Week #15 12-9-11 Paper Analysis/New Testament Readings
Hello! I feel like I’ve said the same things for the past few weeks but, WOW what a crazy week. I’m writing this entry to you at 5am from the basement in the sky (6th floor CAP Studio). I just finished putting the final touches on my Critical Essay and I also finished my perspective drawing due for my Design, Communication, and Media CAP drawing course. It has been one heck of a night, but I cannot wait to see my bed at noon. But I digress, onto the good stuff!
This week has been a little different in the sense that the class had the final papers due on Wednesday so we took that day to briefly explain what we learned about our topics through this more in depth research. I think I learned a lot about the Greek and Roman religions through writing this paper. I found it especially funny that when Homer wrote The Odyssey he made Poseidon the enemy of Odysseus and the people that found him, had adopted Poseidon as their god. It cracked me up inside when I found that. I also learned that each of cultures had many similarities in their gods. It was interesting to learn about their similarities. I have to admit, I’m glad the research process is over and that the paper is written and will be turned in four hours.
As for some of the other reading this week, I really enjoyed reading the New Testament. It has been awhile since I’ve cracked my bible opening for leisurely reading due to a busy schedule. I really enjoyed looking at the gospels. I found it interesting when I brought by bible out in class and realized that the translations were different between the text and my bible. I always knew that there were different versions of the bible, but I didn’t know the translations were that different. It got me to thinking about how only God really knows his divine word and that human interpretation will always be imperfect.
So from polytheism in the paper to monotheism in class, this week has been a really interesting experience. Hope that next week goes well with finals. I think this might be the last journal entry I write for the wiki this semester. So I’d like to thank you for reading my journals all semester and I look forward to writing them again in Honors202 in the spring. Happy Holidays to you and be safe over the long break.
Adam
Week #14 12-7-11 Rough Draft Analysis Hello! Once again thank you so much for accommodating those stupid architecture students once again. I don't think we could thank you enough for what you allowed us to do. So first off, update on the final project. Studio went really well and through many long hours (and a few all-nighters) the project is finally done. We had our juries on Monday and they seemed to go very well. My professor, German Cruz, is taking a semester’s leave to determine whether he should retire permanently or not. It is a sad thing to see him go, especially because of all the work and skills he has taught us this year. Now the CAP students are frantically trying to complete all the other papers and projects that they put off during "hell week" and are working just as hard to complete them.
As for the rough drafts! We were able to meet up in the basement in the sky (6th floor CAP studio) in order to proofread each other’s rough drafts. Wes' paper is about Jainism. I really enjoyed reading his paper and refreshing my memory as to what Jainism is! I did have a few comments when I went to critique his paper. In his rough draft it seemed as if every sentence had an in text citation and it really seemed to take away from his paper. He also had a few content and grammar errors, but nothing major. I think his paper was fairly smooth but could use a little polishing around the edges!
Christine's paper was about the good life and what the balance of a person's spiritual, worldly, and ethical standards good be in viewing the good life. I really enjoyed reading her paper. It was very interesting to hear her opinions on the matte and get a hear a logical, factual analysis on these three components.
My own rough draft is a little sketchy, but with a few polished refinements, I’m hoping it will be a spectacular paper. Thanks so much for reading and I can’t thank you enough for the extension!
Week # 13 11-18-11 Art Museums/Space/Movement
What an interesting week this week! Many things are going on in the world of studio and architecture. We received our final project in the studio course and are working on a massive drawing for my design communication and media class. But lots of other projects are going on as well. I had a paper due in English 104 this week, a project due for my plan100 course, and have several other papers in the works due within the next few weeks. But, we also presented our Death and the Underworld presentation this week, which was a major relief to finish up. I think the presentation went really well and I’m very happy with how the group collaborated together on the project.
This week we focused mainly on the art museum and the architectural principals of the buildings. One of the museums we had studied was The Modern Museum of Art in Fort Worth. It is funny, because coincidently we talked about the architect in my Arch100 course. So I thought I’d share a little bit about what I learned about him.
The Architect for this museum was Tadao Ando. He is a Japanese designer that emphasized silence, stillness, and sacredness within his design. He firmly believed that all spaces were sacred and that the design of them should be approached as a sacred endeavor. He used very strict geometry within his architecture and it really shows with this art museum.
In my architecture class we studied another museum by Ando and I wanted to talk about it a little more because of the elements that it has that we discussed in this class. The Chichu Art Museum uses a series of spaces that are located both above and below ground. Ando wanted the museum patrons to experience the space as they moved through it, which is why the spaces are designed differently from each other and contain a lot of private and semi-public areas. There also isn’t a lot of artificial light within his work, he wants people to experience themselves and how they fit with the earth. Light is used to draw people to certain points within the museum. There might be a series of dark spaces where all people can see is the “light at the end of the tunnel.” This museum allows for people to open up their senses as they walk through it and be able to experience what is around them more vividly. Having a series of tight and dark spaces makes the open spaces with art more appreciative. I’ve included some photos of this art museum below.
Thank so much for reading! See you next week.
The Chichu Art Museum from Above
One of the larger rooms within the museum
A hallway within the museum leading from an outdoor space to and underground compressed space.
An interior space at the Chichu Art Museum
A courtyard within the Chichu Museum of Art
Another interior space
Week #12 11-11-11 Roman gods I feel like I say this every week in this journal, but boy was it a busy week! Two new projects in Architecture, finishing up the final parts of the "Death in the Underworld Presentation,", and writing a paper for my English 104 Class. Busy, Busy, Busy! But on to other things!
First off, as stated below, I have decided that a good topic for my critical essay would be researching the different Greek and Roman gods, how they are patronized by their society, and comparing their similarities and differences. I think it'd be really interesting to research these gods and their "personalities," especially after reading The Odyssey and watching how Odysseus had given his entire existence into serving the gods (for their personal pleasure). I think it would also be interesting to find out why the Greeks portrayed the gods as almost equal and how the Romans portrayed their gods as high and mighty. But I digress. I'll explain more of the paper in well... the paper!
