12/9/2011 - The New Testament, The Koran, and critical essays.
The last journal entry has ARRIVED! For starters, this has been an excellent class to kick-start my first semester at Ball State University, even though it may not have been my favorite subject in the world. I’d like to start with remarks regarding Wednesday when everyone shared an interesting thought or two about their critical essays. Personally I felt a though a majority of everyone else’s topics were much more interesting from a second-person point-of-view. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed researching three of the most famous ancient Greek philosophers and relating their works and ideas to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. I have been eagerly awaiting the grade on my critical essay, especially considering I had to omit three paragraphs and create new ones in their places. Listening to other’s share their topics also made me realize I need to focus even more on my work and take more pride in it than I do. There is potential for me to enjoy it much more if I would submerge myself into ,y assignments, but I think I have a pretty good feel for it so far.
In relation to The New Testament and The Koran, I’m still unsure and uneasy about what to feel with these texts on account of their connections with religion. For the first fifteen or so years of my life I attended church regularly, was baptized and confirmed into the Catholic church, and studied the bible and works of God. To focus more on the text I am less familiar with, I must admit that The Koran was extremely interesting especially in the fact that it referred Jesus quite frequently. Someone in class brought up the fact that it refers to him as an assortment of beautiful names but never as “Father.” Do the Islamic people refer to Allah or at least consider him as their ‘father,’ or is that more of a Christianity symbol? I’m pretty terrible at understanding things and analyzing… I should work on that.
12/2/2011 - Jacob Smith's Critical Essay
I had the opportunity of taking home and reading Jacob’s paper regarding oral stories and their… history? First off, bravo on the title – punny as well as festive to the season! I am appreciative. However, on account of not knowing outright the topic of this paper I found it slightly difficult to review it with a certain point of focus to rely on. Those who edited the paper before me did a fair job of fixing tiny and awkward errors for at least the first two pages of the paper and I agree with their remarks and suggestions so I can only hope that Jacob takes them to heart. In my experience with this paper I found myself struggling to keep my focus for more than a few words at a time. This may have been due in part to my lack of exposure to his style of writing or perhaps my lack of sleep the previous night, but I trooped through it and even found it easier to understand if I imagined it being read in the way Jacob talks in class… creepy no? Anyway, so to give some advice that could be beneficial on sprucing up the paper, I will first and foremost mention that bigger is not always better. I found that many sentences were drug out to be longer than necessary and actually succeeded in confusing me altogether rather than providing me with riveting information on the subject; a vivid vocabulary is refreshing, but it doesn’t increase the quality of the information if it makes it impossible to comprehend it. Another characteristic of the paper I was uncomfortable with was the length of the paragraphs – many of them were only three to four sentences long and personally I think that seems a bit redundant. Ideas and sections could be combined and it would give the paper a better image. On a positive note the content of the paper was very informative when I could understand it and there were many allusions to The Odyssey which not only filled a major requirement for the project but also reflected Jacob’s understanding and will assist future readers’ understandings of the research… especially if they are familiar with the epic. Overall the paper is sufficient and I would most of all suggest to Jacob to re-read his work with an open mind and to take any criticism that he has been given constructively.
11/18/2011 - Expensive, cultural, pretty, and interesting stuff all in one convenient location!
Upon visiting the Ball State Art Museum with Rachel Scott for the first time I developed two regrets: Not visiting it before, and visiting with less than an hour to explore. Walking up the steps to the entrance was rather intimidating and a slight bit unwelcoming, but I braved up the courage to follow Rachel inside the doors and through the entrance where we weren’t exactly warmly welcomed…but that’s alright. The aura of the entire museum was that of the stereotypical museum I have in my head – which is perfectly acceptable. The openness of the sculpture court made me feel smaller and insignificant to the artwork that surrounded me. Personally I was a-ok with this because that’s how it should be. The art not just in the sculpture court but also throughout the entire museum is something greater than any person who visits it, including other artists.
Beginning my rounds through the exhibits my ‘professional critique’ mode kicked in…to much annoyance to Rachel, I’m sure. In general I felt as though the colors of the wall made the artwork feel in its place even though it actually wasn’t even in its correct era. Upstairs in the open and connected galleries I noticed that there were cracks in the floor. They probably weren’t there on purpose but because of structural reasons, but I found them to add a silent, quaint effect to the atmosphere. Lastly I would like to comment on the ‘fullness’ of the collection and the manner in which it was presented. I’ve always found it silly when museums have square, white rooms with a single piece of art on each wall or corner or in the center of the room. In my opinion the art was presented well and in various ways throughout the building and it was easy to experience all of the art without being either overwhelmed or bored. This is a very fine museum and I hope to visit it several times on my own free will in the future!
11/11/2011 - A day to remember...oh, and The Aeneid, I suppose
This day may be magical but making a wish isn't going to do anything...so let’s talk about that Aeneid: Similar to The Odyssey yet perhaps better? I felt as though we were submerged into the story and into the plot much earlier and it was not such a bore to read. There were no endless rants of eating, men dying, a woman being a lying tease, or other silliness as such. Well I suppose there were some rather lengthy episodes of Dido being a stereotypical, needy, dramatic woman, but it didn’t make me want to rip my hair out on account of the mind-numbing repetition. I do wonder though, why books were skipped and we’re not even reading everything that’s in our book. I suppose I could research The Aeneid and just study it for my own personal satisfaction but I’ll probably save that for a snowy day!
Today in class when we were submerged deep in discussion about the underworld I was able to analyze something from The Odyssey that was not previously apparent to me. After reading more epics and stories and making comments about visiting the underworld, the class questioned how accessible it was to reach the underworld and why it seemed like so many people just ended up visiting the dead all nimbly-bimbly. Upon re-reading the section where Odysseus was told he must enter the underworld, I noticed that Odysseus stated that nobody had done that before. Does that mean Odysseus was the first human to visit the underworld? And why wasn’t Homer as descriptive in his depiction of this place? Virgil painted pictures of what was practically a world within a world within this underworld (Underworldception?)!
In regards to the group exercise thing we did on Wednesday, I found it so difficult to defend the topic that we were given! I cannot stress enough that in reading all of these texts and by beginning to understand the culture better, I barely pass judgment on what these ‘heroes’ do regardless of my beliefs or opinions anymore. At least now I know being a lawyer is not my future career! Hooray for Humanities, keeping my life’s goals in check.
