Energy and Place
Project Description:
This project was a opportunity for us to work on our creative writing skills, reach out into the community and think about where our sense of place is. I chose to write a letter to the future me to describe my connection to Durango. This was a challenging and creative way to write in, as well I though it would be fun to read in a few years. We also learned a lot about energy production in this project and learning how energy can affect our sense of place. To read more about the scientific aspect of this project check out my chemistry page. On top of writing our essays we did a take action project that corresponded with the project. My group chose to do a spoke word poem informing people about the large number of endangered species in our world today. For my group we felt our environmental ethic is saving the animals for the next generation to enjoy such as we have.
Personal Growth and/or Self-Awareness
At the beginning of this project I felt that I really didn't have a sense of place anywhere. I thought that I was just connected to Durango because I've never lived anywhere else and I'm here because of my parents. Over the course of this year I have been trying to decide if I want to stay in Durango for college or if I want to go else where. This decision making got me reflecting on how much I would miss it here. The people the family, Memories and the incredible landscapes. This is when I realized that I have a deeper connection to Durango then I ever thought. Once I decided my sense of place I had a hard time finding a way to express it in a artistic way. I didn't want it to just be me saying why I love Durango, then after talking with my teacher we came up with the idea of a latter to me. I lived the idea but had a hard time with the proper tenses to write in. This was by far my biggest struggle in the project, but after several revisions I am very happy about my end result and look forward to reading it in the future.
Sense of Place Essay and Take Action Pride
Between my Sense of Place Essay and my Take Action I pride my Essay more. I say this because I spent more time reflecting and refining my essay. I feel that I did a good job on expressing how I currently feel for the future me to be able to read as well the formatting of my essay really helped bring home the idea of a letter. As you can see read below I really tried to be honest and sincere when writing this letter, and I wanted others to get into my mind and feel my struggles in my decision making lby saying things like "Leave everything you know behind? The mountains and family you love? The endless memories? The home you grew up in? The friends you've grown close to? Everything behind. But, for the chance to make new memories. A completely new life. See new places. More opportunities. Try new things. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Start fresh. Be the person you want to be and not be confined by what people know you as."
The font as well helped it look and feel more like a letter, If I had more time one of the things I would of done is hand write the letter in cursive to make it more visually appealing.
Reflecting on the Essential Questions
Before this project I never made the connection that energy production and consumption can impact my sense of place. A lot of the reasons I love Durango could go away if there was more energy production and consumption. I don't want a big mine polluting my town and destroying our gorgeous landscape. I guess you could say I have found out I have a pretty good case of NIMBY'ish. NIMBY'ish is short for not in my back yard. Example of this would be you saying I want us to be more energy dependent as a country and we should be burning more fossil fuels but just not in my back yard put it some where else. But then at the same time I love my warm house, the car I drive and the lights in my house. All these things couldn't be possible without energy production.
Take Action
Reflection:
Our project is a spoken word with music and a video accompanying it. We did this project around animals that are going extinct that are on the endangered and threatened species list. Our mission is to inspire people to take action and enlighten them about the problems facing the natural world and creatures that live in it, and preserve it for future generations to be able to enjoy it the same way we have. Our ambition is to uplift people to take action due to the seriousness of this issue. We want people to become more aware of their surroundings and the beauty of the animals in Colorado.
While doing this take action project it helped me to see all the ways that we can still improve in our community. I feel at sometimes our society doesn't value the impotence of the animals in our ecosystem. Yes they make our world more beautiful but as well they place a huge part on our planet. I feel that at this moment in time we are just starting to realize the damage we have created as a society and the negative impacts we are making on our future. It's now my generation and the next generations role to help fix and solve these problems. I know it will not be a simple task but I know we can do it, like we said in our take action video, It starts by just taking one step forward in the right direction.
This project has shaped my thinking to be more open and aware of the impact I make. Even though I'm just one person, my voice still matters ans my actions can still make a difference. I feel that too often we down play the power of an individual in our society when in reality this country is all about the individual. But especial when we come together for a common cause we can make an even bigger impact, but even with that it look one person to step up and lead this group, to take that step forward.