The Bulk of this week's reading has been The Aeneid. The language is really tripping me up when it comes to reading this selection, but I'm trying to dive right through it. First off, I’m semi-familiar with the Roman gods, solely due to the fact that I listened to Gustav Holst’s The Planets, non stop when I was young. So in the Aeneid there is Neptune, the Mystic; Venus, the Bringer of Peace; Jupiter the Bringer of Jollity (whatever that is [joy maybe {night before Christmas reference J}]); and Mercury, the winged messenger (in today’s terms an angel). These are the gods that are listed in the selection we read this week, but there are definitely more gods to speak of. It seems as if these gods are more pious than the others, because they aren’t given as many human qualities as they were in The Odyssey. They weren’t as relatable, not as human. Almost as it is for those who believe in God today, a God of wonder and might. Someone who we are unequal to and unmatched. An interesting thought process.
Critical Essay Topic
For my essay I'd like to research the Greek and Roman gods. I'd like to compare their similarities, differences, and how each of the cultures saw them.
Week #11 11-4-11 The Tao and The Presentation Assignment
Holy Cow what a crazy week! I think this is the least amount of sleep I’ve gotten in a long time. Lots of things are going on in the CAP First year Studio right now! Although busy things seem to be going well! To start things off I think I will give a little bit of a project update on our Honors 201 presentation on Death and the Underworld. We have met a lot in the past few days. We have completed our plans and have a very good idea as to what the video skeleton will look like, but we always have spur of the moment ideas and insert things here and there. We have also begun shooting our video (details to come/ be viewed later J). Things seem to be right on track with our presentation. But on the topic of this week’s discussion the Tao.
I am not going to lie when I say I’m very confused as to what the Tao is. I looked at some videos online and I think I get the general sense of it all. It seems as if the Tao is a state of being, a lifestyle choice rather than a religion. It seems as if what we are studying in the World Literature book is the lifestyle principals that people who practice Taoism observe. It also appears to be somewhat of a Tao bible too. The Dao De Jing talks about existence in the world and speaks in little proverbial stories. It is very interesting to try and draw parallels between this type of work and the bible.
Taoism is definitely a lifestyle choice and those who choose to follow these principals choose to dedicate their entire lives to this teaching and belief. I find it an interesting lifestyle to study, but I think it’s a little too much for me to handle.
Week #10 10-28-11 The Good Life
Wow what a really fabulous week! I feel like this week we really got into some deep discussion about the good life. I found it really interesting what people had to say about the good life in class and want to elaborate a little more on my thoughts about the good life for this journal entry!
First off, I think the good life is very much dependent not on material possessions, but more on emotional and metal joy. Society today wants people to invest in material possessions because it allows for increase in consumer buying and the economy. But I think the real joy and contentment of the good life comes from living a lifestyle in tune to a person’s moral standards. I liked the fact that we brought up God in class today and thought about how religion may have a big part as to what the good life really is. I think it is interesting that many people agreed with religious motivations in the good life.
For me, it’s a balance between secular beliefs and religious beliefs. Religion has a major part in the good life for me. Without my belief in God, I wouldn’t be the person that I am today. Having said this I cannot image a life without God. But my life isn’t all about worship my creator, it is also about reflecting him in my life. I hold the belief that all people were made in the image and likeness of God. But we have to reflect this in our day to day lives. This isn’t a common belief in secular society. But I think as far as my personal happiness, I need to reflect this in order for me to personal live the good life.
The good life must be, in my opinion, an individual’s perspective. I don’t think that we as humans can classify what the good life is and how to live a good life. I do know this however, that a person who does not feel like they are living a good life and has aspirations that they never achieve will feel like they’ve lived a good life. We are now where we are today to live a life in this world. So I end with a question, why would we not live a life that we feel is good? Why would we not go the extra mile to feel as if we are living life how God wants us to live it?
Week #9 10-21-11 Midterm
So this week’s journal reflection is going to be a little bit about the class so far. I want to start out by saying that I really enjoy the class and have signed up for its counterpart next semester. I’m really enjoying the discussion based learning. I think it is interesting to hear others points of view and to also form new ideas about ideas that I hadn’t necessarily thought about before.
Addressing some of the questions posed on the homepage, I think I am participating well in class (minus the times I wasn’t there of course). I’ve always been one to think on something and give my opinion or critical thoughts to other people, so I guess I’m not shy in that regard. I wish I could read a little bit more into detail in the readings though. Many times I find myself struggling with the dialect and the phrasing of the words, but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.
From a learning standpoint, I think I’m learning a ton of new ideas. I’m also learning about stories, people, and events that I hadn’t ever heard before at my high school. I also learned the power of discussion based learning. I’ve only had one class like that before and I absolutely loved it! But, I think when everyone participates it really makes a difference on the outcome of the class.
At this point the class, from my perspective, is going really well. I’m not sure I would change anything about it. I think this is one of my favorite classes because of the discussion based learning and the camaraderie between me and some of my classmates. I think some of the best moments in class are the ones we spend around the circle. I especially liked sharing our parodies with the class and being able to express ourselves through creative means. I also liked the cultural events that we attend. I know this is individual, but I think it is great that we get to go out and experience the communities that we live in down here and write about them.
So, I guess my overall conclusion is that the class is going really well and it’s a lot of fun! I’m learning a lot and cannot wait to take Honors 202 next semester.
