PeterEmanuel

ENG181

PortfolioCoverLetterFinalDraft

April24,2016

DearPortfolioAssessmentCommitteeMembers,

MynameisPeterEmanuelandIamafirstyearstudentatEmoryUniversitywho
hasjusttakenaFirstYearWritingclasshereattheCollegeofArtsandSciences.The
specificclassItookwasENG181:WritingAboutLiterature:IndigenousAdolescence
withDr.MandySuhrSytsma.Inthisclasstherewerefivecourseoutcomes,thefirst
threehavingtodowithallFirstYearWritingclassesingeneralandthelasttwohavingto
dowiththespecificclassItook.InthisletterIwillbedetailinginorderhowIhave
achievedthefiveoutcomesofthecourseIhavetakenatEmorywithexamplesquotes
fromdifferentprojectsandassignmentsfrommyportfolioforeachofthefiveoutcomes.
Myportfolioservesasatree,branchingoutfrommyrootsatthebeginningofthe
semesterwhereIknewverylittleaboutIndigenousAdolescenceandaboutscholarly
writingtotheendofthesemesterwherethetreeisinfullbloom.
ThissemesterinmyFirstYearWritingclass,Isuccessfullycomposedtextsin
multiplegenres,usingmultiplemodeswithattentiontorhetoricalsituations,thereby
fulfillingthefirstobjectiveoftheclass.Formyclass,Iwasassignedthreedifferent
projectsthatrevolvedaroundevidencefromdifferentIndigenousYoungAdultfiction.
ThefirsttwoprojectsinvolvedusingShermanAlexiesFlight.Themaincharacter,Zits,
travelsthroughtimetoseveraldifferentplacesandevents,soitwasmyresponsibilityfor

Project1tocomposemyownworkoffictionthathadZitstravelintimetoaplaceor
eventthathenevergottointhebook.Project2wasamoreargumentativepaperthathad
mecreateathesisapplyingtoFlightascholarlyessayaboutShermanAlexiethatdoes
nottalkaboutFlight.Sinceoneprojectwasacreativeworkoffictionandtheotherwasa
thesisdrivenanalysis,mymodeandstylechangedtoreflectthat.Forexample,inmy
Project1,whereIhaveZitstravelbackintimetothebodyofAndrewJacksonpassing
theIndianRemovalAct,IhaveZitsrefertothePresidentastheOriginalGangsterof
NativeAmericanracialprofiling,theO.G.Indianhater(Chapter18.55).Thistypeof
rhetoricisaccuratetohowZitstalksbutwouldbemuchtooinformalforathesisdriven
essaylikemyProject2,whereIsaythatmostmodernNativeAmericanfilmsportray
Indiansinanexoticandstereotypicalmanner(SmokySignals1).WhileIam
essentiallymakingthesamepointthatNativeAmericansarevictimsofracisminbothof
thesequotes,thetwodifferentstylesofwritingIwasaskedtocomposecausedmeto
phrasethetwodifferentquotesfortwodifferentsituations.
Ontopofbeingabletocomposemyowntextsindifferentgenres,overthecourse
ofthissemesterIwasalsoabletosummarize,analyze,synthesize,andevaluatetheideas
ofothersasIundertookscholarlyinquiryinorderproducemyownarguments.Achieving
thiscourseoutcomewasamajorgoalofmyProject3,whichwastowriteanotherthesis
drivenessayanalyzingthelyricsofaspecificsongreferencedinMelissaTantaquidgeon
ZobelsWabanakiBlueswhilealsotyinginoutsidescholarlysources.Myevidencefor
achievingthiscourseoutcomeisasfollows:
MonasdecisiontosacrificeGreatBearparallelsanAnishinaabeNative
remarkingonhisexperienceasayouth,wherehewasexposedtoaSister

