Digital Portfolio

BENG221 English Language and Composition- II

Digital Portfolio

Sambhavi Vasudevan

2133454

2ECOHB

School of Social Sciences, Christ (Deemed to be University)

Bangalore

Under the Supervision of

Dr. Arya P. V.

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Table of Contents

S No Name of topic Page No

1 Preface 3

2 Task 1- Identification of Different Types of Claim 4

3 Task 2- Providing evidence to claims 6

4 Task 3- Anecdotal Narrative of Discrimination based on Food 8

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Preface

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Task 1- Identification of Different Types of Claim

Based on the reading of the article(the link given below) identify the types of claims and state
the reason for the same.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/naveenjain/2013/03/24/disrupting-education/?sh=7dfc5d7423ef

Types of claim Sentence Reason

Claim of values We need to recognize the fact The claim of values is the
that our education system is questioning of what people
NOT BROKEN but has believe. The author has
simply become OBSOLETE. presented an opinion
different from the common
perception that the education
system is obsolete and can
be repaired.

Claim of facts Our education system today
uses the mass production
style manufacturing process
of standardization.
The author claims that our
education system is created
for the industrial era. This is
backed by arguments and
there are pieces of evidence
to support the same.

Claim of policy As we continue to pour The author suggests

billions of dollars into a
failing education system that
seeks to advance teaching
methodologies, it is time we
flipped the model on its head
methods to improve the
education system and
opposes simply pouring in
funds into the sector.

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and used technology to focus

on our learners.

Claim of fact Just think of the opportunities
we can unlock by making
education as addictive as a
video game. This type of
experiential, addictive
learning improves
decision-making skills and
increases the processing
speed and spatial skills of the
brain
The author claims that
addictive learning like video
games can help in improving
certain cognitive skills,
backing it with an example
about children in America.

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Task 2- Providing evidence to claims

The Minister of State for Human Resource Development Satyapal Singh, in his
speech made in the city of Aurangabad on January 19, 2018, claimed that the Darwin theory
is false. He was quoted as saying “Darwin’s theory of evolution is wrong. It has already been
rejected by scientists some 30-35 years back. It is wrong to say that humans evolved from
monkeys and such references should be removed from the science and history school
textbooks.” This is a highly problematic claim as it ignores certain nuances and reduces the
theory as to whether humans emerged from monkeys.

Much research has further substantiated Darwin’s theory. 27 characters have been
identified as possible attributes of the Last Common Ancestor of apes and humans, based on
similarities between fossil apes, living apes, and early hominins (Andrews, 2019). According
to the American Society of Human Genetics, humans share over 90% of their DNA with
apes, including the characteristics responsible for gene transcription (ScienceDaily, 2012). A
13-million-year-old infant skull was retrieved in Kenya, which established a possibility that
the common ancestor of humans and apes looked like a gibbon (Choi, 2017). With this
evidence, we can claim that not only is the Darwin theory not rejected by the scientific
community, but every research further adds to it. Darwin’s theory led to the discovery of the
philosophy of evolutionary biology and brought historicity in science, which helped in
answering the reason for extinction of dinosaurs.

He also claimed that the Vedas had answers to all the questions. This cannot be
categorized as a claim of fact as there is evidence that though the Vedas are helpful in
understanding Indian culture, it still doesn’t contribute to modern science. Moreover, the
minister has not provided any evidence as to how Vedic texts, which are millions of years old,
can answer questions which are just 500 years old. Hence, his claims cannot be labeled as
claims of fact.

When a minister of Human Resource Development makes such unreasonable

statements, it affects the image of the country in the international front and discredits the
work done by Indian researchers. Hence, the Minister of State must issue a clarification
regarding his statement.

