I am actually looking forward to this class. I thought that it was going to suck because I have never really cared about art. I have probably spent more time looking at art for this class than I had in my whole entire life prior. To my pleasant surprise, I have enjoyed talking about different artworks and dissecting them. I have already learned a lot about art.
I have already gained a lot of respect for art. I never looked at a piece of art for longer than about five seconds at a time. I realized how much detail and time goes into a piece of art. Also, I noticed that art can actually have a meaning. I always thought that art having a deep meaning was a bunch of bologna, because I had never taken the time to truly look at art.
My favorite thing we did in class this week was looking at several different works of art depicting the same thing. It truly showed that art can cause different emotions about the same event. It can make something look like a huge deal or no big deal at all, or like the right or wrong thing.
When I was watching the Khan Academy videos, I was actually laughing at the narrators because they seemed way too into the art. That is always how I was. I thought that people that really got into art were just easily persuaded. This class will and has already somewhat made me realize that I was wrong and that art has a lot more [[#|power]] than I really thought it possibly could. I look forward to looking at more art and dissecting it and figuring out its meaning. I hope that I come across a piece of art that truly speaks to me. I am ready for the rest of the semester!
Aug 30
This week we discussed two readings. The first reading was “The Confessions” by Augustine and the second reading was “The Consolation of Philosophy” by Boethius. We discussed some similarities and differences between the two readings.
The first reading by Augustine was my favorite of the two that we read. In “The Confessions” Augustine talks about his salvation through Christ. He talks about stealing the fruit. The interesting thing is that he said that he took the fruit for the sole reason that it was sinful and not that he needed the fruit for anything. It was also interesting to me that Augustine felt so bad about taking the fruit in retrospect but he never said anything about going back to the place and repay them. Also I thought it was interesting that he stole a fruit since that was the original sin in the bible (Eve took the apple.)
The second reading by Boethius did not interest me all that much. He spoke about how your fortune goes up and down. He seemed to talk about things being caused by fortune and misfortune. He found his salvation through philosophy. He was being punished by the government and sent to prison even though he was innocent.
The first reading Augustine was guilty and not punished and Boethius was innocent and was punished. Also Augustine found himself through religion while Boethius found peace through philosophy. It would be interesting to see if Boethius was really as innocent as he said he was, because we only heard his side of the story so we do not truly know if he was innocent or not. We know for a fact Augustine was guilty because he said he was and it ate him up inside.
The readings were definitely interesting to compare and contrast since they were so different. They also had the same conclusion in finding peace but they just had different ways of getting there.
Sep 12
This week in class we started to read the Divine Comedy of Dante’s Inferno. Dante’s Inferno is about Dante and written by Dante, the two Dantes are different in that the author is all-knowing and the character is going through the adventure through Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. In this epic poem written by Dante Hell is described in great detail.
In this week we got through the first eleven Cantos. The eleventh Canto is by far the most interesting to me. The eleventh Canto talks about the nine circles of Hell and the different levels. The levels are ranked from one to nine with the ninth being the worst circle of Hell. I found it incredibly interesting that violence is not as bad as fraud in the eyes of God. The reason I found it interesting and counterintuitive is because in our society the highest sin is violence. Rape, murder, etc. are punished more than any other crime. Yet, in the Divine Comedy it is said that violence is only the seventh circle of Hell. Violence was given three sub-categories violence to self, others, and God.
After giving it some thought I can understand where Dante was coming from in saying that fraud is worse than violence. Violence is usually done out of rage, emotion and passion and may not have been thought out or even on purpose. However, fraud is a choice. Fraud is planned out. I also agree that the worse type of fraud is betrayal, because you are breaking someone’s trust and not only doing the wrong thing, but they trusted you to do something good for them. Also, this is backed up in the bible because Lucifer betrayed God and it is looked upon as the worse thing that you could ever do. I would also say that I think there should also be three sub-categories in the ninth circle of Hell also, 1) betrayal of yourself 2) betrayal of others and 3) betrayal of God.
Sep 19
This week we wrapped up the first section of Dante’s Inferno and Dante’s quest with Virgil through the nine circles of Hell. The circles were divided based on how bad it was. The more something opposed love, the worse it was and therefore the lower the circle (higher number) and the more severe the punishment was. Opposing love of a man was seen as not as bad as opposing it of family, guests, and your country. However, the worst is betraying a benefactor is the worst of all, God being the greatest benefactor of all. This is why the Devil was punished so severely, deep in the ninth circle of hell locked in ice.