Le Critical Essay topic:
What is the most common understanding of Plato's "Allegory of the Cave," and how do his teachings differ from those of Socrates and Aristotle in terms of ideas and acceptance by people around the world?
11/4/2011 - "Confucius, Lau Tzu and Junk"
Here I am, typing away on my essay for the movie Amadeus for my music history class and I have a heart-stopping moment when I realize that I have not written my journal yet. OHNOEZ! Alright so here’s the deal. I appreciate the progression into a new area of focus, but I’m beginning to think that the Ancient Greek texts were much easier to at least remember and comprehend because they used words I understand. In reading these Chinese shenanigans I actually find it much simpler for me to read, comprehend, and apply these readings and ideas than some of the Greek ones which always seemed to drag on, repeat themselves, and use overly irritating names.
If I have an initial complaint about our new assignments (simply because I like to complain) it would be the names of the writings because they are completely in a different language and I prophesize that I am going to have the darn-dest time keeping them in order. We just can’t escape all of these inconceivable names, can we?!
Personally the more I read about these simple lifestyles and such the more I envy them and halfway contemplate changing my way of life completely to be simple and happy. Of course once this thought enters my head it is almost immediately shooed away because my common sense alerts me that I am already too corrupted and the society I live in is ridiculously corrupted. If I were to drop everything and live a simple life I’d have to move far away in isolation or join a monastery or something…and I don’t think I can do that! If I were to just be accepting, though, I would suck up my opinions and complaints about what we study and just embrace and appreciate the fact that I am able to learn about it.
10/28/2011 - "Oh, this has gotta be the 'Good Life' "
I must admit that many weeks ago when I simply heard that a topic of our group presentations could be The Good Life, I was slightly more excited about it than the other possible choices. In my mind I thought “Hey, this could be interesting to learn more and present about riches and fame and fortune and living like everyone dreams they will someday.” Reading though the section, however, I was… intrigued to discover that there were views on the ‘good life’ completely different than those that at least I had been taught to believe. Aristotle, Aurelius, and other Ancient Greek philosophers were able to define an ideal life in copious other perspective otherwise oblivious to myself.
Not having a personal deep spiritual relationship with God, I cannot say that simply knowing you are one with the Lord or whatever God(s) you choose to believe in will likely give you a satisfactory and ‘good’ life. Even with that said I can respect and understand how the right person would see this as a possibility. One of the viewpoints brought up from the texts, the combination of pleasure and pain, does reign true and understandable in my mind. You cannot avoid all pain and try to experience all pleasure in life because there is too much of a good thing, regardless of how cliché the saying is. In the same respect, many times enough, a short term or small amount of pain will often lead to a long term or a freaking awesome pleasure. I suppose this could go along with Aristotle’s writings on finding a mean in the things associating and aiding the path to a ‘good’ life. Perhaps one must find their individual averages of experiences regarding pleasure and pain to even out the two and begin narrowing and following the right path.
With all respect and in conclusion, nowadays, my opinion is that you are the judge of your own ‘good life.’ So long as you are happy, content, or what have you with your life, what else could you ask for? (Unless you need more stuff to get you to your good life I suppose). I also don’t believe that anybody else has the right to judge another’s ‘good life,’ either. We may pity those who live in mud huts and have no technology, but in retrospect, maybe they pity us? All I know is that One Republic’s “Good Life” gets stuck in my head every time we talk about this topic. Thank you, music.
10/21/2011 - Midterm Reflection
This has definitely been a new experience for me – college. I think being in the honors college makes it a love-hate relationship, as well. I know that the honors classes are much more unique and definitely a privilege to be and participate in, but at the same time they require a different category of work and effort that I don’t think I was all that prepared for. Clearly, these discussion circles do not typically get me outwardly involved, but I really do enjoy them and I think they are a beneficial part to the learning process in the class.
I thought I was going to dread the parody project, but I ended up enjoying the actually parody-making part, and the sharing. I know nothing is perfect but I did kind of feel a little down about not getting an ‘A’ on any section of my actual written parodies, because I’m just sulking and complaining about how you can’t judge someone else’s hard work…oh well. Everybody did a great job on them!
Class objective number three: Analyze and synthesize knowledge from multiple sources to formulate new understandings of the major ideas, philosophies, and modes of thought of the Ancient World. I cannot believe how different our morals and opinions are in this class when asked questions about the texts we’re reading! A majority of the class had no problem that Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter to the Gods to get to war. Had we asked this prior to reading any of these texts, I believe I can safely assume that many people would have disagreed with his intentions. However, we now understand that this was just the norm and the lifestyle and the beliefs of the Greeks in the Ancient World, and for some reason or another we can justify their actions for them even if we don’t necessarily agree with them in our modern-day society.
‘Dis humanities class, bro…’dis class.
10/12(14)/2011 - Parodies and Antigone
Alrighty. So this week, I was 100% dreading the deadline of the parody project as well as presenting them. I don’t necessarily believe that creative writing or using my imagination for educational purposes is one of my strong points, so I could only imagine the crisis that was to occur on this past Monday. Surprisingly enough, when I came around to share one of my parodies of Sappho’s poems, I think some people may have found them somewhat humorous! Call me shallow but others’ approval did make me feel a little better about my work on this project. I was extremely impressed yet not at all surprised by the creative and interesting parodies produced by everyone else in the class. The Facebook project was ingenious! I haven’t yet but I plan on adding it for my own personal enjoyment. Also, the comic strips were pretty humorous, and I was shocked to see that somebody actually did theirs on Psalms (or whatever it was they did). I wanted to do one of the books of the bible but didn’t want to offend anybody…needless to say I’m quite disappointed that I did not just stick to my guns. Haha.
On Wednesday I must say that coming up with a question about Antigone was difficult. I was immensely proud of myself that I understood this book and kept my attention up for nearly all of it; it only took me one hour to read it! When it comes down to who was right and who was wrong in regards to the burial, taking the wrap for someone else, committing suicide, and declaring people’s fate, I eventually break down and believe it relies on the opinions and views of those in the story. Who can judge what’s right and wrong when not everybody has the same morals, standards, values, and thoughts? Sure it’s great and definitely interesting when we all voice our opinions, but clearly there will never be any right or wrong answers in the majority of the things we study. With time, I have adjusted to this and now I’m mostly alright with it.