References

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Andrews, P. (2019). Last Common Ancestor of Apes and Humans: Morphology and

Environment. London, UK: Natural History Museum.

https://doi.org/10.1159/000501557

American Society of Human Genetics. (2012, Nov 6). Humans, chimpanzees and

monkeys share DNA but not gene regulatory mechanisms. ScienceDaily. Retrieved

February 10, 2022 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121106201124.htm

Choi, C.Q. (2017, August 10) Fossil Reveals What the Last Common Ancestor of Humans

and Apes Looked Like. Scientific American. Retrieved from

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fossil-reveals-what-last-common-ancestor

-of humans-and-apes-looked-liked/

Mayr, E. (2009, Nov 24) Darwin's Influence on Modern Thought. Scientific American.

Retrieved from

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/darwins-influence-on-modern-thought1/

Nanda, M. (2015). Saffronized science: Rampant pseudoscience in ‘Vedic Garb’ in the Indian

subcontinent. Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective, 5(1), 39-47.

Retrieved from

https://social-epistemology.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/nanda_saffronized_scie

nce.pdf

Wujastyk, D. (1998) Science and Vedic Studies. Journal of Indian Philosophy 26, 335–345.

https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004393620724

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Task 3- Anecdotal Narrative of Discrimination based on Food

“Food does not have a religion. Food is a religion.” This was said by Zomato in
response to a complaint tweeted by a customer as he was allotted a non-Hindu delivery
person. But I am not going to talk about this incident.

Food, to a great extent, is indicative of one’s values and culture. Food brings together
people of diverse mindsets, religions, ethnicities, and languages. Think about it. Many
multinational business deals are negotiated over food, and when the deal is sealed, they
celebrate it with a hearty meal. However, we Indians are currently living in intolerant times
wherein food preferences are used to spread hate and divide. Mob lynching of people
carrying beef has been on the rise. But I am not going to talk about these either.

Honestly, I don't even understand the gravity of this issue. I am from a privileged,
upper-middle-class NRI family. My privilege has protected me from being at the receiving
end of this bigotry and I acknowledge the same. However, being a practicing vegetarian, I
have observed instances of prejudices based on food. I was always a part of this problem, and
this article can be called a confession about the same.

I first realized what being a vegetarian meant when I was eight years old. I used to
think that I was a very noble person who saved animals by being vegetarian (I eat eggs, by
the way). I used to talk about and promote vegetarianism among my friends. At school, my
friend and I used to run away from another friend of ours on seeing her tiffin box with
chicken in it. To us, it wasn’t a big deal, and we continued this practice until she confronted
us and told us how problematic what we did was.

When I was 15, we visited the US. One morning, they served bacon for breakfast at
the hotel. My sister wanted to try the same and she asked me not to tell my parents. I stopped
her from eating the same. It was not that I did not feel comfortable keeping a secret from my
parents, but it was because I was irked and couldn’t tolerate her eating non-vegetarian food.
The otherwise normal sight of my sister reaching out for bacon seemed like the end of the
world for me.

I have indeed questioned my parents about our vegetarianism and I do stand against
any prejudice based on food habits. But the instances around me have made me internalize it

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to an extent where I don’t even realize where I went wrong. I have seen my relatives being
taken aback when my cousins say they want to eat chicken. I have also sensed the slight
discomfort that my parents feel when they allow non-vegetarian tenants. However, I
condoned what they did.

Now the main question arises- why am I talking about instances which seemingly
don’t matter? We never see people getting arrested for mob lynching or hate speech often,
and if they do, they do not get media coverage. People continue to spew hate as we the
common people end up supporting or normalizing their extremist point of view. We cannot
counter the larger problem until we understand certain nuances in it. This is like how gender
bias is not limited to just heinous crimes against women but includes seemingly harmless
things like casual sexism and gender stereotyping.

Will this article with my confessions and introspections make any difference in
reducing the discrimination against communities based on food preferences? Will it help
reduce mob lynching? It wouldn’t. But it indeed can provide another perspective to the issue.
Perhaps before showing our protest against mob lynching on our Instagram stories, we can
introspect where it comes from in the first place.