Our project is a spoken word with music and a video accompanying it. We did this project around animals that are going extinct that are on the endangered and threatened species list. Our mission is to inspire people to take action and enlighten them about the problems facing the natural world and creatures that live in it, and preserve it for future generations to be able to enjoy it the same way we have. Our ambition is to uplift people to take action due to the seriousness of this issue. We want people to become more aware of their surroundings and the beauty of the animals in Colorado.
While doing this take action project it helped me to see all the ways that we can still improve in our community. I feel at sometimes our society doesn't value the impotence of the animals in our ecosystem. Yes they make our world more beautiful but as well they place a huge part on our planet. I feel that at this moment in time we are just starting to realize the damage we have created as a society and the negative impacts we are making on our future. It's now my generation and the next generations role to help fix and solve these problems. I know it will not be a simple task but I know we can do it, like we said in our take action video, It starts by just taking one step forward in the right direction.
This project has shaped my thinking to be more open and aware of the impact I make. Even though I'm just one person, my voice still matters ans my actions can still make a difference. I feel that too often we down play the power of an individual in our society when in reality this country is all about the individual. But especial when we come together for a common cause we can make an even bigger impact, but even with that it look one person to step up and lead this group, to take that step forward.
Native American Studies
Project Description:
The purpose of this project was to write a college level literary analysis essay and improve our technical writing skills while learning more about the native history in our area. For mine I chose to analyze this map you see below. It was from during the Dominguez Escalate expedition which purpose was to find a overland route from Santa Fe, New Mexico to their Catholic Mission in Monterrey, California. This was during the 1600's and they were the first whites to ever explore or step foot on this area which we now call the Colorado River Basin.
The purpose of this project was to write a college level literary analysis essay and improve our technical writing skills while learning more about the native history in our area. For mine I chose to analyze this map you see below. It was from during the Dominguez Escalate expedition which purpose was to find a overland route from Santa Fe, New Mexico to their Catholic Mission in Monterrey, California. This was during the 1600's and they were the first whites to ever explore or step foot on this area which we now call the Colorado River Basin.
Project Reflection
Over the course of this project I began to form a personal connection with the project. I love the mapping and exploration aspect of this exploration. Looking at modern maps of the area I enjoyed seeing the precision these explorers used when making this map to get the correct proportions and spacing of distance. Considering the time era and technology their map was surprisingly accurate.
Throughout this project I learned how much some natives indigenous history means to them. When you know your history it allows you to know your current identity more deeply. Its the same for me as well, but in my position I don't have history of suppression and being forced from my native lands which I have a personal connection to which many natives have in their past. For me it was good to learn more about this so I can be more educated on how natives lives our different then mine in current day society.
During this project we learned about the importance of multiple sources when righting a paper as well as learning about history. This is impotent because every primary course can be considered as bias. So by looking at multiple bias sources you can form a fuller picture of what actually happened. We learned how when your righting a paper if you have corroborating courses, meaning souses that support each other it will make your claim much stronger.
Over the course of this project I began to form a personal connection with the project. I love the mapping and exploration aspect of this exploration. Looking at modern maps of the area I enjoyed seeing the precision these explorers used when making this map to get the correct proportions and spacing of distance. Considering the time era and technology their map was surprisingly accurate.
Throughout this project I learned how much some natives indigenous history means to them. When you know your history it allows you to know your current identity more deeply. Its the same for me as well, but in my position I don't have history of suppression and being forced from my native lands which I have a personal connection to which many natives have in their past. For me it was good to learn more about this so I can be more educated on how natives lives our different then mine in current day society.
During this project we learned about the importance of multiple sources when righting a paper as well as learning about history. This is impotent because every primary course can be considered as bias. So by looking at multiple bias sources you can form a fuller picture of what actually happened. We learned how when your righting a paper if you have corroborating courses, meaning souses that support each other it will make your claim much stronger.
