tsu to Xbox: War and Video Games. PublicAffairs, 2016.

ANTPAC. Print. 12 May 2016.

Ed Halter is a critic and curator from NYC and his book is used in many research regarding the link between videogames and military conflicts. The book focuses on how military cultures and evolution of games have been closely linked. Evidence is found through the relations of old games like Go and how they are similar to video games of today. The target audience seems to be people interested in videogames and its relation to military conflicts. I will be using this to prove that people have been playing games since the beginning and it is an important part of human life.

Ash, J.."Between War and Play." Cultural Politics 8.3 (2012): 495-497. Project MUSE. Web. 12

May. 2016.

Christesen, P. & Machado, D.."Video Games and Classical Antiquity." Classical World 104.1

(2010): 107-110. Project MUSE. Web. 12 May. 2016.

Gray, G. C. & Nikolakakos, T.."The Self-Regulation of Virtual Reality: Issues of Voluntary

Compliance and Enforcement in the Video Game Industry."Canadian Journal of Law and

Society 22.1 (2007): 93-108. Project MUSE. Web. 12 May. 2016

Bessner, D.."War Games: A History of War on Paper by Philipp von Hilgers (review)."

Technology and Culture 54.2 (2013): 395-396. Project MUSE. Web. 12 May. 2016.

Bender, Stuart Marshall. "Blood Splats and Bodily Collapse: Reported Realism and the

Perception of Violence in Combat Films and Video Games." Projections: The Journal for

Movies and Mind 8.2 (2014): 1-25. ProQuest. Web. 12 May 2016.

CHRISTESEN, PAUL, and DOMINIC MACHADO. “Video Games and Classical Antiquity”.

The Classical World 104.1 (2010): 107–110. Web. 12 May 2016.

Collier, Joel E., Pearson Liddell, and Gloria J. Liddell. “Exposure of Violent Video Games to

Children and Public Policy Implications”. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 27.1

(2008): 107–112. Web. 12 May 2016.

Kaplan, Sidney, and Shirley Kaplan. “A Research Note Video Games, Sex, and Sex

Differences”. Social Science 56.4 (1981): 208–212. Web. 12 May 2016.

Davis, Lenny, and Bella Mirabella. “Learning Games and War Games”. The Radical Teacher 26

(1984): 15–15. Web. 12 May 2016.

Suellentrop, Chris. “Playing with Our Minds”. The Wilson Quarterly (1976-) 30.3 (2006): 14–21.

Web. 12 May 2016.

McGonigal, Jane. “Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change

the World.” Penguin Books, 2011. Web. 12 May 2016

Plank-Blasko, Dana. "'From Russia With Fun!': Tetris, Korobeiniki And The Ludic Soviet."

Soundtrack 8.1/2 (2015): 7-24. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 May 2016.

Schulzke, Marcus. "Simulating Terrorism And Insurgency: Video Games In The War Of Ideas."

Cambridge Review Of International Affairs 27.4 (2014): 627-643. Academic Search

Complete. Web. 12 May 2016.

Ciută, Felix. "Call Of Duty: Playing Video Games With IR." Millennium (03058298) 44.2

(2016): 197-215. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 May 2016.

Payne, Matthew Thomas. "War Bytes: The Critique Of Militainment In Spec Ops: The Line."

Critical Studies In Media Communication 31.4 (2014): 265-282. Academic Search

Complete. Web. 12 May 2016.

