The theme of this course is gender roles in our life. I had a chance to read and write about interesting topics related to gender roles. I really like the plan of writing. we started with a simple memorial paper. Then, a literary analysis. Ending up with a research paper. The research paper helped me to use the resources around me at the university like the library and the website of the library to pick the academic sources. Also, I had a chance to write an annotated bibliography which was my first time learning it. These two steps helped me a lot in writing my whole research paper.
The course is really interesting since we had a chance to watch a movie and we tried to connect it with the theme of the course. Also, I don’t want to forget the blogs. I started to write blogs in 2018. It gave me a chance to write my opinions about different areas. In this course, I wrote blogs that are related to gender roles. I wrote about Malala’s quote, which is my favorite quote.
This semester, I had an English research paper that i have to submit at the end of the semester. The theme of the class is about gender roles and stereotypes. Throughout the semester, I was thinking how can people decide what i human being should act or live. What happened to decide that the idea of masculinity should be for man only. Why females depend on males? Why the word power is related to man? And so on…
I started to look at social media, movies, podcasts, advertisements…etc. I saw that most of them must show and illustrate the gender roles. Even with the one that focus on children. As children grow up, i think the idea of gender roles will grow as well.
From there, i decided that the topic of the research will be about gender stereotypes in children’s movies like Cinderella, and Beauty and the beast. The process of the research started from there and then we went to UD library to know more on how to lick the right sources. After that, i started to write the proposal of this research to organize my ideas and to support the argument using the sources. When i found all of the sources, i started to write the annotated bibliography so i know more about the sources and what each of them focus on. By that, i will know when and where to use these sources to support my argument.
Ramadan occurs during the month in which Muslims believe the Quran began to be revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It is a joyous celebration for Muslims. Adults are expected to observe the fast because it is one of the five pillars of Islam. During Ramadan, muslims will stop rating and drinking from the time of final meal before sunrise ( Suhoor ), to the time of ( Iftar ) which is the meal to break the fast.
For many worldwide, the Islamic month of Ramadan is associated only with fasting. However, for me and other muslims, this holy month is about intentionally connecting with God and our communities in various ways. the fast helps believers purify their hearts, renew their faith, seek forgiveness, and increase self-discipline. It is also a time to focus on what is most important and positive in a believer’s life.
Muslims also like to decorate their houses or the area where the whole family will gather together for Iftar. Below is a video that shows how i decorate my living room:
The film Coco is one of Disney/Pixar’s children/family films. The story of Coco was about a young boy called Miguel and his love of music but the film does not omit the important women in his life.
The first woman is Mamá Imelda. She is Miguel’s great-great-grandmother. She shows as Rivera’s matriarch after her husband walks out of her earthly life for his career as a musician. She supports herself and her daughter. Wherever she goes, she demands respect. All the time, she keeps her entire family together in check. Sometimes, her family tried to avoid her anger. She is a strong woman and because she cares about her family, loves them, and protects them, she became tough and her rules are harsh.
Another important woman in this film is Mamá Coco. Miguel shows how Mamá Coco is important to him and to his family as well. Her presence is one of security and love, someone Miguel can count on when he needs help. Miguel shows how he likes to tell her everything, look after her and play games, even as she’s confined to a wheelchair and losing her memory.
In 2018, I took an English 100 class. Throughout the assignments we had in that class, I enjoyed reading one of the Malala’s pieces, which made me interested to read the book. Malala is a young teen from the Swat Valley in Pakistan. The book does not contain a lot of content on what goes on in that area of the world, and it mostly focuses on Malala and her story. She has a really meaningful quotes. Below one of her wonderful and meaningful quotes.
This quote symbolizes the root of empowerment comes from voicing out the issues. Empowerment occurs when women together fight towards an issue rather than fight against each other. Through the span of time, women are able to build equality in various sectors like entertainment, advocacy, literature, etc. Malala in this quote illustrates that when one raises his/her voice, it is not to attain status rather to be heard. To make people and the government realize the situation and also to be the voice of those who are silenced. Malala is a great role model and author. She really provides a strong figure for any girl growing up in this hectic world. She knew the importance of education at a very young age and was able to fight for her rights against the Taliban fiercely. From this quote, I learned that anyone can relate to Malala no matter what their gender because she described herself as being an ordinary girl that wanted to see change in the world. She shows that anyone can adjust their view on the world if they just use their voice to speak out because we are all humans and we deserve to live in a world filled with peace and equality.
These days, I tried to spend my free time listening to motivational podcasts and watching some interesting programs or channels on youtube. One of my favorite channels is #ABTALKS. #ABtalks is a YouTube interview show hosted by Anas Bukhash that shines the spotlight on the raw side of celebrities, influencers, and achievers as human beings.