Week #8 10-14-11 Parodies and Presentations
I have to start out this journal entry by saying that the ladies today did a wonderful job on their presentation. Especially, the discussion questions afterward. I found it very fun to have an actual intellectual debate about the current standing of the government, rather than the typical “let’s poke fun at our elected officials talk,” that I normally have with people. I also wanted to congratulate everyone on some fabulous parodies! They were hilarious and I found them quite amusing to talk about on a Monday morning. It certainly started the week off on the right foot!\
Now onto the good stuff! I wanted to bring up the discussion we brought up about leaders today! I really enjoyed talking about what each of us had to say about being a leader. Having done several community leadership projects back in Fort Wayne, I found out that there are many definitions to what a leader is. For me a leader is a person who has influence on people. This influence can be positive or negative, so naturally we have positive and negative leaders. In my opinion (maybe not in others opinions) some examples of good leaders would be God, the Pope or Chief Boy Scout Executive Bob Mazucca. Some examples of negative leaders might be Hitler or Satan, but like I said some (or many) might disagree with me.
I also want to talk about how we talked about a leader needs to get down and get their hands dirty when it comes to leading. A leader needs to be able to get involved with the people they are leading and be willing to suffer with their team. It is essential for some leaders to do this so that they can prove themselves to those that they are leading. I liked the example about how a lot of the presidents of the United States had experience in the military and if they didn’t they made sure they had the people on staff that did. This is crucial when it comes to leading people.
I think leadership has gone a long way in this country. I liked how we talked today about how the people are just as actively involved in the leadership as the heads of state are. In America we are equally responsible for the decisions that are made by our elected officials because we are the people who put them in office. Anyway, to sum this up, I think we, as a class, have a great handle on what leadership is, and I had a wonderful time talking about it in an intellectual discussion. Thanks for reading! Cya next week!
Week #7 10-7-11 The Odyssey in relation to Chicago
What a fabulous and embarrassing week! Going to Chicago with the College of Architecture and Planning was amazing. I don’t think I’ll ever look at the windy city the same way again. However the embarrassment comes in when I missed class this morning despite the two alarms I set for myself and the preplanning that I did beforehand, but that’s beside the point. What I wanted to talk about this week is the relation of my Chicago trip to the Honors201 class, specifically its relationship to the Odyssey.
Just as Odysseus was held up by several different events throughout the story so were we throughout our trip. I think the first major holdup was when the Bears game got out and we were stuck in traffic for around an hour trying to get to our hotel. Another similarity between our trip and the Odyssey was the fact that we traveled everywhere around Chicago just as Odysseus went all around Greece looking for Ithaca. And just as he had different experiences in all of those different places so did we. We experienced and learned about compression and release on Michigan Avenue, we learned about the low cost housing on the south side of town, and we also learned about the revitalization of neighborhoods all around the inner city of Chicago.
I also discovered my major while I was in the city. I’m going to be a transportation planner which would have definitely helped Odysseus when he was traveling by boat to find Ithaca. A planner really could have helped him find a way back to his home a lot quicker than Athena did! Speaking of boats we actually took a boat tour and saw the Chicago skyline along the Chicago river and Lake Michigan. It could probably be related to seeing all of Greece as Odysseus did.
We also had an incidence with a Cyclops, in this case a representative from the Illinois Institute of Technology who wasn’t too happy that we randomly walked into their architecture building and started to talk to their students (we were with our professor too). Speaking of our professor, Vera Adams, she was definitely the hero of the trip. I’m so glad that we were able to be with her because she showed us a lot about her knowledge of Chicago and told us a little more about her personal life. I guess you could say it was like a relationship that Odysseus and Telemakos had in the end of the epic.
Overall it was a fabulous trip and I’m glad that I was able to go with the College of Architecture and Planning. Week #6 9-30-11 Sacred Scripture
Holy Cow (or calf… whatever floats your boat) what an incredibly busy week this week! I do not think that anybody is upset about this weekend. I would also like to throw in a little bit of appreciation for class being canceled on Wednesday, it was definitely a nice relief.
But, onto the topic of discussion for this week, the books of Sacred Scripture. I think I want to bring up a few things that we hit up in class; first off, it seemed as if many people took the words of the Bible literally. Without getting into too much religious politics, I’ve been raised to believe that not everything from Sacred Scripture should be interpreted literally, so I think I differ from many people’s opinions as stated in class.
We started on Monday talking about the flood and the story of Noah’s ark. A story that I will never forget for I watched many a veggie-tale movie! Then to the tower of Babel, one of my favorites! Theoretically this is the birth of linguistics in our world today and as an architecture major I’m fascinated with building higher! But I really liked about our readings this week was the story of the Exodus.
God’s power is truly manifested in the story of Moses and his omnipotence is shown through the plagues and the power that he gives to Moses to save the Israelites from Pharaoh. But then, they go and reject him by creating the golden calf and worshiping it instead of their liberating God. It just happens as this was going on, God had given them the Ten Commandments to abide by. These commandments are still heavily emphasized in religions and lifestyles across the world today.
All in all I like having scriptural discussion in class to gather viewpoints of my peers, it can be quite entertaining. But I have to say, I really missed being assigned Bible passages to read for homework, and this class certainly made my day! Have a wonderful week! Week #5 09-23-11 Sappho Poems/The Creation Myths/ Creation Stories
What an interesting week we had in class. I feel like we had a really good discussion both Wednesday and Friday, not to mention the awesome group discussion that we had for most of class on Monday. I have to say that the one thing I like about Honors 201 is the fact that we can hold a deep discussion, like the one we had today during class on creation, and maintain a sense of calm serenity and ‘civilness’. I cannot say that I’ve had that in other courses thus far at Ball State. But anyway, onto what I think about this week.
I think my favorite readings of the week have been Sappho’s poems. I think the translation allows for a lot of interpretation of the meaning of the text. For example, my group discussed the poem “You know the place: then,” and we had the hardest time deciding the context of a few of the translations. What does the “then” represent? Is it leading into the next sentence? Is it giving the audience a context of time? Is it a sense of emotion being put into the poem to draw the emotions out of its viewers?
