For the most part, the first semester of this RCL class was extremely informative, and I believe it went fairly smoothly. Although there were challenges at times, I would definitely say this was one of the less stressful courses, when compared to some of my other classes. Through this RCL class, I was able to deeply understand the true meaning and significance of civic engagement, propaganda, and rhetoric: terms that I never gave much thought to beforehand. In addition, this class has helped me learn new skills and techniques, including key essay strategies, speech tips, and how to properly analyze a message, all of which were immensely beneficial.
When looking at the areas I have excelled in, I believe one of my biggest strengths in this class was public speaking. Amongst all the class assignments this year, I felt that I performed the best on both the civic engagement speech and the TED Talk. During presentations and speeches, I now feel confident and comfortable with the content I am presenting, while maintaining a strong tone and eye contact with the audience.
On the contrary, an area that I am struggling with is my writing skills. More specifically, writing formally. I still find myself having trouble connecting evidence in my essays back to my main thesis, and organizing my content into a cohesive manner. I hope to fix these problems as well as learn new writing skills next semester.
As any typical college student would say, procrastination is probably the biggest factor that has hindered me from doing my best work in this class. I am poor at time management, and I often put off many class assignments (primarily essays) until a couple days before they’re due, causing me to rush and not do my best work. Although I do procrastinate, one thing that has helped me throughout this course is taking detailed notes on the PowerPoint presentations given in class. I have been able to reference my notes throughout the semester, and they have been extremely helpful when I had to prepare for a speech or write an essay.
After 10 weeks of blogging, it is already time for my last post….well, at least for now. I have absolutely enjoyed sharing my thoughts on Indian culture as well as some of my most momentous personal experiences with you every week!
For my final post of the semester, I wanted to do something a bit different. Instead of explaining a particular Indian holiday in detail (like I’ve done for many of my posts), I thought it would be fascinating to share the science behind some of the most common traditional practices and rituals of India.
Although I’m Indian myself, I thought many of the Hindu rituals practiced in India were somewhat strange, and I blindly followed them without truly knowing why I was doing what I was doing. After discovering the scientific reasoning behind these rituals; however, everything seemed more logical.
Namaste:
Greeting guests at my cousin’s wedding
In America, we commonly greet people by shaking their hand. In Hindu culture, people actually greet each other by joining their palms together; otherwise known as the classic Indian gesture, “Namaste.” Generally speaking, Namaste is seen as a gesture of respect, but have you ever wondered why Indians really use this gesture? Scientifically speaking, joining both hands ensures the joining of all your fingertips. This activates the pressure points of your eyes, ears, and mind, which helps us remember the person for a long time. (Not to mention- no germs, since they don’t make any physical contact!!)
Sitting on the Floor to Eat:
Kids sitting in the “Sukhasan” position and eating
Many times, you will see people in India sitting on the floor and eating, rather than at a table. Traditionally, Indians sit in the “Sukhasan” position while eating their meals. Sukhasan refers to sitting in a cross-legged position, or as we know it “the pretzel”. Sitting on the floor in this position while eating is supposed to improve digestion. How? The cross-legged position is believed to automatically trigger brain signals to prepare the stomach for digestion. This is because our circulatory system would be focused solely on digestion, and not on our legs dangling from a chair or supporting us when we are standing. It has also been proven that people eat less in this position than they do sitting on a chair or table.
Thoppukaranam
Thoppukaranam is a traditional practice in Indian schools, where a child has to cross their arms and hold their earlobes while bending their knees and getting up, as a punishment for lethargy or failure to memorize and grasp material. I know 
this probably sounds a bit unusual; however, there is actually a logical scientific explanation behind this ritual. The Thoppukaranam practice in fact activates the acupuncture points at the right and left ears, thereby activating the right and left-brains respectively. This serves to increase brainpower immensely, according to research done by Yale neurobiologist Dr. Eugenius Ang. Even at home, my mom often made me do Thoppukaranam ten times during prayer, especially before major exams, simply to improve my brainpower and help me think more clearly.
Overall, I hope my blog was able to elucidate and give you a deeper understanding of my culture. Thank you so much for reading!
With Thanksgiving coming up right around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss the “Thanksgiving of South India”, otherwise known as Pongal.
Although Pongal is considered the “Thanksgiving of South India”, it is certainly not like the traditional Thanksgiving we are all accustomed to. During Pongal, you will not see people in India enjoying mashed potatoes and turkey. In fact, it is quite the opposite. On Pongal, Hindus do not eat meat or any meat products.
Essentially, Pongal is a four-day holiday celebrated to thank and convey appreciation to the Sun God for providing us good harvests.
