Reflection

I chose my topic because I felt that it was the most fundamental. It is an issue that lies at the heart of every line of inquiry. I am someone who wants the justification, the "why" of every situation and claim. I found that, no matter what one discusses, one find themselves in an exchange between the Subject and the Other, the ego and the reality it tries to reduce to its own terms. I moreover realized that I probably wasn't going to have the opportunity to research this topic until some time in college. I am undoubtedly very impatient.

The goals I had for my research were to understand various aspects of the issue (e.g. the problems of mediation and reductionism) and its applications (e.g. social issues such as marginalization). I aver that I fulfilled those goals. In each essay, I took a facet of the issue and showed how it rendered some truth claim or political issue problematic.

In my research, I was particularly interested in the question of power. Having read Nietzsche and Foucault, I wanted, not only to have a better understanding of this drive and how it operates in social relations, but also, to be able to determine if it had the significance that the prenominate thinkers felt that it did. After writing my research paper, I had critically assessed this theory (of the Will to Power)  in a way that I could call my own; that is, it was not an explanation that I read in a secondary source, but was able to arrive at based on my own reasoning.

I collected a lot of information on the topic, and I found it fairly easy. I only wish that I had more time to read the books that I found.

From this project, I learned that the research process is one of discovery. Each step shapes our ideas as we choose a topic, refine it, search for sources, and write the paper itself. In searching for articles, I happened upon writers with whom I would never otherwise be familiar. I thus expanded my intellectual horizons in an unexpected way, and I'm glad for it.

The research paper was the most and challenging piece to write, simply because that's what I made of it. I enjoy challenging myself and that's precisely what I did. I enjoyed the freedom of inquiry, and the creativity I was able to exercise.

I organized my pages from most recent to least. In this way, one can first read what one may call my "magnum opus" (the research paper), and then consider my meditations on other related topics that led to it. In other words, I consider all of my other pieces to be supplemental to my research paper; therefore, they come afterwards. After that, one may read my design plans and in-class assignments to better understand my thought processes and I how used my rhetorical skills in dialogue with my classmates (hence a paper that I peer-edited and an exercise that I discussed in class). The reflection comes last in order to provide a comprehensive summary, a perspective that synthesizes all the work that I did (which one must have read first in order to understand).

In peer-editing sessions, I learned about my peers' expectations when it came to writing. For example, they had a tendency to locate the thesis at the end of the first paragraph or two. They also did not share the same background in philosophy and literature that I did. I understand that my interests are unique, and am not at all elitist. However, I feel that, as a result, I benefited less than they did. I put a lot of effort into reviewing their work. If I wasn't necessarily reciprocated, I understand that this was because I was writing at a higher level. I will say, though, that they were more adept at using proper diction and pathos than I ever was. In comparing my work to theirs, I realized how pedantic and staid my writing can be.

 On the whole, College Writing 2 has made me look forward to conducting more college-level research. I certainly benefited much more than I would have if I had taken rhetoric at my high school.