I do not understand while Brutus and Cassius are in the ninth circle of Hell and not the eight circle of hell. Yes, they betrayed Julius Caesar but I do not agree that betraying him is the same as betraying God. Julius Caesar being a benefactor is a bit of a stretch in my mind. I would put them in the eight circle of Hell for betraying someone the equivalent of family.
I found it interesting that the Devil was almost the exact equivalent of God but evil. Earlier, in the story they talked about the city of Hell, which is like the city of God. The Devil is portrayed as having three heads in his one body, which is similar to the Trinity being three aspects of the single God. I did some research on this and apparently in Medieval Christian theology it is said that evil can not create but only mimic or distort good. The Devil in Dante’s Inferno displays this idea.
I also do not understand why gravity switched when going through the earth like it really would considering that the rest of the story did not follow the laws of physics. It is strange that Dante chose for that part to be realistic.
Sept 26
This week we began to read The Canterbury Tales. In The Canterbury Tales it says that the men are sorted based on class while the women are sorted based on sexual status. The men can be in several different classes such as clergy, nobility, peasants, merchants, and scholars. While the women can be virgins, wives, and widows. I was thinking about how men and women were sorted and how it is unfair to women because they were not seen as equals. However, I was thinking about how the women being sorted by sexual status can be a perk, because it is much more likely that a woman can move up in society. If a male is born a peasant he is destined to be a peasant forever and it is pretty much impossible for him to move up. However, if you are a woman that is a virgin, and being attractive would not hurt either, she can attract a noble or a member of the clergy and marry up and move into a higher class.
On Wednesday we learned about Michaelangelo’s Pieta. I found interest when the delusional man went into the museum and took a hammer to the sculpture. I found it interesting because this event caused the museum to make some tough decisions. They could have left the sculpture broken but in a way that would be letting the delusional man win. They ultimately made the correct decision in my opinion. They used the pieces from the original sculpture as much as possible. They could have just used new pieces but that would have made it someone else’s work. This was important because it preserved Michaelangelo’s work and was not just someone else’s work. The Pieta is a great representation of Mary and Jesus and luckily is still around for people to see.
Oct 4
On Wednesday, we had a group present about Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” I find the theories about the meaning of the painting especially interesting. Many people believe that the person to Jesus’s right is Mary Magdellan and not actually one of the disciples. Also, they believe this due to the “V” made in between the person and Jesus it shows it is “her” because the “V” stands for Venus which in turn represents women. However, according to the churches, it is the twelve disciples and she is definitely not in the painting.
I was also interested by how much they have changed in the painting. There has been a large part of the painting that has been redone. I find that kind of weird. It is weird that if you were viewing the painting that only part of it was actually done by the guy who actually painted it.
I found Thomas More’s “Utopia” very intriguing as well. In this, he describes in his eyes what a perfect society would be like. He says that no one is idle, there is no shortage, and that people only have six-hour workdays. However, the interesting part of it to me is they talk about slaves doing some hunting and etc. At first I was confused how a perfect society can have slaves. Then they said that the slaves were the criminals in their society. This made some sense at first. However, once I got thinking a perfect society would not have criminals. In a perfect society, people would be all good and would not do bad things. With this said, I do like that More included it in this because it is impossible that people would never commit a crime. So I feel like it is necessary that he described what he does with the people who commit the crimes. Also, it is kind of the perfect way to deal with them, in that they are punished but at the same time it is not the worst punishment in the world.
Oct 11 Zach, this is an great topic for the essay. Are you going to be addressing the story as a religious allegory about sin (as Augustine was thinking of it) or are you going to apply it in a nonreligious context? In either case, you should probably address how you think Augustine intended the story and what you think can be taken from it today. -MH
I am going to write about the contemporary relevance of St. Augustine's "Adolescence." I am going to argue that it is contemporarily relevant because the stuff he writes about is still applicable today. The story about stealing a fruit could still happen today just as easily as it could have been done back when this was written. I really wanted to write about Dante's Inferno but I feel like I could not pass on this essay. This excerpt from Confessions is perfect for essay #2. Reading "Adolescence" by St. Augustine in today's day and age can still have an affect on your life. That is exactly why I am going to argue for its contemporary relevance. I also want to talk about how people can relate to the story and possibly how my friends, or I would relate to it. If I or someone I know can relate to the story than it further help show how this is contemporarily relevant.