(teacher)ataCatholicschooltellingtheclasshowtheyusedtosacrificelambs
becauselambsdonthavespirits(Bergstromet.Al.134).However,asachildhe
wastaughtthatEverythinghasaspiritinsideit,somekindofwillfor
life(Bergstromet.Al.134),aviewpointthatcontrastedwiththatoftheSister.
TheAnishinaabedidnotadvocateforsacrificingtheseanimalswhiletheSister
did.WecanextendthesecontrastingviewpointstoWabanakiBlueswithBilki
andGrumps,Monasgrandparents.WhileGrumpsleanstowardthesideof
preservingthebears,BilkiismoreconcernedwithMonasspiritual
journey,
whichinvolvessacrificingone(Zobel).AlthoughGrumpsdiesbutBilki
continues
totalktoMonaevenfromthedead,meaningthatinretrospectBilkis
adviceis
moreinfluential,ZobeldoesnotgiveacleardepictionofhoworifMona
even killsGreatBear.Shemayhavehititwithhertruckorshemayhavebeen
hallucinatingallalong.Shemayhavesacrificeditorshemayhavenot.Sincethe
nexttwobooksinthetrilogyhavenotcomeoutyet,thereisnoclosureonthis
confusion,howeverregardlessofwhethershesacrificedthebearliterallyor
figuratively,itisobviousthatMonastillwentthroughaspiritualtrialtofulfillher
prophecy.OnemustextrapolatesinceWabanakiBluesisanongoingseries,
howeverImaintainthatthefactthatMonahadnotcompletedhergrandparents
requestsandthusneededtofinishhertimeinNewHampshirewasenough
motivationforhertogobackandtosetstraighttheotheraspectsofherlifethat
werebotheringhersuchasthemurdercaseandherrelationshipswithBeetleand
Del.Itwouldappear,then,thataprophecystruthandcredibilityiscontingenton
theobjectorobjectsoftheprophecybelievingittobetrue.Evenifnooneelse
believesthatthe7thGenerationcansavetheworld,aslongastheyouthwhothe
prophecyactuallytalkabouttaketheirresponsibilitiestoheart,theprophecyis
practicallytrue(HeyJudeand7thGenerationBlues4).

First,Ibringthescholarlysourcetogetherwiththebook,synthesizingtheideasofothers
inordertoproducemyownarguments.Next,Ipullaquotefromascholarlysourcethat
sayshowtheAnishinaabestudentwasagainstsacrificinganimalswhilehisteacherwas
forit,thensayinghowwecanextendthesecontrastingviewpointstoWabanakiBlues
withBilkiandGrumps(HeyJudeand7thGenerationBlues4)andthenIexplainhow
themtwohadcontrastingviewpointsonsacrificingGreatBear(literalvs.figurative)with

areferencetothebook.Iconcede(counter)thatthebookseriesisntfinishedyetsoitis
unclearwhichsideMonatookbutIaffirmthattheprophecywasenoughmotivationfor
Monatoattempttocarrythesacrificeoutanyway.Thismeansthatevenifprophecies
arenttruetheycanbetruepracticallyandthatisgoodenough,whichismyownoriginal
idea.
ProgressingthroughtheFirstYearWritingprogramatEmoryhastaughtmethat
revising,astepoftenoverlookedinthewritingprocess,isultimatelyextremelyimportant
inproducingasuccessfulwritingpiece.Therefore,topracticewritingasaprocess,
recursivelyimplementingstrategiesofresearch,drafting,revision,editing,andreflection,
contributedgreatlytomygrowthasawriterinthisclass.Foreveryproject,wewere
requiredtowriteabriefcoverletterwherewetalkedaboutourrevisionprocessfromfirst
drafttofinaldraftandabouthowDr.SuhrSytsmaand/orpeershelpedalongtheway.In
mycoverletterforProject1,IsaythatDr.SuhrSytsmaledmetoanewsource,An
IndigenousPeoplesHistoryoftheUnitedStates.Anexampleofmyusingthisnew
sourcetoremovesectionsofambivalencetoreplacewaswhenIcutmuchofZitss
reactionstoeachsectionofthespeech,suchashedoesntwanttogivethisspeech,butit
seemslikehecantdoanythingaboutiteitherandOddlyenough,itseemsasifJackson
isthinkingthesamething.Heknowswhatisreallygoingonhere,andIdontthinkhe
likesit.Imnotentirelysurethough(Project1CoverLetter).Thispieceofself
reflectionisevidencethatIampracticingwritingasaprocess.Ihavetakeninadvice
fromDr.SuhrSytsmatosubstantiallyrevisemyProject1sinceIamtouseanewsource
thatwillgivemenewinsightonAndrewJacksonsattitudetowardstheIndianRemoval

