Michael's Coursework

Reflection: 

Over the course of this class we have studied many different topics ranging from freedom and justice to identity and inequality, and from spirituality to war.  At first glance these topics seem to be disjointed and perhaps out of place in a class together but I discovered that these topics are all actually interrelated and frequently reference and build off of one another.  The concept of the various topics being as intertwined as they are brought a new and insightful way of looking at my surroundings and my other courses that opened my mind to be able to think more critically on my own.  An example would be in our Spirituality module discussing the Muslim faith and reading some of the texts I discovered that their religion is not that far off from what we know of Christianity and Judaism and reinforces that what we are lead to believe by the media about Muslims apply only to a few radicals and not generally to the whole group.  This was a perfect example of stereotyping and believing blindly the media portrayal and the texts provided my own knowledge of their values and beliefs.

Some of my work and really illustrates how this course has made me think critically and apply these though processes in my own life.  The picture essay which was part of the Freedom, Responsibility, and Justice module’s adaptation project was really powerful and reflects some of the discussions we had as a class that are extremely meaningful to me.  In addition to the adaptation project I just mentioned my review and response to the Mummies of the World exhibit at The Leonardo also illustrates the type of critical thinking and views. From a communicating and collaboration stand point the above mentioned work reflect an ability to communicate in meaningful and different ways.  For collaboration the most collaborative assignment is the group magazine project.   I was given the opportunity to be on the magazine focused on the Film genre and to work with a team of three other classmates and my role was editor-in-chief.  As a group we met weekly on Tuesday evenings to discuss our progress and  hash out any issues we may have encountered.  

 Believing in Truth,

Religious Ignorance Brings

Peace of Mind and Soul

Reflection:

This analysis and adaptation project was a little different in that I thought I knew which of the texts I wanted to discuss.  The more I thought about it the more I determined that my original selection was too similar to my own beliefs to fulfill the role it would need to.  After reviewing the materials we used in this theme I selected “The Streets of Ashkelon” by Harrison as I recalled being drawn into it while reading it.

By being drawn in I mean that I connected with some of the points that were made, specifically with regard to how the introduction of religion could cause so much confusion and even lead to murder among a people who were unfamiliar with it.  The other interesting thing that I found about this text was that portions of it were similar to my own beliefs.

If we look at the world today and consider all of the confusion and conflict that introducing religion into any number of societies, particularly those that do not already understand a religion, might cause it is not hard to understand and sympathize with the Weskers of Harrison’s writing.  There were even moments in my contemplation when I desired the simple knowledge based existence where faith and belief was not an issue.

This project and analysis was somewhat of a struggle for me, not for material by any means but in attempts to put my words to paper. I originally though, Great I’ll do this one on Darling!, and then I got to thinking about how I would analyze that and which aspects of it I would include in my analysis and I discovered that I did not feel as though I could fit it in nor express it adequately.  Next I considered Glory, a film that I had not seen prior to this class, and again I was met with, what would you analyze, and do you feel that there is enough material to meet the requirements for the analysis and still be able to do an adaptation.  I reviewed the list of accepted material again and again.  Finally I came to rest on Virginia Woolf’s Professions for Women.  It was a piece that had resonated with me well enough and I thought I could do a fair job of discussing the elements that drove home her points.

Getting into the analysis was not terribly difficult though I found myself wondering what other sources I would use to enforce the points.  Then I remembered a documentary on the creatures of Harry Potter that my wife and I had watched recently.  You may ask yourself, how is Harry Potter related to Professions for Women?  Well easily it is written by a woman, who as my luck would have it was told by her publishers that she should another initial to her pen name so as to mask her gender from young boys.  What a fabulous example that demonstrates one of the points that Woolf discusses.  I needed still other evidence besides Woolf’s own ideas to buoy up my analysis and so I went in search of other sources to agree with Woolf.  I found in my search many willing to discuss the history of women in the workplace, some offering explicit essays written by men about why women should not be in the workplace and what exactly their place should be.  All of which further enforced the need for Woolf’s speech and the support she provided with it to the women of the world.

