Reflection #4

After taking American Culture 201, I believe the greatest benefit to me has been making myself more accepting of other opinions and ideas. mirroring several of the previous comments, I believe that if nothing else, at least I will be a little more skeptical of things in the future. I find that in our culture today, there is little emphasis placed on individualism and developing our own ideas, and much more placed on following what is considered normal. It was individualism that brought change in the early years of our nation, and I believe we have come far from this mindset. Within the course, I enjoyed our time spent on the Vietnam war the most. I have a better understanding now of how controversial the war was, and the different yet valid opinions. I also thought looking at consumerism and its history was very interesting as well. Overall, after coming into the course not really having a good idea of what to expect, I believe that it has been very beneficial to my understanding of the different opinions of major issues that exist within the United States today.


I thought the paper assignment was very interesting as well. It forced me to look deeper into a photograph and interpret the artist's intended meaning, rather than simply taking it for face value. Similar to questioning everything, taking the time to thoroughly understand a topic and assess it rather than simply what is given is imperative, especially today as many issues are very complex and require a multi-angled approach to resolve. More than the facts we discussed, it is this type of thinking that made the class so beneficial to me.
Going forward, as I enter discussions about current events and political issues, I will be able to think back to this course and hopefully approach the conversation with a more open mind.