Oct 25
This week in class we only met twice. We learned about Christopher Columbus, the conquistadors, and the new world in general. We worked in groups to create newscasts. I thought that the newscasts were a lot of fun to both do and to watch. I really hope that we can do things like that more often. The presentations supplemented the reading and were also very fun to watch. I would like to do and watch group presentations more. I feel like you enjoyed them also. We could also switch up the groups every presentation so that the style of presentation changes.
I also noticed that no one brought up that Christopher Columbus and his crew got syphilis from the “Indians” but really the Native Americans. I think that it is kind of funny that the crew got syphilis since they gave the Native Americans small pox. It was sort of a trade, but a trade that neither group wanted to happen.
Last week we watched Aguirre in class. I found it annoying that they changed history to make for a “better” movie. This is partially because I am not a history buff and since it was based off of a true story I could have taken things as true that were not. I did however, to my surprise, enjoy the film. It was a very interesting story about a guy losing his mind.
But seriously GROUP PRESENTATIONS!!!!! Let’s do more!
Nov 1
This week in class we have started to read Moliere’s Tartuffe. In this play there are several interesting characters. I realized that some of these characters have roles similar to other stories and movies that I have seen or read. Dorine is almost the exact same character as Samuel L. Jackson was in the movie Django Unchained. Both characters are not the most intelligent character in the story by any means, however both of these characters see through the plans of their “bad guy.” Both characters are more or less servants and are kind of cranky human beings. We had a debate on Wednesday about who the true villain is in the play Tartuffe or Orgon. I feel like the easy answer to this question is Tartuffe because he is the mastermind behind the plans and therefore the antagonist. However, Orgon may be the worse person, because who can sell out their friends and family so easily.
I felt like watching the videos of the professionals act out parts of this play was very helpful. They have slightly more talent than our class does when it comes to acting. It also helped to show how the characters are portrayed. I think it would be very interesting to see the people that we chose to portray the characters act it out. I think that for the most part they would do a good job but it would be interesting if after seeing them try to act it out if we would change our minds.
Nov 8
This week in class Peter and Chris presented about “The Death of Socrates” by Jacques David. We learned a lot about the background story of the trial and execution of Socrates. They said that it was thought that Socrates wanted to die. I truly doubt that Socrates actually wanted to die. He might have rather be executed than the other possible options such as prison. We also read Voltaire’s Candide this week. In this Voltaire writes a lot of satire about all types of things. This got me thinking, why does his opinion matter? I really do not understand why it does. Then I realized that all kinds of writers and even celebrities give their opinion about things. For example, Adrian Peterson, running back for the Minnesota Vikings, gave his opinion publicly that college athletes should be paid which is kind of relevant but he also gave his opinion about gay marriage, which is a subject where his opinion should not matter more than anyone else’s. However, I thought about it some more and realized that maybe Voltaire’s opinion is relevant because he is really smart. Dec 6
This week in class we learned about music. We listened to Mozart, Bach, Hendrix, and others. I thought that this was a fun topic and enjoyed listening to the music in class. I especially liked listening to Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. I wish that we could have listened to more music that had words, not just because I find that more entertaining but also because I do not have a music background and is easier for me to understand if we are listening to the chorus or the verse. I actually learned more this week than I had ever learned about music in any course or aspect in my life.
I was confused when looking at the Mozart handout that we received. I have no idea how to read music and looking at the handout did nothing for me. We were supposed to see what part of the song repeats and I could not do it at all. I really enjoyed the music and I liked to learn about how music is structured. The way I have listened to music for the past week has been a lot different than I have listened to it before. Out of curiosity, I performed a little study of the music that I listen to. I listened to both the songs I liked and the songs I disliked. I used to think I liked songs based solely on the beat and the singing voices. However, I found out the thing that the songs I liked had many similarities. The most prevalent similarity in the songs that I liked was how the songs were structured. Before this class I never would have thought about the structure of the song. I definitely would not have thought about the structure of the song possibly being able to make me like a song more or less.