Really I think these questions are all valid and it is really up to the audience’s interpretation of the readings. I think my favorite one of her poems is “He is more than a hero.” I love how descriptive Sappho is about the person she is writing about. It really describes her passion for the man that draws her so speechless. Her passion and fire is what is needed in this world today. She writes so confidently about the man she speaks! It is really cool to think about the fact that she can tune into her feelings and describe them with such vigor and passion. It’s weird because I’m struggling to do this myself in some of my studio projects. I hope that my passion can come out in my architecture, just like it came out in her writing. Week # 4 09-16-11 The Odyssey
Wow, what a wonderful end to The Odyssey. Homer really knew how to tie open ended plots up! I really liked the fact that both Odysseus and Telemachus defeated the suitors together, thus reuniting the ties of their families relationship. I did think however that it was going a little overboard when they just decided to kill the unfaithful maids. And it went even more overboard when Telemachus decides to not only kill them, but hang them. Especially after the fact that he disobeyed his father who told him to kill them by the sword. But, it must have done some justice for the people listening to the story back in the old days and I am not about to judge the Greeks on their culture.
I thought the end was weird but oddly appropriate. It seemed to tie everything together and allowed for the audience to leave on a positive note. It also allowed for more stories to follow should Homer choose to write another one. It also left the audience with that “everything is good in the world” feeling. The fact that the gods were up above staring down and keeping watch over the world seems oddly fitting for a story so immersed in the gods being in control of everything.
On a non-Odyssey note, I think the parodies are going to be hilarious! I am really excited to see how they turn out. I think my favorite website was the Lego site that made fun of all the different artworks. I liked the Last Supper interpretation. I think the Odyssey has a lot of examples to create a parody. I really liked the idea of using Athena and all of her disguises as the subject matter for this project. We were also thinking about doing a parody on the entire work based in Muncie. Each location Odysseus went to would be a different place in the city. That’s an idea that I’ll have to ponder for next week! Week #3 09-09-11 The Odyssey
As we’ve dived deeper into class discussion about the Odyssey I’ve noticed a few things. Number one Athena is definitely the character in the story that keeps the plot moving. It seems that she always showed up when Odysseus needed her the most, when there was nothing more that a mere mortal could do. This also fits in with what we were talking about in class, about how Homer used women in the story. I think that he uses women to progress the plot and he seems to describe them as key members of society, an uncommon belief at this time in history. Now whether or not he portrays women in a positive or negative light, I’m not sure. But I can say that he respected women enough to make them essential characters throughout the entirety of the storyline.
Another thing I’ve picked up on is the fact that this composition is very episodic. Each book seems to contain a sub-plot or story. We had talked about earlier in the week that this story was passed down through oral tradition and may have been told in different settings. We had debated whether or not it was told in six to seven hour sessions or short hour story times. I think it could’ve been done both ways. The plot is episodic enough that this very well could’ve been told in separate sessions. It would’ve made a nice break in the day for Greek culture and told to a group of people by the bards in public.
I’m pretty anxious to read this weekend’s and next week’s readings, to find out what happens in Ithaca and what Athena has in store for Odysseus. I’m not sure what more there could be seeing as Odysseus is already in Ithaca, but I guess we’ll find out. It should make for a great read.
Week #2 09-02-11 The Odyssey
This week we have begun reading the Odyssey, written by Homer in the time of the ancient Greeks. I’m not going to lie when I say that I’m slightly confused by the wording of the text. But, I think I’ve grasped a lot of what’s going in the story from in class discussion and from the background information on the story.
I wanted to elaborate a little bit on a comment that I stated earlier in class today. It seems like in the Odyssey that the gods just push around and play with the people of the Greek civilization, especially Odysseus. We read about the warriors of the Trojan War trying to get home to their families after the fighting was over. Unfortunately, many of these people have struggles in trying to do so; all because the gods disagree as to whether or not they want to let them go home. I mentioned in class that I’m glad we live in a monotheistic society, due to the fact that I don’t have to play around the whims and the emotions of the seemingly mortal, yet immortal gods. I think life would be incredibly difficult to go by trying to please many different higher powers instead of the one almighty God that I believe in today.
I also find it interesting that The Odyssey has several different sub-plots running through the beginning of the story. I’m not sure as to whether or not these stories may have been written to teach lessons to the people of ancient Greece or to simply provide more sensory images into the plotline. It could also have something to do with this particular translation of the Odyssey. All in all I think this story is an awesome one and would’ve made an awesome story told through oral tradition during that time period. Week #1 08-26-11 The Epic of Gilgamesh
Wow… do I have a few thoughts this week on The Epic of Gilgamesh! First off, I think watching the video and reading the background information immediately before reading the passage helped immensely with my reading comprehension of the text. I was really impressed with the passion in which those chosen to speak in the video portrayed about this work. It really surprised me that this had such a profound impact on their lives. I really appreciated the fact that they were willing to discuss the book in detail on camera. It got me wondering whether or not the Epic would change my life.
I did notice that there were a few instances of dissonance between our text and that of the movie. One of these was when they talked about Gilgamesh and Enkidu having an all out war between each other for forty days and forty nights, while our text stated that they had a quick wrestling match and then became friends.
We talked briefly in class about references to biblical passages throughout the text and I thought I’d hit upon that here as well. First off, it was fascinating to me that this text is older than the Bible itself! It really struck me as interesting that we were drawing these parallels in class about The Epic of Gilgamesh being like the Bible. But, I think we should turn the tables a little bit and instead of comparing the epic to the Bible, we should compare the Bible to the epic. After all, the epic was first. There were several instances in which multiple characters in the Bible portrayed the characters in The Epic of Gilgamesh. These stories included, Cain and Able, Adam and Eve, David and Goliath, Sampson and Delilah, etc…
All of these comparisons were fabulous! I feel like the first week of class went really well and that we all made a very solid analysis of the text! I’m really excited to see what this class brings in the next few weeks.
