Humanity has taken it upon itself to preserve nature because of it’s beauty and it’s importance to earth. This is the popular opinion of environmentalists and most people. However, Hundreds of years ago the wilderness wasn’t something to be preserved but something to be avoided. The author, William Cronon, describes the wilderness as non-human. In history, towns and cities would always sit on this boundary between the humanity and inhumanity. This creates a dualism that the majority of people are unfamiliar with. In modern day we’ve learned to coexist but we still manage to destroy wilderness when we touch it. Humans have created a paradox from the moment our existence began, “if nature dies because we enter it, then the only way to save nature is to kill ourselves.” My essay is about learning to coexist with nature and finding it’s similarities between human and non-human. We try to live amongst nature because it is natural. Nonetheless, Humans cannot live in a primitive environment such as the wilderness, we must create our own homes by taking it away from other life. This isn’t necessarily something bad.
Mike Emanuele “The Cyborg Manifesto” by Donna Haraway is an ironic look at the women, technology, and politics in modern day. The passage is about the advancement of the human species, beyond male or female. A cyborg. Haraway describes a cyborg as a cybernetic organism that is beyond gender, bisexuality, and social issues in the modern era. The existence of the cyborg takes place in a time after her described patriarchy is taken down along with racism and white capitalism. Her points mostly consist of the flaws in current humanity such as labor class struggles or gender identity. Questions I had while reading consist of the difference between the marxist feminists and socialist feminists. However, this is mostly because I’m unfamiliar with feminism in general. Haraway’s passage connects to my mini essay in a contradiction. My argument in my essay is how unique mankind can be likewise to nature. Haraway claims that all of humanity will become common cyborgs, a collection of humanity into a hive mind. One race, one gender, all the same socially.
During my trek around campus, I couldn’t help but notice the famous tree in front of sturges hall. I figured it would be perfect for this specific prompt. The Dr. Seuss looking tree is intriguing to everyone who walks by it. The way it hangs over at the top reminds me of a giraffe bending its long neck down for whatever reason. The tree’s origin, as many of us know, is when an ice storm had struck Geneseo. What I can imagine for it’s formation is the mixture between the intense wind and ice that caused the tree slouch in such a way and remain in its state permanently. It must have been incredible for any staff or student to return to the site of the once lingering pine tree in the center of campus, to see it become a unique landmark in Geneseo and beyond. This speaks for how Geneseo is special. You won’t come across such a remarkable tree like this possibly ever. Similar to the college, you won’t come across a school like Geneseo ever again. It’s convenience in the center of campus reminds us how special we are everyday when we walk by it. We are preserving this tree specifically because of what it symbolizes for all of Geneseo. Others believe it is just a tree. It functions like a tree, smells like a tree, looks like a tree. It’s just another obstacle for a new building to be constructed on top of eventually. However, I would argue it’s presence is something greater.
