Category: Writing

Discussion Four: Visual Meaning

Visual Meaning

There are three main strategies for analyzing works of art: contextual theory, formal theory, and expressive theory. Last week you used expressive theory to discuss a work of art by relating it to the life of the artist. This week you will discuss a painting in terms of formal theory; in other words, you will analyze how the meaning a work of art is shaped by its visual characteristics.

In your post, please focus on a work of art by an artist discussed in this week’s reading. You can pick a work that is shown in your textbook or you can do a little research and choose something different. As you analyze the piece, please pay close attention to the formal choices made by the artist and consider the following questions:

• How is color used? What is the visual impact of the color? Does it seem to have visual or psychological meaning?

• What types of forms are evident in the work (organic, geometric, smooth, jagged, etc.)? How does this affect the way you experience the piece?

• Is there a visual rhythm created by the repetition of forms and lines? How would you describe it?

• Consider the composition: how does your eye move through the piece? What do you think is the focal point? How does the focal point relate to the meaning of the work as you interpret it?

This week I am not giving you a list of artists or specific works of art, but I encourage you to focus on a work that is associated with , Expressionism ( or ), or early abstraction. . Once again, please include a picture in your post and links to your sources!

For our discussion this week, we are looking at the Six Day War of 1967 and its impact on the region.

I want you to debate the following questions:

1. What caused the Six Day War, and would you have launched a preemptive strike as Israel did?

2. What is the political significance/consequence of the Six Day War?

Okay, for this week, we have a short writing assignment that asks you to read Why Nation’s Fail and listen to his lecture and identify what his research question is, and what are his causal variables. We are building on the work of the previous weeks in identify how political scientists think about their research. Ultimately, what is his argument as to why some nations are more successful than others?

In 3 double-space pages I want you to (1) identify Robinson’s argument and (2) do you agree with him, why or why not? To be successful, you need to identify Robinson’s terms and clearly identify his argument citing the reading or the lecture video. Second, I want to see your voices come through. You are not graded on whether you agree or disagree, but on the quality of your argument. Do you think his variables are sufficient to explain why there is liberty and freedom in some countries but not others? Are they missing something? Or are they correct? What matters is that you justify why you are making the argument you are making. Now, the literature on democracy is vast, and more vast, and we are starting out this discussion, so don’t feel overwhelmed or like you might be missing something. The debate over democracy goes back to the beginning of political time, and we have been debating it since Aristotle. I just want to know what you think!

This week we are looking at what type of questions we, as comparative politics examine, what makes a good theory in explaining these questions, and how to set up a research design. You have looked at two famous studies “Why Nations Fail” and “Guns, Germs, and Steel” which use the comparative method to attempt to provide answers to big and difficult questions, specifically why are some countries more successful than others.

For this discussion I want you to look at Acemoglu and Robinson’s Why Nations Fail and identify what are the variables of the study? The Dependent Variable is the political phenomena being explained and the independent variables are those factors that explain the specific political phenomena (outcome). In other words what explains the differences in outcomes (wealth, development, rule of law, etc). Do you agree with their argument overall, why or why not?

Hindu Scriptures Guided Lecture Notes

History and Scriptures of Hinduism

1. Who are the Dasas and how are they connected to the formation of Hinduism?
2. Who are the Indo-Aryans? How are they connected to the formation of Hinduism?
3. What are the two categories of Scripture in Hinduism? What scriptures does each category contain? When was each scripture written?

Hindu Religion

1. Is Hinduism polytheistic, monotheistic or both?
2. What is Samsara?
3. What is an atman?
4. What is karma?
5. What is moksha?
6. What is bhakti? And who can a Hindu show bhakti for?
7. What are jnana and samadhi? And how would a Hindu achieve them?

The Vedas (Knowledge)

1. What is the origin of the Vedas?
2. What are the Four Samhitas of the Vedas?
3. What are some texts associated with the Vedas, and how are they associated?
4. What are some uses of the Vedic texts? What how are the Vedas typically NOT used?

The Upanishads

1. What is the age of the Upanishads compared to the Vedas?
2. How many Upanishads are there?
3. What do the Upanishads contain?
4. What key Hindu concepts are first introduced in the Upanishads?