10/07/2011 - Juke Box Hero
I sort of wish that Heroes and Adventure would have been our topic now, after this week’s classes. I’d never thought about how many different things could define a hero or what controversy simply naming a hero could bring upon a group of people. On Wednesday I found it humorous that for our list of heroes we put on the board, there many unrealistic heroes named such as superman and…well my memory is fuzzy now. But what made me laugh at this was that now-a-days people often think of heroes when they think of ‘superheroes’ like from movies. They imagine flying, shooting webs out of their wrists, x-ray vision, super strength, and being practically indestructible. In today’s presentation, I was both somewhat surprised as well as pleased that this was pointed out. Other ideas of heroes were suggested including firefighters, policemen, and perhaps even Hitler? But I couldn’t stop thinking about the everyday heroes – the ones that are just there and help people through life experiences and problems and give hope and inspiration to people they may not even realize. In this group of heroes I imagine parents, a person’s friends and family, therapists, and maybe even priests? I also appreciated that in class people suggested janitors and even Mother Theresa as heroes. A janitor is one of those I would consider an everyday hero whereas I view Mother Theresa as an ideal, widely-accepted hero (also depending on religious views, moral values, etc…). As far as epic heroes go, especially in ancient texts, I mostly agree with those thoughts discussed in the past two classes. It’s funny to me that the most common thing we relate everything to now is the story of Odysseus. Clearly he went through all of the things that describe an epic journey, so we also allow him the title of an epic hero. It’s true but a shame that women were practically one of the only exceptions to having a chance at being a hero in the past. Clytemnestra would have been considered a hero in my opinion for what she did if she were not a woman because she avenged her daughter and her own self for Agamemnon’s deeds. She didn’t necessarily go through an epic battle or adventure so I would not deem her an epic hero, but I certainly think that she is a hero, despite the ignorance of the ancient Greeks :)
9/30/2011 - Reading Relations
Well, this girl is sick again. So I hope that my incessant coughing in class hasn’t been too utterly annoying. In junction with this, it is so insanely difficult to comprehend all of this reading! GAHHH. I must say that my favorite things to read are the ones that are in verse and written like poems. It’s just a lot simpler to read through it than a massive block of text that goes on for five hundred pages. I found that (in what I remember reading) I mostly enjoyed Psalms and the Song of Songs. This again is bringing back religious memories and for some reason my mind doesn’t have as much of a throbbing pain when I’m reading things like these. My mind was BLOWN in the Song of Songs because towards the end of it they first mention mandrakes which, being a Harry Potter fan, I immediately switched my focus to the footnote. It was rather similar to mandrakes the second movie! Yay :) As if that wasn’t enough, The Bridegroom, in his final long spiel, says: “Set me as a seal upon your arm, as a seal upon your heart. For love is strong as death.” As well as: “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.” This was practically the basis for a song we sang in one of my choirs last year, “Set me as a Seal.” It made me happy and miss my old choirs. I thought it was interesting that some people can view this reading as a relationship between places, and not people. I didn’t personally think of it that way, but I can definitely see it, rather than it being a back-and-forth between two lovers. This makes me think I need to work on my immersive and comprehensive reading skills (I read “bride” and immediately see the speaker as just that)…I think everyone but me is good at this type of thing! Not looking forward to the 50 pages of reading this weekend, but I’m really hoping to enjoy the story; especially after that IMPRESSIVE video in class today! Haha. Cheers to the weekend!
9/23/2011 - LET THERE BE LIGHT!
This week, I enjoyed reading Sappho’s poems and the reading assignments for Friday, but I found it increasingly difficult to read Wednesday’s assignment in an ideal amount of time and comprehend and remember what I was reading…I say this in vague terms because (not to bash on the class material or this journal requirement) but my friend Brooke and I have just gotten home for the weekend. As she is taking forever long to put on make-up for a birthday rave party we are leaving for after we visit my humble abode, I realize that I have not submitted my journal and I will not have time to do so later tonight – we are going ghost hunting after the party! Whoop-dee-doop :)
So anyways, I’m not entirely sure but I may vaguely remember reading Sappho’s poems or about Sappho in say, the seventh or eighth grades? I have been finding it completely insane that in this class and in History 150, we are re-learning things that haven’t been touched by my education system since junior high! It also reminds me of how awesome of a History teacher my friends and I had in junior high because these are basically the only things I remember from my history classes throughout my entire life. NOSTALGIA! Back on topic, I thought it was interesting that reading her poems was basically reading the first thoughts of women made public. I find it easy to forget that men dominated women at one time since I’m oblivious to the obvious, and it must have been really inspiring to the women in her time to read her work. Granted her writings eventually went up in flames (ha) and the men were not so ecstatic about her decision to express her emotions and thoughts…they don’t even like it when we do that now! But basically, girl power, baby! Before I bid adieu, I also want to add that reading Genesis almost makes me want to get back into my own (or at least some type of) religion again. I’m Catholic but haven’t been practicing for about four years now. I don’t know, we’ll just see what happens. I hope great things come this next week, and I hope everybody has a great weekend!
P.S. I’m jelly that the Late Nite theme is Disney this week. I WOULD go home on such a great weekend…psh.
9/16/2011 - Odyssey - The End!
Ah! What relief that The Odyssey is over! Don’t get me wrong…I enjoy reading several hundred pages of eating, weeping, sleeping, the slaughter of men, and the occasional battle, quick wit, and “awe” moments as much as the next adventure-seeking reader. However, there comes a point when a chore that has turned into an enjoyable daily activity simply reverts back into a chore. I’m not going to lie – for the last four books, I read the spark notes before actually reading it. Interestingly enough, I found it easier to find the key points in the text, as well as let my mind wander a tiny bit since I could easily get back on track when I stumbled across a part that was mentioned in the summary I had read. As I sit here eating my dinner, watching TV, and really wishing that I were playing Apples to Apples with some people on the third slash fourth floor lounge, the things relating to this week’s class that come to my mind immediately without (much) thought are: 1) Why did Athena just make the happy ending where everyone accepts Odysseus as king and forgets that he killed their sons? 2) Who all did Odysseus spare besides the maids who didn’t betray him? Because with all of the names and the fast-paced killing scene, I thought he killed off a few people he made alliances with or he really loved? Or maybe that’s simply me being an air-head. Haha. At any rate, I am overall glad that I was given the opportunity to read this epic, because I am not sure I would have done so at any other point in my life without some motive. Now my mind is starting to focus and worry about this parody project that is coming up. I’m beginning to feel a bit lost again…oops!
