In the Planning Stages

Planning out my Portfolio 

For the culminating activity of this course, I plan to craft an argumentative essay, a google slide presentation and a concept map. My thesis that will be supported by all three of my media texts is: A Thousand Splendid Suns explores how the gender roles of men and women in society can shape their respective behavior and beliefs. Women are negatively affected by these set gender roles, and as a result, they must transcend the patriarchal constraints of society in order to stand up for their rights and freedoms.

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While I was reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, I was struck by Mariam’s desire to attend school, and learn more about the world around her. The theme of a woman’s struggle to be educated in Afghanistan inspired me to create a thesis for my argumentative essay on why women should have the right to learn in school, and not just in the mosque. As of now, this is my thesis for my essay: Throughout history, Afghan women have been denied their right to education. The on-going oppression of women in the Middle East demonstrates that the lack of universal education is societal concern affects everyone throughout the world. I plan to craft my written composition with supportive data and sources that allow me to prove how the oppression of women in Middle Eastern countries contributes to a lack of economic growth and respect for human life. I will weave in the Taliban’s oppression of women, and the rigid Islamic belief that women should conform to the Koran’s teaching of what it means to be a wife, a mother and a “holy” woman.

The Google slide presentation will include photographs, quotes and videos that promote women’s rights and freedoms. My main goal for the multimedia text is to be able to take viewers on a journey throughout the Middle East to show how women live with the denial of their rights and education. Depending on the length of the slideshow, I may include a brief description or summary of my findings along with the presentation.

Lastly, I will create a concept map that is based on the phrase: “To be an Afghan woman means…” I will keep my focus on the denial of women’s rights in Middle Eastern countries, and I will include quotes from the novel to support my thinking. 

Skills and Next Steps
One of my strengths as a writer is my ability to form new ideas that reflect my past experiences and beliefs. I have focused on the feminist perspective in my portfolio because I don't often associate myself with feminist values, and I want to challenge myself to think differently about feminism. I like to learn about how others view certain topics, so I can better form my opinion on a certain issue/topic.

A challenge I may encounter in creating my chosen writing/media texts is my tendency to overlook the smaller details of media texts. I plan to take extra time to correct any grammatical mistakes, check for logical fallacies and edit out any unnecessary information in my argumentative essay. I will also need to cut down on the time I spend on the concept map, as I will be creating by hand and I want to ensure that I have enough time to effectively create the google slide presentation as well.