Category: Uncategorised

Author and Hero Metaphor

   – Ethical Dimension: The author’s responsibility to the hero mirrors our ethical responsibility to others. We help shape each other’s identities through our interactions, highlighting the ethical duty to engage with and respect others.

   – Aesthetic Dimension: Just as an author crafts a narrative, we co-create the “story” of our lives with others, making identity formation an aesthetic process of meaning-making.

Importance of Dialogue

   – Ethical Dimension: Engaging in dialogue with others means acknowledging and valuing their perspectives, which is a key ethical practice.

   – Aesthetic Dimension: Dialogue enriches the aesthetic quality of our lives, making our identities more nuanced, complex, and meaningful.

Birth and Death Metaphors:

   – Ethical Dimension: Understanding that we help “birth” each other’s identities through our interactions highlights the ethical responsibility we have in how we influence and shape others.

   – Aesthetic Dimension: The idea of continuous “birth” and the open-ended nature of our identities emphasize that life is an ongoing aesthetic creation, where we continually shape and reshape meaning until the end.

Ethics and Aesthetics Intertwined:

   – The fusion of ethics (how we treat and engage with others) and aesthetics (how we create and interpret meaning) shows that living a meaningful life involves both ethical responsibility and creative engagement with the world and others.

Dynamic Identity:

   – Ethical Dimension: Recognizing that identity is dynamic encourages a more compassionate and open approach to ourselves and others, fostering ethical relationships.

   – Aesthetic Dimension: Viewing identity as a continuous, evolving process highlights the creative, aesthetic journey of becoming, shaped by the rich tapestry of our interactions.

Time-Space Compression

– The world feels smaller due to globalization and technological advancements (e.g. emails, fast travel, media streaming).

– Our experience of space and place has changed; distance and time are compressed.

Not Everyone Experiences It Equally

– Massey highlights “power-geometry”: some people have more control and mobility (e.g. business travelers), while others are stuck or negatively affected (e.g. factory workers, refugees).

– Factors like gender, race, and class affect how people experience mobility and space. 

  – Example: Women’s mobility may be limited due to safety concerns.

Digital Communities and Fluid Identities

– You brought up how online communities help people stay connected across borders (e.g. staying in touch with your hometown while living elsewhere).

– This reflects a fluid and dynamic sense of place, shaped by relationships rather than fixed geography.

Cultural Mixing and Global Influence

– You mentioned how living in Hong Kong exposed you to multiple cultures from a young age, showing how a place can be shaped by colonial history and global exchanges.

– This reflects Massey’s idea that **places are made through global connections**, not just local heritage.

Globalization and Inequality

– Unequal mobility can reinforce social inequality.

  – Example: A car owner has more mobility than someone relying on public transport, which gets underfunded.

– Digital access and remote work can expand freedom for some, but not everyone has equal access.

A Progressive Sense of Place

– Massey argues for a “global sense of the local”—seeing places not as isolated, but as intersections of global social relations.

– Places are processes, not fixed containers.

– A sense of place can be inclusive, outward-looking, and connected—not nostalgic or reactionary.

Safety and Mobility for Women

– You gave an example of a friend in South Africa who faces threats walking alone—showing how place is gendered.

Spring break is the perfect time to rest and recharge, especially after a stressful second year at university.

Unit 2 has been overwhelming, and I’ve felt burned out. There were a lot of conflicts and issues in my course, which created a mental burden and made me feel unsafe at times. Not everyone seemed happy, and that added to the stress. I had to juggle a ton of assignments and respond to countless messages from my cohort, which was exhausting. Honestly, I often didn’t want to collaborate with others-I just wanted to focus on my own work. While I learned a lot about teamwork, it’s not my strength, and I prefer doing things my way without compromising.

As an artist, I also struggle with feedback, whether it’s positive or negative. I want my work to reflect who I am, not be shaped by others’ opinions. Group activities, meetings, and exchanging ideas with classmates weren’t enjoyable for me this year, maybe because I’m feeling more independent.

That’s why spring break was such a great opportunity to take a step back and relax. I also got the chance to pitch my card game to a board game company, which was an exciting and valuable experience. It’s my first time creating a board game, and I’d love to work on it more when I have free time. Overall, I enjoyed spring break so much more than my Unit 2 of university. Unit 2 has been a tough experience compared to Unit 2.

I am someone who really enjoys creating mind maps, brainstorming, and timelines, mainly because of the nature of my work. Meeting deadlines is critical in my role, so I rely on these tools to stay organized and ensure everything is completed on time. Through this course, I discovered Miro, and I found it incredibly useful for these tasks.

In my Unit1 assignment, I used Miro to brainstorm and create my mind map, and it made a significant difference. As a person with many ideas and points to consider, I often need to find connections between them. Mind mapping helps me organize my thoughts clearly and effectively, allowing me to link ideas and refine my approach. It has been an invaluable tool in my creative and professional processes.