My Essay
Underlying Conquest of the Dominguez Expedition
Spanish explorer Silvestre Velez de Escalante created this map, and the journals that corresponds. He was accompanied by a group of 12 men in the year of 1676 on a mission to find an overland route from Santa Fe, New Mexico to their Catholic Mission in Monterey, California. They were the first white men to ever step foot on this land. Over the course of the exploration, the travelers blazed a trail for over 1,000 miles in unexplored and uncharted territory. This uncharted area is what we now call the Colorado River Basin which spans through Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Unfortunately, due to hardships during the journey, they did not make it all the way to California but instead returned back to Santa Fe through Arizona. During this journey they traveled through places currently known as Durango, Montrose, Dulce, Jenson, Delta, Albuquerque and many more. Though they claim the mission of this exploration was to find an overland route it became a Mission of conquest over the native’s tribes and their land.
History on how Dominguez's was the actual leader of the expedition. History has often mistakenly given credit for this expedition to the wrong man, Father Escalante. But in fact, Escalante was the main assistant to Father Dominguez, his superior in New Mexico. The reason for this is because at the time Father Domingues was not yet a very well-known or credible man. In turn, nobody took notice of his work, and people disregarded most of his letters, reports, and missions. This was also because his reputation was somewhat suspicious. Escalante on the other hand had already “established himself in the mind of the authorities, both secular and ecclesiastical, as a remarkably able observer. His letters and reports on frontier conditions were eagerly anticipated by high authorities”(Warner xiii). The authorities were already familiar with Velez de Escalante and his work for this reason is why Escalante got more Credit for the explorations then Father Domingues. If they chose to lie about this aspect of the exploration it’s quite possible that they could have lied about the mission of the exploration as well
The Spanish explorers indeed had another mission besides finding a land route to California. They had a strong desire to bring the gospel to all the tribes they came across. The expedition in many ways turned into a mission trip, a way for them to spread their culture. They would make friends with the tribes and tell them in a year’s time they will bring the gospel, tools, equipment, seeds and cattle for them. But unfortunately mission efforts later in the year declined in the areas and made it impossible for the Spaniards to return to the tribes. As well over the course of the expedition they would write journals describing the land/agriculture. “Dropping into the valley would could see fields with thick grass, great for grazing and cool clear streams close by which would be perfect for watering crops”(Warner 40). This showed their interest in the land as possible areas to cultivate and take over. It’s interesting to think if they had come back, Spanish customs, institutions, culture and religion would of been strongly established in the Utah area nearly 71 years earlier then it took the English to settle this area later on. And to wonder if the Spaniards instead of the English settled the area sooner how much different would the Utah area be today? Another fascinating part that came out of their exploring is Dominguez and Escalante route turned into part of what would later be known as the Spanish Trail. And for this reason they not of succeeded with finding an overland route it was still as suckes in many other ways.
Over the Course of the exploration the Spaniards had good relationships with most all the tribes they came across were very nice other than the Comanches which were known for their not so friendly and violent behavior. “During the Domínguez-Escalante exploration (1776) Spanish traders made frequent visits to the Yutas, remaining with them, in some cases, months at a time” (Hill 1).The Spaniards would trade with many of the tribes such as Payuchi Yutas “They thought we were here to trade so they brought cured deerskins and other things to bartered for new supplies”(Warner 27). But they wanted the natives help for navigating, so they would trade the men beads and knifes in return for their guidance. This created a good relationship as well benefited them when wanting to survey the land and spread the gospel to the local natives.
In this top right picture with the writing is an observation Dominguez and Escalante had over the course of their expedition. The notes simple English translation of this is “beware of the Comanches”. Over the course of the expedition the local tribes would all warn them of the Comanches “ they told us stories of them stealing their horses, killing their people and taking their land.” (Warner 38) “Lugunas chief began trying to persuade us to turn back from here, not go through the Comanches land. But we assured them that the God we worshiped would defend us from the Comanches but also from all others who might intend to do us harm” (Warner 39). The Spaniards insisted continuing , they were not afraid because they had the lord on their side and that he would protect them, and for that same reason is why they did not travel with many guns. They had faith that the Lord would protect them and keep them same. This was also a good way for the explorers to share the gospel with the tribes. They wanted their Ideologies to grow strong among the natives, recruit them to believe what they believed. This would be a fundamental first step in taking over these lands in turn why it was so important
Bibliography Page
Spanish explorer Silvestre Velez de Escalante created this map, and the journals that corresponds. He was accompanied by a group of 12 men in the year of 1676 on a mission to find an overland route from Santa Fe, New Mexico to their Catholic Mission in Monterey, California. They were the first white men to ever step foot on this land. Over the course of the exploration, the travelers blazed a trail for over 1,000 miles in unexplored and uncharted territory. This uncharted area is what we now call the Colorado River Basin which spans through Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Unfortunately, due to hardships during the journey, they did not make it all the way to California but instead returned back to Santa Fe through Arizona. During this journey they traveled through places currently known as Durango, Montrose, Dulce, Jenson, Delta, Albuquerque and many more. Though they claim the mission of this exploration was to find an overland route it became a Mission of conquest over the native’s tribes and their land.
