Radio Chthulucene 87.9 FM

Now my journal entries align with the class schedule. Hooray! However, I will have to begin writing soon for my first workshop. So, I guess it is time to start brainstorming to figure out what the basis of my project will be. I was just looking through the pieces up for workshop this week and dang, they are impressive. So many different styles and such creativity. Poetry, different languages, computer code (I think), and radio broadcast. I am envious.

I do not know how ready I am for this project. This is the third/fourth writing class I have taken at UCSD and the first/second upper division workshop I have taken. The reason for the slashes is because I am taking another simultaneously. Oh, and I am a writing minor. Microbiology is my major. So, I am a bit overwhelmed. But hey, more opportunities for codeswitching, I guess.

Okay, so the basics of my workshop piece. According to the syllabus, it has to be under 1,000 words (easy) and must include my name, date, workshop number I am participating in, and the word count. It should “engage this course’s overarching topic and additional
topics unique to assigned course texts and our collaboration.” Simple enough, I guess. The rest is more technical details.

So, codeswitching. Intercultural. Auto-translation. Translanguaging. How to discuss these topics.

First things first. I could switch between two languages. Spanish and English. But that opens a whole host of identity issues I have not fully resolved yet, so I don’t know. Plus, I am far more fluent in English than Spanish, which is part of this identity problem.

Changes in genre or style. This, I think I prefer. It also seems to be a common style in some of the pieces we’ve read, such as Dictee. And I do have many different styles I could draw from. The drab formality of science. The flowery beauty of religious texts. The simple and detailed writing of Model UN. The informality of journals and talking to friends (of course, I am more formal than the average UCSD student. Every time I hear “me and <person’s name> I cringe). I think changing between these forms might be the best way to incorporate these themes.

Now, for the plot. Although this is intercultural, we are to look at our own cultures for inspiration. Intracultural. Which kind of sucks but makes sense. So, what to incorporate? Honestly, some science and religion, plus various pop culture references. Why? I am an American boy, a scientist, and a Christian. Maybe I will also discuss some of the intersection of culture and blurring these lines we draw, because that is part of my identity.

So, those are my thoughts. Now I need to write a cohesive piece based on this. Plus, study for an upcoming midterm and wrangle high schoolers all weekend at an upcoming Model UN conference. It will be hard, but I have an idea now. So it is possible. Wish me luck.