9/9/2011 - Odyssey
This week, reading the books of The Odyssey was much easier! It is still time-consuming and not a walk in the park, but I’m not seeing it so much like a chore anymore. A good thing about being sick with a head cold is that most things seem much funnier than they really are, so when something unnecessary or unexpected came up in the text, I could laugh about it and it sort of made reading an enjoyable task...since I was delirious. When we listened to a recording of the Kyklops part in class on Wednesday, I noticed that I actually remembered a lot of the story (which shocked me), but I also caught some small details I didn’t remember from reading it – or maybe what I already knew was just enhanced. Although it was different than the exact translation we are reading in our books, I think that it is a great help to hear it read with emotion and with correct pronunciations. However, my belief is that it is more beneficial to hear a recording of it once we have read it personally; otherwise our minds will wander and capture even less of the story than only reading it via the book in the first place. Of course, being of different versions, I found it simpler to listen to the recording without following along in the book to fully get the effect of the story without being frustrated by the various differences between them. Whilst discussing different aspects in class today, a subject that arose quite frequently in our group was that women were often portrayed as harlots, lustful, deceiving, and usually keeping the men from pursuing their immediate interests, or at least not without some type of “condition.” I don’t know if anybody else came to that conclusion, but I found it interesting enough, at least, that even in Ancient Greek mythology, there were still gender stereotypes. Granted these days it is more thought of that all the male wants to do is get into the female’s pants, whereas in The Odyssey the women and goddesses are cunning, seductive, and have an incredible sex drive. Haha. On that note…I think I’m done here. I can’t wait to read more!
9/2/2011 - Odyssey/class Reflection
Just to ramble and clear my head of some thoughts and burdens, I’d like to state that this class has opened up a whole new world to me in terms of literature, class discussions, teaching, and learning. At my high school, we were not given the opportunities to take many classes of this style or, sad to admit, intellectual capacity. Listening to everyone in class discuss our readings, their previous experiences with the materials, and their own personal thoughts, questions, hypothesis, and responses to everything, I can’t help but feel inferior. I’m not finding it a walk in the park to read, comprehend, analyze, discuss, and interpret these ancient pieces we’ve been assigned to in class, but I’m not finding other people in the class having this problem either. While we conversed about The Odyssey in class this week, I could comprehend and consent with mostly everything those involved were saying, but I would have never thought of those things on my own…It marvels and intimidates me that I am surrounded by so many inventive, bright peers. I can only hope to be half as clever and profound as the people I am surrounded by for fifty minutes, three days a week.
On the topic of The Odyssey, I have thus far found it interesting, complex, and for the most part, captivating. This is my first time reading it so I cannot compare it to any other versions, but I appreciate that we are given a background of Odysseus’ journey (for the most part), and what is happening with his family he left behind nearly twenty years ago. I can understand Penelope’s torn feelings on a new relationship with one of the many suitors to choose from, especially since they are mostly after her land and power, but I can also sympathize with the suitors considering her husband has been gone for so long, and she has been leading them on and whispering sweet nothings into their ears with no intention of ever finishing that darned tapestry; I thought she got what she deserved when the suitors were able to call her out on it. The question posed at the end of class today: Why might the suitors now want to kill Telemachus, can be answered, in my own opinion, with the thought that he has taken one of their ships to go find the very man that would hinder one of their abilities to marry Penelope, and could in relation put the majority of them on the bad side of Odysseus. Whatever their motives, I am rooting for Telemachus to find his father, for Odysseus’ safe return to his homeland, Penelope’s reunion with her family, and I also hope that the Gods will let bygones be bygones, get their priorities straight, look at the big picture, and live happily in congruence for a while. I look forward to reading the rest of the books of the Odyssey and discussing them in class.
As a side note, I’m going to add that Kate and I have been reading this together out loud in the study lounge, and it has made it more enjoyable and simpler to understand since we can discuss what has happened and it is also a good way to ensure that your mind is staying on task and not wandering, as mine often does.
8/26/2011 - Thoughts on Gilgamesh
I think that it’s important to be a well-rounded individual and learn all sorts of things, especially in a society where people aren’t so cultured or interested about the more profound things in life. Reading The Epic of Gilgamesh was by no means one of the easiest, most fun, or attention-grabbing tasks I’ve done in my lifetime, but I do believe that it was one of the most influential things that I have done in this first week of classes here at Ball State. Although I don’t vocalize my opinions much in class, I thought everyone’s points and views on the story were all true and valuable to the big picture in their own ways. I am able to see the connection between this epic and stories in the Bible such as Adam and Eve, and Samson and Delilah, even with my minimal knowledge or fascination with the Bible itself. Another thing I did notice that was brought up in class was the repetition of certain sentences and phrases. To me, this was a sort of comic relief or pick-me-up to the story in the chances that my mind was wandering or if I wasn’t completely sure if what I was reading was really what I was reading. I thought all of the possible solutions to this question that were discussed in class were all interesting.
Personally, I thought that it was intriguing that an unruly man who takes advantage of his powers as king could be changed so dramatically by a man who was supposed to pose as the only threat, or equal, to his own power. When Enkidu arrived in his city, they had a brief quarrel then immediately accepted each other as best friends and, essentially, brothers. It also fascinated me, the perceptions that these characters had of different things in their lives and world, such as the intimate relationship with a woman, making a name for oneself by conquering the toughest God’s and warriors, and especially how they dealt with sadness. After Enkidu died, the previously raunchy, abusive, narcissistic Gilgamesh wept for days and remained in sorrow for his brother. When others questioned him about his past, how he had gotten there, and why he looked the way he did (not like a great king or warrior), Gilgamesh informed them of his journey, and especially of his brother’s fatality, in the same and distraught way each time it needed to be told.
I’m not very good at analyzing things, especially not ancient literature or most other things…but I believe that this class could be helpful in this aspect, and I couldn’t think of a better way to start a morning of classes three days a week. :)
12/9/2011 - The New Testament, The Koran, and critical essays.