History on how Dominguez's was the actual leader of the expedition. History has often mistakenly given credit for this expedition to the wrong man, Father Escalante. But in fact, Escalante was the main assistant to Father Dominguez, his superior in New Mexico. The reason for this is because at the time Father Domingues was not yet a very well-known or credible man. In turn, nobody took notice of his work, and people disregarded most of his letters, reports, and missions. This was also because his reputation was somewhat suspicious. Escalante on the other hand had already “established himself in the mind of the authorities, both secular and ecclesiastical, as a remarkably able observer. His letters and reports on frontier conditions were eagerly anticipated by high authorities”(Warner xiii). The authorities were already familiar with Velez de Escalante and his work for this reason is why Escalante got more Credit for the explorations then Father Domingues. If they chose to lie about this aspect of the exploration it’s quite possible that they could have lied about the mission of the exploration as well
The Spanish explorers indeed had another mission besides finding a land route to California. They had a strong desire to bring the gospel to all the tribes they came across. The expedition in many ways turned into a mission trip, a way for them to spread their culture. They would make friends with the tribes and tell them in a year’s time they will bring the gospel, tools, equipment, seeds and cattle for them. But unfortunately mission efforts later in the year declined in the areas and made it impossible for the Spaniards to return to the tribes. As well over the course of the expedition they would write journals describing the land/agriculture. “Dropping into the valley would could see fields with thick grass, great for grazing and cool clear streams close by which would be perfect for watering crops”(Warner 40). This showed their interest in the land as possible areas to cultivate and take over. It’s interesting to think if they had come back, Spanish customs, institutions, culture and religion would of been strongly established in the Utah area nearly 71 years earlier then it took the English to settle this area later on. And to wonder if the Spaniards instead of the English settled the area sooner how much different would the Utah area be today? Another fascinating part that came out of their exploring is Dominguez and Escalante route turned into part of what would later be known as the Spanish Trail. And for this reason they not of succeeded with finding an overland route it was still as suckes in many other ways.
Over the Course of the exploration the Spaniards had good relationships with most all the tribes they came across were very nice other than the Comanches which were known for their not so friendly and violent behavior. “During the Domínguez-Escalante exploration (1776) Spanish traders made frequent visits to the Yutas, remaining with them, in some cases, months at a time” (Hill 1).The Spaniards would trade with many of the tribes such as Payuchi Yutas “They thought we were here to trade so they brought cured deerskins and other things to bartered for new supplies”(Warner 27). But they wanted the natives help for navigating, so they would trade the men beads and knifes in return for their guidance. This created a good relationship as well benefited them when wanting to survey the land and spread the gospel to the local natives.
In this top right picture with the writing is an observation Dominguez and Escalante had over the course of their expedition. The notes simple English translation of this is “beware of the Comanches”. Over the course of the expedition the local tribes would all warn them of the Comanches “ they told us stories of them stealing their horses, killing their people and taking their land.” (Warner 38) “Lugunas chief began trying to persuade us to turn back from here, not go through the Comanches land. But we assured them that the God we worshiped would defend us from the Comanches but also from all others who might intend to do us harm” (Warner 39). The Spaniards insisted continuing , they were not afraid because they had the lord on their side and that he would protect them, and for that same reason is why they did not travel with many guns. They had faith that the Lord would protect them and keep them same. This was also a good way for the explorers to share the gospel with the tribes. They wanted their Ideologies to grow strong among the natives, recruit them to believe what they believed. This would be a fundamental first step in taking over these lands in turn why it was so important
Bibliography Page
- Escalante, Silvestre Vélez De, Ted J. Warner, and Angelico Chavez. The Domínguez-Escalante Journal: Their Expedition through Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico in 1776. Provo, UT: Brigham Young UP, 1976. Print.