Lvl 13: True Research Topic

My research paper will be studying the relationship between video games and war. The two artifacts chosen to be the focus of this research paper is Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. The story takes place in the year 2011, where a radical leader has executed the president of an unnamed country in the Middle East, and an ultranationalist movement starts a civil war in Russia, and is seen through the perspective of a US Marine and a British SAS commando. The game is filled with extreme counter terrorist and orientalist views and overwhelming patriotic messages. Most evidence used from this game will be found in the story line. The franchise is often taken as an example for how video games could affect our lives by professors and other academics. I will be using this game to show how video games can produce unnecessary extreme responses to terrorism and can be an inaccurate portrayal of war. Call of Duty: World at War is a 2008 first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. The narrative focuses on the Pacific Theater and Eastern Front theaters of World War II, and is told from the perspective of members of the US military. Just like other games in the franchise it is filled with romanticized ideas of war and overwhelming patriotic values. Most evidence I will be using from the game is from the story line and images from the in-game background. The franchise is often taken as an example for how video games could affect our lives by professors and other academics. I will be using this game to show how video games portray war, specifically WWII. Despite a huge range of games to choose from, all centered around the topic of war, these two games seem to be the best candidate for the research because first of all, these are first person shooters, also known as FPS video games, where the player is put in the position of the main character in the game, making it more personal. Second of all, both games hit close to home, one set during World War II, and one with middle eastern conflicts. Third of all, Call of Duty games are very popular and audiences are more familiar with the material and therefore the chances of the results of the research paper being understood better is greater. 

The main questions this research paper will try to answer is if video games can become an accurate medium to portray war, the pros and cons of the portrayal, and the effects of its portrayal on the players and those around them. The overall census of the scholars seem to be that although video games are not an entirely accurate presentation of war in real life, it does also present a different side of war, and the representation of certain groups is highly similar to how they are portrayed in real life. Females are often sexualized and objectified, there are little to no female main characters, and when female characters appear they are rendered useless or made into some sort of punchline. The enemy is demonized and the threat is exaggerated, and thus can lead people to have a more extreme response to presumed threats.

Lvl 12: The Fallout Franchise

           I've known about Fallout. I've heard about it's name multiple times, but I never got to play it until when Fallout 4 came out last year. Besides its unique battle mechanics, interesting characters, I also fell in love with the different stories told in all four games. And I'm not the only one. The background story in the Fallout universe is so interesting that there are constantly fans making theories and sharing them to one another, trying to piece events together into a coherent in game universe lore. When I heard that we had to write a research paper on an artifact concerning war, I instantly thought about doing it on the Fallout franchise. I have always been really interested in things concerning nuclear warfare, especially after learning about it in US history class in high school. Nuclear warfare is truly devastating, and as human beings we like to think of hypothetical results before doing something so dramatic. The Fallout franchise is one of the results of this type of hypothetical thinking. 

          The early timeline in game is not so different to ours, but somewhere round 1945 different historical events led up to the Resource Wars and then the Great War that created the Fallout world as we know now. It also caused the world to be forever stuck in the aesthetic of the 1950's. The Great War was basically different countries launching nuclear missiles at each other as a last struggle to survive, which killed off most of the world's population. Some who survived lived in vaults for a long time, which were built by a company called Vault Tec. Following the progression of the game, players find that Vault Tec isn't completely innocent and good either as many vaults were used for experimenting. Others who were less fortunate had to survive in the hot radioactive desert and formed their own factions. Players usually play as a vault dweller and due to various reasons were forced to leave their vault and venture out into the radioactive world. I think through researching the Fallout universe it would be interesting to see how the game shows us one possibility of what could potentially happen after a nuclear war. It could show us the effects of nuclear war on the environment, the living things, etc. It could also show what would humans be like without a real government being in control of everything. It would also be interesting to see the propaganda in game and how it is different to the propaganda we have in real life. 

          Overall I think it would be beneficial for me to do my research paper on a topic that I really care and would like to learn more about. Some research questions I would ask would be "Does Fallout do a good job of accurately portraying the dangers of nuclear war and general war?" "What does the popularity of the game say about people's views about war?" "What is a benefit of using video games as a medium to portray war?" "How is the in game propaganda similar to real life propaganda?" The Fallout franchise is packed to the brim with different war experiences and I believe it would be very interesting to see the parallels to real world experiences.  

