Introductory Reading Assignment

Regardless of one’s background, intended major and/or future goals, communication and expression are valuable skills necessary for success. In taking this Exposition and Argument class I hope to hone in on the critical thinking and analytical skills that will be critical to my future as a pharmD candidate. A reason I should not have to take this course is that expository writing is not greatly emphasized in a pharmacist's career, additionally I already took AP Language and Composition (got a 5 on exam but pharmacists can’t bypass expos). However being able to effectively express one’s views and ideas is critical to any profession, and language arts classes in high school may not have taught me the analytical skills necessary in my future. “To use writing as a way of thinking new thoughts” means that writing is a tool for reacting to/expressing what one has read and to make connections about what was read with personal experiences/other fields, etc.

“Again and again, we need to make connections that bridge the gaps between areas of knowledge, linking the formal learning we acquire to our personal experience”(Miller, Spellmeyer xxiv). The rationale of New Humanities is not only to reflect on reading and knowledge, but to link it to our personal experiences and  other subjects/disciplines to form new, unique solutions to problems that we face. The quotation above captures this purpose by emphasizing that connections between various specializations are necessary to solve problems, but only when we apply/adapt our learning to certain personal experiences can we truly solve problems. An unfamiliar term the author uses is “connecting” which is a necessary process to create knowledge and solutions. The concept of a shared horizon is an overarching one because everyday people form new connections (talking to people, reading new things, watching the news, etc.), and by bringing these ideas together we can create new coherent ideas. By linking seemingly different “specializations” we can find creative solutions to lingering problems as well. Overall, the New Humanities emphasizes finding more “round” ways of thinking and expression by incorporating ideas from different fields and by relating that knowledge to personal experience.