academic writing

Reconsidering the Power Structures of Green Space: Nature is Not Neutral

• Topics: environmentalism, land rights, policy, racial justice
• Parameters: online-only, individual project.
• What I liked: Gathering evidence to support argument of my choice with freedom to ask questions. Using persuasive writing voice. Being intentional about storytelling and writing flow. Poking holes in assumptions, creating my own definition of environmentalism and inclusivity. Critiquing conservation organizations, government agencies, corporations for being exclusive and profit-driven. Researching history to inform present and future.
• What I argued: Public space should mean collective ownership and inheritance. Land should be in the hands of Indigenous nations who have the most historical connection.

Abolitionist Movement in Boston: Write-Up of Mapping Project

• Topics: cities, racial justice, protest
• Parameters: in-person, online, individual. 
• What I liked doing: Historical research and reading. Finding relatable moments and emotions. Keeping integrity of qualitative data using quantitative models. Building connection to place; taking opportunities to go to research sites. Informing policy and community resilience. Building an accessible and aesthetically pleasing user interface. Working independently with help from professionals. Having control of the direction of my project. Making creative and artistic aesthetic choices and choosing my own research parameters. Combining past, present, future. Engaging with militant and radical theory. Creating a finished product is tangible but can be added upon. Creating an educational tool that benefits more than myself. Writing persuasively and argumentatively.
• What I argued: Black people are consistently resisting oppression in the U.S. and we can learn a lot about Black liberation from pre-civil war boston. 

Memo to L.A. City Council Addressing Homelessness and Climate Change

• Topics: socio-economic justice, policy, climate change 
• Parameters: Individual project. Online only.
• What I liked: Researching about what policies had been implemented in other places and adjusting for a new location, making additions. Thinking about evidence for and against policies as well as limitations. Researching stakeholders to argue how they would benefit from implementing policy. Seeing big picture with attention to detail. Framing my argument constructively instead of critically, while illustrating high stakes.
• What I argued: Investing in sustainable energy is not enough. Housing justice is inextricably linked with climate justice.

Conference on Nuclear Testing Simulation

• Topics: negotiation, policy, diplomacy, military, justice, nation
• Parameters: group project, online only
• What I liked: Identifying stakeholders’ interests in a messy conflict. Understanding opposing viewpoints about nuclear energy. Facilitating productive negotiations despite lack of precedent. Distilling necessary information into role play instructions. Using imagination to alter the playing field.
• What I argued: Nuclear testing is harmful for everyone involved. Anti-nuclear policy is urgent and demands collaboration grounded on shared interests and colonial independence.

New Environmentalism in Art: Resisting Boundaries

• Topics: contemporary art, military, environmentalism, anthropology, history
• Parameters: online only, individual project.
• What I liked: Using research topic (art) as basis for persuasive argument. Researching artists’ methods, motivations, and the history of Puerto Rican islands as victims of U.S. military. Using persuasive writing. Including readings from different classes. Critiquing the U.S. military and praising artists and resistance movements simultaneously.
• What I argued: The United States needs to stop bombing other countries. Geopolitical boundaries need to be rethought to implement effective sustainability.

Ethnography of Davis Square

• Topics: cities, policy, anthropology
• Parameters: in-person and online, individual project.
• What I liked: Developing insights from personal observation rather than impersonal scientific method. Investigating what stands before me to find patterns. Visiting site and observing outside. Using detailed observation to consider existential questions and innovative policy ideas. Using my imagination.
• What I argued: “The environment” is wherever we live, play, and work. Worldviews shape how we interpret our surroundings. We can change our surroundings to be more cohesive with our beliefs.

Policy Paper: The Wilderness Act of 1964

• Topics: conservation, policy, justice
• Parameters: Online-only. Individual project.
• What I liked: Researching how a policy was written and implemented. Critiquing conventional conservation and policymaking. Investigating the motivation for a policy.
• What I argued: Exclusionary conservation policies are unwise and unsustainable, taking the Act of 1964 as an example. More dynamic policies need to be implemented that allow coexistence and symbiosis between human civilization and our environment.