The Bhagavad Gita

1. Where does the Bhagavad Gita text come from?
2. How long is the Mahabharata?
3. What is the story contained in the Mahbharata?
4. Who are the two main characters of the Bhagavad Gita?
5. What are some of the major themes of the Bhagavad Gita?

History and Teachings of Buddhism

1. Who founded Buddhism? And when did he live?
2. What does the title Buddha mean?
3. What did the Buddha do after he achieved enlightenment?
4. How and where did Buddhism spread outside of India?
5. What are some key Buddhist concepts? (list 6)

Scriptures of Buddhism

1. What is the Pali canon? And when was it canonized?
2. What texts does it include?
3. What are the Sanskrit sutras?
4. What is the Chinese canon? And when was it canonized?
5. What texts does it include?
6. What is the Tibetan Canon? And when was it canonized?
7. What texts does it include?

Life Stories of the Buddha

1. What was the first Life Story of the Buddha?
2. Who wrote it and when was it written?
3. What are the key parts of the story of the Buddha and his journey to enlightenment? (list 5)

The Dhammapada

1. What are contained in the Dhammapada?
2. What does dhamma mean?
3. What does pada mean?

The Heart Sutra

1. Why are we studying the Heart Sutra if it is not recognized as a teaching of the Buddha?
2. What is Sunyata?
3. What is the No-Self Doctrine?
4. How does sunyata apply to all phenomena in the world?
5. What is non-duality and how does it apply to Buddhism?

The Lotus Sutra

1. What is a Mahayana Sutra?
2. What is the Parable of the Burning House? And what does it teach about Buddhism?
3. What does the Tathagata want for all of us?

Hindu Scriptures Guided Lecture Notes

History and Scriptures of Hinduism

1. Who are the Dasas and how are they connected to the formation of Hinduism?
2. Who are the Indo-Aryans? How are they connected to the formation of Hinduism?
3. What are the two categories of Scripture in Hinduism? What scriptures does each category contain? When was each scripture written?

Hindu Religion

1. Is Hinduism polytheistic, monotheistic or both?
2. What is Samsara?
3. What is an atman?
4. What is karma?
5. What is moksha?
6. What is bhakti? And who can a Hindu show bhakti for?
7. What are jnana and samadhi? And how would a Hindu achieve them?

The Vedas (Knowledge)

1. What is the origin of the Vedas?
2. What are the Four Samhitas of the Vedas?
3. What are some texts associated with the Vedas, and how are they associated?
4. What are some uses of the Vedic texts? What how are the Vedas typically NOT used?

The Upanishads

1. What is the age of the Upanishads compared to the Vedas?
2. How many Upanishads are there?
3. What do the Upanishads contain?
4. What key Hindu concepts are first introduced in the Upanishads?

The Bhagavad Gita

1. Where does the Bhagavad Gita text come from?
2. How long is the Mahabharata?
3. What is the story contained in the Mahbharata?
4. Who are the two main characters of the Bhagavad Gita?
5. What are some of the major themes of the Bhagavad Gita?

History and Teachings of Buddhism

1. Who founded Buddhism? And when did he live?
2. What does the title Buddha mean?
3. What did the Buddha do after he achieved enlightenment?
4. How and where did Buddhism spread outside of India?
5. What are some key Buddhist concepts? (list 6)

Scriptures of Buddhism

1. What is the Pali canon? And when was it canonized?
2. What texts does it include?
3. What are the Sanskrit sutras?
4. What is the Chinese canon? And when was it canonized?
5. What texts does it include?
6. What is the Tibetan Canon? And when was it canonized?
7. What texts does it include?

Life Stories of the Buddha

1. What was the first Life Story of the Buddha?
2. Who wrote it and when was it written?
3. What are the key parts of the story of the Buddha and his journey to enlightenment? (list 5)

The Dhammapada

1. What are contained in the Dhammapada?
2. What does dhamma mean?
3. What does pada mean?

The Heart Sutra

1. Why are we studying the Heart Sutra if it is not recognized as a teaching of the Buddha?
2. What is Sunyata?
3. What is the No-Self Doctrine?
4. How does sunyata apply to all phenomena in the world?
5. What is non-duality and how does it apply to Buddhism?