The last journal entry has ARRIVED! For starters, this has been an excellent class to kick-start my first semester at Ball State University, even though it may not have been my favorite subject in the world. I’d like to start with remarks regarding Wednesday when everyone shared an interesting thought or two about their critical essays. Personally I felt a though a majority of everyone else’s topics were much more interesting from a second-person point-of-view. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed researching three of the most famous ancient Greek philosophers and relating their works and ideas to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. I have been eagerly awaiting the grade on my critical essay, especially considering I had to omit three paragraphs and create new ones in their places. Listening to other’s share their topics also made me realize I need to focus even more on my work and take more pride in it than I do. There is potential for me to enjoy it much more if I would submerge myself into ,y assignments, but I think I have a pretty good feel for it so far.
In relation to The New Testament and The Koran, I’m still unsure and uneasy about what to feel with these texts on account of their connections with religion. For the first fifteen or so years of my life I attended church regularly, was baptized and confirmed into the Catholic church, and studied the bible and works of God. To focus more on the text I am less familiar with, I must admit that The Koran was extremely interesting especially in the fact that it referred Jesus quite frequently. Someone in class brought up the fact that it refers to him as an assortment of beautiful names but never as “Father.” Do the Islamic people refer to Allah or at least consider him as their ‘father,’ or is that more of a Christianity symbol? I’m pretty terrible at understanding things and analyzing… I should work on that.
12/2/2011 - Jacob Smith's Critical Essay
I had the opportunity of taking home and reading Jacob’s paper regarding oral stories and their… history? First off, bravo on the title – punny as well as festive to the season! I am appreciative. However, on account of not knowing outright the topic of this paper I found it slightly difficult to review it with a certain point of focus to rely on. Those who edited the paper before me did a fair job of fixing tiny and awkward errors for at least the first two pages of the paper and I agree with their remarks and suggestions so I can only hope that Jacob takes them to heart. In my experience with this paper I found myself struggling to keep my focus for more than a few words at a time. This may have been due in part to my lack of exposure to his style of writing or perhaps my lack of sleep the previous night, but I trooped through it and even found it easier to understand if I imagined it being read in the way Jacob talks in class… creepy no? Anyway, so to give some advice that could be beneficial on sprucing up the paper, I will first and foremost mention that bigger is not always better. I found that many sentences were drug out to be longer than necessary and actually succeeded in confusing me altogether rather than providing me with riveting information on the subject; a vivid vocabulary is refreshing, but it doesn’t increase the quality of the information if it makes it impossible to comprehend it. Another characteristic of the paper I was uncomfortable with was the length of the paragraphs – many of them were only three to four sentences long and personally I think that seems a bit redundant. Ideas and sections could be combined and it would give the paper a better image. On a positive note the content of the paper was very informative when I could understand it and there were many allusions to The Odyssey which not only filled a major requirement for the project but also reflected Jacob’s understanding and will assist future readers’ understandings of the research… especially if they are familiar with the epic. Overall the paper is sufficient and I would most of all suggest to Jacob to re-read his work with an open mind and to take any criticism that he has been given constructively.
11/18/2011 - Expensive, cultural, pretty, and interesting stuff all in one convenient location!
Upon visiting the Ball State Art Museum with Rachel Scott for the first time I developed two regrets: Not visiting it before, and visiting with less than an hour to explore. Walking up the steps to the entrance was rather intimidating and a slight bit unwelcoming, but I braved up the courage to follow Rachel inside the doors and through the entrance where we weren’t exactly warmly welcomed…but that’s alright. The aura of the entire museum was that of the stereotypical museum I have in my head – which is perfectly acceptable. The openness of the sculpture court made me feel smaller and insignificant to the artwork that surrounded me. Personally I was a-ok with this because that’s how it should be. The art not just in the sculpture court but also throughout the entire museum is something greater than any person who visits it, including other artists.
Beginning my rounds through the exhibits my ‘professional critique’ mode kicked in…to much annoyance to Rachel, I’m sure. In general I felt as though the colors of the wall made the artwork feel in its place even though it actually wasn’t even in its correct era. Upstairs in the open and connected galleries I noticed that there were cracks in the floor. They probably weren’t there on purpose but because of structural reasons, but I found them to add a silent, quaint effect to the atmosphere. Lastly I would like to comment on the ‘fullness’ of the collection and the manner in which it was presented. I’ve always found it silly when museums have square, white rooms with a single piece of art on each wall or corner or in the center of the room. In my opinion the art was presented well and in various ways throughout the building and it was easy to experience all of the art without being either overwhelmed or bored. This is a very fine museum and I hope to visit it several times on my own free will in the future!
11/11/2011 - A day to remember...oh, and The Aeneid, I suppose
This day may be magical but making a wish isn't going to do anything...so let’s talk about that Aeneid: Similar to The Odyssey yet perhaps better? I felt as though we were submerged into the story and into the plot much earlier and it was not such a bore to read. There were no endless rants of eating, men dying, a woman being a lying tease, or other silliness as such. Well I suppose there were some rather lengthy episodes of Dido being a stereotypical, needy, dramatic woman, but it didn’t make me want to rip my hair out on account of the mind-numbing repetition. I do wonder though, why books were skipped and we’re not even reading everything that’s in our book. I suppose I could research The Aeneid and just study it for my own personal satisfaction but I’ll probably save that for a snowy day!
Today in class when we were submerged deep in discussion about the underworld I was able to analyze something from The Odyssey that was not previously apparent to me. After reading more epics and stories and making comments about visiting the underworld, the class questioned how accessible it was to reach the underworld and why it seemed like so many people just ended up visiting the dead all nimbly-bimbly. Upon re-reading the section where Odysseus was told he must enter the underworld, I noticed that Odysseus stated that nobody had done that before. Does that mean Odysseus was the first human to visit the underworld? And why wasn’t Homer as descriptive in his depiction of this place? Virgil painted pictures of what was practically a world within a world within this underworld (Underworldception?)!