- Hill, JOSEPH J. The Old Spanish Trail. Moab, Utah?: Utah's Canyonlands, 1995. Web. http://oldspanishtrail.org/assets/PDFs/TheOldSpanishTrail-1921JosephHill.pdf.
Wounded Knee
I really enjoyed learning about American history. I have always heard of battles like Wounded Knee but never knew of the significance of history behind them. I feel it's impotent to learn about these events so we can one know where we came from and two be able to learn from our past so we can hopefully not repeat the same mistakes or events.
Deconstructing Our America
Project Description: The goal of this project was to create an oral form of rhetorical discourse. This discourse needed to take an ideological perspective on an issue that was impotent to me as a young american.
What We Researched: As a build up to this project we learned about how others ideologies and rhetoric have and can influence our worldviews. We looked at the rhetorical discourse from several impactful people in the past and current day to deconstruct what America was founded on. We studied lots of talks from political and inspirational speakers and learned how they use Rhetorical Devices and Aristotelian Appeals. As well we studied a handful of current issues in America today. We then took our information on how to form impactful and convincing discourse and knowledge about current issues to form our final project.
Through out this project we would have Seminars as a way to discuss and debate the topics we learned about. You can click below to read my Seminar Reflections Regarding civil disobedience, Racism in America and Government Involvement in Our Economy.
What We Researched: As a build up to this project we learned about how others ideologies and rhetoric have and can influence our worldviews. We looked at the rhetorical discourse from several impactful people in the past and current day to deconstruct what America was founded on. We studied lots of talks from political and inspirational speakers and learned how they use Rhetorical Devices and Aristotelian Appeals. As well we studied a handful of current issues in America today. We then took our information on how to form impactful and convincing discourse and knowledge about current issues to form our final project.
Through out this project we would have Seminars as a way to discuss and debate the topics we learned about. You can click below to read my Seminar Reflections Regarding civil disobedience, Racism in America and Government Involvement in Our Economy.
Rhetorical Discourse Project Reflection
The goal of this project was to create a form of rhetoric that had an ideological perspective on an issue that is important to me. So I chose to do a speech talking about the how our government system has become too bloated and how we as Americans need to get back to the christian morals and values this country was founded on. As build up to this project my class researched many controversial issues in America today and studied lots of others rhetoric and rhetorical devices. I then research my particular topic by looking at both sides of the argument to form a stronger opinion of my own, then started the writing process incorporating what I learned about rhetorical discourse.
My project incorporated the Art of Rhetoric in many ways because it invited a response, tested my audiences ideas about our society and built a sense of community. I fell what makes rhetoric important is that it impacts the audience and tries to persuade certain ideologies or perspectives. As well it can create a moving and impactful piece of discourse. People accomplish this by using things such as rhetorical devices and aristotelian appeals. And I fell my speech did this, I wanted to persuade people not think that problems like gun control and abortion are not solved by government laws and regulations, but are solved by creating a better society through family structures. I wanted to inspire people to live better lives and make a better society and I used Rhetorical Devices and Aristotelian appeals to accomplish this.
I felt I connected with this project in a tremendous way. It gave me a way to express what I feel SO strongly about and a way to speak from my heart to others. I have never connect this much with a project through all my years of schooling. I feel I connected strongly because it was so relevant to the discussions going on in our world today. Through the research process we became more educated about issues like foreign policies, income gap and the role of the government . I fell this was so important to learn about because we are soon going to be voters and voices in our society, and to do this you need to be an educated citizen. If I was to take one thing away from this project it would be that a democracy doesn't work without an educated populace, in turn we need to educate ourselves and form opinions and stand for them.
