As I am currently a Junior, have only taken two other English classes prior to this semester, only one English class being before my Junior year, and finding a lack of content that interested me in the English class that did apply, I had to think out of the box a little for my Revision Project. I chose a writing piece from a Political Science class that I took my Freshman year entitled “Is War Necessary?” and took the position of war having a justified place in this world. In the process of revising this essay I went about two tasks. The first was that I wanted to rework my position – as my collegiate career and other life experiences have altered my view – in order to argue that war is never necessary (with one exception) and that it should be adamantly avoided. The second was that this essay was obviously not completed in the framework of a Humanities class, so in order for this to fit as my Revision Project I researched and utilized a multitude of different sources in both the English and Philosophy fields alongside work from Political Science, of which I believe resulted in a very well-rounded essay.
An integral companion piece to our Humanities Capstone class was Scott Newstok and his book How to Think Like Shakespeare, of which I would like to discuss three of its main ideas. In the chapter “Of Imitation”, Newstok discusses how one must not be afraid to “imitate” or (a more apt term) utilize the work of others in your own work. This was especially prevalent in this project as I was tasked with not only grappling with “imitating” the work of past authors and thinkers, but also that of myself. Throughout the drafting of my Revision Essay I was able to take the best ideas from both scholars and my own past work in order to craft the best possible argument, being unafraid to do so thanks to Newstok’s help. In “Of Conversation” it is explained that “to cultivate conversation at its highest level, you are asked to ‘stand’ in the position of your opponent”. This sentiment has been a common thread throughout my Political Science, English and Philosophy classes and my engagement and achievement of this idea is exemplified in the fact that a solid third of my essay is acknowledging possible dissents, making concessions when necessary, offering further debate and wholly conversing with the opposing position. In the chapter “Of Stock”, Newstok offers the fact that “the process of productive digestion ought to resemble gathering nectar from many flowers and then transforming it into honey”. The amalgamation of different sources was truly amazing in my Revision Project as I combined readings from various classes (George Kennan, Samantha Powers, John Stuart Mill) with works I had read for my own outside interests (Joseph Heller, George Orwell, Karl Marx), drawing from my recently expanded stock in order to produce an essay with the most effective sources. With Newstok’s aid I was able to undertake the revision process with a new lens and it only improved my writing.
This Revision Project certainly opened my eyes to how much I have grown as an academic and a person since first writing the original paper. As mentioned previously, the simple fact that I argued for the opposite position highlights to what degree my interests and opinions have changed. I have been exposed to new, different, progressive and outlandish perspectives throughout my collegiate career and they have allowed me to shape my personal ideology into a better-informed one while also teaching me how to continue the process of updating my opinions as an individual in the future. Revisiting and engaging with my past work showed me how much I have evolved and it was a truly inspiring experience. As for my skills, they have not been left behind. I touched on the importance of giving credit to and working with opposing viewpoints, of which was a tool I have developed in recent years and was given the opportunity to practice in this essay. Compared to my past essay, my Revision Project is much more clear and concise and the formatting and usage of sources has definitely improved, strengthening the flow and force behind my argument. Overall, this process has allowed me to witness the growth in my ideology and skills, and while I still have a long way to go, I am able to observe how I have become a better student, person and writer.