In regards to the group exercise thing we did on Wednesday, I found it so difficult to defend the topic that we were given! I cannot stress enough that in reading all of these texts and by beginning to understand the culture better, I barely pass judgment on what these ‘heroes’ do regardless of my beliefs or opinions anymore. At least now I know being a lawyer is not my future career! Hooray for Humanities, keeping my life’s goals in check.Le Critical Essay topic:
What is the most common understanding of Plato's "Allegory of the Cave," and how do his teachings differ from those of Socrates and Aristotle in terms of ideas and acceptance by people around the world?
11/4/2011 - "Confucius, Lau Tzu and Junk"
Here I am, typing away on my essay for the movie Amadeus for my music history class and I have a heart-stopping moment when I realize that I have not written my journal yet. OHNOEZ! Alright so here’s the deal. I appreciate the progression into a new area of focus, but I’m beginning to think that the Ancient Greek texts were much easier to at least remember and comprehend because they used words I understand. In reading these Chinese shenanigans I actually find it much simpler for me to read, comprehend, and apply these readings and ideas than some of the Greek ones which always seemed to drag on, repeat themselves, and use overly irritating names.
If I have an initial complaint about our new assignments (simply because I like to complain) it would be the names of the writings because they are completely in a different language and I prophesize that I am going to have the darn-dest time keeping them in order. We just can’t escape all of these inconceivable names, can we?!
Personally the more I read about these simple lifestyles and such the more I envy them and halfway contemplate changing my way of life completely to be simple and happy. Of course once this thought enters my head it is almost immediately shooed away because my common sense alerts me that I am already too corrupted and the society I live in is ridiculously corrupted. If I were to drop everything and live a simple life I’d have to move far away in isolation or join a monastery or something…and I don’t think I can do that! If I were to just be accepting, though, I would suck up my opinions and complaints about what we study and just embrace and appreciate the fact that I am able to learn about it.10/28/2011 - "Oh, this has gotta be the 'Good Life' "
I must admit that many weeks ago when I simply heard that a topic of our group presentations could be The Good Life, I was slightly more excited about it than the other possible choices. In my mind I thought “Hey, this could be interesting to learn more and present about riches and fame and fortune and living like everyone dreams they will someday.” Reading though the section, however, I was… intrigued to discover that there were views on the ‘good life’ completely different than those that at least I had been taught to believe. Aristotle, Aurelius, and other Ancient Greek philosophers were able to define an ideal life in copious other perspective otherwise oblivious to myself.
Not having a personal deep spiritual relationship with God, I cannot say that simply knowing you are one with the Lord or whatever God(s) you choose to believe in will likely give you a satisfactory and ‘good’ life. Even with that said I can respect and understand how the right person would see this as a possibility. One of the viewpoints brought up from the texts, the combination of pleasure and pain, does reign true and understandable in my mind. You cannot avoid all pain and try to experience all pleasure in life because there is too much of a good thing, regardless of how cliché the saying is. In the same respect, many times enough, a short term or small amount of pain will often lead to a long term or a freaking awesome pleasure. I suppose this could go along with Aristotle’s writings on finding a mean in the things associating and aiding the path to a ‘good’ life. Perhaps one must find their individual averages of experiences regarding pleasure and pain to even out the two and begin narrowing and following the right path.
With all respect and in conclusion, nowadays, my opinion is that you are the judge of your own ‘good life.’ So long as you are happy, content, or what have you with your life, what else could you ask for? (Unless you need more stuff to get you to your good life I suppose). I also don’t believe that anybody else has the right to judge another’s ‘good life,’ either. We may pity those who live in mud huts and have no technology, but in retrospect, maybe they pity us? All I know is that One Republic’s “Good Life” gets stuck in my head every time we talk about this topic. Thank you, music.
10/21/2011 - Midterm Reflection
This has definitely been a new experience for me – college. I think being in the honors college makes it a love-hate relationship, as well. I know that the honors classes are much more unique and definitely a privilege to be and participate in, but at the same time they require a different category of work and effort that I don’t think I was all that prepared for. Clearly, these discussion circles do not typically get me outwardly involved, but I really do enjoy them and I think they are a beneficial part to the learning process in the class.
I thought I was going to dread the parody project, but I ended up enjoying the actually parody-making part, and the sharing. I know nothing is perfect but I did kind of feel a little down about not getting an ‘A’ on any section of my actual written parodies, because I’m just sulking and complaining about how you can’t judge someone else’s hard work…oh well. Everybody did a great job on them!
Class objective number three: Analyze and synthesize knowledge from multiple sources to formulate new understandings of the major ideas, philosophies, and modes of thought of the Ancient World. I cannot believe how different our morals and opinions are in this class when asked questions about the texts we’re reading! A majority of the class had no problem that Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter to the Gods to get to war. Had we asked this prior to reading any of these texts, I believe I can safely assume that many people would have disagreed with his intentions. However, we now understand that this was just the norm and the lifestyle and the beliefs of the Greeks in the Ancient World, and for some reason or another we can justify their actions for them even if we don’t necessarily agree with them in our modern-day society.
‘Dis humanities class, bro…’dis class.10/12(14)/2011 - Parodies and Antigone
Alrighty. So this week, I was 100% dreading the deadline of the parody project as well as presenting them. I don’t necessarily believe that creative writing or using my imagination for educational purposes is one of my strong points, so I could only imagine the crisis that was to occur on this past Monday. Surprisingly enough, when I came around to share one of my parodies of Sappho’s poems, I think some people may have found them somewhat humorous! Call me shallow but others’ approval did make me feel a little better about my work on this project. I was extremely impressed yet not at all surprised by the creative and interesting parodies produced by everyone else in the class. The Facebook project was ingenious! I haven’t yet but I plan on adding it for my own personal enjoyment. Also, the comic strips were pretty humorous, and I was shocked to see that somebody actually did theirs on Psalms (or whatever it was they did). I wanted to do one of the books of the bible but didn’t want to offend anybody…needless to say I’m quite disappointed that I did not just stick to my guns. Haha.
On Wednesday I must say that coming up with a question about Antigone was difficult. I was immensely proud of myself that I understood this book and kept my attention up for nearly all of it; it only took me one hour to read it! When it comes down to who was right and who was wrong in regards to the burial, taking the wrap for someone else, committing suicide, and declaring people’s fate, I eventually break down and believe it relies on the opinions and views of those in the story. Who can judge what’s right and wrong when not everybody has the same morals, standards, values, and thoughts? Sure it’s great and definitely interesting when we all voice our opinions, but clearly there will never be any right or wrong answers in the majority of the things we study. With time, I have adjusted to this and now I’m mostly alright with it.