Lvl 11: Thoughts on the Selective Service System

          I casually asked my friend the other day if he has any war experiences, like recruitment calls. I was asking just for fun, and I wasn't really expecting anything since I never heard him mention anything about the military before. To my surprise, he answered yes. "Wait, seriously?" I remember asking him, super surprised. "Yeah, like a letter from the selective service system. You're supposed to fill it out and send it back...and then you might get drafted someday." He said, all nonchalantly. "There's this little box that you have to check off to say that you'll serve in the army if you get drafted instead of running off to a foreign country..." He then proceeded to tell me the story. The letter was sent to his old home address, and since he was traveling in Japan at the time, he had no idea about the letter, and no way to correct the mistake. So by the time he got home and found out about the letters, the government had already sent him multiple threatening letters about how he was committing a crime, that if he doesn't respond promptly they would have to use force, which is basically to throw him in jail. They happened to get in contact with the people in charge just in time to avoid a potential life in prison.

          It was odd how the story stuck out to me, besides the fact that I've been learning about similar topics in HumCore lately. I knew about the selective service system. I knew that all American men will have to register once they hit 18. I knew that by not registering, they would technically be committing a crime. These are all normal, socially accepting things right? Why didn't any of this seem right to me? 

          After sacrificing a few hours of sleep to ponder upon this mystery, I figured a few things that didn't sit right to me. 

          First of all, not signing up for the selective service system seemed to be treated like a heavier crime like treason. Government officials try to track down young men and put them in jail, and waste their precious life away, simply because they didn't sign the papers that could draft them into the army. It doesn't matter if these men didn't want to join the army. It didn't matter that they could've lost the papers, the government themselves accidentally made a mistake, etc. The government is putting more resources in the selective service system than in, perhaps, finding child pornography online and removing them, and catching pedophiles. It just seems to be unjust penalty, and ignores the free will of young male citizens.

          Second of all, why men? I didn't expect my friend to have that kind of experience because I didn't have it either, and it was the norm for me. It has recently been proven that women can serve at the front lines of war just like men, so why aren't women drafted? Not like I want to be drafted, of course, but this seems to create "evidence" for misandrists that "women are privileged" because we aren't forced to sign up for the military. But in reality, women aren't drafted because we are seen as lesser than men. This isn't chivalry like some would claim, it's plain sexism. 

          Finally, I still don't understand why we still have the selective service. It's a waste of tax dollars ($24 million). An all-volunteer approach ensures that only the best-suited people end up in the military.  A draft does the opposite. It shames those who aren't willing to join the military, or those who are unfit. It violates personal liberties. Overall, our military power and spending is far greater than the rest of the world, therefore I don't believe we need more young men throwing their lives away to do things they don't want to do. 

          I cannot say that I am unbiased. I know that I am mostly anti-war, and I dislike the military due to the toxic masculinity it is known to produce. There's probably many more problems that I didn't even address in this blog. I just hope one day I can stop worrying about my friends suddenly drafted of to some war their don't want to fight for simply due to their gender. I hope that's not something too big to look forward to in the future. 

Boss Fight: Winter Quarter Final

          Another quarter is about to come to an end, and thus it is time for another quarter review. This quarter definitely seemed harder than the last quarter. This quarter there were a lot of focus on image analysis and film analysis, which I quickly noticed that I am very unfamiliar with and I am still struggling with how to approach it. It definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone and although I did not do as well as I hoped to, I did learn new ways to structure my essays. I definitely think I am taking essays more seriously, and actively trying to improve my skills. I believe I have improved a little bit in comparison to last quarter. 
          One of the things that made this quarter more interesting to me was Dr. Jensen's method of teaching, and his constant references to pop culture and "nerd culture". It definitely helped me connect topics that seemed distant and far away to contemporary things and helped me understand them better. 
          The topic that stuck out to me the most was about the interrogation tactics used in the government due to the war on terrorism. Specifically, the ticking bomb scenario: There is a bomb that's about to go off, and the terrorist who knows where the bomb is refuses to talk. Would torture be okay to use in this circumstance? Or is it still not tolerable? I personally like to think that I am firm in my beliefs. I keep an open mind to many ideas, but most of the time I firmly stand for my own truths. This course, however, has definitely challenged many of my beliefs and even changed my mind. For example before I thought torture was never alright to use in any circumstances. I thought it was in a way similar to playing God. To torture and punish those we deem evil, should be something only an entirely righteous person would have the right to do. But there isn't anyone on this Earth who is entirely righteous. However, in the ticking bomb scenario, if the torture of one person would save thousands of others, and if the person is a known terrorist, I just might think torture could be viable in this case. This discovery truly shocked myself. 
          If I could somehow travel back in time and give myself advice for the quarter, I would definitely tell myself to stop procrastinating, go to office hours before final drafts were due, and to make more friends in section so we can study together more often. Spend more time on your essays, and ask friends to proofread them before you sent them in. 