Adam's Journal Page
Week #15 12-9-11 Paper Analysis/New Testament ReadingsHello! I feel like I’ve said the same things for the past few weeks but, WOW what a crazy week. I’m writing this entry to you at 5am from the basement in the sky (6th floor CAP Studio). I just finished putting the final touches on my Critical Essay and I also finished my perspective drawing due for my Design, Communication, and Media CAP drawing course. It has been one heck of a night, but I cannot wait to see my bed at noon. But I digress, onto the good stuff!
This week has been a little different in the sense that the class had the final papers due on Wednesday so we took that day to briefly explain what we learned about our topics through this more in depth research. I think I learned a lot about the Greek and Roman religions through writing this paper. I found it especially funny that when Homer wrote The Odyssey he made Poseidon the enemy of Odysseus and the people that found him, had adopted Poseidon as their god. It cracked me up inside when I found that. I also learned that each of cultures had many similarities in their gods. It was interesting to learn about their similarities. I have to admit, I’m glad the research process is over and that the paper is written and will be turned in four hours.
As for some of the other reading this week, I really enjoyed reading the New Testament. It has been awhile since I’ve cracked my bible opening for leisurely reading due to a busy schedule. I really enjoyed looking at the gospels. I found it interesting when I brought by bible out in class and realized that the translations were different between the text and my bible. I always knew that there were different versions of the bible, but I didn’t know the translations were that different. It got me to thinking about how only God really knows his divine word and that human interpretation will always be imperfect.
So from polytheism in the paper to monotheism in class, this week has been a really interesting experience. Hope that next week goes well with finals. I think this might be the last journal entry I write for the wiki this semester. So I’d like to thank you for reading my journals all semester and I look forward to writing them again in Honors202 in the spring. Happy Holidays to you and be safe over the long break.
Adam
Week #14 12-7-11 Rough Draft Analysis
Hello! Once again thank you so much for accommodating those stupid architecture students once again. I don't think we could thank you enough for what you allowed us to do. So first off, update on the final project. Studio went really well and through many long hours (and a few all-nighters) the project is finally done. We had our juries on Monday and they seemed to go very well. My professor, German Cruz, is taking a semester’s leave to determine whether he should retire permanently or not. It is a sad thing to see him go, especially because of all the work and skills he has taught us this year. Now the CAP students are frantically trying to complete all the other papers and projects that they put off during "hell week" and are working just as hard to complete them.
As for the rough drafts! We were able to meet up in the basement in the sky (6th floor CAP studio) in order to proofread each other’s rough drafts. Wes' paper is about Jainism. I really enjoyed reading his paper and refreshing my memory as to what Jainism is! I did have a few comments when I went to critique his paper. In his rough draft it seemed as if every sentence had an in text citation and it really seemed to take away from his paper. He also had a few content and grammar errors, but nothing major. I think his paper was fairly smooth but could use a little polishing around the edges!
Christine's paper was about the good life and what the balance of a person's spiritual, worldly, and ethical standards good be in viewing the good life. I really enjoyed reading her paper. It was very interesting to hear her opinions on the matte and get a hear a logical, factual analysis on these three components.
My own rough draft is a little sketchy, but with a few polished refinements, I’m hoping it will be a spectacular paper. Thanks so much for reading and I can’t thank you enough for the extension!
Week # 13 11-18-11 Art Museums/Space/Movement
What an interesting week this week! Many things are going on in the world of studio and architecture. We received our final project in the studio course and are working on a massive drawing for my design communication and media class. But lots of other projects are going on as well. I had a paper due in English 104 this week, a project due for my plan100 course, and have several other papers in the works due within the next few weeks. But, we also presented our Death and the Underworld presentation this week, which was a major relief to finish up. I think the presentation went really well and I’m very happy with how the group collaborated together on the project.
This week we focused mainly on the art museum and the architectural principals of the buildings. One of the museums we had studied was The Modern Museum of Art in Fort Worth. It is funny, because coincidently we talked about the architect in my Arch100 course. So I thought I’d share a little bit about what I learned about him.
The Architect for this museum was Tadao Ando. He is a Japanese designer that emphasized silence, stillness, and sacredness within his design. He firmly believed that all spaces were sacred and that the design of them should be approached as a sacred endeavor. He used very strict geometry within his architecture and it really shows with this art museum.
In my architecture class we studied another museum by Ando and I wanted to talk about it a little more because of the elements that it has that we discussed in this class. The Chichu Art Museum uses a series of spaces that are located both above and below ground. Ando wanted the museum patrons to experience the space as they moved through it, which is why the spaces are designed differently from each other and contain a lot of private and semi-public areas. There also isn’t a lot of artificial light within his work, he wants people to experience themselves and how they fit with the earth. Light is used to draw people to certain points within the museum. There might be a series of dark spaces where all people can see is the “light at the end of the tunnel.” This museum allows for people to open up their senses as they walk through it and be able to experience what is around them more vividly. Having a series of tight and dark spaces makes the open spaces with art more appreciative. I’ve included some photos of this art museum below.
Thank so much for reading! See you next week.
Week #12 11-11-11 Roman gods
I feel like I say this every week in this journal, but boy was it a busy week! Two new projects in Architecture, finishing up the final parts of the "Death in the Underworld Presentation,", and writing a paper for my English 104 Class. Busy, Busy, Busy! But on to other things!
First off, as stated below, I have decided that a good topic for my critical essay would be researching the different Greek and Roman gods, how they are patronized by their society, and comparing their similarities and differences. I think it'd be really interesting to research these gods and their "personalities," especially after reading The Odyssey and watching how Odysseus had given his entire existence into serving the gods (for their personal pleasure). I think it would also be interesting to find out why the Greeks portrayed the gods as almost equal and how the Romans portrayed their gods as high and mighty. But I digress. I'll explain more of the paper in well... the paper!
