Third (and final of course) Reflection
“Reading can teach you the best of what others already know. Reflection can teach you the best of what only you can know.” (James Clear)
WHEN: Submit by Friday May 5, 11.59pm.
WHAT: We are now at the end of the semester (time flies when you’re having fun?), and it’s the perfect time to look back at what you’ve been up to in this course! Write a 500-800 word piece, engaging with at least two of the following sets of questions.
NOTE: DIFFERENT QUESTIONS FROM PREVIOUS LARGE REFLECTIONS!
You can now look back over many weeks of being exposed to a new culture, or seeing a familiar culture in a new way: through the lens of physical objects, and how people interact with these objects (making, using, but also buying, selling, collecting or destroying them), is an integral part of how we understand history.
You learned much about Chinese culture, but you probably also learned to see the world around you a bit differently, and now wonder more about the history behind everyday objects around you.
Here are some questions to engage with, as you write your final reflection for this course. Remember to start off with the specifics of the course contents, and then move to the bigger picture and the connections between the materials, the themes and recurring ideas you picked up across the weeks.
- As you look back on your weekly blog posts, and the many posts from your colleagues, what pattern do you see emerging among the things you learned? Can you make connections between the weeks? What surprises you as you look back at across an entire 15-week semester?
- What have you learned about looking at objects as a way to learn history, or how to use objects as a “portal” into other aspects of history? Has this changed your idea about history? About China?
- This course carries a DE General Academic Requirement. Do you think you earned it? Why (not)?
- To help you answer that question, here’s the description from the Course Catalog: “HDGE courses across the curriculum aim to broaden and deepen students’ understanding of human difference and to develop the intellectual and civic skills students require for participation in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world.”
WHY: This reflection helps me understand how you learned during this semester. I also hope you use this as a moment to think about your original goals for the course, if you achieved them, and above all, I want to encourage you to use this moment to celebrate how far you’ve come across the past 15 weeks!
You have sharpened your metacognitive skills (knowing what you know) throughout the semester with these reflections.
HOW: Write as a Google Doc, and give me commenting access. Use this Canvas Declaration Quiz to collect your points