Lvl 10: The Beginning of the Manchurian Candidate

          The Manchurian Candidate starts out with a few shots to set the mood and context of the film. Set during the Korean War, a US platoon is seen hanging out at a brothel, while Sergeant Raymond Shaw appears and blows his whistle, telling the men to get moving. It is obvious that Shaw is seen as a "killjoy" and is not popular among his fellow soldiers. Even Meanwhile, despite being in the middle of a war, the rest of the soldiers seem to be very laid back and relaxed, and not at all concerned about the brutalities of war. They are seen joking around, and bashing on Shaw, and overall not taking any of his words or actions seriously. 

          The movie starts out with a large caption, "Korea, 1952". This quickly establishes when and where the current scene is playing out, although it is not very specific, most people with some idea of American history would instantly think of the Korean War. We hear diegetic sounds of a motor from afar, and although most of the screen is filled with darkness, there is a long, following shot where the camera follows a military vehicle out of a forest to the front of a shack. There is a contrast between the initial darkness to the brightness as the truck makes it's way. The soldier driving the truck, whom we later learn is named Shaw, gets out of the truck and walks into the building. There is an eyeline match as the other soldier in the truck follows the movement of Shaw as he disappears off screen and then reappears again to enter the building, and he just chuckles to himself and starts reading a newspaper, clearly disinterested in what Shaw is about to do, and perhaps even accustomed to his actions. 

          The camera then cuts to Shaw walking inside the building. The diegetic sound is now of people laughing while some 50's swing music plays. He keeps his stoic expression, despite having to walk around a couple passionately kissing right in front of his passageway. The camera then pans to the left as it follows Shaw, and he opens a door to reveal the inside of a brothel, and the dozen platoon members in it, with a POV shot. The scene then cuts to a upwards-tilting medium close up of Shaw, still looking expressionless as he looks around at the soldiers and their lady companions. The mise-en-scene is very particular: there are several small American flags and a portrait of an officer, with the words "GOD BLESS AMERICA" scribbled on the wall. The camera then cuts back to the other soldiers, still chatting away, either totally unaware of ignoring the entrance of Shaw. There is a match on action when we follow a young lady in one shot as she moves towards Shaw in the next shot, trying to get his attention through tugging on him, but he pushed her away and instead blows his whistle. The music seems to fade a bit in the background, while everyone stops and looks his way, some of the ladies looking quite distressed. It cuts to one soldier soothing them, saying its "just our Raymond, our lovable Sergeant Shaw", despite not smiling at Shaw at all. 

Lvl 9: Politically Correctness, Difficulty: None

           I can practically hear people whining already. "You are promoting the pussification of America!" "People get so butthurt all the time, just get over it!" "You keyboard warriors aren't doing anything good with this! You're just dividing America even more!" I get it. Some people really pride themselves on their "special ability" to not be offended by a lot of jokes. It seems that if someone expresses that they have been offended by something others see as humorous, they are labeled as weak minded, overly politically correct, and a kill joy. Political correctness is ridiculed, seen as evil censorship, a tool of the "loony left" in order to coddle the weak minded. But what really is political correctness?

          Political correctness, according to Merriam-Webster.com, is "agreeing with the idea that people should be careful to not use language or behave in a way that could offend a particular group of people". Simple as that.

