Final Fall Blog Post Dec. 12

1. I think reading Maus was most meaningful to me because I got to learn about a really interesting topic, the Holocaust; however it was told in a very different way. It was not the standard fact after fact that one usually sees when reading about the Holocaust.
2. I think that the most challenging thing was making my presentations engage the audience.
3. I would like to add a section about poetry, especially slam poetry!!!
4. I liked how we did the blog posts.
5. The books we read were great and I am so excited to do mood rooms!

Purpose of Violence in the Odyssey Journal Dec. 7

3. Throughout Books 22-24, Homer describes Odysseus's fight against the suitors to reclaim his house. I believe that this violence is necessary for Odysseus to receive nostos. If he hadn't fought and killed all the suitors would he actually be home? I mean, yes he would be in the land where his home was located, but it wouldn't be like how he remembered. I believe nostos means that one's homecoming is not only returning the location of their home, but also returning to how their home was before they left. With this definition, if Odysseus hadn't killed the suitors he wouldn't have returned to how his home was before he left. Also if Odysseus hadn't killed all the suitors, he probably wouldn't have the same respect from the people of Ithaca as he did before he left. Without this respect, his home wouldn't be like how he remembered so he wouldn't have nostos.

Xenia in the Odyssey Journal Nov. 22

The Odyssey contains many examples of xenia. One clear example can be found on pg. 45. Telemachus arrives at Menelaus's palace and is treated with great respect. "They (Telemachus and Nestor's son) went into the polished tubs. When the maids had bathed them and rubbed them down with oil, and clothed them in tunics and fleecy cloaks, they sat down on chairs beside Menelaus. A maid poured water from a golden pitcher into a silver basin for them to wash their hands and then set up a polished table nearby. Another serving woman, grave and dignified, set out bread and served generous helpings from the other dishes she had; a carver set sown cuts of meat by the platter and golden cups; and a herald came by and poured them wine" (Odyssey 45). Menelaus gives many gifts to Telemachus as he is getting ready to leave. As one can see Menelaus treats his guests with great respect even before he knows why they have come. This partly because the Greeks believed that everyone should be treated with hospitality because you never know if a God or Goddess (in disguise) might come to your door. Greeks also showed xenia towards strangers, so that they could show off their wealth, or kingdom. Another example of xenia can be seen when Odysseus arrives at in the palace of Alcinous. "He (Alcinous) took the hand of Odysseus, the cunning hero, and raised him from the fireside and had him sit on a polished chair... A maid poured water from a golden pitcher into a silver basin for him to wash his hand and then set up a polished table nearby. Another serving woman, grave and dignified set out bred and generous helpings from the other dishes she had" (Odyssey 100). Both of these examples contain nearly the same sentences. (A maid poured...table nearby.) & (Another serving woman...dishes she had.) These similar sentences could have been put in the song to serve little reminders, or checkpoints for the singers. One can see that xenia in this book is all based around showing off one's wealth and status by serving fine foods, making the guests as comfortable as possible, and giving them gifts.

Oral Tradition in Greece, November 16

1. Oral tradition was very important during the time of the Greeks because it was a way to pass on history. However, it wasn't straight facts like normal history. It was influenced by people opinions and ideas. It was a way for groups of people to express their opinions and share them through song. Since most people didn't know how to read or write in Ancient Greek, by sharing the history through song, more people could learn about it. When it was written down, it was only one version of the story. It limits people from being able to change the story. However, writing the story down on books made it permanent. Oral tradition was like a big game of telephone, and it would eventually have gotten terribly  messed up in its telling. This would cause it to be lost; yet if it was written down, it would never be lost. 

Blog Post November 7

       So, I didn't really know what to talk about, since this was a free post. I thought for a while about cool things that I could talk about, but I eventually decided to talk about my internship. On Wednesday, November 5, I went to the HMNS to visit Christine Batten, my mentor. I had to be there at 9:00, and Ian had to be to another internship at 8:30, so I decided to just go over with him. At nine, I met Christine inside the Sharks! exhibit because she helps run it. We then went downstairs to the Animal Alcove, a room on the Lower Level that houses lots of animals. She wanted to put some new rocks in the Sharks! exhibit to give them more places to rest. In the Animal Alcove, we picked up some supplies that we would need for the day: water, some plastic bags, and rocks. We went back up to the Sharks! exhibit and piled rocks in the tank in three different locations. We went back to the Animal Alcove to pick up some crabs, which I would be putting in the shark tanks. Before I put the crabs in the shark tank, they had to acclimate to the temperature of the tank, so they didn't die of shock. To acclimate them, I first put them in a plastic bag filled with the water they were used to. I floated the bags in the shark tanks for fifteen minutes. During these fifteen minutes, Christine and I went to check on an existing, empty tank that she and I are planning on putting creatures in. We discussed different things that could go in this tank, and we felt like nudibranchs would be best for this tank. I am currently writing a proposal to get nudibranchs and other supplies for this tank. After checking on this tank, we traveled back down to the shark tank, and I took the crabs out of the floating bags and placed them around the shark tank.

        The Texas Ecology exhibit opened up about a week before I visited, and she offered to show me it. Of course I said yes! It was incredible. It was clear that lots of effort had been put into making this exhibit look as real as possible. Each tree in the exhibit had trunks that were living. Christine said that the artists creating the exhibit got living trees and pulled each leaf of individually. She said they then attached fake, but realistic, leaves to where the real leaves were. There was also living Spanish moss hanging from branches that were coming out of the ceiling and walls. There were three animatronic animals, a skunk, a woodpecker, and a rattlesnake. I would defiantly recommend going to the HMNS to see this exhibit as it is just stunning.

Journal Nov. 1

I chose to write about this book through the conflict theory perspective. I believe that everyone in the book is in conflict with one another and that helps society. For example, the Nazis were in conflict with the Jews, the Americans were in conflict with the Nazis. Although I don't believe that the Holocaust aided society very much, I could see why someone could think that it taught people a valuable lesson about human mortality and preservernce. Lots of scientific facts were found during the Holocaust and without the Holocaust we would probably never find out about them. Also the Americans in conflict with the Nazis aided society stopping the terrible tortures that went on in the Holocaust. All of these conflicts aided to society in one way or another with some helping more than others.

Journal Oct. 25

2. I chose to write about Art and the Jewish stereotypes that his father matches up with. One major Jewish stereotype is that they are penny-pinchers; they don't want to spend money. Art's father hates spending money. He also saves tons of things that he doesn't need. Even when others offer to throw the things out for him, he refuses. I think one of the major reasons why Vladek doesn't want to get rid of anything is because he had everything taken away from him during the Holocaust. I believe that it would just be natural for one to want to hold onto all of their belongings after everything that they had was taken away. The Holocaust took nearly everything that he loved away and destroyed it. It took away his belongings, his family, and his dignity. The only thing that it didn't take away was his wife. Oh wait, it did. It made her incredibly depressed to the point that she committed suicide. What reason would he have not to want to save everything after all his things were taken away from him.