Assessment 1 Reflective Journal 

The purpose of this assessment exercise is twofold: first, it aims to get you to think critically 

about several key issues raised in your readings and the accompanying lectures; second, it aims 

to get you to begin using the critical terminology you have encountered in your readings and the 

accompanying lectures. Thinking critically means thinking in a way that demands and seeks 

clarity of ideas, precision with definitions, and an understanding of key presuppositions. 

Presuppositions are in many ways the most important focus of what critical thinking entails 

because it essentially demands that we interrogate what we take for granted, i.e., that which we 

dont think about but nonetheless think with. Critiques of white privilege, gender bias, 

homophobia and so on are all critiques of presuppositions, assumptions that are made about 

the world that arent factored into thought. When we think or say, thats no job for a woman 

(as people have said in the past about a range of professions) we are presupposing a set intrinsic 

limits and restrictions relating to our understanding of what being a woman entails. Overturning 

those assumptions has been a century long labour of critical thinking and activism. 

Taking that same critical mindset of refusing to accept assumptions at face value, your task with 

the following questions is to write short critical responses (250 words per question) that address 

the critical issues they raise. I have added a brief outline of the issues that I think these questions 

raise, but you should feel free to add your own, and to respond selectively (I dont expect you to 

respond to all the issues). 

Question 1 (week 2) 

According to Nixon, we lack the representational means to represent slow forms of violence to 

ourselves. Why is this a problem? 

Issues to consider: 

What does Nixon mean by representational means? 

What makes slow forms of violence particularly resistant to representation? 

How would things be different if we did have adequate representational means? 

Question 2 (Week 3) 

Birch says we need to need to nurture places where connection and ethical dialogue can take 

place. Why is this important?

Issues to consider: 

What does Birch mean by place? 

What does Birch mean by ethical dialogue? 

What does Birch mean by connection?