          From the moment I learned about political correctness, I liked the idea of it. Only it wasn't called "being politically correct". It was just simply being polite, and educated. That's it. It isn't censorship, because there aren't any actual laws banning people to stop using certain words. It isn't some scary monster trying to make everyone into robots who think the same way and act the same way. Call people the way they should be called, use pronouns people would prefer others to use, don't use pejorative words that make certain groups of people uncomfortable. It shouldn't hard for anyone to be politically correct. It should come as natural as breathing. Why wouldn't one give up saying certain words so people around them would feel more safe and more comfortable? Why are we, Americans, so tied up in the idea of unlimited personal freedom to the point where some of us are willing to tread on others in order to "maintain" this freedom? It's not like humanity needs to say some words in order to survive in this world. Surely we will live just fine if some people can't say "the N word". Surely you can use "he" instead of "she" or vice versa if someone asks you to. And stop calling "weaker" people "pussies". We all came out of one. Vaginas are very strong.

          To be able to not be offended by something is a privilege. The jokes are usually not targeted towards people with privilege, and when jokes are made about them, those jokes don't have histories of violence and oppression behind them. Strangely, the same people who say they don't get offended easily, usually explode in rage when told about their "privileges". These people benefit from a system that oppresses others, yet stifles any mention of the system in order to protect their own fragile egos. Those who complain about others being "too politically correct" when others try to correct their hateful language, are being upset about others not sugar coating their criticisms of acts of bigotry. 

          Being politically correct is about acceptance and tolerance. To use certain language to let others who historically have been left out, to feel welcome. So we can learn more about those different from us. It is far from trying to divide America, instead it is trying to bring different people of all walks together. It may seem complicated at first, but if we all put in some effort to restrict our language, in the future, what is currently seen as "politically correct" will simply become the norm, and our children may wonder why we ever fought over the usage of some words in the first place. 

Lvl 8: Op-Eds

          For this assignment I tried to find three different op-eds that have a similar topic. These three are all related to racism and political correctness, which are and have been a hot topic of debate for a long, long time. 

          O'Neill's article in the Los Angeles Times, "The Trouble with 'racial Awareness' on Campus" talked about his recent trip to UC Irvine, where he found students to be "obsessed" with racial identities, and in a way oppressed and silenced all opposing voices. He claims that these campus movements are pessimistic in that they believe full integration of all races to be futile. He is very clear on his stance, and although I do not agree with his opinion and think that he has completely missed the point, his writing is effective in that I understand where he is coming from and his ideas are conveyed clearly. Since it is written about a hot topic, and he uses quite a lot of examples, the piece is fairly interesting and probably won't put readers to sleep. 

          Ziyad's article in the Guardian, "America Isn't More Racist. It's Just Shouting It Instead of Whispering" talks about the recent "rise" in racial tensions in America. Ziyad claims that there isn't actually a "rise", because racial tensions have always existed, but recently people of color have chose to no longer be silenced and actively speak out on it. Organizations like Black Lives Matter have chosen to raise their voices so that other people in America can no longer pretend to not see the issues in plain sight and try to make a change. I agree with Ziyad's opinion, but I do feel in comparison to O'Neill's article, he has less real life examples and statistics to back up his claims. He does have a strong opinion that persists throughout the entire article, however, but perhaps more conservative leaning readers wouldn't be easily convinced by his words. The article is short and to the point, so it should be considered an effective op-ed. 

          Last but not least, Edsall's op-ed in The New York Times, "Trump, Obama and the Assault on Political Correctness", seemed to focus on political correctness through the attitudes and speeches given by current Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump and President Obama. There are a lot of examples and quotes used throughout the article, however I find that Edsall seems to only use the quotes without futher analysis of his own, and concluded the article with comments on the chances of Donald Trump winning. Through analysis of the word choices Edsall made, I believe that he has a more liberal stance regarding the topic of political correctness, but I was not entirely sure. Despite the array of quotes Edsall chose to use, I found this op-ed to be less effective compared to O'Neill's and Ziyad's, because I couldn't clearly know his attitude and stance on the issue he wrote on; in fact at some point I was not even entirely sure if Edsall was writing about political correctness or trying to comment on the politics of Donald Trump. In the Writer's Handbook, the chapter on op-eds state that op-eds should try to convince readers to side with the author, but I do not think Edsall did a good job on that. 

