Bright Sided Questions

Chapter 1

Referring to previous text, when Ehrenreich learns of all the possible changes she would go through, how did she feel in relation to place?

     According to Ehrenreich, what are the benefits of having cancer?

Chapter 2

With the many changes America is undergoing, how can someone overcome the challenges of positive thinking?

When we think of positive thinking and how it’s the gateway to our success, is it also a sense of “false” hope?

Chapter 3

Ehrenreich discusses the origin of New Thought, which birthed the theory that illness could be overcome by your mind. Although, this theory did not work infectious diseases it did on the other hand with invalidism, which is brought on by stress. Do you believe this to be true?

 Is being optimistic falsify the reality of living in the real world?

Bright-Sided Questions

1. The author hints that the Hurricane Katrina was not unanticipated, nor the September 11th attacks, but due to American "optimism" the signs were ignored. Should there be an extent to positive thinking? Does it cause more harm than good?

2. We tend to think of the USA as the greatest nation. Militarily yes, but we are behind in healthcare, technology, and even education. Has positive thinking masked the true identity of America?   

3. Ehrenreich believes that cancer has become a "right of passage, not a "tragedy to rail against." Do you agree that the views on the severity of cancer has changed?

4. Do you think a positive attitude has the ability to cure diseases?

5. People who think negative are not the only ones who die of cancer; "positive thinkers" do too. Can we really argue that positivity has an effect on disease? What determines if the person is cured or not?

6. From personal experience, do you think laughter and happiness has an effect on the body?

7. Is something as serious as survival influenced by something as simple as your attitude?

Bright-Sided Questions

How do you accurately measure happiness if everyone’s view of happiness is different?

What factors make America, The land of dreams, number 23 in Happiness?

Chapter 1:
Do you think laughter and humor can really boost ones immune system?
Is the medical field responsible for breast cancer due to the lack of research on drugs prescribed  to women to prevent heart disease?

Chapter 2:
Do you think Arlie Hochschild study can be proven correct about people being emotionally depleted by the requirement of being constantly cheerful?

Is all news negative? Can the news be perceived differently in peoples minds?

Chapter 3 :
Is overly rapid expansion and change really the cause of invalidism, is invalidism even real?

Is it even possible for pessimistic people to purge all the negative people from their lives to become positive if it is in their nature to be negative?

Bright Sided Discussion Questions

Intro
1. What do you think that Ehrenreich means by dissecting the idea of Americans as positive thinkers?
2. What could the concept of Americans as positive thinkers have to do with the place concepts discussed in our previous readings?
Chapter 1
3. Do you think her portrayal of individuals with cancer in America provides a good first chapter for her work, or should such a drastic and contrasting topic be placed later in the book?
4. Why do you think Americans wish to focus on positive thinking, even when it comes to situations like cancer?
Chapter 2
5. The term magical thinking is thrown around often - do you think that magical thinking and positive thinking should be classified as different terms or the same term?
6. Can you think of any examples of Magical Thinking that you have experienced in your everyday life?
Chapter 3
7. Ehrenrich's analysis of the origins of America's optimistic side displays the slow corruption and disillusionment that America has been undergoing for years. Do you believe that this is on purpose or has been occurring inadvertently?
8. What causes besides the ones listed can you think would inspire America's sense of false optimism?

Pictures I have collected

I am just beginning to collect pictures for the project but I thave come across some interesting things.  One picture in particular is of Angelina Jolie.  She was at an awards ceremony and stuck her leg out from the dress.  It should have been  a provocative pose but it only showed how malnurished she is.  Interestingly, Heidi Klum struck the same pose and she looks sexy and healthy.  It would be interesting to see how people perceive both women in today's pop culture

blog 2

Genealogy of Place

This chapter discusses how place can exists and can change according to many different things. One thing that struck me in this chapter was place as home. The book says "The home is an intimate space where experience is particularly intense." to me home is where i have made most of my memories good and bad. But iv'e never really thought about what home meant to me until i read this chapter.

"In the modern World, Relph argues that we are surrounded by a general condition of creeping placelessness marked by an inability to have authentic relationships to place because the new placelessness  does not allow people to become existential insiders." I liked this quote because it made me think alot. after this the book goes on to say how Relph sees American homeowners moving every three years and therefore weakening place. It reminded me how i have moved multiple times in my life and while the building i was in changes the people im around do not. I tie my family to home more than the house itself.

blog 1

2. How is place defined?  How does narrative shape our understanding and experiences in place?  What are the implications as “undifferentiated space becomes place” (Cresswell 8)?  How is landscape and place shaped by fiction and visual arts?  What does it mean to “inhabit” place?

3. What does a study of place in America reveal? About what or whom?

According to the book "place is a word that seems to speak for itself."  Place can be geographical or a memory or an experience. It can be a house or a room or just where you are. Undifferentiated space becomes place when we begin to associate a space with experience or experiences. We make landscape from things we hear and things we see in media and art and from talking with people. To inhabit place we make that space our own. We begin to associate certain things in the place to represent who we are as a person. The book uses the example of a student decorating a dorm room. 

The study of place in america reveals that peoples places in america different to many people. Each person might see there place as something different. America is also unique to because of how large it is and because of how many different cultures inhabit it. Because of this many people will see place differently and therefore view America in a different light.