10/07/2011 - Juke Box Hero
I sort of wish that Heroes and Adventure would have been our topic now, after this week’s classes. I’d never thought about how many different things could define a hero or what controversy simply naming a hero could bring upon a group of people. On Wednesday I found it humorous that for our list of heroes we put on the board, there many unrealistic heroes named such as superman and…well my memory is fuzzy now. But what made me laugh at this was that now-a-days people often think of heroes when they think of ‘superheroes’ like from movies. They imagine flying, shooting webs out of their wrists, x-ray vision, super strength, and being practically indestructible. In today’s presentation, I was both somewhat surprised as well as pleased that this was pointed out. Other ideas of heroes were suggested including firefighters, policemen, and perhaps even Hitler? But I couldn’t stop thinking about the everyday heroes – the ones that are just there and help people through life experiences and problems and give hope and inspiration to people they may not even realize. In this group of heroes I imagine parents, a person’s friends and family, therapists, and maybe even priests? I also appreciated that in class people suggested janitors and even Mother Theresa as heroes. A janitor is one of those I would consider an everyday hero whereas I view Mother Theresa as an ideal, widely-accepted hero (also depending on religious views, moral values, etc…). As far as epic heroes go, especially in ancient texts, I mostly agree with those thoughts discussed in the past two classes. It’s funny to me that the most common thing we relate everything to now is the story of Odysseus. Clearly he went through all of the things that describe an epic journey, so we also allow him the title of an epic hero. It’s true but a shame that women were practically one of the only exceptions to having a chance at being a hero in the past. Clytemnestra would have been considered a hero in my opinion for what she did if she were not a woman because she avenged her daughter and her own self for Agamemnon’s deeds. She didn’t necessarily go through an epic battle or adventure so I would not deem her an epic hero, but I certainly think that she is a hero, despite the ignorance of the ancient Greeks :)
9/30/2011 - Reading Relations
Well, this girl is sick again. So I hope that my incessant coughing in class hasn’t been too utterly annoying. In junction with this, it is so insanely difficult to comprehend all of this reading! GAHHH. I must say that my favorite things to read are the ones that are in verse and written like poems. It’s just a lot simpler to read through it than a massive block of text that goes on for five hundred pages. I found that (in what I remember reading) I mostly enjoyed Psalms and the Song of Songs. This again is bringing back religious memories and for some reason my mind doesn’t have as much of a throbbing pain when I’m reading things like these. My mind was BLOWN in the Song of Songs because towards the end of it they first mention mandrakes which, being a Harry Potter fan, I immediately switched my focus to the footnote. It was rather similar to mandrakes the second movie! Yay :) As if that wasn’t enough, The Bridegroom, in his final long spiel, says: “Set me as a seal upon your arm, as a seal upon your heart. For love is strong as death.” As well as: “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.” This was practically the basis for a song we sang in one of my choirs last year, “Set me as a Seal.” It made me happy and miss my old choirs. I thought it was interesting that some people can view this reading as a relationship between places, and not people. I didn’t personally think of it that way, but I can definitely see it, rather than it being a back-and-forth between two lovers. This makes me think I need to work on my immersive and comprehensive reading skills (I read “bride” and immediately see the speaker as just that)…I think everyone but me is good at this type of thing! Not looking forward to the 50 pages of reading this weekend, but I’m really hoping to enjoy the story; especially after that IMPRESSIVE video in class today! Haha. Cheers to the weekend!
9/23/2011 - LET THERE BE LIGHT!
This week, I enjoyed reading Sappho’s poems and the reading assignments for Friday, but I found it increasingly difficult to read Wednesday’s assignment in an ideal amount of time and comprehend and remember what I was reading…I say this in vague terms because (not to bash on the class material or this journal requirement) but my friend Brooke and I have just gotten home for the weekend. As she is taking forever long to put on make-up for a birthday rave party we are leaving for after we visit my humble abode, I realize that I have not submitted my journal and I will not have time to do so later tonight – we are going ghost hunting after the party! Whoop-dee-doop :)
So anyways, I’m not entirely sure but I may vaguely remember reading Sappho’s poems or about Sappho in say, the seventh or eighth grades? I have been finding it completely insane that in this class and in History 150, we are re-learning things that haven’t been touched by my education system since junior high! It also reminds me of how awesome of a History teacher my friends and I had in junior high because these are basically the only things I remember from my history classes throughout my entire life. NOSTALGIA! Back on topic, I thought it was interesting that reading her poems was basically reading the first thoughts of women made public. I find it easy to forget that men dominated women at one time since I’m oblivious to the obvious, and it must have been really inspiring to the women in her time to read her work. Granted her writings eventually went up in flames (ha) and the men were not so ecstatic about her decision to express her emotions and thoughts…they don’t even like it when we do that now! But basically, girl power, baby! Before I bid adieu, I also want to add that reading Genesis almost makes me want to get back into my own (or at least some type of) religion again. I’m Catholic but haven’t been practicing for about four years now. I don’t know, we’ll just see what happens. I hope great things come this next week, and I hope everybody has a great weekend!
P.S. I’m jelly that the Late Nite theme is Disney this week. I WOULD go home on such a great weekend…psh.
9/16/2011 - Odyssey - The End!
Ah! What relief that The Odyssey is over! Don’t get me wrong…I enjoy reading several hundred pages of eating, weeping, sleeping, the slaughter of men, and the occasional battle, quick wit, and “awe” moments as much as the next adventure-seeking reader. However, there comes a point when a chore that has turned into an enjoyable daily activity simply reverts back into a chore. I’m not going to lie – for the last four books, I read the spark notes before actually reading it. Interestingly enough, I found it easier to find the key points in the text, as well as let my mind wander a tiny bit since I could easily get back on track when I stumbled across a part that was mentioned in the summary I had read. As I sit here eating my dinner, watching TV, and really wishing that I were playing Apples to Apples with some people on the third slash fourth floor lounge, the things relating to this week’s class that come to my mind immediately without (much) thought are: 1) Why did Athena just make the happy ending where everyone accepts Odysseus as king and forgets that he killed their sons? 2) Who all did Odysseus spare besides the maids who didn’t betray him? Because with all of the names and the fast-paced killing scene, I thought he killed off a few people he made alliances with or he really loved? Or maybe that’s simply me being an air-head. Haha. At any rate, I am overall glad that I was given the opportunity to read this epic, because I am not sure I would have done so at any other point in my life without some motive. Now my mind is starting to focus and worry about this parody project that is coming up. I’m beginning to feel a bit lost again…oops!