Act.InsteadofportrayingJacksonasambivalenttowardsremovingthem,afterreading
thissource,IlearnedthathewasactuallyverymuchinfavorofremovingthemsoIhad
tocutoutandreplacehugechunksofwritingfrommyProject1Part1toreflectthis.
Instead,Iwrotethatheknowswhatisreallygoingonhere,andIthinkhelikesit.He
knowsthatafairamountoftheaudienceandafairamountofthepublicdisagree,but
hatredoftheIndiansseemedtogiveJacksonhispower(Chapter18.54).Ihadused
furtherresearch,multipledrafts,revision(cuttingandeditingwhatwasalreadythere),
andreflection(inmycoverletter)inanattempttomakemyProject1asgoodaspossible
here.
Specifictomyclass,therewasacourseoutcomethathadusdemonstratea
familiaritywitharangeofIndigenousYoungAdulttextsandissuestheyaddress.Wehad
tomakeblogpostsclosereadingexcerptsfromthemanyIYAbookswereadandmany
ofmyblogpostsconnectedthesepassagestothelargerissuesathand.Forexample,I
usedthisquotefromDrewHaydenTaylorsTheNightWanderer:
Inthehighschool,eachhallwaybelongedtoadifferentpartofthe
country.Sincemoststudentswerebussedin,theytendedtocongregate
togetherandtookoverdifferentpartsoftheschool.Therewassome
intervillagerivalry,butanydifficultiesthathaddevelopedhadseldom
enteredTiffanysspecificworld(Taylor64).

IthengoontosaythatthereasontheconflictsabovedonotenterintoTiffanysbubbleis
becauseTony,Tiffanysboyfriend,iswhitewhichmakesTiffanyforgetaboutthe
prejudiceshefacesonadaytodaybasisinthisratherxenophobicenvironment.Ican
definitelyseethequotesbroaderconnection,infact,Tiffanyisdoingexactlywhat
HeadmasterChristakisofYalesSillimanCollegesaidtodointherecentcontroversial

incidentwhenfacedwithracism:Lookaway.WhilethisstrategymayhelpTiffanystay
happyintheshortterm,TiffanysbubblewonthelptheNativesmakeanyprogressto
eliminatingprejudiceinhertown(BlogPost1:TiffanysBubble).Iapplytheissuesof
teeninsecurity,inherentwhiteprivilege,andpoliticalcorrectnessatYaletomyanalysis
ofthisquote.Whilethefirsttwoissuesarealsomajorthemesintheothertextsweread,
thethirdissuebringsinanongoingissueinthenewsandconnectsittothetext,definitely
provingthatIamactivelyachievingthefourthcourseoutcomeinmywriting.
OurfifthandfinalcourseoutcomeintheFirstYearWritingclassItookwasto
interpretpassagesfromliterarytextsbyclosereadinginrelationtoliterary,historical,
national,andculturalcontexts.WhilemyconnectionbetweenTiffanysbubbleandthe
Yaleincidentwasanexampleofrelatingthetexttomodernnationalandcultural
contexts,additionallyIhavewrittenotherblogpoststhatdothesamething.Itakea
quotationfromadescriptionofaFrankBuffaloHydepaintinginacatalogthatsaysAt
noothertimeinhistoryhavewe(Natives)beensowellequippedandeducatedand
willingtofightthesederogatoryattacksonourimagethisconflictofideaversusideals
canonlybewonwhenweownourownimage(Hyde)andcommentonthecomparison
betweencurrentNativeAmericanstrifeandthatoftheAfricanAmerican
community(BlogPost14:TheLastBuffalo).AstheAfricanAmericanshavehad
leaderssuchasDr.Kingriseupandspeaktheirminds,socantheNativeAmericansand
nowisalwaysthebesttimeforthistohappen,whichisanotherexampleofhowIrelatea
passagetoabroadercontextthattranscendswhatwearereading.

ThroughoutthissemesteratEmory,mywritingjourneyhasbeenlikethatofa
treegrowing.IcamefromahighschoolthatwasnotnearlyasdiverseasEmoryso
cominghereandtakingthisclasshasbeenacultureshockforme.Readingthesetexts
hasgivenmeexposuretothespecificculturalissuesthatIhadnotpreviouslycomein
contactwithinmyhighschoolbubble.Whilemypoliticalandsocioeconomic
backgroundsdidnotnecessarilyalignwiththeviewsofsomeoftheauthorsweread(and
withsomeofmypeers),Imadeanefforttolookbeyondthesebarriersandbranchout,
openingmymindtoallofthisnewinformation.NowIhavemyportfolio,atreethathas
finishedgrowingfornowbutwillstartbackupwhenItakemynextwritingcourse,to
demonstratethatjourney.
Thankyouverymuchtotheassessmentcommitteeforreadingmycoverletter
andforevaluatingmyworkforsuccessfulcompletionoftheFirstYearWritingcourse
outcomes.
Sincerely,
PeterEmanuel