When I visited India two years ago, I was able to witness and partake in the Pongal celebration and festivities with my family, which was a gratifying and exciting experience to say the very least.
The first day of Pongal, also called “Bhogi,” was a day of disposing old items and focusing on new beginnings. When I was in India, I helped my grandparents thoroughly clean out their house and aggregate all the unwanted goods. Later, we lit a bonfire outside, where we burned and discarded all the derelict possessions we collected. My cousin wanted to burn her textbooks, because she considered it an “unwanted item.” I thought it was pretty funny, but my aunt didn’t find it as hilarious.
The next day, perhaps the most significant day of the holiday, is known as “Thai Pongal.” On that day, I remember waking up early and getting dressed in a brand new blue Ghaghara (traditional Indian attire).
My cousins and I enjoyed some fresh, delectable sugarcane, while watching my mom and aunt create elaborate kolums (designs created with rice flour) in front of the doorway.
Afterwards, my cousins and I watched my aunt make one of my favorite dishes: pongal. On Thai Pongal, it is a common tradition to prepare the delicious dish of pongal. New rice is collected and cooked with milk in clay pots, until it overflows. The moment the milk boils over and bubbles out of the vessel, it is a joyous occasion and we all shout Pongal-o Pongal, because it connotes good luck and prosperity. Some of the pongal is offered to the Sun God at sunrise to demonstrate gratitude, and later sweet pongal is served to the rest of the people in the household. Sweet pongal is simply the cooked rice, which is topped with sugar, ghee (clarified butter), cashews, and raisins.
The third day, Mattu Pongal, is devoted to paying homage to cattle. I was able to watch the local villagers near my uncle’s farm decorate the horns of cows and bulls with colored paint and adorn them with bells and garlands around their necks. Around the same time, there were intense, live bullfights occurring. Although I wanted to go to the streets and watch the festivities up close, I had to view everything from my uncle’s balcony, because it was too dangerous. Nevertheless, it was my first time witnessing a live bullfight and it was an unforgettable moment.
The last day, Kaanum Pongal, was hands down my favorite day. It was simply a day to visit and reunite with all my family members and essentially have fun. I spent the entire day relaxing at Marina Beach with all my close relatives. We capped off our Pongal celebration by eating, laying by the shore, flying kites, and of course, enjoying each other’s company.
For the most part, I think my presentation went really well. I had rehearsed my TED talk multiple times to myself as well as to my friends, so I felt extremely comfortable and confident with the content I was presenting. I believe that my presentation flowed well, or in other words I did not have any awkward pauses or blatant mess-ups during the middle of my TED talk. I spoke loudly and with an enthusiastic tone in order to convey my message more clearly to the audience and show interest and passion in the topic at hand: advances in medical technology. Finally, I think I had a strong intro and conclusion- I opened with a relevant and relatable question to the audience to capture their attention and ended with a “look into the future” and something for the audience to ponder.
As for improvements, I think I could have incorporated more humor into my presentation. Although the topic of my TED talk is a little more serious, including some form of humor would have kept my audience more engaged. Additionally, I believe that I could have cut down on discussing the historical background before advances in medical technology, because that section sounded more like a “speech,” as opposed to a TED talk. Instead, I could have expanded on the modern medical technologies in more depth and their impact on society, or at least show more visuals of them.
I thought my voice would be shaking during the entire presentation, and I would be speaking very quickly due to nervousness; however, I was surprised to see that was not the case. I appeared more calm and collected, and I seemed to speak at a normal pace.
For my TED Talk, I plan on discussing the increased technological shift in the medical field, and whether modern medical machineries are meliorating medicine, or potentially posing a threat. Since the TED Talk is considered to be less formal and a “presentation”, as opposed to a formal speech, I plan on adding humor and relevant personal anecdotes, whether it is about society as a collective whole or a specific piece of medical technology, in order to capture the audience’s interest. Additionally, I am going to be directing questions to the audience throughout my talk in order to keep them engaged, including questions regarding their current technology usage and their opinion(s) on modern medical machinery.
A huge majority of my paradigm shift essay focuses on the history of one specific technology (x-rays) and detailed information regarding the invention itself. I will cut down on this information for my TED Talk, because it is not pertinent to the audience and will turn my presentation into a boring, drawn-out speech.
Instead of focusing the bulk of my talk on discussing X-Rays and how they have impacted the medical field, I will rather highlight more modern medical technologies such as surgery performing robots, electronic aspirin, and mechanical heart valves, in addition to the effect these could have on our society’s future. Although I will still point out the importance of x-rays and its impact on our society, I will certainly downplay such information.