The Lotus Sutra

1. What is a Mahayana Sutra?
2. What is the Parable of the Burning House? And what does it teach about Buddhism?
3. What does the Tathagata want for all of us?

Part 1: Write at least a 500-word response to the following: Use APA format

• Convey your progress and/or barriers that have had an impact on your academic progress. Be specific in your examples of the progress and barriers.
• Also, include in your reflection your comments on what you learned from watching the video.

Part 2: Respond to the student in minimum 200 words: Use APA format

Doctoral writing has required a deliberate shift in how scholarly ideas are constructed, supported, and communicated. Reflecting on my progress, I recognize meaningful development in my academic voice, structural coherence, and research alignment. At the same time, I acknowledge barriers that have influenced my academic pace and productivity. This reflection demonstrates growth in critical thinking, scholarly integration, and self-assessment consistent with doctoral expectations.

One of the most impactful lessons from the School for Scholarly Writing tutorial was the reminder that Scholarly writing is an academic voice and it’s very different than other forms of writing. Earlier in my program, I occasionally wrote in a conversational tone, especially when discussing leadership and workforce well-beingtopics closely connected to my professional identity. The directive to use third person, not first, second, or first person plural required intentional editing and discipline. Shifting to the third person strengthened objectivity and aligned my writing with doctoral standards. Hyland (2022) explains that mastering disciplinary voice conventions strengthens scholarly identity and credibility, which I now recognize in my own work.

Another area of growth has been improving coherence and conceptual alignment. The tutorial emphasized that Coherence means that your ideas are fully developed and each sentence connects logically to the one that follows. Early drafts of my research contained fragmented transitions and insufficient synthesis. Through faculty feedback and revision, I learned to structure paragraphs intentionally so each advances the central argument. This development aligns with Nowell and Albrechts (2022) assertion that conceptual coherence is foundational to qualitative rigor. As I refine my narrative inquiry study, I now ensure that the problem statement, purpose statement, and research questions are tightly aligned.

The instruction to cite in the past tense also corrected an inconsistency in my writing. Understanding that authors stated their findings reflects scholarly precision and adherence to APA conventions (American Psychological Association [APA], 2020). Although small, these adjustments signal academic maturity and attention to detail. Despite this progress, time management remains a significant barrier. Balancing my role as a facility manager in a substance use treatment setting, a business owner transitioning to nonprofit status, and a doctoral student often fragments the focused time required for scholarly writing. Research indicates that competing professional demands can hinder doctoral productivity and increase stress (Dautermann et al., 2023). Recognizing this challenge has led me to implement structured writing blocks and prioritize realistic milestones. Perfectionism has also influenced my academic pace. The tutorial cautioned writers to use direct quotes sparingly, highlighting the importance of developing ones analytical voice. I realized that overreliance on quoting sometimes reflected hesitation to trust my interpretation. Smith and Lee (2021) note that perfectionism can increase writing anxiety and delay completion. Learning to draft imperfectly and refine through revision has improved both efficiency and confidence.

Finally, the directive to write in active voice strengthened my clarity and authority. Revising passive constructions has enhanced readability and precision. Sword (2022) emphasizes that active voice increases engagement and impact in scholarly writing, a principle I now apply consistently during editing. Overall, this tutorial reinforced that effective scholarly writing is grounded in clarity, coherence, evidence, and disciplined revision. While time constraints and perfectionistic tendencies remain areas for growth, I have strengthened my scholarly voice, structural alignment, and research rigor. As I progress toward dissertation completion, I am increasingly confident in my ability to produce structured, evidence-based scholarship reflective of doctoral-level standards.

Dautermann, J. L., McCrady, B., & Smyth, J. M. (2023). Time management challenges in doctoral writing: Implications for productivity and well-being. Journal of Writing Research, 15(1), 4267.

Hyland, K. (2022). English for academic purposes: An advanced resource book (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Nowell, L. S., & Albrecht, K. (2022). Advancing coherence in qualitative inquiry. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21, 111

Smith, J., & Lee, M. (2021). Perfectionism and academic writing productivity. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113(4), 785800.

Sword, H. (2022). Writing with style: Academic writing for impact (2nd ed.). Harvard University Press

University of Phoenix. (2024). Tips for scholarly writing [Video tutorial]. School of Scholarly Writing.

OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (GPT-4.1).