Overall I learned a great deal from this lesson and I am glad we learned about it.
I have already gained a lot of respect for art. I never looked at a piece of art for longer than about five seconds at a time. I realized how much detail and time goes into a piece of art. Also, I noticed that art can actually have a meaning. I always thought that art having a deep meaning was a bunch of bologna, because I had never taken the time to truly look at art.
My favorite thing we did in class this week was looking at several different works of art depicting the same thing. It truly showed that art can cause different emotions about the same event. It can make something look like a huge deal or no big deal at all, or like the right or wrong thing.
When I was watching the Khan Academy videos, I was actually laughing at the narrators because they seemed way too into the art. That is always how I was. I thought that people that really got into art were just easily persuaded. This class will and has already somewhat made me realize that I was wrong and that art has a lot more [[#|power]] than I really thought it possibly could. I look forward to looking at more art and dissecting it and figuring out its meaning. I hope that I come across a piece of art that truly speaks to me. I am ready for the rest of the semester!
Aug 30
This week we discussed two readings. The first reading was “The Confessions” by Augustine and the second reading was “The Consolation of Philosophy” by Boethius. We discussed some similarities and differences between the two readings.
The first reading by Augustine was my favorite of the two that we read. In “The Confessions” Augustine talks about his salvation through Christ. He talks about stealing the fruit. The interesting thing is that he said that he took the fruit for the sole reason that it was sinful and not that he needed the fruit for anything. It was also interesting to me that Augustine felt so bad about taking the fruit in retrospect but he never said anything about going back to the place and repay them. Also I thought it was interesting that he stole a fruit since that was the original sin in the bible (Eve took the apple.)
The second reading by Boethius did not interest me all that much. He spoke about how your fortune goes up and down. He seemed to talk about things being caused by fortune and misfortune. He found his salvation through philosophy. He was being punished by the government and sent to prison even though he was innocent.
The first reading Augustine was guilty and not punished and Boethius was innocent and was punished. Also Augustine found himself through religion while Boethius found peace through philosophy. It would be interesting to see if Boethius was really as innocent as he said he was, because we only heard his side of the story so we do not truly know if he was innocent or not. We know for a fact Augustine was guilty because he said he was and it ate him up inside.
The readings were definitely interesting to compare and contrast since they were so different. They also had the same conclusion in finding peace but they just had different ways of getting there.
Sep 12
This week in class we started to read the Divine Comedy of Dante’s Inferno. Dante’s Inferno is about Dante and written by Dante, the two Dantes are different in that the author is all-knowing and the character is going through the adventure through Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. In this epic poem written by Dante Hell is described in great detail.
In this week we got through the first eleven Cantos. The eleventh Canto is by far the most interesting to me. The eleventh Canto talks about the nine circles of Hell and the different levels. The levels are ranked from one to nine with the ninth being the worst circle of Hell. I found it incredibly interesting that violence is not as bad as fraud in the eyes of God. The reason I found it interesting and counterintuitive is because in our society the highest sin is violence. Rape, murder, etc. are punished more than any other crime. Yet, in the Divine Comedy it is said that violence is only the seventh circle of Hell. Violence was given three sub-categories violence to self, others, and God.
After giving it some thought I can understand where Dante was coming from in saying that fraud is worse than violence. Violence is usually done out of rage, emotion and passion and may not have been thought out or even on purpose. However, fraud is a choice. Fraud is planned out. I also agree that the worse type of fraud is betrayal, because you are breaking someone’s trust and not only doing the wrong thing, but they trusted you to do something good for them. Also, this is backed up in the bible because Lucifer betrayed God and it is looked upon as the worse thing that you could ever do. I would also say that I think there should also be three sub-categories in the ninth circle of Hell also, 1) betrayal of yourself 2) betrayal of others and 3) betrayal of God.
Sep 19
This week we wrapped up the first section of Dante’s Inferno and Dante’s quest with Virgil through the nine circles of Hell. The circles were divided based on how bad it was. The more something opposed love, the worse it was and therefore the lower the circle (higher number) and the more severe the punishment was. Opposing love of a man was seen as not as bad as opposing it of family, guests, and your country. However, the worst is betraying a benefactor is the worst of all, God being the greatest benefactor of all. This is why the Devil was punished so severely, deep in the ninth circle of hell locked in ice.