In my essay, I briefly touch upon an argument against modern medical technologies improving medicine. Before my TED Talk, I intend to research these arguments in more depth and place a heavier emphasis on them during my presentation.
“Indians don’t use deodorant, love curry, and all worship cows.” Yes this sounds funny, but is it really true? This statement constitutes a common cultural stereotype that has been thrown around for many years. That brings us to the topic I am going to discuss today: Indian Cultural Stereotypes.
Some Indian stereotypes are based on truth, but there are some that are overly exaggerated to the point of being inaccurate. As a girl who has visited India multiple times and has a fair understanding of the culture, I think it is important to clarify which stereotypes are accurate and which ones are a bit misconstrued.
We can all recognize the stereotypical Indian accent and frankly, it makes most of us laugh, myself included. Not all Indians have an accent, but naturally many of them do. Almost all Indian characters in movies and TV shows nowadays are depicted with a strong Indian accent, which is purposely exaggerated for humor. Although it is funny to an extent, the accent is sometimes used to make Indians as a race look doltish or imbecilic, which can be considered offensive.
When looking at popular T.V shows such as the Big Bang Theory, the character Raj Koothrappali is portrayed as what is known as the “stereotypical Indian”, with of course, a distinct Indian accent.
Raj is characterized as the extremely socially awkward “loser” who is the least successful with girls, due to the stereotype that Indian men are miserably poor at social interaction, particularly with females. Although it serves as good comedy and Raj’s awkwardness cracks us up, such stereotypes causes people to form false, preset notions about Indians. By no means are Indian men as socially awkward as portrayed, but media causes people to think otherwise.
“I swear to cow.” This is a line that Raj stated during one of the episodes, which highlights yet another common stereotype: All Indians worship cows. Although Indians pay respect to cows during special religious occasions, they certainly do not consider them “God-Like.” If you go to India, you will not see people praying to pictures of cows. I guarantee it.
Here are some of the other common Indian cultural stereotypes I stumbled upon and thought I should address:
1. “Indians are always conservative”
Lets first take a look at a good old classic meme:
In Indian culture, females are generally raised conservatively. As a part of the culture, it is considered disrespectful for girls to cross their legs, speak loudly, or even to whistle and therefore, they appear very reserved. Indians are also often conservative when it comes to displaying their love and affection in public. Even today, couples are not usually seen kissing on the cheek or holding hands. Although, Indians are conservative, Indian society is not as conservative as it is portrayed to be. Times have changed. Girls are no longer confined to the four walls of the house. It is more common to see girls going out and socializing nowadays.
An Indian Youtuber named Superwoman commonly mocks the stereotype of Indian females being extremely conservative.
2. “Indians are always studying and Parents are always strict about grades”
We have all heard this one, and it is true…to an extent. Russell Peters, an Indian comedian, often mocks this stereotype by joking that his father beats him up for receiving an A- and not studying enough. Although such actions are a bit far-fetched and exaggerated, it is true that Indian parents are generally more stricter when it comes to grades and education. Why is this though? Due to immense population in India, job opportunities are limited and competition is high. Since academic success is the primary criteria to get into a good institution and jobs, Indian parents place extra emphasis on their children’s studies and thus, Indians tend to be seen studying more often.
3. “In order to be successful, you must become a doctor or an engineer”
As sad as it is, there is a lot of truth to this stereotype. In America, we have the ability to enter a profession that we are interested in, and we can still manage to make a decent living. In fact, it is encouraged. In India; however, the only way to make a good living is to enter a profession in medicine or engineering. Entering professions in the Arts, for example, is still deeply frowned upon.
The primary argument that I am making in my paper is the fact that the invention of the X-Ray machine marked a turning point in the medical world by shifting the society into a more “technological world”. Here is an excerpt of my essay that focuses more on the consequences of the shift, and the impact X-Rays have had on society.
The invention of the X-Ray machine marked a monumental pivot in the field of medicine, and paved the way for the continuous innovation of highly electronic technology in the medical field. After people viewed the success of the x-ray machine in successfully diagnosing broken bones and tumors, doctors increasingly started to rely more on technology and machinery in hospitals, consequently shifting the medical world and society as a whole into a more technological world. X-Ray machines triggered and sparked a massive trend towards electronic and robotic methods of diagnosing and treating patients in hospitals. In today’s society, there is company called DaVinci Surgery, which creates advanced, highly effective robots that physicians use to perform surgery. Prior to 1895; however, such technology was unfathomable and beyond the realm of possibility. Before hospitals were technologically advanced, they solely relied on doctors to manually perform the surgeries on patients. With the creation of the X-Ray machine and this shift towards a more technological world, robotic machinery in the medical field is more accepted and common in today’s society.