The Bulk of this week's reading has been The Aeneid. The language is really tripping me up when it comes to reading this selection, but I'm trying to dive right through it. First off, I’m semi-familiar with the Roman gods, solely due to the fact that I listened to Gustav Holst’s The Planets, non stop when I was young. So in the Aeneid there is Neptune, the Mystic; Venus, the Bringer of Peace; Jupiter the Bringer of Jollity (whatever that is [joy maybe {night before Christmas reference J}]); and Mercury, the winged messenger (in today’s terms an angel). These are the gods that are listed in the selection we read this week, but there are definitely more gods to speak of. It seems as if these gods are more pious than the others, because they aren’t given as many human qualities as they were in The Odyssey. They weren’t as relatable, not as human. Almost as it is for those who believe in God today, a God of wonder and might. Someone who we are unequal to and unmatched. An interesting thought process.
Critical Essay Topic
For my essay I'd like to research the Greek and Roman gods. I'd like to compare their similarities, differences, and how each of the cultures saw them.
Week #11 11-4-11 The Tao and The Presentation Assignment
Holy Cow what a crazy week! I think this is the least amount of sleep I’ve gotten in a long time. Lots of things are going on in the CAP First year Studio right now! Although busy things seem to be going well! To start things off I think I will give a little bit of a project update on our Honors 201 presentation on Death and the Underworld. We have met a lot in the past few days. We have completed our plans and have a very good idea as to what the video skeleton will look like, but we always have spur of the moment ideas and insert things here and there. We have also begun shooting our video (details to come/ be viewed later J). Things seem to be right on track with our presentation. But on the topic of this week’s discussion the Tao.
I am not going to lie when I say I’m very confused as to what the Tao is. I looked at some videos online and I think I get the general sense of it all. It seems as if the Tao is a state of being, a lifestyle choice rather than a religion. It seems as if what we are studying in the World Literature book is the lifestyle principals that people who practice Taoism observe. It also appears to be somewhat of a Tao bible too. The Dao De Jing talks about existence in the world and speaks in little proverbial stories. It is very interesting to try and draw parallels between this type of work and the bible.
Taoism is definitely a lifestyle choice and those who choose to follow these principals choose to dedicate their entire lives to this teaching and belief. I find it an interesting lifestyle to study, but I think it’s a little too much for me to handle.
Week #10 10-28-11 The Good Life
Wow what a really fabulous week! I feel like this week we really got into some deep discussion about the good life. I found it really interesting what people had to say about the good life in class and want to elaborate a little more on my thoughts about the good life for this journal entry!
First off, I think the good life is very much dependent not on material possessions, but more on emotional and metal joy. Society today wants people to invest in material possessions because it allows for increase in consumer buying and the economy. But I think the real joy and contentment of the good life comes from living a lifestyle in tune to a person’s moral standards. I liked the fact that we brought up God in class today and thought about how religion may have a big part as to what the good life really is. I think it is interesting that many people agreed with religious motivations in the good life.
For me, it’s a balance between secular beliefs and religious beliefs. Religion has a major part in the good life for me. Without my belief in God, I wouldn’t be the person that I am today. Having said this I cannot image a life without God. But my life isn’t all about worship my creator, it is also about reflecting him in my life. I hold the belief that all people were made in the image and likeness of God. But we have to reflect this in our day to day lives. This isn’t a common belief in secular society. But I think as far as my personal happiness, I need to reflect this in order for me to personal live the good life.
The good life must be, in my opinion, an individual’s perspective. I don’t think that we as humans can classify what the good life is and how to live a good life. I do know this however, that a person who does not feel like they are living a good life and has aspirations that they never achieve will feel like they’ve lived a good life. We are now where we are today to live a life in this world. So I end with a question, why would we not live a life that we feel is good? Why would we not go the extra mile to feel as if we are living life how God wants us to live it?
Week #9 10-21-11 Midterm
So this week’s journal reflection is going to be a little bit about the class so far. I want to start out by saying that I really enjoy the class and have signed up for its counterpart next semester. I’m really enjoying the discussion based learning. I think it is interesting to hear others points of view and to also form new ideas about ideas that I hadn’t necessarily thought about before.
Addressing some of the questions posed on the homepage, I think I am participating well in class (minus the times I wasn’t there of course). I’ve always been one to think on something and give my opinion or critical thoughts to other people, so I guess I’m not shy in that regard. I wish I could read a little bit more into detail in the readings though. Many times I find myself struggling with the dialect and the phrasing of the words, but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.
From a learning standpoint, I think I’m learning a ton of new ideas. I’m also learning about stories, people, and events that I hadn’t ever heard before at my high school. I also learned the power of discussion based learning. I’ve only had one class like that before and I absolutely loved it! But, I think when everyone participates it really makes a difference on the outcome of the class.
At this point the class, from my perspective, is going really well. I’m not sure I would change anything about it. I think this is one of my favorite classes because of the discussion based learning and the camaraderie between me and some of my classmates. I think some of the best moments in class are the ones we spend around the circle. I especially liked sharing our parodies with the class and being able to express ourselves through creative means. I also liked the cultural events that we attend. I know this is individual, but I think it is great that we get to go out and experience the communities that we live in down here and write about them.
So, I guess my overall conclusion is that the class is going really well and it’s a lot of fun! I’m learning a lot and cannot wait to take Honors 202 next semester.
