War And Peace Reflection Essay

Reflection of Course This course has exposed me to various entities in play relating to the themes of War and Peace. This class has been full of downright shocking moments of disbelief in the reality of our government as well as empowering moments in which I felt practical action was not only effective but also plausible. Over the course of the semester, we each participated in strong lectures and discussions, some being much stronger than others. These lectures and discussions deepened our understanding of the individual elements that play into war and peace. Each topic strengthened our understanding, in some way and has provided me with a greater knowledge of our political climate relating to both war and peace. One lecture that really …show more content…
The lecture on technology and governments control on the Internet felt out of place. The majority of the lecture focused around how the government and other applications keep tabs on your actions and whereabouts through GPS monitoring. The majority of his examples related to the government tracking your actions in a mall. This lecture felt widely disconnected from the course because it did not mention the impact the tracking as a war or peace tactic. It seemed he was unaware that the lecture needed to tie into War and Peace, not the shoes we were purchasing in Macy’s. The following week, we had another lecture that seemed to be confused as to the purpose of the course. Stephen Bittner gave an in-depth lecture on the history of Russia. It was incredibly fast paced, but thorough. Even still, it did not really connect to the class. While we were learning about the Revolution war in Russia, he did not seem to understand a connection to the course war and peace. At one point, he actually asked Chingling the purpose of the course, not being aware that the lecture was to give us a greater understanding of war and peace in some way. This lecture was truly a lowlight and was even further affected through the watching of Animal Farm. While the film was almost comical in it’s portrayal of the book, it, in a way connected the random lecture to the class by giving us …show more content…
Each week, I connect back to the first discussion where we discussed if the United States is an empire that profits from wars. Unfortunately, each week I conclude with the same answer: that we are. This dismal outlook on the United States has been depressing to deal with over the course of the semester. Luckily, the information gained from the course still holds use. I will continue to be smarter and more diligent in researching the news I obtain. The discussion of media bias has brought me to question a greater number of stories portrayed on the news. Overall, the course has pushed me to be a lot more skeptical about the motives and actions of our government. Would you say I am better off knowing the corrupt ways of the government as they work to profit from war? I cannot truly answer that, but I know I am a lot more knowledgeable about ways to change their