It is also important to note that another rather direct impact of the invention of X-rays is the creation of the MRI Scanner, another piece of technology that is now considered absolutely vital and indispensible. Prior to the technology shift in the medical field, doctors found it considerably challenging to accurately diagnose a patient’s disease, especially with the limited resources and basic technology available. Reliance on technology was extremely minimal and therefore, it was difficult for doctors to figure out how to provide the patient with optimal treatment. After the X-Ray machine was invented; however, doctors started to realize that using technology was a more effective way of diagnosing patients. Thus, the X-Ray machine led to the development of technology such as MRI Scanners, which allows doctors to view an image of the physiology of the body, making it easier for medical diagnosis and treatment of a particular disease. This instigated the invention of more advanced technology in the medical field, exemplifying the prominent technological shift that occurred in the field of medicine.
Problem: I feel like my shift is a bit too narrow, considering that I am limiting my paper to discussing the impact of X-Rays only on the medical field. I don’t know whether or not I should expand it to focus on other technologies as well. I was also having trouble making my position more arguable.
Think back to last Thursday. For most of you, it was probably just your average, mundane Thursday. On the other hand, if you asked someone in India, I’m positive they would have an entirely disparate notion.
Last Thursday, October 23, was the day of quite arguably the most celebrated, momentous and well-known Hindu festivals: Diwali. Just to put into perspective how huge this festival truly is: Diwali in India is essentially equivalent to Christmas in America. (Yes, it is that big of a deal). Although Diwali is one of the biggest Indian festivals of the year, many people outside of India are completely oblivious that such a festival even exists. This year was different however. Why? The power of social media.
If you have the Snapchat app on your cell phone, you are probably familiar with the “Diwali in India” snapchat story. For those who are unfamiliar, Snapchat helped spread awareness of Diwali this year by sending out a fleeting “snapchat story”, which was constantly updated and encompassed live pictures and videos of people actively celebrating the festival in India.
Here are some pictures which were featured on the “Diwali in India” snapchat story:
Diwali is often referred to as “The Festival of Lights,” which is pretty self-explanatory. As showcased by the pictures above, houses, shops, and public places are typically adorned with an array of fancy multicolored lights and small earthenware oil lamps called diyas. Huge firework displays and sparklers also constitute a large portion of the celebration.
This new “Diwali in India” Snapchat story feature allowed millions of people all over the world have a glimpse of the extravagant and jubilant Diwali celebrations in India. As I was sitting in my dorm viewing the snapchat, it struck close to home and left me longing to go to India and participate in the festivities myself.
Although I am unable to travel to India during Diwali, my family manages to find ways to celebrate Diwali at home- much less extravagantly of course. On the day of Diwali, I typically wear new clothes (usually silk), pray, and exchange traditional Indian sweets with family and friends. On weekends, we would attend social functions and gatherings where we dress up in traditional Indian attire and celebrate the festival through dancing and partying.
Here are some pics of me celebrating Diwali at social functions: (I apologize, I only have pictures of me when I was younger).
![40Bday 127[2]](https://sites.psu.edu/kavyarclblog/wp-content/uploads/sites/16318/2014/10/40Bday-1272.jpg)
![IMG_1924[2]](https://sites.psu.edu/kavyarclblog/wp-content/uploads/sites/16318/2014/10/IMG_19242.jpg)
This year was the first Diwali I spent away from my family. In spirit of the festival, I wore a traditional Indian Kurtha on the day of Diwali. I was unable to fully celebrate Diwali in the traditional way I was accustomed to; however, I was glad I was able to hold on to I my cultural roots in some way.
Ideas for Paradigm Shift Essay
An idea that I am definitely interested in exploring is the shift of the purpose of reality television, and its psychological impact on teenagers and society as a whole. Around the 1970s, the primary purpose of reality TV was to accurately represent the normal lives of people, with shows such as “An American Family,” which portrayed the real life of a middle class family. Modern reality television shows such as “Jersey Shore,” “The Bachelor,” and “Toddlers and Tiaras” are ultimately intended to have the same purpose; however, they seem to be a bit more risqué in nature. Reality TV series are becoming more and more crazy, ridiculous, and unrealistic, and the main objective of these shows appear to be for entertainment value as opposed to accurately portraying the normal lives of people. It raises the question, “is reality TV truly reality or is it scripted for higher entertainment value?” Additionally, I can look at how reality TV has led to a decline in morals over the generations. Reality TV shows that teenagers watch nowadays promotes drinking, drugs, teen pregnancy, dating multiple people at once, and other risky behaviors. I could explore how this psychologically affects teenagers and their behavior.