This is my fourth lesson in the course, and I still feel lost. I genuinely love studying, love Marsha (she is a wonderful person) and I’m passionate about this topic—learning about and discussing culture together is something I truly enjoy. I also really appreciate being part of UAL. However, I sometimes feel like I’m falling behind. My classmates all seem brilliant, and I can’t help but feel like the weakest in the group. Even though I’m doing my best, I still feel like I’m not quite keeping up.

Maybe part of why I feel lost is because I’ve been out of school for so long. After working for years, returning to study feels like a big adjustment. I hope that by the end of this course, when I look back at my blog, I’ll see growth and progress. Right now, though, it’s tough. I do a lot of reading and preparation before each class, which I enjoy, but in class, I get nervous and struggle to speak up. I’m shy and lack confidence in expressing myself, and I’m not entirely sure why.

After reading the Goffman’s article, I began questioning why I feel the need to present myself as brilliant or perfect in this course. I don’t have a clear answer. Perhaps this reflection will help me understand myself more deeply and reduce the pressure I place on myself.

I hope this blog becomes a space for reflection, allowing me to look back on where I am today. In two years, I want to see growth, to know that I’ve changed and evolved from this point. When I revisit this entry, I hope to feel proud of the progress I’ve made, knowing that I’ve become more confident and capable. This journey may be challenging, but I believe it will lead me to a better version of myself.

In a sense, and in so far as this mask represents the conception we have formed of ourselves—the role we are striving to live up to—this mask is our truer self, the self we would like to be.

Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.

I know that It is important to face failure, but at the same time, it is difficult to face failure, because sometimes, it really hurts. However, I’ve realised that doing so is crucial for personal growth and learning. After every class, I will continue to reflect on my failures and assess the lessons I’ve learned. By committing to this exercise regularly, I hope to develop a deeper understanding of myself and enhance my ability to improve through each experience. Failure is not the end, but a starting point for growth.

Lil Push Plan + Risk > Intercultural Practice

• Plan: I love Japanese culture and am learning the Japanese language, so I plan to read Japanese articles every morning to improve my language skills and gain a deeper understanding of Japanese culture, social norms, and traditions. For instance, the Japanese term さとやま (Satoyama) symbolises the harmonious relationship between people and nature, where humans coexist with the forest rather than exploit it. This reflects the broader Japanese cultural value of living in balance with the environment, showing respect for nature and future generations. By learning this concept, I realised that Japan’s approach to environmental conservation isn’t just about sustainability but also about maintaining harmony between humans, nature, and future generations, like children.

• Risk: Maintaining this habit has been challenging due to my desire to sleep in the morning and lack of consistent motivation, which has interrupted my language learning and cultural immersion. Since I have registered for the N3 Japanese test in December, which requires me to focus on grammar and vocabulary, my failure is putting me behind in my studies.

Lil Push Realisation + Reflection > Intercultural Practice

• Realisation: I found it difficult to maintain this habit, especially in the mornings. While I managed to stick to the routine for half a month, my consistency dropped, reducing my reading to three or two times a week. Failing to engage with reading Japanese articles limited my understanding of cultural nuances and learning process.
• Reflection: I think building a strong connection with a new culture requires discipline and consistency. This inconsistency has affected my confidence in preparing for the N3 test in December. At that same time, missing opportunities to engage with the language, I lost chances to absorb valuable cultural insights.

Intercultural Practices  INSIGHT(S) / CONCLUSION / FUTURE WORK

• INSIGHT: Japanese culture is deeply embedded in its language. The nuances of formality and societal roles are reflected in word choice and sentence structures. Regularly reading articles would have improved both my language skills and understanding of these cultural norms. This would also enhance my comprehension when watching Japanese anime, which I’ve been a fan of since childhood.
• CONCLUSION: I thinkconsistent engagement with reading Japanese articles is crucial to understanding both the language and the culture. Failing to maintain this consistency hinders both my intercultural learning process and linguistic progress. 
• FUTURE WORK: I’ll start my mornings with a cup of  coffee to help focus and make reading Japanese articles a daily routine and try to establish a more flexible and realistic routine to accommodate my cultural learning. Moreover, I plan to explore shorter, more engaging content, such as entertainment news or art events, to build a sustainable habit.

In The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Goffman’s work helps to see social life as a series of performances, encouraging to reflect on how we present ourselves and understand the behaviours of others in social settings, presenting the idea that individuals manage the impressions they give to others much like actors on a stage.

“We have been using the term ‘performance’ to refer to all the activity of an individual which occurs during a period marked by his continuous presence before a particular set of observers and which has some influence on the observers.”

(Goffman, 1959, p. 22)

“Instead of merely doing his task and giving vent to his feelings, he will express the doing of his task and acceptably convey his feelings. In general, the representation of an activity, especially when this representation is socialized in accordance with interaction standards, will vary in some degree from the activity itself.”

(Goffman, 1959, p. 74)

This is the first post of my blog, which will serve as a space for reflecting on my progress throughout my course at UAL. I’ll document my journey, challenges, and achievements as I work on developing my creative projects. I hope to track my growth, both creatively and personally, and share insights I gain along the way.

My journey truly begins.

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