I do not understand while Brutus and Cassius are in the ninth circle of Hell and not the eight circle of hell. Yes, they betrayed Julius Caesar but I do not agree that betraying him is the same as betraying God. Julius Caesar being a benefactor is a bit of a stretch in my mind. I would put them in the eight circle of Hell for betraying someone the equivalent of family.
I found it interesting that the Devil was almost the exact equivalent of God but evil. Earlier, in the story they talked about the city of Hell, which is like the city of God. The Devil is portrayed as having three heads in his one body, which is similar to the Trinity being three aspects of the single God. I did some research on this and apparently in Medieval Christian theology it is said that evil can not create but only mimic or distort good. The Devil in Dante’s Inferno displays this idea.
I also do not understand why gravity switched when going through the earth like it really would considering that the rest of the story did not follow the laws of physics. It is strange that Dante chose for that part to be realistic.
Sept 26
This week we began to read The Canterbury Tales. In The Canterbury Tales it says that the men are sorted based on class while the women are sorted based on sexual status. The men can be in several different classes such as clergy, nobility, peasants, merchants, and scholars. While the women can be virgins, wives, and widows. I was thinking about how men and women were sorted and how it is unfair to women because they were not seen as equals. However, I was thinking about how the women being sorted by sexual status can be a perk, because it is much more likely that a woman can move up in society. If a male is born a peasant he is destined to be a peasant forever and it is pretty much impossible for him to move up. However, if you are a woman that is a virgin, and being attractive would not hurt either, she can attract a noble or a member of the clergy and marry up and move into a higher class.
On Wednesday we learned about Michaelangelo’s Pieta. I found interest when the delusional man went into the museum and took a hammer to the sculpture. I found it interesting because this event caused the museum to make some tough decisions. They could have left the sculpture broken but in a way that would be letting the delusional man win. They ultimately made the correct decision in my opinion. They used the pieces from the original sculpture as much as possible. They could have just used new pieces but that would have made it someone else’s work. This was important because it preserved Michaelangelo’s work and was not just someone else’s work. The Pieta is a great representation of Mary and Jesus and luckily is still around for people to see.
Oct 4
On Wednesday, we had a group present about Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” I find the theories about the meaning of the painting especially interesting. Many people believe that the person to Jesus’s right is Mary Magdellan and not actually one of the disciples. Also, they believe this due to the “V” made in between the person and Jesus it shows it is “her” because the “V” stands for Venus which in turn represents women. However, according to the churches, it is the twelve disciples and she is definitely not in the painting.
I was also interested by how much they have changed in the painting. There has been a large part of the painting that has been redone. I find that kind of weird. It is weird that if you were viewing the painting that only part of it was actually done by the guy who actually painted it.
I found Thomas More’s “Utopia” very intriguing as well. In this, he describes in his eyes what a perfect society would be like. He says that no one is idle, there is no shortage, and that people only have six-hour workdays. However, the interesting part of it to me is they talk about slaves doing some hunting and etc. At first I was confused how a perfect society can have slaves. Then they said that the slaves were the criminals in their society. This made some sense at first. However, once I got thinking a perfect society would not have criminals. In a perfect society, people would be all good and would not do bad things. With this said, I do like that More included it in this because it is impossible that people would never commit a crime. So I feel like it is necessary that he described what he does with the people who commit the crimes. Also, it is kind of the perfect way to deal with them, in that they are punished but at the same time it is not the worst punishment in the world.
Oct 11
Zach, this is an great topic for the essay. Are you going to be addressing the story as a religious allegory about sin (as Augustine was thinking of it) or are you going to apply it in a nonreligious context? In either case, you should probably address how you think Augustine intended the story and what you think can be taken from it today. -MH
I am going to write about the contemporary relevance of St. Augustine's "Adolescence." I am going to argue that it is contemporarily relevant because the stuff he writes about is still applicable today. The story about stealing a fruit could still happen today just as easily as it could have been done back when this was written. I really wanted to write about Dante's Inferno but I feel like I could not pass on this essay. This excerpt from Confessions is perfect for essay #2. Reading "Adolescence" by St. Augustine in today's day and age can still have an affect on your life. That is exactly why I am going to argue for its contemporary relevance. I also want to talk about how people can relate to the story and possibly how my friends, or I would relate to it. If I or someone I know can relate to the story than it further help show how this is contemporarily relevant.
