Blog Post 3 – Academic Work Inventory

Part I

English has been valuable to me in forcing me to pursue attempts at success in the face of ambiguity. I think English will be viable for me professionally for this reason, by fostering “sensemaking” skills for decision-making in complex environments and in the face of uncertainty. English studies offer a humanistic approach to understanding complexities that data alone cannot address. In Christian Madsbjerg’s Sensemaking (2017), his principles emphasize the importance of cultural insight. Liberal arts skills enable me to adapt messages for a global audience effectively. In an interconnected world, these skills are essential for thriving professionally. Liberal arts skills, with their cultural depth, are invaluable for success. Sensemaking is more than knowledge; it’s about synthesis and connection. All of the skills that I have gained through my studies in English have have come about through my application of knowledge and experience. English gives me the humanistic approach to answer question, which would be helpful to me professionally as many professions lean increasingly toward reliance on data. Liberal arts-based skills are an almost strategic imperative for professionals seeking to thrive in an increasingly globalized and interconnected professional landscape that requires both data and the ability to make connections between information. My ability to synthesize both knowledge and experience increase my adaptability, flexibility and resiliency that will help me navigate how changes, such as those from globalization of business, will bring to industries, requiring professionals to be able to draw connections and synthesize information to make sense of the changing world around them.

Part II

At College of Charleston, my English major has allowed me the ability to create written and creative projects for my English elective courses that have enhanced the skills and given me practice in developing qualities that I believe will contribute to my success at a job after college and in my career long-term. Immediateluy, I think of two written projects (7-14 page essays) and one more creative project (social media project) that support how my English major will benefit me both long- and short-term in my career path and career development.

1. At the beginning of my senior year, I took a course in British Gothic Literature, for which I read Diane Long Hoeveler’s book Gothic Feminism: The Professionalization of Gender from Charlotte Smith to the Brontës. For this course, I wrote a paper exploring how gothic feminism evolved under the creative achievements of the female gothic writers and consider how much of their literary work contributed to the modern definition of feminism. Female gothic articulated women’s dissatisfactions with patriarchal society and addressed the problematic position of the maternal within that society. Through the experience of reading and writing this paper, I learned how modern roles, ideas and expectations have developed from, changed or advanced from past molds and traditions. By learning to reach into the past for answers on current debates or future issues, we better prepare ourselves on how to avoid past pitfalls.

2. I wrote a research paper for a course on the Eighteenth Century about how The Spectator (1711-1712) set a new standard for manners in 18th century England. This essay and my research gave me the opportunity to learn The Spectator was influential in shaping its’ readers views on manners and infused politeness into the culture. Public discourse was shaped by this print media. It developed and dispersed ideas on many topics, including politeness, behavior and manners, that were discussed in social clubs. Thus, this print media was a source of news and clubs were locations were society would discuss these ideas and public thought was cultivated. With a sense of observation of others, we can develop a fuller view of humanity, but also draw on historic trends in the consumption of ideas. The knowledge of public thought and the formation of society shows how consumers are easy to create and eager to consumer. This kind of “sensemaking” of the past could help to reach conclusions on what methods are most effective for advertising, reaching or publicizing products, fashions or consumer goods.

3. For a course on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I created a social media campaign on instagram that shared information and research about the event, the news coverage afterwards, long lasting effects of the events (such as ruining opportunities for generational wealth for victims’ descendents), and how Tulsa’s residents were actively rebuilding the community through centennial projects and art that commemorated their history. This project was an opportunity for me to challenge myself by creating content that would be attractive to viewers, drawing in an audience to learn about historic events and understand those events within the context of their effects on our contemporary social issues and discourse. My intention was to spread awareness, to have something buried become something important to the present-day conversation, and for today’s youth to see that our world is still a work in progress. Our social issues began a long time ago and change is incremental and spans multiple generations. Furthermore, the project gave me the opportunity to practice making a project on social media that would translate several messages via content both written and visual. The challenge of making history relevant, attractive, cohesive, truthful, and compelling within the framework of an internet platform revealed both beneficial and challenging. It was an experience to gain practice creating content that would appeal to an audience on a platform that is invaluable to the success and reach of today’s companies by acting a global marketplace. As digital platforms facilitate remote work, collaboration, and e-commerce on a global scale, proficiency in using these tools becomes increasingly indispensable for professionals navigating the digital landscape. One of my sources of inspiration was the New York TImes’ interactive model of “What the Massacre Destroyed” that showed both a timeline and moving visual of the city to effectively convey the scale of the massacre that occurred in Tulsa on 1921. This example showed me that the ability to make information accessible, compelling and interactive using digital technology is becoming increasingly relevant to news sources online.

English studies continues to prove itself essential for my professional viability in today’s interconnected world. Largely, it all starts with my ability to relate to, communicate with and understand others. Through writing, reading and research, I have learned about different people and cultures, learned about different perspectives and others points of view, developed a sense of self and how to manage my identity in relation to others and my environment, as well as learned that some of our most inherent ideas (such as traditional gender roles) come from and can be traced back to literary examples from different generations, eras or time periods. In summary, being able to study things before encountering them through my own first-hand experience has helped me to practice how I would approach, solve, consider, change, resolve current and future problems, questions and challenges. It’s about experience, really. While every book I read, idea I learn and word I write might not necessarily be meeting a specific end-goal, they are all pieces to the puzzle of experience that I will be working on for the majority of my professional life.My English studies have proved to help me discover and strengthen my ability to adapt messages, ideas and information to new technology and digital communication tools in an effective way that considers the needs of a globalized works and international, multicultural audience and consumer-base. Liberal arts-based skills are an almost strategic imperative for professionals seeking to thrive in an increasingly globalized and interconnected professional landscape.