Reflection:

For this analysis and adaptation projected I selected Langston Hughes’ “Let America be American Again.”  I chose this particular text because I believe that our current American has strayed so much from the “American Dream” and from what our founding fathers intended our great country to be and I feel that Langston Hughes has captured exactly that with this poem.  In analyzing this particular work I read the piece over many times waiting for inspiration on how to start and what type of adaptation I should create.  The more I read the poem the more I saw picture after picture in my head especially at the lines, “America never was America to me.”  I decided, since pictures are worth a thousand words that I would create a photo essay comprised of public domain photos and the words of Hughes’ poem.

For my analysis paper I simply had to tape into my already passionate love for our country and my fear and frustration at what is has become and continues to become though I think we have made steps in some recent elections to reclaim our country for the people.  I found throughout my writing and my photo essay that I was able to draw connections to my political science class from last semester and that several of the documents I used as supporting evidence in my analysis were also covered in that class, things like The Declaration of Independence authored by Thomas Jefferson.

“Civil Disobedience” – 1849 – Henry D. Thoreau

What is government? Why do we follow and allow government? Is government just?  I think all these questions are evident in Thoreau’s text.  Particularly evident in such passages as “most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient.”

This piece was written in 1849 during times when slavery was a major issue.  The time when this was written will also help us in interpreting the language contained within as it likely will not be common but will sound foreign to us.

This I think was written for every American.  Both those present in Thoreau’s time but also, perhaps more, applicable to us in our present day.  I think Thoreau has some very pointed parts: “Must the citizen ever for a moment, in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then?  He also calls some of the American population hypocrites and I think this stands true today, “The soldier is applauded who refuses to serve in an unjust war by those who do not refuse to sustain the unjust government which makes the war.”

“Public Statement” –April 1963 – Eight Alabama Clergymen

This letter to the public is designed as a plea, a solution or a hope for a solution in answer to the demonstrations happening in the street of Birmingham.  In some way I think this letter may have been written to subdue the public back into a complacent nature of waiting for something to happen rather than following Thoreau’s advice from the above text and acting on it.

April 1963 in Birmingham, AL there was a sit-in conducted against racial segregation in the U.S. Dr. King and his staff had been requested to be present and aid in other demonstrations and were arrested on April 12^th for “parading without a permit”.  Knowledge of the events going on around the time this letter was written provides us with insight that helps us understand the point of view of the authors and may also bring to light any ulterior motives within the text.

The “Statement” was written for the citizen of Birmingham Alabama of all races and of all positions.  It was a call for patience, and a request to come together and talk about what could or should be done.

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” – 1963 – Martin Luther King, Jr.

The letter was written in response to the above “statement”.  It answers why “outsiders” where present in Birmingham, and why direct action is sometimes necessary.  This text also outlines steps that are present prior to moving into a direct action state.

Dr. King wrote this letter while imprisoned in Birmingham Alabama.  I find it extremely interesting in the author’s note that the letter began on the margins of the newspaper in which he first read the public statement, then continued on scraps of writing paper and finally concluded on pads of paper his attorneys were eventually permitted to leave.  We also know some of the events that had occurred during this time and we have read the public statement which this is in response to.  This knowledge provides adequate structure for us to understand the meanings of Dr. King’s response.

While this text may have been directed specifically at the clergymen who authored the Public Statement it is also indirectly directed at all of us.  I particularly like, “I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. …Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”  I also like that he called these clergymen out on not addressing the underlying problem, of treating the symptom rather than the disease, if you will. “I am sure that each of you would want to go beyond the superficial social analyst who looks merely at effects, and does not grapple with underlying causes.”

“My Political Programme” – 1926 – Mahatma Gandhi

This text offers insight to the purpose, power, and education into the non-violent protest.  It also defines civil-disobedience as a “terrifying synonym for suffering”.

This appears to be written in 1926 after Gandhi had success in South Africa, had moved back to India and was employing his non-violent tactics there as well.  We are given, in the introduction some back ground on the types of discrimination and caste systems that Gandhi combated with and are hence provided a better understanding of the impact of this text and the ideas contained within.

I cannot tell and have been unable to locate if this text was delivered to the donors but I believe that this was not written solely for their benefit but also for the benefit of mankind.  “Disobedience is a right that belongs to every human being and it becomes a sacred duty when it springs from civility, or, which is the same thing, love.”  In short it is our duty to practice civil-disobedience in the face of injustices to bring about reformation.