The most difficult part about this project for me was picking a topic. I struggled with this because I believe strongly about a lot of things but couldn't really decide what I wanted to talk about. I was really leaning towards talking about income distribution but I decided to do the topic I do because I felt it would make the most impact on my imagined audience and how it had a solid solution instead of me talking about all the problems we have but having no way to fix them . If I was to do this project over again I really wouldn't change much! But one thing I would change is add more solid evidence and facts to support my opinion into my speech. I say this because I feel I slacked a little in this area compared to the emotional and inspirational impact i had in my speech.
Through this project I learned that Rhetoric is everywhere in our society as well as people always trying to find ways to convince their ideologies onto me. And thats a big part of having a democracy I think and living in a consumerist economy, Its all about the people and what they think. There is always going to be someone on tv trying to convince you to buy something or how you should vote for this person or think this way. And now knowing how they all use the same little tricks to persuade me its much easyer for me to see throw that and make a more educated decision. And threw this project I have really learned that there are not two two ways of thinking, its not always red or blue, republican or democrat. That I can agree and disagree with both sides and thats okay. I have found though that I am quite the libertarian regarding economic issues at times which and generally conservative which I already knew. But at the beginning of this project I didn't even know a libertarian was, so thats been fun learning about and forming my own ideologies and opinions.
The goal of this project was to create a form of rhetoric that had an ideological perspective on an issue that is important to me. So I chose to do a speech talking about the how our government system has become too bloated and how we as Americans need to get back to the christian morals and values this country was founded on. As build up to this project my class researched many controversial issues in America today and studied lots of others rhetoric and rhetorical devices. I then research my particular topic by looking at both sides of the argument to form a stronger opinion of my own, then started the writing process incorporating what I learned about rhetorical discourse.
My project incorporated the Art of Rhetoric in many ways because it invited a response, tested my audiences ideas about our society and built a sense of community. I fell what makes rhetoric important is that it impacts the audience and tries to persuade certain ideologies or perspectives. As well it can create a moving and impactful piece of discourse. People accomplish this by using things such as rhetorical devices and aristotelian appeals. And I fell my speech did this, I wanted to persuade people not think that problems like gun control and abortion are not solved by government laws and regulations, but are solved by creating a better society through family structures. I wanted to inspire people to live better lives and make a better society and I used Rhetorical Devices and Aristotelian appeals to accomplish this.
I felt I connected with this project in a tremendous way. It gave me a way to express what I feel SO strongly about and a way to speak from my heart to others. I have never connect this much with a project through all my years of schooling. I feel I connected strongly because it was so relevant to the discussions going on in our world today. Through the research process we became more educated about issues like foreign policies, income gap and the role of the government . I fell this was so important to learn about because we are soon going to be voters and voices in our society, and to do this you need to be an educated citizen. If I was to take one thing away from this project it would be that a democracy doesn't work without an educated populace, in turn we need to educate ourselves and form opinions and stand for them.
The most difficult part about this project for me was picking a topic. I struggled with this because I believe strongly about a lot of things but couldn't really decide what I wanted to talk about. I was really leaning towards talking about income distribution but I decided to do the topic I do because I felt it would make the most impact on my imagined audience and how it had a solid solution instead of me talking about all the problems we have but having no way to fix them . If I was to do this project over again I really wouldn't change much! But one thing I would change is add more solid evidence and facts to support my opinion into my speech. I say this because I feel I slacked a little in this area compared to the emotional and inspirational impact i had in my speech.
Through this project I learned that Rhetoric is everywhere in our society as well as people always trying to find ways to convince their ideologies onto me. And thats a big part of having a democracy I think and living in a consumerist economy, Its all about the people and what they think. There is always going to be someone on tv trying to convince you to buy something or how you should vote for this person or think this way. And now knowing how they all use the same little tricks to persuade me its much easyer for me to see throw that and make a more educated decision. And threw this project I have really learned that there are not two two ways of thinking, its not always red or blue, republican or democrat. That I can agree and disagree with both sides and thats okay. I have found though that I am quite the libertarian regarding economic issues at times which and generally conservative which I already knew. But at the beginning of this project I didn't even know a libertarian was, so thats been fun learning about and forming my own ideologies and opinions.