Works Cited 
Edsall, Thomas B. "Trump, Obama and the Assault on Political Correctness." The New
          York Times. The New York Times, 23 Dec. 2015. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.

O'Neill, Brendan. "The Trouble with 'racial Awareness' on Campus." Los Angeles Times. 
          Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2016. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.
Ziyad, Hari. "America Isn't More Racist. It's Just Shouting It Instead of Whispering | Hari
          Ziyad." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 05 Feb. 2016. Web. 08 Feb. 2016. 

Lvl 7: Research Experience

          At first, I had no idea how to find a secondary source. A few searches on Google Scholar led me to nothing, and I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to find a source before I had to turn in my rough draft. Luckily for me, right before I was ready to turn on my "panic mode", I remembered I was able to go to one of the library training sessions. The librarian Matt Roberts was super helpful, and he had a very laid back and humorous way of teaching that made the library training very smooth and entertaining. I learned a lot from it that helped me be more familiarized with the different types of electronic databases and other sources that we could use online to find the secondary source that could be of use to us. Because I think I chose a topic that is fairly common, or at least it seemed to be of interest to many other people, I easily found a bunch of secondary sources that fit my topic, and everything else went smoothly from there on. I am definitely grateful that I had the chance to go to the library training because without that I would probably still be lost to this day. I vaguely recall attending one of his extra credit seminars before, but at that time I was in a big lecture hall and I guess I couldn't focus on what he was saying. But this time around because we were in the small room I was able to focus on what he was trying to tell us and that definitely was a lot better than the seminar I went to before. At first I wasn't entirely sure how to integrate the secondary source into my image analysis, however after listening to Dr. Jensen talk in discussion the other day I learned that I was supposed to use it as a sort of magnifying glass or a pair of lenses to see what the images are trying to tell us in that context. I definitely wished that I could have put more time in to my rough draft, because it was too short for Dr. Jensen to give feedback on. Next time I have a chance to write something like this again I will definitely try to clear up my schedule beforehand, and then spend more time on my rough draft. 

Disclaimer: I mean no disrespect to Matt Roberts, he was really helpful :)

Lvl 6: Secondary sources

Roberts, Rita. "Campfires Of Freedom: The Camp Life Of Black Soldiers During The Civil War." Journal Of American History 90.4 (2004): 1455-1457. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Jan. 2016.

Rita Roberts is a professor at Claremont Scripps College and has a B.S., M.A., and a Ph.D, and specializes in American History, specifically African American experiences during the Civil War era. She reviews Campfires of Freedom: The Camp Life of Black Soldiers during the Civil War By Keith R Wilson in this article that focuses how black soldiers were trained and treated during the American Civil War. It is stressed that due to prevasive racial ideologies of that time, despite black soldiers technically being free men in the army, white officers often believed that a long history of slavery has robbed black men of their humanity and their manhood, thus focusing training efforts on teaching black soldiers how to become good soldiers, and good men. Other white officers only trained black soldiers to advance in their career, and were often sadistic and cruel to their black subordinates. This source has a broader application than the second source I have found since it did not name specific regiments in the army, but it is useful to my research because it provides more info about the lives of black soldiers during the civil war and the racism they were faced with.

Powers Jr., Bernard E. "Freedom For Themselves: North Carolina's Black Soldiers In The Civil War Era." Georgia Historical Quarterly 93.2 (2009): 206-209. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Jan. 2016.

