American Studies Day and Junior Theme Reflection

As I was thinking about American Studies Day (which was awesome), and doing our reflections in class, I thought about Maria Finitzo's work and how it relates to ours, specifically with junior theme. Our junior themes, which we recently finished and turned in, required us to invest a topic we found ... interesting. I know for me, the huge freedom we were given in choosing a topic put more pressure on me to find one I was actually curious/excited about. But I did, and ended up researching genetic engineering, a topic I had previously no knowledge about. We had to come up with a why question and investigate our topic through a variety of sources, without taking a side on the current issue (as many of the topics people chose had sides and controversies). After our discussion with Ms. Finitzo, I realized the process she went through in creating her documentary on stem cell research was very very similar to what we went through, like it was her own "junior theme". Her task was to illustrate stem cell controversy and how it effects us today, without showing her bias and by incorporating many different voices. Just from what we saw on thursday, she had 2 personal stories intertwined together and she interviewed a Catholic bishop. What really impressed me though, was the dedication that Maria Finitzo took to submerge herself in her topic, research and understand it, so that she was sort of an "expert" on stem cell research, just as we were on our topics after completing our junior themes. Ms. Finitzo was extremely knowledgeable on stem cells and a lot of the science, and was able to answer everyone's questions during the discussion. The work that Maria Finitzo does to create intriguing documentaries mirrors what we are taught to do in American Studies, in the regards to thinking critically about the world around us, asking probing questions, and investigating issues that are important to us.

Overall, I really enjoyed American Studies day, especially the Slam Poets at the end of the day. They were exciting and engaging and really wrapped up the day nicely. I think its cool that the day showcased a variety of talents - a journalist, a film maker, slam poets, and student/teacher panels.