Week #8 10-14-11 Parodies and Presentations
I have to start out this journal entry by saying that the ladies today did a wonderful job on their presentation. Especially, the discussion questions afterward. I found it very fun to have an actual intellectual debate about the current standing of the government, rather than the typical “let’s poke fun at our elected officials talk,” that I normally have with people. I also wanted to congratulate everyone on some fabulous parodies! They were hilarious and I found them quite amusing to talk about on a Monday morning. It certainly started the week off on the right foot!\
Now onto the good stuff! I wanted to bring up the discussion we brought up about leaders today! I really enjoyed talking about what each of us had to say about being a leader. Having done several community leadership projects back in Fort Wayne, I found out that there are many definitions to what a leader is. For me a leader is a person who has influence on people. This influence can be positive or negative, so naturally we have positive and negative leaders. In my opinion (maybe not in others opinions) some examples of good leaders would be God, the Pope or Chief Boy Scout Executive Bob Mazucca. Some examples of negative leaders might be Hitler or Satan, but like I said some (or many) might disagree with me.
I also want to talk about how we talked about a leader needs to get down and get their hands dirty when it comes to leading. A leader needs to be able to get involved with the people they are leading and be willing to suffer with their team. It is essential for some leaders to do this so that they can prove themselves to those that they are leading. I liked the example about how a lot of the presidents of the United States had experience in the military and if they didn’t they made sure they had the people on staff that did. This is crucial when it comes to leading people.
I think leadership has gone a long way in this country. I liked how we talked today about how the people are just as actively involved in the leadership as the heads of state are. In America we are equally responsible for the decisions that are made by our elected officials because we are the people who put them in office. Anyway, to sum this up, I think we, as a class, have a great handle on what leadership is, and I had a wonderful time talking about it in an intellectual discussion. Thanks for reading! Cya next week!
Week #7 10-7-11 The Odyssey in relation to Chicago
What a fabulous and embarrassing week! Going to Chicago with the College of Architecture and Planning was amazing. I don’t think I’ll ever look at the windy city the same way again. However the embarrassment comes in when I missed class this morning despite the two alarms I set for myself and the preplanning that I did beforehand, but that’s beside the point. What I wanted to talk about this week is the relation of my Chicago trip to the Honors201 class, specifically its relationship to the Odyssey.
Just as Odysseus was held up by several different events throughout the story so were we throughout our trip. I think the first major holdup was when the Bears game got out and we were stuck in traffic for around an hour trying to get to our hotel. Another similarity between our trip and the Odyssey was the fact that we traveled everywhere around Chicago just as Odysseus went all around Greece looking for Ithaca. And just as he had different experiences in all of those different places so did we. We experienced and learned about compression and release on Michigan Avenue, we learned about the low cost housing on the south side of town, and we also learned about the revitalization of neighborhoods all around the inner city of Chicago.
I also discovered my major while I was in the city. I’m going to be a transportation planner which would have definitely helped Odysseus when he was traveling by boat to find Ithaca. A planner really could have helped him find a way back to his home a lot quicker than Athena did! Speaking of boats we actually took a boat tour and saw the Chicago skyline along the Chicago river and Lake Michigan. It could probably be related to seeing all of Greece as Odysseus did.
We also had an incidence with a Cyclops, in this case a representative from the Illinois Institute of Technology who wasn’t too happy that we randomly walked into their architecture building and started to talk to their students (we were with our professor too). Speaking of our professor, Vera Adams, she was definitely the hero of the trip. I’m so glad that we were able to be with her because she showed us a lot about her knowledge of Chicago and told us a little more about her personal life. I guess you could say it was like a relationship that Odysseus and Telemakos had in the end of the epic.
Overall it was a fabulous trip and I’m glad that I was able to go with the College of Architecture and Planning.
Week #6 9-30-11 Sacred Scripture
Holy Cow (or calf… whatever floats your boat) what an incredibly busy week this week! I do not think that anybody is upset about this weekend. I would also like to throw in a little bit of appreciation for class being canceled on Wednesday, it was definitely a nice relief.
But, onto the topic of discussion for this week, the books of Sacred Scripture. I think I want to bring up a few things that we hit up in class; first off, it seemed as if many people took the words of the Bible literally. Without getting into too much religious politics, I’ve been raised to believe that not everything from Sacred Scripture should be interpreted literally, so I think I differ from many people’s opinions as stated in class.
We started on Monday talking about the flood and the story of Noah’s ark. A story that I will never forget for I watched many a veggie-tale movie! Then to the tower of Babel, one of my favorites! Theoretically this is the birth of linguistics in our world today and as an architecture major I’m fascinated with building higher! But I really liked about our readings this week was the story of the Exodus.
God’s power is truly manifested in the story of Moses and his omnipotence is shown through the plagues and the power that he gives to Moses to save the Israelites from Pharaoh. But then, they go and reject him by creating the golden calf and worshiping it instead of their liberating God. It just happens as this was going on, God had given them the Ten Commandments to abide by. These commandments are still heavily emphasized in religions and lifestyles across the world today.
All in all I like having scriptural discussion in class to gather viewpoints of my peers, it can be quite entertaining. But I have to say, I really missed being assigned Bible passages to read for homework, and this class certainly made my day! Have a wonderful week!
Week #5 09-23-11 Sappho Poems/The Creation Myths/ Creation Stories
What an interesting week we had in class. I feel like we had a really good discussion both Wednesday and Friday, not to mention the awesome group discussion that we had for most of class on Monday. I have to say that the one thing I like about Honors 201 is the fact that we can hold a deep discussion, like the one we had today during class on creation, and maintain a sense of calm serenity and ‘civilness’. I cannot say that I’ve had that in other courses thus far at Ball State. But anyway, onto what I think about this week.
I think my favorite readings of the week have been Sappho’s poems. I think the translation allows for a lot of interpretation of the meaning of the text. For example, my group discussed the poem “You know the place: then,” and we had the hardest time deciding the context of a few of the translations. What does the “then” represent? Is it leading into the next sentence? Is it giving the audience a context of time? Is it a sense of emotion being put into the poem to draw the emotions out of its viewers?