9/9/2011 - Odyssey
This week, reading the books of The Odyssey was much easier! It is still time-consuming and not a walk in the park, but I’m not seeing it so much like a chore anymore. A good thing about being sick with a head cold is that most things seem much funnier than they really are, so when something unnecessary or unexpected came up in the text, I could laugh about it and it sort of made reading an enjoyable task...since I was delirious. When we listened to a recording of the Kyklops part in class on Wednesday, I noticed that I actually remembered a lot of the story (which shocked me), but I also caught some small details I didn’t remember from reading it – or maybe what I already knew was just enhanced. Although it was different than the exact translation we are reading in our books, I think that it is a great help to hear it read with emotion and with correct pronunciations. However, my belief is that it is more beneficial to hear a recording of it once we have read it personally; otherwise our minds will wander and capture even less of the story than only reading it via the book in the first place. Of course, being of different versions, I found it simpler to listen to the recording without following along in the book to fully get the effect of the story without being frustrated by the various differences between them. Whilst discussing different aspects in class today, a subject that arose quite frequently in our group was that women were often portrayed as harlots, lustful, deceiving, and usually keeping the men from pursuing their immediate interests, or at least not without some type of “condition.” I don’t know if anybody else came to that conclusion, but I found it interesting enough, at least, that even in Ancient Greek mythology, there were still gender stereotypes. Granted these days it is more thought of that all the male wants to do is get into the female’s pants, whereas in The Odyssey the women and goddesses are cunning, seductive, and have an incredible sex drive. Haha. On that note…I think I’m done here. I can’t wait to read more!
9/2/2011 - Odyssey/class Reflection
Just to ramble and clear my head of some thoughts and burdens, I’d like to state that this class has opened up a whole new world to me in terms of literature, class discussions, teaching, and learning. At my high school, we were not given the opportunities to take many classes of this style or, sad to admit, intellectual capacity. Listening to everyone in class discuss our readings, their previous experiences with the materials, and their own personal thoughts, questions, hypothesis, and responses to everything, I can’t help but feel inferior. I’m not finding it a walk in the park to read, comprehend, analyze, discuss, and interpret these ancient pieces we’ve been assigned to in class, but I’m not finding other people in the class having this problem either. While we conversed about The Odyssey in class this week, I could comprehend and consent with mostly everything those involved were saying, but I would have never thought of those things on my own…It marvels and intimidates me that I am surrounded by so many inventive, bright peers. I can only hope to be half as clever and profound as the people I am surrounded by for fifty minutes, three days a week.
On the topic of The Odyssey, I have thus far found it interesting, complex, and for the most part, captivating. This is my first time reading it so I cannot compare it to any other versions, but I appreciate that we are given a background of Odysseus’ journey (for the most part), and what is happening with his family he left behind nearly twenty years ago. I can understand Penelope’s torn feelings on a new relationship with one of the many suitors to choose from, especially since they are mostly after her land and power, but I can also sympathize with the suitors considering her husband has been gone for so long, and she has been leading them on and whispering sweet nothings into their ears with no intention of ever finishing that darned tapestry; I thought she got what she deserved when the suitors were able to call her out on it. The question posed at the end of class today: Why might the suitors now want to kill Telemachus, can be answered, in my own opinion, with the thought that he has taken one of their ships to go find the very man that would hinder one of their abilities to marry Penelope, and could in relation put the majority of them on the bad side of Odysseus. Whatever their motives, I am rooting for Telemachus to find his father, for Odysseus’ safe return to his homeland, Penelope’s reunion with her family, and I also hope that the Gods will let bygones be bygones, get their priorities straight, look at the big picture, and live happily in congruence for a while. I look forward to reading the rest of the books of the Odyssey and discussing them in class.As a side note, I’m going to add that Kate and I have been reading this together out loud in the study lounge, and it has made it more enjoyable and simpler to understand since we can discuss what has happened and it is also a good way to ensure that your mind is staying on task and not wandering, as mine often does.
8/26/2011 - Thoughts on Gilgamesh
I think that it’s important to be a well-rounded individual and learn all sorts of things, especially in a society where people aren’t so cultured or interested about the more profound things in life. Reading The Epic of Gilgamesh was by no means one of the easiest, most fun, or attention-grabbing tasks I’ve done in my lifetime, but I do believe that it was one of the most influential things that I have done in this first week of classes here at Ball State. Although I don’t vocalize my opinions much in class, I thought everyone’s points and views on the story were all true and valuable to the big picture in their own ways. I am able to see the connection between this epic and stories in the Bible such as Adam and Eve, and Samson and Delilah, even with my minimal knowledge or fascination with the Bible itself. Another thing I did notice that was brought up in class was the repetition of certain sentences and phrases. To me, this was a sort of comic relief or pick-me-up to the story in the chances that my mind was wandering or if I wasn’t completely sure if what I was reading was really what I was reading. I thought all of the possible solutions to this question that were discussed in class were all interesting.
Personally, I thought that it was intriguing that an unruly man who takes advantage of his powers as king could be changed so dramatically by a man who was supposed to pose as the only threat, or equal, to his own power. When Enkidu arrived in his city, they had a brief quarrel then immediately accepted each other as best friends and, essentially, brothers. It also fascinated me, the perceptions that these characters had of different things in their lives and world, such as the intimate relationship with a woman, making a name for oneself by conquering the toughest God’s and warriors, and especially how they dealt with sadness. After Enkidu died, the previously raunchy, abusive, narcissistic Gilgamesh wept for days and remained in sorrow for his brother. When others questioned him about his past, how he had gotten there, and why he looked the way he did (not like a great king or warrior), Gilgamesh informed them of his journey, and especially of his brother’s fatality, in the same and distraught way each time it needed to be told.
I’m not very good at analyzing things, especially not ancient literature or most other things…but I believe that this class could be helpful in this aspect, and I couldn’t think of a better way to start a morning of classes three days a week. :)