LEARNING OUTCOME #3: ACTIVE READING
While reading and analyzing many of the texts I utilized the process of active reading to better comprehend the passages which helped in generate ideas for in class discussion and allowed for deeper conversation when I used the texts as evidence in my essays. I used colors to organize my active reading so I could easily go back and recognize why I highlighted that section. Green was used to when I was unclear about what I read, I would highlight it and write it in terms I could better understand. Blue was used to ask questions whether that was expanding on an idea or question the meaning of something. In purple I would challenge the text, sometimes this just meant playing devil’s advocate and gaining a perspective other than the authors. Next is yellow which included annotations that extended beyond what was being said. Exploring relationships is orange, I used this as an opportunity to connect past texts I have read or other relationships that relates. Lastly, pink comments on the authors choice of words, purpose, the intended audience, etc. By using this color system, I can recognize my initial thoughts and see where I have changed my views or my train of thought while reading.
One example from my active reading in found on page five of Kwame Anthony Appiah’s “Making Conversation” I highlighted it in orange, “Loyalties and local allegiances determine more than what we want; they determine who we are.” (Appiah 5). In my annotations I wrote, “I feel like this connects to how Americans are perceived by showing patriotism.” I further connected it to people identifying with political parties, and how it is common to make snap judgments based on what you affiliate yourself with, your political standing often becomes who you are. This was an important connection to make for me to understand how the world is just the opposite of cosmopolitism, we don’t see ourselves as citizens of the earth, we view ourselves as citizens to our nations and that is where our loyalties lie.
While I continued to read “Making conversation” I wanted to challenge the idea that we should stay neutral during times of controversy, this led me to highlight “Fortunately, we need to take slides neither with nationalists who abandons all foreigners nor with the hard-core cosmopolitan who regards her friends and fellow citizens with icy imparity” (Appiah 4). Appiah is telling us that we should not take sides but, in our society, we are taught to take sides and that staying neutral isn’t necessarily a choice that we can make. We are pushed to pick a side and defend it, staying in the middle is easier said than done.
Active reading has helped me pick apart the text and create more complex thoughts as I am reading. By doing this I better understand as I work my way through the reading. Stopping and annotating forces me to slow down and further engage with the text, I make connections that I wouldn’t have otherwise made, and I am able to form different views and perspectives that are not explicitly states in the reading.