Really I think these questions are all valid and it is really up to the audience’s interpretation of the readings. I think my favorite one of her poems is “He is more than a hero.” I love how descriptive Sappho is about the person she is writing about. It really describes her passion for the man that draws her so speechless. Her passion and fire is what is needed in this world today. She writes so confidently about the man she speaks! It is really cool to think about the fact that she can tune into her feelings and describe them with such vigor and passion. It’s weird because I’m struggling to do this myself in some of my studio projects. I hope that my passion can come out in my architecture, just like it came out in her writing.
Week # 4 09-16-11 The Odyssey
Wow, what a wonderful end to The Odyssey. Homer really knew how to tie open ended plots up! I really liked the fact that both Odysseus and Telemachus defeated the suitors together, thus reuniting the ties of their families relationship. I did think however that it was going a little overboard when they just decided to kill the unfaithful maids. And it went even more overboard when Telemachus decides to not only kill them, but hang them. Especially after the fact that he disobeyed his father who told him to kill them by the sword. But, it must have done some justice for the people listening to the story back in the old days and I am not about to judge the Greeks on their culture.
I thought the end was weird but oddly appropriate. It seemed to tie everything together and allowed for the audience to leave on a positive note. It also allowed for more stories to follow should Homer choose to write another one. It also left the audience with that “everything is good in the world” feeling. The fact that the gods were up above staring down and keeping watch over the world seems oddly fitting for a story so immersed in the gods being in control of everything.
On a non-Odyssey note, I think the parodies are going to be hilarious! I am really excited to see how they turn out. I think my favorite website was the Lego site that made fun of all the different artworks. I liked the Last Supper interpretation. I think the Odyssey has a lot of examples to create a parody. I really liked the idea of using Athena and all of her disguises as the subject matter for this project. We were also thinking about doing a parody on the entire work based in Muncie. Each location Odysseus went to would be a different place in the city. That’s an idea that I’ll have to ponder for next week!
Week #3 09-09-11 The Odyssey
As we’ve dived deeper into class discussion about the Odyssey I’ve noticed a few things. Number one Athena is definitely the character in the story that keeps the plot moving. It seems that she always showed up when Odysseus needed her the most, when there was nothing more that a mere mortal could do. This also fits in with what we were talking about in class, about how Homer used women in the story. I think that he uses women to progress the plot and he seems to describe them as key members of society, an uncommon belief at this time in history. Now whether or not he portrays women in a positive or negative light, I’m not sure. But I can say that he respected women enough to make them essential characters throughout the entirety of the storyline.
Another thing I’ve picked up on is the fact that this composition is very episodic. Each book seems to contain a sub-plot or story. We had talked about earlier in the week that this story was passed down through oral tradition and may have been told in different settings. We had debated whether or not it was told in six to seven hour sessions or short hour story times. I think it could’ve been done both ways. The plot is episodic enough that this very well could’ve been told in separate sessions. It would’ve made a nice break in the day for Greek culture and told to a group of people by the bards in public.
I’m pretty anxious to read this weekend’s and next week’s readings, to find out what happens in Ithaca and what Athena has in store for Odysseus. I’m not sure what more there could be seeing as Odysseus is already in Ithaca, but I guess we’ll find out. It should make for a great read.
Week #2 09-02-11 The Odyssey
This week we have begun reading the Odyssey, written by Homer in the time of the ancient Greeks. I’m not going to lie when I say that I’m slightly confused by the wording of the text. But, I think I’ve grasped a lot of what’s going in the story from in class discussion and from the background information on the story.
I wanted to elaborate a little bit on a comment that I stated earlier in class today. It seems like in the Odyssey that the gods just push around and play with the people of the Greek civilization, especially Odysseus. We read about the warriors of the Trojan War trying to get home to their families after the fighting was over. Unfortunately, many of these people have struggles in trying to do so; all because the gods disagree as to whether or not they want to let them go home. I mentioned in class that I’m glad we live in a monotheistic society, due to the fact that I don’t have to play around the whims and the emotions of the seemingly mortal, yet immortal gods. I think life would be incredibly difficult to go by trying to please many different higher powers instead of the one almighty God that I believe in today.
I also find it interesting that The Odyssey has several different sub-plots running through the beginning of the story. I’m not sure as to whether or not these stories may have been written to teach lessons to the people of ancient Greece or to simply provide more sensory images into the plotline. It could also have something to do with this particular translation of the Odyssey. All in all I think this story is an awesome one and would’ve made an awesome story told through oral tradition during that time period.
Week #1 08-26-11 The Epic of Gilgamesh
Wow… do I have a few thoughts this week on The Epic of Gilgamesh! First off, I think watching the video and reading the background information immediately before reading the passage helped immensely with my reading comprehension of the text. I was really impressed with the passion in which those chosen to speak in the video portrayed about this work. It really surprised me that this had such a profound impact on their lives. I really appreciated the fact that they were willing to discuss the book in detail on camera. It got me wondering whether or not the Epic would change my life.
I did notice that there were a few instances of dissonance between our text and that of the movie. One of these was when they talked about Gilgamesh and Enkidu having an all out war between each other for forty days and forty nights, while our text stated that they had a quick wrestling match and then became friends.
We talked briefly in class about references to biblical passages throughout the text and I thought I’d hit upon that here as well. First off, it was fascinating to me that this text is older than the Bible itself! It really struck me as interesting that we were drawing these parallels in class about The Epic of Gilgamesh being like the Bible. But, I think we should turn the tables a little bit and instead of comparing the epic to the Bible, we should compare the Bible to the epic. After all, the epic was first. There were several instances in which multiple characters in the Bible portrayed the characters in The Epic of Gilgamesh. These stories included, Cain and Able, Adam and Eve, David and Goliath, Sampson and Delilah, etc…
All of these comparisons were fabulous! I feel like the first week of class went really well and that we all made a very solid analysis of the text! I’m really excited to see what this class brings in the next few weeks.