Kendall Unger

Snakes and birds both often symbolize transformations, which is interesting to consider given the theme of this class! #BSUENG490

I really like that Binti’s mother was the first person to answer her call. At the start of the novel Binti thinks to herself that she will be disowned by her parents by leaving, but her mom proves her wrong. #BSUENG490

“As we reclaim our literature, poetry has been the major voice of poor, working-class, and Colored women.” (Lorde 290)

I found this quote really interesting! I feel like we analyze audiences more than why certain groups might be drawn to writing in certain genres. #BSUENG490

Obviously we know that "Binti" takes place in a very technologically-advanced future, but I wonder how long it took to get from the start of space travel to intergalactic universities. #BSUENG490

Justin… #BSUENG490

This reading reminds me of a project I did last semester in Disability Studies (ENG 495—take it!). I noticed that the male video game characters with disabilities were often infantilized when compared to their able-bodied male counterparts. #BSUENG490

Cassie you are so not earning any “Employee of the Month” awards for this case. #BSUENG490

Cassie is getting more and more entrenched in her life as Lexie—but how long can she keep this up? She keeps having slip-ups… #BSUENG490

Cassie seems to be letting her guard down more and more… drinking and forgetting that “she” got stabbed? Not to mention her continuing to keep Frank and Sam in the dark about her discoveries. #BSUENG490

#yolo is killing me. To be fair, I'm also wary of Daniel

Just like Cassie, I’m struggling to decide how I feel about Justin, Daniel, Abby, and Rafe. I have my eye on Daniel in particular—but could this be a red herring? #BSUENG490

Despite the article being over 10 years old, the discussion of post-feminism is still an important one. Things like the “M-She-U”, online insults about Bella Ramsey’s appearance in “The Last of Us”, and the pearl-clutching about Sabrina Carpenter’s music come to mind. #BSUENG490

I really like the quick, snappy dialogue in “The Likeness”—especially between Cassie and Frank. #BSUENG490

I also was anticipating a bloodier end to "Freshwater", but I'm glad that we were wrong! I like that Ada ended the book with a sense of calm/peace. #BSUENG490

“It would be unthinkable, unbelievably cruel for us to ever swell so unnaturally, to lactate, to mutate our vessel. Could there be anything more human?”
This quote made me think of “A Cyborg Manifesto” and our Padlet. #BSUENG490

Asughara mentions that Ada is quite fond of her siblings, but since Ada's POV is very limited, we don't get to see that first hand. I hope we get more of Chima and Añuli as we continue reading. #BSUENG490

I was thinking about the "synths" in Fallout 4 while reading this! The synths were also dehumanized in that game. I love when we can make connections between class and personal interests :)

“But illegitimate offspring are often exceedingly unfaithful to their origins. Their fathers, after all, are inessential.” (Haraway 345).
This quote made me think about how Saul's only use to the ogbanje inside Ada was that they knew he'd pick the right name. #BSUENG490

I find the existence of Saint Vincent very interesting when compared to Asughara. They're like 2 sides of the same coin, but Saint Vincent is more of a secret than Asughara. #BSUENG490

Ada wasn’t performing femininity correctly for an American audience with her hair, so her classmates stepped in to prevent her from suffering negative consequences. But she later decides to reclaim her gender expression by shaving her head/eyebrows. #BSUENG490

Judith Butler’s “Performing Gender” made me reflect on all the conscious and unconscious ways I perform femininity in my own life. #BSUENG490

It’s interesting that “Freshwater” is written in first person plural. I don't see that a lot. #BSUENG490

Lib played on the misogyny and ignorance of the men on the committee to get “Nan” to safety #BSUENG490

“A scientist cannot disregard evidence for the sake of beauty, but she may care differently at different times about both.” (Ruddick 36)

This made me think about Lib… #BSUENG490

I hate the animosity between Rosaleen and Lib. Lib even refers to her as her “enemy” in her internal dialogue. They both want the best for Anna! #BSUENG490

It’s interesting that Pat died due to something involving his stomach and is noted to have refused food before death, given Anna’s own “fasting” #BSUENG490

The discussion of the “docile body” reminds me of how in class on Wednesday someone described Anna’s malnutrition as making her docile to the adults/world around her. #BSUENG490

I think that the other nurses might be onto something, calling Lib “uppish” #BSUENG490

“Nothing that happened in Irish was real.” (Bourke 299)

This quote immediately stood out to me. I think Angela Bourke is saying that for many Irish isn’t seen as legit/valuable as English. #BSUENG490

In “The Mermaid and Her Daughter” I find the borrowing of the complete phrase “you filthy little prostitute” very interesting. The line before mentions that it’s in the “second official language”, pointing to how important the mother felt this message was for her daughter to understand. #BSUENG490