One of the episodes or the interviews I like is with the actor Hend Sabry. one of the questions that Anas asked was “What did Hend learn from her previous relationships?” I do like how Hend answered this kind of question. She said that she knows very well what are the things that she doesn’t want not just the things that she wants from the relationship. I think that we need to understand ourselves and understand what we don’t need more than what we need. She also mentioned that she does not want to have a partner who takes his power from her weakness. The way she answered made me think more in deep about myself and the people around me and how i treat others and how others treat me. Women have to know how to draw limits, how to react, how to not let their partner make them feel insecure, not equal, or follower.
This episode of #ABTALKS made me think a lot of myself in the past, today, and in the future. I hope you all go and watch this episode and enjoy 🙂 !
I feel that I have got the skill to illustrate what I want to convey and show to anyone who reads my paper in many ways. I don’t just focus on the grammar but also tried to choose the perfect word that could describe the story or the sentence.
I feel comfortable when I write more than giving a speech or presentation. That is because I can think about a reasonable word for my paper and I have control over what I want to write, but it is difficult to think about a word during the speech. I have learned a new skill which is focusing on a thesis for my paper which helped me a lot in organizing my ideas. Another way that helped me is the peer review. I gave two copies of my paper to my classmates just to give me some feedback. That feedback helped me to revise my paper and make some adjustments.
I will continue to write more and learn more skills to improve my writing process. Also, I will try to read more books or poems to learn new words and synonyms.
The article “Gender in the TV Show (New Girl)” examines few stereotypes of gender and how the character goes with and against these stereotypes in our society. It also points out what its normal for each gender to react in our society.
In the pilot episode, we can see few examples that shows how the characters acted “normal” !, by normal, I mean to our society. In the episode, Jess moved to live with three single men after recognizing that her ex cheated on her. Jess and Nick were crying in this episode because of their ex’s. However, both of their reaction considered normal even if masculinity in our society does not accept to show emotions. Nick in the episode allowed to cry just because he is drunk. THe rest of the time, Nick has to react strong and nothing can hurt him. Jess’s reaction considered to be ‘normal’ and everyone in the loft try to keep her calm since this is well known in our society that women are emotional and sensitive.
Freinds is the most famous comedian TV show that is about the lives of six best friends in NYC. The first time I watched ” F.R.I.E.N.D.S,” I did not understand the gender roles of the six characters. However, when I watched this show multiple times, I started recognize the roles and the stereotype of the genders.
There is an episode about the life of Monica and Chandler who are married. I do not remember the name of the episode. Basically, Monica and Chandler decided to adopt a child and live their life with only one income. This is because Chandler got fired from his job. By that, Chandler will take care of the child while Monica will work and be the one who making income in the family.
This made Chandler feel that he lost the power he had while he was employed. This happened because of the idea that men is the breadwinner of the family which is more masculine , and the idea that women is the one who will stay with the child at home and taking care of him, which shows a feminine role than masculine.
I started my blog in August 2018. I know that I wrote about myself before in my first blog, but in this blog, you will know me more and what are the changes that happened to my life as a student during these past 3 years.
My name is Maryam Al Ofi. I am from Muscat which is the capital city of Oman. I am a senior civil engineering student at the University of Dayton. In the past 3 years, I focused on my career and how to improve my skills.
In 2019, I became the leader of the Omani Students Association for two years. Basically, we are trying to introduce Oman, share our culture, and make it widely known by celebrating the Omani National Day and the International Festival at the University of Dayton. Also, we are trying to help the new Omani students on applying and filling the application to study at the University of Dayton. We also help them find apartments, furniture,…etc. In this position, I became more social with people in UD from all around the world.
In 2020, I started to work on campus as an International peer academic coach (IPAC). In this position, I tried my best to guide students to the opportunities to meet new American and international friends. Also, I help students to increase their academic performance by developing successful course plans for them. Moreover, I help students with writing emails, and how to meet or talk with their professors. Also, we did some gathering together to know more about each other and play some games, which helped me to get out of my study mood and had fun.
The year 2020 is filled with tears, challenges, and of course ONLINE CLASSES because – you know- Covid-19 😦 . However, I tried my best to live every moment and to get out of it with the best result. I tried to join courses that might help me in improving my skills, especially in the Engineering area. I used the website “Coursera”. It has a lot of free courses that students can take and might offer a certificate as well, which is really good to put in your resume and LinkedIn.
Currently, I work as a WA in ISSS at the University of Dayton. I am the first line of contact for international students who need help connecting to various resources in person, on the phone, and by email. We tried to assist in the logistical coordination and implementation for many social programs throughout the year. Each semester, We communicate with new students, assist in welcoming them as they arrive for the first time on campus and co-facilitate the orientation program.
The above positions helped me to improve my skills a lot. Communicating with native speakers, sending many many emails, doing some presentations. All of these got improved. my writing skill is good and I really see the changes. Yes, i do have some mistakes, but comparing my writing skills in the past and now, i can see the improvements. I wrote a blog about “How Do I Write?”. you can go and read my steps that helped me to write a good essay. I did some changes in my steps because now i am dealing with a really long reports that has a lot of research and resources. I tried my best to gather all of the needed information and organize them to get a general idea of the project and the report.
Maryam's Blog 