Bernard Powers is currently a professor at the College of Charleston, with an M.A and a Ph.D in American History. He has received numerous awards and recognition for his works on African American social and cultural evolution. This is a review for Richard Reid's book Freedom for Themselves: North Carolina's Black Soldiers which examines specifically the lives of four different black regiments in North Carolina during the Civil War. This informative study gave scholars and students insight of the challenges that confronted black soldiers and veterans of that time, despite being just as competent as their white counterparts. One of the regiments had a more progressive white officer in charge and thus were able to actually fight in battles and eventually received recognition for their sacrifices. However, other regiments were not as lucky, some were understaffed, some were not allowed on the battlefield, some were forced to replace white soldiers when yellow fever broke out. Even after the war, there was high levels of racial tension and black soldiers still could not achieve the equal status they fought for. This source provides evidence that even in the Union's army, black soldiers were not given equality and respect. 

Overall, I think both sources prove useful to my essay, since they are both on the topic of black soldiers during the civil war. However, since I have to choose between the two, I would choose the second one because it has more specific and concrete examples that I can use to prove that black soldiers in the North during the civil war were mistreated, despite the war being fought partially for anti-slavery causes. Many people like to think of the North as "anti-slavery saviors", as strong abolitionists and humanitarians, while the trust is the North was often simply the lesser of two evils. This secondary source should provide me more information and evidence to support my thesis. 

Lvl 5: The Soldier's Dream of Home

          Before mankind had cameras to document the true horror of the battlefield, normal everyday citizens were likely to romanticize the idea of what goes on the battlefield. Of course they've heard of the bloody massacres, how awful the conditions at camp were, from letters and word of mouth, but without being able to witness it with their own eyes, civilians just couldn't completely throw away the idea that war is honorable, and that it is almost a privilege to be able to go to war for your own country. Therefore when I first saw this image, my first impression through the vibrant colors on the soldier and his surroundings was that this is another romanticized image of war.
          The soldier appears to be sleeping or resting, and he is drawn in an "aesthetically pleasing" but not comfortable pose on the bottom left of the picture, his rifle placed nicely next to him with a drum and a letter, perhaps from home, and he's in front of a fire place thinking about his wife and two children. The tents in the background are and the two soldiers talking seem to imply that it is a peaceful and quiet night at camp. Additionally, the border of the image is wrapped in stars and stripes of the union, bringing a sense of pride and glory. Since I could not read the small print underneath, I did some searching and found that besides the title, the small text also includes a poem: "Stretched on the ground the war worn soldier sleeps, / Beside the lurid watch fires fitful glare; / And dreams that on the field of fame he reaps, / Renown and honors, which he hastes to share / With those beloved ones who gathering come, / To bid their hero husband father 'wellcome home,' / Fond dreamer may thy blissful vision be, / A true fore shadowing of the fates to thee."All of these details are common in many depictions of war, which contribute to many civilians' ideas that war isn't that bad.
          The image was published by Currier and Ives during the American Civil War, and it is a hand colored lithograph. who marketed these imaged to comfort those back home that the soldiers were well and would be coming back home soon. The images also assured them that even in times of war, they were in the thoughts of the soldiers. It was also created an a way to cope, as in order to mentally survive the horrors of the battlefield during and after the actual war, humans tend to try and forget the negative parts and look only at the positive things. However the images contrast with reality where soldiers can't sleep and their uniforms are usually tattered and torn from war.
          Overall even though this picture does have a lot of elements that romanticize and glorify war, it doesn't have an entirely negative effect. It also serves as a coping mechanism and hopes for reunion and a better future, It also does show how much the soldiers miss their families during times of war, and it was a serious issue that led many soldiers to suicide.

Works Cited
Currier and Ives, Gale Research. Detroit, MI, Library of Congress.Web. Jan 10 2016 <http://www.loc
.gov/pictures/item/91787341/>
American Social History Project. "The Soldier's Dream of Home." Web. Jan 10 2016 <http://civilwar
.picturinghistory.gc.cuny.edu/presentations-about-visual-media/prints/the_soldiers_dream_of_home
/i/37/>