The lit midterm portion made me realize how much material we have covered throughout the semester so far. Although I keep up with the reading questions, keep good notes, and attend every class, it can become overwhelming at times. History is not one of my strengths and I have always had trouble with memorizing facts and connecting them to the bigger picture. I feel like memorizing concepts is not enough, and one must be able to connect each of the concepts to the culture, and ultimately, to the main themes of the course. It is essentially three courses integrated into one so I am still in the process of becoming adjusted to that.
For my first essay, I am planning on focusing on the role of suffering on human life. I picked Hinduism as my main culture because I feel like we spent more time on this culture and the concepts are more engrained in my mind. Many of the components of Hinduism’s literature, art, and music can be connected to the concept of suffering. I think that I will be able to make a connection between suffering, and moksha, samsara, and karma. Lastly, I will be comparing and contrasting it to Judaism. Both cultures have some commonalities such as having the ultimate goal of uniting with God. However, one of the main differences that I will be addressing is about Judaism’s linear pattern of life and Hinduism’s cyclic pattern. The Jewish believe that throughout life, one is constantly developing and strengthening his relationship with God. On the other hand, one of Hinduism’s principles is that the divine essence is unchanging.
The next culture that I feel most comfortable about is Classical Greece, so I will be focusing on that for my second essay. For this essay, I am discussing the impact of obligations and how it shapes one’s life. The idea of upholding duties is very prevalent in Greek literature, art, and music so I will connect them to the period concepts of idealism, shaping the soul, and excellence. I thought that Rome would be a perfect choice for the compare/contrast portion because both cultures have their unique features. While Rome was set on maintaining their empire and conquest, Classical Greece was somewhat of the opposite.
Word Count: 377
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"
Having not a lot of knowledge about Judaism, I was eager to learn more about it during our visit at the Congregation Children of Israel Synagogue. The rabbi was friendly and knowledgeable, answering everybody’s questions thoroughly. It was obvious that he is devoted to his religion and is well-informed about all of its aspects. He emphasized that the phrase, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is one of the core values of Judaism. As a Buddhist, I related the quote to one pertaining to Buddhism; “Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.” Both Judaism and Buddhism hold the belief of putting others before oneself.
The rabbi made many comparisons to Christianity and he referred to Christianity as a fate system while Judaism is more of a family. He said that Christianity is essentially the combination of Judaism and a belief in Jesus. The Jewish are not a race and instead, they are a group comprised of a diverse range of people. In Orthodox synagogues, men and women are separated and the services are held entirely in Hebrew. For the services at the Congregation Children of Israel, it is half-Hebrew and half-English. Men cover their heads with yarmulkes for cultural reasons such as showing respect. In Orthodox synagogues, men are required to cover their heads at all times. I found it interesting when the rabbi brought up the point about American culture having the opposite custom. As a sign of respect and etiquette, Americans usually remove their hats upon entering indoors. Along with the yarmulkes, the Jewish also wear prayer shawls that have fringes that represent remembering the commandments.
Although Hanukkah is the most well-known Jewish holiday, it is actually one of the less important holidays. Passover is one of the most important Jewish holidays and it celebrates the Exodus in Egypt and there is also Yom Kippur. The rabbi opened up the tall decorative panels in the center of the synagogue stage and everybody murmured in awe as it revealed beautiful scrolls. After removing the decorative covering, he recited a small portion in Hebrew and then translated it to English. He stated that each scroll takes a year to write and if the calligraphy is imperfect, it must be recopied onto a new sheet of parchment paper. Overall, I am glad I had the opportunity to sit in a synagogue and learn about Judaism from the perspective of a rabbi.
Word Count: 414
The rabbi made many comparisons to Christianity and he referred to Christianity as a fate system while Judaism is more of a family. He said that Christianity is essentially the combination of Judaism and a belief in Jesus. The Jewish are not a race and instead, they are a group comprised of a diverse range of people. In Orthodox synagogues, men and women are separated and the services are held entirely in Hebrew. For the services at the Congregation Children of Israel, it is half-Hebrew and half-English. Men cover their heads with yarmulkes for cultural reasons such as showing respect. In Orthodox synagogues, men are required to cover their heads at all times. I found it interesting when the rabbi brought up the point about American culture having the opposite custom. As a sign of respect and etiquette, Americans usually remove their hats upon entering indoors. Along with the yarmulkes, the Jewish also wear prayer shawls that have fringes that represent remembering the commandments.
Although Hanukkah is the most well-known Jewish holiday, it is actually one of the less important holidays. Passover is one of the most important Jewish holidays and it celebrates the Exodus in Egypt and there is also Yom Kippur. The rabbi opened up the tall decorative panels in the center of the synagogue stage and everybody murmured in awe as it revealed beautiful scrolls. After removing the decorative covering, he recited a small portion in Hebrew and then translated it to English. He stated that each scroll takes a year to write and if the calligraphy is imperfect, it must be recopied onto a new sheet of parchment paper. Overall, I am glad I had the opportunity to sit in a synagogue and learn about Judaism from the perspective of a rabbi.
Word Count: 414
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Discobolus
The Discobolus of Myron, also known as the “discus thrower,” has become one of the symbols of Classical Greece. The discus thrower appears to be releasing the discus from his hand and the sculpture represents strength, energy, symmetry, balance, and athleticism. His pose has been described as being unnatural and as an inefficient way to be throwing a discus. The discus thrower’s face displays no emotion, which is common amongst other Classical Greek statues. Beginning in the Classical Greek period, the implementation of sculptures conveying motion began. The Discobolus displays potential energy in his pose and all of the muscles throughout his body are prominent. In the Greek language, “symmetria” is the balance and harmony of parts and proportions. The athlete’s pose conveys equilibrium, balance, and proportions that were constructed with precision. Compared to Ancient Greece, the sculptures and art of Classical Greece were more expressive and there was a stronger focus on the ratios and proportions of the body. Myron, the artist, was famous for his skill in capturing the essence of humans and animals in all of his sculptures. In class, we learned that sculptures were usually representations of what the Greeks thought idealized bodies should look like. In my opinion, the Discobolus successfully captures the ideas of athleticism and strength.
I tried my best to capture the details of the Discobolus sculpture by describing the features, including some Greek terminology, and including some significant traits of the time period. For example, I made a connection between the sculpture and the importance of idealistic bodies in Classical Greece. Even though I feel like I did a fairly decent job with the description, it was difficult forming more analysis. Also, I was not sure of how to go about connecting my analysis to the period concepts and the main concepts of suffering, obligation, and judgment.
Word Count: 306
I tried my best to capture the details of the Discobolus sculpture by describing the features, including some Greek terminology, and including some significant traits of the time period. For example, I made a connection between the sculpture and the importance of idealistic bodies in Classical Greece. Even though I feel like I did a fairly decent job with the description, it was difficult forming more analysis. Also, I was not sure of how to go about connecting my analysis to the period concepts and the main concepts of suffering, obligation, and judgment.
Word Count: 306
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