As a biomedical engineering major, another paradigm shift that would be fascinating to look into is the shift in medical technology. One of the most vital technological advances in our society is in the field of human medicine and health sciences. When comparing the medical technology we have now to the technology many years ago, there is a striking shift. Many years ago, with the limited resources and basic technology available, it was difficult to diagnose a disease and thus it was complicated for doctors to figure out how to treat the person. Today, we have technology such as a MRI scanner, which allows doctors to view an image of the physiology of the body, making it easier for medical diagnosis and treatment of a disease. Now, we also have prosthetic limbs and bio mechanic heart valves, which can be used to improve the quality of life for many people. In my essay, I can generally talk about how technology in the medical field is becoming more electronic and what effect this shift will have on the society.
Response to “Common Core” Reading
When looking at my personal educational experiences thus far, I noticed that education in my high school actually fit the Common Core standards. As Hutchinson mentions, implementing the new Common Core standards into educational practice proved to fail miserably in many schools, due to the difficulty teachers faced in changing their accustomed teaching method. My high school happened to be one of the few rare exceptions. From 10th-12th grade, I attended a STEM International Baccalaureate (IB) school, one primarily centered on the core subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. The school was based on a foundation of educational ideologies consubstantial to the Common Core Standards, and these standards were implemented successfully. Since the school was relatively new, all the teachers who were hired were required to put a substantial amount of time and effort into “training classes,” where they were taught how to teach using the new educational standards. Thus, the courses and classroom instruction at my school focused on enforcing the idea of analysis and developing higher-order thinking skills, as opposed to blind memorization of facts and equations straight out of a textbook. All throughout high school, I had extremely minimal multiple choice examinations, and more open ended style exams, where I would have to utilize conceptual understanding and analytical skills, rather than just factual knowledge.
Although assessments in my high school fit the Common Core Standards, there have still been no noticeable efforts to resist the tests that truly matter: high-stake assessments. In order to be admitted into college, students need to attain a certain score on their SAT exams, and in high-school, many students need to get at least a “proficient” score on their Keystone Exams in order to graduate. Having standardized multiple choice exams, not only creates a high level of stress, but also poorly measures an individual’s high-order thinking skills and conceptual understanding, which doesn’t align with the Common Core.
Hopefully, in the future, standardized testing can be changed to actually measure the new Common Core standards, with more analytical and conceptual-based open ended questions.
It is safe to say that spirituality is the cynosure of Indian culture, and India deeply values and centers on religion, primarily Hinduism. Although this is accurate for the most part, there are certain festivals held in India that are actually not connected to religious beliefs. Let’s look at one of the most popular examples: Holi.
Holi, otherwise known as “The Festival of Colors”, is an ancient Indian festival typically held in March, which marks the coming of spring. Rather than a religious ceremony with prayers and spiritual rituals, this festival is simply a convivial time to relish and celebrate the new beginnings spring has to offer. Reading about Holi online was undeniably intriguing; however, it does not come relatively close to experiencing the festival itself.
Two years ago, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to travel to India in March and partake in the Holi Festival with my family, which truly put everything into crystal clear perspective for me. On the day of Holi, I vividly recall my cousins waking me up with enthusiasm and dragging me outside to the enormous streets directly outside their house. At that moment, I truly understood the reason why Holi was considered the “Festival of Colors.” The whole air was permeated with a variety of vibrant and exuberant colors ranging from hot pink to neon green, and I could hear people chanting, singing and dancing, while flinging colored paint through the air.
People of all ages wer
e running frantically smearing each others’ faces with powdered paint and throwing colored water at one other, all in the spirit of celebration. My own parents rubbed gulal and abeer (two types of colored paint powders) all over my face, while hugging me, blessing me, and wishing me a “Happy Holi.” I think it’s safe to say I look liked a rainbow exploded on me, but it was absolutely worth it.
The day ended with a bonfire, where I was able to unwind with my family and roast grains, popcorn, coconut, and chickpeas, while recounting memories and stories of our incredible Holi experiences.
As I reflect back on my Holi experience, I realized that the festival was more than just a colorful celebration. What is so special about this festival, in my opinion, is the fact that everyone gets involved, or in other words, there were no distinctions between caste, class, age or gender. It is simply a time when everyone can come together to have fun and celebrate spring. The colorful festival bridges the social gap and renews sweet relationships.