Oct 25
This week in class we only met twice. We learned about Christopher Columbus, the conquistadors, and the new world in general. We worked in groups to create newscasts. I thought that the newscasts were a lot of fun to both do and to watch. I really hope that we can do things like that more often. The presentations supplemented the reading and were also very fun to watch. I would like to do and watch group presentations more. I feel like you enjoyed them also. We could also switch up the groups every presentation so that the style of presentation changes.
I also noticed that no one brought up that Christopher Columbus and his crew got syphilis from the “Indians” but really the Native Americans. I think that it is kind of funny that the crew got syphilis since they gave the Native Americans small pox. It was sort of a trade, but a trade that neither group wanted to happen.
Last week we watched Aguirre in class. I found it annoying that they changed history to make for a “better” movie. This is partially because I am not a history buff and since it was based off of a true story I could have taken things as true that were not. I did however, to my surprise, enjoy the film. It was a very interesting story about a guy losing his mind.
But seriously GROUP PRESENTATIONS!!!!! Let’s do more!
Nov 1
This week in class we have started to read Moliere’s Tartuffe. In this play there are several interesting characters. I realized that some of these characters have roles similar to other stories and movies that I have seen or read. Dorine is almost the exact same character as Samuel L. Jackson was in the movie Django Unchained. Both characters are not the most intelligent character in the story by any means, however both of these characters see through the plans of their “bad guy.” Both characters are more or less servants and are kind of cranky human beings. We had a debate on Wednesday about who the true villain is in the play Tartuffe or Orgon. I feel like the easy answer to this question is Tartuffe because he is the mastermind behind the plans and therefore the antagonist. However, Orgon may be the worse person, because who can sell out their friends and family so easily.
I felt like watching the videos of the professionals act out parts of this play was very helpful. They have slightly more talent than our class does when it comes to acting. It also helped to show how the characters are portrayed. I think it would be very interesting to see the people that we chose to portray the characters act it out. I think that for the most part they would do a good job but it would be interesting if after seeing them try to act it out if we would change our minds.
Nov 8
This week in class Peter and Chris presented about “The Death of Socrates” by Jacques David. We learned a lot about the background story of the trial and execution of Socrates. They said that it was thought that Socrates wanted to die. I truly doubt that Socrates actually wanted to die. He might have rather be executed than the other possible options such as prison.
We also read Voltaire’s Candide this week. In this Voltaire writes a lot of satire about all types of things. This got me thinking, why does his opinion matter? I really do not understand why it does. Then I realized that all kinds of writers and even celebrities give their opinion about things. For example, Adrian Peterson, running back for the Minnesota Vikings, gave his opinion publicly that college athletes should be paid which is kind of relevant but he also gave his opinion about gay marriage, which is a subject where his opinion should not matter more than anyone else’s. However, I thought about it some more and realized that maybe Voltaire’s opinion is relevant because he is really smart.
Dec 6
This week in class we learned about music. We listened to Mozart, Bach, Hendrix, and others. I thought that this was a fun topic and enjoyed listening to the music in class. I especially liked listening to Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. I wish that we could have listened to more music that had words, not just because I find that more entertaining but also because I do not have a music background and is easier for me to understand if we are listening to the chorus or the verse. I actually learned more this week than I had ever learned about music in any course or aspect in my life.
I was confused when looking at the Mozart handout that we received. I have no idea how to read music and looking at the handout did nothing for me. We were supposed to see what part of the song repeats and I could not do it at all. I really enjoyed the music and I liked to learn about how music is structured. The way I have listened to music for the past week has been a lot different than I have listened to it before. Out of curiosity, I performed a little study of the music that I listen to. I listened to both the songs I liked and the songs I disliked. I used to think I liked songs based solely on the beat and the singing voices. However, I found out the thing that the songs I liked had many similarities. The most prevalent similarity in the songs that I liked was how the songs were structured. Before this class I never would have thought about the structure of the song. I definitely would not have thought about the structure of the song possibly being able to make me like a song more or less.
Overall I learned a great deal from this lesson and I am glad we learned about it.